Welcome to another chapter! Discord knows that this chapter and the next are two that have wiped me out…I've been dreading AND looking forward to writing them!

Loxiety: I won't protest each chapter being your favorite! Fluff & drama make a fun combo in this chapter; I hope you enjoy!

Guest: Thank you for the kind words! No dictionary is enough to express my gratitude for your love & support. More Dad!Jack to come!

Firephoenix: THANK you for this. I'm so glad last chapter made your day better; writing it was certainly a bright spot in my life too.

Noro: I'm glad you loved all the small moments of last chapter! Yes Jack is oblivious to both Sally's & Ivy's love, yes hide and scare is the world's best fame, yes you are amazing for reviewing!

Firebird89: I'm so glad you liked that line, it's one that made me laugh while typing it out in the middle of my university library, so I'm glad to see it landed well.

Corona Pax: THANK YOU for your years of friendship & support for this work; you're part of the reason it's grown so much! And did you call for slightly insane Ivy? Look no further!

Haley: Jack & Ivy's relationship is one I'm also obviously in love with; I'm so glad you like it too!

Guest: thanks for reading, and make sure you go to bed!

GoldGuardian2418: Hurray for liking the Dad & Valentine's scene! One of these days I'll release the part of the chapter that included their actual date (it was way too long guys, a chapter of itself really) but I did love writing it!

Guest: Your Bezata prediction skills are in the right direction...but perhaps not the culprit you'd expect!

Emilio: Jack won- Ivy eats her dinner; he still has a loophole to mess with her like that again. Win-win!

Guest: JASPER YOU AIN'T SLICK STOP STIRRING UP TROUBLE AGAIN


February 16th

Inside the Halloween Tree

Moonrise

Bezata's scream echoed around the tree, stinging her throat even as it was snatched away by the wind. She desperately tried to reach for the root, but even the vague outline of it had vanished, and her fingers were only met with cold winter air.

Her glasses nearly slipped from her face with the force of the wind, and she reflexively grabbed the frames, clutching them in her hand. There wasn't much use in them, anyway- the inside of the tree was darker than any place Bezata had ever been. She flung her free hand out, her hand brushing against the side of the- wall? Tree? - which was covered in something sticky and damp, clinging to her fingers. She leaned away and found herself caught in an endless backflip, with no sense of where up was. Her screams died out as she frantically pressed her free hand against her mouth, trying to force herself to keep the Kartoffelsalat she'd had earlier in her stomach. She kicked her legs frantically, trying to orient herself, unsure if the nausea in her stomach was from the turns or the god-awful stench that kept triggering her gag reflex anytime she thought about it. What if she landed on her head? What if she threw up before she hit bottom? What if she never hit bottom?

The temperature seemed to be rising, the air in Stuttgart that had made her tears freeze giving way to a warmth that left only the faintest hints of goosebumps under her jacket. A horrible image of falling straight to the heated center of the earth flitted through her mind, and she spared a moment to shudder. Bezata did another flip that made her stomach writhe, then felt something cool, thin, and sticky press against her face, the gossamer threads snapping as she fell. Temporarily distracted from her acrobatics, Bezata spat and tried to push the spider webs from her face, hoping they weren't just nesting further into her hair. She noticed with alarm that her hat had been pushed off her head, leaving her ears and frizzy hair exposed to the wind. She kept hitting spider webs, her skin crawling each time the dry, wispy strands dragging against her skin.

Bezata was so focused on not upturning her stomach that it took her a few more flips to realize she was actually slowing down. The webs, she realized after a moment, were getting thicker, to the point where she'd pause and bounce for a few moments before falling down to the next one.

At least I won't have a broken neck, she allowed herself to think hopefully. The next web didn't break at once and Bezata lay on her back, taking a few steadying breaths of air that seemed to burn her tongue with its stench, waving her hand in front of her face and feeling the panic rise even further up her throat when she couldn't even see the outline of her hand. The motion was too much for the web, though, and she fell backwards once more.

The next web dipped but held, and when Bezata accidentally rolled over the edge in an effort to get to her knees, she fell face-first six feet down and landed with a whoomph on something that was definitely solid.

Blinking the stars out of her eyes (and double-checking that her glasses hadn't broken), Bezata slowly stared up at the trees that surrounded her, a gap in the forestry showing the exact same waning crescent that was in Stuttgart- except, no, because the moon back home did not have a face that flitted across, teeth filling in the pores of the moon, before slinking off to the dark side and vanishing.

Bezata's fingers tightened on the ground, and despite her pounding heart and mounting fear she recognized the feeling of dead leaves, crinkling under her gloves, and yellow grass that tickled her face.

Slowly rolling herself onto her back, Bezata stared up the dark tunnel she'd fallen out of, looking for all the world like a vertical, menacing slide. The last web was too high for her to reach, and the pit in Bezata's stomach (which, thankfully, had settled) grew colder at the thought that she might not be able to get back up. Speaking of getting up…

Bezata kept the groan of pain back behind her teeth as she slowly rose to her feet, feeling as sore as if she'd spent the entire day at the park. Her knees shook and she quickly leaned against a (black, leafless) tree for support. The surrounding trees had etchings, little lines and whorls and notches that suddenly became eyes, and then everywhere she looked the ashy grey birch trees had eyes on them, and wooden gazes piercing into her from every angle and direction. She closed her eyes for a brief second, trying not to lose herself to the panic, when the hair on the back of her neck prickled. Bezata's eyes flew open and she spun around, peering into the dark expanse of the forest and hoping to the highest heaven that something she couldn't see wasn't looking back at her.

The wind was back, cooling the sweat that had pooled under her collar, brushing the clumps of hair that had fallen out of her braids away from her face. Bezata barely noticed, far more focused on trying to stay upright. The pumpkin smell was less oppressive, almost sickly-sweet, but then there was the undercurrent of wet wood and something dead that she refused to think too much about.

As she hunched over, allowing herself to hyperventilate, the forest around her shifted. Bezata perked up as her spine tingled, and when she dared to peek over her shoulder, she saw something glowing through the trees...something white and green and-

WHAM!

Another scream ripped through Bezata's throat as she suddenly went airborne, but the wind seemed to snatch it away before it even reached her ears. She'd never seen a tornado outside of American disaster movies, but that was the only word she could assign to the experience. The forest lost all definition and became nothing but a blur of shapes and dark colors, and all of her balance training flew out the window. She became acquainted with the ground once more and the wind rushed off, streaking back through the trees from the way she'd come.

Because she'd moved, somehow- there were only a few more rows of trees before the moonlight shone on what appeared to be an open field, and when she risked a glance behind her there was nothing to see but the trees being swallowed into darkness- trees that still had the etchings of eyes, all fixed on her, their stare creeping under her skin. She gulped and tried to get to her feet, only to lose the battle with her stomach on a nearby bush.

Wiping her mouth gingerly, Bezata took a steadying breath and stumbled forward, staying upright only by a hand pressed to the tree's bark (and refusing to think of how it twitched under her fingertips). Her eyes were grateful for the moonlight streaming through the branches, even if it did make the white trees glow and turn her skin silver. There was a break in the trees ahead, and Bezata quickened her pace, eager to leave these creepy woods behind and maybe find Kunze and force her to get them both out of here-

"Who are you?"

Bezata spun around, saw nothing, then looked down.

A... something was standing in front of her, its tiny hands planted on hips. A comically pointed witch's hat sat on the thing's head, frizzy grey hair sticking out from underneath.

There was also a large, clawed bathtub behind her, but Bezata's mind wouldn't really let her focus on that yet.

The snap of green-grey fingers drew Bezata's faint attention back to the...thing. One eyebrow lifted, and the thin, high-pitched voice shrieked for attention once more.

"I said, who are you? Are you a ghost or a human?"

"What?" Bezata rasped, her own voice up a few octaves.

"Great. A newly-dead." The beady black eyes rolled, and the voice assaulted her ears once more. "I'm Shock; I'm a witch. You're dead, I dunno why you haven't gotten in your ghost form yet, but whatever- uh. Why'd you fall?"

"I'm dead?" Bezata squeaked from the ground, where she'd fallen in shock. "I didn't- I don't- I-" She gasped. "I can't breathe."

"Yeah, yeah," the witch- Shock- said, flapping one hand impatiently. "You'll get over it. But we gotta take you in. You came the wrong way, the Town's at the other side of the Graveyard. Why didn't we hear your Death Knell?"

"What are you talking about?" Bezata's back was pressed so tightly into the tree behind her that the bark cracked. "I'm not supposed to be dead! Is that what happened to Kunze?"

Shock's nose wrinkled; her musing temporarily forgotten. "Who?"

"I heard her down here, ok?" Bezata's fear was still coursing through her veins, but a trickle of impatience was starting to well up. "Ivy Kunze, is she de- dead too?"

Shock looked- well, in shock. Her jaw dropped open and she stared at Bezata as though seeing her for the first time, all prescription toughness falling from her voice. "You know her?"

"You know her?"

Shock drew herself up, her eyes narrowing once more. "Wait. You're not dead, are you?"

It was something she'd never had to doubt, but the conviction in Shock's voice had her fumbling for her neck, pressing her fingers into the dip between her jaw and throat. For one horrifying moment there was nothing under her fingers, but her next breath shifted her fingers and she felt the steady, if rapid, beating that pounded against the pads of her fingers. "Oh, thank God."

"Aw, hell." Shock's head dropped back, and she glared at the sky with a sense of disdain. "Ok. If you don't want to be an ingredient in Oogie Boogie's Snake, Spider, and Human Stew-"

"Excuse me?"

"-you'd better come with us back to Halloween. Jack's gonna hate this." Shock cackled, and she clapped her hands. The bathtub sprang to attention, as did two small figures that peeked over the rim of the bathtub, eyes rolling from behind the decorative masks.

"Boo!" the voice from behind the Devil's mask yelled. Bezata, still fixated on the way the bathtub had stood up, managed only a strangled whine. The devil seemed put out but recovered quickly. "You're the prisoner of the Boogie Boys! Ah ha ha ha!"

"Too early," muttered a third voice, as the skeleton mask shook violently. "Not supposed to call ourselves that yet. Jack's gonna hear. Jack's gonna take our skins again." A tiny hand patted the side of the tub, causing it to rear on its hind- legs? - and the devil fell backwards, a comical thump echoing around the porcelain. Bezata felt the world spin, the last words she heard being, "Uh-oh. I think you broke it."

"What are you talking about?" Shock screeched, then turned to see the new human face-down in the dirt, her eyes rolled back into her head. Shock gave it a tentative kick, but there wasn't even the theatrical groan she'd expect from Jack's human.

"I told you I was scary!" Lock boasted, his ego having recovered from the tub tumble. "Look at that! I can take on the humans any day!"

"Sure," Barrel and Shock said in sync, Barrel's yellow teeth gleaming as steam erupted from the top of Lock's head. He dove forward, clobbering Barrel right in the middle of his smile, and the bathtub, long suffering, held still and allowed them to slip and slide within it. While Shock would've loved to watch them scuffle, she sighed and walked over to yank them apart. Being the best was a chore.

"C'mon, boys," she ordered, snapping her fingers to have the bathtub kneel. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the Same Time

Just outside Halloween Town

"Jack, do I hear your jaw grinding?"

"No, you do not," Jack snapped back, but loosened his jaw all the same. The Clown didn't seem convinced but let it go, turning his attention to the obstacle course's rolls and dips within the field, filled with various barriers and traps. The other children in the Basic Scare class stood around, nervously going over their plans in their minds, limbs twitching as though going through the movements. Ivy stood at the starting line, her jacket tossed aside for added stealth. She was leaning forward on the front of her sneakers, a hint of nervous energy swirling around her wrists.

"Alright, I'll go in first," the Clown said, stretching in an overly casual way. "Follow when you like, Jack, and, ah, recall that while I'm certain she's learned a great deal, don't let that-"

"I do hope," Jack cut in casually, "that you are not implying I am going to be playing favorites and pass Ivy whether she deserves it or not?"

The Clown blinked but got the hint. "Ah, no, no, of course not."

"Good." Jack straightened his jacket and forced himself not to send Ivy a reassuring wink. The Basic Scares class she'd been in with the younger members for the past few months had given her a wonderful way to get that extra energy out (not to mention Jack could relax in the mindset that she was under someone else's supervision for once. Ivy had complained once or twice about being in the 'baby' group, but a day of the youngest monsters in Town scaring her had fixed that. Jack came to as many of the Basics classes as he could, always amused to see how Ivy adapted to her human limitations and offered his help.

But today was Testing Day, and she was on her own.

The Clown vanished into the maze and the moon darkened, Jack's ribs tightening at the added disadvantage for Ivy. The human seemed to take it in stride, with only the quick roll of her shoulders showing her discomfort. She took a moment to tie her hair up, and Jack snorted at the absurdly tiny ponytail it gave her, grateful to have something that kept his mind off her possible failure.

Jack gave the signal to the monster at the start of the course, who nodded solemnly, threw their head back, unhinged their jaw, and let loose blood-curdling scream. The sound wave made the trees at the edge of the forest shake and Ivy took the cue, bolting into the course and vanishing into the darkness. Jack counted to five in his head, then silently streaked after her, wanting to tune out her heartbeat but knowing the Clown wouldn't do the same.

As it was, there was more noise here than there had been inside the Manor- the Wind had been forbidden to interfere, but Jack could still hear the rustling of leaves by the edge of the tree line and the nervous giggles of the children back at the starting line. Ducking underneath one of the dark canopy of hills stretched above his head, Jack peered around the course, nearly praying he wouldn't catch a glimpse of her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivy kept her mouth firmly pressed together, trapping the whine of exhaustion that threatened to slip through the longer she hung by her arms. Jack had passed just underneath her, but a wave of laughter from the kids seemed to drown out the sound of her traitorous heart. Ivy knew it had slowed back down again- even now, she could feel the half-hearted (ha, ha) thumps in her chest, more of a performance than actual function. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, the muscles in her shoulders screaming as she made sure her grip on the vines under the hill stayed secure.

When Jack passed by, she slowly lowered her legs, falling to the ground with the quietest of thumps. She wasted no time in sprinting away, Sally's clothing not making a whisper of noise and her sneakers perfectly molded to her feet.

A pile of leaves reminded her of the scare class from long ago, using them to distract the monsters from her human scent, but now...Ivy pressed her wrist to her nose and smelt only pumpkin, black mold, and a hint of nutmeg from the tea she'd had with Jack earlier that evening. No, they wouldn't smell her out- sound was her enemy.

She quietly got to her knees and rolled her skateboard out from under the hill she'd hidden in earlier, tucking it firmly under one arm. She took a moment to stare into the darkness, feeling her eyes adjust and show her the shapes and curves of the hills. A smile on her face, Ivy kept her weight to the edges of her feet and crept up a hill, where the cobblestone road back to Town began.

After a quick glance over her shoulder, Ivy set her board down, placed her foot firmly on the back, and shoved it away.

The board clattered and rattled on the cobblestone, picking up speed and noise as it made its way back to Town. Ivy dashed in the opposite direction, her own ears picking up the wheel of the Clown's unicycle moving towards the noise. Flattening her back, she kept herself in the shadow and darted her eyes around the landscape, trying to pinpoint the Clown's location. Her muscles tensed in readiness, legs bunching together in order to spring forward...but the Clown's wheel faded into the distance, and Ivy groaned as quietly as she could, letting her head thump back against the dirt of the hill. She'd figured the Clown would be the easier target, but...her eyes caught a patch of darkness, pure darkness that seemed to creep along the ground, where the blackness of the night blocked out any form of light.

It was Jack, heading the same way as the Clown. But surely, he hadn't fallen for the same trick again, right? Was this a double bluff?

For an agonizing moment she stood there, paralyzed with indecision, then an idea struck her.

She leaned down and gripped a handful of black dirt, squared her shoulders, and put the possibility of a triple bluff out of her mind as she threw the dirt in a wide arc, just by her location.

Jack froze, and Ivy caught the gleam of his white head peeking from the gloom of his jacket. The skeleton rose up, up, up until he was back to his proper eight feet, his head swinging gently back and forth. Ivy kept her breathing as shallow as she could, crossing her fingers so hard they began to numb...and Jack turned and began to scuttle in the opposite direction of the noise.

Success! Ivy kept the urge to pump her fist inside (but just barely) as she began to stalk after Jack, feeling the grin on her face stretch more and more. A raven flew overhead, cawing insistently, and Ivy used the noise cover to pick her speed up, darting up a hill and flattening herself to the ground once more. She couldn't hear Jack get closer, of course- he was a professional- but the hair on the back of her neck began to prickle and her stomach tightened, so she knew he was close. Remembering what Jack had said about sensing eyes, she kept her gaze low, relying on her other senses and growing Halloween intuition to tell her that the skeleton was close. She closed her eyes, heard the Wind passing through the trees at the edge of the field with a particularly strong gust- more aggressive than she thought was needed but hey, maybe helping her cheat had caught up to the Wind's weird moral sense.

Ok, ok. Focus.

She couldn't steady herself with her breathing, so she chose to feel the way the cold dirt dug into the knees of her pants, the barest hint of goosebumps where her shirt exposed her side, the way she could almost hear each blade of long-dead grass rustling. The familiar pumpkin scent grounded her and as her unseen aura expanded, she instinctively felt her prize- Jack was right underneath her.

The human didn't stop to plan any further, just dove from the top of the hill onto Jack's surprised shoulders, tackling his old bones to the ground with a triumphant, "Boo!"

Jack didn't scream, but he did give a half-shout of surprise, his body bent over and flipping Ivy forward off his back before his mind caught up to his instincts. He caught her just before she hit the ground and hugged her to his bony chest, his laughter echoing in her ears.

"You did it!" Jack cheered as Ivy threw her arms around his vertebrae, chest sparking with warmth at the sheer glee and pride in his voice. He spun them both around, and Ivy didn't mind the free-fall sensation in her stomach or the way that her legs flew outward- it was worth it to see Jack's black eyes light up and face nearly split in two with the force of his smile. "When did you get the Clown? I didn't hear you!"

"I haven't yet," Ivy admitted, the momentum of her legs continuing even as Jack skidded to a halt. "I got you first."

"What?" Jack asked, the expression of delight morphing into one of horror. "Then-"

"Then he's coming back this way and I've gotta high-tail it out of here before he gets me first?" Ivy asked. "Yeah. I know."

Jack gasped like a fish in the lagoon. "Then- why haven't you-"

Ivy glanced down at where he was holding her pointedly, causing the skeleton to sputter and detach her from his frame, setting her down in jerky, frantic movements. "Go! I'll meet you at the finish line when you're done."

Ivy gave a two finger salute, ready to dash off (the noise of the unicycle was coming back, irritation leaking from every squeak), but Jack hesitated and leaned forward, ruffling her hair with one hand (causing her to squint in annoyance) and pressing a kiss to the top of her head right after.

"You'll do horridly," the skeleton assured, not a hint of doubt in his voice. "I'm very proud of you, Ivy."

Ivy didn't dare speak an answer- she told herself it was so as not to give the Clown more audio cues, certainly not because of the lump in her throat. She flashed a weak finger gun at Jack anyway, then sprinted off once more, grateful that the cool autumn air could chill the flush of her cheeks.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With no Clown to monitor him, Jack felt free to nervously chew the tips of his fingers, staring into the maze. He'd dismissed the children who had already gone, congratulating them each heartily, but his awareness stayed fixated to the obstacle course, each new minute of silence causing Jack's nerves to squirm inside his ribcage.

The flapping of wings sounded through the air, and Jack turned to see Angus making his way towards the group, doing his strange hop-flight as they made their way over. He collapsed at Jack's feet with a tired 'oof', but he seemed to recover quickly enough, pushing himself up to meet Jack's amused gaze.

"How's she doing?" Angus asked anxiously, the claws on his wing-tips clenching the air in an unconscious, repeated motion. "She got you first?"

"She's far more accustomed to my stealth tactics than the Clown's," Jack admitted. "It still took her a good while to catch me off guard, though!"

He turned his attention back to the field, tucking his arms behind his back so as to better hide the nervous movements of his fingers. Jack could practically hear the ticking of the clock in town, counting down the seconds of silence aside from the occasional scampering he'd hear- even her heartbeat was out of his range now- counting down until, until, until-

Until a shriek- non human- rose into the air, along with a sound akin to a deflating balloon. Ivy's distant victory cheer was next, a distinct "hell, yeah!" making itself heard over the Clown's shouts. Jack felt his bones vibrate with excitement as she came into view, pushing herself on her skateboard with a look of utter triumph on her face, her smile shining through the dirt she'd smeared on her skin. Hot on her heels was the Clown, cycling after her and hurtling sticks, but the Wind abandoned the neutrality policy and tossed them away from the human, who came to a halt in front of Jack and the other children, safely crossing the finish line. "I did it!"

A tension Jack was well aware of melted away, and this time he could greet her with a hug in the relief that she'd made it through- that if she were a Halloween Citizen, she'd be one step closer to being permitted in the Human World on Halloween. She flung herself at his middle and he returned it easily, giving a gloating nod to the Clown, who slunk his way out of the obstacle course and made a point of rolling his eyes at the scene.

"I told you that you could!" He made a point to muss her hair again, if only to feel her smack his arm lightly (as if she could ever hurt him). She peeled herself away to exchange high-fives and screams Angus and the other young scarers who had stayed behind, even pretending to collapse in fright when the other monsters yelled, causing them to laugh with delight. Angus was so excited his wings fluttered like a hummingbird's, and he managed to hover in the air by Ivy's eye height. "Now you can be in my class! We can hang out all the time now!"

"You'll have to show me how it all works," Ivy joked, holding out her arm for Angus to land on. At the bat-child's nod, she shoved her arm upward and launched him into the sky, where he glided on the Wind- Wind that seemed far more forceful than Jack would normally associate with the entity, but Ivy didn't seem alarmed, so Jack didn't pay it much mind.

"Now that you've all taken and passed your Test with all the skill of a snake in the grass," Jack began, getting the attention of the nearby kids, "how about we head back into Town and celebrate?"

Cheers arose from the group, including from his human, who kicked up her board and slipped it under her arm, the other coming up to wipe some of the remaining dirt from her face. She gave a fake growl to one of the kids, who shrieked with mirth and hissed right back.

Following the Clown far ahead, the crowd turned back towards the Town, where the lanterns were lit and the ghosts were darting around the Gates, the children eager to present their passing results (and ceremonial candle) to their parents. Ivy's candle lay hidden in Jack's pocket- he'd surprise her with it later, he thought, smiling to himself at the mental image of Ivy with the symbol of her first step towards being a Scarer. He'd give it to her after she ate (she was always more agreeable, then) and she'd stare at him in disbelief and make some snide remark but he'd see the gratefulness and pride in her eyes, and if he truly had to let her go back to the human world he'd make sure she took it with her-

Ivy fell into step beside him, her brown eyes gazing up at him for...something else? There was a hesitancy to her stride, a difference he might've ignored months ago, but the patterns of her movements were as familiar to him now as the creaking of his own bones.

"I know I was still kinda slow," she said, reluctance clear in her tone. "And I know the Clown thought I was cheating, but-"

"You did very well," Jack insisted firmly. "You haven't the night vision nor lack of heartbeat like the rest of us do, and you still managed to creep up on us both. You didn't use the Wind, right?"

"No," Ivy huffed, rolling her eyes. Her voice took on a breathy, slightly judgmental air, and Jack jolted when he realized she was imitating the Wind. "It would be highly unfair to the others," she rasped. "No matter the bribe, I shan't."

Jack felt his brow ridge raise. "So you did attempt to use the Wind?"

"I didn't say that" Ivy backtracked, only a hint of sheepishness in her voice. "Sounds like you're the one-"

Jack rolled his sockets and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, yanking her against him and cutting off her tirade. To her credit, the human quit while ahead, latching her hand onto Jack's where it rested on her shoulder, the cooling heat of her fingers bleeding onto his bone. If he concentrated, he could feel the blood pumping just underneath her skin, the life that seemed to spill out of every part of her. She grinned up at him, Angus flapping alongside her, the other children shouting excitedly as they neared the Gates. Jack's smile halted slightly at the lack of Edgar by the Gate, but it was hard to contain the raven- perhaps he'd gone to do another scan of the forest, nothing unusual. He didn't want anything to interrupt this moment, with Ivy so carefree and glowing with Halloween spirit next to him, a class with not a single monster having to be held back, the shadow on the moon pulling back to reveal the usual waning crescent. There was a lightness to Ivy's step that made Jack's chest swell with pride, and the happiness that whirled around the triumphant group made was one Jack wished could remain forever.

"I, of course, do have to let you know I disapprove of your intentions to cheat," Jack teased. "If you aren't careful, there'll be consequences!"

"Pfft. Consequences? Over my dead body, maybe."

Jack tried not to laugh. "Tricks on Halloween or no, I can't endorse it."

"Oh, come on." Ivy gave Jack a self-assured smile and added, "you know you lo-"

"Jack!"

The caw of the raven jolted the group from their trance, and Jack turned to see Edgar flying frantically towards them, the Wind speeding him along. Jack stiffened, but the air didn't give any indication of demons.

"Yes, Edgar?" he asked, feeling Ivy's heartbeat pick up curiously. "What is it?"

The raven appeared to be in disbelief, his feathers fluffing frantically as he landed on a nearby broken branch. "There's…" he couldn't be gasping for breath, but the sheer absurdity of whatever his news was seemed to have broken the Gate Guard. "There's a -"

"Surprise!" Came a high-pitched jeer, and Jack's attention snapped to Shock, balancing with her feet planted on each side of the bathtub, her hands planted on her hips. The young witch opened her palms and sparks flew out, garnering an impressed oooo from the young monsters, few even cheering. "We have captured an enemy of Halloween Town!"

"Shock, please," Jack sighed. "We've talked about this, rounding up random ghosts and Rouges doesn't count as-"

"Actually, Jack," Edgar interrupted, "there, ah, might be a complication this time-"

"What under the Earth are you talking abo-"

Shock interrupted them all with a loud, "UGH!" and leapt off the bathtub, snapping her fingers. The bathtub shuddered but obeyed, rearing up on its hind legs and dumping out Lock, Barrel, and-

No.

For a moment, Jack refused to acknowledge the sight in front of him, hoping it was a rather impressive illusion of Shock's (for once). But when the lump moved, and a human clad in a cream-colored coat and messy light brown hair slowly rose into a shaky, defensive position on her knees, Jack was forced to accept reality.

Beside him, Ivy froze.

"Well, this is what I meant," Edgar said, raising a wing to gesture at the new human, who locked eyes with Ivy. Her jaw dropped, eyes huge behind the purple frames, and the strangest mixture of relief and bafflement crept across her features- far more expressive than Jack had come to think of Ivy as. Edgar broke the state-down with a hesitant, "the human problem has doubled, Jack."

Ivy took a single step forward, Jack's arm slipping from around her shoulders. "You." The single word was filled with more venom than Jack had ever heard from the human. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Me?" The other human returned, her voice strained and with a distinct accent. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You're still alive?"

"You know each other?" Jack held his skull, unsure if his words were a question or a quiet disappointment. The lightness in his chest had fled, leaving behind a growing dread and anxiety that mounted the longer the two argued.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Ivy stared daggers at the girl, who seemed to notice the other monsters properly for the first time and went white. "Bezata. Remember her?"

The name sparked Jack's memory, but he was more amazed (concerned?) that Ivy had recalled her so easily. Ivy's descriptions of the girl didn't seem to match with the trembling figure before him, but he kept his guard up all the same. "I do. Children, go back to your parents, now." The young monsters jumped away from where they'd been creeping closer to the new human, natural defenses low after months with Ivy. A few opened their mouths to protest, but a stern look from Jack had them fleeing. Lock, Shock, and Barrel remained, the latter two unusually quiet as they watched the new human try to control her breathing.

When the children had gone, he gently stepped in front of Ivy- who was standing as firm as a block of stone- and looked down at the new human, who seemed to be doing her best not to look at him in return. "You're human? Still alive?"

"Uh," the girl stammered. "Yes? I think?"

From behind him, Ivy snorted disdainfully.

Jack ignored her- he could faintly hear a second heartbeat hammering inside her chest, anyway. "And how did you get here, may I ask?"

The human blinked, finally meeting Jack's sockets and shaking all the more for it. "I, um, I feel down the-" she broke off into a familiar cough, hands flying to her chest as she bent over. Ivy groaned, and a quick glance at her showed his human's head dropping back to face the sky.

"Ugh, I can't believe I forgot about that. Shit."

Shock piped up, still wearing a look of childish pride. "We found her in the woods!" She said, cackling maniacally. Lock chimed in, "she didn't know if she was dead or not, but she can still be scared!" On that, he jumped forward and growled, causing the new human to crawl backwards until she hit Jack, then pushing away from him as well. Barrel crept up behind her, and the human had the sense to freeze where she lay. "Another live one," he said simply, reaching out to poke her glasses. "Good for eating."

"You're gonna eat me?" Bezata squeaked. "Who are you? What is this place? What's going on?" She somehow managed to stand, and Jack noted she was just a smidge smaller than Ivy. "Kunze, this is where you've been?"

"Eating her sounds pretty good, Jack," Ivy suggested, her tone losing none of the earlier darkness.

"Nobody is eating anyone!" Jack snapped, pointing a stern finger at Barrel and Ivy. taking an unnecessary breath, he turned to Edgar, who was still staring at the new human with a look of disbelief. "Edgar. Summon the Council and the Classics for an emergency Town Hall. Everyone else is to remain in their Town Dwelling until we've decided what to do."

Edgar bowed low, his wings fanning out like a curtain as his beak touched the black earth. "Yes, your Majesty," the light Bostonian accent responded. "By the Will of the Pumpkin King, it shall be done." And with a flurry of movement and feathers, the Gate Guard took off, swooping back towards Town.

That taken care of, he focused his attention on the Treaters, who were still beaming as though expecting a reward. Gritting his teeth together, Jack ordered, "go to your Town Dwelling and remain there with the others, understood?"

Shock's face collapsed, and anger twisted her features. "Are you mad at us?" She squawked. "We're the ones who found a human creeping around the forest! We could've let her go, but no, we gave her to you!"

Jack's aura flared and the witch fell silent, her cohorts instinctively hiding behind her. Jack settled himself but made sure that the night air around him bent in ways that would send shivers up the trio's spine. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Jack said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "But I also seem to recall telling you that under no circumstances were you to be deep in the forest at all, is that not correct?"

Lock opened his mouth to retort but Shock slapped a hand over it, her tiny eyes narrowed. "Fine," she hissed, grabbing the boys by the ear and dragging them towards the bathtub. "We'll go, ok? You're welcome." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave a parting barb to the still-baffled human. "See you later, four-eyes. Hope you taste good." Barrel gave her a solemn wave before being tossed in the tub, one which Bezata hesitantly returned. The bathtub reared up and began its trek back into Town, the Trio's grumbling heard all the way.

"Ivy," Jack said softly, "go along and make sure they do as I say, then meet me in the Town Hall."

Ivy broke her death glare from Bezata for the first time, whipping her angry gaze to face Jack. "Oh, hell no, Jack." One finger pointed at Bezata, who flinched away from the accusing limb. "You think I'm gonna leave you with her? So she can dismember you in the middle of the field?"

Jack looked down at the human in question, who seemed torn over where to fix her fearful gaze- the retreating tub, Jack, or Ivy. Dryly, he responded, "I think I can handle it, Ivy."

"But-"

"Go, now. It'll be alright."

He could hear the tension in Ivy's jaw, but she obeyed, putting down her board and giving one last poisoned glare at Bezata, contempt dripping from her tone. "You do anything to him; I'll make sure the Treaters eat you."

"H-how dumb do you think I am?" Bezata stammered, her eyes darting over Jack's tall frame.

"You really want me answering that?"

"Ivy!"

"Alright, alright. I'll see you there." And with that she pushed off, the Wind aiding her along as she followed the Treaters back into Halloween.

Jack reached down and grabbed the back of Bezata's jacket, ignoring her gasp and kicks of fear as he lifted and settled her roughly on her feet. The human's legs were trembling nearly as much as her voice, and Jack frowned at the misshapen puzzle piece that her demeanor created in the picture Ivy had given him. Still, he let go of her jacket and waited until she made eye contact, politely ignoring the sweat at her temples.

"My name is Jack Skellington," he introduced himself simply. "I'm the leader and Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. Who are you?"

The human gaped. "Uh, I'm Bezata Abendroth." Seemingly unable to help herself, she added under her breath, "you're a skeleton. A talking skeleton. Oh my god."

"I am," Jack agreed, rising to his full height once more. "Halloween is a Town of monsters that run the holiday, all of us dead and speaking. I'm afraid we'll have to ask you a few questions. Do you understand?"

Bezata blinked rapidly, casting a glance at the tree line behind her.

"You're welcome to try it," Jack offered casually, walking back towards Town, "though I feel inclined to warn you that no human has survived more than a week on their own in there. Demons, Rouges, mad ghosts, you understand?"

Bezata's heart was as rapid as a jackrabbit, and the noise now deafening in his ears, far louder than Ivy's had been since the night she'd arrived. Jack looked over his shoulder to see the girl looking petrified, her hands digging into the material of her dirt-streaked coat. Perhaps it was the fear, the glasses, or her stature, but Jack guessed with a jerk that she couldn't be any older than Ivy- younger, likely.

"Are you able to walk?" Jack asked, half-curious. "I could drag you in myself, but I'm advising you that won't be fun for either of us."

Bezata jolted, then uneasily walked after Jack, her booted footfalls loud and clumsy. They walked in tense silence for a moment as Jack pushed open the Gate, beckoning for her to step inside.

"She's actually alive," he heard her murmur, in equal parts relief and amazement. "I... I can't believe it."

Jack spared a glance at her, looking for any sign of the hostility that Ivy seemed wary of, but was met only with the downturned gaze of the human, her face open and clear, emotions laid out- none of which were malicious.

A new pit settled into Jack's stomach as he closed the Gates behind them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the Town Hall

The new human was squirming in her chair, clearly still trying to wrap her mind around the sheer volume of monsters in the room. The Council & Classics sat in a semi-circle around her, Ivy refusing to sit and instead pacing behind them angrily. Her energy was making Jack nervous, but he feared that one word to her would set her off like a bomb. To be fair, the manner of the rest of the monsters could hardly be described as 'casual'- the Mayor's face hadn't switched from white since he'd been given the news, and the Creature looked as though he wanted to rip his own stuffing out. Vlad retained his usual cool sneer, but even he looked more disgusted than usual.

"Let's try this again," Jack sighed, rubbing under his sockets. "Nod your head yes or no, did you come through a Gateway?"

"What even is a Gateway?" Bezata protested meekly, her shoulders seeming permanently hiked upwards in tension. "I'm telling you, I just fell down-" she broke off into a cough that had every Council member groan in frustration.

"I told you, Jack, we can't tell you how we got here," Ivy griped for the fifth time. "Maybe it's Halloween trying to make sure we can't tell other Humans how we got here, I dunno. But you're not gonna get answers like that."

"An awful lot of nerve, speaking like that!" The Clown snapped. "This- this new creature here, it hardly looks old enough to open the door to the Pub! Do all human young look this pathetic?"

"Oh, piss off," Ivy huffed, covering up Bezata's quiet "I just turned 15". She crossed her arms and faced Bezata, that strange energy still making her muscles tense. "Did you go in the forest by Vaihingen?" When Bezata opened her mouth, Ivy grit out, "just shake your head yes or no. Hearing you hack like a TB patient ain't fun."

Bezata scowled but complied, nodding her head. Ivy turned back to the group, palms splayed out. "There ya go. There's a Gateway in there, we both managed to find it. Case closed."

The Council murmured and Jack caught Vlad, the Creature, and Nicholas exchanging disbelieving glances- and for once, Jack agreed.

One human coming through the Gateway without losing their life or mind was one thing. But two? Less than a year apart? Something was going on, and Ivy wasn't giving him the full story.

"I didn't think I was going to find...you all," Bezata piped up, gesturing a shaky hand towards the Council. "I was just looking for Kunze in the woods, that's all."

Salem raised their hand, the husky voice echoing from under the dark mop of hair. "What is that."

"That's me," Ivy said, irritation clear. "Abendroth here doesn't believe in calling anyone who isn't her equal by their first name."

Bezata bristled. "No, that is not-"

"Why the hell were you looking in the forest, anyway?" Ivy interrupted. "Someone tip you off? Been in contact with any monsters?"

"No!" Bezata exclaimed, somehow looking less comfortable addressing Ivy than she had the Council Members. Ivy turned to face the Council, her gaze hard as steel, without a hint of the earlier joy Jack had seen.

"We've been seeing the Veil dismantle for months," she began, pacing in front of Bezata and making eye contact with the Classics. "All sorts of things coming through- demons are just the beginning. What if the Princess back here didn't come through a normal Gateway, but the Veil? What if she's a test of whoever's been destroying it, to see if they can unleash the Human World on Halloween?"

It was a bold claim, but appeared to have Ivy's desired effect- the Council began to whisper amongst themselves, glaring at Bezata with nearly as much loathing as Ivy did. For her part, Bezata continued to wear a look of pure confusion. "Was- what is the Veil?"

"God, Bezata, keep up," Ivy groaned. "The Veil between worlds, the thing that keeps the different realities from colliding into each other."

Jack felt his lips twist down. "Now, Ivy, you didn't know what it was either-"

"I am- I am not working with anybody, ok?" Bezata burst out, fear slipping away for the first time. "I don't know about any Veil, or monsters, or- or anything, really! I have keine Ahnung what's going on!"

"Then why'd you come looking for me in the forest?" Ivy countered.

"Because that's the last place I saw you!" Bezata all but shouted. She leapt to her feet and the Council reacted, puffing up their claws and skins but for the first time, the new human didn't seem to notice. "I was the last person to see you before you vanished, so I was the only one who knew where to look! I couldn't just...I couldn't do nothing, ok?"

"No! Not ok!" Ivy dug her hands into her hair and marched back to the monsters, a growl slipping from behind her teeth. "You should've just forgotten about me and moved on! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Bezata sputtered, and Jack felt the situation spiraling out of control. "But you're the one who told me to-"

"I said tell my brother I wasn't dead!" Ivy raged, her aura flaring out. "Not develop some misguided hero complex and come looking for me just to make yourself feel better!"

"Alright!" Jack shouted above the clamor of the Citizens and the girls. "Ivy, back here, now." For a moment he thought she would ignore him, close enough to Bezata that Jack's bone prickled with unease- though on behalf of which human, he couldn't tell. But eventually she settled her anger back into a disdainful sneer and briskly turned on her heel. When the human had stalked back, safely away from Bezata, Jack took a steadying breath and wondered if he should remove Ivy from the room. There was something about her that he didn't like, something twisting and cruel to her aura in comparison to Bezata's feeble, but vulnerable, one.

"Bezata." The human snapped to attention, slowly sitting back down in her designated chair. "Unfortunately, there is no way for us to return humans to your world until Halloween, when the portal opened by the Witches is available. Attempts to put you back through other Gateways might result in the loss of your life." Seeing her pale, he quickly added, "that is why Ivy has not gone home, and why you can't either. I'm sorry."

"This isn't happening," Bezata said faintly, and Jack was immensely grateful she was sitting. "Halloween? That's- that's-"

"258 days away," Ivy spat from her pacing position. "Settle in for the long haul, Princess."

Bezata's head fell to her hands. "I'm supposed to be back before sundown!"

Vlad snorted, the first noise he'd offered since Bezata had been presented before the Council. "Sundown? It's nearly one in the morning, blood bag. Your curfew is passed long ago."

"Oh, Gott," she whimpered, tugging fearfully on her braids.

"We'll have to place you under some preliminary guard," Jack told the distraught human. "Both to ensure you adjust to Halloween and the safety of my Citizens."

Bezata's head shot up. "Wait, you think I'm going to hurt somebody? But- but you're the monsters!"

"Classic human defense," Ivy piped up, even though Jack wished she wouldn't. "You all have pointed out so many times the ways humans have hurt you all, and now she's trying to convince you to let your guard down!" The Council gave another affirmative murmur, and even Jack's call to order didn't silence Ivy's next words. "Look, from another human perspective, this is the best way forward. Jack makes sure I don't do any crazy shit, but you'll want something a little more intense for her." She flapped one hand at Beztata dismissively. "Trust me, you turn your back on this one, she'll make sure to stab it."

There was a burst of strained, disbelieving laughter that caused every monster to flinch, multiple eyes flickering to Bezata, who somehow managed to draw breath. There was a new light to her eyes, and Jack recognized it as anger, the first of it he'd seen on this human. Her fists clenched together and her jaw was tight, but she mixed words in with her next laugh. "Oh, that's rich. I'm the backstabber, now? Is that the story you told them, instead of how you're the one to blame?"

Ivy spun around and Jack stood, the loud scrape of his chair halting the girl in her tracks. Keeping his own growing anger in check, Jack said, "that's an awfully brazen assumption to make. I've heard this story from Ivy, if you're referring to what I believe you are. Care to explain yourself?"

Ivy made a strangled noise, and for the first time her anger morphed into one of fear. "No, Jack, don't let her-"

"Don't let me what?" Bezata snapped, standing once more with her spine ramrod straight. "Don't tell them that you've been lying to them, too? The way you lied to the cops and your parents and half the park?" She turned to the Council and Jack, making eye contact without fear for the first time, and Jack felt a chill in his spine at the look of absolute conviction in her eyes. "I bet she told you I took something from her. That I got something she deserved. That I'm the one that hurt her, that I deserved to lose and have everyone hate me." Her voice cracked but she stayed firm, hands smoothing obsessively over the tie of her coat. "But did she ever tell you what she did?"

"Shut up," Ivy breathed, her voice low and full of a warning that Bezata steeled herself against and ignored even as Ivy marched closer.

"The day of our competition," Bezata began, looking at each of the Council members, "she was supposed to go, but Dodgers- our mentor- changed his mind and put me in because she hadn't been practicing enough. She couldn't stand that, so she snuck backstage and sabotaged me!" An animalistic noise slipped from Ivy's lips but Bezata pressed on, speaking quickly as though the words had been trapped inside of her for years.

"She unscrewed part of my board so that it'd break on the course," she gasped out, and Jack wasn't surprised to see tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. "I was doing great, feeling better than I had in months, and then my board broke...I wiped out and broke my wrist." She held up the limb and Jack could see the odd jut, the painful junction where the bone hadn't healed properly. As she continued her rant, the human pushed up the sleeve of her coat and shirt, and the Council saw patches of uneven scarring and discoloration on her skin, places where the top layer had been stripped away and never quite grown back as it should.

"And then she lied!" Bezata yelled, three years of hurt and anger exploding from her voice. "She lied to everyone; said she didn't have anything to do with it! Said that I shouldn't even be allowed back if I wasn't even going to bother checking my board!"

Ivy snarled, voice significantly louder now. "Shut UP!"

"But Dodgers knew you lied," Bezata said, the same strange wave of courage pushing her on. "He knew, and he knew I was right even though he hated me. But you still managed to get everyone to hate me. And now you're lying about it here! All because you couldn't stand the idea of not being the center of attention!"

Long afterwards, Jack would think back to that moment and realize that he was prepared to dismiss Bezata's story- maybe have a discussion with Ivy later to clear things up, but certainly not take everything at face value. After all, Ivy had said that this girl had managed to get her kicked out of a place she loved, that she was the liar, and he knew Ivy by this point, didn't he?

He glanced at her to say as much, but the words died in his mouth at the look on his charge's face. Gone was the quiet snark, the open affection, the easy laugh. In its place was a twisted snarl, her eyes narrowed and dark. Her knuckles were white and her shoulders heaving, but Jack felt the greatest unease from her eyes. There was a danger in them, something Jack had never seen from her before. There had only been a second since Bezata finished her tirade, and the unease in Jack's chest twisted and screamed at him to pay attention to the charge in the air.

What he didn't expect was for Ivy to breathe heavily- once, twice- then lunge forward with a screech and punch Bezata in the face.

Instantly, chaos erupted. The Council sprang from their seats, pushing over each other to see the scuffle as Ivy knocked Bezata to the floor, then dove on top of her. Bezata was immediately on the defense, twisting to get away, but Ivy grabbed a hold of her braid and fiercely yanked her back down, fists flying once more. There was no technique or finesse to their movements, just pure instinct and emotion. For a moment Jack was frozen in horror, unable to tear his eyes from the carnage. It appeared the rest of the monsters felt the same- the Creature's jaw had gone slack, Vlad's eyes were keen with interest, and Nicholas let out a howl of "Fight!" His voice wasn't alone- the others began to yell too, giving their commentary and advice to both participants of the battle before them as the pair somersaulted across the floor, Bezata's heel catching Ivy's stomach. Ivy slipped her fingers into Bezata's hoop earrings and yanked, the other retaliating with a slam to the nose. Bezata's glasses went flying, skidding to the feet of the Council members. None of them made to break the humans apart, but they couldn't look away either- although they'd been witness to wars and bar fights in the human world, it paled before the sheer bloodlust of two teenage girls.

The window blasted open and the Wind rushed in, trying to divide the two, but Ivy kept Bezata pinned, both girls shrinking- Bezata in pain, Ivy in anger. Jack finally felt the paralysis on his limbs release, and he rushed forward, hardly noticing Vlad swoop alongside him. The vampire grabbed the back of Bezata's jacket and pulled, dragging Ivy along until Jack dove down and hooked his arms around her middle, straining to pull her off. There was a general "Booooo!" from the Council as they two were finally separated, though it seemed Ivy didn't seem keen on the fight ending. Bezata nearly dove behind Vlad as soon as she managed to stagger to her feet, the skin around her eye bright pink and blood dripping from her nose. Ivy, on the other hand, didn't even seem to be aware that Jack was holding her- she tried to push off his legs, squirmed for all she was worth, and gave a bloodcurdling scream as she tried to plunge out of Jack's arms and at her opponent.

"You kept getting in my way!" She screamed, twisting madly, and kicked Jack square in the ribs. Jack nearly lost his balance as he pulled them both back, stumbling as Ivy truly fought him for the first time since Halloween Night.

He somehow managed to hold Ivy with one arm and thrust the door open with the other, shutting it behind him and finally releasing his hold on Ivy. As expected, she paused for only a breath before trying to dive back towards the door, but Jack took a hold of her shoulders and gave her two quick shakes.

"What was that?" He all but shouted, trying in vain to get her to focus on him again. There was blood rising to the surface of her skin from where Bezata's nails had gotten a lucky scratch across her face, and a dark pink stain on the side of her jaw, but worst was that the blazing red of her aura seemed unimpressive compared to the fury in her gaze. She spat blood onto the ground and looked at Jack through sweat-soaked bangs, each atom in her body trembling with rage. Jack could see where her nails had broken off, a reddish tint brushed along the tips. She looked every bit the mad, rampaging human that was told to the children as cautionary tales and over campfires. She looked unhinged, disheveled, and unsatisfied.

She looked insane.

"She's lying, Jack," Ivy said, with a distinct thickness in her voice that told Jack Bezata had managed to strike her nose. "I never even touched her."

"She didn't say you did," Jack retorted firmly. "She said you tampered with her board. Is that true?"

Ivy fell silent, her face red as a falling leaf. "She's lying, Jack," she insisted again, like a broken phonograph.

Jack sighed in disappointment at the silent answer to his question, feeling his own aura twist with dismay. "We'll talk about this later. For now, you're to go back to the Manor, wash the blood of the girl you've just attacked off your face, and wait for me."

That seemed to get Ivy's attention, her gaze quickly changing back to horror. "What? Jack, you can't be serious. If I'm not in there, who knows what other bullshit she's going to try and tell you? At least throw her in a dungeon or something!"

"If you're in there," Jack responded tersely, "I fear you'll undo any Human-Monster relations you've built up on the past few months if you haven't already. Attacking like a savage- what were you thinking?"

"She deserved it," Ivy hissed, and Jack's anger grew as each word from Ivy turned the world a bit more on its axis. If she stayed, he feared the whole Town would be upside down.

"I don't think she did," he snapped, "but regardless, you've lost the right to make any call in what happens to her. Go back to the Manor, now."

Ivy's hands were still curled into firsts. "But Jack-"

"I wasn't asking." Jack let his control over his aura slip, igniting some of the black fire behind his eyes and smothering her own rustic coloring. Ivy took a step back, some of the rage finally seeming to melt away in the name of pure survival, and Jack tried not to think about what else he didn't know about the child he'd come to think of as his. He turned back to the door, not fully trusting the rest of them with the new human but glanced over his shoulder at Ivy one last time, sorrow etched into his sockets.

"I'm very disappointed," Jack said quietly, and all the fight dropped from Ivy's posture. She took a breath to speak, but when nothing came out Jack continued. "I expected better from you."

And with that, he went back inside and closed the door in Ivy's face.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivy didn't know if she'd ever move again.

Her limbs, aching from the fight with her rival, were heavy and stiff. She stared at the door in disbelief, her breathing shallow and frantic as her mind began to race.

Had Bezata won?

She wasn't sure what had come over her but seeing Bezata and Jack in the same room made her brain short-circuit, and the things Bezata had said echoed around her mind, causing her fists to twitch. But the last time Bezata had said those things, Ivy had gotten kicked out of the park. So what if it was true? She'd deserved it...right?

Ivy held her skull, hating the pounding of unwanted memories that had assaulted her as soon as she'd laid eyes on Bezata. She'd lost Dodgers because of Bezata, lost the park, would probably lose Ben eventually, and now she wanted to make Jack hate her too? No, no, it couldn't end like this. She couldn't let Bezata talk them into locking her up instead of Bezata replacing the spot next to Jack just like she had with Dodgers. She just couldn't!

Ivy's eyes burned with tears at the memory of Dodgers' own disappointment- nearly identical to Jack's.

"I can't prove it," the cigarette-laced voice had said, "but you're not worth the potential lawsuit. Get the hell out of my park. I thought better of you, kid."

Ivy slammed her fist into the side of her skull, hearing her ear ring in protest and pain spark, but at least it drowned out Dodgers' voice. Her lungs burned for air, but she couldn't seem to form a proper breath- though whether that was the panic or swollen nose was anyone's guess. Was Jack going to kick her out now, too? Did she have to go and hide out with Ciaran until Halloween? Did Jack...she swallowed hard, her mind continuously looping around one idea.

Did Jack hate her now?

No, a tiny part of her whispered, the part that had grown stronger the more time she spent in Halloween but was now as small as the head of a match. He won't hate you for this; he's just going to want to talk about it. But he won't kick you out. He still cares about you.

No. NO. He couldn't, Ivy thought. Jack knew she was lying now, had been lying for months, and there was nothing she could do about it. Surely he had to hate her now- Ivy knew she did.

Ivy crouched down, sank her teeth into her arm, and allowed herself a long scream, trying to swallow the sobs that racked her frame. Her panic and fear swirled more and more fervently, and if it weren't for a single clarifying thought, Ivy might've stayed there until the Council had concluded.

But the thought came anyway. The door wouldn't be open, came the slimy whisper she hadn't listened to in months, if the Veil wasn't weak. Bezata never would have fallen down if the Veil was at full strength. It's not your fault she's here…"

"It's Oogie Boogie's," Ivy said aloud, muffled around the skin of her arm, firmly shoving away the Nightmare she'd shared with Bezata. She slowly released her jaw, hardly noticing the white and red indents she left behind. There was no Wind to cool the heat of her face, but she didn't expect that anyway. In all honesty, she wouldn't be surprised if the Wind never spoke to her again. "Oogie Boogie broke the Veil. Oogie Boogie made it so that Bezata could get here. If he didn't destroy it, she'd still be in the Human World."

It was almost a mantra, the thought calming her as she rose to her feet. She closed her eyes and took one long breath, bundling her fear and panic and hysteria together and then shoving it down, down, down, into a part of herself that she tried to never look at and sealed the mental box shut. Her breathing eased and she opened her eyes once more, the lack of emotion leaving her nearly light-headed. She spared a single second to harshly scrub away the tears on her sleeve before turning and walking away from Town Hall, the new mission in her mind allowing her to repress the look of pity on Jack's face.

She knocked on the door of the Treaters' town dwelling, folding her arms behind her back and seeking the coldness from the pit of her stomach, letting the hardness cover up any vulnerability in her eyes.

Shock opened the door lazily, clearly in a foul mood. "Ugh, it's Halloween's no longer exclusive human," she sneered, looking Ivy up and down in disdain. "What happened to you? You look like you got in a fight!"

"Oh, you should see the other one," Ivy dismissed, letting her lips curl back in a threatening smile, knowing that there was still blood streaked across her teeth. She saw the exact moment Shock noticed it, the witch's unseen aura perking up in suspicion. "Care for a demonstration?"

"Hu- AH!"

Ivy grabbed hold of the witch's collar and stepped through the door, slamming her up against the wall and pinning her wrists with one hand, her throat with the other. Lock and Barrel, who'd been carefully constructing a pyramid of roaches, shouted in alarm and darted forward, but Ivy applied a new wave amount of pressure to Shock's throat and the witch choked, frantically signaling for her cohorts to stand down with one tiny foot.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Ivy said, and for the first time the Trick or Treaters felt genuine fear of the human streak through them. Her brown eyes had never held such hostility before, and the Treater's sense of preservation kicked in. "I'm gonna ease up on you-" (Shock garbled in relief) "-and you're gonna tell me what I need to know. Deal?"

Shock nodded as best she could, Lock and Barrel quickly following. Ivy let Shock's throat go, but kept the witch's wrists pinned, recalling the trick in the forest.

"Now," she said, her false pleasantry and accompanying maniacal smile somehow more frightening than the barely concealed anger had been, "Where can I find Oogie Boogie?"


Next update will be October 17, and technically is a double update as I've decided to squeeze two chapters together! See you all then.

-Aria