Happy Saturday! I think most people (including myself) are back at school now, so hopefully everyone's Spring Semesters are going alright! Quick update: this chapter ended up being lot longer than I planned (it's half of the original outline for this) so I broke it up into two, meaning that there's now going to be one more chapter! Hurray for my inability to keep scenes short, I guess.
Firebird89: I'm here for the heartbreak and fluff! And YES they're both sacrificial idiots who aren't too keen on letting the other know what they've done... I'm sure that won't cause any issues...
GoldGuardian2418: I miss Ciaran too! It was never my intention with him to create a one dimensional 'villian' type character with him; I wanted somebody people (including myself) could easily love, but whose beliefs just couldn't be given power to. And as he said himself many times: anything that wasn't existing the way he was would be a relief.
Haley: ok but consider this: I totally did
Noro: Team Ciaran part two! Absolutely a case of poor communication and unwillingness to change, but he did truly believe it was necessary. But if even you hate what you're doing, buddy, maybe that's a sign...
Guest: Thank you so much!
Alright, let's get into it...
February 22
Halloween Town
5pm
Waking up one one's own accord was one of the few luxuries everyone could experience at some point in their lives. Ivy loved it - the slow, gentle awareness of the outside world, the tempting call to sink back into bed without consequence, the soft playing of sunlight on closed eyelids, the way that her entire body would stiffen and stretch, leaving her head spinning but still somehow soothed. After competitions or a long day of practice, waking up after getting to lie in was a better balm to her spirit and body than any relaxation exercise or bath. It was one of her favorite ways to start the day.
Unfortunately, she didn't wake up that way.
Ivy gasped in air that tasted like dirt and mold as her right cheek stung, the white-hot flare of pain demanding her body to jolt from its hazy state. Not even conscious of her own name, Ivy swung her arms out, chest pounding before her upper half gave out, collapsing onto her side with a wheeze at the exertion. She shut her eyes again, biting in a groan as a dull ache slowly spread across - well, every part of her. She cracked one eye open, wincing both at the subdued sunlight and the sight before her.
Bezata was perched by her side, both eyebrows raised in surprise behind her purple frames, one hand still slightly aloft. "I did not think that would work," she admitted.
For a moment, Ivy couldn't speak, though whether that was due to the disorientation or the horrible dryness of her mouth she couldn't be sure. She opened her mouth, feeling the skin of her lips peel apart in their chapped state, her tongue heavy and scratchy. Sensing the problem, Bezata quickly leaned off to the side, producing a small cup of water and holding it out to Ivy hesitantly, her entire form tensed as though Ivy were a wild animal. Ivy didn't bother feeling insulted, her entire worldview narrowing to the cool liquid that she eagerly lifted. Never before had the rusty, slightly brown Halloween water felt so good.
Wait. Bezata, Halloween - what had happened?
Questions swirled in her mind as her vision slowly focused, her awareness sharper from the relief the water provided. She glanced around, seeing that they were her room in the Manor. The window was open, the latches that had blocked her view removed. The slightest breeze swept through the room, clearing out the general mustiness and kissing her cheeks with a gentle hello. Her bed was transformed into what practically resembled a nest, stacks of books teetering in a tower that defined the laws of physics next to an ancient, cushioned chair, where the remnants of an afternoon tea could be seen: two cups, one drained, the other sat as though it were waiting for its recipient.
Ivy could see the deep orange of the sun making the musty wood walls of the room glow, the color so intense and rich that she knew it had to be close to sundown. . The pinks and golds caught on Bezata's glasses, sending a soft glow to the side of her face as she stared down at Ivy with a clear combination of confusion, horror, and a slight helping of pity.
It was the last emotion that finally pushed Ivy to speak, rasping: "You slapped me."
Bezata huffed, the tension in her shoulders draining almost immediately. "And you did this," she reminded Ivy, pointing one acrylic nail (though Ivy noted it was now slightly jagged) to the bruise on her eye, which was now fully yellow and green. Ivy remembered the sting of the hit on the back of her knuckles and winced a bit in sympathy.
"So, what, we're even now?"
Bezata's eyes swept over Ivy, her expression settling into a familiar smugness. "Hardly from just that," she declared, "but seeing you drool for three days might've satisfied me."
"Three days?" Ivy screeched, her heart nearly jumping out of - her heart.
For the first time, Ivy stared down at herself, gasping as she felt the faintest pounding inside her chest. She flexed her fingers before her eyes, marveling at their solidity. She eyed Bezata's shoulder but punched the wall instead, shaking out her fist with a slight flinch but grinning wildly that she hadn't passed through. Both hands flew to her pulse points, and Ivy closed her eyes with the strongest wave of nostalgia and relief that she'd ever felt as the rapid, relentless rush of blood surged beneath her fingertips. Behind her closed lids, her eyes burned, and Ivy didn't feel an ounce of shame in letting one tear slide out, relishing in the ability to cry once more.
She heard Bezata shift awkwardly and reluctantly opened her eyes, noticing the grounding weight of her body that was so different from the effortless float of a ghost. "How am I alive?" She whispered, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. The last thing she remembered was a feeling of endless exhaustion, a sensation of burning from the inside out, something cold and dark and slimy wrapping itself inside her before something else came and closed around her, inky black and ancient and sorrowing -
Bezata stared at Ivy's rapid and desperate breaths, scrambling off the chair she'd been perched on. "Uh, Herr Jack?" She called in English, clearly wishing she'd done so in the first place.
Light, hollow footsteps came from down the hall, and Ivy's breath quickened, but this time in excitement.
"What is it?" Jack asked, the same excitement coloring his voice. "Is she moving again? Is she - Ivy!"
His face lit up in a way Ivy had never seen, sockets widening to the point where they took up half his face, his mouth breaking open into a craggly grin, sheer delight painting his features. There was grime on his hands, a stiffness to his stance and smoothness to his skull that immediately betrayed that he hadn't been sleeping, but he wasted no time lunging forward and falling to his knees, wrapping his wiry arms around her and burying his face into her hair.
Ivy swallowed, holding him back as tightly as her weak arms could manage. Through the film of her vision, she could see Bezata retreating with the bizarre blend of embarrassment and ease that she embodied, creeping out the door with a stealth that would make Halloween proud, leaving the two alone.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. Ivy had been able to touch Jack while - while dead, of course, but it was nothing compared to how she could now feel every stitch of his clothing when he let out a shaky breath, the reassuring coolness of his skull against her cheek, the sureness in his grasp.
Jack finally pulled back, though one hand moved from her hair to cup her face, the other sliding down to rub her arm. For her part, Ivy clung tightly to his sleeve, the need for physical reassurance that yes, Jack was here, he was ok, she could feel him that wa screaming in her mind.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked wetly, his voice hitching. His own fingers found her pulse with an ease Ivy was sure he hadn't had before she'd died.
"Better than alright," she tried to joke, wanting the sad expression to leave Jack's face. It didn't belong there, and she'd seen it far longer than she cared to. "I'm alive, apparently. What's up with that?"
"Oh, it's simple," Jack said, waving a hand dismissively. "When you drained the ghost of his energy, it was enough of a - oh, how do you humans say it - a near death experience? Yes. It was one of those, and so the Reaper showed up. The one you've met."
"Chakis?" Ivy asked, the name falling from her lips from the distant memory. "Uh, I think? It's kinda… fuzzy."
"I'd imagine a lot is," Jack said, not unkindly. "Dying and being brought back is quite the shock to the mind. And what with the ghost's spirit fighting, your souls were bouncing around your skull so hard I'm amazed it didn't dent!"
"But what happened?"
"Well, Chakis is responsible for ferrying souls to the afterlife." He reached down to tap at Ivy's chest, just over her heart. "So she put your soul back in your body. Since the ghost was keeping it moving, and fueling it with his own energy, it didn't decay as it might've if he hadn't possessed your body. So your soul was able to slide back in without too much trouble."
Ivy narrowed her eyes. Something about that didn't seem quite right, though she supposed despite being the one involved with the process, it wasn't as if she knew how soul magic worked. "Just like that?" She asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone. "Isn't that kinda… convenient?"
"Hardly," Jack said smoothly. "There was a high risk of your body rejecting your soul. If that'd happened we would have done whatever you wished, but I'm grateful that for once, you decided not to be difficult about something." He cuffed the side of her head without any real force, seeming to revel in how there was solid flesh and bone for him to connect to. "Trust me, it wasn't an easy process."
"You know I do," Ivy snorted, an easy grin on her lips. She looked down, Jack's words bringing back the memories of the fight and the things she'd said, missing the shadow of guilt that fled over Jack's face, gone by the time she meekly glanced up once more.
"I'm sorry I said the things I did to - to him," she said, only the slightest stumbling in her voice. "I didn't mean it, I swear. I just wanted him to think -"
"It's alright," Jack assured her, both thumbs rubbing her unconsciously. He wiped the next tear to fall, though Ivy did make an effort to hold it in. "But Ivy, on that note, I have something important to tell you."
Ivy's heart picked up as Jack pressed his forehead to hers, his sockets closing. "You've scared me to death this past week," he whispered. "Not only in the events that were beyond your control, but twice you've told others how little I care for you. And I understand, they may have been diversions or falsities, but I fear you believe there to be a hint of truth to them too."
He pulled back, gently grasping her face in both hands, mindful of the scratches and bruising that she hardly noticed, feeling nothing but the whisper of Jack's bony fingers on her skin and the intensity of his gaze.
"Please never doubt how important you are to me again," he murmured. "We've said it as a joke, but - I truly do think of you as my own child. You have made me laugh and think and weep, and I want nothing more than for you to be happy in all that you do. I will never be sick of you, and I will never abandon you. No matter how angry or distracted or upset I am, I promise that I will never stop caring for you. You are- " he broke off, staring as though he was unable to find the adequate words. "I apologize if this is too much," he said, hastily. "It's just that, until you woke up, I had no idea if the transf- if the Reaper had been able to return your awareness to your body. I had no idea if you were here or just in a coma, never to wake up. And I couldn't stop thinking about all that I could say, that I needed to say, but again, I know it may be -"
Ivy gripped his wrists, effectively silencing his nervous babbling. She slowly blinked at him, feeling no anxiety or apprehension at the words that left her mouth.
"I love you, Jack," she said. "I'm not good at this kinda thing, but - but you're not hard to say it to. You've been there for me since I fell, and I know that you care about me too, I was just - scared of it, I guess. Scared I'd let you down. Because…" she blinked rapidly, eyes darting downward. "You haven't just been like a Dad, you are one. You've saved my life and when I was de-dead for the first time, or when Ci- when he was in my head, the only thing that got me out was you. I had to come back to you, keep you safe, make you proud of me. If you hadn't been there, he'd have won, and I wouldn't be… trying to be a better person."
"Oh, Ivy," Jack whispered, pulling her in for another hug. Ivy was grateful for the opportunity to hide her face in his jacket as he stroked her hair in his familiar fashion, gently tugging at the strands until each fell smoothly between his fingers. "I love you too, my dear. I have for some time." He laughed a bit, and Ivy could hear the self-deprecation within. "I, too, am frightened. Of letting you mean so much to me when I've lost everyone I cared about, and with it often being my fault. But I can't change the way I feel, and I don't want to ever pretend to feel something I don't."
Ivy knocked the side of her skull against his, letting her hug make up for what the words that were clogged in her throat. "Yeah. Me too, Bone Boy."
He held her tighter, but one bony elbow grazed an apparent bruise on her side and she winced, causing him to draw back instantly.
"Ow," she hissed, feeling a wave of dizziness. A sudden sense of suffocation (though whether it was from the sheets or the weight of her emotions, she refused to consider) overwhelmed her and she twisted away, pushing the heaps of blankets back. Jack twitched as though he wanted to bundle her right back in, but reluctantly drew the heaviest back and steadied her as she swung her legs over to the side, eyes on the haunted and covered mirror in the corner. She slung her arm around Jack's middle, the skeleton supporting her shoulders as together they limped over. Ivy could feel the tension in Jack's arms, practically vibrating with the desire to just lift her, but he refrained, allowing Ivy to test her control over her own limbs, and she was grateful.
When they reached the mirror, Jack pressed her firmly against his side to help her balance, then pulled back the drapery. Blood still dripped onto the floor, their reflections covered with smoke and soot, but Jack knocked one authoritative knuckle on the back and it cleared, giving Ivy a view of herself.
A deep purple bruise, tinged with yellow, decorated her dropped jaw, a soreness spreading through her entire face. The motion caused her nose to twinge, a prickle of pain that had yet to settle. Deep scratches decorated her face, though whether they were from Bezata's nails or tree branches Ivy wasn't sure. Slight singe marks decorated the sides of her face, the ends of her hair noticeably more ragged than they'd been before she'd died. She noted, with a hint of amusement, that the faint sheen of Jack's ointment was slathered across her cheeks and eyelids, a faint coolness covering the heat of her face. She carefully extended the hand that wasn't clinging to Jack, blinking at the rope burns, scuffs from some hard surface, and destroyed nails. The ones that weren't broken entirely bent painfully, white lines bruising below the quick of the nail. Bandages were carefully wrapped around her knuckles, where Ivy could see a hint of rusty brown staining through. The cool air caused her to shiver as it brushed against the burn marks on her arms, trailing upwards from her hands, the color mixing between dark red and ash black.
"I don't think they'll scar," Jack said anxiously, his fingers twitching from her silence. "I can't quite tell what's your damage verses when I had to fire at you - I apologize, of course -"
"I'm pretty sure I told you to do that," Ivy managed to say, her eyes still frantically tracking the twisted state of her body. She looked like a Pollock painting - purples, red, and greens slapped together, the journey of the past few days (week?) imprinted into her skin. She swallowed, feeling a surge of pain on her vocal chords. For the first time, she became fully aware of a slight headache, pounding insistently away. She shifted, feeling a familiar spasm in her knees and back that she knew meant severe bruising. She gently lifted her shirt partway, dropping it with a grimace at the scattering of purple and red.
Most of all, she was exhausted. Even the simple act of standing was beginning to wear on her legs, her knees shaking slightly. A tremor made its way through her limbs, and Ivy tried not to throw up at the feeling of her body acting beyond her own control.
"This will pass," Jack comforted, smoothing his hand across her arm and gently turning her away from the mirror. "Now, I tried to make you eat what I could, but I imagine you're famished."
She was, come to think of it. When was the last time she'd eaten? Her stomach agreed, giving a low growl, and Jack clearly fought a smile. "I think that settles the matter."
"Sure," Ivy agreed easily, ignoring the scrape inside her throat as she spoke. It was worth it, anyway, to see Jack's face light up, tension he thought Ivy didn't notice bleeding away at the auditory reminder that she was alive. Without thinking, Ivy pulled up his other hand and pressed it to the pulse point on her neck, angling her head back without a thought. Jack pressed gently at first, plainly nervous to hurt her, but she urged his long fingers closer and Jack finally gave in, dipping the pads of his bony fingers under her jaw until the steady thump-thump beat against him.
"Thanks for saving me again, Jack," she whispered, hugging him tighter around his thin waist. Jack closed his sockets a moment, his own weariness evident, but at long last he withdrew his fingers, giving her a half-smile as he adjusted his grip on her once more, beginning the long trek down the stairs.
"Anytime, Ivy love," he returned, his voice low and full of promise.
As Ivy grasped the banister, relishing in the feeling of solid wood beneath her and the reassurance of Jack by her side, her eyes darted to her arms once more, catching sight of something else - something that made adrenaline and dread shoot through her body.
From her wrist up on both arms, the faintest, palest lines could barely be seen, a hint of silver that gleamed in the warm candlelight. They were thin and few, wrapping gently around her skin, as though she'd been tightly wound in cords… or ivy strands.
And what was -
"Are you alright?" Jack asked, his apparent favorite sentence of the day. Ivy stared hard for a moment, wondering if her eyes had been playing tricks on her, yet nothing but her skin and the white scars could be seen.
"Fine," she said, shaking herself back to the moment. "Sorry 'bout that. Let's go, ok?"
They kept moving down, Jack painstakingly careful with Ivy, babbling endlessly at how the Town had been waiting for her, it wasn't rebuilt, of course, but a lot better off than they had been before, how Sally and the children wanted to see her, and and and and -
Ivy nodded along, half-listening, eyes never straying from her arm, where she'd sworn a flash of green had moved beneath her skin.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The meal that awaited them was something à la Dracula, which Ivy thought warranted immediate suspicion, but Bezata was easily eating the weird soup (which, to be fair, looked innocent enough with its topping of rice and pork), but Ivy still waited until the other girl had taken a few bites before starting her own.
Hey, nobody's perfect, and Bezata was too trusting sometimes.
But even she couldn't complain about the food, the broth a liquid energy as it warmed her insides, and after a moment she dropped her guard, feeling a trickle of strength seep through her. Vlad stood by the stove, stirring a large, ominous cauldron, and both humans were avoiding looking at him (and specifically the bright orange towel dramatically thrown over one shoulder) lest they burst into laughter. It felt odd to catch eyes with Bezata in this way, with a shared amusement between them, and Ivy realized with a twinge of shame that she'd never even seen the other like this, her eyes bright with mirth.
Jack sat with them both, alternating between pinning Zero - who'd nearly licked off all Ivy's ointment in sheer delight at seeing her - and reaching out to fiddle with Ivy himself, hands smoothing over her head or arm, prodding at her burns with trepidation and fascination. Zero's nose was shining nearly as bright as Bezata's eyes and the candles that floated around them, Jack's smile was stretching as he prattled on, the hand that wasn't secure on Zero flapping around in excitement. Ivy allowed the scene to wash over her, warmth surrounding her inside and out, and she fought down whatever sentimental nonsense she was sure would come spilling out.
That was for Jack alone.
Ivy glanced out the window at a pause in Jack's monologue, meeting the (winking) eyes of the pumpkin sun as it slid fully behind the hill, the deep purple and blue of the sky already taking over. The moon was high and in a waxing crescent, which turned onto its side and developed a grin, as though it knew Ivy were watching. She spotted some of the burned houses, optimistically propped up with pumpkins or termite-ridden wooden beams, and she gently shook her head, unable to fight her grin.
Light was right. 'Just going with it' really was the key to Halloween's survival.
"- and that's another thing!" Jack said, with somehow more enthusiasm, and Ivy tuned back in. He was jutting a finger at her, a look of triumph on his face. "Who do you think returned the other day?"
"Besides us?" Ivy asked as dryly as she could, taking in another mouthful of soup. Jack rolled his sockets - the gesture eerily similar to her own - and shook his head. "Not quite. Come now, I'm sure you know!"
For one wild moment, Ivy thought of Quincey Morris, and the countless other souls Ciaran had taken into himself for fuel. With him gone, were they released?
But… no. Jack looked too excited for the prospect to be true. So she reluctantly pushed the idea aside, thinking hard. Then, with a sudden jolt of clarity, she dropped her spoon, eyes wide as she turned to Jack.
"No way," she said, growing a smile of her own. "What took them so long?"
"Replenishing the sources of magic isn't something to be solved overnight," Vlad sniffed from behind the pair, pointedly serving only Bezata yet another helping and easily glaring her into submission when she weakly protested. "Not to mention all this Veil damage…"
"Which they were able to fix, we believe," Jack rushed to say. "Oh, not fully, of course," he added at Ivy's shock. "Just… hmm. Plugged up the holes, as you might say? Centuries of damage will be slow-going to fix, but with three rather powerful witches, I'd say our future is looking far more promising."
"But I thought she was just an -"
A scream rang through the Manor, Bezata nearly upsetting her bowl. She held back a clear swear, flexing her fingers in hilarious irritation.
"I do not care for this sound," she said in gritted English. "What's wrong with a simple knock? Or bell?"
"Bells only ring when someone's dead," Ivy said, slightly snarkier than she supposed was necessary as Jack rose to get the door.
"They didn't when you died," Bezata shot back, the same strange confidence pushing her shoulders back. Then, half a moment later, she drew back, eyes flickering to Vlad in uncertainty.
"Decent phrasing, excellent intent, horrid follow through," the vampire evaluated smoothly. Bezata's shoulders dropped, though not with the amount of disappointment that Ivy would've thought. "You must remain resolute and betray no weakness. We'll try again later."
Ivy rolled her eyes at the exchange, hopping from the stool (wincing when the impact rattled her abused legs) and walking to the door, peering around Jack's long limbs.
The children of the Town were gathered there, a few tugging on Jack's pants. Angus stood at the front, his wings flared in a self-assurance Ivy couldn't've imagined when she'd first met him. And at his side stood -
"Eeek!" Rosie screeched in surprise as Ivy dove from under Jack's arm, snatching the former apprentice up and whirling around with her. The effect was instantaneous on the other children - many screamed in shock and delight, Angus even falling flat on his back as they took her in, her solidity and determined health. Then they surged forward as one, endless limbs smacking or clinging to Ivy as they all spoke on top of one another.
"Miss Ivy, Miss Ivy, you're not dead anymore!"
"Do humans have nine lives, like like cats and -"
"-dija sneak away from the bad ghost? Is he-"
"You were glowing but in a bad bad way -"
"My mommy said you weren't gonna come back -"
"-and why aren't you a ghost anymore? Did you want to be human? Did you -"
"Oooo, Miss Ivy, why're you so colorful?"
Vinnie wrapped her bandages around Ivy's lower legs, gazing up at her adoringly. "Ivy, are you gonna stay forever and ever now?"
"Don't poke her like that!" Jack scolded, as curious fingers pressed into Ivy's bruises, fascination in their eyes at the white imprints left behind. "For Devil's Sake, you'll bruise her worse!"
Rosie shook her frizzy hair, peeling herself away from Ivy's arms and straightening up. Ivy gazed in astonishment at her: she seemed taller, back straight and head jutted just so. There was a new light in her eyes, and a glow to her faint pink skin.
"Guess who's a full witch?" Rosie said with glee, snapping her fingers. Sparks of gold and blue flew off her, brighter and leaving a tinge of power in the air that made Ivy's hair stand on end. A new hat sat on her head, sticking up in the same way Helga or Gretchen's did.
Helga and Gretchen! Were they back too?
"Angus told me most of it," Rosie said, speaking over the noise of the other children, "but still, I have to ask: What under the earth have you been up to?"
Ivy laughed, one easy and full of stories. "I'll tell you everything, I promise. But what's this about you being a full witch now? I thought -" she bit her lip, thinking back to a sunny afternoon in the witches workshop, so long ago. "I thought you had to invent a new form of magic?"
"Oh, I did," Rosie said slyly, peering at Ivy with glee. "Get the other human and come along, I'll show you!"
"Oh, yes, yes!" the others cheered, already yanking on Ivy's hands to pull her away. Ivy glanced up at Jack, fully expecting a swift denial, but instead a soft smile met her.
"I'll get Bezata, and we'll go down and see Rosie's magic," he said, the other children falling obediently silent. "I think you'll both want to see this, Ivy."
"Well, if the Princess is coming, then I have to," Ivy muttered. She gently shook the majority of the children off, leaning a bit on Angus for support. The others seemed to finally realize that their human friend was more fragile than usual, though that hardly dimmed their excitement. Jack stepped inside and the other children continued to talk, a few of them commenting on the slow rebuilding of the Town, how she'd looked better as a ghost, how they were sorry she had to be a normal human again, all the while obsessively running their claws over her legs and arms, as though to assure themselves she was there.
Ivy glanced up as a gentle breeze came by, swirling around her upper body and lifting her hair, soothing the freshly re-applied ointment. The words floated to her ears, the raspy, hollow voice a greater comfort than the salve could ever be.
"Welcome back, Miss Ivy," the Wind whispered, somehow managing to be heard above the clamor. "As much fun as it was to have you fly with me, I am glad to see you returned to your former self. It has pained me, since your arrival, to know of your fate."
Ivy remembered how carelessly she'd spoken to the Wind in the Old Halloween and winced. No wonder the Wind had been so overprotective when they'd met. "Sorry for making you worry," she said, not worried about the kids overhearing - Rosie and Angus had dissolved into a friendly spat that had captured the attention of the other children, some of the novelty of Ivy's survival wearing off. "But hey - it turned out ok in the end, didn't it?"
"We shall see," the Wind mused, ever the optimist.
Ivy huffed in amusement, but her retort was cut off as Jack opened the door, Bezata staring at the crowd of children with trepidation. Most remembered her from when she'd first fallen, and Ivy noticed with amusement that there was none almost of the fear they'd shown her back on Halloween. Vinnie braced herself on her bandages, raising herself to to Bezata's eye level and going to poke the girl in the glasses before Jack gently re-directed her hand, turning her head forward once more.
"Shall we go visit the rest of the Witches?" He asked, allowing Rosie to preen once more, adjusting her head with self-satisfied expression. Ivy held out her hand to Jack, who took it instantly, his forearms bracing as she started to limp along with the crowd, pushing through the exhaustion in her limbs that made her want to fall into bed for another three weeks, minimum. Bezata (albeit reluctantly) replaced Ivy in the throng of children, fighting her flinches as some of the younger ones clambered up her back.
"Please stop sucking on my braids," she pleaded once, a pained expression on her face. The monster in question looked mournful, but grudgingly slid down, leaving a trail of green goop behind. Bezata managed to make a face equal parts disgust and restraint, and Ivy couldn't hold back her laugh.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
At the Witches' Hut
5:30pm
Nothing was better than a dark, eerie night, where the Wind was all that kept the monsters company, and bats flew freely in the absence of the moon. Still, Gretchen admitted to herself that perhaps nights like this weren't too bad either - the sky was clear, showing a canopy of stars she knew humans could never dream of seeing, flecks of gold, blue, and pink still streaking the edges of the sky. The moon was yellow and kept swinging from side-to-side above, like the world's largest pendulum, lulling the Town into gentle wakefulness. The temperature was perfectly balanced, with just the chill that made her body keep alert but not enough to burn her lungs on an inhale. She'd leave that to Helga's cooking.
Her sister stood by their second-largest cauldron, stirring with an intensity that made her elbows pop. She didn't bother offering too much commentary - she knew they both were drained from the patching of the Veil.
She winced at the thought. Even patching felt like too generous of a word - they'd slapped a flimsy bandage over an ever-leaking sprout, with all the force of an ocean behind it. Jack had seemed desperate for any turn of good news, Ivy's coma clearly weighing heavily on his mind. He'd thrown himself into the beginning of yet another rebuilding of the Town, though Gretchen and Helga shared their suspicions that it would be a long while before they were back in any sort of unified state. Not until after next Halloween at least.
"I can't believe he's gone and gotten himself attached," Helga grumbled, cherry-picking at her thoughts. "And adopted another one! If the Veil's broken enough that it spat out another live human, perhaps we should move away from it for a while!"
"I think the other one is more Vlad's than Jack's," she commented lightly, smiling at how the second human had hidden herself behind the Vampire at the Town Hall, listening in to the Witches' Journey with barely concealed fascination. "And no. For better or for worse, this is where Halloween is. We need to stay nearby to monitor the Veil, not send everyone away."
"Hmpf," Helga said, spitting into the stew. "Still. What good is having this many humans around? And why is the Town acting so strangely about them?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, you know," Helga said with a scornful wave of her hand. "Treating them like - like pets instead of things to be kept under guard. Look at what's happened! Jack might say otherwise, but something tells me that the ghost killing the brat first wasn't a coincidence."
"What under the Earth are you suggesting?" Gretchen set down the potions she'd been sorting and turned to Helga, tiny hands planted on her hips. "Jack said she'd run off and had the misfortune of being the very first thing that ghost came across. What else could have happened?"
"Perhaps she was conspiring with it," Helga said darkly. "She doesn't care for us, and outside of Jack, I can't see why the Town is pretending to, either. Who's to say she didn't know the ghost beforehand?"
"That's absurd," Gretchen scoffed. "And anyhow -"
But a flash of motion caused both witches to fall silent, staring in surprise at the party that was slowly moving towards them.
The most obvious figure, of course, was Jack, and the Witches, in rare agreement, had concluded that this new look was very good on him. (Perhaps too good. They'd had a pact to not let anything distract them from their magic after Rosalyn's… incident… and the current events were an excellent reminder of that, but - well. That suit did fit him wonderfully.) Around his legs were children of all shapes and sizes, a few breaking off to throw clumps of dirt at one another, some flying up into the sky, but all eventually winding their way back to the strange group. In the center was the second human, looking appropriately overwhelmed. Angus was balancing on her shoulder, holding on by her braids, and Gretchen waited for a comment on how this was the proper attitude of a human, but when she turned, expectant, Helga's beady eyes were fixed on someone else.
Ivy was leaned up against Jack, one of his forearms latched around her shoulder, one of her bandaged hands clinging to him. Rosie walked by her side, her hat almost brushing Ivy's shoulder from her growth spurt, and the keen eyes of the Witches watched as the pair practically sauntered towards them, Ivy's head held high and, most surprising of all, her aura large and unafraid: a rich red and brown mingling with each of the children's, tangling together with Jack's, and with a confidence that seemed a far cry from the miniscule glow that they had observed back on Halloween, clinging tight to its owner and hiding within her skin, unrecognized and unwilling to be seen. And then there was the way she was clasping hands with Jack. His bony fingers overwhelmed hers easily, the tips of them resting on her wrist, but she made no move to shy away from the odd grip, her limp almost perfectly disguised by the way Jack subtly lifted and moved her along.
The odd group finally came close enough for them to hear the chatter, accompanied by Ivy's laugh and the warmth of Jack's tone. She looked up, brown gaze brightening at the sight of them, waving in glee as they stumbled closer.
"Gretchen!" She cried, the hostility and awkwardness from the last time they'd seen each other seemingly forgotten. She nearly went to hug the witch, but thought better of it as the motion of lifting her arms made her wince. Instead, she shot them both a beaming smile, and Gretchen was struck by how - what did humans say? - nice she looked without the expression of fear and distress permanently etched on her face.
"It's so good to see you!" Ivy continued, raising her voice to be heard over some petty argument the children were having.
Helga sniffed in distaste. "Still here, are you?" Her nose wrinkled as she scanned the two humans. "I'd've thought you would have collapsed into a pile of nerves by now."
"And I'd've thought distance would have made you grow fonder, so it looks like we were both wrong."
Gretchen fought a laugh at the indignant look on her sister's face, stepping forward to gently hug Ivy, nodding her head to the other human girl (currently acting as a mule for the children). "And your name is Bezata, yes? It's good to see you again, as well."
Bezata dipped her head (careful not to dislodge the monsters atop her shoulders) and answered with her usual strange solemnness, "a-and you, Frau Gretchen."
"Don't I get a welcome?" Helga snarked to herself.
"We're here to let Rosie demonstrate her New Magic," Jack cut in quickly, slapping a hand over Ivy's open mouth with an familiarity that baffled Gretchen. "That is, if you don't mind?"
"Of course not!" Gretchen stepped back and waved Rosie forward, leaving Ivy to rest her full weight against the side of Jack's leg. Gretchen noticed that the human's skin color was odd - a tad paler and sicklier than she'd looked before - not quite as sun-kissed, but perhaps that was simply the strange coma's effects. "Come, come, it'll give Rosie another wonderful chance to practice. Helga, be a wench and stop stirring a moment, will you?'
"Always with the demands," came the returning huff, but with hardly any true bite. Helga laid off her work, gesturing towards the largest caldron, positioned in a place of honor on a patch of glowing moonlight. "Don't spill it everywhere this time, Rosie. Too much life for the grass is bad for it."
"Yes, Helga," Rosie agreed with a practice monotone. "I'll see you for supper!"
"Hmpf." Helga cast one more look at the group, the humans, and Jack's behind before strutting into the shack, slamming the door behind her.
"We didn't realize resources were so low last year because we couldn't see it had been destroyed until we actually got here," Rosie began, stepping up to the cauldron and cracking her knuckles, back, and nose. "And you weren't able to see the happenings of the inside of the Forest, either - though I guess we've got Edgar for that." She paused, and they all watched as she visibly put the thought to one side, re-centering herself. "Anyway. Watch this."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ivy wasn't quite sure what she expected - the murmuring of a spell, bright lights flashing, a nice evil cackle of laughter - but Rosie simply dipped the pads of her fingers into the cauldron's murky depths, closing her eyes in concentration.
At her side, Angus stared in awe as his friend began to glow, the soft pinks and blues flowing down her arms and condensing around her hands. Rosie was whispering something - quietly and carefully, and the cauldron's water began to change, shifting from ashy grey to a light, mustard-like yellow, then -
Bezata swore next to her and Ivy couldn't help but agree.
It was an exact image of the group, from a bird's eye view: one tall skeleton, two witches, a horde of now-quiet children, and two humans, all huddled around a giant, bubbling pot. Ivy and Bezata looked up in unison, frowning when nothing revealed itself. Ivy glanced back and bit her lip in amusement at the dumbfounded look on Bezata's face, now in perfect view.
Rosie slowly pulled her hands apart, as though wiping something off, and the view pulled back, stretching higher and higher above Town until the group had vanished into the landscape of dark brown dirt and jet-black trees. The Forest was much bigger than Ivy could have ever imagined: they seemed to be at the height of an airplane now, the Town a mere speck, but the Forest still stretched on, a dark, twisted mass easily five times the size of the Town. And then there was the Town itself, the main stone wall wrapping around the houses, but with acres of abandoned or forgotten buildings, a large lake, and endless - endless - fields of dry earth. Darkness was heavy and pressing all around, but the Town still stood, a bright orange beacon in the midst of the gloom, a lighthouse of refuge for any wandering the shadowy lands.
Then Rosie's hands came back together, fingers pinching, and the view dove down at such a speed Ivy's stomach flipped. It jilted off to the side, merged through a wall, and there was one of the Halloween Town families, a snake-like creature firmly wrapping themselves around a beam, shouting at their partner who balanced a torch on their tail, welding part of the roof back together as the children slithered and slipped in the mud below. Rosie pulled back, letting her hands drip dry, and the image faded, the water turning back to just that.
"Well?" She asked, propping her hand on her hips with a look of sheer delight. "What'd'ya think? Not too bad, eh?"
"You…" Ivy gaped, staring down at the water once more. Bezata's hands were tightly woven together, eyeing the few bubbles that splashed water her way with intense suspicion. "You made a - oh, my god, what's the word -"
"Don't ask me," Bezata said immediately, holding her hands up. "I don't even know what to say auf Deutsch, let alone English."
Ivy gave up, looking at Rosie in astonishment. "This is awesome, Rosie. How long did it take you?"
"I started when we were about halfway done in the Fields," Rosie said, sticking one finger in her mouth, making a face, and beginning to rummage around in a side bag. "I wanted to be able to check back in on the Town, y'know. So I practiced in puddles and swamps. Finally got it right when we were on our way back, just in time to see everything torn apart, so - we cut the trip a bit short." She paused to sprinkle something into the mixture, her face lost in memory.
"It's marvelous, Rosie," Jack praised. The young witch preened at that, her hat bobbing with pride.
"It works for other monsters, too!" She added. "At least, it should."
Angus muscled his way to the front, spreading his wings to keep the others back. "Show me how!"
Rosie took his wrist, slowly dipping the pads of his fingers in. "Ok, now picture where you wanna look - it has to be someplace you've seen before, I can't get it to go everywhere yet -"
Out of the corner of her eye, Ivy swore she saw Jack's shoulders drop with disappointment.
Angus concentrated, his beady eyes narrowed and focused even as he grumbled half-heatedly about the 'weirdness' of magic. Finally, his body straining so hard Ivy thought his head would explode, the image in the cauldron shifted, showing a dwelling Ivy had never seen before, but with monsters she recognized.
"Hi, mom!" Angus called, pulling one hand from the murky depths to wave. Instantly the picture vanished, the earthy tones of Angus' home giving way to the smooth grey once more.
"You can't talk to them, dummy!" Rosie said, her childishness evident once more as she took on a haughty tone. "It's just for looking!"
"Well why didn't you say something, Enchantress?"
"Don't call me that!"
The two's argument was quickly overshadowed by the other children, pushing forward and begging to try. Angus eagerly dropped the squabble to take on the role of leader, ushering the children into a line. The ones on Bezata's shoulders urged her forward, and the human wearily accepted her position, bending slightly to give the shorter monsters access. Gretchen gave Rosie an appraising smile before stepping back inside the shack, taking her strange collection of potions with her. Rosie fell back, standing beside Ivy as Jack lifted his leg, acting as an elevator for the children on his foot.
"It's weird." She said under her breath, one long nail picking at the skin of her lip. "I don't even know how I did it. When it finally worked, I didn't do anything differently, I just …" she trailed off, stretching the skin before it snapped.
"But one day I just felt... lighter, you know? Like. I dunno. I woke up hurting and then it was just - gone. And I just knew it would work. Funny how magic works, huh?"
"If you say so," Ivy agreed. "So, now that you're a full witch, the Town had better watch its back, no? Gonna put us all under your spells, make us act right?"
"Nah," Rosie dismissed easily. "I've got good mentors, good friends - even if Angus is an idiot - and I'm part of Halloween. My life doesn't need any enchantments."
Ivy froze.
Slowly, she turned to face the witch, narrowing her eyes at the pale pink skin, the aura of soft blue and gold and the witch's own eyes - suddenly familiar.
"When did you get the potion right?" She asked, glancing down at her right hand. It was solid and utterly unassuming, with no trace of a glow.
Rosie instantly scowled. "Ugh. Maybe three or four days ago? Too late to see the Town being destroyed, I know. After she was done telling me how good the magic was, Helga nearly took my head off for being too late for it to be of any use."
Ivy swallowed and met the witch's dark eyes once more and wondered, for the first time, if she knew what happened beyond the Second Grave.
"What?" Rosie asked, baffled.
"Uh -"
"Rosie?"
The pair turned to see Bezata, sans children, standing awkwardly before them. She wrung her hand, shoulders tense as though expecting the witch to suddenly turn on her. "Do you think… can humans use this magic?"
Rosie's brows furrowed, Ivy's strangeness forgotten. "Hmm. I dunno. Humans usually aren't too good with magic, but I didn't make it leave humans out, so it's possible. Why?"
"Oh my God, Bezata, you're a genius," Ivy gasped. How had she not thought of it before?
Bezata flushed, the tip of her nose and forehead going red. "Oh, that's - I'm not sure -"
"What's going on?" Jack asked, turning back to the Trio. Ivy lunged forward, dragging Bezata and Rosie along, hip-checking kids out of the way to choruses of boooo's. "Ivy, what are you -"
"We might be able to use this to see the Human World!" She said, ignoring how Bezata's hand shook under hers. "Look, I don't remember how the fight ended, but I know we didn't leave things the way it looked before. It's worth a try, right?"
Jack's eyes gleamed, even as a hint of sadness tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I'm surprised it took you this long to think of it."
Ivy dropped their hands, approaching the edge of the cauldron. She took a breath and dipped the pads of her fingers in, closing her eyes.
Ok. Pick a place she's been before. Her house, right? That should be enough.
But when she tried to picture her room, all that came to mind was the one in the Skellington Manor, with a few odd shadows where posters or caps may be. Frowning, she tried to pull up the kitchen - Mama making coffee, the sunlight streaming through the dusty windows and bouncing off Jack's - no, no. What had the floor felt like? She knew it had been cool to the touch, but all her mind supplied was the soft wood of the Manor. Frantically, she groped for the memories of the parade. But even these were hazy, smeared together in color and sound and panic, the hunt for Ciaran clearer than the signs on the stores or words in the air.
She stepped back, blinking, letting the cauldron water drip from her hands. No images rose up, and Ivy felt Jack still beside her.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Jack whispered. "You memory… I'm sorry, Ivy."
"I was just there," she said, her voice low. "I don't… I don't understand."
"It works best when the memory or feeling of a place is really strong," Rosie added from the sidelines. "I don't really remember the places in the Forest I've only been once or twice, so I have a hard time conjuring them. Uh…. sorry, Ivy."
For a moment, Ivy faltered, going to step back. Then she paused, hand flying to her head, as she turned to Bezata, her expression blank.
"What?" The other girl asked, a hint of panic in her voice.
"I've been away from the Human World for too long," Ivy said, her voice measured. "But you - you were just there last week, as a human. How much have you forgotten?"
"Oh, Herr Dracula told me about this!" She said, momentarily brightening before the discomfort of the topic settled in. She tilted her head, chewing her lip in thought. "I couldn't remember small things, like directions or what flavor my Kaffee is, but I know what my village looks like, and people's names."
"You remember your mom?" Ivy teased, half-serious.
Bezata sobered, a strange look in her eyes. "I haven't forgotten anything about her. That's good, right?"
Remembering what the Wind and Jack has said about her own memories, Ivy winced, patting Bezata's shoulder. "Let's say yes for now, ok. I may not be able to get this thing to work, but maybe both of us can."
Bezata gazed distrustfully at the cauldron, wincing as a bubble popped, the scent of black leaves and mildew floating upwards, nearly causing her eyelashes to melt. "And it won't kill me?"
"No, us working together won't," Ivy snarked. She dipped her fingertips back in, nodding for the other to join her. Bezata looked back to Rosie and Jack, the latter of whom copied Ivy's gesture and gave her two thumbs up. The sight seemed to be strange enough to urge her forward, lowing manicured hands into the depths. "Oh, my mother would kill me for this."
"She's gonna kill you either way. Might as well have some fun first."
Jack kicked the back of Ivy's calf.
In unison, the girls closed their eyes, feeling the strange swirl of power around their fingers.
"Where are you going to look?" Jack asked, and Ivy felt him approach her side.
Although the image of her family still pestered her for attention, Ivy knew that Bezata wouldn't be able to find them. So instead she said, "let's check on Vaihingen, first. Keep in the main village and then you can check on your mom, ok?"
Ivy heard the swish of Bezata's hair as she nodded. She peeked out of her eye, looking at the soft gleam of red hovering where her fingers met the concoction, barely strong enough for her eyes to detect. She glanced over to Bezata, seeing the same nearly-invisible hint of yellow, and wondered if Bezata was able to see it.
Focus, Ivy. She pulled up the image of the main street of Vaihingen, sensing with a strange sureness that Bezata was doing the same. It felt like a much tamer version of a Transfer, the action more of a breath than a pull. She felt the faint memories of time in the village flow down her arms, the temperature of the potion warming. Then there was a faint crack, and the girls' eyes flew open, just managing to keep their hands in as the water dipped and turned, revealing -
"Oh, no!" Bezata said in horror, summoning the attention of the other monsters, who crowded close.
The Vaihingen Forest, from the bird's eye view, had a giant stain of soot in the middle of lush greenery, the scorched earth nearly an acre wide. Ivy winced at the yellow caution tape that bobbed at the edge of the woods, as well as a few policemen guarding the entrance.
"I didn't think we were that bad," Ivy muttered.
"I told you it would be as if a bomb went off," Jack said, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"So, what, we just set off a smaller bomb?"
"Precisely!"
Ivy went to argue further, but Bezata's pale face stopped her. She shook her head and drew in a breath, thankful for the ability to do so, and knocked her elbow against the other's.
"What's that place where people watch the news and drink? The one by the park?"
Bezata's brows furrowed, twisting her lip in frustration. "Err.. the Sushi Bar?"
"Yes! Focus on that, maybe we can catch the news."
Leaping to the task, both girls hunched over the cauldron once more, their arms tense. The image flickered, and a small room appeared, the lighting low and candles flickering. A TV was on, a suited anchor waving a hand to pictures of burned homes, soot flaking off into the wind.
Ivy's stomach dropped. "Was - was that us?"
Jack suddenly looked guilty, shifting his weight from side to side. "Ah, not us, per say, but -"
Bezata made a strangled noise and Ivy's head whipped back to the cauldron, eyes widening at the text that appeared beside the anchor's head.
MAN FOUND DEAD BY FASCHING PARADE REVELAED TO HAVE SET FIRES TARGETING TURKISH IMMIGRANTS
"What?" Ivy and Bezata said simultaneously.
"The Classics may have, hypothetically, gotten carried away when they came to the Human World," Jack admitted, shielding some of the children's eyes as the camera switched to close-ups of the destruction, looking eerily similar to Halloween's own state.
Ivy's head hurt. "Wait, the Classics were there? Why?"
"Looking for us, of course," Jack said, a hint of warning in his voice. He subtly jutted his head to the children and Ivy swallowed her questions, allowing Bezata to shift the image to her home, marveling at the empty whiteness.
Bezata's mother was sitting at the kitchen counter, her hands folded under her chin. She was utterly still, her gaze distant behind her glasses. Every few moments she'd turn her head to the door, her jaws tightening as whatever she heard moved on.
Jack gently reached over and pulled Bezata's hands from the cauldron. Without her memory, the image swirled and turned, but no matter how hard Ivy concentrated, she couldn't summon up a memory strong enough to break through the fog. She withdrew her own hands, wiping the cool liquid off on her pants.
"If Vlad has told you about losing memories," Jack said to Bezata, though not unkindly, "then I'm sure he also mentioned the futility of trying to cling to what can't be."
Bezata nodded reluctantly, though her eyes were still trained on the turning potion. "He says that a lot," she admitted. "But… It's so long before Halloween. What if I forget everything?"
Ivy went to lightly punch Bezata on the shoulder, thinking better of it when the other girl flinched. She awkwardly turned the gesture into a flippant wave. "Hey, welcome to my world. I've got a system that should help with some of it, but Jack and Vlad are right - it's really, really hard trying to grab onto pieces of the past that just won't stay."
"I don't remember anything!" Vinnie piped up cheerfully, her yellow eyes gleaming. "And it's awesome!"
"Besides," Ivy continued, "it's not that long until Halloween! Only, like - uh, anybody know?"
"251 days!" Angus flapped his wings eagerly, nearly knocking himself off the ground in his excitement.
"There, you see?" Ivy turned back to Bezata, trying to put on an encouraging face, only to be met with the paleness of Bezata's own. "Not too bad."
"Ivy, Ivy, can we show Bezata how to play Heads Up?" One of the younger monsters tugged on Ivy's sleeve and the others cheered, joining in the begging.
"I don't see why not," Ivy grinned, feeling only a prickle of delight at the slight panic in the other's eyes. "Want one of us on each team?"
"Oh no," Jack cut in, pointing a stern finger at Ivy. "You will not be playing, because -" a chorus of booooos "because you're still injured! Bezata may join them but you, dear, are going to sit this out."
Ivy's shoulders slumped, already feeling the stiffness of being stationary settling into her bones. "Not even as a monitor?" She said, testing out puppy dog eyes.
Jack wasn't impressed. "I am not going to suffer another structural collapse at your inability to gauge danger and be safe," he said, and even Bezata winced at the bluntness. "You may watch, no more."
Ivy thought about arguing, but she caught sight of the tired cracks around his sockets and held back. "Fine. But you guys better show Bezata how it's done!"
"Wh- what's Heads Up?" Bezata stammered, but she was quickly overtaken by the group, who took her hands (some scrambling back up to her shoulders), urging her further into the Town. Ivy stepped after them, but her knee twinged and she gasped, one hand gripping the rim of the cauldron for support.
"Ivy? Are you -"
"Fine," she managed to grit out, not sure if she could take hearing 'alright' again. "Just - flare up. Ugh. I'm glad I'm back in my body, don't get me wrong, but - ow."
"Perhaps we should get you back to the Manor," Jack said, and Ivy wondered if the last time he'd gotten to speak to somebody like this was when James was a kid. It certainly sounded that way, with the instinctual yet uncertain hint of concern and fussiness in his tone. "I don't want you to get too excited -"
"Jack, I was grounded in the Manor for ages," Ivy pleaded, gripping the skeleton's sleeve and pulling herself up. "I've got to get outside for a little bit, please! I need some excitement!"
Jack sputtered. "Were - were the past few days not enough for you?"
"But I wasn't even awake for some of it, so I've rested, right?"
"A coma is not resting!"
Puppy dog eyes attempt number two. "C'mon, Jack, please? You can watch with me!"
Jack's head tipped up, a long-suffering sigh on his lips, but Ivy caught sight of a twitching smile and knew she had won. "Fine. But you'll do as I say, alright?"
A when have I not? was on her lips, but common sense kicked in and she swallowed it down. Holding fast to Jack, she nodded, then took a step forward, then another -
Skeletal hands left her own and gripped her sides, then in one smooth and dizzying movement, Ivy was lifted eight feet into the air and perched on Jack's shoulders, where she gained a new view of the cobblestone street (with a sickening amount of gaps where the stones were torn up). Jack carried on walking, stance never faltering under the added weight - in fact he was humming, self-satisfaction evident by the slight bounce to his step.
"It wouldn't kill me to walk, you know." She grumbled, nevertheless folding her arms on the top of Jack's skull and resting her chin on them.
"No," Jack agreed, "but plenty of other things will, and frankly I'm surprised you regained consciousness as quickly as you did." He gripped her ankles, one thumb slowly stroking the seam of her pants. "Just… humour me, will you?"
And really, how was Ivy supposed to argue with that?
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bugs & Kisses Café
6pm
It had been a while since Jack was able to watch the children play in an environment outside of their Scare Classes, but he admitted the experience was rather… fun. They were sat there in the Town Square, Jack sipping on a corn-grain tea while Ivy alternated between munching on pumpkin bread and licking a bright red lollipop.
A few other Citizens were there, eyeing Ivy with a healthy mix of curiosity and suspicion. Jack was prepared to cross his fingers permanently if it meant that none of them questioned her return to her body too closely. For once, dealing with Ivy hadn't been difficult - for all her unusual experiences in Halloween, there was still a whole world of understanding she had yet to uncover.
He wondered if it would be naïve to hope it would last.
A clamor arose from around the corner, and the group by the Café perked up, politely peering into the main Square.
Angus was running, holding the head (Vinnie's, again) high above his own. Behind him, Shock rode the top of the bathtub, a war cry erupting from her lungs. Bezata sat in the tub, clutching the sides for dear life. Shock threw a spell at Angus, who easily dodged it. The bathtub skidded on the pavement, nearly bucking its passengers out.
"Fly, Angus!" Ivy shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth.
"C'mon, human!" Shock snapped impatiently, wriggling her fingers as Angus began to unfurl his wings. Bezata slowly pulled herself up, balancing one foot on either rim, waving her arms for balance as the bathtub continued to chase Agnus around the Square, much to the delight of the onlookers.
"If she falls -" Jack began tensely, not liking the speed of the encounter.
"She won't," Ivy admitted, looking reluctant. "Bezata, she's - well." She pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and grit out, "she's better at keeping her balance that I ever was."
Jack looked back and tried to see what Ivy could. True, the other human was flailing, a look of intense focus on her face, but she seemed to be moving with the bathtub, bending her knees and shifting her weight in response, rather than being caught off guard. Her back foot adjusted itself, her arms were spread wide, and her eyes were fixed on Angus.
The bat child seemed to realize the danger and fully unfurled his wings, catching on an air current and shooting upwards. Jack waited for Shock to cast some spell, but instead the bathtub leapt forward, bending itself down and then kicking its hind legs upward. Bezata, who'd bunched her legs and knees, went flying through the air, one arm outstretched for a straggling bandage of Vinnie's head.
Instead, she snagged Angus' foot.
The small crowd watched in fascination, no longer pretending to be invested in their treats, as Angus frantically flapped his wings, somehow managing to stay aloft. Bezata, who'd clearly been counting on her weight dragging him back down, began to kick, winding Vinnie's bandage around her wrist.
Ivy, clearly seeing some ending Jack didn't, leaned over to steal his tea, sipping it pointedly as Bezata finally grasped Vinnie's head. In her transfer of the head to under her am, however, Angus finally lost his grip and Bezata plummeted down, falling straight into the Town fountain with a glorious splash!
For a long moment no one moved, the monsters peering over at the fountain as Jack stared in horror. Ivy, meanwhile, blew on her tea.
A hand bust from the fountain, waving the head, and the crowd applauded approvingly. Jack shook his head and stood, waited a moment, then grabbed Ivy by the collar and none-too-gently lifted her off her feet, pushing her in the other human's direction as the hand dipped back under.
Ivy went over and stuck her hand into the fountain, rummaging around for a moment before her face lit up. She nodded to Jack, who grasped her under the arms and pulled her backward, dragging the sopping wet human onto the cobblestone.
Bezata spat out fountain water, one hand clutching her glasses firmly. The moment Ivy dropped her hand, Bezata scrubbed her hand across her face, eyes cracking open in horror at the blue-green goop that dripped from her hands and hair.
"Don't even start about your clothes," Ivy warned. "It's your own damn fault for wearing a designer outfit to a rescue mission."
Bezata started at that, staring down at her ruined clothing with a new wave of dread. "Oh, no."
"Oh, yes." Ivy rolled her eyes, but seemed to catch the action and shook her head. "It's no big deal. Sally made me some spares, if you can stand to wear peasant clothes you'll be fine."
"I think they look ok," Bezata tried to defend weakly, before sputtering of bubbles interrupted her.
"Oh, Vinnie!" Jack dove forward, plunging his own arm into the fountain and clasping the bandage floating on top. He quickly pulled, collecting a soggy heap of gauze before her head finally broke through the surface, the last few strands plastered to her charred skin beneath.
"I hate being the head," she said sulkily, once she'd let out a near-comical stream of water from her mouth.
"I'm very sorry," Jack said as earnestly as he could, holding her dripping head as far away as he politely could. "Perhaps crack something next time?"
Vinnie glared.
Jack heard the pitter-patter of dozens of feet behind him and turned to see the rest of the teams, including Vinnie's body, coming to meet them. Vinnie squirmed, her bandages retracting, and Jack set her down, watching in amusement as she hopped away.
Bezata was on her feet now, wringing out her hair and flushing at the stares from the monsters under the Café, while Ivy -
Ivy was staring at the countdown clock.
Jack stole a quick glance himself to see if anything was amiss, but it all seemed normal - February, both hands present, it wasn't even leaking anything, so what was the matter?
"Ivy?"
The human's fingers were twitching and she had that strange gleam in her eye that Jack wasn't sure if he loved or hated - one that indicated the gears in her brain were at top speed.
"Bezata, what day was it when you fell?" She asked, her gaze never leaving the clock.
The human in question paused in her task, eyes flickering from the clock to Jack, who merely shrugged. "Uh, it was… Dienstag, I think? Why?"
Ivy's fingers twitched, her eyes lighting up. "And today - today's Monta- Monday.."
"I… guess?" Bezata looked again at Jack for confirmation, who frowned and gave a shrug. Halloween didn't see much point in naming the days themselves, Ivy knew this, so why did it matter?
"Monday, Dienstag, Mittwoch," Ivy muttered, gaze dropping to the dirt. Were Jack or Bezata harsher people, they might've made a quip about her finally learning the days of the week, but as it was they continued to stare, baffled. After another tense moment Ivy gasped and finally whirled around to face them, her eyes alight.
"Bezata, Fasching was almost done, right?" She asked, excitement tensing her entire body.
"I - yes?" Bezata took a step back, the wild look on the other's face all too familiar to how she'd looked at the Council Meeting.
"This Wednesday must be Ash Wednesday!" She said with triumph, pointing at Bezata with such force that the other flinched.
"What does that mean?" Jack asked, determined to figure out what was making his human nearly leap out of her skin with glee.
Her head snapped up to Jack, pointing at him with two shaking hands. "Jack, the Gateway that Bez & I used - it's not always open, it's just when there's Halloween Spirit. That's why Bezata could get in, 'cause Fasching's similar to Halloween."
"Alright," Jack said slowly, wishing again that Chakis had shown him this mysterious entrance. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Because - because -" Ivy's hands flapped in excitement as she pointed back to the clock. "Because it's still Fasching!"
"It's still open," Bezata gasped. She seemed to completely forget her drenched state as she gaped at Ivy, the same excitement creeping onto her normally guarded face. "We - could we still go through?"
"Maybe!" Jack didn't think he'd ever heard Ivy address the other with so little hostility. "But - it's gonna close tomorrow night."
"What? Why?"
"Keep up, Bez! Ash Wednesday, start of Lent, the end of Fasching!" She pointed to the clock once more, grinning like a madwoman. "If you don't get through by tomorrow night, then it's gonna close and you will be stuck here until Halloween!"
"Ivy, are you sure?" Jack asked, trying to cover up the dread that settled in his stomach. "I've never even heard of this other Gateway, how can you presume to know how it works?"
"Because I've seen it appear and disappear!" She said, turning to Jack. "I thought it only opened for Halloween, but - but then Bezata got through! If it's open for Fasching, then why shouldn't she be able to get back through before it's over?"
Jack felt his stomach drop. "I - I suppose there wouldn't be, but -"
"That - that could fix things!" Bezata's excitement was more controlled than Ivy's, a bit restrained in the way she twitched and tensed, but she couldn't disguise the grateful gleam of her eyes. "Only being gone a week or so - I can figure something out with that!"
Ivy began to pace. "We can find the spot where we both fell, maybe the Wind can blast you up or something? We've got some sticks, at any rate, in case it needs to be forced open -"
"- could get home, find my mom -"
"- you'd have to avoid the Polizei at the edge but there's gotta be more than one way in or out of that place -"
"Now hold on!'
Both girls fell silent, staring up at Jack's outburst. He held his hands out, as though that would freeze them both in place. He realized, in the horrible space of emptiness, that he had no idea what to say. What could he say? Beg them not to try this madness? If it didn't work, he didn't think he could bear their disappointment, the death of hope in their eyes.
And if it did work…
He looked at Ivy, at the light in her eyes that he thought he'd never see again, and felt his shoulders sag.
"If you want to try this, I will do what I can to help," he rasped. Ivy nodded, finally taking a breath as she looked behind Jack, where the ever-gossipy members of Town were eagerly attempting to eavesdrop. Jack rolled his sockets and twisted his skull around, giving them a stern stare and sending them whistling, doing a monster's best imitation of innocence.
"We've got a day to figure things out," Ivy continued to Bezata. "So, first things first, get some new clothes. Trust me, you do not want to let that stuff dry on your skin. Then we'll see about getting you back."
Bezata nodded, glancing over her shoulder in the direction of Vlad's home. "Wait, what about you?" She asked hesitantly. "Aren't you coming back?"
Jack's head whipped around.
Ivy seemed to sober at that, spreading her hands and looking herself over, then glancing up at Jack, uncertainty on her face.
"That can all be settled later," Jack said smoothly, stepping between them and putting a hand to their backs. "For now, get back to Vlad's; a ghost will bring Ivy's spares over."
Bezata nodded, shooting one last optimistic glance at Ivy, who gave a hesitant thumbs-up back, before carefully walking away, the squish of her booted heels echoing around the cobblestone.
Jack led the way, hands tucked behind his back, gripping his wrists. There were paragraphs buried inside of him, fighting for dominance, but he sensed that, for once, Ivy preferred silence to work out her own thoughts. She walked beside him, still clinging to his hand as she limped along. Her face was dark, and Jack never wished to know the inside of another's head more.
The moon was fully above them now, cheerfully lighting their way. Torches and glowworm lamps that hadn't been destroyed cast warm beams of light down at the pair, and bugs crawled from the shadows, scuttling over their shoes in their quest to evade the Town's cats. The night was Halloween's trademark mixture of chill and easy warmth, with just enough to encourage children to beg to stay out late, catching skeletal fireflies or digging for glowworms in the black dirt. Ivy was by his side, her heartbeat thudding away, and if it weren't for the lump in his throat everything would have been perfect.
She paused on one of the fully demolished side streets, where every wooden shack had been reduced to ash, mixing with the goo exposed below and giving the air a sharp smell. The Wind was soft, keeping them upwind, blowing away some of the soot caked into the stones under their feet.
"I knew this is what was gonna happen," Ivy said, breaking her silence at last. "I mean, eventually, anyway. On Halloween, I would've had to leave anyway, but -" she broke off, scuffing the toe of her sneaker into the dirt, the once-purity of the color destroyed from her time in Halloween. Jack tried very hard not to make a metaphor of it. "But, I didn't think it would be so - so soon. Hell, three days ago I didn't think it would ever happen." She looked down and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "How many more changes to my life am I gonna get?"
"This could be the last one," Jack offered, smooth yet miserable. "You could go home; Halloween wouldn't bother you anymore. You could get on with your life."
Ivy pulled away, face drawn with disgust. "Why are you talking like that? Do you think I want to leave?"
"Don't you?"
"I don't know!" She gripped her hair, swallowing hard. Jack fought the urge to steady her as she leaned against a crumbling wall, scrubbin her arm over her eyes. "I don't know, ok? I know what should happen, what was always gonna happen before I kicked it, but you're saying it like - like I'm gonna just forget all about you!" She froze, eyes locking on Jack's own. "Oh, Scheiße. Is that what's gonna happen? Am I gonna forget Halloween, like I did the Human World?"
Jack looked away, unable to meet the achingly open gaze. "I don't know, Ivy. Nobody's ever gone back to the Human World. It's possible, of course, but it's more likely that you'd remember hints, a certainty that it was real, it might even drive you…" he steeled himself, gripping his wrists behind his back so hard he was amazed they didn't crack. "If you'd like, Vlad is capable of suppressing human memories, and the Witches have memory potions if you'd prefer to -"
"Not a chance!" For a moment Jack thought she was about to throw herself at him, but she changed her mind at the last moment and punched him in the arm instead, sending shock waves up his bones. "If there's even a chance I'll remember, I'm not going to throw it away! I'm not gonna just turn my back on you guys!" Her face was twisted with anger, but Jack could see the thin glitter of tears in her eyes. "You're - you're family, Bone Boy. I don't know what I'm gonna do next but I don't -" she broke off, holding her fist up again and staring at his elbow.
"It would be selfish of me to ask you to stay," Jack told her, his voice low. "You've already forgotten so much of your real -"
Ivy glared.
"-your human family. Ivy, you didn't recognize them!"
She dropped her fist, letting it swing loose by her side. "So, what, if I go back now, I don't recognize you on Halloween?" She huffed out a laugh. "Am I just doomed to forget somebody either way?"
Jack thought of visiting her on Halloween night, only to see clouded confusion in her eyes - or worse, a trace of fear. It made his ribs ache with deep sorrow, as though it were already decided.
"Stupid Gateways," Ivy sniffed. "Whatever happened to your visitation rights?"
Jack forced himself to laugh, dropping into a kneel and tilting her chin upwards. She wasn't crying, not quite, but it was still too close for Jack's comfort. "I would like you to understand something," he said carefully, wishing he could ingrain the words into her skull, so there was no risk of her forgetting. "I am not sending you away. I love having you in Town and you being in our family, but… I know there is more for you to do in the Human World. You have a long, wonderful life ahead of you - don't waste it down here with us old creatures."
Ivy laughed a bit at that, smiling at him ruefully. "It's never a waste when it's with you." She shook her head, gently pulling her chin from his grasp. "You know this doesn't mean you can get rid of me for good. I'll send notes through the Monster Under the Bed if I have to, just to keep annoying you."
Jack rolled his sockets before poking her in the forehead. "I'll never be able to forget you, even if I tried."
"Aww, cute and kinda insulting, you're too sweet."
That earned her a flick to the head, which was quite the hit without the protection of skin on one's fingers. While she was rubbing the sore spot, Jack straightened up, turning to continue down the road.
"I'm just - I'm scared to forget," she said, her voice tense. "I don't just mean the Town, or Halloween, or even you, but -" he heard her take a breath and forced himself to turn back, watching her try to sort her thoughts.
"Do you remember when we talked about memories?" She asked, gaze going distant once more. "About whether who we are is based off what we remember?"
"I do," Jack said carefully. "You seemed to be of the opinion that change is inevitable, and decide who you want to be."
"Yeah, well, that was a lot easier to say when the person I was leaving behind wasn't that great," she nearly snapped. "But I… I want to change. I have to, I think. What if I forget Halloween and… go back to who I was?"
"I liked who you were," Jack began,
"You don't know that! I wasn't - Jack, I also told you I needed to make people think of me a certain way. How do I know that you didn't just fall for it, like everyone else?"
"Well," Jack said, regarding her, "perhaps it's because I love you still, not in spite of your change, but because of it." There was something so freeing about saying the words so casually, being able to state them as the fact that it was.
Ivy deflated at that, the fight leaking from her. She shook her head, tufts of hair swinging around her face as she gazed up into the sky. "Ugh. You're too good at this."
"Being the leader of such colorful personalities tends to give one some practice," he teased gently. Ivy sputtered, pushing herself off the wall as Jack laughed.
"Ok, that's it, I'm out," she said with faux indignance. "Point me in the direction of the Gateway, I'm not gonna be compared to the other drama queens."
"You'll always be one of us, Ivy," Jack laughed and then - something fell into place somewhere deep within him, like a final puzzle piece sliding into place.
The Wind picked up, swirling around the pair but then focusing on Ivy, causing her hair to lift from her head and float around like the head of a dandelion. She said something to the formless Entity that was lost in the gale, the trees on the far side of the field bending under the Wind's power. The moon flickered, the shadow drawing back to give Jack narrowed eyes and a solemn nod. Jack's aura prickled, the brush of ancient energy causing the inside of his skull to rattle as the Spirits of Halloween came to him, a pressure old and overwhelmingly powerful in his mind.
Curious, curious, they whispered, multiple voices perfectly and eerily unbalanced, creaking with age and amusement. What will you do, Pumpkin King? We will follow your lead; you have proven yourself.
Ivy didn't hear the voices, focusing on remaining upright as the Wind continued to circle her. "Wind? C'mon, didn't you satisfy the 'I'm not dead' check earlier?"
And there - Jack blinked hard and stared. It may have been a trick of the light, the angle of Ivy's elbow, some tree branch curving from the Wind's continued gusts… or he had seen the shadow of Chakis' scythe.
The Elements died down, the Wind fading down the road. The Spirits faded from his mind and Jack's bones ached with shakiness in the way they always did in the absence of their power. Ivy blinked rapidly, the back of her hair sticking up as she followed the Wind's retreat.
"What was that about?" She asked, more confused than anything else. "Looked like you were gonna faint on me for a second."
For a long moment, Jack simply looked at her. She was alive, beautifully and frustratingly human, and he knew, deep down, that he had to send her back. Even if the image of her forgetting him was almost too painful to consider, she'd be safe. Happy, even, eventually. He could step back, let her fade back into fragile human existence, where she could go on with her reckless goals and human family, grow up, perhaps find love of her own, and then… an afterlife. Would she return here, and would her soul remember? Or… would she go to someplace outside of Halloween? Would Jack be able to tell her what they had meant to one another, or would it be better to let her start anew, like every other soul?
Would it be kinder to prepare her, or let her forget?
Hmm.
It would be… thrilling, untraditional (but when had he cared about that?) risky, unknown, potentially dangerous. Everything he craved, deep down in his bones, and he knew from the glint in her eyes that she felt it too - the restlessness, the need, the burning, burning curiosity.
And besides. He always had been a tad selfish. If this wild notion worked while benefiting him… than that was a happy side effect, no more.
Well. Perhaps he ought to heed his own words to Chakis. It was a decision that, ultimately, wasn't in his hands.
But still…
"Ivy," Jack asked carefully, with a strange weight and cadence to his tone that instantly made the human perk up and pay attention. "I've a question for you."
Chapter 36 will be uploaded on February 6th!
-Aria
