Chapter 6: The Nightmare Before Halloween
It is now mid-to-late October in Magnolia as everyone rejoiced in the month of Hallows Eve. A season dedicated to the fear of all things macabre. During the span of almost a month, Mickey has already proposed to Minnie and the two are currently planning to have their wedding in the summer. Kuzco and Kronk have also been introduced to the guild, and, much like the other characters, they were quickly befriended by the everyone. As for Mr. Snoops, he didn't want to have any conflict with the guild due to his former partnership with the late Madame Medusa, so he decided to go his own way. He was, however, praised by Makarov and was in his favor for the redeemable actions that he committed.
The guild members and characters went about their usual business as Gray, Erza, Eugene, Aladdin, Judy and Nick helped decorate the guild hall with Jack-o-lanterns, black and orange streamers, lights and all sorts of cheap Halloween themed props and decorations.
"It's been about a month since we've been here, boys. I have haven't heard much about our current situation with this whole magical mix-up thing. Any news or something?" Eugene inquired as he hung up some streamers.
"Wish I could tell you more, Eugene. So far, we're not even sure what to make of it other than it being dark magic." informed Gray while setting up a ghost prop. "Speaking of this magic mix-up thing, Kronk and Kuzco are fitting in well with everyone else. Especially Kronk with the Thunder Tribe over there."
Gray looks over to Kronk, who was teaching, Freed, Evergreen, Bixlow and Laxus how to speak squirrel.
"Okay, let's go over this one more time: 'My acorn is missing'." instructed Kronk as the Thunder Tribe (With the exception of Laxus) translated the dialogue with squirrel linguistics.
"'Squeak, squeakin', squeak, squeakity.'" translated Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow with enthusiasm.
"'Did you eat the acorn?'" phrased Kronk.
"'Squeaker, squeak, squeak, squeakin'?'" repeated the trio.
"'You owe me a new acorn.'" phrased Kronk.
"'Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeaker--'" They all held up an acorn but stopped when Laxus wasn't participating. Freed nudged the Thunder Dragon Slayer by the arm, encouraging him to join in.
Laxus frowned begrudgingly as he held up his acorn and spoke squirrel. "Squeakin'."
"I'm so proud of you guys." smiled Kronk, congratulating his new Junior Chipmunks.
"I'm not so sure about Kusco, though. He's kinda judgemental if you ask me." commented Judy.
"Why do you say that?" Nick asked as the bunny motioned towards the emperor who was judging some of the girls on their appearances.
Kuzco trotted by the princesses, Mirajane and Laki who were having a conversation when the emperor came up to them. "What is up my ladies? Okay, let's have a look-see..." He then points to Rapunzel, Merida, Jasmine, Laki, Mirajane and Snow White in that order, which offended most of them greatly and they gave dirty looks at him.
"Hate your hair, not likely, yikes, yikes, yikes... and lemme guess, you have a great personality." Kuzco commented smugly, making Snow White glance down with shame as Jasmine attempted to throttle the sassy emperor but was held back by Merida and Laki.
"Oh." sighed Nick.
"Well, that's good to know." commented Eugene sarcastically. "I still don't know how Rapunzel got her hair back either. It's just like when I first met her, all blonde and everything." He sighed as he dreamt of the first time he met his wife.
"If you're done day dreaming, lover boy, can you give me a hand with these pumpkins?" Aladdin asked as he was carving Jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins.
"These are some really cheap decorations." said Judy as she took out a paper-thin wall hanging of a monster that she pulls out of the box.
"Yeah, what kind of party store did you get these from, anyway?" Nick asked with disdain.
"They're not exactly new but they are in modest condition." assured Erza as she carried more than one box of decorations.
"Modest?" questioned Nick, showing her one of the wall hangings which ripped without the fox touching it.
"Okay, fair condition." corrected Erza. "The thing is, Halloween is getting more costly every year, and the price inflation on decorations this year is ridiculous."
"That's a shame. But that won't stop you guys from celebrating this holiday, right?" Nick said supportively. "You've got your friends, this roof over your head, and all the candy corn you can eat!"
"Candy corn? Who the hell eats that crap?" Gray said disgustingly.
"Someone with good taste, my friend." rebuttaled the fox, who pulled out a bag of candy corn and ate a piece from the bag.
"You do raise a good point, Nick." Erza smiled down at the fox for a moment before the smirk disappeared from her face and was replaced with slight disappointment. "But it still doesn't really feel the same as every other Halloween. We use to have a tradition where Fairy Tail would participate in Fiore's annual Halloween Spirit Contest for the wizard guild with the most Halloween spirit, but for obvious reasons, we decided not to sign up this year."
"I'm sorry," Judy said sympathetically. "But, hey, maybe this could be the year where you can make new traditions and still love Halloween. For example, in Bunnyburrow, me and my family would go to the Autumn Festival every year, but since I moved to Zootopia, I would usually give out candy to kids with the other officers at the ZPD. Maybe that's what you guys need to brighten things up around here."
"I respect your enthusiasm, Judy. I hope you never lose it." Erza said, her smile returning.
"Yup, that's my dumb bunny, alright." smirked Nick, resting his elbow on his bunny partner's head with affection.
"And that's the sly fox I know." teased Judy.
"Al! Al! Buddy! It's Jasmine! She's gone MAD I tell you, MAD!!! Hide your kids! Hide your wives! Your wife has finally SNAPPED!!" shouted Genie as he rushed over to Aladdin with fear.
"Why? What's wrong?" Aladdin asked concernly.
"She's trying to kill Kuzco! It's starting to become a bloodbath over there!" Genie used his thumb to point at the angry Indian princess who was strangling Kuzco with rage.
"Oh, no! Not again!" panicked Aladdin as he rushed over to prevent his wife from killing the emperor.
"I got your back!" supported Erza as she went with Aladdin to quell the fight.
"I swear, this guild is starting to become a bad influence on us." commented Eugene.
"Yeah, some of us can be pretty scary sometimes, especially Erza." Gray added.
"I heard that, Gray!" hissed Erza from afar, which made the Ice-Make wizard flinch with intimidation.
Just then, the front doors of the guild hall bursted open, signaling the return of a gutsy Natsu Dragneel along with a spirited Lucy, Happy, Donald and Goofy, as the Fire Dragon Slayer carried a gigantic pumpkin, which towers nearly everyone in the hall, through the double doors. He places the pumpkin in the middle of the room, making a loud thud as it hits the wooden floor. "WE'RE HOME! GUESS WHAT WE FOUND, GUYS!"
"Whoa! Now THAT'S a pumpkin! Gosh, fellas, where did you find it?" asked Mickey as he, Minnie, Pluto and the rest marvelled the abnormally large pumpkin.
"We were exploring the pumpkin patch nearby when we found the biggest pumpkin they had!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Ah-Hyuck! Gwarsh! It must be about... a bazillion pounds!" chuckled Goofy as he randomly counted his fingers.
"YEAH! I can already taste that giant pumpkin pie!" smiled Donald as he rubbed his stomach and smacked his beak with hunger.
"We're not gonna eat it, we're gonna carve it!" said Wendy.
"But I don't wanna dig through so much pumpkin guts, though! Let's decorate it!" squealed Happy.
"Great idea! Let's draw some doodles on it!" smirked Natsu as he and Happy started drawing on the shell of the pumpkin with markers.
"Doodles? Yeah, more like graffiti." commented Gray.
"SHADDUP, ICE PRINCESS! IT'S NOT VANDALISM IT'S ART! RIGHT, REEDUS?!" exclaimed Natsu as he turned to the Pict Mage, Reedus Jonah, who was painting a mural on an empty wall with Rapunzel.
"On the contrary, Monsieur Natsu, compared to true art, your 'doodles' are, how you say, garbage." retorted Reedus in a french accent.
"Ha! Zing!" joked Rapunzel.
"Natsu, where the hell did you find this giant pumpkin?" inquired Makarov as he took a closer look at the pumpkin.
"Found it in a public pumpkin patch." explained Natsu.
"Hm, I'm surpised those other wizard guilds didn't notice--" Makarov paused as he suddenly had an epiphany and slowly smiled as an idea formed in his old, wrinkly head.
"What is it, Gramps? Have you stopped using your medication again?" asked Natsu.
"No, dumbass! I'm brainstorming!" The old guild master said harshly. "Everyone, I have a brilliant idea! We're going to re-enter the Halloween Spirit Contest!"
The wizards and characters exclaimed in surprise as he made this announcement. "Master, are you sure that would be good idea entering the contest with that pumpkin alone?" inquired Erza.
"Of course! What better way to show our Halloween spirit than decorating the biggest pumpkin that anyone has ever seen! This will finally give us a chance at winning the 1,000,000 jewel prize once more!" Makarov grinned as he thought of the glory that would come from winning the contest.
Wendy was standing next to the pumpkin when she heard a muffled noise coming from the pumpkin. "Hey, did you hear that, Lucy?"
"Hear what?" Lucy asked.
"There's some mumbling coming from inside the pumpkin." said Wendy as she pressed her ear against the pumpkin.
Lucy did the same as she listened closely and could barely hear the sound inside. "You're right. I can hear it too."
"Hey, me too." said Natsu as he presses his ear on the pumpkin and heard it more clearly. It sounded as if there was a person trapped in there. "I think there's someone inside!"
"Wait? In the pumpkin?" Mickey asked concernly.
"Oh, dear! If someone's stuck in there, they must be running out of air!" exclaimed Minnie.
"Oi! Leave this beast of a fruit to me!" boomed Merida as she wielded her sword and jabbed it into the shell of the pumpkin, which made Makarov watch in horror as the Scottish girl stabbed and carved into the shell and created a gigantic hole to release whoever or whatever was inside.
"Our meal ticket..." sobbed Makarov as he watched the inevitable destruction of the pumpkin.
"A'ight, let's see what we have here!" heaved Merida as she kicked the giant piece of pumpkin and smashed it to bits.
Erza peered inside when the sound of coughing was heard coming from the dark, hollow interior of the pumpkin as a male voice spoke. "My it's very musty in here."
"Hello? Who's in there? Are you in danger?" asked Erza as the voice of the figure grew louder as he emerged from the pumpkin.
"Oh, I'm quite alright, ma'am. I should thank you for releasing me from my ironic prison." replied the voice nonchalantly as the figure peered his head out from the pumpkin which astonished everyone else.
The stranger's physical form revealed to be a freakishly tall skeleton with a slim build. He wore a black tuxedo with white stripes and a his most significant feature is the large bat-like bow tie that he donned. He expressed a charming grin despite having been entombed in a pumpkin. His appearance bewildered the Fairy Tail mages and the characters, but it didn't surprise them as much as it should've.
"Now, why so pale? You look like you've seen a ghost." grinned the skeleton as he met his rescuers face-to-face.
"Actually, I'm more confused than scared." Lucy responded, to which Happy replied to her statement with an overwhelmed 'Aye'.
"This raises so many questions." Gray said blankly.
"Yeah, and I think we all know what they are." said Natsu as if he already knew what those questions might be.
"You mean like who he is and how did he get inside that pumpkin?" Mickey inquired.
"Well, that, and there's also another that I have in mind: Are you dead or alive?!" inquired Natsu in a small-minded way, which received annoyed stares in response to his stupid question. "What? Don't tell me you're not all thinking the same thing!"
"Hm, now that is an interesting question, young man. For you see, I am not human, I am just a skeleton. That's all." The skeleton answered. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Jack Skellington, ruler of Halloween Town."
"A ruler? As in like, a king?" asked Wendy.
"Precisely, my dear. I am known far and wide as the Pumpkin King." Jack said eloquently.
"As if the giant pumpkin wasn't obvious enough." whispered Donald while Goofy silently giggled at the duck's comment.
"Now tell me, who are you strapping young ones?" Jack inquired.
"Well, Mr. Skellington, my name is Makarov Dreyar," Makarov began to introduce himself. "I am the master of the wizard guild known as Fairy Tail. These are my children, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and the rest."
"Salutations, Mr. Dreyar and Fairy Tail, but please call me Jack." corrected Jack as he greeted the latter.
"So are you a lost character, too, Jack?" inquired Erza.
"Lost? Character? Well, yes, I am somewhat a character, and yes I guess you can say that I might as well be lost." replied Jack.
"Another one, eh? Well, then, how did you get inside this here pumpkin, your majesty? Is this what you normally do on a regular basis?" asked Merida with a hint of tease in her tone.
"I'm not sure. The last thing I remember was a big storm striking down unto Halloween Town which carries me and all of my denizens with it. Then, I suddenly woke up in darkness and found myself trapped in this pumpkin. That's when you broke me free and here I am." recanted Jack as he thought back to his fellow citizens of Halloween Town whose whereabouts were unknown to him.
Just then, Natsu suddenly had an idea crawl into his dumbfounded mind and slowly smiled. "Hey! You said you were the king of Halloween or somethin', right?"
"Yes. Yes, that is true." Jack smiled enthusiastically as the pink-haired boy mentioned his profession.
"So why don't you help us celebrate Halloween? We were planning on entering the Halloween Spirit Contest but we don't have enough decorations to enter it. Do you think you can help us?" Natsu implored to the slender skeleton.
"Hm, now that seems like a rather tall order." Jack responded as he looked around the guild hall and noticed how dull and abysmal with the lack of holiday spirit. "But this? This is nothing that an old skeleton can't handle!"
"AHAHAHAHA! Yes! Now we have a bigger chance to win the 1,000,000 jewels!" laughed Makarov as he jumped for joy. "Now if we can just put this pumpkin back together..."
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Dreyar. You see, it's not the pumpkin, nor the size of it is what will bring the Hallows Eve spirit. It should require the heart and effort to make this old-fashioned hall into a haunted paradise full of nightmares beyond imagination!" advised Jack with energetic pride for his favorite holiday.
"Seems a bit of a stretch, but you're right! We've got to push the envelope every now and then if we want to acheive victory! Who's with me?!" exclaimed Makarov with everlasting determination in his pride as the others replied with the same competitive aura as the master.
"Splendid! I can assure you all that I have some inspiring ideas that may make this your most exciting Halloween night yet, Fairies!" assured Jack as Snow White came into the room with a freshly baked pumpkin pie in hand.
"Okay! Who wants a piece of this pumpkin--" Snow White smiled, only to have her cheerful grin replaced with shock upon seeing Jack in the room, nearly making her faint with fright. "OOHHH!!!"
"She's gonna faint! Somebody catch her!" exclaimed Mirajane as the innocent princess slowly falls to the floor before gravity did the rest.
"I'll catch her!" Elfman said as he came to the aid of the petite princess, who slipped through his arms and her unconcious body slumps down underneath the Beast Takeover mage. "Oops, sorry."
"Yeah, nice catch, Superman. Your butterfingers really saved the day." commented Mushu sarastically while he casually continued to read a magazine.
Later that night, deep in the Magnolia Forest...
Wicked laughter can be heard deep in the dark woods near Magnolia as a small gathering of three women dressed in flashy, colonial clothing surrounded a boiling cauldron that brewed their malevolent spell.
The three women continued laughing maniacally as they brewed their magical elixir. "Yes, yes! It's all coming together, sisters!" cackled the first woman who had curly red hair. "Just a few more ingredients and our dastardly curse will be complete!"
"Hey, Winnie, do you think it needs more sugar?" asked the second woman who was chubby and had dark hair and wore a hat.
"Sugar?! Mary, don't be stupid! We're witches, not chocolatiers!" chastised the red-haired woman named Winifred.
"Actually, I think she's on to something, Winnie. If we add a little bit of sugar, the children would be more enticed to eat it. You know how bitter this brew would taste." suggested the third woman with long, blonde hair named Sarah. Winifred takes the large ladle used for stirring the cauldron and whacks the blonde heretic woman on the head in annoyance.
"And I also know that this elixir is not made for consumption, and the sugar will only taint the recipe, idiot!" Winifred barked at her, making the blonde woman withdraw in shame. "Now, what ingredients are we missing, siblings?"
"Uhh... a lizard's tongue?" added Mary.
"Owl tears?" added Sarah.
"Shaved brimstone?" added Mary.
"Demon droppings?" added Sarah.
"Wait a minute, I have it right here in the spell book." Winifred skimmed through the cryptic pages of the book until she found what she was looking for. "Ah, here it is! We need at least two ingredients to finish the spell: Hair of an undead corpse, a rib bone from ancient remains, and the blood of an innocent virgin."
"But where can we find corpse hair and a virgin's blood?" inquired Mary.
The eldest witch sister suddenly started to chortle condescendingly. "Oh, please, getting blood from a virgin is easy compared to the sinister stature of the Sanderson Sisters, AHAHAHAHA!!!! But the corpse hair is another matter." pondered Winifred as she tried to figure out how to acquire one of the more tedious ingredients.
Suddenly, Sarah hears the sound of children singing in the distance. "Ooh, do you hear that, sisters?"
"I hear it, too! It sounds like children!" Mary gasped eagerly.
"Ah, yes, it is almost supper time! And dinner is being delivered to us!" Winifred cackled as the sound of the singing children grew louder as it grew closer. "Here they come, girls. Get ready to pull the innocent old lady act."
"But, Winnie, we're not THAT old." Mary complained.
"Oh, shut up!" Winifred hissed quietly just when a large sentient porcelain bathtub came walking out of the brush with three small children riding in it. Two of them were boys and one a girl. The tallest boy was dressed as a devil, while the girl was dressed as a witch and the shorter boy a skeleton. Each child wore a mask that came with their costume.
"Oh, Sandersons! We've got something for you!" said the three children in a sing-songy tone.
"Nevermind, sisters, it's just Boogie's brats, again." groaned Winifred, calling off their facade. "What are you twerps doing here? Have you come to throw paint balloons at us?"
"Or put scorpions in our skirts?" Mary said irritably.
"Or poke and prod us with pitchforks?" Sarah whined, rubbing her rear end tenderly as she felt the pain coming back to her.
"Oogie sent us to find you." The boy in the devil costume explained.
"Specifically..." stated the girl in the witch costume.
"...by name." The boy in the skeleton costume said, finishing the girl's sentence.
"Lock." introduced the devil taking his mask off as the rest did the same.
"Shock." introduced the witch.
"Barrel." introduced the skeleton, taking a lick of his lollipop.
"Did Oogie bring us dinner? Because I'm really hungry for children." sneered Sarah hungrily as she bared her teeth, preparing to eat the Trick-or-Treaters.
"Don't bother, Sarah, they're too gamy anyway." ordered Winifred as the younger sister backed down obediently.
"Nope, no dinner." chortled Barrel.
"But we did bring you a piece offering straight from Oogie Boogie himself." said Shock as the three kids pulled out a black Trick-or-Treat bag from the bathtub.
In the sack was something that wriggled as the kids picked up the bag and opened it, revealing a pale, red-haired girl in a raggedy dress and had large stitches in some part of her body. The girl was bound, gagged and terrified beyond compare after being snatched by this tyrannical trio and her traumatic plight may take a turn for the worse at this point as she directed her gaze towards the witch sisters.
The women's eyes lit up with delight and their smiles curl up into sadistic expressions as they fully realized the potential of this new specimen.
"Well, look what we have here, sisters! A new pet!" sneered Winifred as she and her sisters leered over the horrified corpse girl.
"And look!" Mary gasped, plucking a hair from the girl's scalp, making her yelp silently. "An undead corpse's hair!"
"Oh, YAY! We're just two ingredients away from killing all the adults and having the children to ourselves!" Sarah jumped for joy as the Sanderson Sisters aquired their first ingredient to their magical, deadly formula.
"WHAT?!" muffled the corpse girl, shocked by this new revelation.
"That's right, Sarah! Once Underworld sees our dastardly deed, they'll surely let us become official members in the guild!" proclaimed Winifred, dropping the strand of hair into the cauldron's mixture.
"There'll be more where that came from, if you contribute to Oogie's cause in bringing Fiore to its knees!" offered Lock.
The three witches looked at each other and smiled. "We're listening." Winifred accepted intently.
"It's like this," Barrel began. "Since Fiore has the strongest source of magic, Oogie is gonna use that magic to open a magical casino where he'll be the only winner and anyone who comes in will come out a loser!"
"But what's in it for us? What'll we get?" Sarah asked.
"For starters, if you help us take over the town of Magnolia, you'll get the last two ingredients for your spell, and you can use it to wipe out the rest of the town." Shock added.
"And you can have all the children you can eat! Apart from us, though." Lock bargained.
"So, do we have a deal?" The Trick-or-Treaters asked in unison.
"Witch huddle!" said Winifred as the sister trio huddled and whispered as they discussed the offer that was laid out before them. As they silently conversed over the deal, Mary dimwittedly strayed away from the huddle for a moment before Sarah pulls her back in.
Finally, after a moment of deliberation, the sisters nodded in agreement. "You have yourselves a deal, children. Now tell us, where can we find the last few ingredients to the spell?" inquired Winifred.
"Well, first of all, there's a REALLY tall skeleton named Jack, and he's got plenty of rib bones for you to use!" said Lock.
"Yeah, and this corpse girl is his girlfriend, Sally." explained Barrel, gesturing to the undead girl. "You can use her as bait so that Jack will be willing to exchange his rib bone for her."
"Yes, that'll do just nicely. And as for the virgin..." nodded Winifred.
"Don't worry about it, we can take care of that in a heartbeat." insisted Lock
"But be careful of Jack, though. He's a sly one. He's very tricky and they don't call him the Master of Frights for nothing." Shock warned the witches.
"Not only that, but he's also got Fairy Tail on his side." Barrel mentioned, licking his lollipop.
"The Fairies?!" cried Mary and Sarah as they hugged each other in fear.
"Tch, the Fairies. They don't scare me. They're nothing but flies with pretty, glittery wings and have little magic wands that grant wishes and can make you fly with a little bit of dust. Big deal." scoffed Winifred.
"No, Winnie, not those Fairies, the Fairy guild, Fairy Tail! The ones that defeated Madam Mim and Pete! Remember?" reminded Sarah.
"They have dragons, Winnie! Dragons that spit fire and eat itty-bitty witches like us!" cried Mary as she was on the verge of panic.
"Well, I'm not scared of dragons, pixies, or that stupid guild Fairy Tail. Unlike you two ninnies with your tails between your legs." Winifred scolded shamefully at her siblings as she turned to Oogie Boogie's goons. "So, do we have a deal or what?"
"Sure thing, Sandersons!" exclaimed Lock.
"It'll be great working with the three of you." Shock smirked.
"This may be the start of a LONG friendship." grinned Barrel as the three children laughed while they crossed their fingers behind their backs.
"Bring your cauldron to Oogie and we'll plan our attack on Magnolia there." Shock requested as they jumped into the bathtub and rode off, leaving Sally behind with the witches.
"BYE-BYE!" laughed the trio as they started their singing up again as they head back to the Boogieman's base of operations.
"Are you sure we can trust them, Winnie? They're pretty dubious if you ask me." Sarah said concernly.
"Well, they did offer us this corpse as an offering." Winifred pondered as she glances evilly at Sally.
"Yeah, they did give us a very useful servant for us to use for all eternity. I think they and Oogie Boogie might become our allies." grinned Mary hopefully.
"Yes, but if they do somehow backstab us, we have the Headless Horseman at our disposal." Winifred sneered wickedly. "Other than that, our plan to rid the adults in the village of Magnolia and eat ALL of the children will go off with a Hallow's Eve bang! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Sarah and Mary's sadistic laughter joined in Winifred's chorus of howls and cackles as Sally sat aside watching the sorceress siblings laugh with fearful eyes. She thought to herself as she looked to the starry night sky as a tear went down her pale cheek. 'Jack, if you really are with the Fairies, please come quick. We can't let these evil people win.'
Magnolia Town (Halloween Night)
A few days have gone by when Halloween has finally come to Magnolia as the people began to partake in the festivities. Children are out Trick-or-Treating and grown-ups are attending costume parties while others stayed home for the holiday. The members of Fairy Tail along with other participating guilds in Fiore including Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel and so forth, are preparing their skits for the Halloween Spirit Contest.
The wizard guilds and their skits that are in the contest are judged based on theme, execution and, of course, spirit. Scoring is based on a 0 to 10 scale and three judges are selected to tally each category; one for theme, one for execution and one for spirit.
The Fairy Tail members were backstage and the participating characters, as well as their skit director, Jack, that were chosen to represent the guild in the contest watched the members of other guilds perform their skits. Blue Pegasus were nearly finished with their skit as Mickey, Goofy and Donald watched from offstage right.
"Wow, those Pegasus boys are pretty flamboyant, huh?" Mickey, who was dressed as the ring leader of a circus, chuckled as Ichiya Kotobuki and The Trimens of Blue Pegasus performed 'Super Freak' by James Brown for their skit while they were dressed like flashy dancers, which was very off put from the Halloween theme.
"She's a Super Freak, Super Freak. She's super freaky, MEEEEEN!" Ichiya sang the final verse as he and The Trimen struck a eccentric pose, ending their skit on a high note.
"Ah-yuck, yup, that Ichiya fella is pretty charming, too." Goofy, who was dressed as Frankenstein's monster, laughed, as Donald gave him a confused glance as the duck didn't find Ichiya to be that attractive.
The audience cheered moderately as the judges tallied their scores. The first judge gave them a 6 for theme, the second judge an 8 for execution and a 7 for spirit. The total score was 21. Blue Pegasus group bowed respectively and walked off stage.
"Well, one down, three more to go before we go on." said Donald, who was dressed as a clown duck.
"Whaddeya think, Happy? Do I look like a badass lizard beast?" Natsu, who was dressed as a reptilian monster, asked his Exceed friend.
"Aye, sir! You look like Godzilla!" exclaimed Happy, who dressed as a bat.
"Something's not right, though. Your costume is missing something." said Mushu as he pondered for a moment until it finally hits him. "Ah-ha! I got it!"
The small dragon rummaged through the makeup kit and brought out a pair of long prosthetic canine teeth. "You need some bigger chompers!"
"But I already have dragon teeth." said Natsu as he showed off his dragon canines.
"Oh, come on, those are baby teeth campared to REAL dragon teeth." Mushu said critically.
"ARE YOU SAYING I'M NOT A REAL DRAGON?!" Natsu yelled offensively.
"Well, technically you're a 'Dragon Slayer', not a 'Dragon Dragon'. Now open up that bear trap mouth of yours so I can glue these in." ordered Mushu as Natsu opened his mouth as the tiny lizard climbed up and applied adhesive to the prosthetic teeth, sticking each tooth to a front canine.
"Has anyone seen Lucy around?" Levy, who was dressed as a wolf girl, asked.
"She's at home getting ready for the skit. It won't be long until she gets here." Erza replied as she was applying her makeup for her vampiress costume.
Meanwhile, at Lucy's apartment, the Celestial Spirit mage was putting the finishing touches on her she-devil outfit with the help of one her spirits, Virgo, who was a purple-haired spirit dressed as a maid.
"Thanks for helping me with my costume, Virgo." Lucy thanked her spirit friend.
"Of course, it's my duty to serve my master no matter the circumstance." Virgo said professionally. "Can I be punished now?"
"Eeh, okay, you can return now, Virgo." commanded Lucy awkwardly as the spirit returned to her celestial key. "I better get to the contest before they start without--"
Suddenly, she hears a knock at the door. "Huh, who could that be?" Lucy waltzed over to the front door and opened it. She looks down to see Lock, Shock and Barrel wearing their masks and had their Trick-or-Treat bag in hand.
"Trick-or-Treat!" chimed the trio.
"Oh, hey there, kids. I don't have candy, but I do have some caramel apples that I ma--" The Spirit mage was suddenly met with blackness as the three pranksters cover her with the Trick-or-Treat bag and tie the sack shut. "HEY! What the hell are you doing, you little bastards?! If this is your idea of a joke it's not funny!"
"Come on, gang, let's take the virgin back to Oogie Boogie!" ordered Lock as the three throw Lucy into the bathtub and carries her off to their master.
"VIRGIN?! You brats have a sick sense of humor you know that!" Lucy shouted from inside the bag.
"YES!" The trio of tricksters laughed as they assisted in carrying out the diabolical plot that will soon unfold.
After Lucy's kidnapping transpired, the contest continued on as Sabertooth came on with Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney, Yukino Agria and Minerva Orland, dressed as ghouls doing a dance routine to 'Zombie' by The Cranberries.
In the audience, the other Fairy Tail mages and the characters were attending the contest and were all watching when Merida was swooning over Rogue, who was performing with his partners.
"I bet that tall and dark lad up there looks quite stoic up close, don'cha think?" blushed Merida, which caught Jasmine's attention.
"I thought you didn't like boys, Merida." Jasmine said.
"Wha-wha-- n-no I don't! I mean, if I'm not being forced to marry them, then I guess they're okay." stammered the Scottish girl, her face blushing madly, making Snow White giggle.
"I wonder how many times a day that blond guy works out?" Rapunzel wondered.
"R-Rapunzel!" exclaimed Eugene, feelings of jealousy coarsing through his mind.
"What? It's a legitimate question, Eugene." Rapunzel said apprehensively.
"Yeah, but I work out, too." whined Eugene, twiddling his thumbs.
"I know you do, and I'm proud of you." Rapunzel smiled, kissing her husband's cheek, making him feel more secure.
Backstage, the competing Fairy Tail members were beyond antsy as it was almost their time to go on. One of their performers, Lucy Heartfilia, was missing. She has yet to show up for the skit and her close friends are increasingly getting worried.
"Where's Lucy? She hasn't shown up yet. We can't go on without her." said Wendy, who was dressed as a witch, whose voice was hinted with worry.
"If she doesn't come by the time we start, we'll go on without her." said Gajeel, dressed as werewolf.
"But we can't go on without Lucy-san! She worked really hard during rehearsal! There's no way she would not come at the last minute! We need to go out and search for her!" exclaimed Juvia, who was dressed as ghost bride, as she was beginning to feel anxious.
"Chill out, Juvia. She's just running late, that's all." Gray, who was a ghost groom and Juvia's partner in the skit, assured the Water mage calmly.
Just then, the judges have already scored Sabertooth's skit with a total of 28 which made them the team with the highest score to beat. The performing wizards bowed as the audience cheered for them and exited the stage.
"Oh, no. We're up next." Carla, who was dressed as a spider, gasped silently as the Mayor, who was hosting the contest came up on stage to introduce the next act, which was Fairy Tail.
"Wasn't that amazing everyone? I have to say that was very 'ghoul', am I right?" chuckled the Mayor awkwardly, as his lame pun brought no response from the crowd.
"Lucy's still not here, Jack. What do we do?" Mickey asked the skeleton nervously.
Jack sighed disappointingly as he gave his answer. "I guess Mr. Redfox is right. With or without Miss Heartfilia, the show must go on." The cast of mages and characters nodded as they all took their positions.
"So, without further ado," The Mayor continued. "I give you our final contestant of the night, whose fright-tastic skit, orchestrated by a Mr. Jack Skellington, will give you chills and thrills with every passing second. Ladies, gents, boys and girls alike, I give you our town's local and famous wizard guild, Fairy Ta--"
"Not so fast!" yelled a woman's voice as the Mayor turned towards to the left side of the stage, as Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson approached center stage. Winifred spoke as she confronted the Mayor. "Pardon our intrusion. But I believe you have forgotten a late entry."
"Late entry? Oh, uh, I guess I must've missed that." said the Mayor confusedly, double-checking the contest's entry list.
"Allow me to introduce ourselves; We are the Sanderson Sisters, my name is Winifred and these are my siblings, Mary and Sarah." introduced Winifred as the other two sisters waved back.
"Alright, what guild are you from?" The Mayor asked.
"Oh, we're not a part of any guild... yet." smirked Winifred while Mary and Sarah giggled.
"I'm sorry but you can't compete if you're not in a--" explained the Mayor before being rudely interrupted by the eldest sibling.
"I don't care what the rules are, we're not here for your stupid contest. Now move aside." said Winifred as she pushes the Mayor away to the far side of the stage. "Lights!"
A spotlight shines on Winifred as Mary and Sarah each stood behind two back-up mics. "Music!"
The music cues up as the others watched from backstage in utter confusion. "What's going out there?" Gray asked.
"Who are those women, and what are they doing here?" questioned Erza as Jack watched the witches with suspicion as the sisters began their enchanting song.
Winifred:
I put a spell on you
And now you're mine.
You can't stop the things I do
I ain't lyin'
It's been 300 years
Right down to the day.
Now the witch is back
And now there's hell to pay.
I put a spell on you
And now you're MINE!!
The music suddenly goes uptempo as everyone backstage watched with bewilderment. "What the hell?" muttered Gajeel.
"Hello, Magnolia! My name is Winifred! What's yours?" shouted the older witch as the crowd cheered in response.
Winifred:
I put a spell on you
And now you're gone
Mary and Sarah:
Gone, gone, gone, so long!
Winifred:
My whammy fell on you
And it was so strong
Mary and Sarah:
So strong, so strong, so strong!
Winifred:
Your wretched little lives
Have all been cursed!
Cause of all the witches working
I'm the worst!
I put a spell on you
And now you're mine!
Mary and Sarah:
Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out!
Winifred:
If you don't believe
You better get superstitious!
Ask my sisters!
Mary and Sarah:
Ooh, she's vicious!
Winifred:
I put a spell on you...
I put a spell on you...
Sisters!
During the instrumental bridge, the sisters danced as the crowd jumped to the music. Even the Mayor was grooving with them as well while the others backstage were trying to piece together what was going on.
"Man, I don't know who they are, but they're good." Levy complimented.
"There's something fishy about this, I just can't put my finger on it." Jack said as he rubbed his chin in contemplation.
"Who cares? This song is really catchy!" said Natsu as he ignorantly danced to the song.
"Aye! This is fun!" confirmed Happy as the latter danced in sync.
Winifred:
Ah-say-into-pie-uppa-maybe-uppen die!
Audience:
Ah-say-into-pie-uppa-maybe-uppen-die!
Winifred:
In Kamma Koray Ama!
Audience:
In Kamma Koray Ama!
Winifred:
Hey-hi say bye-by~e!
Jack suddenly realized what they were up against as he saw through the Sanderson Sisters' ruse. "I knew it! They're using a song spell to brainwash the audience!"
"What?! But that's cheating!" exclaimed Wendy.
"A song spell..." Erza looked out into the audience and noticed dozens of people's eyes looking dazed yet zombified. "He's right. It looks like whatever spell those women are using, it's affecting the audience."
"So what do we do?" asked Gajeel.
"We may have to confront them, before something bad happens." said Erza with a serious expression as the song comes to its end.
All:
Bye-bye!
The crowd cheered wildly as the sisters struck a final pose at the end of the song.
"Hold it right there!" commanded Erza as she stepped out onto the stage with a confrontational look on her face. "What are you three up to?"
"Why nothing, really. Just singing a little ditty, that's all. Nothing wrong with that." Winifred said innocently.
"You're using a song spell to manipulate these people aren't you? Don't deny it!" Erza accused the witches.
"That Erza girl is pretty smart for a Fairy Tail mage, huh, Winifred?" whispered Mary as Winifred tries to shush her but the Requip mage heard her clearly.
"How do you know my name?! Answer me!" Erza demanded.
"Winnie. She's scaring me." whispered Sarah as she cowered behind her sister.
"Alright, fine! You caught us! We were trying to hypnotize the audience." Winifred admitted.
"Why?! What were you trying to gain from it?" The scarlet-haired woman questioned the witches as Winifred responded with a grim smile.
"Because it is the witching hour, young Scarlet! Tonight the townspeople will cower in fear as the Sandersons unleash their satanic wrath! AHAHAHAHA!!!" Winifred and her sisters laughed wickedly as the eldest Sanderson turned to the blonde sister. "Sarah!"
The younger sister used her two fingers to release a loud whistle, which echoed throughout the town. The air was quiet until the sound of a horse neighing was heard in the distance, followed by hoofbeats that grew louder as it came closer. That was when a dark horse appeared out the blue, whose rider mounted on its back roared with a haunting cry. What stood out from the most from the man that rode on the demonic horse was his missing head.
A woman in the audience screamed, causing the throngs of people to disperse in fear of being attacked by this new entity. The Headless Horseman growled and charged his horse towards the stage, crashing head on into it. Erza jumped out of the way just in time before the horse could hit her. The witches laughed at the chaos that plagued the area of the outdoor stage.
"What is that?!" yelled Erza.
"That's the Headless Horseman!" Mary explained, pointing to the angered apparition.
"It took a good plenty of our magic to make the Horseman our servant! But it was so worth it!" Winifred and the sisters continued cackling at the trail of destruction caused by the Headless Horseman.
"Mickey! Get the people out of here before someone gets killed." ordered Erza as she used her magic to change into one of her iconic Hearts Kruez Armor in order to deal with the horse riding menace
"Right-O, Miss Erza! Come on, boys!" Mickey exclaimed as he, Donald and Goofy helped escort the people away from the stage area.
"Merida! Aladdin! Eugene! I may need your help!" ordered Erza as she rushed past the three.
"Oi, yes! Some action!" smiled Merida as she wields her sword and jumps into the battle.
"Wait, why can't you get the Dragon Boys, or the guy who keeps taking his clothes off to help?!" exclaimed Aladdin.
"Don't question her, Al! You've seen how scary she can be!" Eugene reminded Aladdin as they ran to the aid of the armored woman.
"I say, your friend is quite handy with a sword." Jack said impressively.
"Yeah, that's Erza for ya." commented Gray.
"Alright, while she's taking care of the Headless Horse Glue, let's get those bitchy witches!" exclaimed Natsu as he charged towards the Sanderson Sisters.
"Come on, girls. Let's find a better seat to watch this anarchy from afar." ordered Winifred as the sisters laughed and disappeared in a puff of smoke, blinding the Fire Dragon Slayer before he could catch them.
"Dammit, they're gone!" Natsu growled.
"Forget'em, Natsu, we still have to stop that Horseman." said Gray.
"At least it can't get any worse at this point." Gajeel commented just when they hear the sound of jazz music in the distance. Neon colors illuminated the streets as some Halloween-funhouse themed parade float came charging around the corner. The float swerved and came to a halt in the middle of the open stage area.
"You and your big mouth, Gajeel." glared Natsu and Gray.
"Ah, shut up, hothead!" barked the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Stay on your toes, gents. I'm afraid we may be facing another relentless foe." Jack warned the mages as the music from the float shifted to an ominous instrumental, signaling the presence of a threatening force.
The lights on float lit up brightly as a large figure rised from trap door beneath the platform as the sinister song playing in the background began its melody. The figure revealed itself to be a neon-green sack monster with empty eyesockets as the float's lights shined on it.
"Guess who, Jacky-boy!" laughed the sack monster as Jack recognized this lumbering figure.
"Oogie Boogie! I should've known you were behind these shenanigans!" Jack presumed angrily.
"Indubitably, Jack! And on Halloween, no doubt! You might as well hand your crown over to me, because it's finally Oogie's night now!" proclaimed Oogie and gave out a deep cackle.
"Who's the fatass potato sack?" Natsu asked confusedly, pointing at Oogie.
"That potato sack is Oogie Boogie. Halloween Town's most notorious trickster." Jack informed the pink-haired mage.
"And a world class gambler!" Oogie added boastfully as he threw his signature pair of dice which rolled a pair of ones. "WHAT?! SNAKE EYES?!" He stomped down on the ground to make the dice roll a pair of twelves. "Twelve! Now that's more like it!"
"He's also a world class cheater, sore loser and scumbag. Surprise, surprise." Gray said sarcastically, which drew Oogie's attention to him, Natsu and Gajeel.
"WELL, WELL, WELL, what have we here? Fairy Tail! AH-OOH! I'm really scared! So you're the wizards that everybody's talking about! AHAHAHA!!!" Oogie bellowed as he transitioned into song.
Oogie:
You're joking, you're joking!
I can't believe my eyes!
You're joking me, you gotta be
This can't be the right ones!
They're ancient, they're ugly
I don't know which is worse!
I might just split a seam now if I don't die laughing first!
Mr. Oogie Boogie says there's trouble close at hand
So you better pay attention now, cause I'm the Boogieman!
And if you aren't shaking, there's something very wrong
Cause this may be last time you hear the Boogie Song!
Whoo-hoo!
Chorus:
Whoa-oh!
Oogie:
Whoo-hoo!
Chorus:
Whoa-oh!
Oogie:
Whoo-hoo!
Chorus:
Whoa-oh!
Oogie:
I'm the Oogie Boogieman!
"Get'em boys!" commanded Oogie as an array of skeletons, ghosts and bats came flying at Jack and the Fairy Tail mages.
"If this is your best trick yet, Oogie, I'm not impressed!" exclaimed Jack as he equipped his Soul Robber to combat the enemy skeletons that came at him.
"Man, these Halloween props are pretty realistic. Look at these ghosts, they look as though they are actually made of ectoplasm." commented Gajeel as he yanked on a ghost continuously with his two hands, torturing the poor thing.
"I don't think these are fake-- OW!" shouted Gray as a bat bit his hand, forcing the Ice mage to swat it away.
"FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!" screamed Natsu as he plowed through a bunch of skeletons.
"Ooh, you're pretty tough for a bunch of magicians. I bet your friends must be impressed by your little magic tricks. Hmm, well why don't we ask them?" grinned Oogie as a crane on the float lifted up a cage with Lucy and Sally bounded together.
"Jack!" cried Sally.
"Natsu!" cried Lucy.
"Sally!" gasped Jack.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted.
"Let our friend go you fat creep!" Gray demanded.
"HA! Fat chance, pretty boy! They're mine now!" laughed Oogie.
Lucy:
Release us now or you will face the dire consequences!
My friends are expecting me so please come to your senses!
Oogie grabs the cage and made it spin around, making the girls dizzy.
Oogie:
Ha! You're joking, you're joking!
I can't believe my ears!
Will someone shut this girl up?
I'm drowning in my tears!
It's funny, I'm laughing!
You really are too much!
And now with your permission,
I'm going to do my stuff!
"What are you going to do?" Sally asked fearfully.
"I'm going to do the best I can." Oogie smirked evilly as the song transcended into an instrumental break. The Boogieman then unleashed turrets mounted on the float, aiming directly at the mages and Jack. The turrets fired multiple rounds at the others as they dodged the shower of bullets.
"Guys, look out!" Lucy warned the heroes.
"I think we got this covered Lucy!" assured Gajeel as he caught some of the bullets with his mouth and swallowed them.
"We'll get you guys out of there, soon! Just give us some time!" Natsu said as he dodged the cascade of bullets.
Oogie:
WHOA!
Sound of the dice, mixed with music in the air!
Cause I'm a gambling Boogieman, although I don't play fair!
It's much more fun, I must confess, with lives on the line!
Not mine, of course, but yours, oh boy!
Now that'll be just fine!
Natsu
Release them now or you must answer for this heinous act!
Oogie:
Oh, brother, you're something
You put me in a spin!
You aren't comprehending
The position that you're in!
It's hopeless, you're finished
You haven't got a prayer!
Cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie
And you... ain't going... nowhere.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Meanwhile with Erza
Erza, Merida, Eugene and Aladdin pursued the Headless Horseman as it ravaged through the town, destroying any obstacle that got in its way.
"He's too fast! We'll never catch him at this rate!" exclaimed Aladdin as the four of them chased the Horseman but were unsuccessfully falling behind.
"On foot, maybe. You two cut him off while me and Merida drive him in your direction." ordered Erza as she used her Requip magic to summon her synthetic steed.
"Whoa! Nice horse!" Eugene complimented the armored mage as she and Merida mounted the steed and rode after the Horseman.
"You're right. She's very ballsy." affirmed Aladdin as he and Eugene went through an allyway, using it as a shortcut.
The Horseman and its monstrous steed continue to stampede through the town with Erza and Merida following close.
"I'll shoot some arrows to drive him towards the boys. We'll steer him like a confused sheep." Merida informed Erza strategically, drawing an arrow out, aiming it next to the horse's left flank and fires it.
The arrow flies past the demonic steed, spooking the phantom animal and driving it towards the two boys that cornered the Horseman. The ghostly rider growled as it steered the horse at full speed, threatening to plow the two men.
"Wait for it..." ordered Eugene, waiting for the right moment as the Horseman drew its sword and came ever so closer with every second. "NOW!"
Aladdin and Eugene grabbed hold of a long rope and the two ran to opposite sides of the street, extending the rope as it stretched out. It was already too late for the Horseman as the rope glided over the horse, snagging the rider and knocking it to the ground. The horse trotted away while the Horseman swatted the rope away and got back up on its feet.
"Okay, now we're on a more even level!" smirked Aladdin as Eugene tossed him his sword while the girls rejoined the two.
"Let's finish this!" Merida stated as the four surrounded the enraged entity.
The Headless Horseman didn't give up so easily as it put up an excellent fight against the quad of sword wielders. Each fighter took a chance at striking the apparition. It held its own against the four of them, but only one at a time.
"Man, this guy must have been dead for centuries, and he's still got a bit of a kick in him!" Eugene commented as thrusted and parried with the stubborn spirit.
"Don't overestimate him. All opponents have a weakness and I've already studied his movements. If we all attack him at once, we can overwhelm him." Erza advised the others as they all nodded in confirmation.
They all stopped their attack and stepped back a few feet away from their opponent to distance themselves. The Horseman growled furiously as it swung its blade at the fighters.
"All together now! GO!" siganled Erza as the others screamed and charged at the spirit as they all swung their blades upon their attacker, each weapon piercing through the ghostly armor of the Horseman at once.
They drew their swords out from the spirit's body, and it fell to its knees. The phantom let out a hushed groan as it collapsed to the ground. Its body slowly dissipated and vanished into thin air, a sign of its defeat.
Merida, Eugene and Aladdin hollered with joy while Erza breathed a sigh of relief as they have vanquished the paranormal threat.
"We did it! We killed a ghost and it was amazing!" Merida cheered as she hugged her two male companions jovially.
"I can't believe it! He pretty much died like, twice!" exclaimed Aladdin.
"Well, I dunno about you, but I must say this has been a pretty interesting, yet terrifying Halloween. I think I'm gonna have pleasant nightmares tonight." grinned Eugene triumphantly.
"It may not be over yet, I have a feeling the other need our help." warned Erza as she had an eerie feeling come over her.
"Oh, come on, what kind of trouble could they be in that would require our help?" inquired Eugene.
Back at the stage area
"We're in trouble and we need help!" exclaimed Natsu as an ogre-like beast that was sent by Oogie Boogie chased him, Jack, Gray and Gajeel around, slamming its enormous club down in an attempt to crush them. The Boogieman laughed maniacally as he watched the spectacle unfold with unbridled joy while Lucy and Sally watched helplessly in their prison.
"What are we gonna do, Lucy?" Sally asked the Celestial Spirit mage as she scanned the inside of the cage.
"This isn't an Anti-Magic cage, I can try to break us out of here, but the bratty kids that kidnapped me took my Spirit Keys away." said Lucy as she tried to kick down the door in the cage.
"Wait, I think I have something. But first I need to rip my hands off." Sally asked favorly.
"WHAT?! Why would I do that?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"It's okay, I can just sew them back on." assured Sally. "If my limbs ever detach from my body, I always carry a needle and thread with me."
"Well, that's good to know." Lucy said blankly as she grabbed the corpse girl's hands firmly. "Are you sure this won't hurt a little?"
"It'll tingle a little bit, but not much. Just pull as hard as you can." informed Sally.
"Okay, here it goes." Lucy yanked Sally's hands off like tissue paper, which grossed her out immensely, as the severed limbs slipped through the ropes that binded the two girls.
"There, now let me sew my hands back on and I'll give you my needle to open the lock." said Sally as her hands sentiently sewed themselves back onto her arms.
"Better make it quick, though. That potato sack there is getting bored and may be coming our way soon." warned Lucy as she kept an eye Oogie.
The boys were still being chased by the ogre before a sudden gust of wind knocked it down. Wendy, Juvia, Levy and the Exceeds, Carla, Happy and Pantherlily came to their aid.
"Gajeel, you and the boys go save Lucy while we take care of this uggo here." Levy said as she used her Solid Script magic to combat the ogre.
"I'm doing this for you, Gray-sama! Go save our comrade!" exclaimed Juvia, lashing her water whip to keep the monster at bay.
"You can always count on our girls, huh, Gray?" Gajeel smirked, leaving Gray confused at the Dragon Slayer's comment.
"Ooh, looks like we've got some new players!" Oogie chuckled menacingly when he turned his head for a moment and noticed the prisoner's cages were empty. "WHAT?! That virgin and Sally have gotten away!"
"HEY, FATASS! OVER HERE!" Lucy shouted as she retrieved her Spirit Keys and summoned the Celestial Gate of Scorpio. "Get'em Scorpio!
"Wanna dance, Boogie Boy?" challenged the scorpian spirit.
"MMM-MMM! HIGH PROTEIN! Don't mind if I do!" Oogie hungrily as he used his vacuum of a mouth to inhale the spirit.
"Wait, wha-AAH!" screamed Scorpio as Oogie tried to swallow the poor spirit. "NO! NO! DON'T EAT ME! IT'S SO DARK AND SMELLY IN HERE! LUCY, HELP!"
"Scorpio return!" panicked Lucy as the spirit returned to his key. "Man, why is it that my spirits can never land a hit on these guys?"
Suddenly, a bolt of energy paralyzes Lucy and Sally. Mary and Sarah Sanderson giggled as they appeared out of nowhere and used their dark magic to recapture their prisoners.
"Where do you think you're going my pretties?" cackled Winifred.
"Let them go, old lady! Or I'll kick your witchy ass!" Natsu shouted at the witch threateningly.
"Don't even try it, you dragon! The virgin is ours now!" hissed Winifred.
"What is it with you people and my virginity!?! Why do you care so much about it, anyway?! That's just creepy!!" snapped Lucy offensively.
"Release Sally immediately or you three will suffer endurely at the hands of me!" threatened Jack.
"Of course we will, Jacky. But first, if you want her alive, you have to give us what we came here for." bargained Sarah.
"And what is that?" inquired Jack.
"Your rib bone!" answered Mary.
"Jack, NO--" implored Sally before her mouth was forced shut by Sarah's magic.
"What do you need my rib bone for?" demanded Jack.
"That's not important! Do you want the dead girl or not?" Winifred insisted.
"You better make up your mind, Jack. The clock is ticking." grinned Oogie menacingly.
The skeleton thought for a moment before finally making the correct choice. "Alright, if I give you my rib bone, will you let her go?"
"Only if you make good on that promise." Winifred said.
Jack snapped off one of his rib bones and tossed it to the witch. Winifred smiled evilly as she grasped the bone. "Let the dead girl go, Sarah. She's no use to us anymore."
The youngest witch sister released Sally from her paralyzing grip, freeing her as she ran towards Jack in open arms.
"Alright, you got what you wanted. Now give us blondie." Gajeel demanded angrily.
"Actually, the agreement was that we released the corpse, not the virgin." reminded Winifred.
"NO! LET HER GO OR I'LL KILL YOU!!!" screamed Natsu as he ran to save Lucy but was suddenly stopped by an invisible force.
Winifred used her magic to create a barrier to prevent the mages from intefering. "Mary, bring the virgin over here so that I may extract her blood."
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!!!" screeched Natsu as he banged on the barrier furiously.
"Now you behave yourself little dragon while we cut your friend." mocked Sarah as she handed a knife over to Winifred.
"What are they doing to her?" Jack asked worriedly.
"Jack, they're going to use Lucy's blood to put a curse on the town!" informed Sally, shocking the skeleton.
"GRAY, HELP ME!" screamed Natsu as he and the Ice mage used their magic to destroy the barrier.
Winifred grabs Lucy's hand and cuts the girl's palm. Lucy gasps as the droplets of blood dripped from her hand and fell into the cauldron. The red light from the cauldron grew bright as the spell was finally complete. The sisters cackled in triumph as they tossed Lucy aside and gathered around the bubbling cauldron and embraced their victory.
"Our death curse is complete, sisters!" squealed Winifred. "In just a few minutes, the spell will work its way into the village, and all the parents and grownups will be dead! HAHAHAHA!!!"
"Now we get to have our kiddie buffet!" Mary cheered in delight.
"And I'll finally be able to make my signature child casserole!" Sarah said happily.
Natsu and Gray break through the magic barrier and the others run over to the fallen Lucy. "Lucy, are you okay?" Natsu asked, comforting the girl.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy said assuringly while wincing from the excruciating cut on her right palm.
"Here, let me bind that for you." said Sally as she came over and tore a piece of her dress off, using it as a gauze to heal the open wound.
"We need to stop that cauldron before it kills everyone!" exclaimed Gray.
"I don't think that will be necessary, Mr. Fullbuster." replied Jack, smiling as he watched Lock, Shock and Barrel drop a lollipop into the cauldron. The three kids giggled mischievously while they ran as far from the scene as possible.
"We're gonna eat the children! We're gonna eat the children! We're gonna eat the children!" The Sanderson Sisters chanted joyfully while Oogie laughed and danced victoriously until he noticed the cauldron reacting strangely.
"Uhh, is the spell supposed to do that?" Oogie asked as he pointed to the cauldron which started to bubble and erupt uncontrollably.
"Winnie? What's happening to the cauldron?" Sarah asked nervously.
"The spell has been tainted!" Winifred realized. "Mary! What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything! Maybe we used the wrong virgin!" Mary guessed.
"Well, what does the recipe say?!" Oogie shouted demandingly.
"Let's see... huh, that's weird. I could've sworn the page was in here." Sarah said as she searched the spell book.
"Give me that!" hissed Winifred, snatching the book from her sister. "The page! It's missing! WHERE IS IT?!"
"Is this what you're looking for?" smirked Jack as he revealed the missing page of the spell book in his possession.
"H-How... b-b-but... WHAT?!?" Winifred screeched furiously.
"The other day, after Fairy Tail freed me from my pumpkin-themed prison, I ran into Boogie's Boys and they informed me of Oogie's plan to pave Magnolia for his casino/amusement park. So, I devised a plan to thwart his despicable plot, by having them act as double agents. You three just so happened to get mixed up in all this." Jack explained cunningly.
"That's a pretty smart move." Gray smirked.
"Well, why the hell didn't you say anything before, bone head?!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Espionage requires complete secrecy. That's what I learned when I infiltrated Raven Tail." Gajeel said informatively. "Ain't that right?"
"Precisely." Jack nodded in reply.
"Why those dirty double-crossers!" boomed Oogie, his voice rising with anger. "When I get my hands on them I'll--"
Suddenly, the cauldron started to warp and twist as the brew bubbled and morphed into monstrous hands, which popped out of the large pot, grabbing Oogie by the threads of his arms and legs. The Boogieman shrieked as the arms tore away at the stitches, slowly peeling away at his sack body. Eventually the skin was suddenly ripped off, revealing the insect innards that stuffed the sack man.
Everyone was repulsed by the number of bugs that Oogie consumed overtime. The ghastly arms started snatching handfuls of insects and feeding them to the corrupted cauldron.
"NOOOO!! MY BUGS!!! MY PRECIOUS BUGS!!! MY BUGS!!!!!" groaned Oogie, his voice growing more distorted as life force was drained from him. Soon, there were no more bugs, as most of the insects were ingested while the rest scurried away into hiding.
"What the hell?! That was disgusting!" exclaimed Natsu while stepping on some remaining bugs.
"I'm afraid that the sugar content is making the curse behave irratically and its transforming into a monster!" informed Jack.
"Again, would've been good to know." Lucy said blankly.
"Jack, what do we do? That thing might try to kill us!" Sally asked fearfully.
"I say we kill it!" Natsu suggested, displaying a sadistic smile on his face.
"Hm, that might actually be the better solution." Jack said, strangely agreeing with the Dragon Slayer.
"Winnie! It's gone crazy!" exclaimed Mary.
"We've gotta get out of here!" cried Sarah.
"Quick, sisters! To the skies!" ordered Winifred as the sisters conjured their brooms and frantically flew away from the scene.
"Hey! Get back here! We're not through with you!" growled Natsu as the sisters disappeared from sight.
"Nevermind them, Lizard Breath. We gotta stop that cauldron monster before it picks us off!" exclaimed Gray as he used his Ice magic to create a bow arrow to stop the mutating monster.
"Right." Natsu smirked as his body emanated in flames as he attacked the cauldron.
"Way ahead of you, ladies." Gajeel said teasingly as he unleashed multiple attacks on the creature.
"My, what excellent teamwork!" Jack applauded as three of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail fought against the mutating beast.
"Those three have a very strong bond, don't they, Lucy?" Sally asked with a fascinated tone.
"We all do. That's what makes us a team. And speaking of team, time to throw my hat into the ring." smiled Lucy as she equips one of her Spirit Keys, unlocking the Zodiac Gate: Leo.
Loke, also known as the Zodiac, Leo, was summoned unto the battlefield. "How may I be of service, Miss Lucy?" asked Loke politely, whose charming appearance made Sally blush and Jack slightly envious of his looks.
"See that man-eating cauldron over there? We need to defeat it before causes anymore havoc!" ordered Lucy.
"That's quite a tall order, but that's nothing that we can't handle." Loke said confidently, pushing his glasses against his face. "REGULAS GATLING IMPACT!!!"
The spirit jumped into the air and landed mulitple melee attacks on the monster which growled and gurgled with every punch and kick delivered by Loke. The creature was temporarily stunned, giving Natsu, Gray and Gajeel the opportunity to finish it off.
"FIRE DRAGON'S..." breathed Natsu.
"ICE-MAKE..." shouted Gray, creating a bazooka from ice.
"IRON DRAGON'S..." breathed Gajeel.
"BREATH!!!"
"CANNON!!!"
"BREATH!!!"
Three sound-breaking forces met together in a combined effort to defeat the intended target in an explosive aftermath. The creature screeched in pain as it was obliterated in almost an instant.
Jack and Sally braced themselves as the force of the explosion blew against them. The sound of the explosion was heard across town just when Erza, Merida, Eugene and Aladdin arrived. Wendy, Happy, and the others also came when they heard the sounds of the fight going on. Dust and smoke blanketed the area when Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Gajeel emerged as it slowly cleared up.
"Man, that was awesome! Let's do it again!" Natsu, covered in soot, shouted enthusiastically.
Gray coughed from inhaling smoke. "Yeah, how about Hell No!"
Mickey, Donald and Goofy returned when they saw what became of the fight. "Golly! What was that all about?" Mickey said as the three came onto the scene.
"Sounds like someone blew up a stick of dynamite!" exclaimed Goofy.
"Or an atomic bomb!" Donald exclaimed with exaggeration.
"Is everyone okay? What happened here?" Erza asked while fanning away the settling cloud of dust.
"Those witches from earlier summoned a monster, but Natsu and the others stopped it." informed Wendy.
"Is it really over, Jack?" Sally asked, coughing from the thick air.
"I believe so, Sally." confirmed Jack. "Are you alright?"
Sally nodded. "Yes, I'm okay. I'm just glad that I found you again."
"Me too, Sally. Even after all this insanity, we still managed to reunite once more--" Jack stopped as Sally embraced him in a hug of which he gladly returned.
Lock, Shock and Barrel watched them from afar and giggled while Barrel pretended to make love to himself. Jack and Sally overheard them, making the two blush awkwardly.
"OH MY LAND!" A voice shrieked as everone turned to see Magnolia's Mayor, horrified by the condition of the contest stage, which was nearly destroyed in the battle. "How on Earth are we supposed to continue the contest with the stage in pieces! OHH EVERYTHING IS RUINED! HALLOWEEN IS RUINED!"
Lucy walked up to the bawling Mayor in pity. "Sorry about ruining the stage, Mr. Mayor."
"I guess Halloween is over at this point, isn't it?" Happy said, frowning with disappointment.
"Not just yet!" Jack protested. "The contest may be over at this point, but we only have a couple of hours left before midnight! There's still enough time for us to perform our skit! I refuse to let this Halloween end on a sour note!"
"But where can I find another venue at the last minute?" bawled the Mayor.
"Why don't we set one up outside the guild hall?" Erza suggested.
"Brilliant idea, Miss Scarlet!" chimed Jack. "We'll set up the stage and prepare for the skit, while you, Mr. Mayor, will spread the word and gather the audience outside the hall!"
"Well, whatever you're all planning, I hope it'll end this Halloween Night with a cheerful conclusion." The Mayor sighed.
"Just leave it to us, Mayor!" exclaimed Natsu while Happy replied with an 'Aye!'.
"Oh, I hope you're right. I'll give you all an hour to prepare." said the Mayor worriedly as he went off to inform the people.
"You heard the man! Let's do this!" shouted Donald as everyone cheered in reply and hurried on over to the guild hall to set up for the skit.
An hour later...
Not long after, a large crowd gathered outside the Fairy Tail guild hall for the guild's skit. A makeshift stage and curtains was set up for the actors to perform on. The people in the audience conversed for a while until the lights dimmed down, signaling everyone to be silent.
A spotlight shined down onto the center of the stage as Mickey came up on stage to adress to the audience. "Hello, everyone, thank you all for coming! The wizard guild, Fairy Tail is proud to present their Halloween Extravaganza! A special skit directed by Jack Skellington! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the show everyone!"
Applause followed soon after Mickey exits the stage as the spotlight disappears and the curtains open up. A dark lighting draped the setting and the guild members are gathered together in their costumes as the music began to play an ominous tune.
Natsu:
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Ensemble (joins in):
Come with us and you will see
This our town of Halloween
This is Halloween!
This is Halloween!
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!
This is Halloween!
Everybody make a scene!
Trick-or-Treat, til the neighbors all die of fright!
It's our town!
Everybody scream!
In this town of Halloween
Lucy:
I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
Happy:
I am the one hiding under your stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair
Ensemble:
This is Halloween!
This is Halloween!
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!
In this town
We call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
Erza:
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!
Ensemble:
'Round that corner, man
Hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting now to pounce and how you'll SCREAM!
Gajeel:
This is Halloween!
Levy:
Red and black
Pantherlily:
And slimy green
Gajeel:
Aren't you scared?
Wendy/Carla:
Well, that's just fine!
Say it once, say it twice
Take your chance and roll the dice!
Fly with the moon in the dead of night!
Mushu:
Everybody SCREAM!
Everybody SCREAM!
Ensemble:
In our town of Halloween
Donald:
I am the clown with tear away face!
Goofy:
Here in a flash and gone without a trace!
Ensemble:
I am the 'who' when you call 'Who's there?'
I am the wind blowing through your hair
Natsu:
I am the shadow of the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
Ensemble:
This is Halloween!
This is Halloween!
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!
Lock/Shock/Barrel:
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare
Gray:
That's our job
Juvia:
But we're not mean
Gray/Juvia:
In our town of Halloween
Jack:
In this town
Don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!
Ensemble:
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee make you jump out of your skin!
This is Halloween
Everyone scream!
Won't you please make way for a very special guy!
Our man Jack is King of the pumpkin patch!
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King, now!
This is Halloween!
This is Halloween!
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!
Lock/Shock/Barrel:
In this town
We call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
The cast chanted as the pyrotechnics were set off around the stage. All attention was on Jack as he sat on a Halloween-themed throne in a kingly pose and the skit finally ends with a bang.
Ensemble:
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
WHEE!
The audience roared in applause as the skit ends and the cast bows to the crowd before the curtain closes on Fairy Tail's greatest Halloween night thus far in its history.
Underworld Guild Office
Not long after their death spell screw-up, the Sanderson Sisters were summoned to the secret lair of the mysterious guild, Underworld, for reasons unknown. The siblings sat in the office of one of the guild's highest ranking mages. They expressed mixed feelings of excitement, timidity and, not to mention, fear.
Winifred nervously scratched the back of hair excessively while Sarah anxiously twiddled her thumbs and licked her lips. Their sister, Mary, kept biting her fingernails until they were too short to bite on. She tried to bite off Winifred's nails, but the former smacks her hands away.
After moments of silence, the eldest Sanderson was the first to speak. "So--"
"WHAT DID WE DO WRONG?!?" cried Sarah, finally cracking under the intense anticipation.
"Wow, that took longer than I thought." Mary said, surprised by her sister's delayed reaction.
"Gee, I don't know, everything?" Winifred replied sarcastically.
"Well, why else are we here, Winnie, huh?! A promotion?!?!" shrieked Sarah as she got up from her seat and began pacing around the room with anxiety clouding her mind.
"Oh, I hope we do!" Mary said dumbfoundly.
"SHUT UP, MARY! THERE IS NO PROMOTION! THERE'S ONLY DEATH!!!" Sarah screamed as her voice grew louder.
"Calm down, Sarah! You're spiraling!" Winifred said, trying to calm her sister.
"Winnie, we killed a B-Class villain! Who knows what they'll do to us!" Sarah exclaimed worriedly.
"Oh, pfft, the worse they can do is execute us. But even they won't do that." Winifred laughed assuringly.
"No, no! You don't understand! The worse they can do is punish us! What if they give us... The Wheel?" Sarah gasped.
"For the love of God, Sarah, quit bringing up The Wheel! It's just a myth!" scolded Winifred.
"It's not a myth, Winnie. I heard Pete was given The Wheel when he got in trouble with Maleficent." Mary informed with confirmation.
"Will you two stop griping about The Wheel?" Winifred said condescendingly. "If they do punish us, the least it can be is a slap on the wrist."
"Or The Wheel." muttered Sarah.
"Shut up!" hissed Winifred just when the office door opened. A skinny brunette woman in a formal purple attire entered the office with a dossier in hand.
"Hello, Sandersons, my name is Vanessa. How are you three doing today?" The woman politely greeted the sisters as she walked over to her desk.
"Oh, doing fine." grinned Mary.
"Alright, I'm just going to cut to the chase here. You're all here because of your little... fiasco on Halloween." said Vanessa.
"Are we in trouble?" asked Sarah.
"Oh, far from it, dearie. I'm actually quite impressed." chuckled Vanessa.
"So that killing Oogie Boogie thing just flew over your head didn't it?" Winifred said.
"Well, Oogie was the only casualty in your endeavor. It's just one B-Class villain after all, there's no harm in it." said Vanessa assuringly.
"But why did you call us here?" questioned Winifred.
"After looking over your performance, I was intrigued by how much harm you put into your plan. The look on that blonde virgin's face--HA!!--it was priceless!" Vanessa laughed sadistically.
"You think so?" smiled Winifred confidently.
"We need some bad witches like you. That's why I'm promoting you three to C-Class." said Vanessa.
"REALLY?!" exclaimed the three witches.
"But we screwed up, though." said Mary.
"Well, normally we wouldn't tolerate failure, so think of it as a second chance." insisted Vanessa.
"Works for us!" chimed Sarah.
"Now if you're going to be doing evil, you're going to need some henchmen." said Vanessa.
"Ooh, that'll be brilliant!" grinned Winifred while Vanessa pressed a button and spoke through her intercom.
"Send the Jiggle Butt Gang to my office. I've assigned them a new boss." ordered Vanessa.
"Jiggle what now?" Winifred asked confusedly as three figures came bursting into the office.
"JIGGLE BUTTS REPORTING FOR EVIL!!!"
saluted the three minions, who wore spandex jumpsuits and had large posteriors, which lived up to their name.
"You've got to be joking." cringed Winifred as she looked at the three with disdain.
"Girls, meet the Jiggle Butt Gang. Your new henchmen." introduced Vanessa.
"Whatever you want us to do, ma'am, we'll get it done!" said the leader of the gang, while his lackeys replied with a salute and a toot from their butts.
"Honestly, I would've settled for a dumb troll any day than these three." whispered Sarah.
"Alright, now that that's settled, you three move along now. I am a pretty busy lady and you also have a lot to do as well, so bye-bye now." said Vanessa as she escorted the sisters and the Jiggle Butts out of her office.
As soon as they were gone, her professional smile was replaced with an annoyed scowl. "Ugh, what a bunch of idiots. Villains? More like rejects."
Vanessa walks behind her desk to open up a large set of curtains, unveiling an enormous fish tank with two electric eels swimming around inside.
"I just hate working with those incompetent morons! 'Ursula, we need you to enlist more villains!', well maybe you need to hire better help, Maleficent!" scowled the brunette woman as she threw leftover fish in the tank while the eels ferociously consumed them.
"But at least I have you two, my little poopsies." Vanessa said lovingly, petting her hand against the tank. "Together, we can rule all of the seas in Earth Land, and then we'll see who is the baddest of them all."
A/N: I know Super Freak and Zombie aren't Disney songs but it's a Halloween chapter, it had to fit the theme somehow. Also, btw I don't own the songs, they belong to the aforementioned artists. Read and review!