Okay, folks, I forgot to put the disclaimer on this last time, so here it
is. The Nightmare Before Christmas and all the characters from it don't
belong to me. They were spawned from the dark, twisted and extremely
creative mind of Mr. Tim Burton. However, Amelia, Jack's parents and any
other characters I choose to toss in belong to me.
Chapter 2
The King is Undead. Long Live the King.
One Week Earlier
Autumn wind carried the scent of overripe pumpkins and the sickly sweet smell of rotting jack-o-lanterns through Halloweentown and into Sally's room. The ragdoll girl smiled, a dead leaf carried with the fragrant air which she plucked up quickly as it tumbled by her.
Red. It wasn't often she found colored leaves. Rising from her seat on the bed, the young creation of Dr. Finklestein crossed the room to her small project. On a table rested a little artificial tree, carved by Sally herself, quite painstakingly. To a few of the delicate little branches were attached leaves she'd collected at one point or another, each a lovely shade of red, yellow or orange. Finding such leaves was a rare thing indeed, and this carmine beauty would make a perfect addition.
Leaving the laboratory was something that was almost unheard of for Sally. Dr. Finklestein didn't find it at all neccessary save collecting herbs for cooking. Even then, her ventures into Halloweentown were quite brief. Sally's entire universe seemed to be her room, and it drove her nearly to distraction at times. The little tree helped to pacify her longing for the outside world.
The ragdoll lifted the lid of her sewing kit, also resting on the table, and selected from it a delicate thread of spider's silk. Her slender fingers moved deftly, carefully and securely tying the leaf to one of the needle-thick twigs. "You're almost done," she cooed in her reed- thin voice. "I'm sorry I haven't filled you out, but there just aren't very many colored leaves anymore." She turned her gaze out the window again, the wind howling like a sorrowful ghost. The mansion of the Pumpkin King loomed in the distance and the redhead felt a tug at her heart. "I think," she whispered, "that that's why."
Dr. Finklestein never told Sally very much about what went on outside of the laboratory, but now and then he would have visitors. It was happening now a good deal more often than it did normally, and though Sally wasn't entirely sure why, she had a feeling it was something to do with the current Pumpkin King.
The Mayor was coming by nearly every day, and when she could listen in on their conversations, the ragdoll girl would catch snippets of the frantic dignitary pleading with the doctor about the King's health. Again and again, Sally's creator told the Mayor there was nothing he could do. For the King, Final Death, whatever that was, was inevitable. There were a few times when the Mayor even asked if the doctor could make a new King, like he had made Sally. The possibility of another creature like her in the laboratory had made Sally's patchwork heart flutter with excitement, but this only elicited a stern no or riotous laughter from the part of Finklestein.
No, no, that would never do. Finklestein could help the Pumpkin King along on his way to the lofty position, but he couldn't simply be stitched together the way Sally had been. They would have to find another way to fill the soon-to-be empty throne. And the sooner the better. Without a reigning Pumpkin King, Halloweentown would surely fall into an unhealthy level of decay, or, even worse, could possibly cease to exist. Finklestein then went off on a rambling lecture on a keystone theory of sorts. The King served as the keystone for the existence of Halloween. He was what supported and held things together, and without him, everything would crumble.
That thought had settled comfortably into the back of Sally's mind and became a very heavy burden there. Everything crumbling? The whole world going the way of the King? She hadn't gotten a chance to really see it yet! It couldn't go now! She barely knew the area around the laboratory, let alone Halloweentown itself. Her eyes fell back to her tree. Was this the closest she'd get to the outside world? It gave her a sick feeling deep inside.
There was a sudden bang from below and Sally whirled around, eyes lighting up as she heard the Mayor's voice booming through the laboratory. Stealing quickly and quietly to her door she opened it a tiny crack and peered through eagerly. Any news about the King's well being took top priority.
When she had first seen him, the Mayor had given Sally a bit of a start. His revolving faces were just a bit on the creepy side, even for her. Currently, though, he was all smiles. In one pudgy hand he clutched a rolled up sheet of yellowed paper. Curious, Sally dared to take another step, crouching halfway out of her door.
"Doctor? Dr. Finklestein?" boomed the Mayor, looking joyous, his rotund form quivering with glee. "We've found the solution!"
The ragdoll almost cried out in relief, but caught the noise before it slipped past her lips. Instead, she kept an attentive eye on the parchment the official was waving about. She jumped slightly as she heard her creator's voice, rough and creaking, respond to the commotion the Mayor was making. "Have you?" inquired the scientist, wheeling into the main room to greet his guest. "Well, by all means, then, let's hear it!" Sally pressed close against her door and bit her lower lip. The girl could never catch Finklestein's gaze from behind his dark glasses, and this always unnerved her just a bit. There would be very little warning if she caught his eye, and the retribution for it would be swift and painful. Finklestein knew that the easiest and most effective way to get to his creation was to pull on her heart strings. Guilt trips were the doctor's specialty, and he had grown quite good at dispensing them. Trying to push it out of her mind, Finklestein's creation could almost feel her stitches ache with anticipation over the clearly good news the Mayor bore.
With great gusto, the Mayor unfurled the parchment, revealing row after row of spidery scrawlings and various diagrams and charts. "It's been so long since we've had to crown a new Pumpkin King, we'd forgotten everything that had to go along with it. You were certainly right, though. A King stitched from parts of dead bodies would never do. Why, the results would be disasterous! Imagine if someone like your creation ruled Halloweentown!" Sally felt a stab of indignation, but kept her mouth shut. "After some extensive searching through the town libraries and the hall of records, we were able to find the documents detailing the Pumpkin King coronation. We won't be able to crown anyone in Halloweentown."
The girl's heart leapt to her throat. No one here fit to be King? It couldn't be! Surely there was someone worthy of the crown. This was terrible news! Why was he so happy? Swallowing the questions that came to her mouth, Sally listened carefully.
"You see, Halloween is a sort of living thing, if you will. More accurately, it's a spirit. Halloweentown is simply one of the many physical manifestations of that spirit. The same goes for you and I and everyone else in our world. Every few millenia, the spirit needs nourishment in the form of a mortal sacrifice of sorts. In short, we need to bring a mortal here and kill him. As his life force feeds the Halloween spirit, he in turn is filled with the new power it creates, becoming the Pumpkin King." The Mayor snapped the parchment back into a tight roll. "So, all we need to do is fetch ourselves a proper mortal! It's that simple!" With this, the Mayor leaned forward slightly, eyeing the doctor. "Might you have any idea how we could go about finding one?"
Finklestein nodded and rubbed his "chin" thoughtfully. "You'd need to enter the mortal world," he said slowly. "I don't have a great deal of experience there, and very little knowledge about it. If you truly want someone who has had a lot of time dealing with humans, I would go to Oogie Boogie. He likes to haunt the children's dreams and frighten them from under their beds and in their closets. If anyone would know where to find a proper sacrifice, it would be him."
The Mayor's head spun, his decidedly less cheery side facing forward. Sally couldn't help but feel a chill tingle up her spine at this. "Are you sure that's the best way?" he asked, chewing his lower lip a little nervously. "I mean, Oogie Boogie is...a bit of an unsavory character..."
Dr. Finklestein waved a hand and fixed his gaze on the official. "We both know that Halloweentown and Halloween itself won't last long without a King. The longer we delay, the more peril we put our home in. Oogie Boogie may not be your first choice in helping to select the new King, but he's your best bet in finding a mortal and we both know he'll get the job done. I don't like it any more than you do, Mr. Mayor, however wasting away to nothing is a much less pleasant option."
"Well, all right," the Mayor said, still looking uncertain. His head twirled again, beaming a happy smile at the doctor. "I'll let the council know immediately and we'll get right on it!" His business finished, the pudgy man scuttled quickly out the door.
Silently, the patchwork girl that had been listening in on the conversation slipped back into her room, closing the door behind her. Mixed feelings swirled dizzyingly through Sally's mind. On the one hand, her heart rejoiced that there would be a new Pumpkin King and Halloweentown would not fall into ruin. But on the other... Her gaze moved to the window, fixing itself on the towers and turrets of the King's mansion. Somehow, sacrificing anyone, mortal (whatever that was) or no for all of this just seemed somehow wrong. Trying to distract herself from the confusion, Sally went back to her tree, running her slender fingers through it's fiery leaves.
Chapter 2
The King is Undead. Long Live the King.
One Week Earlier
Autumn wind carried the scent of overripe pumpkins and the sickly sweet smell of rotting jack-o-lanterns through Halloweentown and into Sally's room. The ragdoll girl smiled, a dead leaf carried with the fragrant air which she plucked up quickly as it tumbled by her.
Red. It wasn't often she found colored leaves. Rising from her seat on the bed, the young creation of Dr. Finklestein crossed the room to her small project. On a table rested a little artificial tree, carved by Sally herself, quite painstakingly. To a few of the delicate little branches were attached leaves she'd collected at one point or another, each a lovely shade of red, yellow or orange. Finding such leaves was a rare thing indeed, and this carmine beauty would make a perfect addition.
Leaving the laboratory was something that was almost unheard of for Sally. Dr. Finklestein didn't find it at all neccessary save collecting herbs for cooking. Even then, her ventures into Halloweentown were quite brief. Sally's entire universe seemed to be her room, and it drove her nearly to distraction at times. The little tree helped to pacify her longing for the outside world.
The ragdoll lifted the lid of her sewing kit, also resting on the table, and selected from it a delicate thread of spider's silk. Her slender fingers moved deftly, carefully and securely tying the leaf to one of the needle-thick twigs. "You're almost done," she cooed in her reed- thin voice. "I'm sorry I haven't filled you out, but there just aren't very many colored leaves anymore." She turned her gaze out the window again, the wind howling like a sorrowful ghost. The mansion of the Pumpkin King loomed in the distance and the redhead felt a tug at her heart. "I think," she whispered, "that that's why."
Dr. Finklestein never told Sally very much about what went on outside of the laboratory, but now and then he would have visitors. It was happening now a good deal more often than it did normally, and though Sally wasn't entirely sure why, she had a feeling it was something to do with the current Pumpkin King.
The Mayor was coming by nearly every day, and when she could listen in on their conversations, the ragdoll girl would catch snippets of the frantic dignitary pleading with the doctor about the King's health. Again and again, Sally's creator told the Mayor there was nothing he could do. For the King, Final Death, whatever that was, was inevitable. There were a few times when the Mayor even asked if the doctor could make a new King, like he had made Sally. The possibility of another creature like her in the laboratory had made Sally's patchwork heart flutter with excitement, but this only elicited a stern no or riotous laughter from the part of Finklestein.
No, no, that would never do. Finklestein could help the Pumpkin King along on his way to the lofty position, but he couldn't simply be stitched together the way Sally had been. They would have to find another way to fill the soon-to-be empty throne. And the sooner the better. Without a reigning Pumpkin King, Halloweentown would surely fall into an unhealthy level of decay, or, even worse, could possibly cease to exist. Finklestein then went off on a rambling lecture on a keystone theory of sorts. The King served as the keystone for the existence of Halloween. He was what supported and held things together, and without him, everything would crumble.
That thought had settled comfortably into the back of Sally's mind and became a very heavy burden there. Everything crumbling? The whole world going the way of the King? She hadn't gotten a chance to really see it yet! It couldn't go now! She barely knew the area around the laboratory, let alone Halloweentown itself. Her eyes fell back to her tree. Was this the closest she'd get to the outside world? It gave her a sick feeling deep inside.
There was a sudden bang from below and Sally whirled around, eyes lighting up as she heard the Mayor's voice booming through the laboratory. Stealing quickly and quietly to her door she opened it a tiny crack and peered through eagerly. Any news about the King's well being took top priority.
When she had first seen him, the Mayor had given Sally a bit of a start. His revolving faces were just a bit on the creepy side, even for her. Currently, though, he was all smiles. In one pudgy hand he clutched a rolled up sheet of yellowed paper. Curious, Sally dared to take another step, crouching halfway out of her door.
"Doctor? Dr. Finklestein?" boomed the Mayor, looking joyous, his rotund form quivering with glee. "We've found the solution!"
The ragdoll almost cried out in relief, but caught the noise before it slipped past her lips. Instead, she kept an attentive eye on the parchment the official was waving about. She jumped slightly as she heard her creator's voice, rough and creaking, respond to the commotion the Mayor was making. "Have you?" inquired the scientist, wheeling into the main room to greet his guest. "Well, by all means, then, let's hear it!" Sally pressed close against her door and bit her lower lip. The girl could never catch Finklestein's gaze from behind his dark glasses, and this always unnerved her just a bit. There would be very little warning if she caught his eye, and the retribution for it would be swift and painful. Finklestein knew that the easiest and most effective way to get to his creation was to pull on her heart strings. Guilt trips were the doctor's specialty, and he had grown quite good at dispensing them. Trying to push it out of her mind, Finklestein's creation could almost feel her stitches ache with anticipation over the clearly good news the Mayor bore.
With great gusto, the Mayor unfurled the parchment, revealing row after row of spidery scrawlings and various diagrams and charts. "It's been so long since we've had to crown a new Pumpkin King, we'd forgotten everything that had to go along with it. You were certainly right, though. A King stitched from parts of dead bodies would never do. Why, the results would be disasterous! Imagine if someone like your creation ruled Halloweentown!" Sally felt a stab of indignation, but kept her mouth shut. "After some extensive searching through the town libraries and the hall of records, we were able to find the documents detailing the Pumpkin King coronation. We won't be able to crown anyone in Halloweentown."
The girl's heart leapt to her throat. No one here fit to be King? It couldn't be! Surely there was someone worthy of the crown. This was terrible news! Why was he so happy? Swallowing the questions that came to her mouth, Sally listened carefully.
"You see, Halloween is a sort of living thing, if you will. More accurately, it's a spirit. Halloweentown is simply one of the many physical manifestations of that spirit. The same goes for you and I and everyone else in our world. Every few millenia, the spirit needs nourishment in the form of a mortal sacrifice of sorts. In short, we need to bring a mortal here and kill him. As his life force feeds the Halloween spirit, he in turn is filled with the new power it creates, becoming the Pumpkin King." The Mayor snapped the parchment back into a tight roll. "So, all we need to do is fetch ourselves a proper mortal! It's that simple!" With this, the Mayor leaned forward slightly, eyeing the doctor. "Might you have any idea how we could go about finding one?"
Finklestein nodded and rubbed his "chin" thoughtfully. "You'd need to enter the mortal world," he said slowly. "I don't have a great deal of experience there, and very little knowledge about it. If you truly want someone who has had a lot of time dealing with humans, I would go to Oogie Boogie. He likes to haunt the children's dreams and frighten them from under their beds and in their closets. If anyone would know where to find a proper sacrifice, it would be him."
The Mayor's head spun, his decidedly less cheery side facing forward. Sally couldn't help but feel a chill tingle up her spine at this. "Are you sure that's the best way?" he asked, chewing his lower lip a little nervously. "I mean, Oogie Boogie is...a bit of an unsavory character..."
Dr. Finklestein waved a hand and fixed his gaze on the official. "We both know that Halloweentown and Halloween itself won't last long without a King. The longer we delay, the more peril we put our home in. Oogie Boogie may not be your first choice in helping to select the new King, but he's your best bet in finding a mortal and we both know he'll get the job done. I don't like it any more than you do, Mr. Mayor, however wasting away to nothing is a much less pleasant option."
"Well, all right," the Mayor said, still looking uncertain. His head twirled again, beaming a happy smile at the doctor. "I'll let the council know immediately and we'll get right on it!" His business finished, the pudgy man scuttled quickly out the door.
Silently, the patchwork girl that had been listening in on the conversation slipped back into her room, closing the door behind her. Mixed feelings swirled dizzyingly through Sally's mind. On the one hand, her heart rejoiced that there would be a new Pumpkin King and Halloweentown would not fall into ruin. But on the other... Her gaze moved to the window, fixing itself on the towers and turrets of the King's mansion. Somehow, sacrificing anyone, mortal (whatever that was) or no for all of this just seemed somehow wrong. Trying to distract herself from the confusion, Sally went back to her tree, running her slender fingers through it's fiery leaves.