Everyone regarded Jack with awe and suspicion for a brief instant.
"Death..? You have that kind of power, Jack?" Barrel asked slowly. The Pumpkin Lord nodded.
"How can I explain this.Hallowe'en has always been closely associated with Death Itself. This very town was created to house a very special kind of people. People who had either died long before their time and didn't have anywhere else to go, and those who were destined to protect and guard this Sacred Holiday with their lives. As Pumpkin King, it is my duty, sworn to Death Itself that I would forever guard this ancient celebration and keep it alive for the mortal world to share and embrace. For as many people who do recognize Hallowe'en, there are as many who don't and treat it as an evil holiday filled with demonic spirits and those who would strike down and destroy all that is good and pure in the world."
"But that's not true! Who could think something like that?" Shock interrupted sounding afraid and deeply hurt.
"There are some, and it is from those people we have to protect Hallowe'en from. If there were no need for Hallowe'en in the mortal world, out world would cease to exist." There was another long pause before Jack spoke again. "I have the ability to go and speak with Death but to do so is to destroy myself a little. I small piece of me must stay behind in the Palace of Time and Fate, the price to pay for breaking an ancient law."
"Then don't go! Just tell us where it is and we'll go for you!" Sally said desperately. Te thought of loosing Jack a few days before their seven-year anniversary was too great for her to comprehend. Jack smiled.
"I still have many visits left, for I have never spoken to Death in all my years as the King. I've never had to. However, I think that now is the time that we should call upon Death and seek it's guidance."
Lock Shock and Barrel looked at each other and then at Jack. Sally gave him a quick nod.
"Very well, lets return to Skellington Manor, shall we? Something tells me we don't have much time left.
Jack led the group into his Manor and into the study. HE pulled what seemed to be a random book off the shelf and another part of the wall opened silently. The seam was almost flawless and no one - not even Lock would have known it was there. From another thick old book, Jack took a beautiful, ornate key and tucked it away in his breast pocket. He then led them down a narrow spiral staircase and to a small chamber far below the streets of Hallowe'en Town. It was small and round, with thick, grey, stone walls all around. Moss grew on some of the wall and the chamber had a faint earthy smell. In the center of the room there was an indent of the floor, although the room was completely empty. Jack walked towards the scrape and removed the key.
"Lazarus revealed." He spoke the words in a clear firm tone and after a moment, the floor began to rumble. Shock grabbed Lock's arm and gave him a frightened look.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know. I hope death doesn't mind us popping by." He replied. To their amazement, a thick stone door rose from the indentation and up to the ceiling. When the floor stopped moving, Jack gave the group a nod and stuck the key into the lock. The door opened easily, revealing complete darkness on the other side.
"What the hell." Barrel circled the door and looked from one side to another. "It just opens into nothing."
"Not nothing, Barrel. This is subspace. Hurry now, there isn't much time left." With that, Jack stepped into the door and was gone. Sally looked between the teens and the door before wordlessly slipping inside. Lock Shock and Barrel grabbed each other's hand and stepped through the door and into endless nothingness.
Shock expected to fall through the darkness as soon as she stepped through the door, but to her surprise, her foot touched what a hard surface on the other side. She felt Lock and Barrel beside her and felt secure enough to take a few more steps. What she saw next took he breath away.
It was as though they had stepped through a curtain as suddenly they were surrounded by eternal night. They were standing on black polished marble that seemed to stretch on forever. In the distance, another large ornate door stood in the middle of nowhere and the three trick-or-treaters could make out the silhouettes of Jack and Sally before it. The sky - if one could call it that - was a blackish blue colour and stars dotted every inch of it. There were swirls of red and pink as well as whisps of white fog and mist. Before they could reach Jack two figures stepped out of the fog and pointed long swords at them.
"Stop right there!" One demanded.
"State your business." The other asked coldly. They were both women, one dressed in dark red, her long brown hair pulled back behind a pointed tiara. The other, dressed in a white dress had light blonde hair, her headpiece hanging over the golden waves.
"We came with Jack! Jack! JAAAACK!!" Barrel called. The women looked at the King and lowered their swords.
"I knew you would come." The red woman said.
"It was time." The white woman added. Jack raised his hands.
"Who are you? I urgently need to speak with Death."
"I know why you have come. I know all, for I am the Goddess Fate." The red woman replied.
"And I am the Goddess Time. I knew you would come. I know all of you would come." Her counterpart added.
"If you know who we are and why we're here, why did you stop us in the first place?" Lock demanded.
"It is not yet time to see Death for any of you." Time cooed. Fate nodded.
"But we have to! This is important, dammit!" Shock argued. "There's something after me and I need Death to tell me what it is. If I'm supposed to be protected by Hallowe'en Town, and protect it in return, the least anyone could do is tell me what's trying to kill me..again."
The two Goddesses looked at each other and nodded.
"Very well - you shall have an audience." Fate said. The door behind them opened and the group stepped inside. "Do not linger in the parlor of Death. Go straight to the throne room and wait." With that the door slammed shut and locked, leaving the group silent, in a great marble room.
"Death..? You have that kind of power, Jack?" Barrel asked slowly. The Pumpkin Lord nodded.
"How can I explain this.Hallowe'en has always been closely associated with Death Itself. This very town was created to house a very special kind of people. People who had either died long before their time and didn't have anywhere else to go, and those who were destined to protect and guard this Sacred Holiday with their lives. As Pumpkin King, it is my duty, sworn to Death Itself that I would forever guard this ancient celebration and keep it alive for the mortal world to share and embrace. For as many people who do recognize Hallowe'en, there are as many who don't and treat it as an evil holiday filled with demonic spirits and those who would strike down and destroy all that is good and pure in the world."
"But that's not true! Who could think something like that?" Shock interrupted sounding afraid and deeply hurt.
"There are some, and it is from those people we have to protect Hallowe'en from. If there were no need for Hallowe'en in the mortal world, out world would cease to exist." There was another long pause before Jack spoke again. "I have the ability to go and speak with Death but to do so is to destroy myself a little. I small piece of me must stay behind in the Palace of Time and Fate, the price to pay for breaking an ancient law."
"Then don't go! Just tell us where it is and we'll go for you!" Sally said desperately. Te thought of loosing Jack a few days before their seven-year anniversary was too great for her to comprehend. Jack smiled.
"I still have many visits left, for I have never spoken to Death in all my years as the King. I've never had to. However, I think that now is the time that we should call upon Death and seek it's guidance."
Lock Shock and Barrel looked at each other and then at Jack. Sally gave him a quick nod.
"Very well, lets return to Skellington Manor, shall we? Something tells me we don't have much time left.
Jack led the group into his Manor and into the study. HE pulled what seemed to be a random book off the shelf and another part of the wall opened silently. The seam was almost flawless and no one - not even Lock would have known it was there. From another thick old book, Jack took a beautiful, ornate key and tucked it away in his breast pocket. He then led them down a narrow spiral staircase and to a small chamber far below the streets of Hallowe'en Town. It was small and round, with thick, grey, stone walls all around. Moss grew on some of the wall and the chamber had a faint earthy smell. In the center of the room there was an indent of the floor, although the room was completely empty. Jack walked towards the scrape and removed the key.
"Lazarus revealed." He spoke the words in a clear firm tone and after a moment, the floor began to rumble. Shock grabbed Lock's arm and gave him a frightened look.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know. I hope death doesn't mind us popping by." He replied. To their amazement, a thick stone door rose from the indentation and up to the ceiling. When the floor stopped moving, Jack gave the group a nod and stuck the key into the lock. The door opened easily, revealing complete darkness on the other side.
"What the hell." Barrel circled the door and looked from one side to another. "It just opens into nothing."
"Not nothing, Barrel. This is subspace. Hurry now, there isn't much time left." With that, Jack stepped into the door and was gone. Sally looked between the teens and the door before wordlessly slipping inside. Lock Shock and Barrel grabbed each other's hand and stepped through the door and into endless nothingness.
Shock expected to fall through the darkness as soon as she stepped through the door, but to her surprise, her foot touched what a hard surface on the other side. She felt Lock and Barrel beside her and felt secure enough to take a few more steps. What she saw next took he breath away.
It was as though they had stepped through a curtain as suddenly they were surrounded by eternal night. They were standing on black polished marble that seemed to stretch on forever. In the distance, another large ornate door stood in the middle of nowhere and the three trick-or-treaters could make out the silhouettes of Jack and Sally before it. The sky - if one could call it that - was a blackish blue colour and stars dotted every inch of it. There were swirls of red and pink as well as whisps of white fog and mist. Before they could reach Jack two figures stepped out of the fog and pointed long swords at them.
"Stop right there!" One demanded.
"State your business." The other asked coldly. They were both women, one dressed in dark red, her long brown hair pulled back behind a pointed tiara. The other, dressed in a white dress had light blonde hair, her headpiece hanging over the golden waves.
"We came with Jack! Jack! JAAAACK!!" Barrel called. The women looked at the King and lowered their swords.
"I knew you would come." The red woman said.
"It was time." The white woman added. Jack raised his hands.
"Who are you? I urgently need to speak with Death."
"I know why you have come. I know all, for I am the Goddess Fate." The red woman replied.
"And I am the Goddess Time. I knew you would come. I know all of you would come." Her counterpart added.
"If you know who we are and why we're here, why did you stop us in the first place?" Lock demanded.
"It is not yet time to see Death for any of you." Time cooed. Fate nodded.
"But we have to! This is important, dammit!" Shock argued. "There's something after me and I need Death to tell me what it is. If I'm supposed to be protected by Hallowe'en Town, and protect it in return, the least anyone could do is tell me what's trying to kill me..again."
The two Goddesses looked at each other and nodded.
"Very well - you shall have an audience." Fate said. The door behind them opened and the group stepped inside. "Do not linger in the parlor of Death. Go straight to the throne room and wait." With that the door slammed shut and locked, leaving the group silent, in a great marble room.