Holiday Crisis
By: Shmeilia Rockie
Chapter 13: Merope's Mistake

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A/N: To CrystalHorse72: I think you misunderstood one point in the last chappie, so I would like to clear it up. CHARLIE was the one with grey hair, not Bernard. That's because he already started the 'Santa-fication' process...*Smiles mysteriously* But that's all that will happen to him! I happen to love a young man with premature grey hair...Dunno why...Okay forget I said that...*blushes*

Here's a little of the Halloweentown side of my fic for y'all. I thought I'd develop Merope's character a bit more. I know you love Bernard, but he won't be the main focus of this chappy. Sorry. Now, enjoy.

* * * *

"This is so exciting! I've never been to the REAL Halloweentown before!" Merope twirled around and sucked in a deep breath of crisp, damp, eternally fall air.

"You haven't? Well, that's a shame!" Aggie shook some random stranger's hand and smiled warmly before turning back to Merope and Bernard. "I love it here. But I'm biased, since it IS my home. I just hate to be the one to tell everyone they must move. Most of them have lived here all their lives!"

"I could do it." Bernard volunteered.

"No, no, no. You're a stranger to them. It would only serve to make them angry, and the last thing we need is an angry mob on our hands. I must do this." She fidgeted with the edge of her cloak nervously. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "But I don't necessarily need to do this alone. I want to introduce you two to my granddaughter."

She started off in a new direction with speed surprising for her age. Bernard looked at Merope, who shrugged and followed Aggie.

They came to the exact same shop Bernard visited his first time in Halloweentown. Inside, a woman in her twenties with dark brown hair done up in a sloppy bun stood on a ladder, putting miscellaneous items on a high shelf. The shop seemed otherwise deserted. Aggie rang the bell on the counter and grinned at the woman.

"Grandma, you're back! How was the meeting?" She hopped off the ladder and dusted her hands.

"Not very good, I'm afraid. But I'll get to that in a minute. I have some friends I'd like you to meet." Aggie gestured for them to come closer. "This is Bernard, and Merope. And this is my granddaughter Marnie."

They shook Marnie's hand, although Merope seemed slightly hesitant about it. In fact, her whole demeanor changed. Normally overly self-confident, Merope now looked quite shy. She hung back behind Bernard and kept her eyes locked on Marnie.

Aggie looked around the otherwise empty shop. "Where's Luke?"

"Upstairs, trying to make Jackie take a nap."

"Yeah, 'TRYING' being the keyword here." Marnie's husband, Luke, descended the stairs with a hyper two year old in his arms. "This little thing never runs out of energy!"

Bernard almost laughed out loud. Luke looked so much like Merope, it was almost scary. They had the same nose, the same eyes, the same ears... The same went for Jackie. But was really funny was the baby's tiny braid, flung over one shoulder. So, these were Merope's parents. Funny how she never mentioned them.

"Ah, Luke! I would like to introduce you as well. This is Bernard, and Merope. They're good friends of mine."

Luke shook with his free hand, then made a face. "Merope, huh? That's my mother's name."

"What a coincidence!" Merope laughed nervously and smoothed out her skirt. Her eyes drifted to the child in his arms. "Oh, what a cute baby! Can I hold her?"

Bernard DID laugh out loud. It quickly turned into a hacking cough, as Merope glared at him. But how many people get to hold the baby version of themself? It was a weird sight. His whole life had been weird like that lately.

Suddenly, Aggie was all business. "Marnie, I need your help."

"What with?"

"We need to convince everyone to abandon Halloweentown."

"What? No! Why?" Marnie's eyes flashed with anger.

"Something terrible happened at the North Pole, and if we don't leave right now, the same will happen to us."

"No. I won't stand for it. We can fight it off!"

Aggie gripped her shoulders tightly. "No, Marnie. We must leave. It would be futile to try to fight! You must believe me."

"But...This is our home!" Marnie choked back sudden tears. "Where will we go?"

"The moon, believe it or not."

She made a face. "The MOON? You've got to be kidding." Aggie stayed silent. Marnie threw up her hands. "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

Aggie smiled. "Good girl."

* * * *

"What? Is this some kind of joke?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"It's no joke. We must leave immediately!" Aggie, Marnie, Merope and Bernard stood on a hastily thrown together platform next to the giant pumpkin in the town square. "Bernard's home was completely destroyed; ours will be too. Whoever's behind this is a powerful magic user."

"More powerful than Marnie?"

Marnie blushed and cleared her throat. "More powerful than perhaps the great Merlin."

Worried whispers rushed through the crowd. Things like, "But no one is more powerful than Merlin!" could be heard coming out of everyone's mouths. Finally, someone yelled, "Where will we go? We can't return to the Mortal World."

"I'm glad you asked. I will open a portal to a secluded area in the mortal world where we will all board special crafts that will take us to our new home. I assure you, it will be exactly like our home now. Nothing will be missing or out of place. In fact, you'll hardly be able to tell that it's not THIS Halloweentown."

There were some murmurs of disbelieve. Marnie was about to say something, when her eyes clouded over. She grabbed Aggie's arm. "Something's coming!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth dear." Aggie turned to the crowd. "It's coming now! There's no time left. You can come with us, or stay here and fight a loosing battle."

The ground began to shake. Terrified, the crowd began to panic.

"Hurry, let's call the portal!" Marnie held out her hands and began to recite the spell with Aggie, when the platform regurgitated two Holiday Consumers on either side of her. They grabbed her arms and disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

"Marnie!" It had happened too quickly...There was nothing she could have done... Agatha turned to Merope. "Help me call the portal!"

By the time they did successfully call up the portal, Holiday Consumers were popping out of the ground like demon weeds. They either grabbed citizens and disappeared, or started setting fire to nearby buildings. The crowd stampeded through the portal, pushing and shoving like their lives depended on it. Which they did.

* * * *

Bernard leaned back in the co-pilot's chair and sighed. "Well, that didn't go as well as I would have hoped."

Behind him, Luke was having a fit. "What are we going to do about Marnie? We hafta get her back!"

"Calm down, Luke!" Aggie touched his arm gently. "Marnie's a big girl. She can take care of herself until we can help her. Besides, we don't even know where they took her."

"But..." With the sudden realization that she had been captured, he sat down hard.

"We will figure that out as soon as we get everyone settled into their new homes. Okay? Don't give up hope."

Bernard felt a sudden pain in his heart. What if they had captured April? Would he still be able function? No, he would completely fall apart. Considering that, he thought Luke was doing rather well. He turned to Merope, who still had the baby in her arms.

"I was such a cute kid, wasn't I?" She laughed, but her heart obviously wasn't in it.

Bernard fidgeted with the ship's controls a bit, before asking, "Are you okay, Merope?" He always hated asking girls about their problems... Why was it so hard? One would think he'd be used to it, being married to the ever-emotional April.

She shook her head and spoke in a thick whisper. "And all this time, I thought Mum had left us. Dad always refused to talk about it, so I figured she'd hurt him really badly. I didn't know...I feel like such an idiot now. I hated her, even though it wasn't her fault!" Her younger self reached up and touched her face, which caused her to loose it completely. So, she had a soft side too, after all. "We'll never get her back! It's been over thirty years and they still haven't been able to rescue her! She's probably dead."

Bernard didn't respond. He had a feeling saying something like, "Gee, Merope, I'm awfully sorry" would only make it worse. In a few seconds she'd collected herself and he was incredibly glad he hadn't said a word.

"But if she isn't dead, I will personally rescue her." Merope stood up and handed the baby back to Luke. "I would like to introduce myself properly... My name is Jackie Cromwell."

Bernard twisted around in his seat to get a glimpse of Luke's reaction. It was very much like the reaction he had had upon finding out Destiny was his daughter. Luke's mouth fell open and he made a couple of squeaking noises before becoming alarmed and skeptical. "You're Jackie? As in this Jackie?"

The baby giggled. Merope nodded. "I'm sorry I waited to reveal my identity. I wasn't going to do it at all, but I figured it can't do any harm now. Since I already exist and everything."

He looked at baby Jackie, then back at Merope. Yep, there was definitely a resemblance. "I...I don't know what to say, Jackie..."

"Then don't say anything, Luke. And call me Merope. It's my code name so you can talk about either of us without getting me confused with the baby." She sat down next to him and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm going to be honest with you. I always thought the Mother had left us, and my father would never talk about what happened."

"You mean...Is she dead?"

Merope shook her head. "I don't think so, but I'm not sure. If she isn't dead, I promise to rescue her myself. No matter what it takes."

* * * *

Marnie didn't know where she was, except that judging by the acoustics, it must have been a huge room. The air felt icy, dead. The floor under her feet seemed to be solid stone. But other than that, she was clueless to her location. The two androids still kept a firm hold of her. She tried to escape, but not only were they incredibly strong, but they were impervious to her magic. It frustrated her.

Finally, after what seemed like at least an hour, but was probably only a matter of minutes, torches on the wall flared to life. She glanced around, but nothing she saw would help her in any way. But being able to see gave her new hope and she actually managed to break free of the robots. She didn't get more than ten feet, however, before an invisible force threw her against a wall...Right into manacles that closed painfully around her wrists and ankles.

Someone applauded her. Dazed, she looked for the source of the sound. A man in a dark cloak appeared right next to her, still clapping. A hood obscured his face. He spoke in a warped voice, "Well done, Marnie. I commend you on that lovely performance."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"The world, what do you expect?" He pulled back his hood, causing her to gasp. It was her old rival, Kal. He smirked evilly. "And you, of course." Then he kissed her.

She wrenched her head away from his grasp and growled. He found this extremely amusing. "Oh, dear Marnie, you're so beautiful when you're angry. You know that?"

"Keep away from me, Kal."

"Um, how about no? I have the control here, I'll give the commands. And I command you to join me."

She laughed. The whole room echoed with her cold, bitter laughter. "Get real! I would rather DIE than join you in your evil quest."

He chuckled at her bravado. "Oh, but Marnie...You don't have a choice..." He held up a necklace with a glowing red cat eye, set in a frame of some unknown, twisted black metal. It seemed like an evil sun on a chain, radiating dark energy. (Man, I know that sounded lame :P Forgive me!)

Marnie's blood ran cold. "What is that?"

"Oh, just a talisman...Empowered with the life forces of a hundred demons." He smiled that oh-so-bad half smile. "I made it just for you..."

She tried to use her power, but something blocked it. Only then did she realize she couldn't stop him. Could her will power stand up to his dark magic?

* * * *

A stab of pain shot through Aggie's head. She gripped the wall for support and waited for it to pass. Then she looked at Merope. She nodded; she'd felt it too. Then she turned to Luke, and knew what had happened.

"It's Marnie, isn't it?" He asked her.

She nodded, looking grim. "Something terrible happened to her."

"Is she dead?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

A heavy silence settled in the room. Bernard finally broke it when he announced that they were about to dock.

* * * *

"Good job, Bernard." Destiny smiled warmly and waved at the Halloweentown citizens as they boarded the train. "You're dismissed. Tell April hi for me."

"I need to talk to you. NOW." He grabbed her arm and rudely yanked her off to the side.

She wrenched her arm away from him. "Can't it wait? I'm kinda busy here!"

"No, Destiny. It can't wait." He lowered his voice to keep from shouting. "Why didn't you tell me you have an older sibling?"

"Oh..." She grimaced and looked around for a distraction. Finding none, she pushed some dirt around with the toe of her boot and laughed nervously. "Uh, you didn't ask?"

He gave her 'the look'. "That's a bit important, don't you think?"

"Not really... It wasn't vitally important for you to even know who I was. In fact, THAT was supposed to be a secret."

He made a motion indicating that he wanted to strangle her, then managed to calm his temper. After a moment, he leaned in and asked very quietly, "Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"Name?"

She winced. "Can't tell you. Sorry."

He growled.

She held up her hands defensively. "Hey, I'm sorry, but you told me not to...Kinda...Well, Dad did, but... Since you ARE Dad, it still counts..." She trailed off weakly under his withering glare.

"You know, Destiny, sometimes I really hate being your father." And with that, he threw his hands in the air in frustration and walked off. The only thing left for him was to go confront his wife, the angry lioness. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their reunion, for once.

Destiny blinked a couple times in confusion then turned, shrugged and trotted over the bridge spanning the Council Castle mote, toward Merope. The older girl had undone her long braid, and the beautiful copper hair danced around her in the artificial wind. A shadow fell across her face as she stared unseeing into the crystal clear water. Destiny noticed this, and slowed her pace. She turned to leave, understanding instinctively that Merope needed some time alone.

"I was wrong, Destiny." Merope called in a thick whisper. Destiny stared at her quizzically. "Mother hadn't left us after all. She was TAKEN from us. And I will get her back, even if I must venture into the depths of Hell to do so."

Her hands clinched into fists at her sides.

They stood in silence for a long moment, before Destiny nodded briskly to herself. "You can't do it alone, though. I won't let you."

Merope looked away. "I don't want you involved in this."

"Too bad!"

"NO! I don't want to loose you too..." Suddenly, the wall she worked so hard to build crumbled around her. She collapsed to the ground. Tears flowed freely down her cheek and onto the grass, as a flood of memories overwhelmed her.

*Flash*

"Daddy, why don't I have a Mom like Chris and Merry?"

"She's gone..." Her father fell strangely silent. Tears threatened to spill out his eyes, but he didn't let them.

"Is she dead?"

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "No, honey. She...She's... I don't know. Please don't ask me about it."

"I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to make you upset..." Suddenly, a thought popped into her ten year-old mind. 'If she's not dead, but she's gone, she must have left! But how could anyone leave their husband and kid like that? Oh, she must have been terrible! This is all her fault! SHE is the reason Dad's so depressed...Oh, one day, I'll make her pay...'

"Excuse me..." Luke left, shutting the door behind him. Leaving Merope alone in her now very dark thoughts.

*End Flash*

"How could I be so STUPID?" She grabbed handfuls of grass and tore them out of the dirt. "I didn't even know any of the details! I hated the woman for no damned reason!"

"Oh, Merope!" Destiny fell onto the grass and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "It's okay! You know now, that's all that matters. You can fix this."

Merope sniffed. "You're right. I can. I will. But..." She looked Destiny in the eye. "You were also right when you said I couldn't do it alone. You're my best friend. Without you, I... Thanks."

"I'll always have your back, girl." She gave Merope a light squeeze. "Cause we're a team!"

Merope smiled slightly and brushed the tears from her eyes. "That's right. A team. Forever."

"Now, come on...Let's help Aggie get the Halloweentown citizens settled in."

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A/N: I don't know what exactly happened here, but this chapter evolved beyond what I had originally planned. I would have written more but a little thing called college started again. I'm sorry, but that is more important than my fics. ('Cause that's my LIFE! This is my hobby.) Don't expect another for a while. But I would gladly appreciate it if you reviewed! Just comment on something, I don't care what it is...(Although constructive critism is nice. *smiles*) If you do, it might just speed my writing right along. I want 105! Please? I'm trying to keep up the eight reviews per chapter requirement. But once you do gimme 105, I apologize if I don't immediately post. College is a demanding li'l monster! It eats up all my time *cries*

And speaking of college, one of my professors looks just like an older version of Destiny! It's creepy! She makes the same facial expressions, and sounds just like her, and even kinda has the same hair cut (but it's not curly). That makes things more interesting. I just pretend Destiny IS giving the Art History lecture. *wink*

I just want you all to know I'm currently thinking of extending the length of Holiday Crisis, just so I can develop everybody (and the plot) more. What do you think? Is this a good idea? Please tell me! And once again I apologize for how long it's taking me to write more.