Spirited Away Chapter 5
Oo! We're almost done! We're almost done! Okay, let's get started! (Audience: YEAH!)
Sally ran down the stairs, only to be stopped by Popsy grabbing onto her wrist. Sally jerked to a painful stop.
"Where are you going at dinnertime?" she asked.
"I've gotta find Jack!" Sally nearly screamed.
"Not Jack again!" Popsy sighed. "Look, girl, take my advice and stay away from him!"
"I'm not a girl!" Sally uselessly fought. She felt her hand getting wet. "Why's my hand wet?"
"I was on kitchen duty. Had to cut up the pigs and cows, stuff like that."
"EW!" Sally pulled back her bloody hand.
"I'm gonna go get dinner, Kerry," Popsy turned away and trotted down the stairs. "You stay here."
But Sally was gone already. She'd squeezed through a nearby window and had climbed out onto a triangular castle turret. With one wrong step of her foot, she slipped down the edge and nearly fell off of the building. She looked at the roof to see what had caught her before she realized it was herself; she no longer had skin, but a rough cloth with had caught on the metal roof.
"Oh, wonderful!" Sally ran her hand over her arm, feeling the texture of her skin (it was a teensy bit like burlap). "What else is new?" As she rubbed her arm, her hands shrunk to three-thirds their normal size!
"YIPE!" Sally lept to her feet. "It's going faster! I've gotta hurry!" She scrambled over the rooftop to the other side, where she finally saw a ladder... twenty feet away. A long pipe connected one turret to the ladder to Sally's rooftop. She looked down her feet; they were much smaller, as well. Small enough to fit on the pipe. Sally gulped, knowing what she had to do. She spoke to herself as she undid her ribbon belt and worked it around her shoulders.
"Okay, one shoulder... other one... tie a knot- tighten up this pants leg... other one. Okay. I'm ready. (gulp) I hope."
Deep breathe, Sally, and GO!
She ran at full speed over the pipe, feeling a jolt of adrenaline as the long piece of metal snapped behind her. She ran and ran and ran and GOT IT! She clutched the ladder's rungs for dear life at the pipe broke away, falling down to the ground 50 stories below.
"Oh, boy," Sally moaned. She gulped again and started up the ladder. She made almost all the way to the top when she stopped to take a breathe of air. At that moment, the paper bat attached to her leg flew off of her and tapped the back of her head. She darted around, trying to see what hit her. The bat had stuck itself to her hair, but she saw something else; something black, orange, and much more important.
"HIRAC! Oh no! I've gotta hide!" She darted up the ladder. "Does everyone here have to be a gargoyle?"
Hirac flew to the top of his mansion, landing on his window sill. Zero greeted him warmly, the little hands bouncing behind him. Hirac walked into his office and threw his coat behind him, letting Oogie Boogie catch it. He sat down behind his desk, surveying the area.
Luckily, Sally had managed to hide under an overhang, in a windowsill. The stained glass window to her left was shut tight; this she proved by trying to bash it open with her elbow. Repeatedly. The paper bat fell off of her head, slipped under the window, and (unknown to Sally) opened the latch, causing Sally to lurch into the room when she jabbed it next.
"WAH!" She opened to eyes to find herself in a bathroom with one tub, one sink, one toilet; it must've been Hirac's private bathroom. She was getting close. The bat attacked itself back to her leg as she ran out of the doorway.
Hallways, hallways, that's mostly all that the top floors were. Sally was extremely confused and not sure where to go. She was sure she was going in circles, and when she saw an open door, she immediately ran inside.
But it sure wasn't Hirac's office. The floors and the lower parts of the walls were covered in green padding, and the rest of the walls were painted with serene picture of fields, meadows, and blue skies. The floor was littered with stuffed animals, pillows, and wrapped presents which hadn't been opened yet. As Sally walked through, she noticed a large bed, covered in pillows and surrounded by pink curtains (slightly open). Nothing was in the bed, so she kept moving. The paper bat flew off yet again and cupped itself around her ear. Sally detected a slight noise, and she turned to follow it. A set of curtains on the north wall of the circular room hid a staircase which led up to two ornately designed doors; doors to Hirac's office. Sally tapped the doors opened minutely and settled down to listen in on the conversation.
"... to begin with. And you can't get water to your tub, either? What happened? A pipe musst've broken. Very well, I'll make ssure it getss fixed. Yess, goodbye." There was the sound of a phone hanging up. "Oh, Jack'ss breaking into piecess all over the rug; I jusst got that imported from China. Oogie, you go fix the sstupid pipe. Handss, get rid of Jack! He'ss dead anyway."
"B-bu-b-bu-bu-but sir? Shouldn't-shouldn't we try to help Jack?" Oogie's voice? It couldn't be! "I mean- I mean, he's really a nice guy, and all-"
"JUSST DO AS I SSAY!"
"Yes sir!"
Footsteps, headed Sally's way. Hirac's footsteps! Sally ran out of the curtains and looked for a place to hide. She was panicking and scared, so she just dove into a pile of pillows, just barely missing Hirac's sight.
Hirac turned his eyes to the pillows and started digging through them. Another tossed aside, and-
There was a little, pointed, black face peeping out from the cushions. Very reptilian; it could have been a dinosaur. It's ears were nothing more than little stubs of flesh that resembled horns. Large, thornish scales jutted out from its neck (think a black Valefor from Final Fantasy X (this is for you, Double F!). It whimpered squeakly, as if it was agitated.
"Oh, I'm ssorry, my little Eeosski, did I walk you up?" Hirac cooed the sleeping figure. "Did Daddy wake you up? Yess he did! Yess, he did! I'm ssorry! I'll jusst put back your pillowss, and you go back to ssleep? Okay? Okay!" Hirac placed a pillow back on Eeoski's head and walked out of the room, turning off the lights as he went.
Sally was just starting to worm her way out of the pillows when Eeoski pulled her back in (Okay, from what I remember, Valefor doesn't have arms. But I've changed his appearence a bit for the story. He doesn't just have wings and legs; he had arms, legs, and wings, Okay? Okay!).
"OW! Lemme go!" Sally yelled. She started directly into Eeoski's face. "AAH! GODZILLA!"
"You came in here to make me sick."
"Huh?" Sally was surprised that it spoke. She was more surprised that he spoke with the voice of a seven year old boy.
"You're a bad germ from outside that's come to make me sick," Eeoski growled.
"I'm not a germ, I'm a human!" Sally had second thoughts about that comment. "Well, I used to be... Just let me go!"
"Why? Stay in here and play with me. You'll get sick outside."
"No you won't!"
"Yes, you will," Eeoski loosened his hold on Sally's arm. "That's why I've never left this room."
"Staying in this room in what'll make you sick!" Sally tugged on her arm again, but Eeoski held tight. "Please, someone very important to me is hurt, really bad! I need to help him! Don't you understand?"
"If you don't play with me, I'll cry," Eeoski snarled. "I'll cry and Daddy'll come in here, and Daddy'll kill you. Now play with me, or I'll break your arm!"
Sally cringed as Eeoski grabbed her with both hands and twisted her arm in two directions. Her arm... crinkled, as if it were stuffed with leaves and twigs. "OW! That hurts!" She got an idea. Without thinking, she jutted out her opposite hand, the one covered in pig's blood. "BLOOD! Do you see that? Blood! It's got germs in it!"
Eeoski stared in shock for a moment, then started shrieking at the top of his lungs! He threw pillows everywhere, knocking Sally into the staircase in the process. She ran into Hirac's office, just in time to see the hands pushing Jack towards a large gutter that had appeared in front of the fireplace!
"JACK!" Sally rushed at the hands, scaring them away. "Get away! Shoo!" Sally clutched Jack's wide shoulders. "Jack, are you okay? Say something!"
"RUFF RUFF!"
"Huh?" Sally turned her head just in time for a napkin-like ghost dog to start attacking her face. "AAH! Get away!"
"Koit koit." The hands tried to push Jack's middle into the gutter. Sally grabbed Jack by the armpits.
"QUIT IT!" Zero swooped down at her head again. "Aaa!"
Stomp. Stomp. Squeeeeee- SNAP!
Zero stopped attacking Sally's head, and the hands stopped pushing Jack. Sally looked around to see that Eeoski had squeezed out of his room, pulled the curtains (along with the curtain rod) off of the ceiling, and was standing right in front of them. Eeoski had a fat body, with stubby arms and legs. Little wings grew out of his back, with a mostly solid base, but the ends of his wings sort of branched out and curled around inwardly.
"I'm not afraid of blood!" Eeoski spoke loudly. "Play with me or I'll cry!"
"NO!" Sally tried to talk him out of it. "Don't cry! Be good!"
"Play with me, or I'll (sniff) start crying!" Eeoski started to wail, giant tears pouring down his cheeks.
"NO NO NO!" Sally yelled above the crying. "Please! Just wait!"
The paper bat hovered in the air above Sally's head. "Shut your mouth, you spoiled brat!"
Eeoski stopped crying immediately. He watched in amazement as the bat flew just inches in front of his eyes. "You're a little butterball, aren't you? Fat pig."
The bat zoomed its way to the floor, and as it fell, the gaseous figure of a woman appeared. She was very skinny, looking anorexic at the least. She wore a long, purple gown which trailed behind her gracefully, held around her stomach by a belt shaped like a bat. Her long, black hair contrasted greatly to her pale skin, and her sharp features left you feeling a bit queasy. Her eyes shot right through Sally and seemed to look straight at Jack. She then looked down at her thin arm. "Hmmm... I guess I'm still a little transparent."
"You're not Daddy!" Eeoski hollered.
"Oh, what a little genius you are," the woman sneered. With one wave of her tiny hand, Eeoski started to shrink and change until he was nothing more than a gecko.
"There, now your body matches your brain. Now, what else can we mess with?"
Zero flew off in a terrible panic, and the hands scattered in 3 directions. With a wave of her hand, the woman turned Zero into a small moth, and with another wave, turned the hands into Eeoski!
Aphrodite chuckled with closed lips, like Hirac did. She turned to Sally. "This is our little secret. You tell anyone about this and I rip your mouth out."
"Who are you?" Sally asked.
The woman floated closer to Sally. Her feet didn't even seem to move. "Aphrodite. I am Hirac's sister. Now let me have that gargoyle. He's stolen my broach, and I want it back."
"Jack wouldn't steal! He's a good person!" Sally tightened her grip on Jack's shoulders.
"Listen to me, child. That gargoyle became my brother's apprentice to steal his magic secrets. Now he's stolen one of mine." Aphrodite bent down so that she was eye level with Sally. "There is a spell on the broach. It was given to me by my mother, and anyone who tries to steal it will die. Now hand him over!"
"NO!" Sally shut her eyes.
BAM!
"Wah!" Sally bounced up into the air. The replacement Eeoski was trying hard to stomp the gecko and moth that were Eeoski and Zero.
"Would you be quiet?" Aphrodite wandered away from Sally and Jack. Gecko and Zero climbed onto Sally's shoulder. "I don't want my brother coming up here."
There was a low growling noise, and Sally felt Jack's wings twitch...
He shot up suddenly, growling and snarling. His wings stretched in front of Sally, blocking her from Aphrodite, and with one mighty snap, Jack split the paper bat (which had lain lifelessly on the floor) with his tail. Aphrodite's image started to seperate.
"Oh, I guess I was careless," were her last words before her vaporous form faded.
Jack's eyes closed, and he started falling backwards, into the drain!
"Jack!" Sally tried in vain to wake him up. "JACK! WE'RE FALLING! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
They fell uninhibited through the drain, falling through a dark tunnel down to the ground. Sally felt Zero and Gecko drifting upward, so she grabbed them and stuffed them into her uniform. She winced as Jack's wings snapped around her shoulders.
"Jack! Wake up!" Sally wrapped her arms around Jack's neck. "Please, wake up!"
As she joined her hands together (to form a stronger hold), the enviroment around her changed. She no longer was falling through the abyss (her hair had even stopped flailing above her and had fallen back to her shoulders); she was in her old room in the orphanage. There was an evil laugh, a flash of light- And she was back again.
Large black clouds of smoke rose from the pit below them- wait, they were black ghosts. Sally feared for her life, but Jack chose this moment to wake up. He spread his wings and flew above the ghosts, circling upward until he found an opening in the wall to fly through. Sally had to squish down flat onto Jack's back; the crawlway was very small. Jack went from flying sideways to flying down, going through another pipeway so small that he had to fold his wings underneath him. Falling-falling-falling- they started coming up to a ventilation fan!
"Jack, stop!" Sally pleaded.
SMASH!
Sally crashed down on top of The Mayor! Apparently, the ventilation duct was right above the Cellar. Herbs and grasses flew everywhere, scattering themselves across the rooom. Jack had slammed himself against a wall, attaching himself to the side like a spider.
The Mayor pushed Sally off of him, and she scrambled over to her hurt friend. "JACK? Are you okay?"
"Kerry?" The Mayor coughed. "What are you doing here?"
"Jack's being chased by some... banshee woman!" Sally angrily shouted over her shoulder. She turned back to Jack, who had let go of the wall and had fallen to the floor like a snake from a tree. "Jack? Are you alright?"
With one terrific push of his wings, Jack lurched forward, growling and snapping his jaws. He then passed out again, landing in a tangled knot on the floor.
"Is he okay?" Sally couldn't stop crying. "Is he okay? What's wrong with him?"
"Calm down, Kerry," Mayor sighed. "Jack's badly hurt, I can see that. It looks like whatever's hurting him is coming from inside of him."
"Inside of him?" Sally moaned. "Oh dear..."
"Who did you say was after him?" The Mayor asked, extremely confused but starting to get a hold of the situation.
"Some... something named Aphrodite. Said she was Hirac's sister." Sally rubbed the poor gargoyle version of her savior's head.
"Oo, Aphrodite..." The Mayor rubbed the chin of his worried face. "I'm surprised he's not dead already."
"Ennhnnnn," Sally pounded her head in thought. "Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do?" She snapped her fingers. "I know! I can go to Aphrodite and ask for the cure!" Her idea had a hole in it, though. "Oh, but I don't know where it is! It can't get there!"
"You may be able to reach Aphrodite's in time," The Mayor spoke whimsically. "If you use the Coach."
The Mayor shuffled over to his desk. Popsy crawled through the tiny door which Sally had first entered the Mansion through. "What's going on here- Kerry? I've been looking all over for you-" A look down, and "JACK! What's he doing here?"
"He's been hurt really bad!" Kerry cried. "Oh, I can't let him die! Not after all he's done for me!"
The Mayor threw various props out of the desk, including teapots"Where did I put those stupid... dumb herbs. SOMEBODY HELP ME CLEAN UP IN HERE!"
Baby ghosts arose from around Sally's feet. Some moved to the scattered bits of plants that covered the floor, others picked Jack up and tried to move him to a more comfortable position.
"What happened to Jack?" Popsy breathed.
"Here they are," The Mayor pushed a bundle of tickets into Sally's hands. Popsy gasped.
"Tickets? You've got Coach tickets?!" she spoke angrily. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I've been saving these for forty years," The Mayor spoke whimsically yet again. "Use them wisely. Aphrodite lives in Swampy Gulch, so ask the Coach to take you there. It's a one way trip nowadays; you'll have to find your own way back."
"Okay," Sally breathed. "Popsy, please take care of Jack."
"Okay, Kerry." Popsy was immensily jealous of Kerry, but said nothing. She had the spirit to escape; she couldn't quite place why. Something was very odd about Kerry lately.
Sally turned to Jack and gave his forehead one last pat. "I'll be back soon, Jack. Don't die, alright?"
"What's going on with Kerry?" Popsy whispered into the Mayor's ear.
"Something you wouldn't recognize. It's called love." The Mayor ushered Sally up the Cellar stairs. "Hurry, before anyone realizes you're missing. Go to Moonlight Hill."
"The big spirally hill?" Sally asked while climbing.
"That one!" The Mayor shouted. "Happy trails!"
The baby ghosts chittered their goodbyes, and Sally finally stepped out of view.
*
Sally held Gecko and Zero in her hand, waiting atop Moonlight Hill for the Coach. It thundered up to her, stopping slowly in midair. Four skeleton horses stared blankly at her.
"Uh, I'm headed to Swampy Gulch," Sally handed one of the horses her bundle of tickets. It was a long, arcade-ish ribbon of four white papers. The horses swallowed the tickets one by one, but stopped on the last ticket. It looked over Sally's shoulder, and she did as well...
"OOGIE BOOGIE!" Sally nearly fell off of the very narrow hill. Oogie stood on the wider part of the hill, having trouble keeping his tremendous girth on the hill. "What do you want?"
"Well, uh..." Oogie was twiddling his "hands" nervously, and his face had a worried look; quite unlike him. "Well, uh... Jack's kinda... kinda my friend... and I don't want 'im to die again... Can I come?"
"Um... Sure!" Sally felt very forgiving that moment. "I have another ticket." Sally spoke to the horses. "He's with me."
The skeleton horse swallowed the last ticket and opened the Stagecoach door, letting Sally and company step inside.
DONE! Man, that was a hard chapter to write!
Oo! We're almost done! We're almost done! Okay, let's get started! (Audience: YEAH!)
Sally ran down the stairs, only to be stopped by Popsy grabbing onto her wrist. Sally jerked to a painful stop.
"Where are you going at dinnertime?" she asked.
"I've gotta find Jack!" Sally nearly screamed.
"Not Jack again!" Popsy sighed. "Look, girl, take my advice and stay away from him!"
"I'm not a girl!" Sally uselessly fought. She felt her hand getting wet. "Why's my hand wet?"
"I was on kitchen duty. Had to cut up the pigs and cows, stuff like that."
"EW!" Sally pulled back her bloody hand.
"I'm gonna go get dinner, Kerry," Popsy turned away and trotted down the stairs. "You stay here."
But Sally was gone already. She'd squeezed through a nearby window and had climbed out onto a triangular castle turret. With one wrong step of her foot, she slipped down the edge and nearly fell off of the building. She looked at the roof to see what had caught her before she realized it was herself; she no longer had skin, but a rough cloth with had caught on the metal roof.
"Oh, wonderful!" Sally ran her hand over her arm, feeling the texture of her skin (it was a teensy bit like burlap). "What else is new?" As she rubbed her arm, her hands shrunk to three-thirds their normal size!
"YIPE!" Sally lept to her feet. "It's going faster! I've gotta hurry!" She scrambled over the rooftop to the other side, where she finally saw a ladder... twenty feet away. A long pipe connected one turret to the ladder to Sally's rooftop. She looked down her feet; they were much smaller, as well. Small enough to fit on the pipe. Sally gulped, knowing what she had to do. She spoke to herself as she undid her ribbon belt and worked it around her shoulders.
"Okay, one shoulder... other one... tie a knot- tighten up this pants leg... other one. Okay. I'm ready. (gulp) I hope."
Deep breathe, Sally, and GO!
She ran at full speed over the pipe, feeling a jolt of adrenaline as the long piece of metal snapped behind her. She ran and ran and ran and GOT IT! She clutched the ladder's rungs for dear life at the pipe broke away, falling down to the ground 50 stories below.
"Oh, boy," Sally moaned. She gulped again and started up the ladder. She made almost all the way to the top when she stopped to take a breathe of air. At that moment, the paper bat attached to her leg flew off of her and tapped the back of her head. She darted around, trying to see what hit her. The bat had stuck itself to her hair, but she saw something else; something black, orange, and much more important.
"HIRAC! Oh no! I've gotta hide!" She darted up the ladder. "Does everyone here have to be a gargoyle?"
Hirac flew to the top of his mansion, landing on his window sill. Zero greeted him warmly, the little hands bouncing behind him. Hirac walked into his office and threw his coat behind him, letting Oogie Boogie catch it. He sat down behind his desk, surveying the area.
Luckily, Sally had managed to hide under an overhang, in a windowsill. The stained glass window to her left was shut tight; this she proved by trying to bash it open with her elbow. Repeatedly. The paper bat fell off of her head, slipped under the window, and (unknown to Sally) opened the latch, causing Sally to lurch into the room when she jabbed it next.
"WAH!" She opened to eyes to find herself in a bathroom with one tub, one sink, one toilet; it must've been Hirac's private bathroom. She was getting close. The bat attacked itself back to her leg as she ran out of the doorway.
Hallways, hallways, that's mostly all that the top floors were. Sally was extremely confused and not sure where to go. She was sure she was going in circles, and when she saw an open door, she immediately ran inside.
But it sure wasn't Hirac's office. The floors and the lower parts of the walls were covered in green padding, and the rest of the walls were painted with serene picture of fields, meadows, and blue skies. The floor was littered with stuffed animals, pillows, and wrapped presents which hadn't been opened yet. As Sally walked through, she noticed a large bed, covered in pillows and surrounded by pink curtains (slightly open). Nothing was in the bed, so she kept moving. The paper bat flew off yet again and cupped itself around her ear. Sally detected a slight noise, and she turned to follow it. A set of curtains on the north wall of the circular room hid a staircase which led up to two ornately designed doors; doors to Hirac's office. Sally tapped the doors opened minutely and settled down to listen in on the conversation.
"... to begin with. And you can't get water to your tub, either? What happened? A pipe musst've broken. Very well, I'll make ssure it getss fixed. Yess, goodbye." There was the sound of a phone hanging up. "Oh, Jack'ss breaking into piecess all over the rug; I jusst got that imported from China. Oogie, you go fix the sstupid pipe. Handss, get rid of Jack! He'ss dead anyway."
"B-bu-b-bu-bu-but sir? Shouldn't-shouldn't we try to help Jack?" Oogie's voice? It couldn't be! "I mean- I mean, he's really a nice guy, and all-"
"JUSST DO AS I SSAY!"
"Yes sir!"
Footsteps, headed Sally's way. Hirac's footsteps! Sally ran out of the curtains and looked for a place to hide. She was panicking and scared, so she just dove into a pile of pillows, just barely missing Hirac's sight.
Hirac turned his eyes to the pillows and started digging through them. Another tossed aside, and-
There was a little, pointed, black face peeping out from the cushions. Very reptilian; it could have been a dinosaur. It's ears were nothing more than little stubs of flesh that resembled horns. Large, thornish scales jutted out from its neck (think a black Valefor from Final Fantasy X (this is for you, Double F!). It whimpered squeakly, as if it was agitated.
"Oh, I'm ssorry, my little Eeosski, did I walk you up?" Hirac cooed the sleeping figure. "Did Daddy wake you up? Yess he did! Yess, he did! I'm ssorry! I'll jusst put back your pillowss, and you go back to ssleep? Okay? Okay!" Hirac placed a pillow back on Eeoski's head and walked out of the room, turning off the lights as he went.
Sally was just starting to worm her way out of the pillows when Eeoski pulled her back in (Okay, from what I remember, Valefor doesn't have arms. But I've changed his appearence a bit for the story. He doesn't just have wings and legs; he had arms, legs, and wings, Okay? Okay!).
"OW! Lemme go!" Sally yelled. She started directly into Eeoski's face. "AAH! GODZILLA!"
"You came in here to make me sick."
"Huh?" Sally was surprised that it spoke. She was more surprised that he spoke with the voice of a seven year old boy.
"You're a bad germ from outside that's come to make me sick," Eeoski growled.
"I'm not a germ, I'm a human!" Sally had second thoughts about that comment. "Well, I used to be... Just let me go!"
"Why? Stay in here and play with me. You'll get sick outside."
"No you won't!"
"Yes, you will," Eeoski loosened his hold on Sally's arm. "That's why I've never left this room."
"Staying in this room in what'll make you sick!" Sally tugged on her arm again, but Eeoski held tight. "Please, someone very important to me is hurt, really bad! I need to help him! Don't you understand?"
"If you don't play with me, I'll cry," Eeoski snarled. "I'll cry and Daddy'll come in here, and Daddy'll kill you. Now play with me, or I'll break your arm!"
Sally cringed as Eeoski grabbed her with both hands and twisted her arm in two directions. Her arm... crinkled, as if it were stuffed with leaves and twigs. "OW! That hurts!" She got an idea. Without thinking, she jutted out her opposite hand, the one covered in pig's blood. "BLOOD! Do you see that? Blood! It's got germs in it!"
Eeoski stared in shock for a moment, then started shrieking at the top of his lungs! He threw pillows everywhere, knocking Sally into the staircase in the process. She ran into Hirac's office, just in time to see the hands pushing Jack towards a large gutter that had appeared in front of the fireplace!
"JACK!" Sally rushed at the hands, scaring them away. "Get away! Shoo!" Sally clutched Jack's wide shoulders. "Jack, are you okay? Say something!"
"RUFF RUFF!"
"Huh?" Sally turned her head just in time for a napkin-like ghost dog to start attacking her face. "AAH! Get away!"
"Koit koit." The hands tried to push Jack's middle into the gutter. Sally grabbed Jack by the armpits.
"QUIT IT!" Zero swooped down at her head again. "Aaa!"
Stomp. Stomp. Squeeeeee- SNAP!
Zero stopped attacking Sally's head, and the hands stopped pushing Jack. Sally looked around to see that Eeoski had squeezed out of his room, pulled the curtains (along with the curtain rod) off of the ceiling, and was standing right in front of them. Eeoski had a fat body, with stubby arms and legs. Little wings grew out of his back, with a mostly solid base, but the ends of his wings sort of branched out and curled around inwardly.
"I'm not afraid of blood!" Eeoski spoke loudly. "Play with me or I'll cry!"
"NO!" Sally tried to talk him out of it. "Don't cry! Be good!"
"Play with me, or I'll (sniff) start crying!" Eeoski started to wail, giant tears pouring down his cheeks.
"NO NO NO!" Sally yelled above the crying. "Please! Just wait!"
The paper bat hovered in the air above Sally's head. "Shut your mouth, you spoiled brat!"
Eeoski stopped crying immediately. He watched in amazement as the bat flew just inches in front of his eyes. "You're a little butterball, aren't you? Fat pig."
The bat zoomed its way to the floor, and as it fell, the gaseous figure of a woman appeared. She was very skinny, looking anorexic at the least. She wore a long, purple gown which trailed behind her gracefully, held around her stomach by a belt shaped like a bat. Her long, black hair contrasted greatly to her pale skin, and her sharp features left you feeling a bit queasy. Her eyes shot right through Sally and seemed to look straight at Jack. She then looked down at her thin arm. "Hmmm... I guess I'm still a little transparent."
"You're not Daddy!" Eeoski hollered.
"Oh, what a little genius you are," the woman sneered. With one wave of her tiny hand, Eeoski started to shrink and change until he was nothing more than a gecko.
"There, now your body matches your brain. Now, what else can we mess with?"
Zero flew off in a terrible panic, and the hands scattered in 3 directions. With a wave of her hand, the woman turned Zero into a small moth, and with another wave, turned the hands into Eeoski!
Aphrodite chuckled with closed lips, like Hirac did. She turned to Sally. "This is our little secret. You tell anyone about this and I rip your mouth out."
"Who are you?" Sally asked.
The woman floated closer to Sally. Her feet didn't even seem to move. "Aphrodite. I am Hirac's sister. Now let me have that gargoyle. He's stolen my broach, and I want it back."
"Jack wouldn't steal! He's a good person!" Sally tightened her grip on Jack's shoulders.
"Listen to me, child. That gargoyle became my brother's apprentice to steal his magic secrets. Now he's stolen one of mine." Aphrodite bent down so that she was eye level with Sally. "There is a spell on the broach. It was given to me by my mother, and anyone who tries to steal it will die. Now hand him over!"
"NO!" Sally shut her eyes.
BAM!
"Wah!" Sally bounced up into the air. The replacement Eeoski was trying hard to stomp the gecko and moth that were Eeoski and Zero.
"Would you be quiet?" Aphrodite wandered away from Sally and Jack. Gecko and Zero climbed onto Sally's shoulder. "I don't want my brother coming up here."
There was a low growling noise, and Sally felt Jack's wings twitch...
He shot up suddenly, growling and snarling. His wings stretched in front of Sally, blocking her from Aphrodite, and with one mighty snap, Jack split the paper bat (which had lain lifelessly on the floor) with his tail. Aphrodite's image started to seperate.
"Oh, I guess I was careless," were her last words before her vaporous form faded.
Jack's eyes closed, and he started falling backwards, into the drain!
"Jack!" Sally tried in vain to wake him up. "JACK! WE'RE FALLING! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
They fell uninhibited through the drain, falling through a dark tunnel down to the ground. Sally felt Zero and Gecko drifting upward, so she grabbed them and stuffed them into her uniform. She winced as Jack's wings snapped around her shoulders.
"Jack! Wake up!" Sally wrapped her arms around Jack's neck. "Please, wake up!"
As she joined her hands together (to form a stronger hold), the enviroment around her changed. She no longer was falling through the abyss (her hair had even stopped flailing above her and had fallen back to her shoulders); she was in her old room in the orphanage. There was an evil laugh, a flash of light- And she was back again.
Large black clouds of smoke rose from the pit below them- wait, they were black ghosts. Sally feared for her life, but Jack chose this moment to wake up. He spread his wings and flew above the ghosts, circling upward until he found an opening in the wall to fly through. Sally had to squish down flat onto Jack's back; the crawlway was very small. Jack went from flying sideways to flying down, going through another pipeway so small that he had to fold his wings underneath him. Falling-falling-falling- they started coming up to a ventilation fan!
"Jack, stop!" Sally pleaded.
SMASH!
Sally crashed down on top of The Mayor! Apparently, the ventilation duct was right above the Cellar. Herbs and grasses flew everywhere, scattering themselves across the rooom. Jack had slammed himself against a wall, attaching himself to the side like a spider.
The Mayor pushed Sally off of him, and she scrambled over to her hurt friend. "JACK? Are you okay?"
"Kerry?" The Mayor coughed. "What are you doing here?"
"Jack's being chased by some... banshee woman!" Sally angrily shouted over her shoulder. She turned back to Jack, who had let go of the wall and had fallen to the floor like a snake from a tree. "Jack? Are you alright?"
With one terrific push of his wings, Jack lurched forward, growling and snapping his jaws. He then passed out again, landing in a tangled knot on the floor.
"Is he okay?" Sally couldn't stop crying. "Is he okay? What's wrong with him?"
"Calm down, Kerry," Mayor sighed. "Jack's badly hurt, I can see that. It looks like whatever's hurting him is coming from inside of him."
"Inside of him?" Sally moaned. "Oh dear..."
"Who did you say was after him?" The Mayor asked, extremely confused but starting to get a hold of the situation.
"Some... something named Aphrodite. Said she was Hirac's sister." Sally rubbed the poor gargoyle version of her savior's head.
"Oo, Aphrodite..." The Mayor rubbed the chin of his worried face. "I'm surprised he's not dead already."
"Ennhnnnn," Sally pounded her head in thought. "Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do?" She snapped her fingers. "I know! I can go to Aphrodite and ask for the cure!" Her idea had a hole in it, though. "Oh, but I don't know where it is! It can't get there!"
"You may be able to reach Aphrodite's in time," The Mayor spoke whimsically. "If you use the Coach."
The Mayor shuffled over to his desk. Popsy crawled through the tiny door which Sally had first entered the Mansion through. "What's going on here- Kerry? I've been looking all over for you-" A look down, and "JACK! What's he doing here?"
"He's been hurt really bad!" Kerry cried. "Oh, I can't let him die! Not after all he's done for me!"
The Mayor threw various props out of the desk, including teapots"Where did I put those stupid... dumb herbs. SOMEBODY HELP ME CLEAN UP IN HERE!"
Baby ghosts arose from around Sally's feet. Some moved to the scattered bits of plants that covered the floor, others picked Jack up and tried to move him to a more comfortable position.
"What happened to Jack?" Popsy breathed.
"Here they are," The Mayor pushed a bundle of tickets into Sally's hands. Popsy gasped.
"Tickets? You've got Coach tickets?!" she spoke angrily. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I've been saving these for forty years," The Mayor spoke whimsically yet again. "Use them wisely. Aphrodite lives in Swampy Gulch, so ask the Coach to take you there. It's a one way trip nowadays; you'll have to find your own way back."
"Okay," Sally breathed. "Popsy, please take care of Jack."
"Okay, Kerry." Popsy was immensily jealous of Kerry, but said nothing. She had the spirit to escape; she couldn't quite place why. Something was very odd about Kerry lately.
Sally turned to Jack and gave his forehead one last pat. "I'll be back soon, Jack. Don't die, alright?"
"What's going on with Kerry?" Popsy whispered into the Mayor's ear.
"Something you wouldn't recognize. It's called love." The Mayor ushered Sally up the Cellar stairs. "Hurry, before anyone realizes you're missing. Go to Moonlight Hill."
"The big spirally hill?" Sally asked while climbing.
"That one!" The Mayor shouted. "Happy trails!"
The baby ghosts chittered their goodbyes, and Sally finally stepped out of view.
*
Sally held Gecko and Zero in her hand, waiting atop Moonlight Hill for the Coach. It thundered up to her, stopping slowly in midair. Four skeleton horses stared blankly at her.
"Uh, I'm headed to Swampy Gulch," Sally handed one of the horses her bundle of tickets. It was a long, arcade-ish ribbon of four white papers. The horses swallowed the tickets one by one, but stopped on the last ticket. It looked over Sally's shoulder, and she did as well...
"OOGIE BOOGIE!" Sally nearly fell off of the very narrow hill. Oogie stood on the wider part of the hill, having trouble keeping his tremendous girth on the hill. "What do you want?"
"Well, uh..." Oogie was twiddling his "hands" nervously, and his face had a worried look; quite unlike him. "Well, uh... Jack's kinda... kinda my friend... and I don't want 'im to die again... Can I come?"
"Um... Sure!" Sally felt very forgiving that moment. "I have another ticket." Sally spoke to the horses. "He's with me."
The skeleton horse swallowed the last ticket and opened the Stagecoach door, letting Sally and company step inside.
DONE! Man, that was a hard chapter to write!