Far away from the plotting duo, there was a land visited once before by those trying to foil them. The Council of Celebrations decided to once again journey to the land of love. However, the reigning goddess was in one of her bad moods, which clashed with the peaceful, love-filled atmosphere of where she made her home.
"Away with you, I want no visitors," Venus said dramatically as the Council stood before her in the Temple once again.
"With all due respect, Lady Venus, we wish to discuss the whole matter of Psyche with you," said Rabbi Tevel, slowly backing away.
"Oh really? Well for your information, the ingrate told me that I, the Goddess of Love, have been acting... I cannot even say it. It is blasphemy!"
"'Tis alright, Lass. Can't be that bad," Saint Patrick said in a comforting tone.
"She called me... SPITEFUL!" cried out the goddess before bursting into tears.
"Well, I can't say the girl is wrong," Jacob muttered to a nodding Easter Bunny, unaware of his not very quiet tone.
"What did you say!" Venus exclaimed, causing Jacob to jump at least ten feet off of the ground in fear, "How dare you!"
"He didn't mean it," Santa Claus chimed in, watching the pilgrim start to pray for dear life.
"That is it. I want all of you out of my Temple. I need to be alone. NOW!"
And that was the end of that. Tevel cringed at the memory of their previous attempt at finding Psyche as the group gathered under a tree on a hill overlooking a heart-shaped lake. While he and Santa Claus were trying to figure out what to do next, the other members were busy entertaining themselves. Saint Patrick was looking for four leaf clovers in the grass while the Easter Bunny nibbled on other clovers. All the while, the pilgrim stood at the bottom of the hill, skipping stones on the lake and making sure not to hit any of the couples sailing in large swan-shaped boats.
At least, that was what he was doing. He immediately stopped when a girl around seventeen or eighteen years old wearing a long white tunic tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, he lost all clue of what he was doing, where he was, or even what the girl was saying. He was too busy noticing her large brown eyes and curly black hair falling over her pale shoulders. However, the girl seemed to notice his predicament before he did, so she poked him on the shoulder harder once more.
"Ow!" the Pilgrim exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, but you seemed lost for a minute," she said, "I was just wondering if you come from this area. I have never seen you or your friends walk around town before."
"Oh no. We're um... uh... Fellows, what are we?"
"Busy. Sorry, Miss, but we have been looking for a lady named Psyche and have been taking a break," Santa Claus said as he walked down the hill.
"Well, you need look no further," the girl said. "I'm Psyche. How may I help you?"
"Good heavens! You sure don't act like a goddess, Lassie," Saint Patrick said in disbelief.
"Contrary to whatever notions you may have, not all goddesses behave like my mother-in-law."
"Thank God," Jacob said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"We apologize for our nervous friend. As for our business, we are looking for Cupid and-" the rabbi started.
"You are! Oh thank you so much." Psyche interrupted as she hugged him.
"We were wondering if you had any idea where he is," he finished. Psyche immediately let him go when he did, allowing him to breathe once more.
"Oh, what a mean trick, getting me all riled up for nothing. He's been gone for ages and he didn't tell me where he was going. It has to be his mother's fault. That Venus, always telling him to 'Leave that false goddess' and blah blah blah."
"I can honestly say I share your sentiment," said the pilgrim as the Easter Bunny rolled his eyes.
"Gone for ages, you say?" Santa Claus asked.
"Oh yes. He said he received some strange urge to spread love in the Real World. He said it would only be a moment and now here I am. Alone, without husband," Psyche sighed.
"You met under terms that were a wee bit eccentric, right?"
"A wee bit isn't the half of it. But I doubt you have enough time to listen to my story. You have to go look for my husband."
"Please tell us. It could, um, help us. Right?" Jacob said in an eager tone to his companions.
"I suppose. Come, we'll sit beneath the tree," Tevel said as he guided Psyche and the rest of the Council of Celebrations to the tree on the hill in order to hear the Goddess' story.
Speaking of stories, Jack had to start making one up as soon as he got home from his semi-failed flight experiment. He had just found out Sally had seen his little escapade, and had to lie to her on the spot. The Pumpkin King did not like using his resourcefulness to fool his desired Queen, mind you.
"You know, Jack, those wings really do match your eye sockets," Sally said right after Jack walked through the door. "Is something wrong, Dear?" she asked, watching Jack's lower jaw nearly fall off.
"No, nothing... you were there?" Jack asked, changing from nonchalant to frightened.
"I was an errand to pick up some herbs from the witches when you happened to drop by the Town Square. What happened?"
"I was practicing for nothing too important. Nothing to worry about, it's a long time from now."
"Really? Because I heard you say it was this month and, well, I don't want to be unprepared. I know how you like everything to be perfect."
"Now, Sally, don't be ridiculous. Anything that happens to me would be imperfect without you. Horribly, in a bad way."
"Do you mean that?" Sally asked as she brushed up to the skeleton.
"Of course." Jack said, relieved that the trouble was over.
"Then would you mind telling me what's going on?"
"I would if I could, but I can't."
"You can't? It's not going to be a disaster waiting to happen is it?"
"No, nothing like that. It's a surprise."
"Surprise?"
"Yes, a surprise so astonishing and extraordinary that if I keep talking about it, I'll spill it and ruin it for you. I'd hate to do that."
"So the rest of Halloween Town can know?" Sally asked in a slightly envious and disappointed tone.
"Well, I need a lot of help pulling this off and I couldn't ask you to help me under such stressful conditions. Look at what you've been through. Sally, trust me on this, please? You know I'd never hurt you, right?"
The room was silent for a moment. One could hear a pin drop in the room if it was dropped in the floor. He was finally reassured of this pressure when Sally embraced him. She then told him about her encounter with the drifter who implanted suspicions in her thoughts. Aha, so this was what was bothering Sally.
"Did you get a good look at her?"
"No, she had this cloak on. She must be new in town."
"Another new person. I wonder who's bringing them. It's interesting, I came across some new cat girl today too. I wonder if they're related, or if they came together. Henry never mentioned anything about self-bringers."
"Wait. Cat girl?" Sally asked as her eyes widened.
"Yes, short with black fur and a little cowardly."
"I'll be right back," Sally said as she kissed Jack on the cheek and ran off.
Uh-oh. Something tells me Kitty's around somewhere. Somewhere in hiding that is. So, do you think Zero might have found her before Sally? Only one way to find out, and that's by waiting for the next update. (Re-edit Comment: I still like twists and turns. I don't think that'll ever change.)