Author's Note: Isn't snow just grand? Now that I have some unscheduled free time on my hands, I'm going to use it. Ready to hear the verdict for the big bad Elders? I know I am. They belong to me, along with a mish-mosh of other people, things, and places, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is really the springboard for all of these ideas and has an identity all its own. Now, without further ado, the aftermath.
The Elders were surely in between a rock and a hard place. At the moment, they were faced with a very angry group of Natives. Their leader, Chief Mingan had a solemn look on his face, as if he too had the power to exorcize them to the Great Beyond. Behind him was a woman sobbing into the shoulder of her male companion, they had to be the boy's parents. The couple was surrounded by angry men who aimed spears and arrows at the three Puritan leaders.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the doors of the Courthouse swung open as Puritan colonists went to see what took their Elders so long. They had made it just in time to witness the fall of three powerful men. The pilgrims stood, confused, even scared at what was happening. Hey, it wasn't every day one saw his or her leaders being taken down with the aid of a skeleton.
"Matchitehews!" Chief Mingan finally said. "You three have evil, wretched hearts."
"There should be four of us," Elder Robert said, looking towards Daniel.
"With friends like them, who needs enemies?" Patience asked, not seeing that her cousin had left her side, "Daniel? Get back here!"
"No, Patience. I have to take responsibility for what I did," Daniel said as he stood with the rest of the Elders to await their fates.
"We helped your people when they stepped onto this land. We made sure you never starved to death in the winter. Is this how you repay our hospitality? By stealing a child and blaming it on the spirits?"
"We were going to bring him back, but-" Elder John started.
"The only reason the child is alive is due to Mr. Skellington's inability to mind his own business," Jacob interrupted.
"That's right," Jack said, nodding until he realized that wasn't exactly a compliment. "Hey!"
"No offense," Jacob managed to say before the Native chief raised his right hand to their faces.
"Pay no mind to him, that man is practically a heathen," said the Grand Elder to the chief.
"Heathen or not, he has better values than you," Chief Mingan said as he allowed for Nitis and Kanti to step forward, "Look at these people in their eyes and tell them you wanted their child dead for land. I dare you."
"This is all a misunderstanding. That skeleton has been after us for trying to convert his wicked kin to the path of righteousness. He tricked us." Elder Robert said, averting his eyes.
"Where is he?" asked Nitis as he tried to calm his wife.
"Thou art his father, 'tis thy duty to know." said the Grand Elder without a drop of compassion in his voice.
"Mukki?" Kanti asked the Elders, drying her tears.
"Excuse me?" asked Elder John.
"Do you have mukki?" Kanti asked again after pointing to each Elder.
"Mukki means a child," Mingan said. "She wants to know if any of you have children."
"No. If we did, we wouldn't have done something so horrible," Daniel said, finally speaking up.
"Quiet, boy. Thou hast landed in enough peril already."
"Grand Elder, I resign the post of being your stooge," Daniel said before looking at the Natives, "Words cannot express how deeply I regret doing this to you. The child is safe and sound, no harm has come to him."
"At least one of you knows how to tell the truth,"Chief Mingan said.
"He is mad. Just as loony as the schoolteacher," Elder Joseph said.
"Jacob, apprehend these men. Though, not this one," Chief Mingan said, looking right into Daniel's eyes, "Enkoodabaoo. He has finally learned to stand alone for what he believes in. The rest are corrupt shells of human beings. They are not fit to lead your people."
"Then who is?" Jacob asked.
"I'm sure you'll figure that out just fine. Now, get these men to those fancy stocks they enjoy putting others in."
The Elders finally gave up. One by one, they were taken away by a member of the Council. Only Daniel was left of them by the time they were put in the stocks. He put up quite a fight against not receiving the same punishment, only to be slapped on the back of head by Patience for acting like a fool. Still, there was one last person Daniel had to make amends with.
"You name is Jack, yes?" Daniel asked the skeleton man talking to the mortal with the sheet.
"Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King. That's me," Jack said with a wide grin.
"You did an excellent job in making them confess. Sorry for getting in the way, Patience can be a handful sometimes."
"Thank you. It's what I do. And don't worry about that, it bought me some time."
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley, let me tell you," Billy said.
"Indeed. Jack, I am sorry for almost letting you take the blame for what the other Elders and I did. It wasn't right, and if you want to take my soul or anything of that nature, you have every right to."
"It's alright, as long as you've learned your lesson. Oh, and I won't take your soul. Isn't that right, Billy?"
"Yes, Mr. Unlucky," Billy said, chuckling at the name that once caused him fear.
"I thought your name was Jack," Daniel said to the skeleton.
"It's a long story, Daniel. One I don't think we have time to tell, alas," Jack said before feeling at tap on his left shoulder.
The Pumpkin King turned on his heels to find Sally looking right at him. She held Takoda in her arms and her eyes looked to be swelling with tears at the moment. The time had come for Takoda to go home with his real mother and father, and it looked as if it wasn't going to be easy.
"Jack, here. You give him back to them. I'm going to fall right apart any minute now," Sally said, offering the baby to him.
"Oh no, we're doing this together."
"Are you sure? You'll have to watch over two crying babies when you do."
"Make it three. I'm going to miss the little guy," Jack sniffled.
"Me too."
"Come on, before we start drowning everyone with our tears."
Nitis and Kanti waited anxiously for their baby boy to be found. They had watched his kidnappers face justice in the flesh and were now glued to the ground as a rather tall skeleton and a woman who appeared to be sewn together walked towards them with a bundle. Nitis, being the half of the couple who knew the most English, would have to extend his gratitude twofold. That is, when he could collect himself.
"I think he belongs to you," Sally said as she carefully gave the baby to Nitis, a tear rolling down her right cheek as she did so.
"Takoda. Our son." Nitis said as he showed the baby to Kanti, who grabbed the baby and held him close to her heart.
"He's a good boy, very friendly," Jack said as he tried to hide the note of disappointment in his voice.
"How can we ever thank you?"
"Take good care of him, we know you will," Jack said.
"He likes being rocked to sleep in your arms. If he's ever cranky, you can do that," Sally advised.
"And make sure he doesn't turn on his stomach when he sleeps. That's dangerous."
"Make sure he knows how much he's loved."
"We will," Nitis said. He then let Kanti whisper something in his ear. He translated it in his mind before telling what his wife wished to the undead couple, "Kanti suggested a very good idea."
"Really?" Jack asked, his voice perking up.
"She, well, we would like for you to be Takoda's family too."
"Can we do that?" Sally asked.
"In our tribe, everyone is family, if we're related by blood or not. You can be his aunt and uncle, visit him anytime you like."
"So this isn't a permanent goodbye?" Jack asked.
"Goodbye? No. Takoda owes his very life to you. It would be wrong for him never to see you again."
"Well, just call us Uncle Jack and Aunt Sally," Jack said as he extended his right hand to Nitis, who firmly shook it, sealing the deal.
It was getting late, and of course, Nitis and Kanti wanted to take their boy home after their separation. Chief Mingan and Pallaton escorted the happy family home while the Council of Celebrations took care of some unfinished business at Jacob's house. First of all, since Billy had seen way too much of the Council's inner workings, there was no choice but to make him a member.
"But I don't have a Holiday," Billy said.
"Make one up. I think Cheesy Costume Day would work well for you," Jack said jokingly, happy that he would be a part of Takoda's life after all.
"Sorry, Jack. Halloween's taken," Billy retorted.
"I was thinking Billy could just represent the Real World," Santa Claus said, "He could inform us of new traditions and practices so we can keep in touch with the public."
"Well, it would be a lot easier than killing him," Rabbi Tevel said.
"WHAT?" Billy exclaimed.
"It was a joke. You mortals really have no sense of humor," Tevel said.
"Our next order of business," interrupted Santa Claus, "is what to do with the Elders. They can't stay in the stocks forever."
"I'll take care of that," Jacob said. "They hold power here, but back home they're nothing but raving fanatics. As soon as another ship from England comes in, they're going on the return trip. They'll be persecuted just as they persecuted the Natives. Fitting, eh?"
"Darling, I never realized you could be so tough," Patience said as she gave Jacob a hug. "I like this side of you."
"Speaking of which, I think it would be best for the town if Daniel and I were the Elders. I'll have to give less homework to the children, but I doubt they'll mind that."
"Excellent idea, I second that motion, Lad," Saint Patrick said.
"I do too, if I'm allowed," Sally said.
"Of course. You're going to become the Pumpkin Queen, best for you to get practice in making decisions like this," Saint Patrick said, smiling.
"Oh. Maybe this is a little too much for me."
"You're doing just fine, Sally. Besides, I'm for Jacob and Daniel heading the town too," Jack said, "Maybe it's about time I start following my voice of reason."
"Where is Daniel anyway?" Patience asked. "I worry about him sometimes. He can be more spineless than a jellyfish."
"Funny, Cupid isn't here either," Rabbit Tevel added, getting an eye roll from the Easter Bunny. "Oh please, who could he be working on at this time?"
Alas, the poor Easter Bunny was right and could not even say so. At the moment, Cupid was spying on Daniel and Kimi on the outskirts of the woods. Kimi was giving Daniel a verbal beating for what he did, and all he could do was stand there and wait for her fists to start flying at him He felt he deserved it, no, he knew he deserved it. But it didn't mean he wasn't hurt.
"You disgust me, you know that? Taking my nephew, I should strangle you with my bare hands," Kimi ranted.
"If you do, could you do it quickly?" Daniel asked.
"If you think things can be the way they were before, you can forget it."
"Kimi, please. We got along alright."
"Well it's over. I never want to speak to you again. You're a weak man who only takes orders from others."
"That's not true."
"It is! Don't think just because you're kin of Patience means I'm going to be nice to you. I was before, but now that's just finished," Kimi said as she started to walk in the woods.
Daniel felt sick. He saw Kimi walking away from him, he knew he didn't want her to leave, but he couldn't find the courage to move. Then, out of nowhere, it hit him. It was like someone pushed him forward, although, he didn't notice the arrow in his back slowly fading away as he approached Kimi.
"Kimi, wait!"
"What is it?"
"Please, give me another chance. I'm sorry, I truly am. If I had it all to do over, I would have left the Elders the minute they came up with the idea. Please, Kimi? I... I love you."
"You have to be joking."
"I honestly do. I know this is possibly the worst time in history for a man to tell a woman he loves her, but I feel it. I have the nerve to say it right now and I'm not taking no for an answer."
With that, Daniel kissed her. When they broke the kiss, Kimi slapped him. She could not have possibly liked that. This man was a coward and a fiend. Being a good kisser didn't exempt him from that, did it? Then again, Daniel had tried to become good, and was finally on his way. The chief seemed to like him well enough, even her sister appreciated his honesty, and she was Takoda's mother. There was only one thing Kimi could do at this point, kiss him back.
"You're mad as a hatter," Daniel said when the pair broke that kiss.
"You are more yellow than the sun in the middle of the day," Kimi answered.
"Would you like me to walk you home?"
"At least you ask for directions when you're lost."
Cupid chuckled to himself as the pair walked hand-in-hand into the woods. The God of Love still had it. Now, he had to rejoin the Council and catch up on what he had missed. When he did, he decided to let the Council in on his latest mission of love. Well, to be honest, it kind of slipped out. When it did, there was at least one person who was flustered by it.
"Are you insane?" Santa Claus asked Cupid.
"They had an appointment and I was in the neighborhood. It was going to happen eventually," Cupid replied nonchalantly.
"You could have at least waited a week."
"Why, so that hatred would build up in her heart? That makes my job much harder."
"Let's go home," Jack whispered to Sally.
"But the meeting's not over yet," Sally whispered back.
"It is for us. Besides, I think Billy's cold medication kicked in," Jack said as he pointed to the snoring mortal on a bench, covered with the infamous sheet.
"Well, we'd better take him home then," Sally replied.
After waking Billy, the Halloween Town representatives and the newest member of the Council left Thanksgiving Town. Jack and Sally made sure Billy got home safely and only left when they saw him enter his house in Wolf Creek. Then, they started the long journey home, which was still a mess from the Council's last visit. When they finished cleaning up, Jack sand Sally sat down on the couch, looking at all of the baby things they had and come to the realization that there was no baby of their own to use them.
"It's quiet," Sally said.
"Very quiet," Jack agreed.
"I miss him already."
"I miss how he used to smile at me, well, after I stopped scaring him."
"He was so sweet when he was asleep."
"We can still see him, of course. It just won't be the same," Jack said in a disappointed tone.
"He'll have a lot of love in his life, from us and his parents," Sally said trying to cheer both Jack and herself up.
"And cousins."
"Cousins?"
"Well, we're kind of his aunt and uncle now," Jack stated. "That means any children you and I might have would be his cousins."
"We have to figure out where those cousins will come from first," Sally said. "Venus is expecting us any day now."
"I almost forgot about that yet again."
"You have a reason to, you got sent to the Great Beyond and played a deity all in the same day."
"I couldn't have done it without you. You were perfectly vicious."
"That's one role I don't want to play again. At least I got it right the first and only time I played it."
"I'm sorry for putting you up to it."
"It was either that or have you really exorcized. I couldn't let that happen."
Jack politely covered a yawn, but Sally saw that he was very tired. If there was one advantage to not having Takoda in their home, it was being able to sleep through the night. Sally got up, and pulled Jack along with her. It was time they got some good shut-eye, and maybe, maybe, see Takoda in their dreams. He would be a little older, running around, smiling, and playing with his Halloween Town cousins. They would all be raised together as one big mixed up family. Jack and Sally would have it no other way. They were looking forward to the day, however far off it was, when those dreams would become reality.
The End
P.S.- Readers, thank you once again for making this story a success. I wouldn't be here without all of you and I appreciate each and every one of your thoughts. Thank you so very much. (Re-edit Comment: This story really did have a bit of everything. Sorry if it confused anyone at points and I hope that's been fixed.)