Eh, finals: Great, another short chapter. Ah, well, there wasn't a stopping point for quite a while.

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-

"Poor Jack," came the cold, haunting voice out of the gloom. "Lost his girl, lost his way. Soon to lose his title and his life."

"That voice..." said Jack as he looked this way and that, trying to pin where the speaker was. "Daemon!"

"Yes," agreed the voice. "Daemon."

Daemon stepped into the dim light of the forest before him. He no longer wore the demonic red half of his mask. Now revealed was a cold, emotionless half a face, with a pit black eye, void of color. A scar ran over the eye, from cheek to forehead, though it did not mar it. His half a mouth was a close, pursed frown. He still wore the other half of his mask, the simplistically smiling white side.

"Who were you expecting, Skellington?" he continued. "Oogie Boogie? No, he's were he belongs; Oogie's dead and gone. There's only me here."

"What have you done with Sally?" demanded Jack, stalking towards him.

"Ah, the ragdoll," said Daemon, stepping back into the shadows. "She's been...taken care of. I doubt you'll ever see her again in your ever so short lifespan."

"You lie!" he shouted, lunging forwards and swinging his fists as Daemon disappeared into the gloom.

"I don't lie," whispered Daemon quietly, just behind Jack. "You know that as well as I do, Skellington. For all I am, I am not a liar."

-

"What are you three up to!?" shouted Orchid as she pounced in an attempt to catch Lock, who skittered away across the stone bridge.

"We're just playing a game!" grinned Barrel.

"And Jack's in the mushpot now!" added Shock.

"What do you mean?" demanded Arc, swiping at her with his sword, just a little too slowly.

"When Mr. Elias Daemonwing," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Is done with him," continued Lock.

"He'll come for you!" finished Barrel, and the three went into uproarious malicious laughter.

"Not if I can help it!" yelled Orchid as she lunged and skidded across the stone, just barely missing catching him. Despite his pudginess, he was quick. "Now get back here and open that gate!"

"Nuh-uh!" said Lock, sticking his tongue out at her.

"That's it, punk!" raged Arc, leaping up into the air. His tinted lenses glowed yellow in the moonlight as he came plummeting down again, sword first. "Hah!"

Giving little screams of terror, the three little kids ran about, then dodged out of the way of his strike just at the last moment, giggling evily.

"Fine then," growled Orchid, pointing Nightshade at Barrel. "Terror!"

Multitudes of bats, black as night and slick as sin, descended on the hapless child, engulfing him in darkness.

"Ah, stop it!" were the shouts from inside the mass of fear. "Stop it!"

Orchid had a look of grim satisfaction as the orb of terror broke apart, though that soon went away.

"Stop it!" giggled Barrel, rolling about on the ground. "That tickles!"

"Thundara!" cast Montblanc, raising his rod skyward. Triple bolts of lightning slammed down on the bridge about them.

"Eeps!" said Shock, dodging just out of the way, and running into Lock, who had also narrowly avoided being hit. Barrel however, was tottering about unsteadily, smoking slightly. They all fell to the stone floor in a heap.

"Okay, you little rats," snarled Arc, walking up imposingly to the three tricksters, who cowered in his shadow. "Open the gate."

"Uh, sure..." said Shock in a quivering voice as they got to there feet.

Arc grinned victoriously, and missed the sly wink that passed among the three conspirators.

"As soon as you catch us!" shouted Lock, waving his fingers at Arc childishly.

"You little punk!" raged Arc, lunging at them. Lock and Shock dodged to the sides, giggling wildly as Barrel hunched down. Arc went tripping over the low figure, and with a couple of pushes from the other two, he went tumbling over the side of bridge.

"Hey, you can't do that!" shouted Orchid in shock.

"You mean this?" grinned Lock as he jumped at her. His tackle landed square on her chest, and sent her tumbling over the other side of bridge with a scream as he landed back on the stone.

"I got the other one!" shouted Barrel gleefully as he wrestled Montblanc to the side.

"Plug his mouth!" urged Shock. "He casts spells!

"Got it!" said Lock, duly obliging. "Owch! He bit me!"

"We'll get you, kupo!" squeaked Montblanc as he struggled in their grasp. "You'll be sorry!"

"Whatever!" they shouted happily as they flung him over the side. The laughed maniacally as he plummeted down.

-

Jack swung his hand over his shoulder, hoping do catch Daemon by surprise, but the man just quickly dodged back. Jack turned to face him, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Give it up, Skellington," said a voice behind him. Jack swung around, coming face to face with Daemon. "You're Pumpkin King no more. You'll never leave these woods alive."

"No!" shouted Jack in rage, swiping at Daemon again, and still with no success. Daemon melted like mist between his fingers, leaving only shadows.

"As much as I like to prolong your psychological torture," intoned the emotionless voice of Elias of the Daemon Wings, "I have a world to consume. So now I bid you farewell, Skellington."

"You can't do this!" raged Jack.

"It's too late for that," said Elias coldly. "Far, far too late."

He snapped his fingers, and the ground beneath Jack's feet glowed a hellish red.

"Inferno."

An enormous pillar of flame blasted out of the ground, entirely engulfing the skeleton man.

He left nothing behind but blackened ashes.

"Did you get him, did you get him?" asked the trio of tricksters eagerly.

"Yes," said Elias coldly, throwing the red demonic half of his mask over the edge of the bridge. "And did you deal with the Keyblade Master?"

"We sure did!" grinned Lock.

"With ease!" added Shock.

"And style!" finished Barrel.

"Very well," said Daemonwing. "Now, back to town. The Heartless should have found the gate to this world's heart by now."

-

Orchid awoke with a start.

It was dark, and she couldn't see anything. She tried to remember what happened, but could only remember bits and pieces. They had fallen off the bridge, and landed in the water, or something like that. The current had been strong, and they had been sucked under. She remembered being afraid of drowning. Then everything was gone, and she woke up here.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.

"You're in the cellar of Jack's house," whispered a voice. Orchid jumped and hit her head on the low roof in surprise. A match flared in the dark, revealing the face of Sally. "Quiet, now, or you'll give us away."

"Sorry," said Orchid softly. Then she asked, "Why are we hiding?"

"There are Heartless all over, just like you said," whispered Arc, coming in from a trap door in the ceiling, and closing it behind them. "The town's full of them."

"Kupo..." moaned Montblanc, rubbing his head as he sat up. "How did we get here?"

"I pulled you out of the drain," said Sally. "Luckily, I found you before the Heartless did."

"Thanks," said Orchid. Then, "Wait, how did you get here? We thought the Heartless got you!"

"They did," said Sally. "But I think Daemon wanted to deal with me personally at his leasure. The Heartless merely locked me up. Of course, I'm pretty good at escaping."

"So now you're hiding down here?" asked Arc.

"Yes," she said sadly. "I can't do anything else."

She turned to Orchid.

"You've got to find Jack!" she pleaded. "He's the only one who can clear up this whole mess!"

"We'll do that," assured Orchid. And under her breath, "Hopefully, he's still alive."

"Now go quickly, and try not to let the Heartless spot you!" said Sally as they went up the trap door.

They came out around the back of Jack's house. Quietly removing a patrolling search ghost, they scurried down the alley to the town square.

"Okay, how are we gonna do this quietly?" asked Orchid, staring at the many Heartless wandering about.

"Aero," said Montblanc softly, and a light breeze picked up around them, lifting them gently off the ground. With a wave of his rod, he directed them silently out across the court in the shadows, until they reached the gates. Opening them as quietly as they could, they then proceeded to float out, then slam the gates behind them and take off running.

"We're coming, Jack!" shouted Orchid as they ran.

-

Within the ashes, something stirred.

In the deep shadows of the woods beyond the stone bridge, amidst the ashes of the demon's spell, something stirred.

A bony white finger, dusted in fine gray soot poked out of the dust, then another, and another. A ragged hand came up, followed by a bony arm in a black sleeve, which pulled up behind the rest of a very, very worn-out Jack Skellington.

"I've failed them all..." he said tragically. "What have I done?"