A/N: The main events in Halloween Town will follow the canon story but there will be a major divergence near the middle (a nice change from the canon heavy worlds we've been having so far, I think). I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
The fog had settled, but the gloom persisted. Even in silence, the town had an eerie feel; whether it was the chattering of rats, a werewolf's howl, or the unnerving squeaks of rusted gates opening and closing with the wind, the town constantly had something to send a chill down even the boldest of spines. And if that wasn't enough, the multitude of crumbling grave stones, screeching bats and spooky pumpkins certainly did the trick.
"Looks like this place really is as spooky as it looked from the Gummi Ship," Goofy stated, bringing a hand to his jaw as he took in the surroundings.
"Well, we look just as spooky, so if anyone decides to try anything smart, we'll scare them right back!" Donald said, crossing his arms.
Just like it had done in Atlantica, the world seemed to welcome the heroes with open arms by altering their appearance to fit their surroundings. Donald was covered in bandages with a massive gap in his torso, begetting the look of a mummified ghost. Mimicking the look of a zombie, Goofy's clothes were tattered and ripped, with a massive screw protruding from his head instead of a hat. Sora had the look of a vampire, his clothes black as night with a pumpkin decal attached to his hair, covering his eye. Akira looked similar, with dark circles under her eyes and a miniature skull with the jaw removed resting atop her head. Her black dress reached her knees and her stockings were torn on her right leg below her knee, with bat decals and miniature bat wings on every button. Rather than describe herself as being dressed as a bat of sorts, she looked fairly more like a trick-or-treater than anything else, minus the bag of candy.
Yet, the one change in appearance that shocked her the most was her hair, which she twirled in her finger as she took in its colour, reeling from the change.
"Akira, your hair colour is so different," Goofy exclaimed, "But Sora's didn't change at all…"
"Aw, it's just the world reacting to us," Donald said, crossing his arms, "Don't put too much thought into it."
"It's nice, though!" Sora said with a chuckle, "Hey, it kind of looks like…"
He stopped himself from saying the next word. Even after all this time, it was still difficult to say while also keeping his composure.
"Kairi's hair," Akira said, finishing his sentence for him. Although Kairi's hair was a much deeper red compared to Akira's auburn-brown colour, it was still reminiscent of their lost friend. Besides, there was always a chance Kairi had ended up on this world… And didn't her staff tell her there was something here?
Akira's eyes widened, releasing the strand of hair from her finger. "We should go check out the town!" she exclaimed suddenly.
Goofy examined the sign pointing to the gate before them. "Hm, the sign says that this is Guillotine Gate… and past the gate would be Guillotine Square."
"Guillotine?" Donald shuddered.
Sora flicked his nose with his finger, smiling deviously. "What's the matter, Donald? Are you… scared?"
Donald gave him a death glare. "I am not scared!"
He pumped out his chest and angrily marched towards the gate. Sora laughed at the angry duck, placing his hands on his head as he and Goofy casually followed him into the town square. Akira chuckled and shook her head; those two would be teasing each other forever, it seemed…
"My, my."
She came to a sudden stop, feeling a massive shiver crawl its way down her spine. The blood flushed from her face, making her look as pale as the transparent ghost that had slithered its way before her. It had two hollows for eyes and one for a mouth, grinning widely as it watched her, coming much too close to her face.
"How big you are!" another ghost said as it joined the other, once again crossing the line into Akira's personal space. She wanted to say something, but the shock prevented the words from leaving her mouth.
"A little early, aren't you? Can't go trick-or-treating when it isn't Halloween yet!"
They hooted shrilly as they vanished into the air, their laughter echoing throughout the town long after they had disappeared. She blinked as their words sank into her mind. Perhaps Donald was right; her appearance was so genuine, she was able to fool some locals into thinking she was a trick-or-treater.
"Akira, are you coming?" Donald called, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Uh… coming!" she answered, shaking her head. So far, the locals here seemed friendly, albeit a little odd and lacking basic manners and understanding of personal space…
"Wow! It looks like a real Halloween celebration!" Sora said in amazement.
The town square held a brilliant fountain with eerily incandescent liquid pouring forth from a sea creature's mouth. Pumpkins lined the street lamps and portraits of fake ghosts and ghouls were plastered on every tombstone. The regal guillotine the square was named after stood tall and intimidating, ready to slice an unsuspecting visitor at a moment's notice. Sora took in the sights, giddy with excitement. Halloween was one of his favourite holidays, and surprisingly not just for the copious amounts of candy.
"Gawrsh, I think they celebrate Halloween here every day…" Goofy said.
"Shh, I think a show is about to start," Akira hushed, pointing to a short figure in the middle of the square.
The particularly short man made up for his smaller stature with a long top hat as tall as Goofy himself. He wore a fancy suit with a plastic spider for a necktie and held a megaphone in his hand. The nametag on his suit read 'Mayor', a fitting name for someone dressed in such classy attire. He wore a warm and inviting grin, yet the group couldn't help but feel horrified as they caught a glimpse of the back of his head; a second face lay dormant behind his head, seemingly ready to awaken at any moment.
The Mayor brought the megaphone to his mouth. "And now, allow me to introduce… The master of terror, the king of nightmares – Jack Skellington!"
Two rows of strangely familiar ghosts waved their arms and parted the way before the fountain, introducing the very esteemed guest. A tall, skeletal man slowly rose from the glowing liquid of the fountain, standing tall and proud as he opened his eyes. The sockets of his skull head were empty, and his pearly white teeth were completely visible amidst his lack of skin. He hopped gracefully out of the fountain, posing in a manner as regal as the striped three-piece suit he wore. The group's jaws lowered in shock, but not quite for the reason one would suspect.
The ghosts that danced around the fountain had a very noticeable design painted on their chests; the unmistakable black and red emblem of the Heartless.
Yet, the Mayor and this master of terror seemed completely unfazed by the Heartless that surrounded them; in fact, they seemed almost happy about it. "Bravo, Jack! Bravo!" the Mayor cried happily as he wobbled over to the king of nightmares with a wide grin, "You were simply excellent! And those ghosts will be a big hit at this year's Halloween!"
Jack Skellington beamed at the Mayor. "Thank you, thank you. But their movement still needs work. It's just not… scary enough."
Jack held himself proudly and gracefully, a veritable gentleman… or gentle-undead-man, if you will. He stretched his long arms into a chilling pose, baring his teeth at the Mayor. "I want to strike bone-chilling terror, like this!"
"Perhaps some adjustments could be made to the prototype?" the Mayor suggested, unfazed by Jack's terrifying look.
Jack relaxed his pose and smiled. "Of course! I'll go consult the doctor and see if anything can be done."
"And I'll attend to the decorations!" the Mayor said happily. They parted ways, the Mayor scurrying along towards the innermost part of the town as Jack entered a gate right beside him, climbing the stairs of what seemed to be a massive and eerie laboratory.
The group remained silent for a moment, still shocked by the scene that had just played out before them. They even stayed still and quiet as a couple of Heartless floated past them, taking a harmless walk around the plaza. They had never witnessed such a puzzling sight, and were quite honestly too flabbergasted to process it.
"What in the world…" Akira said, tilting her head to the side.
"They got the Heartless to dance?" Donald quacked.
"Gawrsh, and they were pretty good too!" Goofy said with a smile.
Sora took a few hasty steps into the square, gazing intently at the laboratory. "Guys, we gotta go find out what all this is about!"
"But, Sora!" Goofy called, "Shouldn't we –"
Sora had already set off towards the laboratory, eagerly throwing open the gates as he made his way to the stairs. Donald rolled his eyes as he and Goofy began to follow him; this place was already strange enough, and Donald was almost certain Sora would find a way to muck things up as he normally did. Akira shook her head as she followed them towards the laboratory.
She stopped right at the gate, the sound of whispers grabbing her attention.
"Dude, don't stare!"
"I'm not staring!"
"You're totally staring."
She whirled around, laying eyes on another pair of strange-looking characters. A tall, mummy-like boy was accompanied by another whom seemed like a rotting corpse. Despite their terrifying looks, they appeared to be no more than a few harmless teenage boys - well, as harmless as a mummy and a cadaver could be, that is. They came to a halt when she caught sight of them, their eyes meeting as they watched each other with perplexed gazes. Perhaps they knew she was an outsider and were curious? Perhaps she wasn't allowed to enter the laboratory without permission? She gulped at the thought. As harmless as the residents were, that never took away from their horrifying looks.
"Dude, she saw us," the cadaver boy said in a loud whisper.
The mummy-like boy sighed. "And you're just gonna keep standing there, staring? Get a move on!"
The two boys scurried away towards the alleyway between two sets of buildings, taking a few glances back to make sure she wasn't still watching them. She raised her eyebrow in confusion as she lost sight of them, still reeling from their interaction.
They're an odd bunch.
Akira closed her eyes and smiled as she pushed open the gate. Even when she didn't have it summoned, the staff was perceptive. "I've seen weirder things," she said with a sigh.