Chapter Three:

Bad News

Sally stood nervously outside the doctors door. She had never really considered the possibility of ever having to go back to his house, and therefore, had no idea what she was going to say to him. Behind her the town stretched out gloomily. She imagined that it's strange residents were probably gathering for the meeting at that moment, at least, she hoped they were. She had just been to see the mayor, who had been quite rude, and had kept her for just a bit too long, because he hadn't believed her about Jack.

Now she was at Doctor Finkelstein's house, feeling quite nervous, and not looking forward any sort of confrontation with him at all.

The odd looking structure rose above the ground with improbability, looking as cold and unwelcome to Sally as it had when she had lived there…perhaps even more so, now that she had finally left.

Sally rose her tiny hand nervously and rapped it on the metal door, biting her lip, and bracing herself for the uncomfortable situation she was bound to get herself into. After a few moments, there was movement on the other side, and the door was swung open. When it did, Sally came face to face with her 'replacement.'

The rather homely woman peered at Sally with curiosity, which soon turned to mild suspicion.

"Yes?" She said, in a voice that sounded to Sally, very much like the doctors.

"Hello…" Sally said softly. "I need to talk to the doctor." The woman narrowed her eyes, then a certain understanding filled her countenance.

"Hey, your that…Sally girl aren't you…the doctors old creation, the ungrateful one that ran away and shacked up with the Skellington fellow." Sally pressed her lips together as a feeling of discomfort washed over her, at the same time she felt a little aggravated at the woman's less then modest choice of words, and she had never heard anyone refer to Jack as 'The Skellington fellow.'

"Yes." She answered quickly, trying to not let her discomfort or annoyance show.

"Why are you back?" The woman asked, edging a little nearer to Sally, as though she were trying to get a better look at her. "Not come to beg for your room back, have you…because I've made myself quite at home in it." Sally stood up a little straighter and was about to answer the woman defiantly, when a voice came from the darkness of the house.

"Jewel, who is it?" The doctor asked, his voice sounding quite a bit more reasonable when addressed to his 'improved creation.' Then it ever had when addressed to her. Sally found herself feeling a little hurt. She also found that a deep longing to be away from this place, and back where she belonged, with Jack, was rising inside of her.

"It's that girl who used to live here." The woman answered quickly. There was a bit of hesitation on the doctors side before his response came, sounding confused and edging with suspicion.

"Sally?" Sally heard the gears of his wheelchair approaching the door, and then, soon his image filled the doorframe and he was staring right at her.

"I didn't expect to see you here again…especially so soon…what is it you want." Sally swallowed nervously then answered in a small voice.

"I have a message from Jack." The doctor narrowed his eye.

"Do you then?" She nodded.

"So, you leave me to run errands for him eh? Not quite the life you expected is it." Sally's lips thinned, but she decided against causing any sort of confrontation regarding his words.

"It's a very important message." She said, her voice sounding much bolder now. The doctor must have caught it, for the smug look seamed to vanish from his face.

"Well…what is it then…needs a new invention to replace something one of the idiots in town broke, needs something to make his performance even scarier this year….or a bit of scientific advice? Well?" Sally was shaking her head.

"He said he wants to meet you at the fountain. That it has to do with the law…and to bring any books you have on it." She said. The doctor gave her a strange look, telling her that he had no idea what she was speaking of.

"Law? What law?" The doctor asked, the suspicion in his eyes growing.

"He said you'd know what it means." She said, a little worry edging into her voice. The doctor continued to give her a foreign look, before a look of understanding began to dawn in his wrinkled face and in his dark shadowed glasses. With that look came a sort of superstitious fear.

"The Law?" He asked quietly, more so to himself then her. She nodded anyway. He scanned her face, looking as though he were trying to decide whether she was kidding or not, then cleared his throat and set his eyes on Jewel.

"Jewel, I am going to be out today, make sure Igor doesn't break anything, I may be back late." He then turned and rolled inside the house, tossing one quick withdrawing look at Sally.

Sally was feeling quite relieved, mostly because the doctor had believed her. Still, it only managed to heighten her curiosity regarding the law of Jack's, and what he was planning to do about the intruder Sally had met earlier.

A minute later the doctor appeared in the doorway again. He was carrying a large rusty leather back book under his arm. He wheeled past Sally without looking at her, being sure to shut the door after he exited it. Sally watched him for a moment before following behind him, trying very hard not to keep up and to avoid walking beside him, but failing miserably due to his slow pace.

When they arrived at the fountain the town seamed deserted. Sally assumed this was because all of its residents were in the town hall. The doctor stopped by the fountain and looked about him curiously. Finally he turned to Sally, fixing her with an impatient look.

"Well? Where is he?" His voice sounded unpleasant.

"He had something else he needed to do, he should be back shortly." She said quickly. The doctor pressed his lips together in annoyance, but said nothing.

Ten minutes had passed by when Sally began to wonder whether or not Jack had gotten into some kind of trouble. These thoughts vanished when she finally saw his trim form coming through a gate on the far side of the square, which led to one of Halloween Town's many graveyards. He wasn't alone.

Shuffling behind him, looking very odd by herself, was Shock. She didn't look happy, and kept tossing looks of annoyance at Jack behind his back, as though he had dragged her out of something important against her will.

Jack smiled when he saw the doctor and Sally waiting for him.

"Good morning doctor…or I suppose it's got to be nearing the afternoon now. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course Jack." The doctor answered. His voice carried pleasantly, but the look on his face remained the same. "I don't suppose I heard your news incorrectly? By any stroke of luck?" He asked, his voice brimmed with hopeless futility. Jacks smile faded a little.

"I'm afraid not." He set his own book down on the fountain, then turned towards Sally.

"Could you do me another favor, Sally? Could you please go to the Meeting Hall, and tell everyone that I will be in shortly." He asked. Sally nodded, but was getting a strange feeling that Jack was sort of trying to get rid of her. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you." Behind him Shock was making a gagging gesture.

Jack watched Sally as she left, retreating down the street, and around the corner, into the Town Meeting Hall. When he could not see her any more the smile faded from his face entirely, immediately being replaced by doubt and worry, two things that did not sit well with Jack's visage. He turned, facing the two people he had brought here. Both of them, even Shock looked back at him a little uneasily.

"What has happened?" The doctor asked grimly, while setting his own book next to Jack's.

"The laws being broken." Jack answered softly. The doctors response came immediately.

"Impossible. No one can tamper with that law. It goes outside human boundaries…both dead and alive!" Jack was nodding, but not in a way that meant he agreed.

"That's what I thought too. But it's carried out by people whose job it is to do so…and I suppose in that sense it can be broken too." The doctor looked at Jack in disbelief.

"Wait… your saying that an official from the World Of The Undead is doing this…I thought you were talking about someone in town." Jack shook his head.

"He isn't either. He was banished from both town and The Undead World. Do you remember The Pumpkin King from a long time ago…maybe one or two kings before me…I can't remember…but anyway he called himself Murdock Manifesto…lasted a couple years before he was finally kicked out because of all of the problems he was causing in the mortal world?"

Jack said this very quickly as though he were in a hurry to get it all out, and afterwards got a very blank look from both the doctor and Shock, who had been in the process of torturing a small spider that was crawling on the surface of the well, but was now looking at him with a raised brow.

"No." The doctor said simply. A look of frustration crossed over Jacks face. He looked at Shock.

"You've been around for almost as long as I have. Him and Oogie Boogie used to be constantly at each others throats. It got so bad that they eventually went to great pains to make sure they were on opposite sides of the Town at all times." The blank look on Shocks face began to subside.

"You mean King Blunder." She said, a crawling look of dislike filling her face. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Who?" He said bewilderedly.

"Oogie always called Murdock King Blunder. I really don't remember why, but that's what he called him. What business does he have tampering with the law?" She asked, while making a sour face.

"I think it was his job after he left town, or something like that."

"What idiot would give an important job like that to a moron like him." Jack shrugged, while tossing an impatient look over his shoulder, towards the hall.

"Listen, we can't talk about this now. The main reason I brought both of you out her was to warn you, but before I go and warn the rest of the town that we do indeed have an intruder here in…" He was interrupted.

"He's here!" The doctor said, alarmed. Jack looked at him with surprise.

"Of course…what did you think I meant by getting you out here."

"Well where? Where is he?" The doctor asked, looking about him as though expecting to see him somewhere lurking in veiw.

"I don't know…somewhere…." The doctor looked very uncomfortable in light of this unfortunate news. Jack didn't seam to notice.

"As I was saying, before I warn the rest of the town I needed to ask you about something Doctor." The doctor nodded, looking a bit distracted.

"When I saw him, he was in my Tower and he…" Jack paused, and then proceeded slowly. "He did something to me…and I'm not quite sure what he did."

The doctor rose his brow.

"Why, what sort of thing did he do to you?"

"Well, it felt like he was taking something from me…he used one of those charms that most of the top officials wear. It had pictures or something on it." Jack folded his hands behind his back and took a few steps forward as he explained the occurrence. The doctor narrowed his eyes and picked the old book off of the fountain. Jack watched as he flipped through the pages. He got to one page and paused, then he tipped the book up so Jack could see.

"Is this it?" Jack leaned forward to look at the picture. What he saw was an exact sketch of the charm Murdock had been wearing, under it was the name The Amulet of Despair.

"Sounds reassuring." Jack said, sounding very depressed.

"This is serious." The doctor said, as his eyes scanned the words written around the picture.

"What…" Jack asked, sounding worried.

"Well…if he did actually take from you what I think he did, then your about to be in very bad shape, Jack." The doctor closed the book and fixed Jack with a sober look.

"And what sort of shape is that?" Jack asked, a little worry edging into his voice. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Just about as bad of shape a dead man can be in. I'd give it a couple days and then after that…I'm afraid you wont be much of a threat to anyone, never mind Murdock." Jack lowered himself onto the fountain.

"What am I going to do. We can't contact anyone from outside of town, Murdock's hiding somewhere around here, and I wont be able to do anything about it." The doctor shook his head.

"And you know the people in this town. They won't last a day without a leader." The doctor said. Jack sighed and lowered his head.

"I know." He said quietly. After a few moments of silence, Jack stood up.

"What are you doing?" The doctor asked quickly.

"I'm going to the Meeting Hall and warning the town. You guys should probably find somewhere where Murdock won't be able to find you when he finally decides to come out of hiding." The doctor halted Jack.

"Hold on, you aren't going to tell them about you are you?" he asked.

"I don't see what choice I have, they'll find out soon anyway." Jack said bitterly. The doctor shook his head.

"Don't, no need to start the panic early. Leave that part about the amulet out. It's no threat to them…at least not in the same way anyway. After your done come by my house. I'll try to mix something up to stall off whatever damage he did to you. You may lose a great part of yourself but it wouldn't hurt to have your mind around a little longer." The doctor said. Jack appeared to be thinking about this. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright. I'll only tell them what I need to." With that he turned and walked towards the Meeting Hall, where the entire town was awaiting his presence. Unseen by him, for the first time in the months she had known him, Sally watched him retreat from the fountain. Her face was full of concern, and even more so with fear.

Sorry it's taken so long to update, I just got back from the Smoky Mountains…no computer up there. I should be done with Chapter Eight of Pumpkin Town soon too. It's already nearly finished…I just need a good place to stop. I hope this chapter sounded Alright. It felt really rusty. Anyway. I should be able to update more often now, and I plan to try and get more done this week since I'm on Spring Break. Thank you for reading my story. I very much enjoy your comments.

Dani