Jack: Hello again!

Sugary: Well, Jack, this chapter marks the third-to-last chapter of Origins.

Jack: Yup. Quite sad, really.

Sugary: -gets teary-eyed- I'm-a miss this fanfiction!

Jack: -gets sad as well- I'm going to miss it, too.

Sugary: And I'm gonna miss you! -bawls her little eyes out-

Jack: You aren't the only one.

Sugary: -suddenly becomes happier again- As an additional notice, after the end of Origins, I'll be taking a short Hiatus from the Nightmare community in order to add more stories to my ASOUE fanbase. I'm not quite sure when I'll be back, but you can expect a sequel to this story and another fanfiction that will require Jack to team up with an unlikely ally. No, it's not me. No, it's not Santa, but he will make an appearance. No, I'm NOT going to spoil the plot for you.

Jack: -hugs- I'll miss you while you're gone, you know.

Sugary: I'll miss you, too. Come visit me in the ASOUE section every once in a while, Mmkay? -addressing audience- Okay, enough of the tearful goodbyes, I'll save that for the last chapter. Now, however, we have some reviews to answer.

IloveEdgarHoakSkellington:

Sugary: Look, Jack, we have another new one.

Jack: Glad you like the disco chapter. You are obviously invited to the end-of-story party!

Sugary: We're having an end-of-story party?

Jack: Well, of course! You can't end a story without an end-of-story celebration!

Sugary: OMG, you're right! I can't believe I forgot for even a second!

The Lady Badger:

Sugary: OMG, Hi! I haven't seen you around in a while. Jack, this is the guy that I told you about.

Jack: The one who wrote the Nightmare-ASOUE crossover? That was a good story!

Sugary: Yeah, I know. Thanks for likeing the idea, and don't worry, I'll continue it. ;)

Flight815Surviver:

Sugary: I think I sent an e-mail to you, or a reply to the review you sent, already. Check your inbox.

Jack: Yeah. Sheep are weird. They wouldn't make scary films that somehow cameo sheep if they weren't.

Sugary: -shivers- Sheep give me the willies.

Jack: -evil grin- -snaps fingers and disappears-

Sugary: Jack? Jack? Don't you EVEN try it. Don't you EVEN pop out and scare me! I know you're here somewhere! Jack? PLEASE ANSWER ME!

Jack: -suddenly appears behind Sugary- RAWR! -tackle-glomps-

Sugary: Jack... :'( -big teary anime eyes- That was mean... And if you weren't dead already, I'd KILL you for that!

Jack: Hehe... That never gets old, Sugary, no matter how many times I do it:)

Jack: Okay, this chapter features Jonathan again. Yeah, remember him? The psycho guy who killed me? Yeah. I meet up with him again.

Sugary: But what happens when they meet? I bet even YOU can't guess. Enjoy the story, Y'all.

--Flashback--

Albany, New York, 10:07 PM

Jack gazed down at his twisted flock of poultry, now busy pecking at tiny spiders crawling along the ground. Most of the creatures, including, unfortunately, the giant spider (He really liked that spider!) had been lost in shifting to the next stop on his route, but a small percentage - all three of them - had made it, although one was now missing a leg.

What should I do with them? Jack thought. I can't bring them back home with me, and I can't let them stay here. They're doomed either way.

Suddenly, the chicken-spiders keeled over and died - again.

Jack blinked in confusion. Well, he thought, THAT was easy. There must be something in the Real World that they're deathly allergic to. Hopefully, nobody gets Bird Flu from the bodies.

He stepped out from behind the bushes he had been hiding behind and began to leisurely stroll along the sidewalk, wondering who his next victim would be. Would it be the ten-year-old kid, wandering around from house-to-house by himself? Or would it be the adult sitting on the bench on the corner?

His other targets had been easy enough to scare - he had provided the right settings, and their imaginations did the rest. The boys in the graveyard, for instance, had been in the right place at the right time. The teens at the costume party could not have seen behind anyone's mask. And the three girls at the slumber party had the ouija board out and were already spooked for some reason - he could sense it - so he simply accented that. The fear was the cake, and he was the rich, creamy frosting.

"Hey dude!"

Jack was startled by this sudden voice and looked down. There stood a young boy who looked no older than perhaps eight or nine. A sheet was draped over him, with holes cut into it for his eyes, and slips over his shoes that looked like clogs. Next to him stood an older boy, who was probably his brother, dressed as Death, with a big foam scythe to match. Jack could tell that behind the make-up, the boy was perhaps in his early teens, maybe a bit younger. Jack smiled. Here he was, looking for his next targets, and they had willingly come to him!

"Good evening," he said. "Interesting Flying Dutchman costume."

"You're the first person to notice all night!" the little kid piped up. "Everyone else just assumed I was a ghost with clogs on. Your costume is good, too. It looks almost real!"

Is my appearance REALLY that cheesy? Jack wondered to himself.

The elder brother gave Jack an accusing look. "It looks fake," he said in a snobby tone. "And aren't you a little too old for trick-or-treating?"

Jack smiled, and tried not to laugh at his comment. "Aren't you?"

The brother looked nervous for a moment, as if he had been caught in the middle of a lie. "Uh, um, I'm taking my brother out, because our parents are handing out candy at our house."

"Then why the costume?"

"For, uh, ambiance?"

Jack allowed himself a small smile. "I see. You boys enjoy your evening, now."

"You too."

The older brother grabbed his sibling's hand and pulled him down the street.

"Be careful," Jack said in a slightly menacing way before jumping into the bushes.

"I'm telling you, that guy was weird. What kind of creep dresses up in costume and stops kids in the middle of the street on Halloween night?" The two boys were now walking at a quicker pace; the eldest boy had felt threatened by the man's prescence and remembered what his mother had said about trusting his instincts, which were telling him that he was in danger. He had simply wanted to get his brother and him to safety.

"But he wasn't even doing anything," the younger brother said. "He was only being nice."

"Still, that's pretty creepy. Strangers shouldn't just come up to you in the middle of a street and start being nice to you. Didn't you learn ANYTHING from that course they had at school in the second grade?" The two sat on a nearby bench to rest, listening to the leaves rustle in the wind.

But was it just the wind?

"I'm scared," the little boy said, clinging to his sibling.

"It's just the wind," the older brother said as he shoved him off. "Stop being such a baby." But he wasn't so sure himself. He got up off of the wooden bench, carefully turning around to see...

Nothing. His little brother was absolutely terrified, though.

He breathed a sigh of relief and spun back around, only to yelp in terror and fall back.

The man they had encountered earlier was face to face with him.

Horrified, the elder brother grabbed his sibling and their pillowcases of candy, then ran off screaming.

Jack watched them run off and grinned. The creepy stalker act never failed.

But now he had more pressing matters to attend to, for instance, the house in front of him. The windows were awash with a dim blue light, obviously from a TV screen. Jack, intregued, decided to take a closer look.

He peeked into the window at the unsuspecting homeowner, who was obviously an adult and was watcing some cheesy B-movie from the 80's. Honestly, humans came up with some of the stupidest ways to scare other humans. Whoever thought Freddy Krueger was scary hadn't met a real monster. Not surprisingly, the man seemed nervous. A prime target.

Jack snuck around back, easily jumping the short metal fence with his long legs, and walked over to the back door. Making sure nobody was around to accuse him of trying to break in, he peered into the kitchen at the doorknob. Again, not surprisingly, the door was deadbolted shut. The owner must've gotten so scared by the movie that he had locked his doors and windows. There was no way an ordinary person could get in or pick the lock, not by himself.

But then again, Jack was not an ordinary person.

He recalled a trick he had learned only last year after watching two ghosts cavorting in the graveyard. They had been looping and diving into the ground and through walls, which inspired Jack to try it himself. Things didn't work out so well at first, but eventually he managed to do it. Emily had called this "Shadow-Phasing", and taught him the proper method, and by the time the lesson was over, he could do it about five times out of ten.

Yes. It just might work.

Jack closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself stepping through the door, then he walked forward...and straight into the door.

Jack fell backward and shook his head as if to clear it. Ow, he thought. Trying this AGAIN...

He repeated the process, eventually infiltraiting the house.

There, I'm in. Now to sneak up on him.

Jack looked around a bit first, recognizing the kitchen from somewhere. Why did he have the feeling that he had been here before?

No matter. He had a job to do.

Jack snuck against the far wall, barely making a sound, his spidery shadow cast upon the wall by the eerie glow of the television. And the home's owner was totally oblivious to all of this.

He gave a simple wave of his hand, and watched as the lights went out. The homeowner nervously clicked the power button on the remote control again and again. Jack snuck over to the couch, the carpet muffling his footsteps, and watched as the homeowner's imagination took over for him. It was amazing how many people didn't think when they were frightened.

Jack stood up from behind the couch, grabbed the person's shoulder and yelled loudly. The person flipped out and grabbed jack's hand, trying to fling his attacker over the side of the couch. Jack landed, cat-like, on the floor, then pinned the person against the sofa to get a good look at his target - and so his target could see him, but as soon as Jack saw who was staring back at him in terror, he nearly let go and stumbled backwards.

"Jonathan?"

--End Flashback--

Sugary and Jack: -singing- CLIFFHANGER, HANGING FROM A CLIFF! AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFFHANGER!

Sugary: -imitating Cliff Hanger- Can't... hold... on... much... LONGER! -normally- But hopefully, unlike Cliff Hanger, YOU can hold on until the next chapter.

Jack: Hey Sugary? Who came up with Cliff Hanger anyway?

Sugary: it's from this show on PBS called Between the Lions. My little brother and sister loved to watch it all the time.

Jack: Oh. Hey, we'll see you next chapter. Until then, we'll be doing kareoke! -sings "Cheeseburger In Paradise" into Kareoke microphone-

Sugary: -sings along-