Jack: Well, we're up to the Penultimate chapter of origins.
Sugary: Penultimate meanes "second-to-last", in case you didn't know.
Jack: We're both quite sorry that we didn't update sooner. Sugary had band camp to go to.
Sugary: This one time at band camp... -rambles-
Jack: -interrupting Sugary- Um, okay, enough nostalgia.
Sugary: -continuing- ... and we all had to eat vegetarian, and all of us had like, zero energy, because we were all meat lovers and we couldn't live on Veggies alone. And the tofu was gross. :P
Jack: She's not dissing anyone out there who IS Vegetarian or Vegan, she just didn't like the food.
Sugary: Didn't like is an understatement. I LOATHED it! But the sodas were good, though.
Jack: Yeah, and the SoBe drinks...
Sugary: I lurve mah SoBe! -pokles the SoBe lizard-
Jack: Uh, we're supposed to answer reviews?
Sugary: Oh yeah. HEY EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED ORIGINS! Free SoBe!
NightsFan234:
Sugary: Thanks for the comments. Have a SoBe Liz Blizz. It tastes like Pina Colada, but without the alcohol!
Jack: And no, Sugary has never eaten a worm in real life. She only had me do it for the purposes of this story, and because she has a twisted mind. She has eaten fried tarantulas before.
Sugary: They weren't half bad, either. Kinda gross, but still...
Flight815Surviver:
Sugary: You most certainly can. Have a SoBe Power. It tastes like fruit punch!
Jack: And Sugary wholeheartedly hopes that you check out her otherstories while she's on vacation from Nightmare.
ILoveEdgarHoakSkellington:
Jack: O.o Woah! Watch the mouth! And have you ever considered therapy?
Sugary: No SoBe for you. You're hyper enough. Have this bottle of Propel instead.
RavenWriter89:
Sugary: Thanks for pointing those out. I'll fix them as soon as possible. And have this SoBe Lizard Lava. It tastes like strawberries!
Jack: Thank you for the comment about the discription as well. And the Sally intro.
Sugary: I came up with that one! And thanks again for saying that the Jack/Sugary dialouge is funny.
Jack: And don't worry, we'll finish it. ;)
Kirby-Chan263:
Sugary: I'm excited to finish it off, too! Have a SoBe Energy. It tastes like lemon-lime and other common citrus fruits!
Jack: And I don't kill Jonathan, but what I DO do to him is scarcely better. :)
GirlyRaven14:
Jack: Am I going to have to get a restraining order?
Sugary: O.o No SoBe for you, either. Have this bottle of Cherry Fruit 2 O.
Jack: And to your other comment, are you sure you don't live in Halloween Town? Are you a new arrival I haven't met yet? Because you sound like it to me. And if I'm right, I really AM going to have to get a restraining order.
Sugary: And you can come to the party - just don't mess with Jack too much.
Jack: Is that all of 'em?
Sugary: Yup. -sips SoBe Courage- Mmm, cherry lemonade!
Jack: Then let's get this story started.
Jonathan's house, 10:35 PM
Jonathan and Jack stared at each other in blind confusion for a moment, neither daring to look away or trust their eyes. Neither blinked or spoke.
Jonathan broke the silence by speaking in a voice that was like venom.
"Hello, Jack."
Jack was startled by the unfriendliness in his voice and let go for a brief second, but this was all Jonathan needed to knock Jack down and pin him to the couch.
"It's been so long," he said, glaring at him. "Where have you been? What have you been up to all these years?"
Jack was confused for a moment until he glanced at a nearby calender. It was October 31, of course, but the year had changed.
It was now Halloween night, 1990.
Impossible! Jack thought. I was gone for only a year! How can this be? Are months like years in Halloween Town? Is it some sort of alternate reality? Did I just lose track of time?
Jonathan gave him a wicked grin. "That's right," he said in the same unfriendly tone of voice. "You've been dead for four years. Now, will you answer my question, or shall I explain myself?"
Jack looked at him, the confusion beginning to subside. "Jonathan... what... why... how..."
Jonathan chuckled. "You don't remember anything, do you? Not your job, not your life... not even your own murder. Yes, Jack. It was I who killed you four years ago. I knifed you right in the heart, then burnt your body. I did, admittedly, have to pay for the burns, though." He turned over his left arm to show ugly, jagged scars, left undoubtably by skin grafts.
"I merely forgot to clean up after myself," he continued. "I was burnt to the bone. Spent three weeks in the hospital for that. But it was all worth it."
Jack clenched his fists, trying not to explode. Oh, yes, he remembered Jonathan. At the time, he had only thought that he was pessimistic, but now he could see that Jonathan was purely insane. He watched in fury as Jonathan continued to talk.
"I had to quit my job at the studio. I now work as a C.E.O. at the headquarters of Bronzesafe Banks. And with the salary there, I could afford to live in a new house - the one you formerly lived in."
Jack was shocked. So that was why this house had seemed so familiar!
"But Jonathan," he asked, now fighting rage and confusion both, "Why did you do it? And why to me?"
"Because you STOLE my LIFE!" Jonathan yelled in Jack's face, having to stand on tiptoe because he was so tall. "Every day, from high school until now, you've taken EVERYTHING from me!" He glanced over at his coffee table and grabbed a pair of dice on it, chucking them at Jack's head hard and making a clacking noise upon impact with the smooth surface. "First it was my girlfriend, Megan. Do you remember Megan? How did it feel to kiss her, Jack? What about when you went to bed with her? How did that feel?"
Jonathan threw a nearby chair. Jack dodged it easily by stepping out of the way as Jonathan continued his rant.
"How about that grant for Yale University?" he yelled, pointing at an empty frame on the wall. "The one for Video and Movie Effects? Did you enjoy that? Did it feel good to you, walking up that ramp to get the diploma from the Dean while I sat on the sidelines and watched miserably? How about that job at the studio? Wasn't that fun?"
Jonathan punched the wall hard enough to create a gaping hole just below the empty frame, then pushed Jack into the wall.
"You've taken it all from me," he said, "It's your fault that I'm a loner with no family and no friends. It's your fault that I'm a bum who has a gambling fetish and cheats to boot. Everything is ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Jack could no longer contain his rage at this last comment. "How dare you," he said, shaking in anger as all of the memories of his previous life came flooding back to him, "blame me for your misdeeds and wrongdoings! You cheated on and hit your girlfriend. You slacked off in collage and were rude to the boss of the studio. And you still won't get help for your gambling problem!"
"I don't have a problem!"
"That isn't the point! It's called burying the hatchet, Jonathan, have you heard of it?"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT!"
"It... is... not... my... FAULT!"
Flames shot up around Jack, and ghosts flew angrily towards Jonathan, who was now shrieking in terror.
"Look at me, Jonathan," Jack said in an icy tone. "I've changed. For the better or for the worse, I can't say. But I do know one thing. It is not now, nor will it ever be, my fault. Now either get over it, or get out."
Jonathan lost all of his inhibitions and began to creep towards the back door, but even in his terror, he could still be sarchastic and chiding.
"There you go again," he said, eyes dialated in fear, "Always being pompus and self-absorbed." Big mistake.
Jack was not in the mood to be tormented anymore. In a sudden feat of supernatural strength, he grabbed the 240 - pound man and vigorously shook him, his head whipping back and forth as if her were a ragdoll.
"You couldn't live without blaming someone," Jack said in a terrifying whisper as he stopped shaking the terrifed man, "And who better than the person who always did better than you, was kinder than you, was more loved than you. Who better to blame than me? You just couldn't release your grude against me. So you took my life in the place of your own miserable existance. What kind of twisted logic is THAT?"
Jack forcefully threw Jonathan against the wall with enough strength to knock him out, but Jonathan was either too thick-headed to be hurt or it had been some sort of miracle that he hadn't fallen into a coma. Instead, Jonathan picked himself up, and, shaking like a dead leaf in the wind, ran outside as far and fast as he could.
Unfortunately, Jonathan did not notice the drunken driver in the red Chevy convertable swerving into the right lane. His neck snapped on impact, and Jack heard a sickening thunk-thunk as the driver ran him over, then a crash of metal a few moments later.
Jack, horrifed at what he had just seen, ran over to Jonathan's lifeless body.
"Jonathan, are you okay?" he asked, although he knew that Jonathan was most definately not. "Jonathan? Please get up! I didn't mean to scare you that badly!" He vigorously shook the man, but to Jack's great dismay, Jonathan's head simply lolled from side-to-side.
Oh my god, Jack thought as an overwhelming sense of horror swept over him. I've killed him. It really WAS all my fault.
A costumed crowd of men, women, and children had now begun to gather. Jack was going to have to tell them sooner or later. He stood up and tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but could not.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said in deep regret, "I'm sorry... he's dead." And with that, he began to walk away.
He just couldn't let go, Jack thought, not even to save his own life.
Police and ambulence sirens began to wail, and the crowd murmured in shock and sympathy, quietly crying for the demise of their neighbor. But nobody noticed as the Pumpkin King slowly walked down the street and finally disappeared into the night altogether.
Sugary: Awww, that was sad, Jack... :(
Jack: I know. :( But don't worry. I'm sure that Jonathan will return for another round. And I bet even you can't figure out who - and what - he'll become.
Sugary: Here's a riddle for you that ties into this question. The first person on Fanfiction to PM me with the correct answer will get an E-mail from me with a hand-drawn certificate, which you may feel free to use as your own or to post in your blog, xanga, online photo gallery, or anywhere else you choose!
Jack: Knowing her, it's probably going to have a picture of me on it. Who knows?
Jack - King - Queen
Sugary: Now go figure it out! Good luck, and may the best fanfictioner win!
Jack: And don't worry, she draws good. ;) See you next chapter!