Okay, if you haven't read All Hail the Pumpkin Queen? Then you won't know what this book is talking about. Go ahead and read that first, please. (You might want to also have a good idea of Oogie's Revenge, also.) And just in case you don't know, this is thoughts mode.

Jack races towards the witch's house, followed from above the great soaring vampiress. He was not going to let her die. Please not her… anything but her.

Jack had his Soul Robber ready. Of course, the doctor was on vacation with his "precious jewel", and that caused a hell of a problem for everybody else.

"Hey Jack-"

The Mayor turns around-

"No time to talk!"

-and then his face turns to unhappy mode.

"Jack! Where ARE you going!"

Jack was nowhere in sight, because he was already inside the witch's house.

Snap jumped at the sight of Jack flying through the door.

"Where is she?"

Jack almost knocked over a pot that something in it boiling.

"God, Jack! Be careful!"

"Sorry!"

"She's in the bedroom. Be quiet. She's sleeping. All the better, because of that thing that's… re-designing her."

"Re-designing her!"

"Shhh!"

Jack just shuts up and follows Snap up the stairs to a room that was locked. Snap just taps the keyhole and the door opens.

Spiffy. He thought.

…but then he saw Scarlet, and his jaw drops.

Holy shit!

"Did she take all of it?" Jack whispers.

"No. She drank all of it."

"How'd you find her?"

"We walked into the doctor's house, looking for Scarlet. Of course we were going to help her get scarier-"

"Stay on subject, please."

"Well, we heard a crash and then Alian saw her on the floor. So we brought her here, well, before this whole thing started designing her. Sally told us that the substance was somewhat of that of the Soul Robber, so we've just kept an eye on her, just in case she goes…well, you know…crazy."

Jack turns back to Scarlet and sighs. She was wrapped in the Soul Robber, except that the Soul Robber was silver and blue. Not like his. His was neon green. Then he saw it move. It was stringy, and he guessed that this is what they meant by re-designing her:

It started dabbing around Scarlet's eyes, and that left a trace of the goo. Then it disappeared.

"Okay, Jack. You're the Soul Robber expert for the day, so… WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER!"

"I don't know! I don't even think that is Soul Robber. Look at the color difference."

Of course, Jack's was neon green, and Scarlet… was metallic blue.

"True. But what if it is Soul Robber?"

Jack pauses and turns away from Snap.

"I… don't know. The doctor will be back in a week, and-"

"But it might be too late!"

"It's our only hope."

Jack then noticed that it was quiet.

"Hang on."

He turned around to face the weak Scarlet sitting in the chair. There was nothing moving on Scarlet.

Then her eyes snapped open.