Hey guys! This is chapter 2 of the Nightmare Before Christmas 2: The Valentine's Day Massacre. This chapter won't have a song in it, so you don't have to worry about reading my sucky song writing skills lol. Anyways, enjoy!

Sally walked up to the table and inspected the device. She lightly touched the gadget, feeling the many wires crisscrossing in and out of the main metal box. There was also a long tube that connected to the device on one end.

"How does it work?"

"If I'm correct, and I usually am, this device will be able to take the very air itself and convert it to power. We just need to put it inside her, flip the switch and then charge it with power. Once the electricity hits her, the device will turn on and begin to suck in air. Almost as though she were a human with lungs. Now, help me get her strapped in!"

The Doctor put the gadget in his lap as Sally went over and picked up Jewel's body, bringing her over to the operating table. After strapping her in, the Doctor placed the device back onto the table and looked up to Sally.

"Let's get to work"

(The day turns to night, and we then cut to Jack's manor. We slowly pan around the room, getting a good look at Skellington Manor without the Christmas decorations from the first film. We also get a glance at Zero who is snoozing in his dog bed)

As Jack scribbles his thoughts onto some paper with a feathered quill, he stops for a moment, taps the feather onto his chin, then scratches out what he wrote before crumpling up the paper and tossing it behind him. It hits the side of Zero's bed and bounces a little. Zero wakes up, sees the paper, and then floats over to his skeleton master. At the sight of his trusty companion, he smiles a little.

"Sorry boy, did I wake you?"

Zero barked happily and gave a little lick on Jack's face. This made him smile as he said, "Thanks. I've been trying to write a response to the letter Sandy sent me."

Jack looked at the letter again. When it suddenly showed up at the door of his manor, you could say that Jack was more than surprised. After the events of his hijacking of Christmas and Oogie's attempt at taking over the 7 Holiday Worlds, Jack thought that he wouldn't be hearing from Santa again for a long time. He picked up the letter.

"Maybe you can help me. Listen to what he wrote."

(Jack then cleared his throat and began to read the letter, but as he read, his voice slowly faded away and we then hear Santa Clause reading the letter)

"Dear Jack Skellington. I've sent this letter in the hopes that you are well and that everything is running smoothly over there in Halloweentown. I'm sure you're probably surprised at my sudden letter, but I wished to extend an invitation to you, the ruler of Halloweentown, to join me and the other holiday leaders for the first ever 7 Holidays Council. I've already sent invitations to the other leaders, and have made arrangements to have the meeting held where the holiday doors reside. The meeting is dated for New Years Day, so please send a response before then.
Your dear friend, Santa Clause.
P.S. All the leaders will be allowed to bring a plus one to be their representative, so be sure to chose someone to accompany you."

Jack then sat the letter back down on the desk before getting up and walking over to his window with his hands on his hips, zero floating next to him. He looked down at the town below him, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

"I'm happy to attend such a momentous occasion, but I'm not sure who I should bring. I considered bringing the Mayor, but I feel that he'd be a bit too worried over the planning of next Halloween. If the council wasn't being held during the day, then I'd might have brought one of the vampire brothers with me. They've always been known for their sense of class. And honestly, I don't think anyone else would feel comfortable leaving town. (Sigh) What to do?" Jack said to his trusty ghost dog

Zero looked a little sad at his master for a moment, but then looked out the window towards the Doctor's lab and saw the lights flickering and lightning striking the top of the roof. Zero then began to bark happily at Jack, who looked at him in surprise.

"What is it boy?"

Zero continued to bark and then looked over towards the lab, bringing Jack's attention to the flickering lights and electricity.

"No, I don't think Dr. Finklestein would be a good idea. He's been so preoccupied with bring Jewel back to life, I wouldn't want to keep him from his work. A good effort though" Jack gave a small smile, patting the top of Zero's head

Zero was quiet for a moment, before starting to bark again, still looking towards the lab.

"Zero, I already said…wait a minute" Jack said, looking at the ghost dog for moment, before a sudden realization hit him and made him look back at the lab, saying "Of course! Sally! Why didn't I think of it sooner! Oh Zero, you never fail me! Who's a good boy? Here, fetch!"

Jack, in his delight, took out a rib and threw for Zero to fetch. The spectral dog flew after it happily while Jack watched with a large grin on his face. When Zero brought back the bone, Jack put it back in and gave him another pat on the head as the two of them looked back towards the lab.

"You know Zero, Sally was feeling like she might not belong here. That she doesn't deserve to be the Pumpkin Queen because she hasn't scared anyone. I'm hoping that after this council, and a few scare lessons along the way, she can gain the confidence to wear the crown alongside me. How perfect that would be." Jack explained to Zero with a wide grin before turning around and walking away from the window. Zero gave a happy smile as he silently floated away from the window.

(We then cut to the next morning, where we zoom in on the Doctor's lab. Inside, we see Sally down in the kitchen working on some soup for the Doctor.)

As Sally is cooking the Doctor's favorite soup, she reaches into her cupboard for some Worm's Wart. She sees the canister of Deadly Nightshade in the back of the shelf. She looks at it for a second, shakes her head, and then grabs the Worm's Wart canister. Once she finishes, she brings it up to the lab, she finds the Doctor laying his head on the table asleep, next to the still motionless Jewel.

The previous night had been a failure, and the Doctor was very upset about this. She left him alone to have some time to himself, and when she had come back, she found him asleep. She knew how much he had been pushing himself lately, so she made some soup to cheer him up. She quietly places it on the table, pulls out a letter and leans it against the bowl, and then heads outside. She makes her way down the staircase and towards the town square and then inside town hall, where she finds the Mayor and Jack on stage, going over some Halloween plans that were sitting on a work table. When they see her, Jack smiles and the Mayor has his face on his happy side.

"Ah, Sally! Come on up my dear! Me and Jack were going over some of the decoration plans for Halloween this year! You should join us! What with you being our new Pumpkin Queen and all!" The Mayor gleefully looked to her.

Sally said "Oh, well um…" while fiddling with her hands.

Jack, seeing her discomfort, says "Would you mind giving us a minute, Mayor?"

"Of course. I've got to see the Melting Man and the witches about the batches of slime you requested, so I'll be back shortly"

With that, the Mayor hurried off. Jack got down from the stage and walked over to Sally, a smile still on his face as he takes her hands into his.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him and the rest of the town and have them stop calling you that"

"No, don't do that. I wouldn't want them to be discouraged. But I would like to start those scaring lessons you offered as soon as possible. The quicker I can become scarier, the sooner I can hold that title with pride" Sally smiled at him

"Of course! I'm very eager to get started with them. Stick with me, and one day you might even get the jump on me" Jack replied with a large grin, holding one hand on his hip and the other on his chest, then continued with "Oh, that reminds me. I've got something to ask you"

"What is it?"

Jack took her hand and led her over to the stage, where he helped her up onto the edge to sit on while he continued to stand.

"Sandy Claws sent me a letter"

"He did?"

"Yes. I was just as confused as you when I got it. He has invited me to attend the first ever 7 Holiday's Council. It will be a meeting of all 7 holiday leaders."

"Jack, that's wonderful to hear! You must be terribly excited"

"I am. And that leads me to my question. Would you like to go with me?"

"Me? Going with you to the meeting? I thought it was for the holiday leaders?"

"It is, but each of us will be allowed to bring a plus one. Someone to represent each of the worlds. And I want to bring you" He smiled, pointing to her

"I…I don't know what to say. It's such an honor that you would ask me to come with you. But wouldn't you want someone more official, like the Mayor or the Doctor?" Sally asked, putting a hand to her lip as she asked

"I did consider them at first. But then Zero gave me the idea to ask you."

"I don't know Jack. I don't know if I'm the right one for the task" She replied, looking at the floor with a face that looked unsure

"Sally, I want you there with me." Jack replied, and this made Sally look up at him, to which he continued with "I know you have been feeling out of place, so I want you to join me at the council and see my duties as Pumpkin King firsthand. I'm certain that this will help you feel more confident in your place here in Halloweentown and as the Pumpkin Queen."

Sally was quiet for a second, looking down again. But then looked up with a face full of determination and said, "Alright, I'll go."

"Fantastic! I'll send word to Sandy Claws that we'll be there!"

Just as he said this, the Werewolf, Clown with the Tearaway Face, and the Demon came into the town hall.

"Jack!" They called out, before Clown said "We need your help, we've got the coffins you asked for, but some of the zombies are refusing to lie in them."

"Why not?" Jack asked

"They said something about it being too cramped" the demon replied

Sally got down from the edge of the stage, saying "I'll let you get back to work"

"Alright. I'll see you later then. Oh! I almost forgot to ask! How did the experiment go yesterday?" Jack said, hitting his hand on his forehead as he remembered

"It was no good again" Sally shook her head sadly

"I see, that's a shame. Well, I'm sure he'll get it next time. Give my regards to him." Jack said, waving to her as he and the trio of monsters left the hall.

Sally stood in front of the stage for a moment, looking down to the floor, before walking out of the hall.

(We cut to the Doctor, who wakes up at the operating table)

The Doctor stretches for a second, then looks over to Jewel, who is still lying motionless. He sighs and take's her hand into his and pats the back it. He then notices the bowl of soup and the letter sitting on the other side of the table.

Taking out the letter, he reads aloud "Doctor, I've made you your favorite soup. Don't worry, there's no Nightshade in it, but I do feel you should take some anyways and get some sleep. I'll be back by the end of the day. If anything happens, I'll be working on my project in the graveyard. Sally"

Giving a quiet sigh, he puts the letter on the table and picks up the bowl. He looks at it for a moment, then takes out a flask labeled 'Deadly Nightshade', pours out the contents into the bowl, then drinks the soup. Putting the bowl back on the table, he wheels over to a chest, pulls out a thin fleece blanket, and then wheels back over to the operating table and covers himself with the blanket before laying his head and arms on the table, going back to sleep.

(We then cut to a tall tower in an area we haven't seen before. The tower isn't something you would see in Halloweentown. It's pure white with a pink tiled roof. I'm not very good at describing architecture so here's a link to the photo of the tower I used: tower-fairytale-castle-vector-illustration-white-background-pink-tower-red-roof-many-windows-fairytale-image159493307)

The tower was dimly lit with the light of the sunset. Inside, a figure in a pink cape could be seen leaning over a table, then hustling over to a nearby bookshelf. Grabbing the book, the figure flipped through the book. A feminine voice could be heard.

"Yes. This is it"

She walks back over to the table, where a staff was lying on it. The staff was gold with intricate vines along the shaft and at the top was a jeweled heart being hugged by a white dove. The woman took a bag out from a chest underneath the table and took out a handful of what looked like pink glitter dust. She sprinkled it on the staff, which caused it to glow pink. She then picked up the staff with both hands.

"I will find the source. And when I do, love will be no more." She said as the jewel atop the staff began to shine

(The jewel shined very brightly, the light causing the screen to go pink and then fade to black. We then cut back to Halloweentown, where we find Sally in the graveyard)

Sally looked up from her work, examining it before going back to her stitching.

"I hope everyone likes these costumes I've been making for them. I know I've got plenty of time to finish them, but I just can't wait to show everyone." She said to herself, smiling as she sewed.

Unbeknownst to her, her skeleton love was silently creeping up behind her. Just as she snipped off the string from her finished work, Jack jumped from behind the gravestone and made a terrifying face, which caused Sally to yelp loudly. When she saw who it was, she laughed.

"Jack, you startled me! I didn't even see come into graveyard"

"That's lesson number 2. Always have eyes on the back of your head. If you are always aware of those around you, you'll always see them coming when they try to scare you." He made the number to with his bony fingers, then twisted his head around to show what he meant.

"Got it" Sally replied with a look that showed she was truly interested in his lesson.

"So, what are you working on?"

"Promise not to say anything?"

"I swear upon my non-beating heart that I won't tell another soul" He put a hand to his chest and held the other one in the air to make his vow.

"Well, even though I don't feel quite ready to accept the role of Pumpkin Queen, I still wanted to do something for this upcoming Halloween. So, when I found out the theme was 'Night of the Living Dead' I decided to make costumes for the townspeople."

"That's wonderful, Sally! I'm sure they'll be delighted!" He smiled, observing the finished project that she just handed him.

"You think so?"

"I know so." He replied, handing the piece back to her

"Then I'm glad"

"Good. Oh, and I've sent my reply to Sandy Claws. The Council is to be held on New Year's Day. Oh, I can't tell you how eager I am to officially meet the other holiday leaders. I know Sandy, and I've already somewhat met the Easter Bunny, but I've still yet to meet the other 4. I wonder what they'll be like." Jack said, holding out his arms wide in a display of grandeur, then holding a hand to his chin with a look of wonder

"I don't know, but I'm sure they'll be very nice." Sally smiled at him, getting up from her spot

"Oh, how exciting this will be!" Jack said, letting Sally take his elbow as he escorts her out of the graveyard.

Okay, an that concludes the second chapter. I hope y'all liked it, and I can't wait to do another chapter.