Chapter XV: Knocking on Death's Door

Nightshroud: Oops, I forgot the journal entries for last chapter, so I went back and redid that. Anyway, I think I came up with a good idea for this chapter. Halloween Town is only going to be one chapter, cause I'm in a hurry to start the next segment. Yay!
As the four emerged from the gummi ship, they immediately noticed that something was wrong.

"What happened to your clothes?"

"My clothes? Look at yours!"

"Geez, we look like we're trick-or-treating..."

"This is so cool!"

As they inspected their new outfits, they realized that Fayt was dressed like a vampire, Namé was a witch, Tyson a knight, and Reyna an angel.

"Must be something about this world," said Fayt. They nodded and entered the spooky gate. They entered into a creepy town square, with a fountain spewing green ooze, a guillotine, and other horrific decorations. Suddenly everything grew dim, then a head appeared in midair. It grinned evilly at them, then gave a laugh that chilled their bones.

"Welcome to Halloween Town!" it said. Suddenly a body appeared below the head in a flash of light and they jumped back in fright. The creature suddenly laughed and slapped his knee.

"Boy, I really got you! I must be getting better at this!"

Reyna looked at him and asked shakily, "Wh-who are you?"

"Why, I'm Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King!"

"Oh, Jack, we've heard of you! Remember Sora?"

"Why, yes I do! Acquiantences?"

"Daughter, actually."

"Oh! So he finally found Kairi, eh?"

"Geez, I guess everyone knew about this."

Jack laughed and put his long arms around them. "Let me introduce you to the others!"

He led them to the Professor's Lab, where they met Sally, Zero, and Dr. Finkelstein. As they were talking, suddenly Lock, Shock, and Barrel burst into the room.

"What is it?" asked Sally.

"T-t-t-t-the Grim Reaper!!" they shouted.

"What?" asked Jack.

"Y-y-yeah, we went to play by the ruins of Oogie's Mansion, when we saw that it had been rebuilt. we decided to check it out when we saw him! The Grim Reaper!"

Jack frowned. "We'd better check this out."

The three pranksters nodded. "We'll show you the way."

They led Jack and the four out from Guillotine Square and into the graveyard. Then they entered the gate and into the area where Curly Hill was. Suddenly Shadow, Gargoyle, and Wight Knight Heartless appeared. Jack and Namé combined thunder magic.

"Double Magic Thunder Storm!"

Lightning bolts struck all around, taking out nearly all the Heartless. Tyson, Reyna, and Fayt were easily able to finish off the rest.

The little miscreants led them up the hill and into another area with a dark river and a bridge. Search Ghost and Trick Ghost Heartless appeared. Reyna slashed through two Search Ghosts, but another teleported behind her and and slashed her back. Fayt stabbed it, then slashed through some Trick Ghosts. Jack cast gravity on some, then Namé destroyed them with Spell Impact. Tyson used Strike Raid to cut through the last of the Heartless. They passed through the gate and onto a long walkway till they reached the doors.

"Looks mostly the same as last time," said Jack thoughtfully. The L,S, and B were able to crawl in a hole in the door and unlock it for the others. As they came in, Jack threw a fire spell underneath a platform, causing it to rise. They hopped on and were carried up till they reached a walkway. Dozens of Gargoyles and Wight Knights appeared in their way. Reyna used Faith to blast some out of the way, then Namé cast Aeroga on them so they could run through. They made it up to where the Evil Playroom used to be, but it had been changed. The Heartless were running up when Fayt and Namé turned to them.

"Go on," Fayt said to Jack, Reyna, and Tyson.

"We'll hold them," said Namé.

The three nodded and ran through the doors.

They came into the room, expecting it to look like the Evil Playroom, but it was vastly different. The room was large, and was made of stone. There were large, open windows leading out into the darkness. There were skulls on the windowsills and a large scythe mounted on the wall with suspicious red splatters around it. There was a flash of lightning, then suddenly the scythe was gone. Reyna suddenly leaped back as the scythe split the ground where she was standing a moment before. A black robe suddenly appeared in front of them, and a skull emerged from the hood.

"The Grim Reaper!" said Jack.

He grinned wickedly at them. "Hahaha, well if it isn't Jack Skellington. You saved me the convenience of coming after you."

He swung his scythe at Jack, but Tyson blocked it with his keyblade.

"Now, Jack!"

Jack let out a ghostly wail, blasting the Reaper back. Tyson leaped forward and slashed at him, but he burst into a cloud of bats and flew over to the other side of the room. He reformed, then shot blue fire from his mouth. Jack cast gravity on it so that the flames burst onto the floor. The Reaper teleported behind him and slammed the shaft of his scythe into Jack's chest, throwing him against the wall. He went to swing at Jack again when Reyna lashed her whip against his back. He cried out and swung his scythe at her. She jumped on it, then kicked him in the face. He slid across the floor, but threw his scythe at Tyson, who dropped to the ground to avoid it. The Reaper teleported and caught the scythe in midair and sliced the air, sending off a wave through the air at them. It blasted the wall behind them as they dove out of the way. The Reaper grinned and his hand glowed with black fire.

"Reaper Death Seal!"

He blasted the unholy fire at the three, but Reyna summoned her light energy.

"Pearl!"

The ball of light blasted through the fire and struck the Reaper. He staggered back, then suddenly monstrous wings sprouted from his back.

"Stare into the face of death!"

He flew at Reyna, his scythe poised to strike. She ran at him and slashed with her whip as he brought his scythe down. It passed through him, sending off sparks of light. The Reaper wavered a moment, then gave a piercing shriek and disappeared in black flames.

The three sighed with relief, when suddenly the manor began to shake.

"Oogie's Manor! It's collapsing!"

They ran out into Fayt, Namé, and the three pranksters, and the eight ran past the Heartless and climbed into one of the cage elevators. They made it to the bottom and scrambled away as the castle collapsed. Reyna looked into the ruins and could see the keyhole. Tyson shot a beam from his keyblade, locking the keyhole. Then Reyna sealed it with her heart.

"I don't think we can thank you enough!" said Jack.

"Our pleasure!" said the four, relieved to get out of this spooky place. After saying goodbye to the Doctor and Sally as well, they climbed in the Highwind and flew off.

"So we've sealed all the keyholes around here, right?" asked Namé.

"Yeah, but there are still a few others," replied Fayt.

"So, what are we waiting for?" asked Tyson.

"Well, in order to get there, we have to get through Twilight Impasse."

"Twilight Impasse?" asked Reyna.

"Yeah, it stands guard between this region of worlds and the next. It's has some old castle or tower that we'll have to pass through."

"Well, no time to waste! Let's go for it!" said Tyson.

Jack Skellington-

The King of Nightmares and the real leader of Halloween Town. Jack loves to scare people, though his constant ideas put everyone at dis-ease (haha pun lol).

Sally-

Jack's sweetheart who always tries to calm Jack whenever he gets a new idea. She's very gentle and timid, and always has a knack for knowing when things will go wrong.

Dr. Finkelstein-

Mad scientist who is constantly at work in his laboratory. He often helps Jack when he has a new scheme.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel-

Three pranksters, now on somewhat better behavior, who are always looking for something to do. They've joined with Oogie in the past just for fun, so it's a miracle they didn't team up with the Reaper.

The Grim Reaper-

Malevolent spirit of death who brought back Oogie's Manor to rule over Halloween Town. He wields a scythe and unholy fire. He was defeated by Reyna's powers of light.

Nightshroud: Kinda short, but I hope it was still good. Yes, I finally got to Twilight Impasse! I'm so excited to write about this!! Think of it as a Castle Oblivion of sorts. This segment is going to have more drama and action than all the previous chapters combined. Yay! Around seven new characters will be revealed, some old faces will appear, and some lights will be shed on critical info. Be...very...EXCITED!!!!!

Next chapter: Twilight Impasse