Kingdom Hearts : Worlds Apart
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There was a clang of metal against metal. Lexstrik had shut her eyes tightly. The flaming chakrum was stopped dead in the air by a sword. It didn't belong to her. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the figure of Jack Sparrow before her. His back was turned and his eyes stared at Axel with an unfamiliar light. He smirked. The weapon of the male Nobody fell into the sand with a soft 'thud'. Axel held up a hand and his fingers wrapped around the handle in the center as it warped back with a bright flash of flame. Lexstrik could barely make out that a bit of the sand of the beach had turned into glass. Axel jumped back and spun the chakrum around his hands casually.
"Well, well," he chortled, "so the Captain fights." Jack pulled a gun from a holster on his belt and fired. In the blink of an eye, a wall of fire made of burning pillars shot up from the sand and protected Axel. Again, rings of glass appeared where the fire had made contact. The female finally came to her senses. As the two men fought, Lexstrik placed her daggers together and shut her eyes. Wisps of black smoke and white light surrounded her hands (much like when she was imitating Maxiwill's weapon) and felt the weight of the daggers disappear. They were replaced with copies of Axel's burning wheels. She had done this before, in a battle between four Nobodies involving herself, Maxiwill, Axel, and Xaldin. Lexstrik spun the purple and white chakrum around her fingers as a coy smirk appeared on her lips. She dashed forward, sand blasting upward from where she had jumped. Gun shots echoed as Jack continued to load and reload his gun slowly. He found himself rolling around in the dirt many times to dodge a burning wheel that was chucked his direction from the red head.
"Jack, get back!" Lexstrik cried out, bending her left arm and throwing the weapon. Jack turned quickly.
"What?" he asked, and then ducked as the chakrum flew over his head and singed the top of his hat with a purple flame. He removed his hat and threw it into the sand, the flame extinguishing immediately. Axel held up his weapon and blocked the clone. It disappeared in a flash of purple flames and reappeared in Lexstrik's grip.
"So, you're back to making copies?" He laughed, running at her. His weapons locked with hers and they stood at a stalemate. They both pushed against each other, trying to knock the other over, "Be original, Lexstrik!" Axel barked, tightening his grip on the chakrum and jumping back. As he floated nimbly through the air, he tossed both flaming wheels in her direction. Lexstrik squeaked and instinctively tossed her copies. The four weapons didn't connect, however, and she felt a sharp tinge in her bicep as one of the wheels cut through her sleeve and made a small burn on her flesh. The other wheel spun through the bottom of her coat, merely opening it. In an instant, however, the clothing slowly began to repair itself. She looked astonished and then shot a glare up at Axel. Her weapons had missed entirely. Simultaneously, the two Nobodies brought their weapons back to themselves. Again, they jumped at each other, bringing the chakrum down on each other as if they were swords. The clang of metal on metal echoed through the small beach. Jack merely watched with a casual smirk.
"Well, I do believe that I will…" he turned around and began to walk away from the fight, "Start looking for that heart." Jack walked in a very odd fashion. His arms were held up and his fingers were bent with his pointer finger straight up. His feet moved casually and he swayed his top half side to side. Lexstrik spotted him and threw a chakrum. It landed in the sand with a sharp clink. The man turned, not noticing the weapon floating out of the ground and returning to the girl.
"Where are YOU going?" she barked, narrowly dodging another double-chakrum assault from Axel. Jack smirked and turned his back.
"I'm off to find the treasure, dear," he then heard the sound of footsteps in the sand. They were very rapid. He froze in his tracks as he looked over his shoulder to see Axel and Lexstrik both running at him. He let out a yelp and began to run as well. His run was much different than his walk. "Can't say it wasn't nice to see you!" he called out, jumping over a fallen tree branch as he entered the dense forest on the island. Lexstrik scowled and repeatedly threw her weapons, recalling them almost instantly. Axel, on the other hand, was now jumping along the tree branches. Fire trailed behind him with every jump. Jack ducked beneath a very low branch and then looked over his shoulder. A smile appeared on his lips when he noticed Lexstrik had disappeared from behind him. However, that smile was short lived as he slammed into a tree. He stumbled backward and shook his head, feeling a bit dazed. "I meant to do that," he mumbled, walking slowly around it. Jack froze once more. Four points were now at his neck, each from one of the four wheels that Lexstrik and Axel were calling 'weapons'.
"Give me the heart!" Lexstrik and Axel both cried out. They then stared at each other.
"What do you want it for?!" Lexstrik shrieked. Axel shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, that's none of your business, now is it?" The girl scowled and held up her weapons. Axel clicked his tongue. "Don't think I didn't watch you and Maxiwill fight. I know all about the downside to your weapons." He held his arms out to his sides and let his chakrum vanish in a will-of-the-wisp. That moment, Lexstrik's copies disappeared and returned to their original form. She let out a small gasp and before she could continue, Axel spoke again. "Now then, take your little toys and go home." He looked at where Jack was sitting…literally, where Jack was sitting. The man had disappeared in the midst of the argument. The two Nobodies turned their heads to see him climbing up a large hill that lead to the broken down church building with the large cogwheel beside it.
"See that!" Lexstrik pointed, the daggers disappearing much like Axel's chakrum had, "You let him get away!" She stared at him darkly. Axel said nothing and began to run up the hill, closing the gap between Jack and himself. Lexstrik followed, jumping over a branch and landing beside Axel. "Everything was fine before you showed up!" she growled.
"Really?" the man laughed, "It looked to me like you were going to kiss him had I not shown up!" He swerved and narrowly missed a large tree trunk. Color appeared on the girl's cheeks.
"So what if I had?!" she yelled. A bird flew from its nest when it heard the tone of voice she had. Axel said nothing and merely looked away. As he approached the church, Jack was already at the top of the building. Lexstrik looked at the man as he stood valiantly at the top, his figure silhouetted against the blue sky. Jack looked down and called out.
"Sorry, children! But the heart of Davy Jones is mine!" He jumped from the top of the church to the top of the cogwheel that lay attached to the ruin. It groaned beneath his weight. Axel and Lexstrik both jumped into the air and landed softly on the wheel. It once again let out a groan. They then heard a cracking noise and the wheel moved. It broke off from the church with a mighty force, causing the three of them to stumble. Lexstrik slipped off the side and caught herself on the edge. However, since the wheel was starting to roll, she became closer and closer to the ground. An idea appeared in her head. When she was close enough to the grass, Lexstrik swung herself to the inside of the wheel and began to run inside of it. She felt like a hamster doing its morning exercises. She had continually ducked beneath the three metal poles that were inside the wheel that supported it. She could hear Axel and Jack fighting up top, the clang of metal on metal once again echoing in her ears. She guessed the Nobody had returned his chakrum for another round. The cogwheel broke through tree branches and rolled over many hill tops and landed hard on the next level of land. With each landing, Lexstrik felt a sudden pain going through her legs and up through her entire body. Her head began to ache and she started to lose focus. And then there was a loud CLANG! as her forehead hit one of the metal staves inside of the wheel. She fell over and rolled out of the cogwheel, laying face up in the grass. Her head was now pounding with a pain she had never felt before. The wheel became smaller and smaller as it disappeared into the dense forest. She sat up and rubbed her head. She knew for a fact that a rather large and nasty bruise was going to form. Lexstrik then fell onto her back and let out a loud scream. "I HATE MEN!" Many birds flew away from the trees and dotted the blue sky, or at least what was visible through the many leaves. An idea popped into her head once more. She stood up quickly. "Well then," she said, brushing herself off. Another twinge of pain coursed through her body, starting at her forehead then moving to the base of her feet. She had never hurt so much before, "This is my chance to find that heart." She began to head back to the beach, her mind racing. These thoughts only caused her head to ache even more. She climbed over a branch and slid down a small hill on the heels of her boots.
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Midnight approached on Halloween Town as all the civilians moved to the town square for the celebration. Jack Skellington had chosen Maxiwill and Elyxca as his own guests of honor. The boy smirked and felt that everything was going to go according to the small plan he had devised in his head. He looked over to Elyxca, who nodded. The music began to kick up through the town square and the residents of Halloween Town began to sing and dance together, telling frightening stories of how they scare others. The Mayor, a short man with a very tall hat and changing personalities stood on top of his car, which reminded Elyxca of a hurse with a carriage in the back. A large megaphone rested on top of the vehicle, striped with black and white. The vampires emerged from their residences, a group of them appearing from a large cathedrial. Maxiwill looked closely and let out a small gasp. Their fangs were no bigger than his! He shot a cold look at the saxaphone player of the trio, who caught his gaze. The large-chined creature let out a guffaw and then continued to play on his instrument. Maxiwill scooted closer to Elyxca. "I swear, when Halloween Town is ours..." he looked over his shoulder to the band member then back to the girl, "He'll be the first to go." Elyxca let out a small girlish laugh. She then began to look around.
"Where's Jack?" she asked. Maxiwill shrugged. Then a chorus began to sing out:
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and SCREAM like a banshee, make you jump out of your skin! This is Halloween!
A large man with an axe in his head began pulling a horse made of hay through the city's gate. A large scarecrow rested on top of it, looking quite still. Maxiwill looked closer. It suddenly moved and snatched up a torch that one of the creatures was holding up in celebration. Elyxca gasped as it swallowed the fire and caught ablaze. The eyes of the pumpkin on its head began to glow brightly.
Our man Jack is King of the pumpkin patch! Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King, now!
So the question of the Nobodies was answered: That scarecrow was Jack himself. He began to dance on the horse and spewed flames at the other civilians who gave out a collective gasp. He then jumped from the horse and landed with an inaudible splash into the green liquid of the fountain. Two small children (a mummy and a child with its eyes stiched shut) stood beside the stone of the fountain.
In this town we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song.
The two children then backed away into the crowd as Jack Skellington emerged from the liquid to a collective chorus of 'La La La!'. His bat shaped tie began to fan its wings outward. Maxiwill stood up from the step he was sitting on, Elyxca moving to stand beside him. He pushed his half-moon spectacles up the bridge of his nose and watched as Jack removed himself from the fountain and placed himself on the stone around the fountain. Everybody cheered and clapped loudly. The Mayor took a microphone and placed it to his smiling face.
"Great Halloween everybody!" Maxiwill let out a laugh as the front of the megaphone on the car began to expand the bowl of it to make his words louder. Jack laughed.
"And I would like to introduce everyone to..." he turned to look at the two Nobodies who were sitting on the step of the cathedrial the vampires had emerged from, "Elyxca and Maxiwill! They said they would help us celebrate!" The two Nobodies moved forward and waved casually. They felt popular.
"Hear, hear, Jack!" Maxiwill said as he snatched the Mayor's microphone. Elyxca took it from him.
"This Halloween will be your favorite!" The girl handed it back to the short Mayor and laughed silently with Maxiwill. The male Nobody tugged on Jack's boney arm and asked if he could pull him aside. The skeleton agreed and walked with him to the cathedrial, where it was rather quiet. Elyxca had approached the side of Maxiwill and looked at Jack.
"So?" the boy asked, "Where's our payment? The heart?" He held out a gloved hand as if demanding the skeleton to give him the heart at that moment. Jack laughed and then explained that they would have to go to Professor Finklestein's lab and ask for it there. He pointed a long and slender finger (pearl white, just like his skull) at a small cylindrical shaped building with a massive metal sphere atop it. There was a single window that was caged over. Maxiwill stared from the building then back to the skeleton. "All right. Once we get our heart, we'll be on our way." The boy turned his back, his cloak swishing behind him. Elyxca nodded and skipped up a little ways to catch him. Jack blinked and tilted his head as the Mayor annouced the award for the 'Most Blood Drained In A Single Evening', once again won by the vampires. A mild applause followed this; it wasn't a surprise to anybody.
Maxiwill followed up the stone path with Elyxca at his heels. He kept poking the bottom of his extended canines with his tongue, laughing each time he felt the sharp twinge go through his body. The girl kept her wings hugged tightly to her back. Maxiwill pushed open the gate and walked up the steps to the large metal door. The sphere atop the building was a lot bigger than he had thought. Elyxca pounded a fist on the door, hearing it echo in the bowels of the structure. "Coming..." a nasaly voice called out. It was about a minute or so before the door opened. The two let out a small gasp as they saw what had opened the door. A man sat dressed in a bright white lab coat, the same color as his white head. His mouth reminded Elyxca of a duck bill, and he had small beady eyes covered by black sunglasses. He had very tiny hands the moved along the lever of the electric wheelchair that he sat in. "Who are you two?" he growled.
"Professor Finklestein, I presume?" Maxiwill asked, tilting his head. The man nodded and wheeled his chair back, allowing them to come in. Elyxca went in first, followed by the boy. He felt his cheek graced by the tip of her wing very softly. When the stood up to his full height inside, he closed the door and looked up. A large spiral went up to the top of the building, with a single door. Maxiwill guessed that door led to the room with the one window. Elyxca looked at the Professor with a soft smile.
"We're here for our payment. Jack told us you had made a heart?" Professor Finklestein looked ghastly as he opened up his head and began to scratch the pink brain that rested inside. Maxiwill let his tongue hang out of the side of his mouth as he let out a groan of disgust.
"Well, Jack promised you a heart, eh?" he wheeled passed the two of them to another door on their left, "Can't argue with the King of Halloween. Follow me, please." He closed his head with a soft clunk. Maxiwill stole a glance to Elyxca before he followed the handicapped scientist. The girl Nobody followed shortly behind, keeping up with a slight skip. The door opened without the touch of a hand and revealed a large study. Considering the size of the building, Maxiwill thought there to be many more of these rooms (similar or not) scattered through out. A pile of metal rested on a steel table. He cocked an eyebrow at this before he felt something thrusted into his chest. A green object rest in his hands. A gross feeling went through him. The feeling of leather rubbed against leather. His gloves held the leather object. To make matters worse, it was pulsing with a digusting squealch. It was bound by three steel locks. Maxiwill examined it, watching it pump, as if it were trying to push something in and out of itself.
"Is this it?" he asked. Finklestein nodded. The boy smirked and tossed it up and down, catching it slyly. Elyxca held out a hand to hold on to it for him. "Some heart." He scoffed and walked out of the room. Elyxca followed, clinging the heart to her chest. Maxiwill opened the front door and looked from the stoop downward to what he could see of the town. Some of the festivities were continuing and he could see Jack's white head standing out around the many blacks and oranges that dotted about him. However, the Pumpkin King turned around on a dime and disappeared from sight, leaving through the town's main gate. Maxiwill looked at Elyxca and shook his head.
"Something wrong?" she asked him, tilting her head and placing a finger on her cheek.
"That thing," he pointed at the pulsing object in Elyxca's hand, "That 'heart'," Maxiwill scowled, turning back to look at the town, "I doubt we can use it. He lied to us..." he laughed lightly, "And nobody lies to me." He shook his head again, a chortle escaping him. Elyxca smiled and followed him when he started walking down the steps.
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Sand washed over her boots as the Nobody took the first steps out of the forest. Her nostrils were flushed over with the scent of sea water and a strong smell of salt. Lexstrik scratched her temple as she thought for a moment. She shut her eyes and hoped that something would guide her to this heart of Davy Jones that Jack mentioned. "If I were a heart wh---" she slapped her forehead and groaned, "That's something Maxiwill would say..." she mumbled, "The idiot." Two small hills of dirt appeared in the distance, each capped with a small amount of grass. She cocked an eyebrow. "Grass?" she said to herself, "In the middle of a beach?" She advanced towards the hills, slipping in the sand once. Lexstrik brushed her boots off when she finally reached the right side mound, and she looked around her in a few circles before pausing. "Oh this is so stupid! I can't find it alone!" Then there was a deafening crack as a tree branch blew from the forest next to her. It landed fairly close to her, the tip of it burning slightly. A moment later, the cogwheel came bursting through the brush. She stepped back aimlessly and fell backwards. Atop the wheel were two fighting figures. Flashes of fire and slashes of swords reflected in her eyes. Axel jumped from the wheel and landed in a cloud of sand onto the beach. His figure was a shadow against the dust. The shadow disappeared and jumped towards the man on the wheel. Axel held his chakrum high above his head and brought them down across the back of Jack Sparrow's head. The captain fell with a soft thud into the sand, face down. Lexstrik let out a soft scream and then allowed her daggers to form in a flash of light. The cogwheel spun out of control and landed into the shallows of the water with a loud splash. This splash covered up the loud yell that Axel annouced when the daggers cut into his side. The girl then stared downward at Jack Sparrow, the unconcious captain. Axel took a step back, holding his side with one hand, both his chakrum with the other. Lexstrik knelt down in the side and turned Jack over. His beard was covered in sand, making it difficult to find any hint that it was a black beard. She brushed his cheeks off and attempted to dust off his beard when Axel let out a cough.
"Don't even bother," he said, "Doesn't look like your precious captain is going to wake up any time soon." Lexstrik stood up and growled, gripping her daggers tightly. She loosened her grip and narrowed her eyes on the red haired Nobody.
"If he's dead, you better be sure you make yourself scarce." Any idea she had of copying his chakrum disappeared from her head. She now felt that her daggers would cause much more damage than his weapons. Axel smirked and shook his head.
"You think I'm afraid of you?" he let out a short laugh, "I'm a member of Organization XIII. You and your little buddies Maxiwill and Elyxca, clever as you may be, aren't enough to take me out." Lexstrik said nothing at this. With a final glance at Jack Sparrow, she jumped and formed a cloud of dust. Axel held up his hands and the chakrums deflected her daggers away for the time being. Lexstrik let out a soft cry out and tossed one of the blades at him. While he was worried about the blade, the female was free to let out an assault with one weapon alone. Axel scowled and knocked the flying weapon to the ground with a solid smack. It fell with a thud into the sand. However, he was unable to block the dagger that Lexstrik held in her fist. It cut his robe on the sleeve and made a rather deep cut into his arm. He held up his hands, his fingers clenched around the handles of his chakrum. They disappeared in a flaming burst. Axel held up his cut arm and a swirling portal appeared from the ground. "Hmm. So, you're not as weak as I thought you were..." Axel whispered, walking toward the portal. Before Lexstrik could say anything, he had already disappeared. She summoned the fallen dagger back to her hand and allowed both of them to disappear in a flash of light. The girl then dashed to the fallen captain, lifting him up. His body was limp.
"Jack! Wake up!" she cried out, shaking him. His eyes shot open.
"I'd rather not be shaken, thank you," he whispered, sitting up. He stroked his beard and sand fell from it like a strangely colored rain. Lexstrik smiled weakly. "Now then..." Jack stood up and brandished his sword. The girl stood as well, opening her mouth to say something. However, Jack shook his head, "We were fighting over the heart of Davy Jones. I'm not letting you take it," he jumped at her. The woman turned on her heel and blinked at him.
"Jack!" she barked, "We can find the heart together!" Jack shook his head.
"Whoever has the heart controls Davy Jones," at this, he let himself laugh slightly, "and whoever controls Davy Jones controls the sea itself." The man swung at her again and once again she dodged. Lexstrik shook her head hopelessly.
"There's no getting through to you, is there, Jack?" she whimpered, "Don't you understand that I can be myself again if I get that heart?" The man stopped dead, "The Kristel that you knew will be back! We can go purge and raid again! We'll be the most feared pirate duo in the world!" Jack thought for a moment. She continued, "The Black Pearl, Jack! Together, we can captain the Pearl!" The man approached her and took her hand in his, the sword falling with a soft clank into the sand. He nodded softly and a smile appeared on her lips. The man pulled his compass from his pocket and handed it to her.
"It will find anything your heart desi---" he paused and took the compass back, "Sorry. Forgot." The dial inside the contraption spun around in circles, then pointed to the spot between the two grass-topped sand hills. Lexstrik and Jack moved toward the spot and stopped only with the compass began to spin very quickly. The man closed the object with a snap and crouched into the sand. Lexstrik summoned her daggers to her hands. She, too, knelt into the dirt and shoved the pointed end of the weapon into the sand. She began to push off to the sides, sand flying to her left and right. The Nobody moved quickly through the sand, her blades made for very effecient trowels. It was about ten minutes of silent digging before there was a soft clunk. She looked up at the pirate, a bead of sweat trailing down from her temple to her chin. It dripped into the sand and she let out a soft laugh. Jack began to brush away sand from what her dagger hit. Eventually, the top of a brown box began to emerge. Lexstrik's jaw dropped as the man heaved the box out of the dirt and set it inbetween them. He stared at the lock that dangled in the front. Jack's fingers snapped once or twice, signaling for Lexstrik to hand him a dagger. She did so and he began to hit the lock repeatedly until it burst loudly. Shards of thick metal fell to the sand. He opened the lid and found many documents and rolled up pieces of parchment. The two moved these items out of the way and came to the real treasure: a black box with a round lid. Carefully, Jack removed this chest from the larger one and placed it in the dirt. Lexstrik placed her ear to it. Thump thump. It was the sound of a beating heart. She examined it for a lock. There were two keyholes situated in a heart-shaped insignia. It looked as if two keys were needed. This problem was solved quickly. Lexstrik saw Jack moving around his hand in his pocket. He then removed a single key. It was the strangest key she had ever seen, not counting that spikey-haired boy's Keyblade. It was round on the bottom and two towers pertruded from the ring. One was longer than the other. At the tip of each pillar was a single tooth.
"Where did you find that?" she asked him. Jack waved a finger and said nothing. He inserted the key until he heard a click. He then turned very slowly to the right. When it unlocked, bars of steel pushed outward from the chest. Lexstrik took one side of the lid while Jack took the other. Together, and very slowly, they lifted the top and saw one lone object inside. It was making a digusting squelch with each pulse. It was covered in coral and looked as if it had been dropped in the sand many times. She made a move to take the heart when she saw it vanish in a swish of white. Jack held it in his hand and felt it contract and expand. He smiled.
"Well, thank you for your help. Now, I must go," he walked away. Lexstrik stood up from the sand and brushed off her knees.
"Why, you low-down, dirty...!!" She snatched up her daggers and moved very slowly toward him, the grip on her weapons very tight. Beneath her black gloves, her knuckles were very white. "You used me! All you wanted help from me for was to dig up that piece of rubbish!" Whisps of black smoke lashed out from her hands. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were narrow. Her mouth was in the form of a scowl. Jack paused and turned on his heel very nonchalantly.
"Well, in a word..." he rolled his eyes and tilted his head from left to right, "Yes." Lexstrik let out an aggravated scream and tossed one of her daggers at him. The weapon spun through the air in horizontal circles. The captain had ducked just in time to avoid a slashed throat. "Oh, bugga," he whispered as Lexstrik dashed at him. He turned quickly, kicking up sand and blinding the girl for a moment. In the dust, Lexstrik managed to sweep an arm down and grab her blade to resume her chase. Jack ran, holding the heart of Davy Jones against his chest. He made a turn toward the forest, jumping over the brush and branches and being very careful not to drop the heart. Lexstrik wasn't too far behind. She took the tip from Axel and was jumping nimbly through the trees. Leaves and twigs brushed against her ears and sent a soft tickling sensation through her body everytime. Jack shoved the heart into his shirt and began to climb up the large hill that led to the ruined church and the spot where the cogwheel had once stood. The female Nobody jumped from the branch and landed below him. Instinctively, she shoved her daggers into the wall of grass and dirt and began to climb with them, using them as handles. Jack realized how close she was and this gave him enough energy to scale the wall and run toward the church. He looked over his shoulder and stopped. He removed his pistol from the holster and waited. As soon as Lexstrik's head poked from over the hill, he fired. The bullet shattered the side of the symbol that held up her hair in the luxorious bun. She placed a hand on the shattered metal and then looked at Jack.
"Aim is still as bad as ever, I see!" She pulled herself up and pulled her daggers out of the dirt. Jack ran once more, slipping his gun into the holster on his belt. Lexstrik didn't realize that the object that held her hair up was slowly beginning to repair itself, much like her jacket had when she was fighting Axel on the beach. Instead of going into the church, Jack moved past it and made haste for the other side of the island. The elevation was rising, though not in a sudden wall as it had down in the forest, but in the form of a very steep hill. Lexstrik pursued him, now waiting to tire him out to attack rather than to make her assault blindly. The man swerved around a lone tree that rested on the hill, jumped over a headstone of the graveyard and narrowly missed an open grave. Lexstrik, however, wasn't so lucky. Though she had dodged the tree, her foot caught the headstone and caused her to trip into the grave. She looked up and pulled herself out. Her chest moved up and down quickly as she took many deep breaths. Her hair dangled in front of her face in more strands than usual. She blew upward and her hair settled back into place before falling back limply in front of her eyes. Lexstrik shook some dirt off her foot and looked upward. Jack was already at the top of the hill. She growled and followed, eventually realizing why he stopped; it was a dead fall. The cliff loomed over the ocean and Lexstrik didn't dare look down. Jack, however, merely looked down, turned and smiled at her.
"Well, my dear, it's a shame we had to meet like this," he said, "but you can remember this as the day you almost caught..." he took a few steps backwards toward the cliff, "Captain Jack Sparrow." He fell backwards and plunged downward toward the water. Lexstrik let out a gasp and dashed to the edge. She looked down and realized why he had fallen. The Black Pearl lay in the water, ready to accept its captain. Jack's hands writhed around the ropes of the sail and he slid down to the deck. He looked up at her, the girl was a small speck against the sky to him now. She noticed him wave and then disappear into the quarters of the ship. She backed away from the ledge and her daggers disappeared. She laughed silently to herself, which then turned into another angry scream.
"Damn you...Jack...SPARROW!" she cried out, holding up her hand and creating a black portal. Blue streaks of lightning dashed across it and smoke billowed out and around it. "I hate men..." she growled, walking into the darkness and disappearing from the island.
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Screams echoed through the town, much more than usual now. Creatures were running away from the two Nobodies, who were both holding up small children by the necks of their shirts. The Mayor waddled back and forth, his hat gone and his face switched to the white and upset face. "I knew inviting them was a bad idea!!" he cried out. Maxiwill turned and let the small green child he was holding fall to the ground. A monster that resembled human and fish swept up the child and dove into the town's fountain.
"Oh, please. Be quiet, old man!" Maxiwill laughed, punching in the Mayor's direction. There was no physical contact. A large gust of wind pushed from his elbow and blew outward. The Mayor fell over and rolled dumbly down the slope of the town. Meanwhile, there was no sign of Jack Skellington. Elyxca approached the fallen Mayor and put a boot firmly on his side.
"Where's Jack?" she asked.
"He went out for a moment!" he cried out, feeling the female putting a bit more pressure onto him, "He said he'd be back soon! Just wanted to clear his head!" He heard Maxiwill laugh.
"Can't take too long, then!" He was now toying with the two witches. They had tried to escape on broomstick, but he managed to force the wind to hold them back. The male was now making them twirl around in circles as they cried out for help, "He's a skeleton, right? There's nothing in his head TO clear!" Maxiwill let the witches drop to the stone in a heap. They whined loudly before scrambling back onto their brooms and flying over the gate of the town. In the speed they took off in, Maxiwill guessed they wouldn't be coming back any time soon. Maxiwill strode over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. He told her to let the Mayor go. Reluctantly, she removed her boot from his back, not without pushing down one more time. The beaten Mayor crawled over to his oddly shaped car and climbed into the driver's seat. He snatched up the microphone and spoke into it:
"Evacuate the city!" As he spoke, the mouth of the megaphone expanded and contracted with his voice. There weren't many civilians left in the town to hear this annoucement. Maybe the Mayor just liked to talk a lot. He escaped through the town's gate and disappeared over the hill. Elyxca crossed her arms and tapped her foot. There was a small scream as a mummy child ran past them.
"Stop there!" Maxiwill barked. He snapped his fingers and a large gust of wind lifted the child upward. He was spinning like a top, whining the whole time. He dropped the child when he felt something very hot streak passed his ear. The heat was so intense that it caused a bead of sweat to drip from his temple. Elyxca turned on her heel and let out a small gasp. Maxiwill watched the child run away before he too turned around. Jack Skellington stood behind them, his face lit up by a blazing pumpkin in his hand.
"How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" he barked, throwing the pumpkin. It exploded into Maxiwill's stomach, causing him to double over in pain. He placed his hand on his stomach and looked up at Jack. He bared his fangs. Although he was a vampire in this world, it wouldn't do any good to try and suck the blood of a skeleton; he didn't have any. Another burning pumpkin materialized in Jack's boney fist. "I invite you as guest and this is how you repay us?!" This time, he threw it at Elyxca. However, Maxiwill raised a fist and let it explode into his palm. A singe of pain went through his entire arm.
"You owed us a heart!" Elyxca snapped, "We can't use that garbage that Finklestein had!"
"A heart is a heart!" Jack replied, forming another pumpkin, "What drove you two to attack my friends?" he threw the pumpkin, both Nobodies dodging it and feeling it burst into the fountain. Elyxca walked behind Maxiwill and slipped her arms around his waist and expanded her wings. The two were lifted into the air.
"We were hoping to find a real heart," the boy replied, "Not a fake heart of some scientist's creation." Maxiwill snapped his fingers and a gust of wind knocked Jack backwards. The skeleton jumped up quickly, his long legs moving very similar to a spider. He dashed beneath the two Nobodies and jumped into the fountain. It was silent for a moment. The only sound was the soft noise Elyxca's wings made whenever she flapped them. A tall pillar of green liquid shot upward into the sky and a flaming scarecrow stood on top of the gargoyle that supplied the water to the fountain. It's face was obscured by fire, but Maxiwill could clearly make out two very angry eyes. It stood tall.
"You two will leave Halloween Town," Jack spoke, "and never return!" He pounced from the gargoyle and spouted flames at the two. Elyxca rose upwards, the fire only catching the bottom of Maxiwill's boot. The Pumpkin King stood below, looking up at them. He pulled his boney hands back and shot many flaming pumpkins out of thin air. Maxiwill wriggled himself free of Elyxca's grip and fell to the ground. It was a move that had to be made to ensure neither of them was hit. The male Nobody held his arm up in the air and let a dark orb form around his palm. The wind kicked up around him and his coat flared in the gust. His hair whipped around wildly as darkness flowed out of the orb and began to take shape. In a flash of light, Maxiwill's large boomerang hovered above him before he wrapped his fingers around the handle and let it push down on him. His knees buckled. He smirked. Elyxca landed next to him and closed her eyes. The shadows cast from the fountain and building began to run toward her. Eventually, nothing cast a shadow. The darkness wrapped around her hands and began to form into sharp points. Gold and lilac claws wrapped around her leather gloves. They glimmered in the flames of Jack's fire. The Pumpkin King seemed unphased at the appearance of these weapons. Instead, he let loose a barrage of burning pumpkins, all of which were dodged easily.
"Work on your aim, Jack!" Maxiwill called, throwing his boomerang with all his might. It spun wildly in a mad circle, wind kicking up and blowing violently in all directions. The Pumpkin King was too quick, however. He jumped nimbly into the air and landed on the Nobody's weapon. Upon the boomerang's return trip, Jack blew a rush of fire into Maxiwill's face. The Nobody failed to catch his boomerang at this and instead covered his eyes. The weapon smashed into him, knocking the wind from him and sending him into the fountain. It shattered and green liquid dripped onto his head. He sat up weakly, the weight of the boomerang on his waist was too much. Jack did a very acrobatic backflip away and fired a few more flaming pumpkins at the female. She took flight once more and managed to let only one smash against her boot. She dove downward towards the scarecrow, her claws outward as if she were a bird catching a fish in a lake. Jack felt the claws dig through the sleeve on his garment, and he spun quickly, throwing a pumpkin into her back. The heat that resulted from the explosion rushed over her and she fell into the water next to Maxiwill. She pulled herself up weakly, her arms were shaking from the pain in her back. Maxiwill looked over at her, his glasses askew.
"I am Jack! The Pumpkin King!" the skeleton roared, "And I demand that you leave this place at once!!" Maxiwill wrapped his hand around the handle of his boomerang and it disappeared in a flash. He stood up weakly. He smirked darkly and looked over at Elyxca with half closed eyes. Her claws disappeared and shadows returned to their places. He picked the girl up and slung her over his shoulder. A slight moan escaped her due to the pain.
"Hmm.." he looked around the town, "Doesn't exactly look like a place I'd return to, anyway. You have horrible hospitality." He held up his hand and created a black vortex. He pushed Elyxca up, as she was sliding and he walked through the darkness. The Pumpkin King wore a scowl the likes of which Halloween Town had never seen before as the two disappeared into the darkness.
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