Chapter 3: Thinking | Training Session | A Plan Forms

Author's Notes: I have to rewrite from here on. I may not edit all chapters, but I'll try. My patience goes down when I have to rewrite things. This took a while to get to work on. And I'm super annoyed that I have to rewrite it. But the good news is that I'm making it better than it originally was. ;) So get ready for Chapter 3! Here we go. R&R with Constructive Criticism ONLY!

It had been over an hour since the three recruits arrived, and ever since the conversation between her and Jack, Rachel had thought about what he had said. Rachel had always thought her way of doing things was best for her. It may not be the right thing for anyone else, though. She could admit that. But was 'Love' all that she was missing?

Being that she had had boyfriends before, though one had cheated while others broke up with her most of the time, she knew what it was like to be in a relationship. She didn't like it. There were very few instances where she would break up with the guy, but that was because they were either not the right guy or complete perverts.

Rachel sighed angrily. She had always been sure of what was right for her before. Maybe because no one had ever done what Jack had; he told her otherwise. Rachel glared at the wall, deep in thought. "What does he know?" She grumbled lowly. Charging her hands with fire, she threw a fireball at the exact place she was glaring at.

It hit the wall with a loud crackling noise and then the fire extinguished under the Enchantress's power. She sighed, "I'm so losing my mind here." She exited her private house in Halloween Town and made her way past the house that Vorgan and Damon were occupying before exiting the town altogether.

Jack was walking through town about half an hour after Rachel had left when he heard a loud BOOM in the distance. Panicking, he ran to the source and found it was coming from outside of Halloween Town, near the Spiral Hill. Many other citizens who had heard it were running in the same direction, and some citizens were already there.

They were watching Rachel who was using her powers to fly while controlling shadows and the elements around her. Jack had to admit to himself, he was impressed. Rachel whipped her arms around, sending the power around her in the directions she wanted it to go before finally pulling it in and then sending it out in one gigantic blast. Thank goodness she was far enough away from the ground; otherwise the citizens of Halloween Town would get hurt.

Jack watched as Rachel slowly floated down, eyes closed, back to the ground. He was about to speak up, but was cut off when the Enchantress pulled out a sword. This sudden action caused him to shut his mouth as he watched her perform many tricks with the sword and her hands. It was a mixture of martial arts and sword fighting.

When she had finished the technique, she gave a loud battle cry and stuck her sword out far in front of her. Finally, she opened her eyes and gazed at all the citizens watching her. She didn't mind it. It was just a little distracting. "What!" She demanded, putting her sword away. But what she got surprised her: applause.

Blushing lightly, she mumbled, "Thank you." Then she turned away a little to hide her blue blush. Jack walked up to her, "That was amazing! You are a truly powerful Enchantress!" Rachel turned away with a frown, "Thank you." Jack frowned too, "What's wrong?" Rachel sighed, "I don't really like compliments. It makes me kind of uncomfortable."

Jack sighed, "Is there anything you do like?" Rachel smirked but didn't turn to look at him, "Fighting." Jack rolled his eye-sockets, but this went unseen and unnoticed by Rachel or anyone else due to the fact that he didn't have any real eyes, so you barely knew where he was looking. Jack looked back at Rachel and asked, "How old are you, Rachel?" He realized what he'd said and how rude it sounded, so he quickly added, "You look young, so I was wondering."

Rachel glared at him, "Why would you ask such a rude question of someone you just met?" Jack sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just curious." Rachel smirked again, "Oh yes, I've heard all about your curiosity and how great and insufferable it is." Now it was Jack's turn to glare. "What was that for?" He asked. Rachel only shrugged.

"So, are you going to answer that question?" Jack asked. Rachel sighed, "Um…no. Why should I grant you an answer if you won't give me your answer to it as well?" Jack smiled, "Is that what you want?" Rachel shrugged again. Jack smiled, "I died when I was twenty-four. But I've been undead for years. If I remember correctly, I was born in 1910, and died in 1934. And since it's now 2020, that means altogether I've been around here for…eighty-six years. But considering our ages freeze when we die, I can say I'm still twenty-four. Now…your turn!"

Rachel turned to Jack, took a very deep breath, and said as fast as she possibly could, "'snow2020soI'." Jack's jaw had dropped. After a few moments, he blurted, "What!" Other citizens were still around and didn't understand what she said either. She smiled, "Well, I told you. Now, we're even."

She began to walk away, but Jack stopped her, "Hey! That's not fair! You said that so fast, I didn't understand a word of it." Rachel shrugged, "Too bad for you then." She continued to walk away, and this time, Jack didn't stop her. Instead, he was glared after her furiously. She had cheated. He was about to learn the information that she had kept from everyone, and she had said it far too fast for him to comprehend.

Jack growled and stomped off towards his home. He was now more than a little annoyed with the Enchantress. What had he done to deserve this? He had told her his age and all, so it couldn't be that she was upset about him asking about her age. What had he done wrong then? Or was she toying with him? That could be it. Jack sighed as he opened the door to his house and dragged his feet up the steps.

"Zero, I'm home!" Jack called up the steps. He heard a few barks of welcome from Zero and sighed. When he reached the top step, he sighed again. Jack needed to find a way to break this girl by the time the war started. He needed to be careful though. She was sneaky. And she could read minds. Maybe if he thought of something else whenever she was near. No, that wouldn't do it. She'd eventually understand.

Jack grumbled and turned to Zero who was in his basket, "Time to start planning on how to break this girl. There's got to be some way." He tapped a pencil against his skull and thought. After a moment, he sighed, "This is going to be very tough." An idea came to him. "Unless…" He turned to Zero.

"I'll be back!"