A/N:
Hi everyone, here's the latest chapter! Thank you all so much for being patient with my about update delays—my life is insanity right now, lol. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and thank you all for your reviews and your encouragement about this story : )
Dearest Friends
Chapter 17:
Sally Nabbed!
"Jack…" Sally began with an eyebrow raised, a thought occurring to her as they got closer to the old tree and snuck around the base to examine the area, "Do you think it was all right that we kissed each other on the cheek in front of Jewel before?"
Jack glanced back at Sally and raised an eyebrow as well. "Why wouldn't it be? I mean, unless it embarrassed you or anything." He frowned. "I'm sorry if it did."
Sally shook her head though and smiled a little. "No, no, of course not. It's just…we've never been affectionate before in front of another person. You said on Christmas that you didn't want to share our relationship with the citizens just yet. And Jewel's a little naive still but she must think there's something between us, and that could spread to the town quickly enough." Sally blushed a bit and looked down, holding her arms behind her back. "Believe me, when you're 'born' fully grown it takes a while to get used to figuring out what it's okay to tell other people and what you should maybe keep to yourself so that you don't confuse things or embarrass anyone."
"Oh…I see," Jack replied softly, pausing by the back of the tree. He looked down in a touch of distress and shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry, Sally, I didn't think of that." He glanced back up at her. "If you're concerned that people will think there's a romantic attachment between us when you'd prefer that we no longer…had something like that between us… " A wince of pain went through his features that he did his best to hide. "I-I mean, if you feel now that it would be best for us not to try to be together in any official way considering all of the problems lately and how much talking we need to do, then—"
"No!" Sally almost yelled with wide eyes, though she quickly closed up her mouth and lowered her voice again (who knew if the trick-or-treaters were nearby after all, and what they might be up to). "That's not what I meant. I just didn't want you to be embarrassed by everyone starting to say things to you about us. Really…" She looked down, wringing her hands together lightly in front of herself. "I might get mad or sad sometimes, but I'll always want to be together, Jack. Forever." Her smile returned.
The two of them were very quiet for a moment.
Then "Oh!" Sally squeaked and looked up at the feeling of suddenly being tackled in a very tight, bony hug.
Jack just held her closely and grinned so very widely. "I-I see." He almost laughed a little, he seemed so happy. "Well, then, just so you know…" he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled back to look at her with a big smile and his eye sockets all but twinkling, "I couldn't care in the least anymore what anybody says or does about me having a dearest more than friend. I just want to be together with you too, Sally. That's most important to me now—more important than Christmas, more important than anybody's approval, more important than my own silly selfish whims and problems. You are most special to me, my dearest dolly. And I'd sing about it to the whole world if I could just find some time to myself to work out a tune and lyrics."
Sally grinned and sighed softly, practically feeling herself go weak in the knees though she tried to hide it. "Oh dearest Jack, you don't have to sing about…me." She loved that man's voice. What he could do to her with a few dulcet tones cooed in the cool air of an autumn night about any old thing was half the reason she'd managed to get by all these years without having her affections requited. But to have him sing to her and about her…just like their little exchange on Spiral Hill on Christmas Eve but a whole song? Sally couldn't promise herself she wouldn't just jump into his arms and ask him to carry her off to a romantic whirlwind life together much as he had offered mere hours ago during his final sleepwalking escapade.
All right, maybe Sally had a little more control than that and clearly wouldn't have actually gone through with running off with him, but still she could fantasize about it a little in this case.
"Hmm…" Jack just chuckled in response to her shyness, his voice going a little lower in tone, "No, no, I think I just might have to sing about you…and quite soon if I'm not mistaken." He sighed dreamily, gazing into her eyes. "You're quite the preoccupation of mine, Sally. And I have to express myself somehow."
Sally just giggled and finally bit her lip and gave a small nod, moving some hair behind one of her ears. "Okay. If you'd like, Jack."
"You have my word, Sally." Jack stepped back, took her hand and gave a small bow. "But let's sort this whole little tree house business out first and see what Lock, Shock, and Barrel might be hiding." He straightened up and proceeded to lead her the rest of the way to the back of the tree, and then stopped and blinked at a sight before the both of them—a large, long, wide, strangely crafted metal tube leading from the back of the tree house around its base and then into the side of the ledge on which the tree house was perched. And the tube seemed to head off in the direction of the gorge…
Jack frowned and let Sally's hand go, approaching the odd structure with one hand on his hip and the other scratching his head. "Oh for Halloween's Sake, I thought I had those children tear down this pipe line. And I know I made a rule against rebuilding it. There was definitely some sort of official document stamped and signed." Jack walked around the pipe, poking it and shaking his head with a slight scowl as he mumbled to himself. "Ridiculous design. Like a shortcut to destruction…. And do I even want to know what they've been shoving down there?" He rolled his eyes, continuing to examine the piping. "I really, really don't like the looks of this…"
Sally, meanwhile, just watched him observing the strange tube and then figured she ought to do some observing herself. She went more towards the front of the tree (where they had seen Lock, Shock, and Barrel scurrying) and looked around. There was really nothing much to see though—just the small wooden plank bridge leading across the little gap between where the road on the other side ended and the base of the tree house began. 'A way to enter must come down from the top of the tree somehow…' she surmised to herself. Sally continued examining, wandering closer to the front of the tree. Honestly, she was happier over here rather than looking where Jack was looking—she suspected that metal tube led right down to Oogie's lair, and she had no desire to think about that place or about Oogie himself right now in any way. The memories of being down there herself were too fresh, and they made her uneasy.
It was when Sally got directly underneath the door in the base of the tree house overhead that the trick-or-treaters' trap snapped—a net secretly laid upon the ground and covered over with leaves suddenly pulled tight around Sally, scooping her up and lifting her high into the air and finally up through the floor of the tree house, which quickly shut behind her. Barely a squeak had managed to escape her, the process had been so quick and neat.
"Hmm…" Jack, meanwhile, was still on the other side of the tree eyeing the pipeline with disapproval. "After I have the gorge filled in, this will be removed…and it will not be coming back. Not ever." Jack scowled in frustration. But then he sighed and looked away, mumbling to himself again. "Making an awful lot of command decisions lately, aren't we, Jack? First you force everyone to do Christmas…" Though she had made the comment in anger, he couldn't help but feel that Sally's point earlier about him forcing Christmas on everyone was valid. "And speaking of Sally, you then went and decided how to handle your relationship together without even just having the courage to talk to her about it first and work things out as a couple. And then of course there was Oogie…" Jack glanced out in the direction of the gorge and sighed.
Jack was quiet for a moment, and soon found himself lost in some thoughts. 'You defended Sally and Santa by ending the existence of one of your citizens, Jack Skellington.' Fine, there had been holidays to save, there had been people to save, fine Oogie would not have stopped his destructive ways. But had any of that really been an excuse for… 'Am I abusing my power?' Jack frowned distinctly at the notion. 'Could I have really grown that complacent? It would explain my boredom. It would explain part of why I'm so attracted to my darling Sally.' Sally resisted Jack, after all—about Christmas, about his whims, and now about their relationship. She took away that feeling that he controlled everything and therefore there were no more challenges in life. Jack smiled to himself a little. 'If I can just be as good for her as she is for me, I think I could actually be happy again. And maybe somehow by finding peace in my life with her, I can make peace with all of the mistakes I've made lately and my actions with Oogie Boogie as well.'
Jack gave a final fleeting glance in the direction of the gorge and then shook his head and began to head around to the front of the tree now. He wanted to be with Sally again, to hear her voice. "Sally?" he called out quietly, not wanting to alert the children of his presence before he found her and they were ready to head up into the tree house to check on them. "Sally…?" He had seen her head to this side of the tree—she must be waiting for him here near where the trick-or-treaters had entered. "Sally…"
Jack came upon the front of the tree and froze.
Sally wasn't there.
Why wasn't she there?
And why did she not reply, no matter where she might be nearby?
But there was nothing but silence and the bright moonlight overhead.
Jack's eye sockets suddenly picked up on little footprints in the shape of Sally's shoes in the grey dirt around the front of the tree house. The footprints continued until they hit the area with leaves.
Jack looked up. A trap door set in the floor of the tree house was above those leaves.
A very dark look came to Jack's features, which was only tempered by his recent thoughts about letting his temper get the better of him with Oogie.
That hesitation, however, did not stop him from stealthily climbing up the side of the tree in the direction of the tree house (and his Sally).
Sally was trying very hard to stay very calm, but it was dark up here, and she had been taken by surprise, and this awful net still surrounded her. "Who's there? Let me go!" she announced defiantly, trying to untangle herself.
The giggles of three familiar children only met her ears.
"See I told you it was her!"
"Oh, but come on, Shock, that was too perfect—her out here all alone! What were the odds?"
"Hey, why fight it? We can get the job done faster now!"
"That's for sure!"
Sally let out a breath, trying to be strong. "I'm not afraid of you three," she managed in a steady voice. "Let me go right now or you'll be sorry! Even if I don't do anything to you, Jack certainly—"
She was cut off by the sound of more giggling in the shadows.
"Oh, come on—what would the Pumpkin King care about a servant?"
"Yeah, he only saved you last time because it was convenient. He had to save Sandy Claws and you just happened to be there."
"Besides, no one knows you're here…"
Sally considered informing them of Jack's presence below but then decided against it. Jack might need the element of surprise, just like with Oogie Boogie, and she didn't want to spoil that possibility for him. Besides, she knew the children were just trying to tease and frighten her. "What do you want?" she finally asked simply.
The net was suddenly loosened and fell around her on the dusty floor upon which she knelt. Sally blinked a few times until she could see better in the dim light of the place and finally saw Lock, Shock and Barrel grinning at her a few paces away.
Shock smiled more and stepped forward. "What we want is simple, Sally. You're the one who sews, and we need something sewn…"
Sally blinked. "What do you need sewn?"
Shock picked up the large stack of burlap sacks from a corner of the room and placed them near the ragdoll. "These—and into a very particular, sort of monster-like shape."
Sally instantly realized what Shock meant and looked right at the children with wide eyes. "I won't do it."
Jack, meanwhile, was up on one side of the tree house finding his way into the upper level through the roof as stealthily as possible. It was a little hard to keep his movements quiet though when he was seething so badly that he was practically shaking.
Jack paused for a moment as he entered a small, dusty window in the roof and took a deep breath. 'Calm, be calm. She's safe…she's capable…and you're here for her. Be calm…'
Some giggles from the main section of the tree house met Jack's ears.
Jack crawled along the narrow space between the roof and the ceiling, seeing a dim light ahead. He quickly found himself looking down into the tree house from a space in the ceiling where half a wooden board was missing. And now he could see and hear perfectly the conversation going on.
He would wait for the right moment to strike.
As long as Sally still appeared to safe, he wanted the chance to find out what these children were up to.
"But you have to!" Lock ordered, stepping forward to Sally with his pitchfork. "You're the sew-er! You have to sew it!"
"What is wrong with the three of you?" Sally looked from one child to the next and then to the next, trying to reason with them as calmly as she could manage. "Why would you want me to sew a new Oogie Boogie body?"
Shock sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked over to an adjacent wall that had some large mass pushed against it and covered with a black cloth, "Because…" she reached up and pulled the cloth aside, "We don't have anymore cages to keep the bugs in!" And behind the cloth were all sorts of small wire cages each filled with big, colorful bugs.
Sally felt quite sick and quickly looked away from the sight with a cringe. "But I thought Jack took care of all of those! Where did those even come from anyway?" She remembered the sight of Oogie Boogie falling apart over the vat of boiling oil, all of the bugs collapsing and squealing. She pushed the memories away.
"From Oogie's lair, of course!" Barrel explained with a shrug. "The pipeline leads right to there." He pointed with his lollipop toward a large hole in the wall around which was painted a scary face and the mouth of which was the circular entrance to the metal tube outside. "And we don't know how any of them survived after what Jack did to Oogie—I guess there were eggs down there or something." He scratched his head.
Lock scowled. "The point is, it's getting really annoying having these bugs crawling in here all the time now!" He used his pitchfork to push some of the burlap more toward Sally. "So just make us a sack body, Sally—it doesn't have to be big or scary or anything. In fact, make it NOT big and scary so we don't have to be terrified of Oogie Boogie all the time. But just make something. We can't deal with these capturing these things anymore. The crawly ones aren't so bad, but the stinging ones pinch!"
"And if anyone knows how to make a cloth body it's the girl with a cloth body—and one so familiar with Oogie Boogie," Shock suddenly teased with a giggle, giving Sally a wink. "We know what happened down there Christmas Eve, you know. We can hear everything that goes on in the lair from the mouth of the pipe. And so look on the bright side—maybe the new Oogie can be your boyfriend as long as he's not too upset with you about all the trouble you caused him."
Lock nodded as he attempted to cage another bug that had just come up from the pipeline. "Shock's right about one thing—Oogie was awfully sore about how you tricked him last time. And I've gotta say, I didn't think you had that in you."
"Yeah," Barrel agreed, finally tackling the bug and quickly throwing it into the cage Lock was holding. "You're always so…quiet and polite. Go figure."
Sally just looked at the three of them with a slight blush and a distinct pout, though she did her best to keep her head held high and not to be taken in by their teasing. "Well, it's all your fault that I ever had to go near him in the first place. You three gave Santa to him. I did what I had to do to get him out. And I have to say, for someone who thought of himself as the greatest evil genius in town, Oogie Boogie was certainly quite a coward to be picking on sweet, jolly old men and defenseless rag dolls…and certainly very dumb to be taken in by a little leg." She blushed a bit more but managed to remain firm though her lip trembled and she wished they would move on from everything that had happened down in that lair.
"Yeah, yeah, Oogie had his own issues, we know…" Shock just rolled her eyes and then smiled in her mischievous way at Sally. "Come on, Sally, just do this and then we'll let you go—we won't ever tell anyone we found you. We know you wouldn't like the Doctor finding out about where you are. He'd make you come home with him." She leaned closer to her, speaking in a sickeningly sweet way. "We just want Oogie back in some form to restore the balance of power with Jack. We're too naughty to be on his good side all the time, and it's nice to have someone else who's powerful to fall back on."
Sally frowned and scowled at her. "When Jack founds out about this, you'll be lucky if you—"
"Ah, but he's not going to find out!" Shock pulled back and announced proudly, cutting her off. "Because we won't tell him, and because you aren't going anywhere until you agree to sew the body, and by then even if we let you go it'll be too late. Now, are you going to get to sewing or what? Come on, we've got more bugs than we know what to do with here!" She crossed her arms over her chest.
Sally let our a firm breath and then said with as much courage as she could, "Send me back to the Doctor if that's what you have to do. I don't care if he locks me away. I'm not going to help you rebuild that thing just because you three can't think of anything better to do about your bug problem."
Shock sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine, we'll do it the hard way. Boys!" She snapped her fingers. "Tie up the sew-er—hands behind her back, I don't want her using them for any funny business."
Lock and Barrel nodded, and then before Sally knew it they had her hands behind her back and had them tied up with a piece of rope.
Sally frowned at all of them and struggled for a moment. But then she let out a calming, resigned breath and tried a more reasonable tone again. "Lock, Shock, Barrel…" she looked at the three children once more, "Don't you think sewing Oogie a new body is a bad idea? He might do something really bad to get revenge on the town for what happened to him. Wouldn't you rather talk to Jack and find another way to fix this?" 'Reason with them, Sally, reason…. It might work, and even if it doesn't, at least it'll buy Jack some time. And besides, there's always plan B…' Sally took another deep, comforting breath at that thought.
And indeed meanwhile, as Sally tried to talk her way out of her situation with the trick-or-treaters , behind her back the fingers of one hand were working diligently at pulling stitches out of her other hand's wrist. She was making good progress and knew, with relief, that the hand would be detached and free soon and ready as a secret weapon to assist her if need be.
Jack, from his place above everything, was still listening very carefully. He was still waiting for the perfect moment to step in, and now that those three had dared tie up Sally he was pretty sure that moment was close. As long as she wasn't in any immediate danger though, and as long as she didn't seem too afraid (indeed, her display of fearlessness couldn't help but make the marrow in Jack's bones quicken), why not let the children explain as much more as possible about what was going on with the bugs and Oogie Boogie and themselves, especially since Jack knew that as soon as he caught them they would probably either lie or not talk entirely?
Also, something else made Jack hesitate, lost in some curious thoughts.
It was that strange talk of the Doctor 'locking up' Sally that was mostly preoccupying his mind right now. After all, he had already started to pick up the hints from Sally that her relationship with the Doctor was not a very good one, though he had never imagined anything as extreme as Sally ever being 'locked up'.
And something else from the conversation below was also on his mind too…. The words about Sally tricking Oogie Boogie somehow, and the children being shocked about her doing something…and… the 'boyfriend' comment. And also Jack knew what the phrase 'showing a little leg' meant in most contexts. He was very concerned.
Jack took a deep breath. 'Try to let it go for now. Be ready to pounce at the right moment. And figure out what these children are up to once and for all, for the sake of the town.'
He continued to wait, gearing himself up.
Meanwhile, down below…
"We're not going to Jack about the bugs!" Lock scowled and announced instantly at Sally's suggestion. "He made us swear to take down the lair pipeline last year, and he'd be furious if he knew we'd rebuilt it. And especially if he knew that we'd shoved Sandy Claws down it like a chimney into Oogie's lair during all the Christmas stuff."
"Yeah," Barrel announced with a nod and a lick of his lollipop, "And we're just lucky he hasn't come knocking on our door about the Santa stuff at all in the first place. He put us in charge of taking care of that old guy and making him comfortable, and we crossed our fingers behind our backs when we agreed and completely didn't do that. We've been cowering in here waiting for him to punish us for days!" He glanced around uneasily, unable to help it.
"Besides, I refuse to grovel to Jack!" Shock announced defiantly. "He could be a million times scarier than he already is if he'd stop trying to be so sensitive and polite all the time. When he acts like that, the fact that he's King gives all of Halloween and all of us a bad name." She shrugged, scowling more. "Like when we brought that pink bunny here by mistake instead of Sandy—Oogie would have screamed at us and then turned the bunny into stew! Jack screamed at us and then smiled and apologized 'ever so sweetly' to the pink bunny. I'm surprised he didn't give it a hug and a pat on the head first before sending him off, the big softie." She rolled her eyes.
Sally just sighed. "You know, you don't have to be a violent psychopath to be a good leader or to deserve respect, Shock, even in Halloween Town," she added logically and yet also with a touch of dryness she couldn't help.
"Maybe not," Lock interjected, kicking some of the cages into a better pile, "But it doesn't hurt. Jack's only scary one day of the year anymore—the other three hundred and sixty four, he's all moping and brooding or just not around at all."
"And then he went and made us do sappy Christmas," Barrel complained as he tossed the dark covering over the bug cages again.
"Ugh!" All the children announced at once. "Christmas!"
Sally blinked, looking at them with interest. "He was just trying to share a new culture with all of you. He didn't mean to make you do anything you didn't like or to seem like he wasn't taking his scaring duties seriously. Jack's a very complicated person. He has many sides and he just wanted to share with all of you something that had made him happy." 'Just two more stitches to go…' Her fingers worked behind her as diligently as possible to finally free her hand.
"But we don't want to learn about other things that aren't scary!" Barrel complained, sitting himself atop one of the covered cages.
"Exactly!" Shock agreed with a nod.
"It's Halloween Town, let's celebrate Halloween! It's the best holiday anyway!" Lock added, raising his pitchfork in the air.
"But there are many holidays," Sally urged, trying to smile. "This might be the best place for Halloween, but there's nothing wrong with learning about and celebrating other special days too, as long as it's all done within reason."
"Eh, Oogie wouldn't have stood for that." Lock waved Sally off. "He would have gone and destroyed those other holidays and made Halloween the only one, or at least he would have kept any of them from bringing new stuff to Halloween Town."
Barrel nodded. "Yeah. We don't care so much that the other holidays are around, we just don't want to have to deal with them and all their sappy stuff."
"Anyway, we're getting off subject," Shock suddenly announced firmly, glaring at the two boys and then at Sally, "Are you gonna make our bug body sack or are we going to have to just all sit here and wait patiently until you do?"
'Just one more stitch…' Sally thought to herself eagerly. To the kids she shrugged innocently and looked down. "Even if I agreed to sew that…" Sally started with an unassuming smile, gesturing with her head to the pile of burlap at her side, "don't you think you three should wait until all the bugs come up, that way I would have all the materials? And besides…how do you know other parts of Oogie might not come up—fully put together parts even?" 'And…done!" Her hand was now free and it gently dropped to the floor. The extra looseness in the rope let her slide the other hand out now with ease as well.
Sally sent the detached hand on a little stealthy mission through the shadows along the walls. She continued to hold both arms behind her back meanwhile, still pretending to be tied up.
"There can't be any extra parts," Barrel replied, licking his lollipop again. "Jack made them go all gooey and melt in the vat of stew."
Sally just shrugged. "But he made all the bugs go into the stew too…but some of those have come back. Who's to say a little part of Oogie might not creep up from there too, coming back for revenge? And he might not like that you helped Jack in the end with Christmas…or that you told me I could make any old body for him, especially a silly and unscary one." She smiled a little more.
Meanwhile, Sally's trusty hand had snuck around the perimeter of the room to right underneath the pipeline's opening. It waited on its fingertips, clearly ready to pounce.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Lock tried to wave her off but there was a definite touch of hesitation in his tone. "That's just dumb."
"No parts of Oogie are going to come out of there," Shock added bluntly, looking at the gaping pipeline opening…and looking…and looking. Then she blinked and turned away, trying to hide any unease with another scowl.
"It's just bugs…" Barrel looked down at the covered cages he was still sitting on. "Just…um…bugs, nothing else."
Sally smiled a little more. "I hope so…. But how can you be so sure?"
And...pounce!
"AHH!" Barrel cried out, suddenly falling off of the cages. "What was that?!" He clutched his lollipop close and gazed around nervously, breathing heavily.
Lock rolled his eyes, though he did gulp. "Oh, what, Barrel, are you becoming a scardy cat? Next thing you know you'll be singing sappy Christmas songs like sappy old King Jac—AH! Something pinched me!?" Lock was up against a wall, breathing heavily, pitchfork front and center for defense.
"Oh, relax you ninnies, sheesh," Shock did her best to announce casually, rolling her eyes, "One of the bugs probably got loose. It's fi—…"
Everyone paused.
Some small (but far too big to be a bug) thing had just darted across the floor in the shadows.
And there it was again!
"Ah!" The kids all gasped together.
And it darted yet again!
"Ahh!" They gasped more!
By now all three of them were huddled together in a corner.
"M-Maybe it's just a rat…?" Barrel suggested.
"Oh," Lock retorted, "Well, why don't you just go and check then, worms for brains!"
"You want to be the leader, YOU go check!" Barrel shot back.
"Ha!" Lock scoffed, shaking his head. "No way—Shock wants to be the leader much more than I do!" He looked at Shock. "Shock, I give up leadership to you entirely. Go check what that is!"
Shock rolled her eyes and scowled. "Oh, thank you, 'my heroes!' Sheesh, you two big jerks, sending a lady in to do the dirty work. Well…fine! I-I'll go check…" She swallowed, looking toward the shadows, but didn't move just yet.
"Well, get going!" Lock urged.
"Hey, I'm planning, okay?!" Shock shot back.
"Well," Sally suddenly started up softly from her place still kneeling on the floor (and still pretending to be tied up), "One of you had better check soon. If part of him is back, he'll be much angrier at you three for betraying his plans to the town during Christmas then he'll be at me just for doing whatever I could to not get me or Santa eaten in stew."
"Hey," Shock shot back to her, speaking shakily but trying to scowl with authority, "If you're so brave then why don't you go check it out?!"
Sally smiled but shrugged. "I can't. I'm still tied up, see?" She raised her shoulders a little, keeping her arms behind her back.
Shock sighed deeply. "Oh man, I'm surrounded. Fine, I'll do it." And then she quickly moved forward away from the boys and went to investigate. "Here, little intruder, come here…Auntie Shock has a nice mace with you name on it." Shock grinned and cackled wickedly. She searched, checking corners and underneath old furniture…but found nothing. "See, I told you," she turned back to the two still slightly scared boys, "It was just a rat or—AH! It's in my dress, it's in my dress, get it out of my dress!" Shock suddenly started screaming as something did crawl around between the lining of her dress and the outer fabric, scaring her half to death. "Now it's in my hair!" The something had crawled up her back to her neck.
The boys hesitated at first.
"Help me, you ninnies!" Shock screamed. "AH! What's it doing?" She tried to reach for it but it was too fast, whatever it was. But whatever it was it didn't feel like a rat or a bug! And now it was moving to her face!
Meanwhile, on her little spot on the floor Sally just giggled privately to herself. 'Wow. This is going well…'
In the rafters, Jack grinned to himself and tried not to chuckle too much. 'Well played, Sally, very well played. Oh, how could she ever think she's not scary? Of course with all of her cleverness, she came up with a way to even scare the trick-or-treaters, and all on the spot. Splendid.' Jack sighed and continued watching the show.
Sally had noticed for a several minutes now a few slight sounds coming from the rafters above, and she had a feeling she knew whom those sounds belonged to. And the idea of Jack being so close gave her more comfort and confidence now. And she also couldn't help but think to herself with a touch of pride, 'Maybe now Jack will see how well I can take care of things myself.'
Meanwhile, Shock's screams finally snapped the boys out of their surprise enough to get them to race over and help her.
"Ah! Hey, watch it!"
"Shock, we're just trying to—"
"I don't care! Oh, just let me do i—AH!"
CRASH!
The hand had finally left Shock, but not before causing her to lose her balance in the struggle and knock right into Lock and Barrel, toppling them all over to the floor.
"Hey!"
"Ouch!"
"What the—"
"Move it!"
Finally Sally couldn't take it anymore and she stood up, letting the loose ropes fall from her limbs as she laughed to herself at the whole spectacle.
Obviously the three kids paused in everything they were doing and looked up at her in surprise.
"Hey, how the heck did you—"
"Oh, I just had help from a little friend of mine," Sally replied back humbly. "See." Then she gave a little whistle and instantly her hand scampered forward on its fingers from the shadows.
The three kids looked at the hand and then looked back at Sally and scowled.
"Hey!" They all got up, dusting themselves off. Shock stepped forward first. "Nobody tricks the trick-or-treaters!"
"Yeah," Lock approached now, holding up his pitch fork, "And especially not in their own club house."
"That's right!" Barrel agreed, coming forward too. "Oogie Boogie's the only one who could ever order us around all the time."
"Speaking of Oogie Boogie, you like pretending to be him so much, servant Sally?" Shock grinned mischievously. "Fine." She then suddenly snatched up Sally's unsuspecting hand from the floor, holding it tightly in her grasp as it struggled. "Why don't we send this down to Oogie's lair and see if it makes any friends in there?" She cackled, walking over to the pipeline.
"NO!" Sally instantly called out. "Give me back my ha—Ow!" The two boys suddenly dashed forward and were now holding her back by her arms. Sally struggled against them (and meanwhile her poor hand struggled in Shock's grasp). "Give it back! It's my hand! I don't want it down there, I don't want any part of me down there ever again!" she cried.
Shock firmed up her grip and held the hand right over the pipeline's mouth. "Say you'll sew the body or it's going down, and maybe we'll send down other parts of you every time you say no if you try any more funny business like this!"
Sally just shook her head. "No, I can't! I won't sew another Oogie Boogie!" She felt very panicked right now—she wasn't sure if her hand would be Able to crawl back up out of there. And what if there were more bugs? What if they tore apart her hand and ate it, just like Oogie had wanted to do to?! Sally sighed deeply and felt very sick for a moment.
She felt a lot better when Jack suddenly stealthily dropped down from the rafters right behind Shock with a look of darkness on his features.
Lock and Barrel, who were facing Shock, just froze and stared in utter disbelief. Their jaws dropped and their arms fell limp, releasing Sally.
"Hey Lock? Barrel?" Shock raised an eyebrow and then rolled her eyes. "Come on, don't look so horrified—it's not like this is the darkest thing I've ever done. Heck, it's not even the darkest thing I've done this morning!" She grinned at Sally again. "Wave bye bye to your hand, Sally. You can always sew Oogie's body with one hand. We know you can."
Then just as Shock was about to give the little appendage a toss into the dark tunnel…it was suddenly lightly removed from her grasp. She turned around only to see Jack standing there of course.
He looked terrifying. Truly. Such a horribly black scowl was etched on his features, his shoulders were raised, and the half-light glowed against his skull and suit menacingly. He looked more frightening than Oogie Boogie.
Then he sighed and closed his eyes and the anger slipped away. He opened his eyes and small smile came to his lips. He approached Sally now, cradling the hand in both of his, and bowed a little before her. "I believe this is yours."
Sally let out a very grateful breath and took the hand from him. She held it close and the hand held close to her, trembling from its ordeal. "Thank you…" she said softly. Then she added with a slight pout, "You could have come in a little sooner though."
Jack frowned sympathetically. "Sorry. You had everything so under control, and it was amusing to watch what you were doing to them. I was just as shocked as you were when they threatened to hurt part of you." His gaze warmed and he smiled a little again. "Forgive me, please?"
Sally looked into his eyes and tried not to smile too much. "About this…yes." Then she did smile fully too, unable to help it.
Jack smiled more and gave a nod. "Good." He then turned back to the children. "Now then…" Something very dark and frightening returned to his features, and he slowly began to stalk around three small citizens. "You mock me, you plot against me, you show contempt for my forgiveness, you dismiss my abilities, and you threaten my dear friend…" His tone became darkest at the last phrase.
"J-Jack, we're sorry, we're, you see—a-and then—we were tricked—and we didn't—" They all started at different times and with slight variations.
"AWGHHH!" Jack whipped around and dashed right between the three of them, bellowing a screech with a particularly horrifying face of bared teeth and his forked tongue sticking out.
The three children gasped and huddled together, looking up at Jack with wide eyes.
Sally, meanwhile, went through the particularly pleasurable experience of trembling in a touch of natural fear and feeling positively quivery in delight at the rare sight of how scary Jack could be when he really tried to be. One of her private fantasies was always catching him in such a spooky state and wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders and kissing with him until all of his terrifying-ness melted into sweet love and sensuality. Sally swallowed and tried to focus on quickly sewing her hand back onto her arm. Her cheeks were so flushed with warmth that she figured her head must look like a grape by now, and she wanted that to go away before any attention came back to her again.
Meanwhile, Jack leaned down low over the children, his eye sockets still narrowed menacingly.
The trick-or-treaters were very quiet.
Jack spoke very calmly…so calmly it was quite terrifying in fact. "You three…look into my eyes. What do you see there?"
"Um…darkness…" Lock suggested.
"A-And coldness…" Barrel supplied.
"And angriness…" Shock finished.
"Yes," Jack nodded, "Very good. And that is going to be your future from me, children—darkness and coldness and angriness…" his voice lowered until he was almost bellowing, "unless you stop these selfish shenanigans and start acting like responsible citizens and loyal subjects!" He rose up, still glaring down at them. "I am Jack Skellington, I am the Pumpkin King, I am your leader, and I am the most frightening figure Halloween has ever known. And I am a million other things besides those titles, even if you don't respect all of who I can be." He his gaze and tone were firm. "In this town, which we call home, everyone hails to the Pumpkin song…and my song says we are scary, not evil. Do you know the difference between those two things, you three?" Something in his face softened a little.
The three children blinked, unsure if they should answer, but then Jack really seemed to be waiting so Lock took a shot at it. "Um…yes…no…well…uh, those are kind of the same thing."
Jack shook his head though. "No. They're not. Not at all." Then he walked over to Sally. She was just standing there, all put together again, watching the children and Jack with interest. Now that Jack came back over to her she looked up at him curiously. He stood before her and then smiled a little and took her hand, raising it up. He glanced back at the children and brought Sally toward them. "The difference is that people who are scary can also be many other things too. But people who are evil can't be other things because they have no love to help them be anything else but evil." He let out a breath. "It might have been quite terrifying to drop poor Sally's hand into that awful tube, but it also would have been evil. And saving her—and pardoning you three—might not be that scary, but it's an act of love and still very worthwhile in its own way…don't you think?" He looked at them very expectantly.
The children studied his face carefully.
"Why the heck would you love us? Ow!" Shock, who had just been poked in the back by Lock's pitchfork after her question, turned and glared at the boy.
Lock looked to the side casually. "Shock...don't rock the boat, okay?" he said under his breath.
Shock just scoffed though. "No, I wanna know!" She glared up at Jack with a frown and an eyebrow raised. "We betray you all the time and do all sorts of things you tell us not to do, and nobody in town even trusts us, but now you expect us to believe you love us. What's the trick?"
Jack blinked a few times and frowned a little. "Of course I love you. I love everyone in our town—I think of us all as family." He smiled. "And despite your mistakes, yes, I do love you three, and quite particularly." His smile grew. "I like children. And besides the corpse kid who mostly spends time with his mother and father, you three are the only children around here. And I'm very glad you're a part of our town."
The three kids just watched him with silent interest…as did Sally.
"So…" Lock started, an eyebrow raised as he took a step forward, "No punishment then?" His tone was sincere as he clearly tried his best to piece together a conclusion from Jack's response. "We can just…do what we want because you love us?"
Jack let out a sigh and shook his head, though a small smile still remained on his features. "Not at all, on either account." He frowned a little. "If I punish you, it's only because I care enough about you to encourage you to be the best citizens and children you can be. And while nothing you do will ever make me hate you or threaten you to get you to obey me like Oogie used to sometimes, I would hope that my love and respect for you would be returned all on your own, and that you would think carefully about the consequences of disobeying my laws and requests, and that you would also have the decency and loyalty not to do anything treacherous or harmful to the nature of this town or its citizens." He smiled. "Don't you think it would be more fun to be scary and mischievous and to have me laughing right along with you, even if some of your pranks might frustrate me sometimes, than to be plotting and threatening others and wondering all the while when I'm going to catch you and how I'm going to punish you?"
The children considered this speech very carefully.
"Well…"
"I…"
"Um…"
"We could still play pranks, still get into trouble…and it would be okay?" Shock raised an eyebrow again.
Jack shrugged and nodded. "Of course. That's in your nature. You're trick-or-treaters, after all—Halloween needs trick-or-treaters, and what would trick-or-treaters be without tricks?" He laughed a little before adding, "You just can't…kidnap people, cause violence against people—you can't ruin other people's pursuit of happiness just for the sake of your own." His gaze grew a little stern again for a moment. "You wouldn't like if the whole town came and rounded you three up and…boiled you into stew or put you in the stocks in the town square, or sent you somewhere, I don't know…" Jack swallowed and glanced to the side, "…all pink and soft and full of roses, right?"
The three kids gasped.
"Ew!"
"No!"
"Never!"
"Exactly!" Jack clapped his hands together, his smile returning. "So, everyone in town is kind enough to let you express yourselves, and you're kind enough to not ruin anyone's undead life in town. Do we have an agreement?" Jack leaned down, holding out his bony hand.
The three kids seemed to ponder things for a moment, and then looked at each other, communicating something silently, though it wasn't clear what.
Jack bent down a little and lowered his voice considerably. He didn't seem angry, just firm. "And do not cross anything behind anything ever again when you make a deal with me—I do not tolerate lying, just so we're clear. And if you think you get terrified by those little scary faces I do for you, you have not seen anything yet." A little grin curled at the edge of his mouth. "Remember, I had no fear of Oogie Boogie. Ever. "
The kids looked at him very seriously then and with a touch of respect too. They finally nodded.
"Yes, Jack…we agree." Shock reached out and shook his hand.
"Yeah, we promise, Jack." Barrel shook too.
"You have our word, Jack." Lock shook too.
Jack let out a content sigh and straightened up with a smile. "Splendid. Now that just leaves two…well, three matters left to deal with. First…punishment."
"Aw!" the kids all said in unison, frowning again.
"It's a fair punishment," Jack assured. He gestured with his thumb over to the gaping hole in the wall caused by the pipeline starting there. "That pipeline is being torn down. And I will be taking periodic strolls out here to make sure nothing like it gets put back up again. Not that it will matter anyway though—I've come to a decision, actually. You see, I'm planning to have Oogie's gorge filled in. I thought a nice fungus garden or maybe a swamp would go lovely there."
Lock, Shock and Barrel all blinked in surprise but then sighed and looked down and nodded.
"Okay…"
"Yes…"
"All right, I guess."
"Very good." Jack glanced over to the other side of the tree house. "Now, the second matter of business. I want those bugs in those cages loaded up into your walking bathtub, and you children will accompany Sally and I with the tub to the town hall now. We'll find the right way to take care of this bug problem once and for all." He looked back to the children, something in his gaze growing a little stern. "And in the future, I would appreciate it if you would bring potentially dangerous problems such as this one to me and right away instead of trying to deal with things like this on your own."
"Sure, Jack, no problem," replied Lock, while Barrel and Shock nodded. He then whistled for the tub which quickly came forward and stood at attention.
"Yeah, and we'll try to come to you with any problems," Barrel added, shuffling a little.
"Good." Jack nodded his approval. "And now one last thing before we go." Then he stepped aside and gave a small bow, gesturing to a certain lady behind him. "You will apologize to our dear Sally for her abduction, your rough treatment of her, and your threats against her." He frowned, scowling a little. "She has been through enough thanks to you three and me, she doesn't need anybody putting anymore on her."
Lock came forward first, looking down in a touch of shame. "Um…sorry, Sally."
Barrel came forward too, likewise looking downward. "Yeah, sorry."
Shock was a bit resistant for a moment but then she came forward too, likewise glancing down, though with a stubborn pout her two cohorts didn't have. "I'm sorry, Sally. I didn't mean to make you sad or to bring up stuff about you and Oogie or to almost throw your hand away."
Sally looked down shyly and nodded to the children. "Thank you." She swallowed and added, smiling more and glancing to the man at her side. "And thank you too, Jack." She moved a little closer to him. Honestly, she wanted to drape her arms over him and cuddle into his chest just for the relief she felt about being safe and being reunited with him, but she figured now was neither the time nor the place and so she held off as best she could.
Jack smiled sweetly in her direction for a moment, but then he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the kids. "All right then, erm…Lock, Shock, Barrel, let's get the bugs loaded into your tub and then we'll be on our way." Jack went over to the pile of cages and pulled off the black cloth. He observed the wide eyes and panicked motions of the bugs, but was relieved on closer inspection to see that there weren't too many of them to deal with yet. 'Only a couple dozen. Not too terrible, it could be a coincidence. Either way, I can't keep this a secret from the town. Those three would let it slip to somebody and then it would look like there was something to hide and then the town would go into panic. This way is much easier.' He lifted a couple of small cages and placed them into the tub.
The children went to help him and so did Sally.
Pretty soon the trick-or-treating trio, the Pumpkin King, and the ragdoll seamstress were all out of the tree house and on their way to town, Jack and Sally walking at the back and Lock, Shock and Barrel leading the way out in front with their loaded up bathtub.
"You know, not that I'm trying to help you or anything," Shock started after climbing on top of the cages in the walking tub and looking to Sally, "But the Doctor really does have the whole town out looking for you. You might want to lay low and not come with us, if you know what I mean."
Sally swallowed and looked down.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sally, what does she mean?" He tried to smile. "I'd imagine even if the Doctor can be a little overbearing that he'll be happy to see you safe and sound." Yet still, even as he said these assuring words, the memory of what Shock had said to Sally in the tree house about the Doctor 'locking her up' came back to him.
"Hmm…" Shock laughed, turning on the cages to face forward again while she looked at the Pumpkin King over her shoulder, "For someone who's supposed to be our fearless leader, you sure don't know a lot of the more miserable things going on in this town, do you, Jack?"
"Yeah," Lock added, glancing over his shoulder to Jack as well as he walked along one side of the tub, "Misery's our specialty. We know every dirty trick in this town."
"Yup, no question." Barrel nodded, taking up the position on the other side of the tub and walking backward to look at Jack as he licked his lollipop.
Jack just looked from the children to Sally, a frown spreading over his features that he couldn't help. "Sally…what are they talking about?"
Sally swallowed again. "I'll explain it to you later, Jack," she replied softly. Then she smiled a little and addressed the children. "I appreciate the warning but don't worry about me, I can handle myself."
Shock just sighed and shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say."
"Hey, speaking of missing people, Jack, seriously, where have you been lately?" Lock asked, turning around completely to walk backward so that he could face the Pumpkin King as well. "The only time anyone's seen you all this week since Christmas is once when you went into town and bought…fabric? Since then you've been like a ghost."
"Yeah, what gives?" asked Barrel eagerly.
"Yeah, and what's been going on in your tower exactly that the lights are on all the time?" Shock added, craning her head back to look at Jack and Sally.
Jack's thoughts went away from the Doctor for now, and he swallowed and did his best to maintain his composure at this new line of questioning, though he could feel his skill heating up a little. He shrugged and smiled casually. "I've just been doing some Halloween planning. And the fabric, well…I just needed some. And I plan to apologize for my absence to everyone at the town meeting—I've been very worn out from the Christmas fiasco, I'm afraid, among other things, so I've been relaxing as much as possible to make sure I'm at my best for next Halloween."
"You need to be your best for next Halloween…in ten months?" Shock asked, eyeing him a little.
Jack shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Yes, well…believe me, you three, the last few months have taken more out of me than the last few centuries of Halloweens have. I've needed some time to think."
Shock still eyed him but then shrugged and moved her head back to face forward.
Jack let out his own mental sigh of relief (right along with Sally—indeed, both of them managed a quick glance and smile at each other before returning to looking at the children.)
"So, what are you two doing together exactly?" Lock suddenly asked.
"Yeah, and have you seen Jewel? The doctor's looking for her too," Barrel added.
"Um…" Sally started, taking up the mantle of explaining things now, "Well, um…after Jack saved me from Oogie Boogie, I ran away because I didn't want to be found by the Doctor. But…uh…Jack saw me today out in the forest and finally convinced me to come back to town for my safety." She smiled, secretly crossing her fingers that that excuse would go over well.
The children seemed satisfied enough, for the moment at least.
"Oh…okay."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Mmm hmm…all right, then." (That last one came from a still somewhat suspicious Shock).
"And Jewel," Jack added with a smile and a shrug, "Well, while Sally and I were walking back to town we heard a yell and saw she had slipped near the old town bridge and fallen down onto a ledge near the mouth of the gorge. It seems she was wandering out here, looking for us of all people. So Sally and I worked together to pull her up! And, um…then Jewel went on ahead of us back to town with Zero because we thought we saw something near your tree house and decided to investigate." His smile brightened (and so did Sally's) as the story managed to string itself together so well even after all of the parts with romantic turmoil had been taken out.
Jack and Sally waited quietly, holding their nonexistent breaths for any more potential questions, but luckily none came as the children just finally shrugged and nodded in acceptance, then all went back to looking forward again as they continued their march into town.
Jack and Sally strolled forward casually for several more paces and then made sure to hang back a few more steps from the children and the tub. They spoke to each other in low voices.
Jack smiled. "Sally, you were very brave with the trick-or-treaters, and you handled their bullying very well. I couldn't have done a better job wrangling them myself."
Sally smiled too. "Thank you, Jack. And you were very kind and smart back in the tree house, Jack. You didn't fight the trick-or-treaters with scariness or force—instead, you told them you love them and they listened to you."
Jack grinned a little. "Thank you, Sally. I'm glad it worked. And it's the truth…" he sighed. "Almost losing everything at Christmas reminded me not only of how much I do love the essence of Halloween but of how much I love everyone here. They're all my family, Sally, I couldn't live without them…and that includes the children…and you too of course." He moved just a little closer alongside her.
Sally smiled more. "You're such a good leader, Jack. I'm very proud of you. And I'm happy we're family." She practically wanted to giggle.
Jack chuckled a little. "Thank you, Sally," he mumbled cutely.
Then Sally swallowed and asked with a small grin of her own, "So…you really like children that much?"
Jack blinked and nodded. "Oh, yes." He smiled again. "That's half the reason I wanted to do Christmas. For Halloween, children dress up, and even though I love watching them I can never see their smiling faces. Helping with Christmas, I was looking forward to seeing their smiles for once…" He frowned a little. "And I guess they would have been smiling if I hadn't terrified them so much and ruined their holiday."
"Oh Jack," Sally assured, "It's not exactly that you 'terrified them' and 'ruined everything.' They would have liked a good scare if it had been Halloween. They just weren't expecting it for Christmas. But living children do love you, Jack, I just know it…and undead ones do too." She smiled more, looking forward, seeming in thought. "Jack? You've been to two other holiday worlds—are there a lot of children in them?"
Jack considered. "Well, besides Sandy there were mostly just elves in Christmas Town, though some of them may have been children. I'm not sure. But in Valentine's town, yes, there are many children. People seem to really enjoy having them there." He smiled a touch sheepishly, then cleared his throat and added, "I observed some of them, but I never actually spoke to them. I was worried I would frighten them too much."
Sally sighed softly. "I guess only Halloween children like a good scare all the time. It really is too bad we don't have more yet."
"Yes," Jack nodded, completely oblivious at first, "I…" Then he paused and considered her reply. 'Yet?' "Hmm?" He glanced at Sally and raised an eyebrow.
Sally, however, just giggled and dashed ahead a little to the tub. 'Poor silly skeleton man…' she thought to herself. 'Oh I really hope he does like children and the idea of more Halloween children.' She smiled more to herself.
Jack, meanwhile, just kept to the back for a moment and watched her with such interest. He clearly could have gotten her joke but perhaps just wasn't ready to get it yet, though he had a pretty strong feeling he should be turning lily white with heat in his skull right about now (a guess confirmed for him by the fact that he had caught a light blush in Sally's cheek before she had pranced on ahead of him).
Jack let out a breath and tugged at his collar a little. 'I hope this town meeting gets over with quickly,' he thought to himself. 'I really need to go and spend a lot of alone time with Sally…though I don't think it's going to be easy explaining to everyone and the Doctor that Sally's going to be going home with me from now on. As long as she definitely chooses to stay with me, of course.' Jack did his best not to think about the potential awkwardness. Then he frowned a little. 'But one thing's for certain—if Sally is as unhappy about going back to the Doctor as I think she is, and if the Doctor might really demand to take her back anyway, I simply won't allow it to happen. She is going to have the freedom to make her own choice. No matter what happens in our relationship, I'll see to that.' Jack nodded to himself, and his smile returned as his gaze found the sight of Sally again, walking along and looking at the moonlit scenery. He smiled more and increased his pace to catch up with Sally while his thoughts moved on to concerns about the best way to apologize for his absence and present the bug problem as the group continued making their way back to the town.
A/N:
Okay, that's all for now! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review if you can ^_^ Next time around, the trick-or-treaters start to suspect some things about Jack and Sally, the whole group finally makes it back to town, Flora returns (as does Marigold), and something fun happens backstage before the town meeting ;) I hope you all enjoy it!
Happy Reading!
~Azure129 aka Jenna