AN: Okay, just wanna say this now because I don't want to write it on all the following chapters. Basically—as you saw in the previous chapter—it will run along the plot line of the video game (chapter names, music, lines, etc.), but with added input from Will and Al. Some scenes will be altered to fit a storyline, especially the ones where the romance was cut out.
Chapter 4: Return to Halloween Town
Two months later…
(Will's POV)
"Thank you!" I picked up the case and left the knife shop. My dad had called earlier to ask me to pick up his katanas from the shop. He had them sharpened after Al and I borrowed them last Halloween. I mentally checked that errand off the list. Next I needed to stop by the ceramic shop, and then I had to pick up Al from her riding lesson. I loaded the katanas in the back off my truck and headed out for the ceramic shop. After picking up my order, I headed to Arrow Ridge Stables.
I pulled up the old dirt road to the barn, and parked my truck. I wondered around, stopping to look at the horses before going to find Al. When I found her, she was in the middle of her flat work on Cesario. I remembered the description Al told me about him once: Cesario was muscled and a smoky grey color. Four tall white leg markings and a huge white spot covering his entire muzzle made the gelding very flashy. He had been bred for the show ring, his owners combining a Lustanio, Thoroughbred, and Warmblood into this horse. He had a hard eye but even a horse novice could see that he adored Al.
Not wanting to disturb her, I decided to go for a walk in the nearby graveyard.
I loved how peaceful the day was, not to mention how beautiful the graveyard looked. It was quiet, and the surrounding plants gave it an other world-type charm. There had been a large amount of snow last night so the graveyard was covered in white. It reminded me of the scene in Phantom of the Opera: Christine Daaé visits her father's memorial before she must perform in the Phantom's play, Don Juan Triumphant. Only I wasn't about to be lured by some psycho obsessive musician into one of the graves.
Nope, this picture didn't hold a scenery of death. Instead it brought me an odd sense of peace. The snow white and untouched, almost glittering a top the trees and tombstones. I spotted one of my favorite places. In the spring and summer time this spot had fresh green grass, and the older tombstones would be cover in moss. Over looking then was a large weeping willow tree. I live to climb he branches and read a book, or do some sketching.
Since I had some time, I decided to do a little drawing. I pulled out a pencil and my pocket sketchbook (a little gift from Mom), found a bench overlooking my favorite spot, and sat down. I started sketching the scenery, thinking about what characters I could add to this scene.
"What are you drawing?"
"Aaaaah!" I jumped to my feet and dropped my sketchbook and pencil in the snow. I turned around and, to my surprise, there was Jack Skellington laughing at me. For a moment I thought back to when I'd snuck up on him, but that thought was quickly pushed aside.
"Jack!? What the-What the heck are you doing here?"
"Well, I was just wondering around till I spotted you. I couldn't pass up the opportunity you presented, so I–"
"Not that," I interrupted. "I mean, what are you doing here, in my world?" Honestly, I didn't think it was possible to travel between our worlds without my key.
"Oh that. Well, I'm here to discover new ideas for next year's Halloween. I need new, more terrifying discovers that will make a new, more horrific Halloween."
"I don't understand," I sighed. It felt like my brain was throbbing. "Just how long have you–" I stopped. Someone was coming up the trail. "Crap! Jack, hide!"
He disappeared and I looked up the road to see who was coming. And to my surprise Al appeared on Cesario. I sighed in relief. At least it was someone I knew, and someone could share in my secret about traveling between worlds. I waved as Al and her horse got closer, smiling as Al frantically waved back.
"It's okay Jack, they're friends. Jack?" I looked around but Jack was missing. Uh-oh, this is bad! ""Jack! Where are you?" I frantically looked around until it was too late.
"Heyo Will! I saw your truck so me and Cesario came ta find ya!" Al greeted, patting her horse's neck.
"Oh, hey Al…" Darn it! This is not good. If Jack tries to scare them, he's gonna…
"What's wrong Will?" Al asked, slight worry in her voice. "You're alone, ri–"
"BOO!"
Both Al and I screamed as Jack swung upside-down from the tree, scaring us both. Cesario on the other hand, completely freaked out! This was what I was afraid would happened. Cesario reared up, an inhumane scream ripping from his lungs. The gelding plunged about, taking poor Al with him as he tried to skitter away. Al remained firm in her seat, letting the horse have his spook but restricting his path of destruction. He half-reared a few more times before settling onto all fours, breathing hard and with a wild, scared look in his eye. Al was finally able to calm him down, but the horse was still pretty steamed at Jack. Meanwhile the skeleton just laughed and got down from the tree to stand between us. However, Jack wasn't as safe as he thought. Cesario was still pretty tense after the scare Jack gave him, and he wasn't about to let Jack go unpunished. I watched as the gelding nickered at me but pinned his ears at Jack, warning that he was going to attack. Before a word was spoken, Cesario reared up with a scream and struck out at Jack.
"Cesario!" Al screamed, following her horse's motion. She pulled back on the reigns to get the horse back under her control. Meanwhile Jack had been kicked and was now face deep into the snow.
"Jack, you alright?" I helped Jack to his feet, though he seemed very dizzy.
"Bad! Bad pony!" Al reprimanded the gelding, whose ears were still pinned.
"That's alright, I probably just startled him." Jack dusted the snow off his pants and then turned to Al. "Hello Al, nice to see you again."
"Howdy Jack!" Al said, keeping a tight hold on Cesario. "Um, this is my horse, Cesario. Cesario, this is Jack, a FRIEND!" she said as the horse snorted in his general direction.
Jack extended his bony hand towards Cesario, keeping himself calm and unafraid. Cesario glared at him, but I witnessed as the horse's hard eye softened and he extended his nose towards the hand. Cesario inhaled the scent and blew into Jack's face. In response, Jack blew into Cesario's nostrils, exchanging breath. Al kept rubbing Cesario's neck as the exchange occurred. Eventually, he let out a low nicker and tossed his head.
"Wow, he's never made friends that fast," Al said as the gelding dove for grass under the snow.
"No kidding," I commented. "When I first met him, he wouldn't give me the time of day. He only nudged me when he needed me out of his way so he could get more food. How'd you do that?"
Jack gave us a sly smile. "I simply offered my hand and kept calm. Seeing I wasn't going to harm him, he showed trust by touching my hand. The breathing is a Native American technique I learned during one of my Halloweens. It's supposed to both calm the horse, and cement a bond with the animal. I had to learn it to prevent spooked horses from revealing me to anyone I wished to scare."
"Impressive good sir," Al said, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Hey, how did you get here? There aren't any doors for Will's key…" Al asked, pulling Cesario's head up, making him snort in indignation.
"I was just asking him the same thing." We both turned our gaze to Jack. Even Cesario gave him a questioning look.
"As I was saying to Will, I came here to discover new ways to make Halloween more terrifying. As to how I came to be in your world, I simply followed you after you left the Halloween party."
"But I made sure the door was shut and locked," I protested. "There's no way you could've slipped passed us without Al or I seeing you."
He just chuckled and folded his arms behind his back. "Never underestimate the Pumpkin King."
I wanted to berate him for coming into our world without my permission, but something bout what he said made me pause. If Jack had come into our world from my key, that would mean he had been out of Halloween Town for two months now. That old sense of déjà vu I had when I entered Christmas Town. I felt my eyes widen and I quickly looked to Jack's right hand. Sure enough, there was the green Soul Robber attached to his wrist. I felt the panic rise in my throat.
"Jack, if you're here, then who is watching over things in Halloween Town?" I asked.
"Not to worry, Will." I hated when he said that. "I've taken care of that. I asked Doctor Finklestein to look after things until I returned."
"That's what I thought. Al," I turned my attention to her. "Think you could pack up Cesario so we can get going?"
"Yes milady. Wanna ride back to the barn with me?" she asked, gathering her reins.
"No, I think I just wait over by Ace for ya. Jack, why don't you come with us? You haven't been over for a visit."
"Great idea," Jack stated.
"Great!" I forced a smile as I spoke. Al could probably tell I was hiding something, but I wasn't going to explain until we got back to the apartment. I'm just happy Kat was vacationing with her family down in Mexico. She'd kill me if I brought Jack home without giving her a warning first.
Jack and I waited as Al turned Cesario and the pair trotted back to their barn where Al stripped the horse of his tack, and rubbed him down before blanketing him and rushing out to Ace. Once she got in the car, Jack squeezed himself in the back and I drove all the way home.
When we got back to the apartment, Jack kindly helped us carry in our things before wandering around the apartment. It was a standard 3 bedroom and 1 bathroom apartment. The kitchen featured a fridge, glass top stove, and a new dishwasher, and it included water, sewer, garbage, washer and dryer. The unit had new carpet, paint, and vinyl and there was dining area with a built in hutch. The unit also has an open parking lot and a shared yard. All we had to do was add in our things to give it a personal touch. What really sold us was the wood-burning fireplace. Not only was it cost effective, but we loved using it for hotdog and marshmallow roasts.
"What a lovely apartment, girls," Jack commented as he explored.
"Thanks. Ally, may I see you in the kitchen… Now?" I tried to keep my voice calm but it was hard to keep the intensity out of my tone on the last word. She entered the kitchen and it didn't go unnoticed her concern, especially when I closed the door.
"Sup darlin'?"
"Al, I'm really worried about Jack. For one thing, he's been out of Halloween Town for two months, and I remember at the party Sally told me he was worried about Halloween again."
"Why are you worried? He looks fine… Unless…" She gave an unladylike snort. "Unless you're worried about Oogie taking over Halloween Town…" I only stared seriously at her until she noticed and stopped laughing. "You are thinking that, aren't you?"
"Yep."
"… Crap…"
"Exactly." I took a quick peek out the door to see Jack playing with Crepe and Mogwai. Seeing we wouldn't be heard, I turned back to Al. "Look, you know we could never figure out how I got transported into the movie, but it's even weirder that I can still travel between worlds with my key. And with the way things are going, I'm starting to wonder if the games are real too? I mean for Pete sakes, Jack wearing the Soul Robber on his franking arm!"
"No way…" She seemed utterly stunned, but only for about five-seconds. "Well, better safe then sorry… You got your Dad's katanas, right? Well, my trusty meat cleaver and sledgehammer are already in my room. You persuade Jackie to let us go to Halloween Town with him, and we'll see if the games are real to, alright?" she asked, already moving towards her room.
Well that wasn't the reaction I'd expected, but hey, who was I to argue. I went back to my room and grabbed the katanas. On my way back to the living room, I stopped by the hall closet. Inside I grabbed the baseball bat and machete Al had hid there in case someone broke into the apartment. I attached them to my back and belt and went back into the living room. Jack looked up as I entered but his smile turned into a puzzled frown when he saw my weapons.
"Uh, Will? Why are you carrying all those things?" he asked.
"Well…" Crap, I thought, How was I gonna explain this one? I thought for a minute until Al's entered the living room like a character out of Rambo.
"Because we are really awesome that's why. Besides, Crepe's tail is twitching so that means that there is an invasion of underground crab people happening so, we wanna be safe while we are out," Al explained matter-of-factly.
I wanted to slap myself. There was no way Jack was gonna buy that. I glanced over at him and smiled in a sorry-about-her way.
Jack glanced over at her cautiously. "Okay…" He turned back to me. "So Will, shall we go?"
"Done." I grabbed my key from my neck and turned the lock in the door. Luckily I figured out that if I imagined where I wanted to go in Halloween Town, my key took us through a door in that spot. So I imagined a door and the next thing we knew, we were back in Halloween Town.
XXX
(Narrator's POV)
They raced through the town gates, Will and Al barely keeping up with Jack's long strides. When they finally caught up Jack was looking around the town. Will noticed it was unusually quiet, not to mention the whole place seemed deserted. Normally she'd laugh because everyone was just trying to scare them, but this atmosphere wasn't right. This was more ominous than a playful fright. It was also odd for the Gate Keeper to leave the gate wide open.
"That's strange…" Jack said. "The town's deserted…hmmm…" Jack continued to look around.
Suddenly the gate slammed behind them. Al screamed. Jack turned to see what had caused it to close. Then there was an eerie sound.
"Jack, we can't get the– Jack! What is that?" Will pointed to something. Jack turned and before them was a strange gray skeleton.
"Oh!" Jack then introduced himself. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Jack. Jack Skell…" Before he could finish the strange skeleton lunged at him. Jack jumped and flipped back three feet away from his attacker. He looked up, surprised that anyone would attack him. Suddenly two more skeletons appeared and screamed, ready to attack again.
Jack quickly whipped out the Soul Robber, preparing to defend himself. "You… You're not from Halloween Town, are you!?"
"I'd think that's rather obvious!" Al said, bringing her sledgehammer off her shoulders. "It's HAMMER TIME!"
The skeletons lunged forward. Jack used Soul Robber like a whip, slashing enemies and throwing them against the walls. Sometimes he used Finklestein's invention to grab his attackers and slam them into the ground, or sometimes, into other enemies. Meanwhile the girls were using their own weapons to bash the skeletons. Surprisingly Will was able to slice threw the skeleton's bones with her twin katanas, reducing them to piles before they could strike at her again. Al on the other hand was having a field day bashing skulls in with her sledgehammer, laughing about wildly like a mad woman.
During one point, Jack managed to use some kind of spin attack, causing a large amount of damage to a whole group of skeletons.
"Nice one!" Will called.
As Jack and the girls continued to fight off the attackers, the town's alarm system went off. Then there was a load, obnoxious voice coming in over the load speaker.
Testing… Testing… Is this thing on? My dearly abhorred denizens of Halloween Town. This is Oogie Boogie speaking! Today I bring you a joyous announcement. First of all, in place of Jack Skellington, yours truly is now the new ruler of Halloween Town! And secondly, as of today, this very hour, this exact moment, I declare this town's name will be changed to Oogie Town! Bahahahaha!
The laughter died down and Oogie's voice disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Bloody mercy! That's a horrid name!" Al shouted, bringing her hammer into the skull of the nearest skeleton.
"No kidding." Will sliced off another skeleton's head. "Do these things ever stop?! It's like Night of the Living Dead on fast forward."
Al's eyes widened. She hated zombies. "AHHHHHH!" she screamed as she went postal.
Jack was busy fight off five skeletons, while three backed Will into alley leading into Behemoth's Brier. There was a scream and Al turned to see bones flying from the alley. Will quickly raced out, her face fraught with panic. "Whatever you do, do NOT go down that way!"
"Wasn't planning on it!" Al shouting, swinging her sledgehammer through three different skeletons in one swoop.
"Are you girls alright?" Jack asked.
"We're good!" they both shouted.
Eventually the skeletons began to lessen until only a handful was left. When all the enemies were defeated, they relaxed. Though all was not well. Strange and ominous dark shadows were starting up all over town. Jack looked around as the shadows began to disappear.
"What happened while I was gone!?"
"Lots of bad business it looks like…" Al muttered. There was a crash, causing Al to scream. "What the!?"
"Someone's inside!" Jack stated.
"There better not be any real zombies here boys and girls," Al said, gripping her sledgehammer tightly.
"Don't worry Al," Will assured her. "I have a feeling whoever's in there won't harm us." At least, I hope not.
XXX
GodlyJewel: Sorry to cut this chapter in half, but it was getting too long.
Cosmic Horse: I hope you enjoyed some sledgehammer action from me to you. By the way, my horse has attempted what poor Cesario did when a vicious yellow leaf tried to eat him (and me), but merely galloped away and tried to run people over in the arena (as he attempted to save me (and himself).