Chapter 22: Battle of the Kings
(Narrator's POV)
"Brimstone snow cone?" Al asked, unsure what to make of her friends odd statement.
"I know, it's weird, but that's what I smell," Will replied.
The girls had no idea what to make of such an ordeal. Meanwhile, Jack was slowly getting his strength back. The Crystal Skulls had already fixed the cracks in his arms and legs, but his spine was still mending and his ribs were not fully healed yet. He really wanted to get to Christmas Town as soon as possible, but with the barrier up, it would take them too long to go around with all their injuries. Despite his protests, Sally had been surprisingly forceful in getting Jack to rest. Though, that might have been due to her sneaky maneuver in massaging his sore bones. She had started with his shoulder blades, being careful of his spine, and then working her way down his arms. Jack definitely had no complaints about being tricked. Sally's gentle hands felt wonderful on his aching bones, and Sally was just happy to help Jack feel more comfortable.
Little did the party know something was coming for them. Something big.
"What does a snow cone smell like?" Al asked offhandedly. "Hmm…"
"It's not so much a snow cone, but more like… Oh, I don't know." Will was getting frustrated, and she started to pace. "Here we are, needing to stop Oogie from wrecking Christmas, and I'm worrying over a funky smell."
"Oh yeah…forgot about that…" Al said, yawning a bit. "So Christmas Door…did we ever find that?"
"No. We have the other doors, but the Christmas Door is nowhere." Will sighed. She got up and walked over towards Spiral Hill, just two steps from the barrier. "Even if we did have it, how are we supposed to get past this?"
Al slid off Frank's back and walked over to Will's side. "Good question," Al said, sticking out her hand. "Obviously this barrier – Whoa!" Al shrieked as she suddenly fell forward, landing on her face.
"Al, are you okay?" Will asked.
"Oh shit… I need more sleep," she groaned, pounding the ground. "I am not awake enough for this! Rawr!"
"That was weird." Will put her hand out, but instead of passing through, a bolt of electricity shot up her arm and pushed her back. "Ouch!" she yelped, holding her hand to her chest.
"Will, are you all right?" Jack asked. Both he and Sally had heard the girl cry out. Quickly helping Jack lean up against the fence post, Sally got up and rushed over to Will.
"I'm fine," she said as the rag doll examined her now red hand. "But that sure hurt."
"What happened?" Sally asked.
"The barrier…it just shocked me," Will said, then turned to Al. "But Al managed to pass through easily."
"It must like me more," Al said with a shrug.
"I don't think so." Sally stepped away from Will and placed her hand on the barrier. There was a small shock, but otherwise Sally was unharmed.
"Sally, you okay?" Will asked.
"Yes, I'm all right, but I think I know what happened," Sally explained. "When I came here earlier, I felt a similar shock as I climbed up Spiral Hill. I didn't really notice it then, but I believe this barrier repels monsters from crossing into the Hinterlands. I can't feel pain, so it didn't affect me more than a sense of static shock. That also explains why Al was able to pass through without any harm."
"See? It does like me more," Al said with a slight smirk.
"Well, that explains why we were propelled back the first time," Will said, but something still puzzled her. "But then why couldn't I pass through when Al could?"
"Cuz your still kinda batty," Al said, making a note of Will's still glowing blue eyes.
"Batty? What do you mean?" Sally asked, unaware of what they were talking about.
"Death! I forgot," Will exclaimed. "Helgamine warned me not to use any of the bat traits, or the antidote they made wouldn't take effect. Arg, it must have been when I asked Puck and his friends for help."
"You can talk to bats?" Sally asked, still out of the loop.
"I'll give you the whole story later," Will said. "Right now it means only Al can get through the barrier. Which doesn't do us any good anyway since we still don't have the Christmas Door."
"Damn…" Al said. "Can I go back to sleep then?"
"Al, this is serious. We don't have time for naps," Will stressed. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke again. "We'll just have to come up with another plan."
"Perhaps we should head back to town," Sally suggested. "At least we can get you all some Spring Water for your wounds. I'm sure once you have your strength back, you'll think of something."
"Not a bad plan, Sally. Let's…" Will was cut off as the ground began to shake, causing all three of them to stumble. "Did anyone else feel that?" she asked, praying no one did.
Al's eyes widened as the ground shook. "Something big is coming…" she breathed.
"What could that be?" Sally was getting worried.
Suddenly the color drained from Will's already pale face. Shivers crawled over her skin as the scent of ice and brimstone grew stronger. "Oh no!" she whispered.
"Is it a T-Rex?! This feels like a T-Rex!" Al said.
"Oh, I wish it was a T-Rex. It's…"
Before Will could finish, there was a crash, like thunder, followed by the sound of clanking metal. Will, Al, and Sally all turned around and gasped. Standing not more then ten feet in front of them were two enormous King Skeletons.
The first was entirely covered in ice, keeping the bones encased in a hard protective shell. Icicles hung off its ribs and joints, and created claw-like talons on its hands to match the razor fangs in its mouth. The frost giant was dressed in a Viking style similar to its smaller counterpart and wielded a large ice-mace, creating its own arctic wind around it. The second King Skeleton was the complete opposite. The bones were charred black as magma heated the creature's core, singeing the surrounding area. Unlike its frozen counterpart, the fiery demon wore golden gladiator armor and wielded a buster sword, with a metal blade consumed in flames similar to that of Al's chainsaw.
Al gaped and muttered, "Those are worse than a T-Rex…" while Will couldn't tear her eyes from the monsters. Only one thing was going through her mind: how to get away. They couldn't beat these things on their own they were too powerful.
"Jack!" Sally screamed.
Will turned to see Jack struggling to get up, but the King Skeletons had already spotted him. The Fire King roared and stomped over to Jack, its sword raised above its head. Without thinking, the rag doll ran forward.
"Sally, wait!" Will had no time to stop her, and the Fire King was getting closer. Meanwhile the Ice King was headed right for Will and Al.
"Al, stall the Ice King!" Will yelled as she ran after Sally.
Al groaned. "First, you wake the sleeping bear… Now, the bear is unleashed!" she said, revving Bertha to life, the flames consuming the moving blades.
With a banshee cry, she rushed the Ice King and hacked at his ankle. The combination of the fire and the blade made quick work, cutting through the thick layer of ice encasing the bone. As the blade made contact with bone, the Ice King roared in pain from the attack and swung its ice mace at Al. Dodging most of the attack, a single spike dug into her shoulder. Pulling back the weapon, the creature grabbed the front of Al's shirt, it's icy touch creating a layer of frost over the material and chilling the surface of Al's collarbone. Bringing her up to eye level, the Ice King roared at Al. It raised it mace again, but before it could strike, Frank had charged at the creature and slammed into the Ice King's leg. The force from the blow subsequently caused the giant to drop its mace. Frank gathered himself and jumped off the ground to be eye level with the Ice King for a moment. He struck out with his hooves, digging his claws into his layer of ice near the skeleton's nose hole. Frank then struck out faster than a snake and embedded his teeth into the upper ridge of the eye socket. Roaring, the Ice King swat at the stallion, successfully knocking him off and back hard into the ground.
In response, Al threw her flaming chainsaw into the Ice King's eye socket. "Nobody hurts my Frank, you sicko!" she yelled, laughing at the creature's pain. Roaring as the chainsaw rattled around its socket, the Ice King threw Al to the ground, pinning her under the weapon.
Meanwhile, Sally had just barely gotten to Jack. He panicked when she dropped by his side and started helping him up. "Sally, what are you doing? Get out of here?" he yelled.
"I'm not leaving you," she protested.
"I'll be fine. Just run!" he said. His focus was broken as the Fire King roared, drawing closer to the couple. Jack looked up and saw there wasn't time for both of them to get away.
Using what strength he had, Jack grabbed Sally's shoulders and pushed her away just as the Fire King brought down its sword. Jack fell the side, the sword just barely missing either of them. Giving another battle cry, the Fire King brought the blade up again and readied to strike. Jack tried to move, but the creature quickly pinned him under its foot. Jack cried out as he felt his right femur snap. As the fiery blade bore down on him, Jack looked up and shielded his face with his arms, the heat from the blade already seeping through to his bones.
Sally couldn't tear her eyes away as from the sword bore down on him. "JACK!"
Before the blade could cut through Jack's skull, something flashed in front of the Fire King, causing the creature to roar and stumble backwards. As it moved to attack its assailant, Sally rushed to Jack's side. Carefully she helped him up and moved him away as the Fire King lunged and flailed its sword. They looked over at the creature to see what had stopped its attack. Whatever was attacking it was too fast for either Jack or Sally to tell what it was. There was also a strange echoing sound that seemed to vibrate around the igneous creature. The Fire Skeleton roared and swung its sword harder in the air, trying to hit the moving target only to hit air or solid earth.
Once they were safely away from the two giants, Sally helped Jack rest against an old well. "What do think that was?" she asked, looking back at the scene over her shoulder.
"I'm not sure but I'm grateful, whatever it was," Jack answered. "Wait, where are the girls?" He looked around and gasped when he saw Al pinned under the Ice King's mace. She was struggling and muttering curses under her breath, but the giant ice weapon wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, the Ice King had finally removed the chainsaw from its eye and tossed it aside, the device falling to the ground encased in a block of ice. But there was no sign of Will anywhere.
"I don't see Will anywhere, but we've got to help Al," Jack said. He started moving forward, but was stopped by Sally.
"Jack, your leg is broken," she reminded him. "You can't go out there."
"But Sally?"
"I got her!" a voice called, causing Jack and Sally to look up. The voice came from Will, who was now flying overhead in her bat hybrid form. She dove for Al — talons extended — and grabbed Al by her shoulders. With a quick jerk, she was freed. Will kept a tight grip, avoiding the Ice King as it clawed at her, and flew them over to where Jack and Sally were hiding.
"Woo! Saved by Batgirl!" Al cheered. "Where is your fine master Batman?"
"Real cute, Ally," Will joked back. She flew them over to where Jack and Sally stood and set Al on the ground. "Are you two all right?" she asked.
"We're fine, but Will, how did you change back?" Jack asked, unable to take his eyes off Will. "I thought you said Helgamine and Zeldaborne's antidote had undone the bat potion effects?"
Will sighed. "I saw you and Sally in trouble and did what I had to," she said. "After the barrier confirmed I still had the potion in my system, I knew it was either let you two fry, or trade up for permanent wings. So, obviously, I changed back into a bat and played decoy so you and Sally could get away. I'm just glad old Flame Brain didn't singe off any off my fur."
"Such lovely fur…" Al said, stroking her arm. Will pulled back her arm as Al laughed until suddenly her eyes fell on her chainsaw. "Oh Bertha!" She ran over to the ice block.
Will ignored her and focused on the King Skeletons who were getting back into fighting mode. "Look, this is gonna be dangerous. You two need to get out of here, now," Will urged.
"What about you two?" Jack asked. "There's no way I'm leaving you girls behind to fight those things."
"Oh, we don't have time for this." Will put her fingers to her lips and whistled. The sound signaled Frank just as the kelpie was getting his second wind. Getting to his feet, Frank whined and came galloping up to them. Without another word, Will lifted Jack onto his back, then helped Sally sit behind him.
"Sally, get yourselves back to Halloween Town. Al and I will catch up as soon as we take down these Elemental rejects," Will said, looking over at Al, who was at the moment banging a rock in an attempt to break through the ice surrounding her chainsaw.
Jack was about to voice another protest, but Will quickly smacked Frank's flank and the kelpie took off racing. Meanwhile the Fire King finally spotted them and was lumbering towards them.
"Al, any time now," Will encouraged.
"I'm a little busy here!" Al spat back, just making a dent in the ice. "I can't be in two places at one ya know!"
"Well, then let me borrow this." Will quickly took the halberd off Al's back sling, and charged up the electrical blast. "Move!" she yelled. Al moved out of the way and Will blasted the ice block in half. She managed to aim it so the blast didn't damage the chainsaw. Al squealed and cuddled her chainsaw.
"Oh, Bertha! You're alive!" Al said happily.
The girls readied their weapons and charged at the Fire King. Al aimed for the ankles of the giant, going for the smaller bones, while Will used the halberd and attacked from the air. The combined blasts from the halberd and flaming chainsaw seemed to be weakening it. However, just as Al was going in for another strike, the Fire King suddenly turned a solid black with glowing red eyes. Even the sword it wielded became solid ebony. Will pulled up but Al kept going in, determined to slice the skeleton's spine in two. Will tried to call out a warning for her to stop but it was too late. The moment Al's chainsaw made contact with the blackened bone, the blade hitched and bounced off the spine and threw her back into Spiral Hill.
"Ally!" Will blasted the Fire King with an electric bolt and then flew as close to Al as the barrier would allow her. "Al, are you okay?" she asked, hovering close by.
Al sat up and cracked her back. "I've been tossed off worse," she said. She then turned her gaze on the Fire King and scowled. "The heck happened?"
"The Fire King had this ability in the game too," Will explained, setting back down on the ground. "Any time it turns solid black, the rock covering acts like an impenetrable shield. In short, if it's black don't attack."
"Well, shit." Al picked herself up and revved her chainsaw. "Too bad flames only work on the Ice King."
"Yeah, it would make it easier if– Wait! Where is the Ice King?" Will suddenly asked, looking around for their second opponent.
"In the Land of Ooo," Al responded, snickering to herself.
"Not funny," Will remarked. "What if it was right behind you?" Al quick checked behind her and turned back to Will with a death glare. Will just shrugged. "Just saying. Seriously, where is it?"
"Horse shit!"
"Why did you say that? It's never good when someone says that." Will looked off into the direction Al had paused and gasped.
While the Fire King had been busy fighting off the girls, the Ice King had jumped after Jack and Sally. Frank was just at the gate when the Ice King jumped in front of them, blocking off their escape. Frank reared up on his hind legs, kicking out his front legs to warn off the creature. The beast roared back and swung its mace, but this time the kelpie outmaneuvered the attack and ran back towards the hill. However, the Ice King threw its mace in front of Frank, causing the kelpie to trip as he tried to avoid the deadly icicles. In his stumble, Jack slipped from his back and rolled to the ground, one of the Crystal Skulls slipping free of his ribcage. Now noticing his passenger load had lightened, Frank managed to correct his footing and kept going. The moment he went down, Will knew they needed help. She quickly jumped in the air and flew at the Fire King, Blasting it with the halberd's electric blasts until it fell to the ground. It was only stunned, so she quickly circled back and grabbed Al in her talons before flying off in Jack and Sally's direction.
Seeing him fall, Sally quickly grabbed two handfuls of Frank's mane, and steered him back towards Jack. The Pumpkin King tried to get to his feet, but his leg was still severely cracked. However, the Ice King had reclaimed its mace. It spotted Jack struggling on the ground, but then its attention was diverted as Sally called out to him. It growled and began to stalk towards the rag doll.
Jack heard the growl and spotted the Ice King. Then his gaze trained on the creatures target and he gasped when he saw it headed right for Sally. He tried to get up, waving his hand and warning her to turn around. "Sally, go back! It's headed right for you!" he cried.
Sally was only three feet away when she heard Jack call out. Seeing the Ice King, she pulled back on Frank's mane, making him divert his path. They just barely dodged as the Ice King took a swing at them. It roared and tried again, but a large blast hit the back of its head, disorienting it. Jack and sally both looked up to see Will and Al flying overhead. Al had combined the power of her chainsaw and halberd to create a powerful hit.
"Don't mess with my pony, or the fabulous rag doll, you T-Rex, so just stay down!" Al yelled loudly.
"Easy Al," Will struggled to say. "It's hard to fly with you moving around like that."
"Sorry girl," Al said, stilling. She turned back and suddenly yelled, "Ice King at twelve o'clock!"
It was too late. The Ice King had struck at them with its mace, the frozen weapon slamming into Will's body and hurling both girls into a couple of tombstones. Al was slightly bruised, but the stone had cracked in half during their landing, and embedded itself close to where the Ice King's mace had penetrated her shoulder. She stood up and removed the stone, but blood began to pour from the now open wound. Will slowly got to a sitting position, her shoulder blade and upper half of her back bruised from crashing into the headstone. She noticed a bulge in front of her right shoulder joint, and tested her wings. An instant pain shot through her, and Will realized the impact had dislocated her shoulder during the landing, making flying impossible. She began to get lightheaded and started to fall backwards.
"Easy girl," Al said. "Dislocated your shoulder so no more flying. Now, I can put it back but your arm is going to be no good."
"No time," Will hissed, the pain increasing as her arm moved about. "Look!"
While Al had been helping Will to her feet, the Ice King had turned its attention back on Frank and Sally. And if things weren't already bad, the Fire King had gotten out of his daze and joined the Ice King.
"Shit…" Al said, rolling her shoulders and wincing. "It'll do more damage not to fix it now. It'll be quick."
"Okay, do it fast." Will braced herself as Al made her lie down.
"Relax," Al assured her. "It'll hurt more if you don't relax." Grabbing her wrist, she placed her foot on Will's shoulder and pulled quickly. The shoulder snapped back into place, making Will cry out in pain.
But there was another, more terrifying scream filling the air. Sally had seen the girls fall and had changed direction to get to them. However, in her hast, she never saw the King Skeletons advancing on her. As if rehearsed a thousand times before, the two giants raised their weapons and struck, blindsiding the rag doll and sending Frank into the air. He landed with a sickening snap, and his back flank smoking from severe burns. Al screamed in horror and ran to the fallen kelpie's side, Will trailing right behind her. But as they looked over Frank's critical injuries, they noticed Sally was neither anywhere Frank, nor was she pinned under the animal's body. That's when another scream was heard, but this cry came from the Pumpkin King himself.
"SALLY!"
Sally had been caught on the Ice King's mace, the long sharp icicles penetrating her body. To Jack's horror, he watched as the Ice King swung its axe, sending Sally's body crashing into a thorn covered headstone. Autumn leaves scattered everywhere, but Sally lay deathly still. Jack felt his chest constrain as she continued to lie there, but his shock and horror quickly turned to rage as he turned his eyes back on the King Skeletons.
Shock. Anger. Rage. These emotions built inside Jack, hotter than a raging forest fire. Flames began to lick his bones as he summoned his Pumpkin Fire. The flames sparked in a bright orange, but as Jack's anger grew, the flames took on a dark, blood red shade and black smoke began to envelope his whole body. All that stood out were to burning, glowing red eyes.
Will and Al heard Jack call out and were horrified as they watched Sally hit the tombstone. Will ushered Al to come with her to check on Sally, but Al wouldn't leave Frank's side. Understanding her friend's bond to the strange aquatic animal, Will quickly left to help Sally.
As she approached, Will did her best to not to crush too many of the leaves that had spilled out of Sally's body as she maneuvered through the thorns. Will carefully removed as many thorns as she could, the sharp brambles scratching her skin. Once she had enough clear, she kneeled down next to Sally's side, looking over the severity of the situation before attempting to move the rag doll's body. Sally was a mess. Her legs had been roughly separated from her body in the landing, and there was a large tear on Sally's left side. Her left arm hung loosely from her shoulder, but Sally's other arm was pinned under her body. Carefully, Will eased Sally onto her back. She gasped at the sight. The entire stitching on the right side of Sally's face had been caught on the thorns, tearing half her face off. Her right eye was practically popping out of the socket. The stitching along the left side of her mouth had been split open, along with the stitching near where her collarbone would be.
"Oh man," Will whispered, shocked by the damage. Gently, she tapped Sally's shoulder. "Sally, are you…are you okay?" she asked.
There was a soft moan and Sally began to open her eyes. "Will?"
"Oh, thank heaven, you're okay," Will cheered, dropping on her hands with a grateful sigh. "You really scared me."
"Well, I don't feel pain but from the look in your eyes, it must be pretty bad," Sally said, still smiling. But then her smile turned to worry and she looked around. "W-Where's Jack?" she asked.
A loud, eerie cackle filled the air, and Will covered her ears against the earsplitting sound. The smell of sulfur filled her sensitive nose, and a thick black smoke began to spread over the Graveyard. Sally gasped, causing Will to turn around to see the King Skeletons bracing themselves against an enormous bonfire. The two monsters was roaring as the heat from the blaze grew and even from where they were hiding, Sally and the girls could feel the heat from the intensity of the flames. A pillar of black smoke towered in the sky, and at the core stood a tall figure, cackling insanely.
The hellish creature wore tattered and burned clothes, though while burnt, were not consumed by the fire. Its body was surrounded by a thick, fiery red aura while its skeletal body was like charcoal. Beneath the flames, an inky black twisted pumpkin stood in for a head, but it was the face that was the most grotesque. The eyes were dark hollows against the skull-like features, and the blackened, jagged teeth were razor-sharp and curled into a murderous smile.
It was Jack.
He hissed, spitting small flames, and jerk its gaze at the King Skeletons. The creatures seemed unfazed by the nightmarish creature, and the Ice King threw it mace at it. The weapon went flying through the smoke straight for the fire beings head, but the creature used pyrokinetic powers to put up a shield that turned the mace into mere vapor before it could hit its target. Then, Jack pounced. Without its mace, the creature was powerless to defend itself. Jack leapt onto the Ice King and roared, sending a stream of fire and lava into its face. The intensity of the heat was too much and the Ice King instantly melted into the ground. Then Jack turned on the Fire King. He lunged at the second King Skeleton, but the monster blocked Jack's attack with its sword. Both creatures used the same elemental power, making the fighters evenly matched. Fire and brimstone rained down around the graveyard as the two Titians fought, setting fire to several patches of the Graveyard.
Sally couldn't tear her eyes from the scene. Never before had she seen Jack like this. His Pumpkin King persona was a terrifying sight, especially when Jack set himself on fire last Halloween. But this… This was unlike anything she had ever seen.
"Sally, we need to move," Will urged, knowing they had to get out of the line of fire.
With a nod, Will helped Sally get her arms around Will's neck as she lifted the rag doll into her arms. Sally was very light, but Will needed to move quickly to avoid being blasted, but carefully enough not to spill any more of Sally's leaves. They made it safely to where Al and Frank were hiding, but Al, despite looking a lot better than when Will had left her side moments ago, was clutching tightly to Frank and she had a terrified look on her face.
"Holy shit!" she cried. "Not another fire monster! This one looks even scarier and tougher than the last one! RUN FOR YOUR LIFES!"
Will set Sally against the broken tombstone, stuffing a few fallen leaves back into her right socket. "Al, that thing is Jack."
Al was silent for a moment. "Okay, that is pretty awesome then…though I really don't know if I should still be terrified or highly impressed," she said.
"I think I might know what happened," Sally said. Some of the leaves spilled from her mouth and fell in her lap. "Earlier, you mentioned the skulls weren't healing Jack as quickly as the two of you, right?"
"Yeah, it was taking forever for him to heal, and they practically had to graze skin to heal it" Al said, pondering a bit.
"But what does that have to do with this situation?" Will asked.
Sally was quiet for a moment. "Well, the two of you are alive so naturally you would heal faster," Sally suggested. "But my guess is that when Jack saw we were in trouble, the energy from the skulls bonded with Jack's elemental powers."
"Are you trying telling us that itty bitty skull turned Jack Skellington into that thing?" Will asked, pointing back to the battling Fire Elementals.
Sally confirmed with a nod. "Jack once told me he holds back when he becomes the Pumpkin King. He wants to scare people, not hurt them… But I never imagined his power could be anything like this.
Will smacked her hand against her forehead. "Great! Just, great. Raging Demon Pumpkin King on the loose. Just what we need right now." Suddenly Will got a perplexed look on his face. "Wait, I saw one of the skulls fall out when Jack fell off Frank's back. So, if one skull is supercharging Jack, where's the other one?" Will asked.
"Frank caught it!" Al replied, holding up her hand. "After you left, I noticed Frank's wounds were magically healing, but his whinnies were kinda muffled. So I took a look in his mouth, and saw this wedged between his teeth." Al moved her other hand and held up the second Crystal Skull. Frank nickered and Al put the skull back under the kelpie's head. "Okay, happy that you're getting better, Frank, but rapid healing is kinda freaky."
While they talked, Jack and the Fire King we still going head-to-head. Jack was attacking like a wild animal, clawing and slashing his opponent while using a variety of fire attacks. Meanwhile, the Fire King had reverted back to its impenetrable shield. Jack's fire attacks rained down, but had no affect other than burning the surrounding soil. If something wasn't done soon, the whole Graveyard would be burnt to ashes, along with Will, Al, and Sally.
Al looked over at her friends. She had discovered that by wrapping her arms around Frank's neck and pressing against him, the cooling relief of the skull's healing power flowed into both of them. However, Will and Sally were worse for the wear. They needed to get out of there and get help, but she couldn't let old Boney Butt burn down the whole place. Suddenly Al thought of something.
Quickly gathering her weapons, Al stood to her feet. "You two stay here. I've got an idea," she ordered. Will wanted to argue, but before she could protest, Al took off. She jogged toward the fighting monsters, careful to dodge rogue fire blasts and still burning fires. When Jack and the Fire King locked in a stalemate, Al crept closer, looking for any way she could get to Jack. She had only moments before the two pushed each other back.
Jack snarled and let out an inhuman screech, which was meet with a thunderous roar of the Fire King. The monster was still hiding beneath its impenetrable shell. Jack knew his prey was being clever, but there was a way to break through that volcanic rock. With a low hiss, Jack focused all his power until the energy building within him cause his fiery aura burned high in the air. Once he let this fire blast loose, the whole Graveyard would be burnt to ash, along with anyone else who couldn't withstand the heat.
Al panicked as the intensity of the heat reached her even from that distance, but it was the rage in Jack's empty eye sockets — like a cornered animal ready to strike — and Al knew she had to stop him. Not giving it a second thought, Al dove in front of the Fire King. Her distraction caught both skeletons off guard. She froze for a moment before darting toward the barrier, hoping that Jack would catch her idea and go along with it. By some miracle her movements registered through, and Jack gave a curt nod before blasting the Fire King with a barrage of fireballs. The fire bounced off the Fire King's armor, providing Jack and Al with the chance to slip over to Spiral Hill. When its vision cleared, the Fire King roared and chased after them.
When Al and Jack reached the top, Jack turned to Al. "What's the plan?" he asked, his demonic form causing his voice to hiss.
Al paused. "The Fire King is so large that it should short-circuit the barrier, breaking it. In turn, the barrier will kill the Fire King in the explosion," she explained. "Two birds, one stone."
"Good plan," Jack hissed.
Jack and Al quickly readied themselves as the Fire King approached. It leapt into the air and landed behind Jack and Al. Al smirked. This thing was making her plan too easy. She held out her hand to hold Jack back as the Fire King reformed its defensive shell. She stepped out to face the creature, slowing retrieving her halberd. Then, she charged at the skeleton, racing it towards it like a jouster. The Fire King dropped its sword to a defensive position to deflect the girl's attack. But instead of jabbing the blade into the sword, Al stuck it into the ground and pole-vaulted herself over the Fire King's head. She landed on the other side, and quickly picked herself. She turned around to find the Fire King staring at her, having been caught off guard, and in the process lowering its defenses enough for its shield to disappear.
"Surprise!"
Before the Fire King could react, Jack blasted it from behind, sending the King Skeleton straight into the barrier. It roared as the barrier sent electric currents throughout its body, unable to move as Jack continued to pour his power into pushing the Fire King into the barrier. Finally, the energy became too much and the Fire King exploded. The force of the blast knocked both Jack and Will back, as well as destroyed the controller for the barrier. When the dust finally settled, Al slowly sat up and looked around.
"Woohoo!" Al said, leaping up and fist pumping the air. "It actually worked!"
As she settled down, Al spotted something of the corner of her eye. The object was large and green, and it was sticking out among the rubble. "What be this?" She walked over and started digging through the broken stone until she could see the object. "Oh, it couldn't be…" she gasped. "Christmas Door!"
She pulled the door up and smiled. "I found the Christmas Door!" But no one answered her. She looked around and saw that Jack was nowhere in sight. "Seriously… Now, I'm talking to myself…again…"
While Al had been digging through the rumble, Jack had rushed back to where Al had left Will and Sally. The two were sitting on the ground. Will had shifted back to her human form, and retrieved Sally's torn limbs while Al and Jack had distracted the Fire King. She was laying them out to make sure not one had been missed. Beside her, Sally was lying against the broken tombstone, her left arm resting in her lap as she held something small in her hand. Frank was the first to sense his presence. The kelpie pinned back his ears, threatening to attack, but kept himself ready to run away quickly. Jack was still in his fire demon form, so Frank was uneasy as he came closer. Jack approached slowly, cautiously extending his hands towards Frank. Frank tentatively stuck out his nose and drew back. He recognized the skeleton's scent, but he was not about to get burned. Jack lowered his hand, his gaze turning on Sally and Will as he slowly returned to his old self.
Will looked up and smiled at him. "Jack, you're okay!" she exclaimed. "You really had us worried there."
Jack only nodded for his eyes never left Sally. She was smiling at him, but he was heartbroken. When she had turned to look at him, Jack could see how badly she had been injured. She had managed to reattach her left arm and hand back on, and re-stitch the left side of her mouth, but her legs and right arm were lying off to the side, and the right side of her face was still hanging off.
"I'm glad you're all right, Jack," she said, smiling brightly at him. As she looked up, Jack noticed her right eye was missing. It was then he noticed the object she was holding was her eye. He started to reach out his hand to caress her cheek, but instantly dropped his hand.
"Sally, I'm so… I'm so… Oh, how could I have let this happen?" He fell to his knees as the grief overtook him. "Sally, I am so sorry that this happened."
"Oh Jack, please," Sally pleaded. She set her eye in her lap, and reached for his hand. "I'm all right, really. A few stitches and I'll be just fine."
"We would've had her patched up by now, but her thread kinda got lost," Will added in. "I only found enough to fix her arm, but we'll need to go back to Halloween Town to get more."
"Hey!" Al yelled, interrupting the conversation. She was dragging the Christmas Door behind her. "Someone want to help a girl out here?! Geez, even Loki would lend me a hand by now."
"Hold on, I got ya." Will stood up and walked over to Al. She had retrieved the shrinking potion from her backpack and poured a drop on the Christmas Door. "There, now we have all the doors."
"Finally!" Al said, walking over and throwing her arm over Frank's neck. "You all good Frankie? No, no. Jack won't hurt you, baby boy."
Jack smiled. Now we have all the Holiday Doors… he thought. We've got to hurry to Christmas Town! But then he looked back at Sally, their hands still tightly clasped together. He knew he had to stop Oogie but Jack just couldn't bring himself to leave Sally's side. Finally, he made a decision. Without a word, Jack swept Sally into his arms, stood up, and carried her to Frank. Al moved to the side as Jack gently set Sally on Frank's back, and then gathered up her limbs in Will's backpack. He turned around to see Will and Al looking at him strangely.
"What's up, Jack?" Will asked.
"You two aren't going to like this," Jack said. "We need to split up."
"WHAT?!" both girls screamed in unison. Al was fuming. "No! I don't split up! It is a major NO WAY!" she screamed.
"We don't have any other choice," Jack argued. "Oogie must be stopped, but I won't have Sally going back to town by herself in her condition."
"As much as I want to disagree, Jack has a point," Will said, trying to reason with her best friend. "Don't give me that look. Now, you two are the ones with weapons, so I'll take Sally back to town, and meet up with you and Jack in Christmas Town once she's fixed. That okay, Al?"
Al grumbled but nodded. Will smiled and took her backpack from Jack. She saw the look on his face as she slipped on her pack, and she gave his arm a gentle pat. "Don't worry, Jack, I'll take care of her," Will promised.
Jack smiled back at her, then turned back to Sally. She had popped her eye back in place and she was smiling at him. This time he did reach up and set his hand on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, placing her hand over his. There was so much they wanted to say and not enough time to say it all.
Will hoped onto Frank's back behind Sally. They waved goodbye before Will gently kicked his sides and Frank took off. Jack looked on for a moment, then turned away to follow Al into the Hinterlands.
XXX
(Jack's POV)
I knew Al was struggling to keep up, but I couldn't bring myself to slow down. I kept on running through the Hinterlands, letting nothing stop me from getting to Christmas Town. All my focus was on defeating Oogie Boogie and getting back home to Sally. The image of her torn face looking back at me as Will rose them back to Halloween Town still burned at the front of my mind.
And I had almost lost her.
I don't remember the transformation. All I could see, all I could think about was Sally lying on the ground, torn and broken. I only wanted to keep her safe and she had been caught in the crossfire. After that, all I could see was red.
The Ice King was quick to finish off, easily melting under my flame. The Fire King, however, was more of a challenge. The creature only fed off my Pumpkin Fire. I nearly lost control when it became impenetrable to my attacks. Just when I was about to completely lose control, Al appeared and stopped me from burning down the entire Graveyard. She was able to help me come to my senses enough to trick the Fire King and drive it into the barrier. The force destroyed not only the Fire King, but the barrier as well, revealing the hidden Christmas Door. To think Oogie had used the Christmas Door to create a barrier to keep me from getting to Sandy Claws. I would not let him get away with it.
I continued down the path, slashing at Oogie's spiders until we finally reached the Seven Holiday Door Circle. Al paused behind me, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. "Geez man…" she said breathing hard. "For not having muscles, you sure move fast. Phew! I'm gonna need another nap after this"
"All I have to do is put the Holiday Doors back up, and they'll be good as new," I told her. Just as I reached for the doors inside my jacket pocket, we were attacked. It seemed Oogie had devised a backup trigger incase we found the Christmas Door. I counted at least three ghosts, five Gumbies and Vampire teddy bears, four Fire Skeletons, two Troll Skeletons, and about forty Zombie Skeletons.
Al groaned and readied her weapons. "Joy to the world…" she said, a hint of song in her voice.
Before she took a step forward, I held my hand up for her to stay put. I could still feel some of the Crystal Skull's power within me. I transformed into my Pumpkin King persona and brought up a wall of fire, instantly incinerating all the creatures. Only the ghost managed to escape, but I allowed Al to take care of those while I replaced the Holiday Doors. Once I had Halloween, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter back where they belonged, I took out the Christmas Door and placed it back into the tree. The Hinterlands regained their color, and the Christmas Door opened, the wintery breeze drawing us in.
"Well that was effective… Are we going in there?" Al asked, replacing her halberd on her back.
"Yes."
"Happy days," Al said, rolling her shoulders.
Without another word, I jumped down the Christmas Door. Many thoughts pasted through my mind as I was pulled by the flurry of snow. Oogie had nearly destroyed Halloween Town, enslaved all my friends, imprisoned the other Holiday Leaders, and was at this moment causing destruction to Christmas Town. He had harmed so many and cared nothing for what he had done. Even my poor Sally was not able to escape his cruelty.
Oogie's monsters had done that to my beloved, and I was going to make sure he paid.
XXX
GodlyJewel: Dang, the plot bunnies were super vicious in this chapter. I do apologize.
CosmicHorse: No kidding. Poor Frank… *glares daggers of death*
GodlyJewel: Again, I apologize. At least Frank got a Crystal Skull healing. Poor Sally needs to go back to Finklestein's for a major repair job.
CosmicHorse: I forgive you…for now.
GodlyJewel: Yay! Sorry to the readers, but you'll have to wait another chapter. Till then, please leave reviews and let us know how you like how the story is going so far.