Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or anything Disney, only my own characters and locations. This chapter has no significance to The Vengeful Key, whatsoever. It's just a filler that I thought I'd use to lengthen the time before we get back to the important chapters, which will start back up after this one. Also, there will be another a.n. after the chapter for some more details. Enjoy!
Two years had passed since Natasha had dealt with Chernabog and the inquisition made its first appearance. Ironically, it hadn't made another move since then. Most members on the council (namely Eraqus) were convinced that it was nothing to be worried about and that Nairbix was simply paranoid. Thankfully, his friends on/off the council believed him and continued to wait out for the inquisition to make its next move.
But aside from that, peace seemed to continue. Currently, Nairbix was enjoying a quiet afternoon as he happily awaited for his homemade toffee to be ready in the oven. While it was baking, Nairbix walked over to a silver floating dish filled with water and looked into it. To better explain, it was Nairbix's personal Witch's Glass that he created with the house to keep an eye on Halloweentown. Right now, he was looking at the happy faces of the creatures he once called neighbors walking through town.
As he was grinning at the sight, the images froze up for a moment just before the water rippled repeatedly. "The hell?" He asked as he waved his magic over the glass only to have the images cut out completely. "Something's wrong. Nothing should cause a Witch's Glass to act like this, especially one that I made. I better check with Aggie about this." He said as he summoned a corridor leading to the mortal world.
As the darkness cleared, he found himself once again walking the streets that led to the Piper's house only to see that it actually had decorations for Halloween. "Well, looks like Aggie managed to get at least some of the mile long stick out of Gwen's ass." He said bluntly, clearly he still wasn't too fond of his teacher's daughter.
As he let himself in, he began to wonder how many years had passed since his previous interaction in this world. He then spotted an older and much taller Dylan serving snacks while multiple kids ran around in costumes with an older cowgirl dressed Sophie.
"A few apparently." He muttered. He then noticed how the children were playing strange games and running around. One of them involved sticking someone's head in a tub of water in order to grab an apple with their teeth. "Humans." He said shaking his head at their antics.
Surprisingly, no one noticed that he was there which gave him the chance to sneak around and look for Aggie. As he scanned the room, a teenage girl dressed like a vampire took a glance at him before rolling her eyes with her friends.
"Talk about a tacky costume." She said looking at his coat.
"Tacky, huh?" He growled, he then twirled his hand and caused the girl's shoelaces to come untied and retied to the other shoe causing her to fall flat on her face. "Happy Halloween." He snickered.
A few minutes later, he found an older and taller Marnie dressed in a purple witch's robe with silver stars and moons with a matching pointy hat.
"Nairbix?" She asked not believing her old friend was right in front of her.
"Hey, Marnie." He greeted before she pulled him into a hug.
"It's so good to see you again! And look at you, you look like you're the same age as me."
"Well, it's been more than just two years for me, Marnie. In fact, I've already completed my training and I've even become a True Master of the Keyblade."
"You know, I think I remember Grandma saying something about that."
"She did?" He asked.
"Yeah, yeah, she said it was the highest rank for people like you and only two had ever done it." She replied.
"Well, that changed about two years ago. Along with other things." He muttered. "So, how have things been with you guys?"
"Pretty good, actually. Mom's finally letting us celebrate Halloween, obviously. Grandma's been training me and Sophie and Dylan is still as boring as ever." She said making Nairbix sweatdrop at the last statement. "I'm curious though, why'd you decide to visit us now?"
"Well, I think something's wrong in Halloweentown. Earlier today, I looked into my Witch's Glass and everything went all haywire. I came here to see if anything was wrong or if Aggie knew anything." He explained as they walked into the kitchen.
"She might. But Grandma's been busy entertaining the kids all night. Maybe after the party, we can talk to her about it." Marnie offered.
"Talk about what?" Gwen asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Oh, hi, Nairbix. I didn't know you were coming."
"Hello, Gwen. And I just arrived a few minutes ago. Is Aggie around?" He asked.
"Um, yeah, she's in the den passing out candy and toys for the kids with Sophie. Why?" Gwen asked.
"There's something I need to talk to her about." He replied before someone made themselves known.
"Knock, knock." A young man said knocking on the door frame, Marnie made sure to quietly let her mother and friend know she found the stranger alluring. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I'm Kal, my dad and I just moved in down the street, I heard about your party and thought I'd stop by." He said flashing a charming smile.
"Well, welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Gwen, this is my daughter Marnie and this is Nairbix, he's an old student of my mother." She said kindly as she and Marnie smiled at him. However, Nairbix was leering at him, to him he smelled familiar.
"A student, huh? What'd she teach?" Kal asked.
"Cooking!" Marnie threw out knowing her friend didn't lie. "She taught him how to cook."
"Cool." He said before looking back at Marnie. "You know, if all witches were as pretty as you, they'd probably have a better reputation." For a moment, she panicked but realized he was referring to her costume.
"Oh, thanks." She said blushing.
"Poser!" Nairbix said faking a cough earning glares from the Pipers.
"Nairbix," Marnie said gritting her teeth, "Don't you need to talk to Grandma, you know, to exchange recipes?" She asked.
"Right, sorry. Don't let me ruin Valentine's-I mean Halloween for you two." He teased as he walked away. He then found his old teacher and her granddaughter doing as Gwen had said, passing out treats for the kids.
"Good to see that Gwen's given you some slack on that leash of hers for you tonight, eh, Aggie?" He asked gaining the Cromwells' attention.
"Nairbix!" Sophie exclaimed as she rushed over to hug him tightly.
"Hey, Soapy." He teased.
"Sophie!" She corrected.
"Oh, right! Sophie, that's how you say it." Nairbix teased before Aggie cupped his face in her hands.
"Oh, look at you! So handsome and tall! Seems like you've even surpassed Yen Sid's master as well." She added softly.
"Yep, as of two years ago." He replied while Sophie continued to pass out treats. But when she tried to pull out one for the last kid, she found the bag was empty!
"Uh, Grandma, it's empty." She whispered.
"Well, of course it's empty!" She replied merrily for the kids, "It's always empty that's because of the magic!"
"Aggie, it's literally empty. Not even magically." Nairbix informed as he peered into the bag.
"That's impossible." She denied before sticking her head into the bag. Seeing that it was indeed empty, Aggie apologized to the kids saying she ran out. "I've had this bag for centuries and it's never been empty!" She grunted as she shook the bag.
"Empty?" Marnie asked as she and Dylan walked over to them.
"Well, it's no wonder." Dylan threw out, "Every day for two years pulling out decorations, skeletons, enchanted toads, bad issues of magic monthly and let's not forget about the ogre with the flatulence problem. Hey, Nairbix." He said calmly with a grin.
"Good to see you, Dylan."
"Stinky!" Sophie exclaimed regarding the ogre, "I miss him." She pouted.
"It just can't run out! It's connected to my house back in Halloweentown with all my charms and all my spells." Aggie said in frustration.
"Maybe we should pop back to see if anything's wrong." Nairbix suggested.
"Can I go? Can I go?" Sophie pleaded.
"Forget it, Sophie." Marnie said dryly, "Mom already put the big foot down. None of us an go." She reminded.
"Speak for yourselves. I can go." Nairbix corrected.
"Perhaps I can tell her I need your help with some technical problems." Aggie suggested.
"I'll get my coat." Sophie said happily.
"This will never work." Marnie said with dread.
"Oh, don't worry, dear. I'll use my utmost powers of persuasion, it'll work." Aggie said with her usual gleam of mischief.
"And here I thought we'd be avoiding the usual family melt down this year." Dylan dryly joked causing his sister to sneer at him. After convincing Gwen and losing Sophie, Aggie, Marnie, Nairbix and Dylan were discussing their plan.
"Now, if anything should come up, have your mother call me on my headphone." Aggie informed her grandson.
"You mean cellphone." Dylan corrected.
"Headphone." Aggie said as whipped out two shrunken heads, one blue and one red.
"What good are those things?" Dylan asked.
"Well, they're a little bit like your walkie-talkies." She explained before whispering into the blue head, "Except they work like magic."
"Except they work like magic." The red head repeated mouth moving and all.
"They can even be used to communicate between the worlds. I invented them myself. Aren't they cute?" She asked a she kissed the blue head. "Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem because we'll back before midnight.
"We'll be back in an hour because I have a date." Marnie chirped. Outside, the two Cromwells and Nairbix were walking to the bus stop only to find it wasn't there.
"Wait, isn't this where the bus stop is supposed to be?" Marnie asked.
"Yes. Oh, Arnold must have forgotten to put the thing out again." Aggie said laughing, "I swear, that man would lose his head if his wife didn't put it into his lunch box."
"Well, I'll summon the bus." Marnie declared.
"Great." Aggie said as Marnie recited the spell.
"Gestoom exalious mundus nos te pelos un adukgo amun!" Nothing happened. "Didn't I say it right?" She asked.
"Try it again with a little more feeling into it." Nairbix suggested.
"Gestoom exalious mundus nos te pelos un adukgo amun!" Marnie repeated only to see nothing happen again.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to call up the portal ourselves." Aggie suggested. The three of them then formed a circle and placed their hands together as they closed their eyes and recited the summoning spell.
"From the mortal world depart we now on this the night All Hallows Eve. Back into Halloweentown. Through the portal we take our leave!" They said creating the portal. It was an old stone arch with a timer reading how long until midnight when it would close.
"Four hours till midnight." Marnie read.
"We'll be back in plenty of time." Aggie happily said eager to see her home. They quickly went through the portal and heard Aggie say how happy she was only to find the town and everyone in it boring and gray.
"What in the name of Narnia?" Nairbix mumbled.
"Where's the big jack-o-lantern?" Marnie asked. Where the massive pumpkin should have been was a large cube of white bricks on a pedestal. "Is this some kind of joke?" She asked.
"As goes the jack-o-lantern, so goes Halloweentown." Nairbix informed.
"Grandma, what's happened?" Marnie asked, "Everything's gray and boring."
"It's the spell, Marnie." Nairbix replied.
"A spell?" She asked, "You think someone put a spell on all of Halloweentown? How could they do that?!"
"I'm not sure." Aggie replied, "But this spell seems to be turning the creatures not only gray but once it progresses far enough, it turns them into humans."
"Come on, Grandma. Humans aren't this boring." Marnie defended.
"No." Nairbix agreed taking in the appearances of the people around them. "This is the character of what humans in Halloweentown are. Like how they imitate the creatures on Halloween."
"Well, who would cast a spell like this?" Marnie asked.
"I don't know, but someone is destroying my home." Aggie stressed.
"Okay, let's not get upset." Marnie advised, "Undoing spells isn't that hard, right? You just say it backwards."
"I remember something from my spell book. It was a spell…well, I haven't looked at it in years but it was similar to this." Aggie explained.
"Oh, yeah. I remember coming across that one too!" Nairbix exclaimed.
"Great, so maybe we can fix this with your spell book." Marnie suggested.
"We can try!" Aggie agreed, she then pulled out her headphone and tried to call Dylan.
"What do you want?" He asked through the head.
"I want you to go into my room and read a spell from my book for me." She informed.
"Grandma, I can't." He refused, having enough of him, Marnie grabbed the head and threatened him.
"Do it, Dylan. Or else, I'll spam your diary all over the internet."
"You don't know my password."
"Oh, yeah…iron buns?" She asked mockingly.
"Iron buns?" Aggie and Nairbix asked as they laughed.
"We're in." Dylan said a few moments later.
"Good, now find the spell book and read the spell to us." Nairbix ordered.
"It's not here." Dylan replied.
"What do you mean it's not there? It should be there on the desk." Marnie reminded.
"Well, it's not."
"It has to be."
"Maybe Grandma misplaced it." He suggested.
"Dylan, it's huge. How is she gonna misplace it?" Marnie asked.
"She misplaced the ogre." He reminded dryly.
"Stinky liked to play hide-n-seek." Sophie added.
"Someone must have stolen it." Nairbix realized.
"Did any of you go into my room since I came down to the party?" Aggie asked.
"Not me." Dylan replied.
"Not me." Sophie added.
"Didn't go anywhere but the den and kitchen." Nairbix answered, Marnie however stayed quiet for a moment.
"Um, well, I was. For a few minutes." She admitted.
"Was someone with you?" Nairbix asked.
"Just Kal. But he couldn't have taken it because I was with him the whole time." She defended.
"He must have been the one I felt coming. He stole it, Grandma." Sophie informed.
"It could have been somebody else!" Marnie exclaimed, "We've been gone for almost an hour."
"But only you, Grandma and Sophie know the spell to get into her room." Dylan reminded.
"Children, you seal my room. We're going to go back and have a word with Marnie's new friend." Aggie said glaring at her granddaughter as she and Nairbix walked back to the town square.
"He wouldn't steal anything, Grandma. He's really sweet." Marnie said dreamily.
"Perhaps, but for now, he's our only suspect." Nairbix reminded, the three of them then pressed their hands together again and prepared to open the portal.
"From Halloweentown depart we now on this the night All Hallows Eve. Back into the mortal world. Through the portal we take our leave."
But the portal was nowhere to be seen!
"Why won't it open?!" Nairbix shouted.
"It's just as I feared. Whoever cast this gray spell knew it would affect my suitcase and that we would come to investigate. It was a trap!" Aggie exclaimed.
"Very good, Aggie. You're keeping up nicely." A deep voice in the air said.
"Kal?" Marnie asked.
"Over here." He said. They all looked over to the cube and saw Kal's large face bulging out of it.
"Kal, you cast the spell on Halloweentown?" She asked in disbelief.
"Just the way it was written in Aggie's spell book. You naughty girl." He replied grinning.
"I knew it seemed familiar." She and Nairbix said together.
"But then you-you'd have to be a-"
"A warlock?" He asked finishing Marnie's question. "Sweet, huh?"
"So then that whole thing. It was just to get the book."
"No, I could have stolen the book any time. See, I wanted you to show it to me because you felt something between us. And you did."
"You tricked me." She realized.
"You'll get over it." Kal said harshly. "And hey, I still need a date to the costume party."
"Forget the party. I want to know why…" She carried only to think back. "…Kalabar." She muttered.
"What did you say, Marnie?" Nairbix asked.
"The rose. I should have known when he gave me the rose. Kal…you're Kalabar's son!" She realized surprising the others.
"I guess I inherited my father's attraction to Cromwell witches." He said smugly.
"So that's why you smell familiar. You have the same lying arrogant stench as your father." Nairbix said in shock.
"I didn't know Kalabar had a child." Aggie said surprised.
"He didn't want people to know." Kal said bitterly. "Dad and I didn't always agree but he was the only one who stood in the way of the Cromwells domination over Halloweentown."
"That's absurd." Aggie denied, "The Cromwells dominate no one."
"Then why did you let the mortals take charge of the earth? While we had to hide like rats in another dimension?" He asked raising his voice.
"Oh, the creatures all voted to create their own world so everyone could live in peace." Nairbix said kindly knowing it would set Kal off even more.
"And when my father tried to bring the creatures of Halloweentown back as rulers of the human race, you and the Cromwells brought everyone against him and then you destroyed him!" He shouted in furry.
"So that's what this is about, revenge." Marnie declared hitting the nail on the head.
"Just say the word and I'll open up the portal." Kal offered.
"Say what word?" She asked.
"Stop doing everything your mom tells you and I can show you things Aggie and Nairbix couldn't teach you in a million years."
Hearing this, the two seasoned magic users scoffed at the young warlock's arrogance.
"I'm not interested in your kind of magic. All you do is destroy." Marnie said coldly.
"Oh, the gray spell is just the first act, Marnie. The finale will come at midnight in the mortal world." Kal replied coolly.
"What finale, what are you planning?" Nairbix asked.
"Join me and find out." Kal offered.
"Hell no." He and Marnie answered.
"Well, you think about it and…catch you later." He said fading away into the bricks.
"Great taste in men you have there, Marnie." Nairbix teased.
"Oh, shut up, Nairbix. I'm sorry, Grandma. I really blew it." She said in shame.
"It's alright, dear. We all make mistakes. Don't worry about it. We'll show Kal the Cromwells and VanSull aren't so easily beaten." Aggie said with determination.
"How? We're trapped here and he has your spell book." Marnie reminded.
"Oh, well, Nairbix and I still have a few tricks up our sleeves. Nairbix, if you would?" Aggie asked. In reply, Nairbix gave a loud whistle that hailed the ever famous taxi cab of Bennie. When it pulled up, a scrawny gray man was behind the wheel.
"Bennie?" Marnie asked.
"Need a ride?" He asked sheepishly.
"Uh, guys I think its Bennie." She said unsure. Once the skinned covered Bennie drove them to Aggie's home, they found it as they feared, boring and gray. "I can't believe Kal did this with a spell out of your book! We'll never undo it!" Marie shouted.
"Oh, I'd agree with you, dear if there was only one copy of my spell book. But what he doesn't know is there are two." Aggie said giddily.
"Two?" Marnie and Nairbix asked.
"They're matched sets, two complete copies. I took the one I usually use to the mortal world with me and the other one is still here…someplace." She said.
"Well then, let's look for it." Marnie suggested. After they all tore the house apart, they found diddly squat!
"We can't find it." Aggie mumbled.
"Grandma, we can't just give up." Marnie argued.
"Aggie, the book has to be here or else…or else it's lost." Nairbix said grinning from ear to ear.
"Nairbix, why're you smiling? That's terrible!" Marnie said raising her voice.
"Is it?" He asked. "If it's lost, then I know exactly where to find it!" He cheered happily.
"…Come again?" Marnie asked.
"Oh, of course! Nairbix, you genius!" Aggie exclaimed, "Everything lost ends up at Gorg's house, he's the junkman of the universe!"
After they hitched another ride with Bennie, the trio found themselves at Gorg's house. "Where did all the junk go?" Nairbix asked seeing the clean yard.
"I guess Gorg cleaned up the place after the spell hit." Marnie suggested.
"Oh, but you still best prepare yourselves, my dears." Aggie warned, "Spell or no spell, Gorg is still the foulest, meanest, smelliest inhabitant in all of Halloweentown." She then knocked on the door and they all met a peculiar sight. It was a gray well dressed and clean man.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Hello, Gorg." Aggie greeted, "You're looking…clean!" She said not believing the state of her neighbor.
"Do you need something? I'm busy, you see sorting my socks." He said.
"Um, yes, Mr. Gorg." Marnie addressed, "We're looking for a book you might have, could we see if you still have it?" She asked.
"Oh, I see. Well, come right in. I have several books." Gorg said with boring kindness. He showed them in and showed them the shelves that held his books only to find that they were all about cleaning.
"I don't think the people who lost these are missing them much." Nairbix said dryly.
"Gorg, these can't be all the books you've got." Aggie denied.
From across the room, Gorg was now trying to sort out his many socks even though none of them would match. "Well, I, um sold the rest. In the yard sale." He informed.
"Yard sale?" Marnie asked with dread as Nairbix banged his head with one of the books.
"Oh, yes. This place was very messy. I only kept the useful books." Gorg replied while sorting the socks. "I'll sell these socks too as soon as I can match them up."
"Gorg." Aggie addressed as they all walked over to him, "There was a particular book. An extra copy of my spell book. Do you remember who you sold it to?"
For a moment, Gorg looked like he had an answer which caused them all to lean in. But he then asked, "Do you think these two match? Oh, I suppose not."
"Oh, we've hit another dead end! That book could be anywhere!" Nairbix wailed.
"Okay, I say we head back to the mortal world." Marnie suggested as she headed for the door. As she did this, Aggie's hands began to turn gray.
"The spell, it's back!" Nairbix exclaimed.
"Grandma, wh-what's happening?" Marnie asked.
"It's the gray spell. It's affecting me now that we're in Halloweentown." She explained. "It's probably going to go after you too, dears."
"We've got to get out of here." Nairbix said before rushing to the door. "It's locked. Not for long." He said as he summoned his Keyblade. He then pointed it towards the door knob and with a beam of dark light, he tried to unlock it only to find nothing had happened. "That's impossible." He said.
"Nothing's impossible, Nairbix." Kal teased. Like before, he was using his magic to show only his head but this time in the fire pit. "Looks like even the True Keyblade Master's power is weak compared to mine."
"A likely story." Nairbix replied before taking a closer look at the door. Upon closer look, he found the actual keyhole missing. "Aha, weak nothing. You simply did as you have been doing, you altered things to your benefit and passed them off as your own skill. You simply used your magic to remove the door's keyhole. Using magic like that is simply pathetic since you can't even use a spell of your own."
"You better watch what you say, Nairbix." Kal warned.
"Pathetic like your father. A warlock with years of experience destroyed by a child who hadn't even begun her training and her two even less magical siblings who did nothing but hum." He mocked.
"Grandma, was right. You've been spying on us this whole time." Marnie growled.
"Oh, I didn't need to. You see, I already knew about Aggie's little spell book. That's why I knew you'd end up at Gorg's."
"How could you?" Aggie asked her voice clearly showing her strength was failing her. "I lost that book before you were born." But Kal ignored her.
"So, Marnie. Have you thought anymore about going to the party? Everyone's gonna be there…including your mom." Kal informed.
"Pft, my mom hates Halloween." Marnie scoffed.
"Well, I managed to get a little costume sent to her which made her want to go. You should see the mask, heh, it's a scream." He said tauntingly.
"This is not the way to talk me into a date."
"This is more than a date. It's our future together." Kal corrected trying to sound sincere.
"I'm in control of my own future. And it doesn't include you." And with that, Kal's head vanished.
"Creature spell!" Nairbix gasped realizing what Kal had in store.
"What?" Marnie asked.
"There's a spell in my book." Aggie explained as she sorted socks with Gorg. "It's a spell that was banned after the dark times. It was used on the humans who mocked us by dressing up like creatures. It was used on them to turn them into the very creatures they were mocking." Aggie said bitterly.
"He turned the creatures into humans and now he's going to turn the humans into creatures." Nairbix added.
"That's why Kal put your mother in a mask." Aggie realized, "I think he plans to use the creature spell on the mortal world at midnight!"
"Okay, he's keeping us in here with a spell. So maybe we can come up with our own spell to get us out of here." Marnie suggested. "Wait, Nairbix, why don't you try making one of your corridor things?"
"It's a long shot, but I'll try." He then raised his hand and successfully created a corridor. He then walked through it only to come out of one near the ceiling and fall flat on his face. "Ow, okay that didn't work. I know, I'll blast our way out!"
Nairbix then summoned his Keyblade and sent a blast of dark energy from the tip at the wall. "Outside!" He cried. But as soon as it made contact, it vanished.
"…Where'd it go?" Marnie asked nervously just before the blast appeared and bounced around the room.
"…And with that, I'm out of ideas." Nairbix said in defeat.
"And our powers are draining, Marnie. We're trapped." Aggie said weakly.
"But, Grandma, saying a spell backwards can't be the only way out of a spell!" Marnie stressed.
"Oh, rules are rules." Aggie replied still sorting the socks.
"But rules-rules have exceptions. Maybe, we can find the back door to this spell." She suggested.
"Back door? You mean like a loophole?" Nairbix asked.
"Exactly. If we can find a loophole in Kal's spell, we can get out."
"Like time-travel." Nairbix suggested.
"Right. You have a time-travel spell, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, but I think you ought to do it. Kal's clearly obsessed with you and in case he tries anything, it'd be better if you were in control. Here, let me write it down." He said pulling a pen and paper out of air. "That should be it." He said handing Marnie the paper.
"Gorg." Aggie began now completely gray, "There are no matching socks here."
"Yes, well, uh, I have some more in the cupboard." He replied.
"Well, go get them!" She said happily.
"Grandma?" Marnie asked only to be shooed by her grandmother.
"Go away, we're busy."
"And she's gone." Nairbix carried dryly, "I think we ought to find some other time to be, agreed?"
"Agreed." Marnie replied before reading the spell, "Pa are thee rin a thou anad hethu aquin as ne shasnatha!" In a quick flash of light, the duo found themselves looking back at themselves five minutes ago when Aggie began to turn gray.
"This is only five minutes ago." Nairbix said matter-of-factly.
"Must not have said it right." Marnie deduced before trying again, "Pa are thee rin a thou anad hethu aquin as ne shasnatha!"
This time, they found themselves in what could be called a prehistoric Halloweentown. It could be called that considering a Neanderthal by a campfire was next to them.
"Too far!" They shouted. Marnie then said the spell again and the next thing they both knew, they were back in Gorg's house only to see the missing junk everywhere.
"You know, I think I liked this place better when it was gray." Nairbix mentioned bluntly.
"Where's Gorg? And it's almost eleven-o-clock in the mortal world! We've got to find him!" Marnie stressed, just then, the door slammed shut and an angry colored Gorg roared in. From the smell that filled their nostrils, they knew it was him.
"Ugh, I think we found him." Nairbix said in disgust.
"What are you doing in my house?!" He asked from the staircase.
"Um, well, it's okay, Aggie sent us." Marnie explained.
"Well, that doesn't make you welcome here. I hate Aggie!" Gorg snarled as he went down the stairs.
"Don't feel bad, he hates everyone." Nairbix whispered. "Well, Aggie has the utmost respect for you." He said hoping to get on the creature's good side (if he had one).
"She does?" He asked.
"Yeah!" Marnie chirped, "She said, that you were the smelliest, foulest, meanest inhabitant in all of Halloweentown." She said telling what she heard earlier.
"She said that?" Gorg asked again. "Pah, she's just trying to butter me up!" He growled.
"No, no, no. She meant it." Marnie reassured, "Really."
"Oh, well, that's very sweet of her!" He said with sarcasm, "And I hate it when people are sweet! Now get out! I have messing up to do."
"No, but there's something that we need." Marnie added, Gorg's reaction wasn't too pleasant.
"Oh, well in that case, take a number! Right now I'm serving, NOBODY!" He shouted.
"But-"
"Little girl." He warned, "You stink like a Cromwell and I want you out of my cottage!" Gorg shouted yet again.
"Okay, okay." She squeaked.
"Well, um it was nice seeing your place while it was still messy." Nairbix said hoping Gorg would take the bait. Thankfully, he did.
"Wait, what do you mean 'still' messy?" He asked.
"There's this thing called the gray spell, you see. And in a few years, Kalabar's son is gonna make your whole house neat." Marnie explained.
"Oh, and you'll have sold all of your things that didn't have anything to do with cleaning in a low profit yard sale." Nairbix threw in.
"WHAT?!" Gorg screamed at the top of his lungs. Needless to say, this was enough motivation for Gorg to help the duo dig through his things in order to find the book.
"It's got to be around here somewhere!" Marnie exclaimed as she dug through a pile.
"I can't let this happen!" Gorg said in frustration, "My beautiful dirt cleaned?! My wonderful junk sold in a yard sale?!"
"A very low profit yard sale." Nairbix corrected as he dug through his area. "Don't you have some sort of filing system?" He asked.
"Of course I do!" Gorg shouted, "I keep all my scabs under the porch!"
"Ew!" Marnie groaned. "I don't think the spell book is here. We've looked everywhere."
"Maybe, we came too far back in time. Maybe Aggie hasn't even lost it at this point yet." Nairbix suggested.
"Grandma said she hasn't seen that copy in decades. We couldn't have come back that far." Marnie argued.
"Hey." Gorg alerted, "Is this book you're looking for leather?" He asked.
"Yes." Marnie replied.
"With some sort of fancy writing on the front?"
"Biblico Magica, yeah!" Nairbix said happily.
"I remember it!" Gorg shouted.
"That's really good!" Marnie cheered.
"Kalabar bought it from me fifty years ago!" Gorg finished dropping everyone's hopes.
"That's really bad." Nairbix deadpanned. "Kalabar must have been working on this domination plot for decades."
"Well, that means Kal already had the spell book with the gray spell in it!" Marnie gasped. "The only reason he took the other one from our house-"
"Was to stop us from undoing the spell. Argh, I just want to kill that little bastard!"
"I can't believe it! We came all this way for nothing!" Marnie shouted.
"Wait a minute!" Nairbix shouted startling his friend.
"What?"
"I remember the gray spell's name from the book!" He shouted.
"What how?!" Marnie asked.
"I was just thinking how we were trapped in this spell. Then it hit me, Trapa!"
"Trapa? That's the spell's name?" She asked.
"Even better. It's the spell's name backwards! Gorg!"
"What?!" He snarled.
"Apart!" Nairbix shouted at him. Gorg then turned back into his gray alter-ego.
"Oh, my." He said looking around him, "Oh, my. This place is very, very messy." He said gently.
"Oh! Let me try! Let me try!" Marnie begged happily. "Trapa!" She said which turned Gorg back!
"Oh, that was awful!" He whined, "I wanted to…clean!"
"Do it again! Do it again." Nairbix ushered.
"Apart!"
"Oh, my. Oh, my. Does anyone have a dustpan, perhaps?" He asked kindly.
"Trapa!" Nairbix said pointing at the gray now colored Gorg.
"Oh, will you stop doing that?!" He pleaded.
"Nairbix, you were right! We figured out how to fix the gray spell!"
"How much time do we have left?" Nairbix asked.
"Fifteen minutes." She replied with dread before realization hit her. "Oh, no, Mom doesn't know about the creature spell. She's still wearing her mask!"
"We have to get back to the present so we can warn her." Nairbix advised.
"Right…where's the time-travel spell?" She asked.
"What do you mean? You had it." He reminded.
"Right, and I put it over there on the table when I had to dig through the garbage."
"Oh." Gorg groaned, "You shouldn't have done that."
"Why not?" Marnie asked nervously, "What happened to it?"
"It's lost." Gorg replied.
"Well, that's okay right? Everything that gets lost ends up here, right?" She asked.
"Everything that gets lost other places." Gorg corrected bluntly, "Anything lost here goes poof."
"Poof?!" Nairbix asked not believing his ears.
"Poof. Gone forever." Gorg informed.
"Poof. Please tell me you remember the spell, Nairbix?" Marnie asked.
"Won't do you any good asking him that." Gorg said gruffly, "Anything that gets lost here and someone knows about it forgets what it was."
"Did you forget anything else?!" She asked. Nairbix looked through his mind as his eyes darted back and forth like he was speed-reading a book.
"Ironically, no." He said with panic in his voice. "Can you remember it?!"
"Um…let me try." She replied a little unsure. "Pa uber theodorno ana heado." At first there was only a flash of light, but a growl was quickly followed.
Gorg was now the angry owner of a curly blonde perm instead of his greasy brown curls.
"No, that's not it." Marnie said sheepishly. After multiple attempts that proved to be useless and wrong, Marnie finally gave up. "I can't remember the spell!"
"This is stupid!" Gorg huffed, "Why don't we just use my timeline?" He suggested.
"You had timeline this entire time?!" Nairbix shouted in annoyance. "Why didn't you mention it earlier, you idiot?!" He screamed.
"I just thought about it." Gorg replied too annoyed to shout back. "Come on, I keep it in the closet." He went over and opened it to revel a grid-like dimension with multiple years passing by in the form of numbers.
"Wow, how does it work?" Marnie asked.
"The timeline shows us the years in the mortal world. The past is one direction, the future another. Just follow the fastest moving timeline. Now get out of here!" He exclaimed/pleaded.
"Great." Marnie said as she pulled out what looked to be a small pen. With a flick of her magic, Marnie turned the pen into a full size metal broom. "It's my new and improved broom. Grandma gave it to me. Come on, hope on." She ushered.
"No thanks." Nairbix refused.
"Why not, afraid of flying?" She teased.
"No. I'm just not that comfortable with a form of transportation being something that can cause pain to my nuts." He said bluntly.
"Aw, would you rather stay here?" She mocked. In reply, he said nothing as he hopped on. "Good boy." She teased, "Thanks, Gorg. We are out of here!" She cheered as they dashed into the timeline.
Once they found the right time, they followed it and burst from the pile of socks present gray Gorg and Aggie were sorting.
"Aggie!" Nairbix shouted, "Trapa!" And with that, his teacher was once again colored.
"Come on, the portal!" Marnie urged. The three of them pressed their hands together and recited the spell once again.
"From Halloweentown depart we now on this the night All Hallows Eve. Back into the mortal world. Through the portal we take our leave!" The portal then appeared reading only a few seconds until it would close. On the other side, Dylan and Sophie were trying to pull off Gwen's mask as it began to close.
"No! Mom!" Marnie yelled as she tried to pry the doors open. Seeing this, Nairbix helped his friend and actually managed to stall the doors. As they did this, they could see the creature spell cast and turn all of the humans into creatures and hear Kal's evil laughter.
The strain of the doors closing became too much for Marnie so she stepped back, but Nairbix didn't. No, he stayed and put everything he had into keeping that portal open, and he was proving that he could.
"It can't be." Kal denied now wearing a long black cape. "He's opening the portal with his bare hands!? What is he?!" He asked in shock, anger and fear.
With a loud outcry, Nairbix pushed the doors completely open surprising all the humans and creatures. He then walked through with Aggie and Marnie following behind.
"I'm Nairbix VanSull, you little bastard." He spat as his eyes blazed.
"I don't care how strong you think you are! But you could never beat me!" Kal shouted as he and Marnie stared each other down.
"Your only power was the power to keep us apart, Kal. And now, you don't have that power anymore." Marnie said triumphantly as Kal hyperventilated in anger. "We don't have to hate each other. Just give me back Aggie's spell books."
"Dad was right." He said madly, "You're the enemy and you always will be!"
"You told me you make your own decisions. Don't let your father's hate decide for you know!" She pleaded.
"Go ahead!" He replied as he held each book in his hand. He then used his magic to cover them with black electric wires. "Take the books! I'd like to watch! Is good stronger than evil?! Let's find out!"
"I'm not afraid of you!" Marnie declared, "I may feel sorry for you. But I am not afraid of you." She then covered herself with a glow of magic and carefully took the books.
Kal then yelled in anger and protest and vanished in a swarm of his magic and wires. "He'll be back." Nairbix sated as his crossed his arm.
"And we'll be waiting. Together." Marnie declared bravely. After Aggie turned everyone back into humans, they all left to undo the gray spell in Halloweentown. With everyone happy and full of color, it was time for the sad goodbye.
"Looks like we have to do this again, huh?" Nairbix asked sadly.
"Let me guess. We'll most likely never see each other again?" Marnie teased even though tears were forming in her eyes.
"Possibly. But I hope that's not the case." He said warmly as he and Marnie hugged. "Happy Halloween." He said to the Cromwells as he left via corridor.
Once he was back in his kitchen, he found that his toffee was finally finished and pulled it out of the oven and enjoyed his well-earned treat. Unfortunately, he found it to be burnt to a crisp. "No! Why?!" Nairbix cried.
Now, I'm guessing some of you are wondering why I replaced Nairbix with Luke. The reason, since I excluded him from his original ending in the first movie earlier, I didn't see how having him in this chapter would work. Besides, it would have made Nairbix look like a useless background character. And no, I will not make Marnie have a crush on Nairbix or vice versa, they're just good friends and I'm not going to use the remaining Halloweentown movies. Sorry. In the next chapter, we will return to a galaxy far, far away.