CHAPTER TWO
AGGIE
The arrival of unexpected dinner guests didn't bother Aggie Cromwell, but the conversation that followed did.

"Tell me more about these witches," Aggie said.

"The Sanderson Sisters were the most vile beings ever to exist in Salem, Massachusetts," Binx began. The ghost looked as if he was haunted instead of the one doing the haunting. "Three hundred and one years ago, the youngest, Sarah, sung an enchantment which lured my sister to them." He looked at Emily sadly. "I tried to save her, but they placed a hex on me which made me immortal and turned me into a black cat for the next three centuries. They stole Emily's life force to make themselves younger. That night, they were arrested for their crimes and hanged, but they vowed to return."

At the mention of how Emily had died, Gwen automatically wrapped Sophie in her arms protectively. Aggie could tell Marnie and Sophie were hooked on the story. Even Dylan looked interested, although he tried to keep a neutral, bored expression on his face.

"What happened next?" Marnie asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"My brother, the virgin, lit the Black Flame Candle and brought them back from the dead," Dani replied. "Then they chased us all over Salem and Binx helped us, but after we thought we killed them, they came back, and I got kidnapped."

"So Max and I went after them, and that's when we finally defeated them," Allison chimed in. "Well, with Billy's help, anyway."

"Who's Billy?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Winifred's lover, who she tortured, killed, and raised as a zombie after he cheated on her with Sarah."

"Whoa. I bet he regrets that relationship," Marnie said with a laugh.

"Billy betrayed Winifred and protected us," Max explained. "And when they almost got Dani, I drank the potion so they'd have to take my life instead. There was no way I was going to let them hurt my sister."

"I get it," Dylan said seriously. "I may not be into all this magic stuff, but I'd have done the same thing you did if it was Sophie." Sophie beamed at him in response.

"So these witches target children?" Gwen asked in horror.

"They want to steal the life force of children to make themselves young and beautiful," Allison replied. "It's also the only way to keep themselves alive forever."

"So they're after immortality and eternal youth at any cost," Aggie said. "Witches like that are extremely dangerous."

"Wait... Binx, if they turned you immortal, why are you a ghost?" Sophie asked.

Binx softened for the youngest Cromwell. "Well, Sophie, after we defeated the Sanderson Sisters, the hex was broken," he explained gently. "I completed my mission, and when my body died, my spirit was finally free to reunite with my sister."

"Now that they're back, we're going to stop them together," Emily added.

"Well, they may be witches, but we're Cromwells," Marnie said confidently. "We can take them."

"There's still the matter of our problems," Sally said softly.

"Yes, please tell us about them," Aggie replied.

"Oogie Boogie is pure evil," Jack explained. "He is our world's Boogey Man. He's capable of great destruction and mayhem."

"Jack defeated him a year ago," Sally added. "He tore out the thread that holds him together."

"That sounds simple enough," Dylan said hopefully.

"It wasn't," Jack replied. "Oogie Boogie is a formidable opponent. If we do manage to tear him open, the bugs inside of him will escape. We have to destroy the hundreds of bugs to fully stop him."

"Bugs? Yuck," Marnie mumbled.

"Cool!" Sophie declared at the same time.

"Oogie Boogie has three kids working for him," Sally said. "Lock, Shock, and Barrel are experts at causing trouble. Don't underestimate them."

"This might take some time," Jack added.

"We'll set up rooms for all of you," Aggie decided. "You can stay here until this situation is resolved."

"Can Thackery and I stay together?" Emily asked nervously.

"Of course you can," Aggie replied. "Does anyone else want to share a room?"

"Sally and I are a couple," Jack said.

"So are Allison and-" Max began.

Allison swatted his arm. "We're not at sharing a room yet, Max," she scolded him gently.

"You've fallen asleep in my arms before."

"Yeah, with Dani a few feet away to keep us on our best behavior." She laughed. "We can sleep in rooms that are next to each other, okay?"

"Alright. I'll set up the rooms appropriately," Aggie said with a smile. She walked away so she could cast a construction spell.

As the rooms appeared, Aggie thought about what they were up against. She had a feeling that winning this battle wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.

OOGIE BOOGIE
Their new location was certainly an interesting one. Oogie Boogie felt right at home amongst the creatures who roamed the streets of this new Halloweentown.

He noticed a pair with uniquely powerful energy. The girl was singing a song that made musical notes appear in the air, floating around her along with her long purple hair. Her features were unfamiliar to Oogie Boogie, but people from other worlds would have identified her as being of Asian descent.

"She's a witch," Oogie Boogie realized as the music continued to physically manifest.

The boy smiled peacefully as he watched her. His skin was as dark as night, but his soft grey eyes were full of light. He pulled the girl into his arms, holding her protectively.

"Georgie..." He said softly. "Someone is watching us."

She tensed slightly as she looked around. That was when Oogie Boogie decided to attack. He was about to do just that when Winifred grabbed his arm.

"Woman! What are you do-?" Oogie Boogie protested, but Winifred put a finger to her lips, causing him to fall silent. She motioned toward the sky. Sarah sat perched on her broom, high above the ground, and she suddenly began to sing.

"Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment," Sarah's voice echoed hauntingly. "Come little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows... Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way,
Through all the pain and the sorrows... Weep not poor children, for life is this way, murdering beauty and passions. Hush now dear children, it must be this way, too weary of life and deceptions... Rest now my children, for soon we'll away into the calm and the quiet. Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment... Come little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows..."

To Oogie Boogie's great surprise, every child in the area began following the sound of Sarah's voice, marching through town in unison, seemingly entranced.

"She's very impressive," Oogie Boogie said.

"In this one task, yes," Winifred admitted. "At least the halfwit is good for something."

The pair Oogie Boogie had set his eyes on had joined in on the mindless march toward their lair. He smiled, satisfied. "Oh yes," he said, "this is going to be fun!"

GEORGIE
Georgette Hollows had seen a lot of unusual things growing up in Halloweentown, but this was probably the most alarming. Dozens of children had begun following the witch in the sky as she sang. Being a powerful witch herself, Georgie knew a spell when she saw one.

Her boyfriend, Sparrow Vincent, had shielded them both with a protection ward as soon as he sensed what the song really was. That quick thinking had spared them from falling under the spell, but they'd telepathically agreed to pretend it had worked, figuring if they followed the others, they could save the other children and teenagers when the time came.

A plump witch smiled eagerly at them and locked them all in a big cell in a dungeon beneath their lair. Only when there was no sign of the strangers did Georgie dare to speak.

"We have to break the spell, Sparrow," she said.

"I know, Georgie," he replied, "and we will... I'm just not sure how to do it yet."

She looked around and took a mental inventory of who the witches had collected with their spell. Everyone was under eighteen. At just two days over seventeen, Sparrow was the oldest, with fifteen-year-old Georgie not far behind him. Some of the witches, werewolves, goblins, and others were as young as three or four years old.

It surprised Georgie when a pink troll came toward her and Sparrow. "What's going on?" Natalie, the beautiful troll, asked. "I had my ears plugged, but I followed everyone and played along."

"They're some kind of witches, but not from around here," Georgie replied. "We need to wake everyone up."

"Cassie's a witch and Ethan's a warlock," Sparrow said. "It may be best to start with them so they can help us."

"I trained with Cassie. Maybe I can break the spell on her," Georgie volunteered.

"I'll work on Ethan," Sparrow decided. "Natalie, get a quick head count for every species we have here."

"I already did," she replied. "There are nine witches, nine werecreatures, seven warlocks, six goblins, five nymphs, four trolls including me, three gremlins, and three ogres."

Georgie looked at who else was there. Most of the kids were under ten, but each group had at least one teenager. "Alright," she said. "Once we break the spell, Sparrow, Cassie, Ethan, and I can take care of the younger witches and warlocks. Natalie, you'll look after the trolls. Pete and Jessica can take care of the werecreatures. Bobby can handle the gremlins, and Chester can take the ogres. Luke will watch over the goblins, and finally, Nancy will look out for the nymphs."

"That'll work," Natalie agreed. "This way, the little kids have people like them to guide them through this."

"Exactly. So let's figure out how to wake everyone up!"

ALLISON
Something strange seemed to be hanging in the air as Allison settled into her new bedroom in the Piper house. She couldn't quite understand what she was sensing, but it made her both curious and uncomfortable.

She cautiously explored the items in her room. Most were what she'd expended to find. She had a comfortable bed, magenta sheets and pillows, and a desk with a chair. The closet was stocked with appropriate clothes in her size. She had toiletries and a hair brush, and pretty much everything she needed.

The one thing that caught her eye which seemed out of place was a transparent crystal on a chain. Instinctively, she reached toward it. As soon as it was within her grasp, Allison began to see another place instead of her room.

There were children and teenagers trapped in some sort of dungeon. Some looked human, but others were obviously something else. Three of them were trying to break some sort of spell that had been cast on the others.

"The Sanderson Sisters did this," Allison realized aloud.

The only boy who was awake stared at her. "Who are you?" He asked. "How are you seeing us?"

"I... I don't know," Allison admitted. "My name is Allison. Are you from Halloweentown?"

"Yes. I am Sparrow," he replied.

"Sparrow, I'll help you. I'll tell Marnie and Aggie about your situation, and we'll come save you."

"You know the Cromwells?" Sparrow asked. "Yes, please, tell them! Only they can help us now."

"Why can't your friends see me?" Allison asked curiously.

"I am an oracle, and this is a vision. I don't understand what triggered our connection, but I'm grateful. Find us, Allison. I will send you my memories of how we ended up here."

The flashes hit rapidly before the connection broke. Allison sat at the desk and sketched a crude map of what she'd seen, hoping Aggie or one of the others could make sense of it. She opened her door and raced back to the living room to show Aggie and Gwen the map. She had a feeling the children of Halloweentown didn't have the luxury of time.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am sorry it took a while to post this chapter. I was sick for an entire week and couldn't write.

I unexpectedly added a few more characters to the cast. Part of this is because the original movies were lacking in diversity and I really prefer to write diverse casts, so I created Georgie and Sparrow. I also decided that, even though this fic takes place shortly before the events of Halloweentown High, I wanted to include some of the characters from that film instead of using random nameless kids for the abduction. I really liked their characters and felt it was a good way to show the different types of creatures that live in Halloweentown. I also decided to include Luke, who appears in the first two Halloweentown films.