AUTHOR'S NOTE: I sort of lost motivation for this story for a bit. I was hoping to finish it by Halloween, but that's unlikely to happen. Once November 1st hits, I will be working exclusively on another project until I finish it, but I promise I'll come back to this one afterward. It will have a conclusion! I just need some time to get there.

CHAPTER THREE

DYLAN
He might like to claim not to have magic, but Dylan had science and logic, and those contained a sort of magic all their own. Surprisingly, he wasn't alone in his aversion to magic. Max seemed to share his sentiments.

"Allison, I love you, but we're risking an awful lot on a dream," Max said cautiously as everyone was preparing to make the trip to Halloweentown.

"It wasn't a dream, Max," Allison protested. "It was a vision. I'm sure of it."

"I know you're really into this spooky stuff, but you've never claimed to be psychic before."

"Actually, I sense Allison has a natural affinity for magic," Aggie replied, causing Allison to smile in excitement. "I believe the crystal she found triggered a latent gift."

"Are you saying my girlfriend's a witch?" Max demanded.

"Of course not." Aggie paused before adding, "She hasn't had any training. However, I do believe she's some sort of Seer, and if her gifts were nurtured, she'd make a wonderful witch."

"But a good witch, like you guys," Dani said firmly.

"That's right," Aggie confirmed.

"I've got everything ready," Marnie said.

"Maybe Mom should stay here with Sophie and Dani," Dylan said as he glanced at Emily. "These witches target little kids."

"He's right," Max said. "This is too dangerous for-"

"I'm coming," Dani said stubbornly, cutting him off. "This is my fight, too."

"Dani-"

"Max!"

"Gwen, I really need your help with this," Aggie said, interrupting the siblings, "but if you'd prefer to stay behind to keep Sophie safe, I understand."

"No, Grandma," Sophie said. "I'm supposed to be there. It's important."

Gwen sighed. "She's never been wrong before," she admitted. "Sophie, you are to stay where we can see you the entire time, alright?"

"Okay," Sophie agreed.

Dani beamed in excitement, knowing Max wouldn't fight her coming along now.

"Just don't run off, okay?" Max asked Dani.

"Yay!" Dani cried happily.

"Alright, here goes," Marnie said. She and Aggie worked together to open a portal big enough to transport everyone.

They stepped through one at a time, until everyone had made it. Dylan had a bad feeling as the portal closed. He automatically grabbed onto Sophie's hand. She squeezed it, clearly nervous but still braver than Dylan was feeling.

SPARROW
He watched everyone nervously. They were awake now, but no one had any idea how to escape from their captors. The older teenagers had all agreed to watch over the younger children, but they were no closer to escaping.

Sparrow sighed, praying Allison would keep her word and bring her friends to rescue them.

Georgie snuggled against Sparrow. "It'll be okay," she promised him. "We'll get out of this."

"Georgie... I have a terrible feeling something bad is going to happen," Sparrow replied softly so none of the younger kids could hear him. "There's something very wrong about this place."

Right on cue, one of their captors came into their cell. "Hello, Children!" She greeted them with forced cheerfulness. "I am Winifred Sanderson."

At first, no one reacted. Then, rather suddenly, Georgie did. "Let them go," she said softly.

Winifred laughed. "Why would I ever do such a thing?" She asked.

"Because I know who you are, and what you seek."

"Georgie, what are you talking about?" Sparrow asked.

"You want the power to restore yourselves to your former glory. I descend from the bloodline of Merlin. I have all the power you need," Georgie told them.

"How noble," Winifred replied dryly. "I shall accept thy power... And everyone else's!" Still, she watched Georgie with obvious interest for a moment. "What is thy name, Child?" Winifred demanded.

"Georgette Hollows," she replied.

"You claim to descend from the Merlin bloodline, yet I sense another line as well. Tell me, Georgette... How doth thou knoweth me?"

That was when Georgie said the last thing Sparrow expected. "My father descends from Merlin. My mother descends from another line from another land," she replied.

"Yes...?" Winifred coaxed her.

"She is the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Sanderson."

Winifred hissed as she mumbled, "Elizabeth..." She shook her head and cursed beneath her breath. "That vile, weak, traitorous little shrew!"

"What's going on, Georgie?" Sparrow asked.

It was Winifred who replied. "Elizabeth was my youngest sister... The baby of the family." She choked a bit on the word baby. "She is long-dead, and good riddance!"

"You're related to our kidnappers?" Sparrow asked.

"One of my ancestors left Salem for Halloweentown long ago," Georgie replied. "She vowed never to allow our family heritage to harm our new home, but the history was passed down to each new generation, just in case trouble ever found us."

"Thou art a Sanderson... This doth change things," Winifred said.

"It does?" Georgie asked.

"Yes," Winifred replied. "Thou shalt die first!"

Georgie tried to fight as Winifred grabbed her by her hair and pulled her to her feet. Sparrow desperately tried to reach her, but Winifred cast a spell that flung him into a wall. The last thing he heard before everything went black was Georgie screaming his name.

SALLY
She knew their time was limited. They needed a plan to rescue the children. As everyone else argued over what to do, Sally spotted a familiar pair of red horns passing behind a gate.

Lock, she thought.

"Jack," she said softly. "Jack, look."

Jack was too caught up in the debate to pay attention until Sally finally said, "Everyone, listen to me!"

"What is it, Sally?" Gwen asked.

"I spotted Lock heading this way." She motioned for everyone to follow her, putting a finger over her lips to keep them silent. As they reached an alley, Sally saw Lock clearly, and Barrel was with him.

"We should follow them," Jack said.

"We can't all go. They'll notice us," Dylan argued practically.

"Jack, Sally, you two follow the kids," Marnie suggested. "Binx and I will go with you in case we run into the sisters, and once we find out where the lair is, I'll use this witch's glass to let everyone else know."

"That's a good idea, Marnie," Aggie agreed.

"Emily, stay with Dani and Sophie," Binx said. "You'll be safe here."

"I will, Thackery," Emily replied respectfully. She hugged him and added, "Be safe."

"Be careful, Marnie," Gwen said firmly.

"I will be, Mom," Marnie replied in an annoyed tone. "Come on, let's go."

Sally, Jack, Binx, and Marnie hurried after Lock and Barrel. It didn't take long for them to disappear into what looked like an abandoned building.

"Grandma, do you read me?" Marnie asked.

"I'm here, Marnie," Aggie replied.

"We've got them. They're at an abandoned building three blocks from the movie theater."

"We'll be right there. Don't go inside until we join you. Keep yourselves hidden."

"But we could go in and rescue the kids-"

"Binx, darling?" Her grandmother interrupted her.

"Yes, Miss Aggie?" Binx replied.

"Make sure my darling granddaughter does as she's told for once," she said with a laugh.

"You have my word," he promised.

Marnie sighed in frustration, but she didn't try to run off on her own.

"Don't worry, Marnie," Jack said pleasantly. "It shouldn't take the others long to get here."

"Jack's right," Sally added. "We'll be stronger together anyway."

"I know," Marnie replied. "I just hate waiting when I know those kids need us."

"If they were ready to cast their spell, we'd hear them," Binx said. "The children are safe for the moment."

"Oogie's not one for spell casting," Jack said. "However, if he was harming them, we'd hear the screams."

Marnie's eyes widened in horror. "Jack... That's not helping," Sally said gently.

"Right... Sorry. They'll be fine, Marnie!" Jack reassured her.

Marnie faked a smile to appease him, but Sally could still sense her anxiety. "Of course they will," Marnie said. Sally knew she wasn't so sure.

SHOCK
As Lock and Barrel returned, Oogie Boogie looked at them and snapped, "Go be useful! Lock, Shock, Barrel, check on the captives! If anyone steps out of line, beat them with a stick!"

"Yay!" Barrel cheered.

"I have a really pointy one," Lock added.

"We'll keep them in line," Shock promised. "Come on, idiots!" She led the way to the dungeon.

It came as a surprise when Lock and Barrel were immediately attacked by a spell cast by a very determined witch and warlock.

"Get the girl, too!" The pink troll shouted. She was tending to an unconscious teenager.

Before the witch could attack, Shock knocked her out with a spell. The warlock hesitated as he cried, "Cassie!"

"Ethan, hurry!" The troll insisted.

"Her magic isn't like ours, Natalie," Ethan replied. "I don't know if I can knock her out."

"Allow me," a voice said from behind her. Shock spun around to see a little girl who punched her in the face.

"Dani, be careful!" A boy who was most likely the Max Winifred had told her about shouted as a girl Shock assumed was Allison pulled Dani away from her.

"Oh look," Shock said dryly. "More children for the Sanderson Sisters to eat."

"Not all of us are children, dear," an older witch said.

"Aggie Cromwell! We're saved!" Natalie cried in relief.

"Not yet you're not," Shock said firmly. She kicked Lock and Barrel. "Get up!"

Oogie Boogie came into the room with the Sandersons. "Winnie, look! It's them!" Mary cried, pointing at Max, Dani, and Allison.

"Get them!" Winifred shouted in response.

Mary and Sarah immediately began chasing Max, Dani, and Allison.

The unconscious boy was stirring now. "Where's Georgie?" He demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"Don't worry," Oogie Boogie said. "We're taking excellent care of her!"

Aggie, a woman who was probably her daughter, and three of the children joined hands and began humming. The power radiating from them was impressive. The abducted children were wrapped in some sort of protective shield.

"Gwen, help me get the children out of here," Aggie said. They focused on that task. The two female Cromwell children kept the shield going as the boy noticed Cassie was unconscious and ran to help her. He helped one of the boys pick her up and carry her to safety.

Jack stepped forward. "Hello, Oogie," he said sharply.

Oogie Boogie's eyes widened slightly. "Jack!" He said in surprise.

"This ends now!" Jack declared.

Shock cast a quick spell as no one paid her any mind. It opened a hole beneath Jack's feet, and he began to fall.

"Jack!" Sally shouted as Zero barked frantically.

Max and Allison reached into the hole and grabbed his arms. They began to pull him up.

Winifred grabbed onto Dani. "Max!" Dani shrieked. "Binx!"

"Dani!" Both boys shouted at once.

"We must retreat!" Winifred said. "Mary, Sarah, join me!"

Oogie ran into the portal Winifred opened. He didn't even stop to see if Lock, Shock, and Barrel were safe.

"Sarah!" Winifred snapped as her sister flirted with Ethan.

"Bye, Boy," Sarah said with a flirtatious giggle. "We'll play later."

Ethan paled slightly. "Let's go, Ethan!" Natalie said, dragging him from the dungeon.

Mary grabbed the youngest Cromwell, ripping her away from her sister. She ran to Winifred's side. The Sanderson Sisters escaped into the portal.

"Lock, Barrel, come on!" Shock shouted. She pushed the boys to safety before joining them in the portal just as it closed.

When they made it to their secondary lair, Shock looked at Oogie Boogie. "You made it," he said.

"No thanks to you," Shock replied. "You left us!"

"I knew you'd manage to get out of there. You're survivors," he said.

She didn't reply because she refused to let him see how upset she was. They were loyal, and he'd left them to fend for themselves. She was starting to realize that he didn't care about them at all.

MARNIE
She couldn't stop feeling guilty. "I was holding her hand," she said for the hundredth time.

"Marnie, it's not your fault," Allison said gently.

"But I was holding her hand! And they tore her away from me!" Marnie protested.

"At least you were holding her hand," Max said. "I left Dani alone so I could help Jack. What was I thinking?"

"We'll get them back," Aggie said firmly. "We need to calm ourselves."

"Sophie and Dani are missing, Mother," Gwen said. "Excuse me if I can't be calm about two nine year olds being in the hands of those monsters!"

"Georgie's missing, too," Sparrow said softly.

"Sparrow, we sent everyone to a safe property where their enchantments can't reach you," Aggie said in surprise. "What are you doing back here?"

"I want to help," he replied. "I need to. Georgie's my girlfriend, and she apparently descends from the Sanderson family. She's in terrible danger. Besides, they took two little girls. I'm not going to sit back and let them hurt those kids."

"Let him stay," Allison said. "The two of us connected to each other in my dream. There has to be a reason for that."

"She's right," Sally said. "Sparrow belongs here."

"I can't believe this is happening again," Max said with a sigh.

"You outsmarted them the last time, right?" Dylan asked. "We can do that, too."

"We'll work together until we figure out how to trick them and get the kids back," Jack agreed. Zero barked enthusiastically.

Emily hesitated. "I can find them and watch over them until you rescue them," she said nervously.

"Emily, no! It's too dangerous!" Binx replied.

"They are my friends, Thackery. I must help them. 'Tis the right thing to do."

"Take this, Emily," Aggie said, presenting her with a talisman.

Emily took it in her hands. "What is its purpose?" She asked.

"It will keep you invisible, so the Sandersons and their allies can't see you. As a ghost, you can't die, but I think we'll all feel better if you're protected anyway."

"Thank you, Miss Aggie."

"Emily, be very careful," Binx said. "Do everything in your power to protect Dani and Sophie, but keep yourself safe."

"I promise thee, Thackery Binx," Emily replied solemnly.

"Are we sure she'll be safe?" Marnie asked. She couldn't stand the thought of another little girl getting kidnapped.

"I'll send Zero to keep an eye on her," Jack offered. "If she runs into any trouble, he can come back and alert us."

"I'll make him a talisman, too," Aggie said. "A strong one, since his glowing nose is harder to hide. Marnie, dear, come help me."

Marnie reluctantly followed her grandmother. When they were alone, she said, "This is all my fault!"

"No, Marnie," Aggie replied firmly. "You did nothing wrong. You focused on keeping the protective shield around the children. They took advantage of the fact that you couldn't afford to stop that spell. Try not to panic, dear. Your little sister is very strong and clever, and Dani seems to be just as feisty as Sophie is. I'm sure they'll keep each other safe."

Marnie hoped her grandmother was right, but she couldn't get rid of the anxiety that was threatening to consume her.