A/N: Hello. Since tonight is Halloween, I figured, why not celebrate by making an M-rated halloween story for Amphibia based off of "The Cursed Patch" from last year's halloween episode of Amphibia. And don't be alarmed. It won't be because of any blood and gore, thankfully. Though, I will say that the rest of these chapters after this one will be M-rated (well, except the last one, that is, and it's relatively short compared to the others). And at any rate, this first chapter will be more like a sneak preview of a future chapter for "The Amphibia House: Coven of Witches, Frogs, & Frontiers". That's all I can say. Also, there's a certain reference in this story that many of you are familiar with.
Amphibia: Queen of the Patch
Chapter 1: "One Year Later"
One afternoon, Jackie was helping out in setting up the Scarecrow from last year in the same exact spot.
"There. It's all set up now...", Jackie sighed, brushing the sweat off her forehead.
"Thanks for setting up that scarecrow here, Jackie.", the farmer thanked.
"You're welcome, sir. But why did you ask me to set this one up again this year?", Jackie asked.
"Because, you're the best one I know who can set the patch up.", the farmer responded.
"Oh. Okay.", Jackie said.
"Still, I can't believe it's already been over a year since your sister and her friends... well, you know.", the farmer added.
Jackie gave a worried, solemn look in response.
"Oh. Sorry I had to bring this up, Jackie. I know it's been rough for you.", the farmer apologized.
"It's fine. Good night. And Happy Halloween...", Jackie said, starting to leave.
"Happy Halloween to you, too!", the farmer shouted as she left. "Poor kid..."
Later, Jackie was now arriving at home in time to see Rose finishing up on her jack-o-lantern.
"Hey, Jackie! Look at this jack-o-lantern I made!", Rose beamed, showing to Jackie a pumpkin with a cute face carved on it.
Seeing this, Jackie teared up and gave a sad smile.
"I think Anne would've loved it, Rose...", Jackie sniffled as she hugged Rose.
"Yeah...", Rose agreed.
Just then, Liu and Meiling entered.
"Hey, kiddo. So, uh..., how's the farm?", Liu asked.
"The same as every day, Dad.", Jackie responded.
"Are you doing okay, sweetie?", Meiling asked.
"To be honest... I'm not sure anymore... Although, I am more concerned about how the Wu's and Waybrights have been doing.", Jackie responded.
As if to answer, later, Jackie noticed on one house that the Wus were desperately searching everywhere for Marcy, their eyes appearing red, possibly from crying to themselves all day.
"Come on, everyone! Marcy might not be far behind!", Henry urged.
"Every night for the past year, it's the same thing. Only it somehow gets worse and worse...", Jackie said to herself.
Then, later, at the Waybrights' place, even the divorced parents were looking everywhere for Sasha.
"If we ever find her again, we definitely need a do-over!", Travis urged.
"Yeah. Agreed...!", Laura concurred.
"Even Travis and Laura are searching endlessly for Sasha. Think, Jackie, think! There has to be some kind of clue as to what happened to them.", Jackie said to herself before looking toward the farm.
"Okay, the last time I saw them here, I warned them not to smash the pumpkins, let alone the scarecrows. But did they listen? No. They just smashed them. Either that, or... something else happened. But what?", Jackie pondered to herself.
Later, that night, the full moon has already risen. At that point, Jackie crossed back to the scarecrow.
"Okay. Considering how serious Anne and Marcy were about leaving things well enough alone, I think it's safe to assume that half of the group I warned didn't listen. So, that means...", Jackie began before gasping upon realizing something.
"Anne and Marcy must've tried to stop them from smashing any pumpkins! So, that's it. It's nice of them to try and save that poor scarecrow, assuming that's what happened. But I don't get it. What happened after that, that made them disappear like that?", Jackie asked.
"Life's full of strange mysteries, isn't it?", the male scarecrow spoke, puzzling her.
"Huh? Who said that?", Jackie puzzled before turning to see the scarecrow standing on his own past the post for the scarecrow, earning her horrified gasp.
"Y-YOU'RE ALIVE?!", Jackie exclaimed.
"Surprised?", the scarecrow asked with a chuckle.
"B-B-But how...?!", Jackie exclaimed.
"All in due time, but right now, I need your help.", the scarecrow said.
"My help...?", Jackie asked nervously.
"Yes. You see, as you already know, my wife was smashed by some rotten kids last year.", the scarecrow began.
"I do know... By Sasha and Maggie.", Jackie responded.
"And last I checked, you've been taking good care of those pumpkins the way my wife used to.", the scarecrow said.
"Really?", Jackie asked.
"If only there was some way to bring her back somehow...", the scarecrow sighed.
Then, Jackie thought it over for a moment before widening her eyes.
"I'm not exactly sure there is a way, but I could at least try.", Jackie assured.
"Really? What you say... well, it intrigues me. What way is it?", the scarecrow responded.
"If I could find a pumpkin that's as nice as the previous one was for your wife, then, maybe her spirit could come back to that one.", Jackie responded.
"There is a thread of hope, there. I was about to say that I'll need to find someone else to be my wife myself.", the scarecrow responded, thinking it over for a moment before gasping and having a eureka moment.
"You know, I don't usually make deals, but I suppose I could make an exception. So, how about a wager?", the scarecrow asked.
"A wager?", Jackie asked.
"Yes. We'll try both our methods. You try to find the right pumpkin by sunrise, and I try to find someone who can help fill the void. We'll see which method works best. Deal?", the scarecrow offered, holding out his hand.
"Deal.", Jackie said, shaking his hand.
"So, who would you pick?", Jackie asked.
"Until you find the perfect one, hmm, Let's see.. Eenie, Meenie, Minie… YOU!", the scarecrow shouted, touching her forehead, making her exclaim in surprise.
"What are you...?!", Jackie exclaimed, moving back from him.
"You can try to find the perfect pumpkin for my wife tonight, if you want, but you have to do it by sunrise tomorrow morning. If you can manage that, then maybe I'll return your sister and her friends back to normal.", the scarecrow smirked.
"What...? You mean you were the one involved in this...?!", Jackie realized in horror.
"Oh, yes. Of course, I'll turn them back if you succeed. However..., if you fail...", the scarecrow began just before Jackie started to gag and cough out some straw, making her gasp in fear.
"That's right... You get to be my new wife!", the scarecrow shouted before laughing maniacally, earning her screams before she took off in fear.
"Time to grow some pumpkins!", the scarecrow said before chuckling.
Meanwhile, Jackie ran across the field in a panic as she couldn't help but cough out straw from her mouth.
"HELP!", Jackie panicked.
But as she progressed forward, her movement was starting to slow down. And what's worse, as she continued to spew out some straw from her mouth, her hands and legs suddenly turned into clothing filled with straw, which popped out from her hands and fingers, especially out of her ears, prompting her to try and pull them out only for it to keep popping out regardless. As soon as she collapsed on all fours, her head suddenly swelled and turned into that of a jack-o-lantern just as she coughed out more straw from her mouth onto the ground. But this time, she was able to breathe again. Getting her bearings, she stood up on two legs.
"Is it over?", Jackie asked nervously.
When she looked at her hands, she gave a frightened gasp and felt her now pumpkin-like head.
"Oh, no...! I'VE BEEN TURNED INTO A SCARECROW!", Jackie shouted in fear before running around in the field, screaming.
At the same time, a couple of children, one of which had a pirate hat on, had overheard her screams and became afraid (at least one of them did while the other was just at unease).
"Uh..., maybe going out pumpkin smashing isn't the best idea...", one kid said.
"Aw, come on. We got a reputation to uphold here.", the other responded.
But all of a sudden, Jackie emerged in a frantic panic, turned to see the two pumpkin smashers, and screamed. This repeated twice before she took off screaming in panic past the two kids.
"On second thought, maybe we should skimp out on it this year.", the other kid suggested before the first kid nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Jackie ran as if she never ran before, helter-skeltering through the field.
"This can't be happening to me...! It just can't!", Jackie shrieked, inadvertently passing a few familiar faces in pumpkin form.
"Geez, Jackie. We finally see you after a year, and you're freaking out? Calm down, dude.", a familiar voice called out, prompting Jackie to stop and look around.
"Who's there?!", Jackie exclaimed before she realized something.
"Wait a minute... That voice... Could it be...?", Jackie asked to herself.
She cautiously looked around and saw a few pumpkin heads with Anne, Sasha, and Marcy's faces on them, only Anne's face was moving when she noticed them.
"Although, getting turned into a scarecrow is kind of scary.", Anne realized before Jackie gasped.
"Anne...! Sasha...! Marcy...! Is it really you? Or am I hallucinating?", Jackie asked.
"No, Jackie. It's really us.", Anne responded.
"Oh, Anne, it IS you! You're okay!", Jackie said, hugging her with tears of joy (or rather, pumpkin seeds of joy).
"Sort of... Did that scarecrow do this to you girls?", Jackie asked.
"Yes! We tried to stop Sasha and Maggie from smashing that scarecrow's poor wife, but it was no use!", Marcy responded.
"And we've been stuck in that dang patch for a whole year ever since.", Sasha added.
"But if that's true, then how did I not see you three like that for a whole year straight?", Jackie asked before realizing something.
"Oh. I guess I hadn't counted on you three actually being turned into pumpkins.", Jackie realized.
"No, I guess not...", Marcy sighed.
"Look. Anne, our family, and your friends' families, have been very worried about you guys for the past year.", Jackie responded.
"They have?", the 3 pumpkins asked in surprise.
"Yes. They cried to themselves every day and desperately searched for you three every night. I even know our parents were trying to be strong for us, Anne. Somehow, they were able to do that better than the others. Sasha, even your divorced parents got together to look for you.", Jackie responded.
"They really did that? For me?", Sasha asked, starting to shed seeds from her eyes.
"Yes. And Marcy, they once turned an entire house upside down looking for you.", Jackie added.
"Wow... I figured our parents would be worried, but I didn't think it'd be that much...", Marcy said.
"Well, it's been about a year. What'd you expect? At least, now, we have a chance to turn you girls back to normal. And hopefully, me, in the process.", Jackie responded.
"But do you know how many pumpkins there are out there?", Sasha asked.
"Actually, yeah. Close to 100. And with the time I have left before sunrise...", Jackie began as she looked at her watch.
It said 11:15 PM.
"I might have all the time I need.", Jackie finished.
So, the 4 decided to look through each pumpkin across the field. So far, at the first one, up to the 26th pumpkin, there was no such luck. But when they got to the 27th, they found a smashed pumpkin where there should've been a ripe one.
"Oh, no! A smashed pumpkin?", Jackie groaned.
"Wait, hold up. Let's check the damage.", Anne said before she took a closer look and, upon noticing a black dot on one of the pieces of the smashed pumpkin, winced with a sharp inhale.
"Yep. That was Maggie.", Anne winced.
"Wait, what? That's Maggie?", Jackie puzzled.
"Well, was now.", Anne responded.
"It looks like she's been smashed by a couple of pumpkin smashers, one of which seemed very reluctant about it.", Marcy stated.
"Wait. Did one of them happen to have a pirate hat on?", Jackie asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?", Sasha asked.
"I think I know them. I saw them just now as I was panicking about being a scarecrow. I think I freaked them out by freaking out.", Jackie responded.
"Oh, yeah. I wonder if that scarecrow back there got to them yet.", Anne pondered.
"Well, let's not stick around and think about it. We've got pumpkins to inspect.", Jackie urged.
So, they proceeded to check the rest. But hours later, things were starting to look grim as every pumpkin has been checked.
"Oh, it's no use...! It's been nearly 5 hours, we checked every pumpkin we could find and none of them came close to the pumpkin that was used for the scarecrow's wife.", Marcy groaned.
"I'm beginning to think that Maggie had it coming.", Jackie said.
"And I'm starting to wish I hadn't smashed it at all...", Sasha added.
Then, it occurred to Jackie.
"Wait. There is one more pumpkin we could try.", Jackie realized.
"What?', the trio puzzled.
"Yeah. But it's back at home. I don't know if it's gonna work, but we at least have to try.", Jackie urged.
Suddenly, she heard the two screams from the kids she ran into earlier.
"And fast.", Jackie urged.
Meanwhile, the scarecrow had already turned turned the pumpkin smashers into pumpkins themselves and was laughing.
"Did you honestly think you can try to smash those pumpkins and make something of it. You must've been out of your gourd.", the scarecrow smirked before tossing them to the ground, breaking them and collecting their seeds with a satisfied sigh.
"Another year, another addition to the patch.", the scarecrow said, tossing them into the patch.
Moments later, Jackie, carrying Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, have already arrived back home and were creeping onto the porch.
"There it is. Rose's pumpkin.", Jackie whispered to herself.
"Aw... It looks so beautiful.", Anne whimpered, starting to shed seeds from seeing it.
"Glad you love it, Anne. Rose made it herself in memory of you.", Jackie responded.
"Your sister really is sweet, isn't she?", Sasha asked.
"Yes. Yes, she is. Though, that might not be the case if she sees me like this. So, I'm gonna have to be quick before she does.", Jackie explained.
But it was too late. Jackie turned in time to see that Rose had opened the door and saw Jackie as a scarecrow on the front porch, carrying Anne, Sasha, and Marcy in pumpkin form.
"Oh, no...", Jackie squeaked before Rose screamed.
"AAH!", Rose screamed.
"No, no!", Jackie panicked.
"No, help!", Rose screamed.
"Shh!", Jackie shushed as she approached Rose.
"Mom! Dad!", Rose shouted.
"No, it's okay! It's okay!", Jackie urged.
"What did you do with Jackie?!", Rose demanded.
"Rose, shh! I am Jackie.", Jackie urged before Rose squealed with a squeak.
"Yeah, Rose. That IS her, in a scarecrow body.", Anne added.
"Anne?", Rose asked.
"Yeah, that's her. And, unfortunately, this is me.", Jackie sighed.
Rose looked into the female scarecrow's eyes, which are alight with a warm fire and she calmed down.
"Jackie...?", Rose asked before Liu and Meiling rushed down the stairs.
"What's wrong, sweetie?", Meiling asked in worry.
"What's all the commotion a... bout?", Liu asked as he and Meiling saw what Rose saw.
"Hi, Mom...", Anne blushed.
Seeing this, Meiling fainted.
"Are they gonna be okay?", Marcy asked.
"They'll be fine in a couple of hours.", Rose responded.
"Yeah, I'm not sure we have a couple of hours. 1 hour, maybe, but still.", Anne responded.
"I don't understand what's going on here, but I got this.", Liu assured.
Moments later, Meiling was splashed with cold water, shocking her awake.
"AAH!", Meiling exclaimed.
"It's okay, Meiling. It's just our daughters. Mutated into pumpkins and a scarecrow somehow, but still our daughters.", Liu assured.
"Yeah. Dad's right. That IS us.", Jackie responded.
"Anne? Jackie? What happened to you two?", Meiling asked.
"Yeah. You're, uh... different.", Liu added.
"I've been turned into a scarecrow and they've been turned into pumpkins, okay?", Jackie explained.
"Really?", Rose asked.
"Yeah. It turns out they were trapped in the patch for a whole year now, which explains why we couldn't find them anywhere.", Jackie explained.
"You mean you three got to be pumpkins? Ohh, I'm jealous.", Rose grumbled.
"It's not exactly a picnic for us.", Sasha responded.
"And there's also one thing not to be jealous of: the terms and conditions of me being a scarecrow.", Jackie responded.
"What happened?", Rose asked.
"As I was looking for Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, retracing my steps, the scarecrow touched me and turned me into one like him. He told me that if I can find the perfect pumpkin for a new scarecrow for his wife, he'd turn us back to normal. But it has to be done by sunrise, or else I'll be stuck as his wife forever.", Jackie responded.
"So, you needed Rose's Jack-o-lantern to lift the curse he placed on you and the others?", Meiling guessed.
"Yeah. That's pretty much it.", Jackie sighed.
Rose groaned sadly as she looked toward her jack-o-lantern.
"I'm so sorry it had to come to this, but... we've checked every pumpkin in the patch we could find and none of them come close to yours.", Jackie explained.
"Are you gonna be okay?", Anne asked before Rose sniffled.
"Yeah... If it means I'd get you back, I'll do it.", Rose responded.
So, everyone got in the car (all except Jackie, who had to go on top of the car) and rode to the farm, Rose holding her jack-o-lantern.
"It's almost sunrise. If we don't go faster, we're not going to make it!", Jackie urged worriedly.
"Hold on to your butts!", Liu shouted before stepping on it.
The car then went faster and zoomed across the street, barely able to avoid many incoming collisions. The car even zoomed past one driver with Jackie calling out to him as loud as she could given how fast the car was going.
"Sorry, sir! It's urgent!", Jackie shouted.
"Jalapena!", the driver exclaimed in surprise.
The bad news was, the chase caught the attention of the police.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to pull over! We have you surrounded!", the officer called through a megaphone.
But the good news was, they happened to be close to the farm now.
"The farm! We're almost there!", Rose shouted gleefully.
"Meiling, you and the others go ahead without me! I'll deal with them.", Liu said before Meiling nodded.
With that, as soon as Liu pulled over, everyone else burst out of the car and ran into the farm with the officer pulling over near Liu.
"Uh, how can I help you, sir?", Liu asked.
"Now, there'd better be a darn good explanation for this.", the officer sneered.
Meanwhile, Jackie, Rose, and Meiling ran to the farm while carrying Anne, Sasha, Marcy, and Rose's own jack-o-lantern.
"There he is!", Jackie shouted, pointing to the scarecrow.
When they caught up, the scarecrow was chuckling, almost as if he was expecting her.
"So, find what you're looking for yet? I'm exceedingly confident you'd say no. So much so in fact that I think I'll have you as my wife right now.", the scarecrow said, chuckling as he raised his claws toward Jackie.
"Actually, the answer is yes.", Jackie responded, gesturing to Rose's jack-o-lantern, making the scarecrow gasp upon seeing it held up by Rose.
"Why... that's the most beautiful pumpkin I've ever laid eyes on...", the scarecrow gasped.
Then, sunrise came. The moment it shone on everyone and Rose's jack-o-lantern, it suddenly flew and then went toward the headless female scarecrow body. When the jack-o-lantern rested on where the previous pumpkin used to be, the jack-o-lantern's light lit up and the body sat up, making both Liu and the officer gasp in surprise.
"She lives...! SHE LIVES!", the scarecrow shouted excitedly.
"Goodness! What is this lovely place?", the female scarecrow pondered.
"It's life, ma'am.", Jackie replied.
"Oh, why hello, there. It's nice to meet you.", the female scarecrow greeted.
"It's nice to see you, too. I'm Jackie. And this is my sister, Anne, and her friends, Sasha and Marcy.", Jackie grinned.
"Ma'am, we are so sorry for me smashing you.", Sasha apologized first.
"We did all we could to save you from being smashed.", Anne added.
"Fat lot of good that did us.", Marcy added.
"What do you mean?", the female scarecrow asked.
"Well, you see, those three weren't always pumpkins. And I wasn't always a scarecrow, either. If anything, we used to be human.", Jackie explained.
This left the female scarecrow surprised as she widened her eyes.
"Oh!", the female scarecrow said.
"You'd better have a darn good explanation for what you've done, Mr. Scarecrow!", Meiling glared.
"Oh, and I do. You see, I wasn't exactly happy with what happened to my wife last year, so I had to get even. I thought that no one would care if they're gone (though, not really), but as it turns out Jackie does. Just as much as she cares for those pumpkins in the patch.", the scarecrow responded.
"Well, they may tick me off sometimes, but... they're family. Besides, I'm not the only one who cared.", Jackie responded, gesturing to her family.
"In addition, she reminds me so much about her. Then, it occurred to me. If I could turn her into a scarecrow like myself, then it might've been possible for you to come back and possess her. But she had the idea to find a pumpkin that closely match the ones one of those kids smashed last year. Honestly, I felt there was some merit for that, too. So, we tried both ideas as part of my deal, and hers won out.", the scarecrow responded.
"You look so beautiful, Mrs. Scarecrow.", Rose beamed.
"Why, thank you, dearie.", the female scarecrow responded before Rose giggled.
"And now that that's over with, consider the debt repaid.", the scarecrow said before he snapped his fingers, not only turning Jackie back to normal but also doing the same thing for Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, too leaving them gasping in wonder.
"We're all back to normal!", Anne grinned.
Everyone cheered in celebration, all except the officer, who was quite surprised.
"What's going on here?", the officer asked.
"Well, let's just say that we finally found our missing kids.", Liu replied.
"Well, I can't argue with a happy reunion.", the officer responded before leaving.
"Ma'am. We promise that from now on, we won't be smashing anymore pumpkins.", Sasha assured.
"And if we do find some people planning to smash some pumpkins, we'll try to stop them in any way we can.", Marcy said.
"Yeah, you have our word.", Anne agreed.
"Well, isn't that nice?", the female scarecrow grinned.
Then, Jackie sighed happily.
"It's good to have you back, Anne.", Jackie grinned.
"It's good to be back, honestly.", Anne responded.
"You know, I can't help but start to wonder what it would be like to be a pumpkin, let alone a really big one.", Jackie pondered.
"What? Why?", Anne pondered.
"Because, sometimes, when I tend to them in the farm, I think about what it's like to see through the eyes of a pumpkin. And being big enough may decrease the risk of being smashed.", Jackie responded.
"Huh. That's good to know. In that case, that's one experience I'd like to have.", Marcy responded.
"Me, too.", Anne added.
"Me, three. I mean, sure I might not be able to move if I was a huge pumpkin, but as long as I don't have to worry about getting smashed, that's fine with me. I guess.", Sasha agreed.
"Me, four.", Rose added, puzzling Anne, Sasha, Marcy, and Jackie.
"You, too, Rose?", Jackie asked.
"What? I've always wanted to be a plant.", Rose explained.
The female scarecrow, upon hearing this, gave a smirk.
"Oh, honey. I've got an idea.", the female scarecrow said.
"What is it?", the scarecrow asked.
Then, she whispered into his ear, leaving him gasping a bit in surprise before he then gave a stern look of understanding and nods before the whispering finished.
"Why, that is an excellent idea.", the scarecrow grinned, earning his wife's nod.
"So, you say you wish to be pumpkins?", the female scarecrow asked.
"The biggest! Or, at least, just big enough to an extent where no one would try to smash me.", Jackie responded.
"And what would you do if you were to become a pumpkin?", the female scarecrow asked.
"Well, I'd tend to and care for every pumpkin I can like a big sister.", Jackie responded.
"And I'd even scare the pumpkin smashers away. Like this. Boo!", Rose shouted as she jumped before giggling.
"And I'd be keeping an eye on her, too, so nothing happens to her.", Jackie added.
"If I could, I'd count how many pumpkin seeds I'd have inside me and grow artificial pumpkins to make the best pumpkin pies. Not touching the natural ones, though.", Marcy responded.
"Me? I could just throw my weight around.", Sasha responded.
"Me, too. If we have arms and legs. Otherwise, we'll just roll around.", Anne added before giggling.
"You don't say. Well, then. All you need to do is look into my eyes.", the female scarecrow replied.
"Okay, but wh...?", Jackie began.
But before she could ask why, she widened her lit eyes, entrancing Anne, Sasha, Marcy, Meiling, Liu, Jackie, and Rose.
"HEAR ME. In one year from now, you will eat this special pumpkin pie. And when you do, you will slowly, but surely, transform into the most plump, ripe, hard-rinded pumpkins ever. And you, Jackie, shall become the biggest, ripest pumpkin anyone has ever come across! And you will unite us into one big, happy family! I have a big heart for these things.", the female scarecrow commanded before laughing maniacally.
A/N: And we all know what that means. Fortunately, the next 3 chapters will entail what happens next. But unfortunately, like I said, most of these would be M-rated material, hence the warning up at the top that'd say, "WARNING: LEMON AHEAD". Those of you who are brave and/or bold enough to read these next 3 chapters (and are, more importantly, old enough) are more than welcome to try. Otherwise, that's it. As for the final chapter, that one is mostly T-rated by nature. Oh, and for those who were waiting for more chapters of "Curse of the Were-Oni" in this website, they're on their way soon. Enjoy. :)