CHAPTER 10: PEOPLE ARE STRANGE

Jill flinched as a bright spotlight flickered onto the stage, lighting up the edges of the dark curtain that separated her group from the rest of Halloween Town.

"Thank you for coming, everyone! I have something interesting to share with you!" Jack announced. "A group of people from Twisted Wonderland have fallen into our world!"

"Twisted Wonderland? Where we go scaring people every Halloween?" one of the monsters asked excitedly.

"They have lots of scary creatures there too, right? Are they vampires?"

"Are they werewolves? Or witches? Or ghosts?"

"How about sea monsters? Or mummies? Or reptilian beasts?"

The clamor of guesses went on for a bit before Jack was able to calm the excited monsters down.

"These people think that we're monsters?" Vil asked with disgust.

"They must not be familiar with humans or fae," Malleus mused. "Or merfolk, beastmen, or direbeasts, for that matter."

"But don't these folks visit our world every Halloween?" Epel asked. "Surely they know we're not monsters?"

"Of course!" Jill realized. "Everyone's all dressed up on Halloween—that's why they think we're like them!"

"They're not quite what you're imagining," Jack went on. "But allow me to show you."

The curtain peeled back at last with a loud rustle, exposing the students to the various monsters of Halloween Town. There was another eruption of chatter as the creatures talked among themselves, taking it all in.

"Hmph, they're hardly ugly at all," said a witch in disappointment.

"Oh, they have a familiar!" said her shorter sister. "Wonder if they'll let us have their kitty?"

"I heard that! Who're you callin' a kitty?!" Grim hissed.

"I like the one with fire on his head. Is he an imp?" asked the Melting Man. Idia scuttled back, looking terrified.

"Mama, that guy has animal ears and a tail. What kind of beast is he?" Corpse Kid asked his mother, pointing to Leona.

"Oh, I've seen those in books—he's a lion. A very fierce, scary animal!" she replied excitedly. Leona glared at the monsters, flicking his tail in annoyance.

"These folks look like humans," said one of the vampire brothers. "But they all dress like us… perhaps they are vampires?"

"No, I don't see any fangs. I still think they're ghosts," the shortest vampire added.

"What kind of creature is that horned man?" asked the Hanging Tree. The skeletons hanging from his branches chipped in with their own theories: "He's a demon!" "He's a gargoyle!" "An imp!" "Maybe a beast?"

"What?" Malleus asked angrily.

"How dare you insult Malleus Draconia with such words?!" Sebek shouted. "This is the future king of Briar Valley, and you will speak of him respectfully!"

"What a loud voice! It sent chills up my spine!" the werewolf praised.

"These must be new additions to Halloween Town," Undersea Gal guessed. "They may have died recently."

"No, we're not dead!" Jamil tried to explain. "We're all alive, and we came here by chance! We're trying to find a way back!"

"We're getting nowhere with these guys," Jill realized.

"EVERYONE!" Jack suddenly shouted, his voice echoing through the hall. Jill was terrified into silence, as was every other person in the building. The crowd of monsters recovered quickly and grinned, enjoying the brief scare. Jack cleared his throat and spoke plainly, "I know you're excited, and that's great! But we should let our guests speak now." He stepped to the side and gestured to the Night Ravens.

"G-Geez…" Grim said, smoothing out the fur which had bristled up from fright.

"Thank you," Trey sighed. "Now look, this is just a misunderstanding."

"That being said, it's wonderful to meet all of you," Skully said, stepping forward with a huge smile. "My name is Skully J. Graves, and this is Jill Bones!" He pointed towards the goth girl, making her flinch. "We're Halloween enthusiasts," he went on, "and we came here to prove to our companions that this world is real!"

"That being said!" Riddle cried. "We need to go back to Twisted Wonderland, but the door will only open with enough holiday magic. We may need your assistance."

"You want holiday magic? Then you must want to celebrate Halloween with us!" Mummy Kid deduced.

This made another ripple of excitement spill through the crowd, with murmured theories on what these new people could do and how they could make Halloween more fun.

"Is there really no other option than to wait for Halloween?" Jade asked worriedly.

"These people only hear what they want to hear," Azul sighed. "There's no getting through to them."

"Hey, Jack, can't you make these guys understand us?" Grim asked, glaring up at the skeleton.

"They just need to process your arrival first," Jack said apologetically. "They're not used to meeting people outside the Land of Holidays. And you are dressed like denizens of Halloween. Just be patient a little longer and let their excitement fade, then you can explain your problem in more detail."

"You're so patient and compassionate towards all your subjects," Skully gushed. "It's no wonder they love you as their king."

"Oh, for the love of…" Leona came to Jill's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Gazelle," he said, "there's only so much of this I can take. You're supposed to be the Halloween Town expert. Do you know any of these freaks who would actually listen to us?"

"Who would listen…?" Jill snapped back to reality, looking over all the monsters in a variety of shapes and sizes. "Wait…!" She realized. "She would listen!" Jill stepped forward, forcing Leona to drop his hand, until the toes of her boots were against the end of the stage.

"Miss Sally!" she called out. "Please, come up with us! We need your help!"

There was a beat of silence, and then someone stepped up onto the right side of the stage. She looked like a woman, though her skin was made of blue cloth stitched up in several areas, and her hair was made from red yarn. She wore a patchwork dress sewn from many different fabrics, as well as dress shoes and striped socks that resembled Jill's usual footwear.

"Sally!" Jack greeted happily. He crossed the stage in no time at all and held her hands while grinning down at her. "Perfect timing! We have a bit of a dilemma, as I'm sure you've heard…"

"I was listening from the side. I was waiting for a good moment to step in and voice my thoughts, but…" Sally stared at Jill. "You called out to me."

"Of course," Jill said. "You think I wouldn't seek the help of the Pumpkin Queen?"

"Queen?!" several students asked in surprise.

"My whole village knows of all the figures in Halloween Town, including Miss Sally," Skully said quietly, "but I didn't know that she was the queen."

"Yes, Jack and I have been married for some time now," Sally said happily. Looking closer, Jill could see a black gnarled ring on one of her fingers, and Jack had a silvery-white ring that almost blended in with the color of his fingerbones. Several Night Raven students nodded or even bowed in respect, even Malleus, to Sebek's shock.

"If you please, Your Majesty… do you know how to help us?" Riddle asked.

"So you've fallen into our world, and you want to return as soon as possible… but we can't do that without the holiday magic of Halloween…" Sally glanced away, pursing her lips. "This is just an idea, mind you… but suppose we did a mock Halloween? An unofficial celebration where we can assist you. That might create enough holiday magic to reopen the doors."

"Wait, please hold on! We can't do that!" The Mayor cried, his face switching to unhappy. "We're not done with our own Halloween preparations yet!"

"I'm sure we could quickly put something together, with the help of our new friends," Jack said. "And they could even give us ideas on our next official Halloween when it comes. We've been through Twisted Wonderland many times, but we've never gotten the chance to speak to them about their Halloween ideas!"

"Could work, but… shoot," Jill said quietly. "The door only opens when there's enough Halloween spirit in both worlds, right? We're not even preparing for Halloween back in Twisted Wonderland!"

"Jill, didja forget which dorm we're part of?" Grim asked her. "We're in Hallowgrim, modeled after this guy right here!" He pointed to Jack, who smiled at the reminder. "And that means there's a place in Night Raven where we have Halloween spirit all year round!"

"Then it just may work!" Jack said. "Great idea, Sally!"

"I try," Sally chuckled. "And I'm curious to see what these newcomers all bring to our table."

"W-Well, if you two say it's a good idea…" The Mayor switched to his happy face. "…then I'll fully support it! Let's begin right away!"

The monsters applauded louder than before, startling Jill again.

"Celebrating a mock Halloween with its residents… this feels like a dream," Skully said delightedly.

"I know…" Jill said, though her voice was much quieter.

There had to be more to this.