CHAPTER 8: THE PUMPKIN KING

It was a tall skeleton with a circular skull, wearing a pinstriped black suit with a bowtie shaped like a bat. Beside him was a small, limbless ghostly dog with a long ears and a little glowing jack-o-lantern for a nose. The spectral dog moved back and forth, sniffing audibly while his master assessed the gang of ragtag students.

"Y-You…!" Skully was stunned. "It's you!"

"It's… Jack Skellington? Like, the actual thing?!" Riddle cried.

"So he is real, then," Epel realized with a smile.

"Of course I'm real," Jack said. "I see my reputation precedes me." He flashed a wicked grin and raised his hands like he was about to strike. "That's right, I'm Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween! Displeased to meet you!"

Several students flinched back in alarm, but Skully dashed forward, bowing respectfully. "Your Majesty!" he cried. "I am Skully J. Graves, and I am an avid Halloween enthusiast! I've come from a distant land just to meet you!"

"Another Halloween fan, huh? Well, I'm sure we'll get along great," said the skeletal king. "But you know, you can simply call me Jack."

"Calling you by your first name? Wouldn't that be terribly impolite?" Skully fretted.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm not fond of 'majesty' or 'highness' titles—they make me seem unapproachable," Jack went on. "But if it makes you more comfortable, you could call me by my last name. I don't mind that either."

"For such a frightening figure, he's so… casual," Jade noted quietly.

"And very well-mannered," Azul whispered back. "Perhaps we can negotiate with him."

"He doesn't seem to be a fae, or a ghost, or a beast," Malleus said. "I sense magic within him, yet he doesn't seem to be a reanimated object… I've never met anyone like this."

"Ha, he is real! In your faces!" Grim chuckled.

"And who might you all be?" Jack said, peering curiously at the Night Ravens.

"Oh! Sorry, you took us by surprise," Trey chuckled. "I'm Trey Clover. This is Riddle Rosehearts, Idia Shroud, Vil Schoenheit, Azul Ashengrotto, Malleus Draconia, Jamil Viper, Leona Kingscholar, Jade Leech, Epel Felmier, Sebek Zigvolt…" As Trey gestured to each student, they gave a greeting to Jack in return; some were quiet and offput while others were bolder. Once he was done, Trey looked around. "Wait, where's Jill?"

"What's up? I'm Grim the Great!" the little direbeast said. "I'm like the boss of this little group."

"Really? I didn't know that," Malleus teased with a malicious grin.

"I-I'm just jokin', of course! I'm actually just the boss of Jill… for now…" Grim looked around worriedly. "C'mon, minion, back me up here!"

Idia moved aside to reveal that Jill was trying to hide behind him. Her pale face was as red as a beet, and she was notably shaking. Of course this was the moment she was waiting for, but in that instant, she was too shy to make a move. This was rarer than meeting a movie star or a famous author. What was she supposed to say?!

"You must be joking," Sebek complained. "This was your idea, yet you lack the courage to follow through? Step up and greet the skeleton, human!"

"I didn't scare her that much, did I?" Jack asked.

"No, she's just star-struck," Leona said. He grabbed Jill by the hand, pulling her forward. "She loves you," he said with a teasing smirk. "Most of us only thought of you as a fairy tale, but she believed in you all this time. Dragged us all the way over here just to prove you were real."

"Yes, and she talks about you every day," Jamil seconded, unable to hide his snicker. "We've learned a lot more about the legend of the Pumpkin King because of Jill."

"Not only that, but she's created a dorm in our school all about you," Vil added. "You're Jill's inspiration as well as Skully's."

"Now, don't tease Jill like that." Malleus gave her an encouraging smile. "Go on, Daughter of Man."

At this point, Jill was pulled right up to Jack Skellington. From here, she only measured up to his neck; she felt so small and insignificant at the moment. "H-Hello," she said, struggling to make her voice heard. "My name is Jill Bones. Um, it's an honor to meet you, sir…"

She remembered the dream she had after her overblot, where the Pumpkin King guided her through a forest of her own memories. We have a connection, he had told her then. He knew her name, and gave her important life advice… he acted almost like a father. Which she knew was ridiculous—Jill already had a father, and it definitely wasn't Jack. But she nursed the thought that maybe, if their paths crossed again, the king would recognize her and treat her like before.

"Jill Bones? You seem like a ghoulish young lady," Jack said kindly. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

Ah. So he didn't know her at all. It was just a stupid dream, and Jill was only fooling herself.

But still, this was Jack Skellington, her favorite Disney character! She couldn't let this moment pass her by! So she smiled and shook his bony hand. "Nice to meet you too!" she said excitedly. "Um, so the others weren't kidding, I'm a big fan of yours—"

Jack's hand detached from his wrist, falling limp in Jill's grip. Jack's eye sockets widened, and he grabbed his wrist. "Ouch! Oh, ow!"

"Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry—" Jill cried in a panic.

Jack suddenly chuckled and took his hand back, easily reattaching it. "Just kidding," he said slyly. "Forgive me, but I couldn't resist that little joke. You all look stiffer than a scarecrow!"

Indeed, the entire cast had been surprised since Jack's arrival. Jill suddenly giggled, and while the boys didn't share her laughter, they finally seemed to let some of their guard down. To think that the Pumpkin King was not only real, but he was friendly as well!

"Listen, Jack," Jamil said, "it's been nice meeting you, but we're actually from a place called Twisted Wonderland. We need to get back home, but we don't know how. We… sort of fell in from a magical book."

"A book? Hm, that's odd," Jack said, rubbing his lower jaw. "Well, going between holiday worlds is easy enough, but going from the Land of Holidays to Twisted Wonderland is a little more difficult."

"According to legend, you and the other residents of Halloween appear in Twisted Wonderland every year to spread fear and horror," Skully said. "Is this the truth?"

"Yes, every Halloween," Jack affirmed. "We go through this mausoleum, and we all come back before the night ends. We make sure no one gets left behind!"

"So this is the exit? And it opens only on Halloween?" Leona asked. "We can't exactly wait that long. You're in charge, can't you open it for us?"

"I would gladly do so, except this operates through holiday magic," Jack said. "We're still planning our next Halloween, so this realm doesn't have enough power to break through the barrier yet. How to open it now… hmmm…" He was lost in thought.

"Guys, I'm really sorry about this," Jill muttered. "If I'd known we'd be stuck here until Halloween, I wouldn't have—"

"That's it!" Jack suddenly cried, startling her again. "Let's go to town and explain your dilemma. Sally would know what to do, and the doctor would have some good ideas too, and I'd have to talk to the mayor…"

"We're going to meet a crowd of people?!" Idia cried fearfully.

"Ah, the lovely people of Halloween Town!" Skully gushed. "I cannot wait to meet them! Please, sir, if you would show us the way…"

"Of course!" Jack said cheerfully. He put his bony hands on both Jill and Skully's shoulders, moving them ahead. "Follow us, fellows! The Halloween citizens will think you're a real scream!"

Zero barked and nudged Grim with his nose, forcing the direbeast to follow suit. The Night Raven students were close behind, not sure what to think.

"This has to be the strangest endeavor I've ever been on," Riddle said.

"I've never met a ruler who's so… blasé!" Sebek criticized.

"Still, we are in his territory," Azul cautioned. "We should be grateful that he's willing to hear us out."

"I can see why Jill loves this Pumpkin King so much," Malleus noted. "He's a rather unique character."

"Maybe not as unique as we thought," Trey said, pointing forward.

With Jill Bones, Skully Graves, and Jack Skellington all in a row like that, the trio really seemed similar.