Quintessence by Hugs.And.Kisses (book recommendations website TXT) 📕

standing at the gates of Skellington Manor.

"Dad!" The two boys rushed at their father, hugging him tightly. Jack set the box of vials to wrap his arms around them.

"Johnny, Ed, where's mom?" Aubrey asked. The boys didn't look very surprised that their sister had suddenly returned, just worried.

"Some of Oogie's baddies grabbed her."

"It's our fault." Ed lamented. "We were going to the Witch's Shop for some stuff, and we weren't watching."

"Mom shoved us back inside the gate before the skeletons could grab us-" Johnny continued.

"And they took her instead and headed for the cemetery!"

Jack knelt down to look the two in the eyes. "Boys, I want you to go back to the manor and stay there. Make sure to shut the gate behind you." He smoothed a hand back over each of their heads.

"Don't worry; dad and I will get mom back." Aubrey assured them. Both nodded and- after giving Aubrey a quick hug as well- bolted back to Skellington Manor. Aubrey groaned as she saw the gate to the cemetery- it was shut.

Now, after the little… incident involving certain parties (aka Raphael and Vanessa) a few years back, Jack had spelled the fence surrounding the cemetery- if the main gate was shut (which it never was, usually) and locked (again, a rare occurrence) then an invisible force field surrounded the many graves and crypts, making it impossible for anything to get in or out- by use of physical or magical means- until the gate was unlocked. But, for those with a higher than normal magical ability, the shielding spell appeared as a translucent, shining dome over the cemetery.

"Don't worry. All we have to do is find Clown and have him unlock the gate." Jack said, putting a reassuring hand on Aubrey's shoulder.

"Easier said than done, everyone's hiding from Oogie's monsters- including Clown." Aubrey pointed out.

Jack smiled at her. "You underestimate him." He chuckled. "Clown?"

A large cloud of smoke exploded in front of the two, and the key-keeper of Halloween Town rolled out. "Jack! Aubrey!"

"Happy reunions later, Clown." Jack said firmly, stopping the oncoming hugs. "We need you to unlock the cemetery gate for us."

The wheeling monster glanced downward. "Well, I would Jack, but… I lost it." Jack blinked- that was unlike Clown, he was normally so good with keeping up with the keys. "One of Oogie's monsters was chasing me around the square when it grabbed the key from the string and disappeared into the sewer." He pointed at the manhole near the entrance of the Witch's Shop. "I wasn't brave enough to go in after it."

"It's alright, we'll get it back." Jack assured him. "Aubrey?"

She sighed. "Great. Into the sewer we go." She pried open the manhole and, folding her wings tight, leapt in, Jack not far behind. The sewers beneath Halloween Town had gone under some attempts at modernization over the past few years.

They hadn't done very well.

Aubrey looked around at the slimy cobblestone floor, the rusted pipes, and moss covered walls. "I don't see any monsters." She said, taking a few steps forward. "Actually, I don't see anything. Shouldn't the rats be out at this hour?"

"Something's not right." Jack murmured, looking into the glowing green water surrounding the solid platform.

And then the skeletons leapt out. Hey, where else would they have been?

However, Jack- being the Pumpkin King- and Aubrey- having fought the tricky little bastards before- weren't exactly unprepared. Soul Robber and Morningstar alike went flying, slicing and dicing several of the leaping monsters before they could reach their intended targets. "I'll take that." Aubrey said, bending down and prying open a bony fist to retrieve the cemetery key from its grasp. She looked up at the sound of a crunch from behind her to see that Jack had slammed a not quite ready to go down skeleton that had leapt at Aubrey's unguarded back into the wall.

She held up the key. "Can we go now?"

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Clown couldn't have been happier when Aubrey handed him his key, zooming over to the cemetery gate and unlocking it. The shimmering shield dissolved away, leaving the two a clear path into the cemetery, which they quickly took.


Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Breaking Contract

"No sign of any of Oogie's monsters yet." Aubrey murmured, the Morningstar at her side in a tight grip. "You'd think that this place would be crawling with them."

"Keep your guard up anyway. I don't trust this silence." Jack said, walking over to a familiar, doghouse shaped grave. He patted his knee, frowning when Zero was nowhere to be seen. "Strange…"

"Dad, come over here!" Aubrey called, distracting Jack from the strange disappearance of the ghost dog.

"What is it, Aubrey?" Jack asked, peering over her shoulder.

She looked back at him. "It's one of the hanging men." She said, stepping aside to let Jack see. A skeleton sat hidden behind one of the tombstones, the tattered end of its snapped noose hanging limply against the ground.

"I'm happy to see you back, Jack." The hanging man said with a rather monotonous tone in its quiet, whispery voice. "It's been rather bad here lately."

"I've seen, unfortunately." Jack replied. "What are you doing here? Where's the Hanging Tree?"

The skeleton shrugged its bony shoulders pathetically. "I don't know. When the monsters attacked us, we were all separated. I haven't seen anyone. Just hid here until the monsters stopped coming."

"But they didn't stop coming, did they?" Aubrey asked quietly.

"No." Came the mournful answer.

Aubrey looked up at Jack. "Dad, the Hanging Tree must still be in the Graveyard somewhere."

Jack nodded. "Don't worry, we'll help you find the Hanging Tree." Aubrey grabbed the noose's end and pulled the hanging man onto her back, nestling the skeleton underneath her wing.

"This way." Jack motioned, following the curved path deeper into the graveyard. It led them to the large, gnarled tree in the graveyard's back, which was as tall as some of the buildings in Halloween Town. At its base, a much smaller, more mobile tree paced worriedly.

"Hanging Tree!" Jack called, waving. The tree looked up from its pacing, and a smile broke out across its crooked mouth.

"Jack! Aubrey! You're back!"

"And we brought you a present." Aubrey said, turning slightly to reveal the skeleton lying against her back.

"Ah, there you are!" The tree said happily as Aubrey floated the skeleton back up to its branch and mended its broken noose with a few words. "I'm afraid I haven't had much luck in rounding up my missing Hanging Men." He said morosely. "With all the monsters lurking around, it isn't safe to wander."

"We haven't seen any monsters yet." Jack said.

"Most of them are deeper in the Graveyard." The Hanging Tree informed the two of them helpfully. "Unfortunately, that also seems to be where my Hanging Men are, and I'm not much of a Hanging Tree without Hanging Men."

"Well, we could try and find them for you." Aubrey said. "The graveyard isn't that big, and I doubt that those monsters are smart enough to take them too far."

Jack nodded. "A tracking orb will be a simple enough way to find them." He snapped his fingers, and the orb appeared in front of him. "Dnif em-" He cut short as the orb began to shake and flicker through a palette's worth of colors.

"What's happening?" Aubrey asked, watching as the spell disintegrated into thin air.

Jack's frown deepened. "Something is disrupting the flow of magic in the area. But I can't seem to find the source…"

Aubrey closed her eyes. "It's at the front of the Graveyard. It's…" Her eyes snapped open. "It's Shock. I'd recognize her magic anywhere."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Aubrey, stay here. I'll handle Lock, Shock, and Barrel."

She shook her head. "No. I'm going with you. Maybe I can talk some sense into them."

Jack hesitated, but nodded. Better to have Aubrey come with him than follow him and be attacked without his being prepared. "All right. Let's get going."

Jack heard Aubrey inhale sharply as they rounded the corner. Lock leant back against fence, a ball of flickering fire cupped in his palm, the licking flames tinged with violet. "It was a fake." Aubrey muttered. "This isn't right."

"Aubrey, stay back." Jack ordered, walking forward. "Lock." He called, making the devil look up. He straightened, closing his fist and extinguishing the fire.

"Hello, Jack. Like the improvements to the town?" Lock questioned without much enthusiasm.

"What are you doing here?"

The corner of Lock's mouth twitched downward. "What do you think, Jack?" He held out one hand, the Advocate appearing in it. "I'm here to kill you."

There was a flurry of feathers as Aubrey launched herself over Jack's head and firmly planted herself between her father and fiancé. "Not without getting through me."

Lock's eyes widened. "Aubrey?" He took a step forward, raising a hand up to touch her face. When his knuckles brushed cool skin, he jumped slightly. "I can't believe it, you… you're okay?"

Aubrey smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her smile faded. "Lock, what's going on? Why are you doing this?"

He winced, like he was in pain. "I… I wish I could tell you, Aubs."

"Why can't you?" She demanded, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. Lock stiffened, and Jack managed to sense a strong, ancient magic before what appeared to be an explosion knocked the two of them away from each other.

"Aubrey! Are you alright?" Jack asked, helping her off the ground.

"Yeah, I think so." She said, rubbing her head. Her eyes traveled over to where Lock was lying, writhing in pain. "Lock!" She cried, running over. His hand was gripping the spot her hand had covered. Carefully, she pried his hand back (letting it grip hers instead) to see a pulsing black 'X' on his forearm, disappearing and reappearing with each pulse. "What the hell?" She gasped. Her fingers brushed it carefully, Lock let out a yelp pain, and Aubrey pulled back her hand, examining her fingers. It felt like she had been burned, but there was no sign of it. She glanced back at the mark, which was pulsing faster now.

And were her eyes playing tricks on her, or was the bit she had touched gone? Biting her lip, she forced her palm down on top of the 'X,' and immediately regretted it. Not only did Lock let out a howl, but pain shot up her arm, making her eyes cloud over. Whatever had put this mark there was innately evil and dark… it only took a second more for her to recognize the magic.

Oogie.

That made her very, very angry. Aubrey's