*A/N* Hi! Didja miss me? I was on a *cough cough* "Hiatus". Yeahh. I had exams, an insane amount of test, supervillains to battle, and the school musical. Okay. Notes. Molly is the host of Oogie Boogie. (Creepy, no?) In the original version, she was just plain evil ( and she's such a sweet little girl...) because she was supernaturally beautiful, and hated her parents. (But now, she's just a 'normal' Halloweener. ) Rex, (The Vamp teen) Has a crush on Jack. You will hear more about Jack's Children, and about Skulduggery (We did not forsake you, Mr. Pleasant!) *Disclaimer* I own nothing *Curses at the Disney Corp., smiles genially at Derek Landy *but Jack's children, this plot, and Rex ( A non important, minor character.) *Rex sobs in a corner* Thank you very much for all your reviews. I really appreciate them. So... Thank you, enjoy, and tell em what you think.-TC

Chapter Four: And I, Jack

Jack Skellington reflected on his past year. He tended to do that a lot, but tonight was special. It was Halloween night, the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. And, as he noted, it was rather uncomfortable to be hanging to be hanging on a pole, dressed in traditional Pumpkin King Attire.

He perfectly understood why he had to wear it- tradition, of course. But why did it have to be so…itchy? And his neck hurt. And so did his back….

I'm getting old.

That was his first reflection. A few years ago, he would've been perfectly fine after a wonderful night of scaring, but now….

"I've got about a century of scaring still left in me, I think." He said quickly. "And then, Luke can…" He froze, thinking about his eldest son. Poor Luke.

Luke was literally on the brink of insanity.

Every night, every day, he would scream something about…. Darquesse or, Miss Valkyrie Cain. He would say it in such agony, like he was being burned alive. Jack knew his eldest son got premonitions, as his wife, Sally did too, but they were never as bad as this. Luke used to be so carefree and confident… Maybe a little sleepy, but still, happy, and warm and kind. Now he was scared to death of almost anything he saw. If Luke wasn't able to take over being Pumpkin King, then Ella, his first daughter would have to do it.

Ella was breathtakingly beautiful. She was kind and sweet, and very clever. She looked almost exactly Jack's mother. But that…wasn't necessarily a good thing. She was an excellent Scarer, one of the Halloween Town's best, but still, every one in Halloween Town treated her differently. Not like Nick…

Nick took after Sally. He was funny and brave and he was a certifiable genius, with good scaring abilities. But unfortunately… Luke also took after his "Grandfather".

Dr. Finklestein.

Not that Nick was controlling or abusive or anything, but he had a strong interest in science instead of scaring, and some of his experiments…weren't exactly humane.

The good news was, that Nick used his gifts for good, and not evil. He could practically make anything, and he was very thoughtful. He was a bit mischievous, but that was to be expected in a boy his age.

And then there was Molly.

Molly, who was daydreamy, and far off in a world of her own. She loved Halloween Town, that was true, but she was always looking for something more…

Just like he had, almost twenty years ago.

He smiled faintly. This year had been good. He just wished….

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a couple of Halloweeners lifting him onto a straw horse, representing Death's "Pale Horse", which one of his ancestors, he forgot which, was said to have ridden.

"Uh… sorry, Jack." Muttered a young vampire, tall and strong. What was his name again? Oh yes… "What for, Rex?" The vampire blushed a bit.

"Uh… we jostled you, a little bit." The other Halloweeners glared at him.

"What the heck did you do that for?" Screeched a pale banshee, comb still in her hair. "That ain't a rope you're swinging." Jack wondered why these young fellows were so preoccupied with his comfort.

"Uhh…that's ok." He said quickly. "I didn't feel anything." They stared at each other a bit awkwardly.

"Umm…what's wrong?" asked Jack, a bit nervously. Rex, the vampire stared rather strangely at Jack. He blushed again.

"Sir…don't you remember?"

"Remember what, exactly?" He asked suspiciously. Is it Sally's birthday? No, that's next month…

"Sir… It's been exactly 100 years since this day. The day that you freed us from Oogie Boogie, sir." Jack froze.

"Say what?" How could I have forgotten? I should've scheduled Mr. Pleasant's arrival, next year! What have I done?

"Sir… We're almost in town." Said Rex. Jack stood stock-still. Molly should be back with him by now… They rode over the bumpy cobbled streets. When they rode into Town Square, Jack searched the crowd for Molly…and Mr. Pleasant. He found his daughter, sitting in the Hanging Tree, looking obliviously happy. And beside her was…

A dark-haired, dark eyed young woman.

Valkyrie Cain.

Our man Jack is king of the Pumpkin Patch, everyone Hail to the Pumpkin King!

Scream! This is Halloween!

La la la la la la Halloween! Halloween!

That was the song Valkyrie Cain heard as a scarecrow on a horse rode into the town square. It was very still, so she was shocked when it suddenly came to life. She had seen many strange things…but this? And who was this…Jack? He sounded like someone to be feared. Someone insane.

He had to be taken down.

Valkyrie observed the scarecrow. She jumped back a little when it was set on fire and dove into the fountain. Looking at Molly, she cautiously asked her:

"Is that Jack?" Molly smiled.

"Yeah. That's my dad. Look!" she said pointing to the fountain. Valkyrie looked toward it and almost fell over with shock.

Jack was a skeleton.

Not…like Skulduggery. Who was the remains of a dead human. Jack had no resemblance to a human whatsoever.

He was impossibly thin, impossibly tall. His face moved. Which was also impossible. Without magic, thought Valkyrie. He moved with a seamless elegance as he stepped out of the odd fountain with flowing greenish water.

"What an amazing Halloween!" Said the odd skeleton man. "Thank you everybody!" He said, apparently to the bunch of strange monsters and creatures.

"No, thank you, Jack!" Said an oddly shaped man. From behind it looked as though…He had another face. That's just wrong.

The skeleton man seemed strangely irritated. He smiled, and then he bowed courteously in Valkyrie's direction. He crossed over to a low platform on the town square.

"Citizens of Halloweentown… er… it appears… ahem." He coughed. "Er…We a have a special guest… er… to commemorate the hundredth anniversary… of…of…Ah.."

I thought he was such a fluid speaker.

The strange looking woman stood up. She looked nervous as well. Her skin was blue, her hair was auburn, and there were stitches all over her body.

"Jack… Is….everything all… right?"

The skeleton man opened his mouth, and oddly enough, Valkyrie caught a glimpse of something that appeared… to be branded on to his jaw.

"I-"

Jack was cut off by a blur of purple, red, and dark blue. They slowed to a halt, and then… There were three children, or what appeared to be children,

They were dressed as a witch, devil, and skeleton. Valkyrie froze. I couldn't see the last one clearly…but I'm sure that the people who kidnapped me were dressed as a witch and devil.

The three children scanned the crowd. The locked their gaze on Valkyrie. She felt… strangely cold. And then they began running toward her. She didn't hesitate this time. She reached for her ring…

Damn it.

It was gone. They had it. She jumped down from the tree, and conjured fire. She licked her lips, and scowled.

"Listen all you freaks," she hissed. "Who the hell do you think you are, kidnapping an innocent girl?" She whirled and faced the children. "And you! I don't know who you think you are, or why you would be afraid of a pathetic skeleton. But I know one you should be frightened of-" she was interrupted by the witch rushing at her with a axe. Valkyrie hurled a fireball at her, but somehow, when it hit her, she didn't seem fazed at all.

She kept on coming.

Valkyrie dodged out of her way, but the witch followed her, the axe glinting in the moonlight. She produced a clumsy swing, the axe slowly circling, slowly enough for Valkyrie to dodge it.

" Missed me…" she said, but then she saw the gush of blood flowing out of her arm. It darkened her black suit, and dripped on to the cobblestones. The witch dove, and caught her blood…in a vial.

In a high pitched, awful voice, she cackled.

"Oh, yes. Master will be pleased. The blood of someone as special as her ought to please him. Did you get it Lock-" she was cut off by the skeleton, and the cloaked figure rushing forward. Jack moved past Valkyire, but the hooded figure… it grabbed her arm.

And hit her, over and over again.

"Don't you dare," it said in a low, threatening voice. " Touch my lady. You are." It hit her again. "Not." Another punch. "WORTHY!" It yelled. "And if you even think to harm my family, well-"

"Hello, Jack." It was a deep, menacing voice. " Did you miss me?" Valkyrie whirled around to see who was speaking. Strangely enough, it was Molly. Molly was advancing toward her. She now had an oddly shaped crystal necklace, the shape of a bug in fact, inscribed with an odd symbol, which glowed a poison colored green.

Her eyes were the same color, poison green, not hazel.

"No." breathed Jack. "It can't be! Not him! He shouldn't be alive!"

"Thanks to the lending of this body, and the generous gift of your blood," she said, chuckling. "I'll soon return to my…original form."

Valkyrie froze. What the…?

"You'll see me again soon, Goth Girl! And you too, Bone Man! C'mon boys!" she roared, toward the three children. The witch, wriggled out of the hooded figure's grip, and ran, with the devil and skeleton child, toward Molly. She smiled a terrible smile, and began to run. The four of them raced out of the Town Square, and into the darkness beyond.

"Stop them!" roared Jack, and he and several other monsters, ran, following, them. Jack soon left them in the dust as he was supernaturally fast.

" It's no use. He's too late to stop him from coming back." whispered the hooded figure. Valkyire arched and eyebrow and turned to it.

"Who? And who are you people? What am I doing here?"

The hooded figured sighed.

"I can only answer one question now, My Lady."

"What's with the My Ladies, anyways?" It waved her off.

" Here's what I can tell you. He's come back. The Hated One. The Boogie Man, in some form, has returned."