Alone

Intro
Hello, this is another fanfiction by Lu and Kera. It is a continuation of The Nightmare Before Christmas. But it's not necessarily about Christmas. The plot is lost in the fog of the woods. It shall dawn on you very soon in the story, reader. Now let's go, through the pumpkin door, and be sure to watch your step!

Characters
Miretta

Cerbi

Pyra

Kadav

Skella

Oogie Boogie

Serpens

Jack

Sally

Lock

Shock

Barrel

Mayor

And many more

Chapter One: Searching
Soft footsteps pierced the silent hallway. Miretta slowy looked around, adjusting her bow. "Cerbi? You in here?" She called. There were three yips, and a skeletal cerberus hopped off the platform stage. "Looks like nothing's here." She said, turning for the door, Cerbi on her heels.

Outside, a girl in a black turtleneck and jeans was twirling a bone that was sharpened on one end. Through her skeleton mask, she seemed bored, altough she was dodging fireballs coming from a girl with flame red hair, orange T-shirt, and blue jeans. "This idea of Miretta's was total bubkis." She said with a sigh. "Tell me about it." The other girl groaned, her fingertips ablaze. A boy that was tall, skinny, with messy black hair, a black shirt, brown pants, and crooked glasses was grinning; despite the fact it was very cold and creepy. "Well, Pyra, at least there's one place we haven't checked yet." Miretta said, her bony figure coming from the doorway. "No. Anywhere but there." Pyra said bitterly. Skella yawned and slipped her bone into her sleeve, it disappearing and not falling back out when her hand was visible again,

"Yes, there. Exactly there." Miretta said at Pyra. "It's the only place we haven't checked, and we obviously should. Any onjections, other than Pyra?"

Skella stayed quiet, but a soft voice behind her siad, "I'll go anywhere with yuo, dear Miretta..."

Miretta;s eyes widened as she spun around, her hands flailing, and she smacked Kadav on the face. "Kadav! Stop doing that!"

Kadav acted like he didn't even get hit. "Well, let's go!" He said optimistically.

Soon, they had arrived at the old, rotting house a little aways from the town gates.

"Well, here goes." Skella slowly opened the door. It creaked loudly. The second Miretta glanced in, she stood stiff. ''"Please tell me that wasn't a...a...Snake..." ''She thought, her fear suddenly flooding into her. When she looked back, the long, narrow figure was gone.

Pyra walked ahead of her, grabbing her arma nd jarring ehr along. "Get your head outta the clouds, Miretta. We've got some searching to do."

"Okay, okay." Miretta walked to a room that seemed filled with books.

Pyra looked around with a bored expression. "Can I torch them?" Miretta yelled no, and Kadav left the room. "I

ll follow him," Skella volunteered, and left as well.

Miretta gazed around the room. There were inches of dust on some piles. Pyra made a fireball and expertly pictched it at a rather large clump. The clump caught fire and burned quickly, following everal lines of dust branching out form it, before the whole thing disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Miretta glanced at a particuarly large book. She could see it was titled "History Of Halloween Town".

Pyra looked over at the book. "Looks boring." Miretta rolled ehr eyes and pulled the book off the shelf, and opened the dusty volume. She turned to the index and scanned the names. Pyra leaned over and pointed to one. "Oh! Lock! I wanna see that person!" Miretta handed her the book, and let Pyra read that section.

She turned to the right page, and scanned the paragraph about Lock. "Hey! It says here, that he's pyrokinetic. Cool! And he has flaming red hair, like me, he likes to torture people, and he likes hot places... Wow! It's like we're related!"

Skella looked at the book. "Hmm... according to this, he's friends with two others named Shock and Barrel. Turn to Barrel, Pyra." She asked.

Pyra turned to Barrel's page.

Skella skimmed it over. "Hm. He wears a skeleton mask, like me! And by the looks of it, we have the same color hair!" Pyra looked at and compared the pictures. "It's kinda creepy... You and him look alike, and I look like devil. Hey. Where's Kadav?"

"I brought him back in. But... I guess he left again." Skella said.

"Kadav! Come in here! We want to check something out!" Pyra called.

"You called?" said a rapsy voice behind Pyra. He yelped and turned, throing a fireball at the voice. Kadav easily dodged, cackling.

"Look, just compare yourself to her!" Pyra said, turning to Shock's page and pointing at her picture.

Kadav studied the picture and then said, I don't see it." Pyra glared at him. "Enough with the funny business, you could be her twin."

"I doubt twin." Miretta said. "Look at her birth date."

Pyra went back to the index and placed a finger on another name. "Jack Skellington....." She turned to his page.

She scanned the page and her eyes widened. "Miretta..." Miretta looked at her confusedly. "Looks like we found your twin."

"Listen, this book is really old! I doubt any of them are our twins! Relavtives maybe, but definatley not twins!" Miretta muttered, before looking at the page.

"I can't have some fun? Miretta, you really suck," Pyra grumbled. Miretta waved the comment aside, reading about Jack Skellington.

After a few seconds, Miretta dropped the book. "Any of you hear that?" She asked quickly.

"Hear what?" Skella muttered.

"I thought I heard a snake..."

Pyra rolled her eyes. "You're afraid of a measly little snake? Wimp." Kadav dangled a tiny spider over her head. She shrieked very very loudly.

Miretta took the spider from Kadav. "You're afraid of a measly little SPIDER."

Suddenly, something fell and hit Miretta square on the head. She fell backwards, just as the floor underneath all four of them collapsed.

Startled, Pyra created a fireball, which lighted all the dust n the room. The room promptly exploded.

Miretta got up, rubbing where the object had hit her head. There was a small crack. "Great, my head is broken," she muttered.

Pyra moaned nearby. "Uhgh... I think... I broke my hand..."

Skella was standing, looking around the vacant area they had landed.

Kadav was being his usually weird self and constantly poking Skella. "Syop it before I break your neck," Skella said, and Kadav backed away.

Miretta looked around as well. "Well, looks like we're in some sort of basement."

Pyra instantly glues herself to the nearest person, who happened to be Skella. "So many... S-spiders..."

"Say what?" Miretta suddenly noticed quite a few large spiders on the ceiling. A cold sharp hiss filled the room, and she almost fainted.

"Snake," Kadav called monotonely, and then got hit by Skella's bone. A second later, two large scarlet eyes appeared in the shadows.

Chapter Two: Unwelcome
Miretta fought every urge in her to scream. Pyra made a fireball, and Skella took out her bone. Kadav just stood there, his gaze transfixed on the eyes.

There was another hiss, followed by a low voice.

"A child of he issssss unwelcome. Masssster is not pleassssed..."

That's when Miretta screamed. "It talks! it's a talking snake!" Pyra threw her fireball at the nsake. It hissed angrily and retreated. "Disssspleasssed..."

Skella looked shocked. "If my calculations of eye size is correct. That was one big snake." Kadav nodded. "Python."

"Can we just get out of herre?!" Miretta screeched, holding onto Pyra for deal life.

Skella looked up at the hole they crashed through. "Maybe. Depends on if there's a ladder or not."

Kadav appeard, holding a lassoed rope. "Where did you get that?" Skella asked.

Kadav didn't answer. he just threw the rop up to the splintered floor until it held,a nd climed up.

Soon, they were out of the house. "I am SO glad to get out of there," Miretta muttered. Pyra agreed.

"But what did that snake mean by Master?" Skella wondered.

"Who knows and who cares?" Miretts said. "Let's just leeave!"

The four headed to the forest.

Back in the house, the snake was speaking to an unkown person.

"Child of he, ssssir."

"...What was that, Serpens? Child of whom?" said a voice from the shadows.

"He, sssir. Jack..." Serpens replied.

"What?!" The voice roared. "You let them in HERE?!"

"Sssssooo sssorry, sssir.... " Serpens whispered.

"SORRY? SORRY IS NO EXCUSE. YOU LET HIS DAUGHTER IN HERE, AN YOU LET THEM ESCAPE?!"

Serpens hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Yesss..."

The voice went silent. Serpens shivered slightly. "FIND THEM!" boomed the voice.

Serpens hissed an okay, then slithered to an exit hole.

"I hated that tree," Pyra said, pointing at a tree labeled witha big red heart.

"Yeah. Too lovey-dovey for my taste." Skella said.

"It wasn't that bad," Kadav said quietly, earningweird looks from the other three.

"There's only one door we haven't gone in is that one." Pyra said, pointing to a bright green pine tree door.

"Well, let's give it a shot!" Miretta said, grasping the door knob.

So they all went through the door, finding themselves falling...

After a few minutes, they landed with a Thump on some snow.

Pyra grimaced. "It's too cold here." She made a fireball in hr palm and melted the snow around her.

THey all got up, Cerbi yipping curiously as snowflakes fell on his heads. Pyra wanted to singe him to bone dust, but Miretta had her under radar. Kadav and Skella, however, were ogling at everything around them.

"I think I see a figure over there." Kadav said, motioning to his right. Miretta peered into the snow, and Pyra commented, "This person looks fat."

Miretta gave Pyra a sharp glance. "he's probably buried under numerous coats and hats and things, you idiot," she said.

Pyra just rolled her eyes. As the figure approaced, they realized that the person really was fat, not just under coats. Pyra gave Miretta a smirk, but it was ignored.

"Hello!" Kadav yelled at the fat person. "Who are you?"

Miretta looked down, about to mutter something to Cerbi, when she noticed the skeletal cerberus was gone. He was running twoard the figure. "Cerbi!" she shouted. "Stop!"

"Go! Go the the weird person!" Pyra screamed at the dog.

Cerbi stopped in his tracks, lookingback and forth between Pyra and Miretta, not sure which orders to follow. He then scampered back to Miretta. "Dumb dog..." Pyra muttered.

It was at that point the figure seemed to notice them. The figure waddled towards them, making an effort to trudge through the snow.

Cerbi yipped, as if the person was an old friend of his. Niretta held him back, so he wouldn't ran at the person. "No, cerbi, stay!" Pyra chanted him on to go see the possibly harmful person.

Cerbi broke from Miretta's grip and ran to the figure. After a moment, a voice called out, actually directed to Cerbi.

"Huh? It can't be... You vanished years ago!"

Cerbi barked a couple times, then ran back to Miretta and company. Company was stumped. The person directed the comment to Cerbi, saying he had disappeared... "This is weird," Pyra remarked.

"Is anyone else there?" THe figure called. Without an answer, he began to walk over to them. Pyra readied a fireball, and Skella got out her bone.

"Hold on, guys." Miretta muttered. The figure approaced and he came into the light so they could see his face.

It was white and had a worried exoression. When he saw Miretta and company, his head spun to reveal a different face. It was normal skinned, and this time had a look of inquiry on it.

"Whoa. That was cool. Do that again!" Pyra exclaimed. She wanted to see his head turn around again.

Miretta lightly jabbed Pyra in the arm for her ignorance. Pyra jabbed her right back,a nd it became a jabbing match.

Kadav just stood there, staring off into space, as if he didn't notice anyone else was there. Skella smacked him with ehr bone, and he still didn't respond.

Miretta just stared at them blankly. She looked back at the other man. "Who are you?"

The other three turned their attention back to the man, their eyes asking the same question.

"Well, it's rsther hard to explain..." the man said, his face quickly doing a 360. "I'm teh Mayor of Halloweentown."

"What?" Pyra asked, puzzled. "You mean that old abandoned place we just explored not half an hour ago?"

"What, you were there? How did you get here?!" The man was in a state of confusion, his head twitching.

"Uh...We went through the door...." Pyra said.

"Oh. Of course. Was there anyone there?"

"No. Well, not unless you count a giant snake as anyone."

The man's face seemed to get paler, if possible. "A snake... W-well, that's nice to know!" his face suddenly whipped around to show a smiling face.

"A giant snake... Is nice to know?! That thing attacked us!" Miretta exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, it's very nice, you know!" There was a slight hint of urgency, or anxienty in the smiling man's face.

Miretta looked over to Kadav, Skella, and Pyra with a look on her face as if to say "This guy is CRAZY!"

Kadav turned to the man. "You're crazy," he said. The three girls promptly facepalmed.

"And you're an idiot." Pyra said.

"And I'm an idiot." Kadav parrotly responded.

"Uhm, anyway, come with me, come with me!" The man began to toddle off in the other direction, stopping only to wave them along.

And thus they followed, not sure where they were going.

They were also unaware of the serpent-like figure slithering after them, behind by just a few yards.

"Yesssss, be unaware young onessss... Your time shall come..."

Soon, they had arrived at wherever the Mayor had been taking them.

"This is where the remaining residents of Halloweentown live," the Mayor said, gesturing at a smallish camp spread out in a clearing of pine trees.

Pyra seemed to realize something. She turned to Kadav. "Kadav, give me the book."

"What makes you thin I have it?" Kadav asked.

"I saw you put it in your backpack." Pyra said, annoyed. Kadav shrugged and opened his backpack, handing her the book inside.

"So by residents, you mean these people?" Pyra asked the Mayor, showing him a few pages. The mayor scanned the pages,a nd nodded. "Where did you get that book?"

"In the same house where the giant snake was." Miretta said. The Mayor seemed to quiet at the notion of the snake. He toddled into the camp, beckoning them forward.

They walked over to it. The camp was an odd place, decorated as if it were Halloween. But it wasn't. No where near it. The residents looked like they definitely lived in Halloweentown, and their houses looked similar; some even looked like the one in the town.

Miretta, Pyra, and Skella each looked around, but Kadav simply stood in a random spot, being as Kadav usually was. Pyra walked right ahead, looking around. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know..." Miretta mumbled. Her face fell flat, and she turned to some bushes.

"Huh... Thought I heard somethng..." Kadav was then next to her. "What did you heeeear?" he asked ina crepy voice.

Miretta jumped. When she notied it was only Kadav, she beaned him over the head.

She turned back to the bushes and froze. "Guys.... I think we should move..."

"And just why do you ask that?" Pyra muttered.

Then, before anyone could react, a large red, yellow, and black banded snake lept out, coiling up and raising itself high, hissing for all to hear.

"THAT. IS. THE. SNAKE." Miretta said in a scared and hushed voice. She backed up, hiding behind Skella.