"Sally?" Jack asked through the door of the bathroom.
"Yes?" She called back over the sound of the shower.
"What did you do with my suit?"
"What?"
"My suit...it's all...different."
"Your regular one?"
"Yeah,"
"I didn't do anything with it, Jack."
"But...all right, never mind." Jack sighed, defeated. When he had gotten up to get dressed and Sally had gotten in the shower again, Jack had found that his normal pinstriped suit had been turned into an all-black, red-eyed bat formation of the original. Confused, he had wondered if Sally had changed it, but apparently, she hadn't. Maybe he'd just misplaced it, is all...but, where had it gone, and where had he gotten this new one? Completely puzzled, but pushing the mystery aside, Jack shrugged and slid into it anyway. For some reason, Jack thought as he rearranged the bat bowtie, the suit felt different. He couldn't describe it, but it had a different feel to it...Jack was beginning to feel suspicious, but right then, Sally popped out of the bathroom in a waft of steam. She was wearing her casual dress, but it was fixed up a bit ever since she had begun living with Jack. She strode over to Jack, who was still looking in the mirror suspiciously, and said,
"You're right, Jack, that is a different suit...where'd you get it?"
"I told you, Sally, I don't know."
She puzzled over the suit for a minute, silent. Then she shrugged and said, "I guess you just shouldn't worry about it. It's a nice suit, anyway."
Jack sighed again and, removing himself from his own gaze, turned to his and Sally's suitcase on the ground and began to pack it up: their honeymoon was now over, and they were heading back to Halloweentown to their home, which was Jack's previous home. They, for their honeymoon, had visited every holiday and had been given the grand tour by the leaders. They had thoroughly enjoyed it, and Valentine's Town had been their last stop.
Once their possessions had all been packed, they headed down the stairs and checked out of their hotel, then headed home.
Their journey wasn't too far; the Holiday Doors transported them straight to any holiday they wanted, so they got to Halloweentown immediately. Waiting for them at the brim of the town was the hoard of citizens with a large banner on the gate that read:
Welcome home, Mr. And Mrs. Skellington
They both grinned and waved as they walked through the gates. Everyone gave them either a big hug, or a polite handshake, and went about their own business. They reached their house, which had been fixed up by the citizens while they were away and Jack, again, held the door open leading into their home for Sally. She paced through the door, and Jack was close behind. The house was silent, and Sally stood in the doorway, unmoving, just looking at the house. She had tears in her eyes.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Skellington," Jack murmured, and he laid his lips on her hair and grabbed her from behind. She gave a small, watery laugh, still crying. He chuckled and said:
"Why are you crying? You're
home." He whipped around her body effortlessly and smoothly picked her up onto his back, piggyback carrying her. She laughed again, more openly. He grinned to himself as he carried her up the narrow staircase to their room. The door was ajar when he reached it. Inside was completely different than Jack remembered it.
The first thing Jack noticed was his small bed was gone, to be replaced by a grand king bed, with exquisite bed coverings and several pillows. Next to the bed was a large dresser, made of pure black, glazed wood, with a mirror that barely tickled the vast ceiling. There was also a hope chest at the end of the bed, which was handcrafted to perfection. But the thing that completed the room was an enormous portrait of them. It stretched wall-to-wall and was from the ceiling to the floor. They were side-by-side, smiling happily to the camera, and they were both in their wedding clothes. It was then Jack remembered posing for this on his wedding day, during the rowdy reception that had followed it. Jack loved this room, and thought it was perfect for them, as a couple. Jack looked down to see Sally's face. She looked happier than he felt. She looked up at him and threw her arms around him, tightly embracing him with her heavy emotion.
After releasing him, Sally began to recognize and comment on every detail of the room. Jack agreed with everything as she circled the room dozens of times. She was ecstatic; Jack nearly laughed with the enthusiasm that was practically spluttering out of her body.
After the lecture of the room, Sally wanted to go downstairs to explore the rest of the house; she had not been in it often. Jack let her go on by herself; he told her he would unpack the suitcase and clear it all up. She agreed, and flew from the room.
Jack smiled after her for a while, then rearranged his face again as he walked in front of the mirror. Was it just his imagination, or did he seem...different? He certainly felt different. Ever since he had put on the new suit, he felt more...powerful, in a way, and more agile, too. It was a strange feeling, but exhilarating. Jack reached behind himself and pulled off his suit jacket, then his shirt. He looked at both of them with a new knowing; this suit had some kind of...dark power. He didn't know how to describe it. The suit just did things that weren't normal.
The door swung open, and Jack spun around to find Sally standing in the doorway, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson.
"Oops," She giggled, eyeing his bony complection with a grin on her face. "Sorry." She closed the door behind her.
Turning back to the mirror, Jack uttered a fear-filled cry; a person was standing in the mirror. Jack violently swung back around, but found no one there. Slowly, he turned back to the mirror again. All he saw was himself, looking positively frightened. Jack began to breathe normally; his breath had been a wild, staggared gasp. What he had just seen in the mirror had not been him; it was a person, for sure, but wearing a black costume. The outfit covered his - Jack assumed it was a male - body tightly, and concealing his head as well. It had been all black, except for a demented white insignia of some kind of...creature etched onto the chest. The man had been very big, or muscular, Jack never saw, but the thing that frightened Jack the most was his face. The face of the man was absolutely one of the most terrifying things Jack had seen in his days as Pumpkin King; the thing's pure white eyes had been deformed, stretching halfway across the top of his head, and ending in a curl that made the man look angry, and the mouth had stretched up the side of his face, much like Jack's, but it had been open, showing hundreds of pointed teeth, with a snake-like tongue inching out of the man's mouth. and as he had seen it, Jack could have sworn an obscene growl echoed from the man inside the mirror.
Staring at it, Jack was completely clueless to anything else, except the mirror. A soft knock on the door made Jack jump. Sally's soft voice echoed through the thin door.
"Jack, can I come in?"
"Yeah...yes, come on in."
She opened the door as Jack turned his back on the mirror, and he threw his suit coat and shirt onto the floor in a heap, and a small
flump emerged from the clothes as they landed on the carpeted floor. Exhaling heavily, Jack walked to his dresser and opened the top drawer for a fresh shirt. He pulled it on, and walked to his closet for a coat. When he was fully dressed, his mind still swarming with questions, he turned to Sally, who was looking at Jack questioningly.
"Is something wrong?"
"What?"
"You seem off, Jack, is something wrong?"
He thought on it for a moment, but Jack decided it was better not to tell his wife anything; it was a foolish figment of his imagination that had frightened him. Why wrap Sally into it all?
"No, Sally, nothing's wrong." He smiled at her. She still scrutinized him with an intensity that left Jack feeling like he was being scanned. Apparently, he passed and Sally walked forward with understanding in her eyes and planted a quick kiss to his lips. She drew back, smiling slightly. She then stated,
"Jack, if anything's wrong, you can tell me."
He looked down to her, then leaned down and kissed her thin neck. He then muttered,
"Don't worry, Sally, I'm alright. Are you?"
He heard her laugh as she drew back from him, her eyes sparkling with her familiar enthusiasm. Pleased, Jack laid his hand on her cheek as he himself leaned in and kissed her. Yet, she still leaned away and quietly said, "I'm better than ever." With a quick glance to his face, she left the room.
Jack felt his triumphant feeling smother as an uneasiness filled its place. He didn't want Sally involved with his paranoid acts, but she still seemed to sense something wrong. Even though he was troubled with the fact that she was worrying, he still felt a stroke of love for his wife that knew him so well. He couldn't have picked a better woman to be with. With another sigh, Jack followed her out the door, his thoughts still preoccupied with this new mysterious suit.
-------------------------
Muahahaha!! Yes, I am continuing now.
By the way, the person that Jack saw in the mirror...see if you can figure it out. If you can't, just let me know, and I'll tell you. ^^ But just for a little hint: It's a Spiderman character.
I'll post the next chappy as soon as possible.
