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This potion was a delicate procedure. One wrong move and it would be ruined. The mistletoe berries had to be crushed, not chopped. Only one branch of Deadly Nightshade, or it would be overpowered with the narcotic effect. One drop of the original potion. More than that would drastically effect the users. No more than one tablespoon of sugar…because have you ever seen what happens when you give a kid too much sugar?
It wasn’t just work for Chama, either. Jack and Sally had to keep the Mayor up for the entire thing. Even though it was dark out, and past the bedtime for an average baby, Chama insisted that he had to stay up. Sure, his cranky crying was a distraction, and Chama could swear that she heard some of the other citizens sleepily yelling from their houses for them to keep quiet, but she tried to ignore it. Finally, after a magical chant, the potion settled down enough, and it was ready.
“Finally!” Chama happily said, as she filled a baby bottle and a canteen with the potion. “Come on, you guys. It’s time to set things right.”
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“So, Chama,” Jack asked. “How exactly will this work?”
The four of them were now at the Mayor’s house, preparing the first dose of the potion. Sally had found the Mayor’s grey pajamas and nightcap, and placed them on him, trying to hold onto the squirming baby while attempting to keep the overly loose clothing on him.
“Well, it’s different than the original potion.” Chama explained. “Instead of working instantly, this potion acts like a narcotic. It puts the user to sleep instantly, but the aging effects don’t take place until an hour after. When the user wakes up the next morning, they won’t remember anything, just thinking that they had a dream. Now, just place the Mayor on his bed, and I’ll give him this.”
Sally did what she was told, being careful not to drop the squirming politician. Jack locked Rosie up in her cage (much to the annoyance of Boris), and Chama handed the Mayor the bottle. Noticing it, his face quickly changed to his happy side, and drank the potion. In a few moments, he was drifting off.
“Great!” Chama whispered. “The potion’s working so far. Sally, could you watch him for a little while? We’ve got the easy half done. Now it’s time for the tricky part…”
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“Say ‘Uncle’! Say it!”
“UNCLE! UNCLE! I GIVE!! JUST PLEASE STOP!”
Meanwhile, at the tree house, Oogie had shown how powerful he could be, even as a kid. Right now, he had Barrel in a headlock and giving him a noogie with his free “hand”. He had been through with this for about a half hour. He had already tried it against Lock and Shock, who were still rubbing their scalps. When the cage elevator suddenly came up, Oogie dropped Barrel down onto the floor, as Chama walked up to the small sack, a smile of slightly fake sweetness on her face, as she bent down the face him easier.
“Oogie, its way past your bedtime. Let’s get you ready.” She said, trying to sugarcoat her words, and preparing for what would happen next. His lip started to quiver, and he threw himself on the ground, screaming and pounding on the floor. While this took Lock, Shock, and Barrel by surprise, Jack and Chama just ignored it. They remembered this from kindergarten, where he would throw a tantrum like this before every naptime. Finally, when he couldn’t cry anymore, he was just left laying there, a few empty sobs still escaping his throat.
“So,” Chama asked, still sugarcoating her words “Now are we ready?”
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“I’m not goin’ to bed! Ya can’t make me!”
Despite his protests, Chama had still managed to get Oogie into his slightly-too-large green-striped two-piece pajamas, tuck him in, and give him his little stuffed bug.
“I’m not trying to make you.” Chama said, as she pulled a dusty-looking book off one of his shelves, and then held out the canteen. “By the way, are you thirsty?”
Oogie, not wanting to pass up free food, hastily grabbed the canteen and started drinking from it, as Chama started to read from the book:
“Vincent Malloy is seven years old,
He’s always polite and does what he’s told.
For a boy his age, he’s considerate and nice,
But he wants to be just like Vincent Price.
He doesn’t mind living with his sister, dog and cats,
Though he’d rather share a home with spiders and bat--”
Chama’s story that she was reading was suddenly interrupted by a metallic clatter and a small snore. Just as she had expected, Oogie’s gluttony got the best of him, and he drank the entire potion, quickly putting him into a sleep state. Smiling, Chama carefully put the book up and grabbed the canteen, then headed upstairs. Lock, Shock, and Barrel had fallen asleep due to Oogie’s “enthusiasm” draining their energy, leaving Jack and Boris the only ones up, but they looked like they could go to sleep at any moment.
“Come on, you two.” Chama said. “Let’s get Sally and go. This is one day that we’ll never forget.”
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The next morning, everything seemed to go like normal. Jack, Sally, Chama, and Hex kept their lips sealed about yesterday, and the Mayor told about the strangest dream that he had last night. No one knew that Oogie was brought back, and the four decided that it should be kept that way. While Hex did remind Chama about the potion discount, she still kept her end of the bargain about keeping quiet. All in all, even though it was tiring, it certainly was one of the most eventful days in Halloween Town.
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“Boy, what a crazy day, huh Boris?”
Chama had finished her daily walk with Boris. She had closed down the shop for the day, to finally give herself some real “me time”. As soon as she let the tarantula off of his leash, she noticed something on the door. It was another note from Mrs. Finklestein!
Dear Chama,
Thank you for the potion! It’s worked wonderfully! The doctor has been coming up with new ideas faster than ever! He even finished a machine that he’s been procrastinating on for the past month! I’m so thankful that I trusted you for the potion. I don’t know who else I could have turned to.
Many thanks,
Mrs. Finklestein
PS:
Both of us have felt too embarrassed to ask him ourselves, but could you kindly ask Jack when he’ll finally propose to Sally? We want grandkids!
Taking notice of the PS, Chama quickly tore that part off of the note, and threw it away. Halloween Town wasn’t ready for new citizens. Even if they were old to begin with.
THE END
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(A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback I’ve gotten for this story! This is my first fan fiction that I’ve actually finished! Oh, and the story that Chama read was “Vincent”, the classic poem written by Tim Burton.)
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