SaurusRock625: Did you know that the Mitochondria is your powerhouse?

PhantomDragon99: Any particular reason you said that tidbit? Oh well, let's get into more scares. BRING THE NOISE!

SaurusRock625: Sorry about earlier, I had just gotten done watching Deadpool Vs. Cell.

Town Meeting Song!

Back in Halloween Town, the citizens have gone into a panic over their missing leader. It wasn't like Jack to be gone for such a long time. Especially since there's still so much work that needs to be done in preparation for next Halloween.

"This has never happened before!" exclaimed Clown.

"It's suspicious!" exclaimed the Tall Witch.

"It's peculiar!" added the Short Witch.

"It's SCARY!" finished the Vampire Bros.

"Stand aside! Coming through!" ordered the Mayor as he pushed past the crowd.

The Werewolf growled at the Mayor's rude behavior, but the little man with the split personality paid no attention to him. He quickly climbed up the steps on his car, comically tripping on the last one, and grabbed his megaphone.

"We've got to find Jack! There's only three hundred and sixty five days left until next Halloween!" exclaimed the frantic Mayor.

"Three sixty FOUR." corrected the Werewolf.

Once again, he was ignored.

"Is there ANYWHERE we've forgotten to check?" asked the Mayor.

Unfortunately for everybody, the Mayor was met with several negative responses to the whereabouts of their beloved leader, Jack Skellington.

"I've checked in every mausoleum." Clown responded.

"We opened the sarcophagi." The Witch Sisters commented at the same time.

"I tromped through the pumpkin patch." Mr. Hyde spoke up, showing a pumpkin stuck to his foot as proof.

"I peeked behind the cyclops' eye." one of the Vampire Bros added, pulling out his own eye for emphasis.

One of the witches slapped his hand, making his eye go back into his skull.

"I did! But he wasn't there."

"It's time to sound the alarms! And someone go get Yang!" Screamed the Mayor.

The Mummy Kid started cranking the tail of a black cat ornament on the mayor's car, making it screech so loud, you could hear it all across town. And speaking of being across town…

Sally was back in Dr. Finkelstein's home cooking soup for the mad scientist, as was her usual job. But she wasn't just going to make it through standard procedure. She made her way to the spice cabinet and pulled out a jar that was labeled with the words 'Deadly Nightshade'. She held it in her hand for a moment and nodded to herself.

Sally made her way back to the cauldron she was cooking in and poured in some of the Deadly Nightshade. Unfortunately, she forgot that this stuff gives off a very strong and pungent odor, and recoiled back as she realized she couldn't serve the doctor THIS. He'd smell it a mile away! She looked around a moment and found a solution.

"Frog's Breath will overpower any odor!" Sally whispered to herself.

She unscrewed the lid from the jar, and a frog emerged from it. She held the jar over the soup and let the frog breathe into it, but soon found herself coughing from the even worse smell. She realized then that she added too much Frog's Breath and needed something to neutralize the smell.

"Bitter!" coughed Sally.

She stumbled over to the spice cabinet and tossed out several bottles and jars as she searched for a solution.

"Worm's Wart…! Where… where is that Worm's Wart?"

It took some frantic searching, but Sally was able to find the bottle she was looking for.

"Sally! Is that soup ready yet?" asked Dr. Finkelstein as he called for the Rag Doll.

She quickly made her way back to the cauldron and poured in a generous amount of Worm's Wart. The effects of the ingredient were instantaneous, bringing a pleasant scent to Sally's nostrils. Satisfied with the results, she began to put her plan into action.

"Coming!" Sally called back to her creator.

Up at the top of the stairs, in his lab, the duck-faced doctor was looking at something under a radically unorthodox microscope. One that seemed to have an eyeball for a lens. Looking up from his work, the doctor literally opened up the top of his head and started to scratch his brain!

EEEE-YYYUCK! I think I'm gonna puke!

Anyway, Sally walked into the room carrying a large bowl of soup on a plate with a spoon on it.

"Lunch!" she called.

The doctor put away his work and closed his head as his meal was put in front of him.

"Ah, what's that?" he asked.

He took a sniff of the soup and was pleasantly surprised by what he smelled in the soup.

"Worm's Wart! Mmmm!" he cried happily.

He picked up his spoon and was about to eat some, much to Sally's hope… until his duck bill shaped sniffer caught whiff of something shady in his soup.

"And Frog's Breath?" he asked suspiciously.

Sally grew worried. She knew she'd be busted if the doctor found out about the Deadly Nightshade she put into the soup. She had to come up with something fast!

"Wh-Wh-What's wrong? I-I thought you liked Frog's Breath." she stuttered

"Nothing's more suspicious than Frog's Breath! Until YOU taste it, I won't swallow a spoonful!" declared the doctor, pushing the bowl towards Sally.

"I'm not hungry." Sally said, 'accidentally' knocking the spoon out of the doctor's hand. "Oops!"

As she knelt down to retrieve the fallen silverware, Dr. Finkelstein began to get all dramatic on her.

"You want me to starve! An old man, like me, who hardly has strength as it is!" he proclaimed dramatically.

But little did he know was that Sally was getting ready to pull a switcheroo on the old man. As she was kneeling, she gently pushed the spoon so that it would slide underneath the doctor's desk. After that was done, she reached into her sock and pulled out a spoon that was full of barely noticeable holes. It was clear what her plan was.

She stood back up and picked up the bowl of Sleeping Soup just as the Doctor finished up his rant.

"Me! To whom you owe your very life!"

"Oh, don't be silly." quipped Sally.

She scooped up some of the soup into her slotted spoon and watched as the green liquid drained out through the holes. Once it all drained out, Sally pretended to drink some of the soup and played it off as having actually tasted it.

"Mmm! See? Scrumptious." Sally said, handing the bowl back to the doctor.

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with his food, Dr. Finkelstein proceeded to loudly gulp down the green liquid while Sally watched with anticipation at what the soup would do to him.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Halloween Town were lying around as they attempted to find out where their beloved leaders could possibly be.

"Did anyone think to dredge the lake?" asked the Mayor.

"This morning." yawned the eldest Vampire Brother in response.

Suddenly, a very familiar barking noise resonated throughout the town.

"Hear that?" asked the Tall Witch.

"What?" groaned the Short Witch.

The Tall Witch shushed her sister as she held her hat to her ear like one of those olden day hearing aids. It seemed to not be necessary, as soon enough, everyone who was gathered was hearing the barking. And they perked up as they realized exactly who it was that was making that sound.

"Zero!" exclaimed the eldest Vampire Brother.

Floating through the gates to the town was Jack's pet ghost dog, and riding in behind him were the King and Queen of Halloween Town themselves. Jack was driving a Snowmobile through the town and wearing a pair of goggles, while Yang was sitting on a large white bag that was tied to the back of the vehicle.

"JACK'S BACK!"

"YANG TOO!"

The various shouts of joy made the town come alive as the citizens crowded around to make sure the two are okay. Jack soon stopped the vehicle in front of the Mayor's car and turned it off as he removed his goggles.

"Where have you two been?" asked the Mayor, his joyful persona back again.

"We'll tell you all later, Mayor! Just call a town meeting for tonight." Yang instructed.

"When?" the Mayor asked, switching back to his worried look.

"Immediately!" Jack replied.

Within minutes, the bell of Town Hall was ringing loud and proud as the Mayor slowly drove through town with his joyful persona back in control. And why wouldn't he be joyful? It's not every day that Jack or Yang call a town meeting, so this must be of the utmost importance. And he's happy to help in any way he can.

"TOWN MEETING! TOWN MEETING! TOWN MEETING TONIGHT! TOWN MEETING! TOWN MEETING TONIGHT!" the Mayor called into his megaphone.

Back in Dr. Finkelstein's house, the good doctor was asleep from eating all of that Sleeping Soup in one sitting. Sally draped a blanket over the doctor to keep him warm, and gently patted him on his giant, bald head before making her way outside.

And watching from two different realms are some very interested individuals.

*TO THE SECRET LAB!*

Everyone from town entered the town hall and took their seats as Jack and Yang looked around from behind a curtain. Sally snuck into the building carefully with a soft smile.

The two brought up the curtain with decorations relating to the topic.

"Welcome all." Yang said.

"We have a special surprise for you. Now let us tell you about Christmas Town." Jack said.

Jack: There were objects so peculiar

They were not to be believed

All around, things to tantalize my brain

It's a world unlike anything I've ever seen

And as hard as I try

I can't seem to describe

Like a most improbable dream

But you must believe when I tell you this

It's as real as my skull and it does exist

Here, let me show you

This is a thing called a present

The whole thing starts with a box

Devil, Werewolf and Harlequinn: A box?

Devil: Is it steel?

Werewolf: Are there locks?

Harlequinn: Is it filled with a pox?

Devil: A pox

How delightful, a pox

"If you please…" Jack said, stopping the interruption. He held the present up and continued to sing as Yang helped by adding in a few details.

Jack: Just a box with bright-colored paper

And the whole thing's topped with a bow

A bow?

But why?

How ugly

What's in it?

What's in it?

Yang: That's the point of the thing, not to know

It's a bat

Will it bend?

It's a rat

Will it break?

Perhaps it s the head that I found in the lake

Jack: Listen now, you don't understand

That's not the point of Christmas land

Yang picked up a Christmas stocking as she started singing about it.

Yang: Now, pay attention

Now we pick up an oversized sock

And hang it like this on the wall

Oh, yes! Does it still have a foot?

Let me see, let me look

Is it rotted and covered with gook?

Hmm, let me explain

There's no foot inside, but there's candy

Or sometimes it's filled with small toys

Small toys

Do they bite?

Do they snap?

Or explode in a sack?

Or perhaps they just spring out

And scare girls and boys

Mayor: What a splendid idea

This Christmas sounds fun

Why, I fully endorse it

Let's try it at once

Jack & Yang: Everyone, please now, not so fast

There's something here that you don't quite grasp

"Well, I may as well give them what they want." Yang mumbled to Jack.

She hopped off the stage and began to walk down the lane between the multiple rows of seats as she began to explain what she and Jack knew to be the best part of Christmas.

Yang: And the best, we must confess, we have saved for the last

For the ruler of this Christmas land...

Is a fearsome king with a great deep voice

Least that's what we have come to understand

And we've also heard it told

That he's something to behold

Like a lobster, huge and red

And sets out to slay with his rain gear on

Carrying many big sacks in his great, strong arms

That is, so we've heard it said

And on a dark, cold night

Under full moonlight

He flies into a fog

Like a vulture in the sky…

The crowd leaned forward, grinning as they eagerly awaited the news of what was to come. They'd never heard of anything like this in their whole lives and it was plenty exciting to them. Yang's features began to change as she wrapped up the song, her nails lengthening and sharpening, becoming claws that could disembowel anything, her hair became ghostly blue fire, her eyes turned red with the whites turning black, and familiar black veins appeared on her face.

And they call him Sandy Claws

The two returned to the stage and headed behind the curtain to prepare for what they had planned.

Jack: Well, at least they're excited

Though they don't understand

That special kind of feeling in Christmas land

Oh, well…

Jack took a snow globe and shook it a few times before setting it down on the desk as he and his young apprentice watched the snow fall within it. But while they were distracted by this, they had no idea that a box of Christmas ornaments and decorations had been stolen through a black portal.

*The Realm Between Dimensions…*

"Look, I understand that you sponsor all major events like these. But just so we're clear, you DO know that all of them may very well die at the end, right?" Saurus asked, speaking into a Bluetooth headset.

"Blah, blabbity blah blah."

"Yes?"

"Blah blah blah, blah blah."

"Yeah, I guess that is a win-win for you." Saurus conceded before smirking. "Alright then! It's officially The Yang Before Christmas, presented by Hetap!"

"No it's not." Phantom said walking in and throwing a hand through a portal. "You don't sponsor a live event unless it's a race or the Olympics."

"Seems the King and Queen have made their moves. As have the Bishop and the Knight. And yet, the black pieces seem to be biding their time. Waiting for the right moment to strike." Saurus said, becoming serious once again.

"That's the point of strategy, biding your time to see what happens." Phantom said as he sat down.

Hi everyone, I'm sorry about the long wait but it's finally here. I'm proud to say that I'm back even if it's not exactly the way you all wanted.

Well, I gotta pause it. Thanks for reading. If you liked it, PUNCH that Favorite/Follow button in the face, LIKE A BOSS! And I'll see all you dudes and dudettes IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!