"Aaaaahhhh!" Cleo cried before finally actually opening her eyes. It took her a good minute to realize that she was still in fact alive, in one piece, and hadn't been turned into a newt or anything.

"Wait.. you didn't do anything? What kind of a lame excuse for a witch are you?"

"The one who not only fixed your fashion sense but is also glad to be able to stretch the old magic fingers," The witch girl laughed, Cleo looked first down at herself, then up at the witch girl. She wasn't sure which thing made her more angry. On the one hand the witch girl had transformed herself into Cleo, as in, literally Cleo. She had Cleo's hair and shoes and dress and perfect eyeliner and jawline, and, while Cleo was flattered, she was horrified. On the other hand, the witches 'fashion fix' had been to zap Cleos designer party dress into some corseted multi-petticoated pre-victorian monstrosity with poofy sleeves and a hoop skirt to boot.

"Do you-" Cleo found herself gasping for breathe in the Devil's grip that was that corset, "Have any idea," She gasped again, "Who you are dealing with?"

"Of course I do. The most popular girl in school." Witch girl, Cleo's now doppelganger replied snidely, "And now I'm gonna go have some fun, from the sounds of it there's a party nearby and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world," Cackling the witch left, with Cleo's earring no less.

"Cleo! Oh my ghoul! Are you ok?" Frankie asked stepping out from behind the pile of bling with Clawdeen in tow.

"Yea girl- we just saw a flash of light and...oh." Clawdeen stopped mid-sentence. Cleo could guess why. The dress.

"Do I look like I'm all right?" Cleo wailed, attempting to flail her arms dramatically but being unable to lift them properly. I've only been knocked back almost two centuries in fashion! Oh this is horrible, this is simply the worst possible thing. Ever.

"You look like a cupcake." Clawdeen observed, "Serves you right."

"Serves me right?! Did you see what she did? Do you know how much that dress I was wearing before cost? Do you know-"

"Ghouls! Not to be rude or anything but we should probably stop her from ruining the party!" Frankie interrupted Cleo. How dare she! Interrupting someone as royal as I in mid-rant. Oh my Ra. Well... she did have a point.

"You really think she's something to worry about?" Clawdeen asked, raising a brow, "I mean all she did to Cleo was change her clothes."

"I don't know..." Frankie furrowed her brow as if in thought, "I just know that I have a really bad feeling about this. We've got to stop her before she does anything."

"If not just to stop her from parading around as me," Cleo added, "Only I am allowed to be me. The nerve of that witch..." Cleo tut-tuted under her breath, trying to decide just what kind of monster would have those kind of guts.

"Well then we better hurry, cause something tells me you're gonna be slow in that dress." Clawdeen said, already turning for the door, "So come on!"

"Ghouls! Wait for me!" Cleo begged, really wishing that she'd thought to pack a spare dress or... or something! Not that she'd have time to change. But really. Was this really how ghouls used to dress? Did Draculaura really put up with this sort of thing? Cleo had in all honesty, not that she'd ever let the others know, missed this particular wave of fashion. When it came out, or at least close to it, the De Nile tomb had only just been unearthed, and while Nefera had been happy to leap out into the monster social world right away, Cleo had been.. anxious. That anxiety couldn't be helped of course, after all, she'd spent five thousand years in the dark with only Nefera and Daddy to keep her company. Not exactly ideal on the mummy psyche. She didn't like to think about that time.

"Sorry Cleo," Clawdeen said looking back and shaking her head, "Do you want some help?"

"A princess never asks for help," Cleo replied, and instantly regretted it. It's what Nefera would say, but it was also the stupid answer.

"Suit yourself." Clawdeen muttered, "We're basically there anyways,"

Cleo came to stand between the other two ghous; the door to the party in sight. All right Cleo, she thought to herself, time to get in there and clean up after the rabble. She stomped her way forward, forcefully pushing against the bulk of the dress towards the hidden door; held open by one of her Anubis servant bouncers. The Anubis servant gave her a surprised look when she came tramping over in all her lace and silk, but he then promptly looked away. Good servant. She'd hate to have to yell at him.

"Alright ghouls," She said, completely sick of all of this already, "I'm going in." She shoved her way into the doorway. It was a tight fit but she was sure she could make it.. she had to. She was on a mission. She could see the party ahead of her; people still dancing without a care, Holt djing, Heath had set the ice sculpture on fire... somehow. The party looked completely normal. Except for one thing: that witchy little doppelganger was standing next to Deuce. No, leaning against him.

"Oh my Ra!" She roared and shoved with all her might against the dress and the door, only to get stuck. "No! No! No!" Cleo wailed wriggling uselessly against the stuff structural supports of the dress.

"Cleo, what's the matter? Are you stuck?" Cleo could hear Frankie saying from somewhere behind her and all of the dress.

"Yes! And that little witch is being touchy with Deuce!" Cleo practically screamed back, desperately trying to wrestle her way through the door. If she had to she would strip down to her under-wrappings if it meant getting that little beast away from her boyfriend.

"Ah heck no." Clawdeen said, "All right, Cleo, pull with all your might- we're gonna push."

If they were pushing, Cleo couldn't feel it. There was literally that much dress between her and them. She was doomed.

Oh Ra it was worse than she thought. That witch was yelling at Deuce now. If only I could hear... ugh! Figures she simply had to have Holt DJ for this party. Cleo focused, trying to get anything out of it. Deuce was shaking his head with... confusion? Doppelganger Cleo stomped her foot and pointed at... Holt? What, was the music too loud on her little victorian ears? Deuce looked even more confused and said something to her... she spoke back... he replied and then. Wow. Doppel-Cleo erupted. Hands on her head, seething anger. This couldn't be just about music. Deuce took a step towards the other Cleo but was then thrown back against the wall by some invisible force. The entire party went quiet then, and Holt scratched his discs in surprise. Literally the entire party had frozen in place over, oh Ra no, a lovers spat that wasn't even a spat!

"Deuce!" Cleo cried out finally pulling herself free from the door, hoisting up her skirts she ran to the aid of her fallen boyfriend. Other Cleo didn't even look up, she had her mind on some other prize.

"Deuce! Are you alright?" Cleo demanded, blanketing him in her skirts. His glasses had been knocked off in the fall and she hastily found them a slight corset-battle reach away.

"Cleo...?" Deuce asked puzzled as he put his glasses back on. "What's going on...?"

Cleo was about to give a witty remark about him being Rett Butler or something but she never got the chance, because her doppelganger seemed to have found her goal.

"Hyde!" The Doppelganger roared, one hand pointed straight at Holt.

"Something eatin' ya Cleo?" The blue skinned monster asked raising a pierced brow, "Cause listen, if something's up with you and Deuce I want nothin' to do with it ya hear?"

"Oh you really think this is over something so petty?" Doppel-Cleo snarled, making her way towards the DJ booth, dropping the Cleo illusion as she went.

"Hey, uh. Listen if you wanna request a song, the time for that is later lady, and you don't have to put on no disguises for that or nothing. If it's a good tune I'll play-" he was cut off as the Witch did a literal Darth Vader force grip.

"Holt!" Frankie screamed from the doorway, "We've got to help him!"

"Oh good luck helping him when he's torn to pieces and dying! Just like how he left me all those years ago!" Witch raged.

"Lady- I am pretty positive I have never met you. Ever. Now if you have something you wanna take up with Jackson, be my guest but uh," He stopped, gasping for breath and grabbing uselessly at his throat. Oh my ra, Cleo thought horrified, she's actually going to do it!

"Oh of course it wasn't you. I'm not stupid. No let's say this is more of a blood matter. I'm talking about a different Mr. Hyde here, but of course you'd know all about him," Witch said raising her arm and in turn lifting Holt off the floor. The entire party seemed frozen in place; those who tried to move to help, to run, to do anything, were literally frozen in place. They couldn't move. Frankie... Frankie was crying. Cleo wanted to look away to do something, anything, but she couldn't and that was the worst.

"No. No I- really don't," Holt gasped, now levitating well above the party.

"Don't even try lying to me Hyde. You'll take my revenge."

"Wait wha-"

Cleo jammed her eyes shut as a bright light filled the room as well as the sound of Holt screaming. When she opened them, she saw the Witch standing there looking smug, Holt was no where to be seen. No. No... no... no.. oh my Ra. Oh my Ra... oh my...

"Let this be the first warning to you all; you may party without me tonight- but soon you will all bow beneath me and I will rule not only this school; but the world!" The Witch cackled, striding confidently out the door, just as she was leaving she looked back behind her and added, "Ta ta!" brightly before vanishing in a puff of green smoke. The moment the smoke was gone Cleo, and the rest of the party could move again. Altough she wasn't sure how much she wanted to move, or could move for that matter in the darned dress.

"Oh my ghoul.. Holt." Frankie whispered, standing just under where he had been levitating a moment before, "She... she..."

Deuce got up, helping Cleo to her feet as he did so.

"I just can't beleive man... she... he... that's just..."

"Just so what? I'm fine, Frankie Fine" A familiar voice rang out from off to the side. Wait. What? Cleo turned round, slower than she would have liked in that monstrosity, pardon her generalization, of a dress. Sure enough, standing cool as ever, in one piece she noted, was Holt Hyde.

"Holt!?" Frankie gawked, "but how? She.. she.. vaporized you!" Frankie ran over to join her blue friend who merely laughed saying.

"Well you know, you can't keep a good monster down!"

"Wait... Holt?" Another, also familiar voice spoke up and now a knot of uneasiness entered the pit of Cleo's stomach. And it was not because of the corset.

"Jackson?" Frankie said baffled.

"Jackson!" Holt yelled a bit more confused than Frankie.

"Yea... who else?" The normie boy said creeping out from behind the DJ booth.

"But, but.. how?" Cleo gawked looking from one boy to the other, really wishing that one of them would disappear and not confuse her anymore.

"I.. I don't know." Jackson replied wrinkling his brow, "The last thing I remember was letting Holt out for the party."

"That witch lady! She's to blaaaame! She's gone and split up the two man act of Jekyll and Hyyyyde! But whhhhhhy would she do that?" Holt exclaimed, going into full on word-exaggerating and shouting mode.

"I don't know." Frankie murmured, "But whatever the reason, it can't be good."

No, Cleo agreed internally, it couldn't.

End chapter 2.

Authors Note:

Well now things are getting interesting :D

What the heck is that witch lady up to?

Will Jackson and Holt fall apart at the seams?

And will Cleo ever find her way out of that dress?

Tune in next time, same freaky author, same fabulous website to find out more :D