Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Happy Halloween.1



Disclaimer: Nergal Junior and Jack O'Lantern belong to Maxwell Atoms, half the credit for Nina goes to me, the other half goes to the almighty Tim Burton because ever since I saw TNBC, I have been obsessed with ragdolls.



Summary: Ever since last year's failed scheme, Junior promised his friends that they would regain their status. What does Eris have to say about that?



(This story takes place when Junior is about 16.)



Nergal Junior sat at the desk in his room; all the lights were turned off, except the adjustable table lamp which shone on the large drawing pad the hybrid boy was hunched in front of. He scribbled down any idea that popped into his head, and then soon after, crossed it out in frustration. Junior even began mumbling about the ideas that he depicted as positively useless: “Horrible…highly unethical… wouldn't work even if we convinced Grim to help!... Not worth the effort… Eris has probably done that at least twelve times…” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.



Junior had let his hair grow out of the upwards swoop from his childhood years and now parted down the center; he kept it at a medium length and a few strands on each side of his head fell over his eyes. He kept his black sweater and pants, but his scarf had changed slightly. On the ends of his scarf were checkered with black squares that soon ended at a diagonal angle. His eyes had become more like his father's with purple irises and the neon green where the whites should have been.



`C'mon, Junior, think!' He mentally scolded himself, glaring over the rim of his glasses at the paper, which was decorated with furious scribbles. If Junior had pressed the pencil against the paper any harder, there would have been holes worn in the material! Junior's angry glare melted into a look of an idea hitting with the force of a speeding truck. He quickly jotted down the idea quickly and made a few hurried sketches with notes about the details; it was very late and he didn't want to be caught by—



“Junior..?” A British-accented voice called through the door. Too late. “What are you doing up? It's a school night!” Junior had practically jumped out of his skin at the unexpected approach of his father, but he regained his annoyed glare in a few moments.



“Yeah, yeah… I'm going..!” He responded, failing horribly at hiding the bitterness that oozed from his tone. Another thing Junior had picked up from his father was a light accent in his voice that developed over the years. eHe didn't have anything against it; it was just a little embarrassing at school, with everyone around him having normal American voices. If he had a dime for every time his classmates dissolved into fits of giggles whenever he answered a question, he'd be the richest man alive because, believe me, he answered a lot of questions.



Flipping the switch on the lamp, the light faded and the room was plunged into darkness. The irises and pupils disappeared in his eyes, leaving nothing but the bright green that began to glow, which actually allowed him to see in the dark as well as he could during the day. He strolled to his bed and scrambled into it, sighing as his head finally had something to rest on. He stared at his room, cluttered objects of metal and the sketches of previous projects were strung about the shelves, desk, and even the walls.



“I really hope that this will bring back our reputations from the gutter,” he grumbled as he slowly slipped off to sleep. Junior's eyes moved back and forth beneath his eyelids, indicating a dream of some kind. What he meant by `our reputations' was him and his two friends - just about the only people he tolerated, parents, Billy, and Mandy aside - Jack O'Lantern and Nina.



Jack's House



“You know, Halloween is next month and September is almost over…” Jack glanced momentarily away from the calendar he had previously been studying intently before turning back to it. Nina hummed a slow `what-exactly-are-you-getting-at?' response as she looked up from her book. Her white stitches jumped out compared to her skin, which was the color of tar. Unlike Junior's, her eyes were always orbs of glowing, empty neon green, but they still seemed to be able to focus on one thing. Her hair, which was as black as her skin, was tied back in a bun with wisps of hair that face down the sides of her face. “Junior hasn't come up with any new ideas.” Jack continued nonchalantly.



Nina chuckled inwardly at the mention of the annual Halloween pranks they had been pulling ever since she had met them. Last year's `Exploding Jawbreaker' plot ended up with the trick-or-treaters who figured it out hurling ball after ball of the molten candy at them; they had been in lock-down at Jack's place the entire night! She let out a sigh and responded, “Jack, don't worry! I'm positive that Junior will think of something…. He always does...!” She fell silent as Jack said nothing in response, but simply paced over towards the window and peered out from behind the purple curtains.



“Look at that!” The pumpkin-headed man gestured for his friend to come to the window. Curiosity piqued, Nina stumbled towards him, and pulled the curtain back a bit more to look out the window as well. Grim was walking by himself on the sidewalk at the base of the hill, but they could clearly see him eyeing the house from the corner of his eye as he passed. Nina turned her head towards a glowering Jack questioningly.

“Grim has walked by here everyday for months, watching us.” He spat bitterly, glaring down the hill where the Grim Reaper had walked a few moments ago. “I've seen him… I can't believe that he would stoop so low as to spy on us!” Jack stormed a few feet away from the window, muttering to himself. He felt Nina's eyes on his back and Jack let out a very loud sigh of defeat. “I guess I'm just jumpy because of the lack of time and lack of ideas.” The prankster admitted and his carved eyes fell to the floor.



Nina silently admitted that she shared that feeling. Halloween was coming up swiftly, and it didn't show signs of waiting just because they were at a loss for pranks to pull. She fixed her gaze on the wall just above Jack's purple hat. A little voice at the back of her mind tugged at the confidence she had but a few moments ago, bringing it back into view. “He'll come up with something.” She whispered lowly, but with very little doubt which made Jack turn around; she was now looking him straight in the eye with that eerie stare. “He won't let us down…” She turned her head back to the window, staring at the curtains, she was quiet once again, but she couldn't see Jack nodding in agreement.



[Well, wasn't that fun? Sorry if this chapter is lame, it'll get better soon (I hope)! Anyways, here is just a little description of Nina, my OC.



Gender: Female (duh)



Species: Whatever the heck Nergal is, except she's a ragdoll version



Basics: She has black skin with white stitches holding her together, her black hair is tied into a bun and a few strands fall down the side of her face. When her hair is done, it reaches her shoulder blades.



Clothes: A black, unzipped windbreaker over a red hoodie, black pants, and red, pull-on shoes.



P.S.: Anyone who thinks that Jack and Nina are a couple will be shot.]

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