Let me be clear about one thing. I never volunteered for my job. I didn't enter into the afterlife, walk down a hallway of clouds and see a billboard with 'Help Wanted' flyers. There was no application process, or training, or a rundown of any sort.Despite that, I haven't complained. I don't have many good things to say about my "employer," but I don't necessarily dislike my job. Someone's gotta do it, and I don't mind being that one. Never, though, did I ever imagine my job would include a) amassing a small army of Forsaken, Lunars, and Immortals to fight against a mega powerful Wanderer, b) becoming leader of said army, or c) having to give very public and uncomfortably personal speeches in front of amassed army of undead.

I didn't get a job description with my employment, but I'm pretty sure if I did, none of those would have been in it. Low and behold though, I was once again standing before a council of monsters, expected to make another heartfelt speech to motivate my followers and give them direction.

"What exactly am I supposed to say?" I asked Jack under my breath. "The plan isn't quite the same as it was when we left Halloween Town. We don't need searchers anymore, we need fighters."

Jack, who was still eyeing the witches twitchily shrugged rather unhelpfully. "Then tell them that. Honesty is the best policy here, and if some of them are uncomfortable fighting, then they can leave. If some want to stay, then we'll give them the full run-down."

"Alright," I agreed, looking back at the small crowded. "But why do I have to do all the talking?"

He finally swung his eyes away from the witches to give me a impish grin. "Because you're our leader?"

He said it more as a question than an answer, and for some reason, it did not give me a whole lot of confidence.

Sally came sidling up to us, and offered me a nervous smile. "Everyone's ready," she said. "The Mayor doesn't know about this gathering, so we might want to make this quick if we can, otherwise he may come and cause a scene."

I sighed, cast Jack one more baleful look (that he pretended not to notice) and went to stand in from of the gaggle of monsters crowded into my modes little ballroom (and calling it that was generous).

"Hello, and thank you for agreeing to meet here today," I said as a starter, and already I felt out of place and small, like a young girl trying to play up how important she really was. "As you all know, a danger has arisen in the mortal world. A very ancient, very powerful Wanderer that has somehow managed to stay ahead of me for over a millenia. In that time, he has feasted upon the energy of the living, and now presents himself as a threat to them and to us."

Low mutters of apprehension went around the room, and I continued.

"A few days ago, when the Guardians, Jacking Skellington, and myself left for Transylvania, we went in search of people— Monsters, Immortals, and Humans alike— to help us seek out and destroy this Wanderer. That's what all of you have volunteered for."

There was a general rumble of agreement.

"Since that time though, our plans have changed." Hushed whispers rose and I raised my voice to be heard above it. "In the time since we have left, we have encountered the dangerous Wanderer, and I attempted to banish it. I was... unsuccessful."

The whispers raised in volume to low voices of disquiet and alarm. Everyone in Halloween Town knew my reputation. They knew what I did, and they knew that my banishment spell had never not worked on a Wanderer. And yet, there I was, admitting the impossible. Fear became almost tangible, and it took a little longer to get everyone's attention this time around.

"The loss was a rather personal blow to me, I'll admit it," I said. "But in failure there is room to learn. From this experience I learned the Wanderer's chosen name, his abilities, and his strengths. I know now, that the trick isn't going to be finding the Wanderer." I swallowed hard, stood straight, pushed my shoulders back, and my chin out.

"It's to fight him head on."

Everyone's voices came at me at once. I heard the beginnings of questions, but the ends were cut off by other exclamations of surprise and fear. The sound of every voice at once, talking at each other and at me, but no one stopping to listen, was cacophonous and chaos at its very core. I tried to get their attention, tried to soothe, calm, and assure them, but again I was reminded of my own shortcomings. I had spent the last five centuries in solitude. I was not ready to be a leader, and I definitely did not have the patience to mommy a room full of monsters.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack, brow etched with worry, start to make his way towards me, but I needed everyone to take a step back, so in an instant driven mostly by instinct, I forced them to.

My wings snapped out and bristled to their fullest, even without my flight feathers. My fangs protruded and grew to their longest, snarling on full display. The cape of my cloak flared out behind me in a dramatic swish, and in a booming voice amplified by a quick spell I demanded, "QUIET!"

My little moment seemed to have the desired effect. Stillness settled in the crowd, and everyone fell back into their original places, back several feet from myself. Jack, only a couple yards away now, coughed in what I assumed was an attempt to cover a laugh. Peace momentarily restored, I allowed my fangs to retract, and relaxed my wings.

"Now, I realize that's not what you volunteered for. If this is outside of your comfort zone, you are welcome to leave. There's absolutely no shame in it."

I looked out at them expectantly, and for a moment no one moved. Then, a big, behemoth of a man with discolored, rotting skin shyly rose to his feet and started shuffling to the door. He was followed by the sea-creature girl that lived in the fountain, a handful of gremlins, and a vampire. Everyone else remained put.

"As for the rest of you," I said. "Thank you. I won't lie and say this is going to be easy. We don't know everything about our enemy, and but with so many of you, and more back at the hotel for monsters—"

"So many indeed!"

I sighed, and mentally counted backwards from ten before turning to deal with the Mayor. The two-faced Forsaken had his 'displeased' face on, and he was waddling his way towards me in what he probably thought was an air of importance.

"Might I remind you all that we have a responsibility?" He said, speaking to the Monsters. "A responsibility to Halloween, the very thing we spend all year preparing for! And might I also remind you of the fact that there are only 184 days left until Halloween?"

Jack came to stand next to me and muttered, "Is this guy for real?"

All I could do was bite the inside of my cheek before I said something I shouldn't have. Still, the Mayor continued.

"Have you any idea how much of your time this could take?" Mayor asked. "Has she told you yet? Does she even know? With so many of you here, volunteering for such a menial task, there would be so many cutbacks on Halloween this year!"

"Menial?" I finally snapped. "Finding and destroying a spirit who poses as a major threat is menial?"

He waved off my anger like it was but silly misjudgment on my part. "As I stated before, people are brutally murdered everyday. Spiritual involvement is not all that uncommon. It's really quite silly to get all worked up about this one instance."

"This one instance is not like anything I've ever seen before!" I said. "It's not only a threat to the mortal world, it's a threat to ours as well! He seeks the death and destruction of everyone! That includes you and the citizens of Halloween Town."

The mayor scoffed. "And what could this Wanderer possibly have to gain from killing the dead? I say it really has nothing to do with us at all."

"How well do you think Halloween would be celebrated with no one around to celebrate it?' I growled, getting up in his face. My own nose was inches away from the smooth, doll-face surface of his own, and I could smell rot on his breath.

"You're exaggerating the situation," he snarled back. "The situation would never escalated that far."

"I'm trying to stop it from escalating that far! That is why I'm asking your people for help, and that is why this is such a big deal. It will blow up in all our faces eventually if we don't do something about this Wanderer!"

He sneered at me, like I was some silly little girl without a true grasp of reality. That look, coupled with his inability to see reason, and all the stress that had been mounting on my shoulders, was bringing about something within me that I hadn't felt in a while. I felt my temper lick near the surface, like molten lava brimming near the top of a volcano. My entire body felt heated, and shook with barely contained adrenaline. My fangs were back, my wings were fluffed up, warning of incoming attack. Claws had long since replaced my fingernails, and were digging into the heels of my palms. In the reflection of his eyes, I could see that my own were glowing red, and still he would not back down.

"My people," Mayor said. "I am the Mayor of this town; not you, not Jack Skellington, me. And I am telling my people to forget this nonsense."

"You said we could gather volunteers if we like," I said lowly, fighting for just that last ounce of control. "These people are here of their own accord. If they leave, it's because they want to leave."

"I changed my mind. I will not have them led by some little girl who plays at being Reaper."

I roared, and later I would recall everyone flinching away from me, and the Mayor's eyes widening in finally realized fear, but it was too late for him.

"Quod ex vobis est ut moveat cimex es, et maledicam maledicentibus tibi, vir ad induendum cockroache scriptor crusta."

There was a scream, from the Mayor I presume, and gasps of shock. Jack gripped my wrist as if he could stop the words pouring out of my mouth, but the deed was done, and even as the red haze of my anger faded, and I saw what I'd done, I couldn't honestly say I regretted my decision.

I had turned the Mayor of Halloween Town into a cockroach. 

  ****I DO NOT OWN DREAMWORKS, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, DISNEY, WINNIE THE POOH, SLENDERMAN, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA OR ANYTHING ELSE!!!!! JUST THE STORY PLOT!