I swear to you I'm not dead! XD I just had some...major issues with this chapter ^^; Anyway, I won't talk much about it because I'm sure you're just skipping this and going straight to reading. But if you are, thank you! I'll be replying to those reviews from last chapter now, sorry for the looooong wait heh heh...

Later that night, Jack was overcome with worry as he felt the seconds slowly slipping away. The ticking clock continually reminded him that time was quickly running out. His mind was distraught, his eyes were tired from lack of sleep, and his body was sore from the day's scuffle.

Gloomily he wandered down the long corridor of his home with his hands behind his back, dragging his feet, solemnly staring at the floor. He stopped and lifted his head. He found himself gazing at the door to Amelia's room. A painful chord was struck within his undead heart. Slowly, he opened the door and quietly walked into the bedroom. It was dark but dimly lit by the starlight streaming through the window in the moonless night sky.

He walked over to Amelia's bed, neatly made, and noticed a small stuffed animal lying against the pillow. It was the teddy bear he had given to her when she was but a little girl. Gingerly, he lifted the bear and sat down on the edge of the black silk bed. He studied the stuffed animal's happy expression. Its sewn-on smile, shiny button eyes, and arms out as if welcoming a hug. It was a child's perfect friend. But now, it was a painful memory for Jack. He looked up and saw a black box that gleamed on top of the dresser in front of him. Slowly he lifted his hand, made an upward gesture, and the lid opened. An all-too familiar melody began to play. Jack looked back down at the bear in his hands and felt a small tear slide down the side of his face.

"Amelia." he whispered, "Oh how I miss you. I'm at a loss without you." He set the bear aside and clasped his hands together. "I just don't know what to do. How do I rescue you when I don't even know where you are?" he paused for a few moments and let his mind wander.

He thought back to the day he had given her the music box, along with the blue pendant which he had hidden inside it. He remembered how her eyes sparkled when the tune began to play, how her smile spread, and the small gasp that escaped her when she discovered the necklace. Goosebumps appeared on her when his hands gently brushed against her skin as he placed the pendant around her. He thought back to how his hands might have rested on her shoulders a mere second longer than they should have. Then, she turned toward him with a light blush splashed across her face as she thanked him.

The memory soon melted into the scene where he held her close just after their dance, which, unbelievably, had only happened nearly a week ago. He easily remembered the feel of her hand in his and the small electric shock it sent through him. How again her cheeks were flushed and her ocean-colored eyes were half-lidded. How her soft lips were slightly parted and a small gasp escaped through as he began to close the space between the two of them. She didn't back away, instead, she moved toward him as he was about to…

His heart ached again at the thought. The music box melody finished and a new one began to play, Hushabye Mountain. Reminiscing, Jack sang with it.

It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain,

And your boat waits down by the key.

The winds of night so softly are sighing,

Soon they will fly your troubles to sea.

So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain.

Wave goodbye to cares of the day,

And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain,

Sail far away from lullaby bay.

His voice broke as he felt more tears begin to form. He didn't sing anymore though the music box continued to play.

"Amelia," he breathed, "where are you?"

"Jack…"

"Even now I hear your voice."

"Jack."

"Its beautiful, melodic sound that even angels would be envious of."

"Jack!"

"Wha!" he whipped his head around to the source of the sound which he thought had just been his imagination. He gasped when his eyes fell upon the mirror in the corner of the room. There, in the reflection, was Amelia Brave.

"Amelia?" he whispered in disbelief and then his eyes lit up with joy, "Amelia!" he dashed over to the mirror.

"It's really you! I can't believe it's you! You're alive! Why are you in the mirror? How did they do this to you! Are you okay? What on earth happened to you!" his words were so fast and fused together that the sorceress in the glass almost didn't understand him. He continued to rattle off questions until she interrupted him.

"Jack! Calm down! Yes, I'm alright and…" she then blinked in surprise, "You really think angels would be envious of my voice?"

"Erm, well, what I mean to say is…Um, you see…N-now wait a minute, that's not important right now. I should be the one asking the questions. What is important is what on earth happened to you?"

"Oh. Well," she hesitated, "I…don't really know."

"Don't know!"

She solemnly shook her head, "No. The last thing I remember is finding my old locket, and then legs sprouted from it! It latched onto my neck, and the next thing I knew, I'm in this crazy place!" she gestured to the space around her.

Jack remained silent, not meeting her gaze. "It's…It's Black Widow's doing."

"Who?" Amelia asked as she arched an eyebrow.

"Black Widow, she's this dark, vile, witching sorceress who showed up shortly after you disappeared." he began and looked back up to her, "She's teamed up with Oogie Boogie and twice now has tried to take over Halloween Town. But I have been able to hold them off…sort of." He blinked, finally taking in her appearance. "Amelia…I can see right through you!"

"Yeah, about that…" her eyes shifted, "When I first arrived wherever I am, I was practically invisible. But now, I'm slowly regaining my physical form."

Black Widows words rang in his head and he felt a sharp pain within his chest.

'Amelia is slowly being sealed away into another world. The more she disappears, the more her form becomes solid in the other dimension. And within a few days, once she becomes fully tangible, there is no hope of bringing her back.'

"I…know what's happening to you." Jack sighed sadly while the woman in the mirror stared at him in surprise. "Black Widow has trapped you somehow in a different world."

"A different world!"

"Yes, and the more solid you become, the closer you are to being sealed away permanently."

"What!"

"She's using you to get to me so I will surrender Halloween Town. I guess she's the only one who can reverse the process." he paused a moment, "But if I knew where you were exactly, maybe there's a chance I could get you out. Amelia, describe the place you're in."

"Well, everything is completely black but there are mirrors everywhere! And they act like windows into the real world, so to speak. In fact, that's how I was able to find you." she smiled, "I heard you singing Hushabye Mountain and I was able to find the right mirror."

"Oh, really." he would have been blushing had he any skin, "Well I'm glad I helped."

"Wait a minute," she peered into the mirror, "why are you in my room?"

"Er…well…n-now hold on," he shook his head, "we're getting off-topic again. Now, you say there are several mirrors everywhere?"

"Yeah, and they're levitating, I think. They really are just all over the place." She stopped when Jack suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I know where you are. You're in the Mirror Dimension!"

"The wha?"

"The Mirror Dimension. It's a strange world of which no one knows its origin or why it exists. But as you said, it's a sort of window into the outside world."

"Hey, Elizabeth was sealed into a mirror but she was able to appear in both my Victorian mirror as well as the one in my room. Was she sealed into the Mirror Dimension?"

"It's quite possible if not true." Jack said with interest.

"So that means…you can get me out of here! We can use the Soul Release spell!" she exclaimed with excitement and hope.

"I'm afraid…that's not possible Amelia." he replied warily.

"Huh!" her face fell, "Wha…What do you mean!"

"The fact that only half of you is in the Mirror Dimension while the rest is here, somewhere, means I cannot perform the spell."

"What! No! There must be some way!" the sorceress pleaded.

"I'm sorry, there's no spell I know that could be used in this situation." Jack said sadly.

"B-but what if we wait until I'm fully solid? Will you be able to do it then?" her face fell even more when he shook his head solemnly.

"No, the spell Black Widow is using will permanently seal you into the Mirror Dimension with no possible way out. Not even the strongest spell cast by the strongest sorcerer could break it." Jack could no longer meet her gaze. It pained him enough that he was crushing her hopes, but his heart crumbled at the sorrowful look across her fragile features.

"I don't know what to do." he spoke quietly knowing his voice would surely break. "I can't see any way around that blasted curse."

"Well, why haven't you stopped Black Widow yet?"

"I've tried, but she's incredibly strong, maybe even stronger than I am." He said forlornly while Amelia just rolled her eyes.

"Since when have you thought strength was the only way to win?"

"Huh?" he blinked in confusion.

"You're the King of Halloween!" she exclaimed, "You of all people would know that using sneaky tactics and turning someone's strength into a weakness would be the downfall of anyone!"

"But…I feel like I've tried nearly everything and nothing seems to work." he protested.

"Jack, you know that you don't have a lot of time left. You've got to figure out a way to defeat her! If you don't, then not only will Halloween Town be ruled by that no-good Oogie Boogie, I…" she drifted off, not meeting his gaze.

"I'll lose you too." he finished for her. The two remained silent for a while before Amelia spoke again.

"That aside, you may think you've thrown everything at her, but you haven't."

"I haven't?" he arched an eyebrow.

"You need to set a trap!" she exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You're clever so I know you can come up with one." She could tell he was about to protest again, so she interjected once more. "Set her up by challenging her, and when the time is right, trap her using the Orbis Carcer."

Jack's eyes widened in realization and he couldn't help but smack his forehead, "Why on earth didn't I think of that!"

"I'm honestly surprised that you didn't." Amelia stated, "What's with you anyway? You seem to be kind of…off."

"Well…that's because…" he hesitated, looking down at the floor. "I've just been so worried about you, not knowing if you were alright. And now…the possibility of losing you…"

Amelia couldn't help but feel a little guilty since she had been the cause for all of his worry and loss of focus. But she was determined to knock him out of his slump.

"Well, you need to stop worrying so much about me." she stated.

"Wha! But how can I!" he exclaimed, "How will I know that you're going to be safe! You've been captured and trapped in the Mirror Dimension by that no-account witch! You're slowly disappearing and being sealed away and there's no way I can stop it and once your form becomes solid there's no hope of bringing you back and—"

"Jack!" she cut him off, "You're rambling. You need to stop worrying if you want to have a chance of taking her down!" she sighed, "Look, I'm safe, for now, and you can clearly see that…err well see through I suppose. But that's beside the point. What you need to do is focus on setting a trap and taking Black Widow down, alright?"

"Alright," he gave a reluctant nod in response.

"Good." she smiled and suddenly her image began to fade into darkness.

"Huh? Amelia!" Jack shouted and reached out to her disappearing figure, but by the time his hand touched the glass she had vanished. He clutched his hands into fists and struggled to suppress the urge to punch the mirror and curse Black Widow.

The Pumpkin King returned to his room and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Could it really be that simple?" he asked aloud, "The reason I haven't been fighting my best is because Amelia was all I could think about?"

He recalled every battle he had with Black Widow and remembered how he was so determined to save Amelia. He had no tactics, only one plan that was horribly flawed, just action. It wasn't like him at all to just dive in head first, not that he was given much of a choice anyway. He knew what had caused him to act in such a way, but he felt as though there was a deeper meaning. When he figured out that Black Widow was to blame for Amelia's disappearance, he had never felt such anger. It was just as he never felt such grief when he learned of his heir's looming fate. He cared so much for the Armonia, more than he cared for his very undead life. He could think of nothing else but bringing her back and unleashing his anger on both Oogie and his new accomplice.

"I guess Amelia was right," he couldn't help but smile a little, "but what to do about this trap? How do I go about challenging Black Widow? It's not like I can just show up on Oogie's doorstep and demand a fight," he hesitated, "though it would work." He suddenly stood up.

"Wait a minute…" he paused and thought, "Actually, it just might work! Yes! And I can easily devise a way to fight Black Widow without jeopardizing the town like both times before."

However, his optimism came crashing back down and he put his hand on his forehead.

"But how do I get her to reverse the process that's sealing Amelia away? I don't even know where the other part of Amelia is. Maybe I overlooked a spell that would actually undo the process? I just don't know." He sighed.

"Well, one thing is for certain, I still need to know more about my enemy," he looked out the window to the black night sky with only the stars to light up the darkness, "and there's only one sure way to find out what I need."

Well, I dropped a hint hint in this chapter, think you can spot it? ;) Anyway, I hope you liked it and sooooo sorry for the long wait! I do have half of the next chapter already typed so it won't take nearly as long! Oh, and check out the TNAB website in an hour or two, I'll have the sneak peek up then ^_^

A big thanks to Crimson for being my beta for this chapter, thank you oh so much!