"Can you drive any faster, Benny?" You asked. "Relax, (Y/n)." Aggie said. "We've arrived." Benny said. "Wow. Turning gray sure has made you a careful driver, Benny." Marnie asked. Benny turned and looked at her. "Have we met?" He asked. "Well, yeah, but the last time, you were just skin and bones." You said. You and Marnie laughed as Benny looked at his hands in horror. "Thank you for the ride, dear. We're in something of a hurry." Aggie said. Aggie opened the gate and the four of you walked to her house. "Come on, children, let's get inside." Aggie said. "What do you think Cal's going to do to the mortal world?" Marnie asked. "Well, he clearly shares his father's hatred of humans, but if he's willing to break the Code of Merlin, which forbids stealing the spells of another, then I think that we can safely assume that he's capable of anything. Now no more talk until we're inside, and even if he's still eavesdropping, he won't be able to hear us in my house." Aggie said. The four of you went into her house. "I hope the Gray Spell hasn't changed any..." You looked around as you saw that everything was gray. "I like what you've done with the place." Luke said. "I can't believe Cal did this with a spell out of your book We'll never undo it." You said. "Oh, I'd agree with you, dear, if there was only one copy of my spell book. But what he doesn't know is there are two." Aggie said. "Two?" Marnie asked. "They're matched sets, two complete copies. I took the one I usually use to the mortal world with me, and the other one is still here." Aggie said. She paused then said "Someplace." "Well, then, let's look for it." You said. The three of you then frantically began to search the house for the second book, as Luke just stood there. Marnie walked up to him.

"You can help out, you know." She said. "I'm kinda hungry." He said. "Ugh!" Marnie said. You, Marnie and Aggie began to look around frantically again. "It's not here." Aggie sighed and sat down. You took out a book. "How about that one?" You asked. "No, that's not it. That's too small." Aggie said. "How about this? This?" Marnie asked as she took out some papers. "It's just a big... it's a big book." Aggie said. "Then some of these. Here, here. I know. Here. This is it." You said. "We can't find it." Aggie said. "Grandma, we can't just give up." Marnie said. "She's right. There's gotta be something we haven't thought of, right? I mean, something to get us out of this trap, a spell or..." You said. You then heard a strange sound and looked to see Luke back to normal. "Luke!" Marnie said. "Yeah." He said. "Look! You're a goblin again. Something broke the spell." You said. "I guess so." He said. "Well, what happened, Grandma? Did you say something?" You asked. Aggie walked over. "Not that I'm aware of." She said. "Then how come I'm not gray anymore?" Luke asked. "Hmm. I suppose the spell could be temporary." Aggie said. "Then maybe the spell on the house will wear off, and we can find your spell book." Marnie said. "But if takes too long, midnight will pass, and the mortal world." Aggie said. "Grandma, you already said the spell book isn't here. What else can we do?" You asked. "Well, I haven't seen that other spell book for decades. Perhaps it's lost." Aggie said, then she smiled. "Grandma, why are you smiling? That's terrible." Marnie said. "No, no, dear, not at all, because, you see, if it's lost, I know just where it is." Aggie said. "Huh?" You asked. "Everything that's lost in both worlds always ends up at Gort's house. He's the junk man of the universe." Aggie said.

Time Skip

You, Marnie, Aggie and Luke were back in the cab. Benny gave Aggie a check. "Your receipt." He said. "Mail it, dear." Aggie said. "Great, Benny. OK, now to Gort's house, and step on it." Marnie said. Benny put it away and started the car. "You should see him when he's not in a hurry." Luke said.

Time Skip

You four walked up to a stone house. "Where'd all the junk go?" Luke asked. "Looks like Gort's been straightening up ever since the Gray Spell hit." You said. "Oh, you'd still better prepare yourself, my dear. Spell or no spell, Gort the Rancorous is still the foulest, meanest, smelliest inhabitant of Halloweentown." Aggie said. You four went to the door and Aggie knocked. A normal looking man walked out. "Yes?" He asked. "Hello, Gort. You're looking... clean." Aggie said. "Um, do you need something?" He asked. "I'm busy, you see, sorting my socks." Gort said. "Uh, yes, Mr. Gort, sir. We were looking for a book." Marnie said. "Oh, I see. Well, come right in. I have several books." Gort said. You shrugged and you four walked in. "Well, here they are." He said. Aggie took two books off the shelf. ""Proper Toenail Cutting." "Dusting for Fun and Profit"? You asked. ""100 Recipes for Tapioca. You know, I don't think whoever lost these is missing 'em much." Luke said. "Gort, these can't be all the books you've got." Aggie said. "Well, I sold the rest at the yard sale." He said. "Yard sale?" You asked. "Oh, yes. This place was very messy. I only kept the useful books. I'll sell these socks, too, as soon as I match them up." He said. You four walked up to him. "Gort, there was a particular book, an extra copy of my spell book. Do you remember who you sold it to?" Aggie asked. You wall waited for an answer. "Do you think these two match?" He asked. Aggie looked at you. "No, I suppose not." He said. You four walked away from him. "Well, we've hit a dead end. You know, that book could be anywhere." Aggie said. "OK, I say we head back to the mortal world." Marnie said. Suddenly Aggie's hands began to turn gray. "The spell - it's coming back." Luke said. Aggie looked at her hands. "Grandma, wh... what's happening?" You asked. "It's the Gray Spell. It's affecting me now that we're in Halloweentown. It's probably gonna go after you, too, dears." Aggie said. "We've gotta get out of here." Luke said. He went to the door to open it, but it wouldn't open. "The door. it won't open." Luke said. "What? There are no windows, either." Marnie said. "Grandma, you gotta do something." You said. "Oh, dear. Oh, I can't. The Gray Spell must be draining our powers." Aggie said as the rest of her body turned gray.

"Right again, Agatha." Cal laughed. You then saw his face in the fire place. "You see, at this point, I could keep you people in here with a toothpick." Cal said. You walked over. "Grandma was right. You've been spying on us this whole time." You said. "Oh, I didn't need to. You see, I already knew about Aggie's little spell book. That's why I knew you'd end up at Gort's." Cal said. "How could you? I lost that book before you were born." Aggie said. "So, (Y/n), have you thought any more about going to the party? I mean, everyone's gonna be there, even your mom." Cal said. "Our mom? You're lying. Our mom hates Halloween." Marnie said.
"Oh, I think my dad got her into the spirit. He's not really my dad, actually. He's more of a science experiment. But he got her into a really ugly mask. It's a scream." Cal said. "You know, this is not the way to talk me into a date." You said. "This is more than a date. This is our future together." Cal said. "I'm in control of my own future, and it doesn't include you." You said. Then he disappeared. "Creature Spell." Aggie said. "What?" Marnie asked. "That's a spell in my book. It's a spell that was banned after the dark times. It was used on humans who mocked us by dressing up like creatures. It was used on them to turn them into the very creatures they were mocking." Aggie explained.

"He turned the creatures into humans, and now he's gonna turn the humans into creatures." Luke said. "That's why Cal put your mother in a mask. I think he plans to use the Creature Spell on the mortal world at midnight." Aggie said. "OK... he's keeping us in here with a spell, so maybe we can come up with a stronger one." Marnie said. "Oh, our powers are draining, dear. I'm afraid we're trapped." Aggie said. "But, Grandma, saying a spell backwards can't be the only way to undo it." You said. "Oh, rules are rules." Aggie said. "But rules... rules have exceptions, right? I mean... like... like how hackers get into computer programs. They just look for the back door." Marnie said. "Computers have back doors?" Luke asked. "Well, back doors are ways of getting into a program if there's a problem. I wonder if spells have back doors." You said. Luke looked at you. "So you mean a way to weasel out of the spell without actually breaking it." Luke said. "Right." You said. "Like this spell. It's supposed to keep us from getting outside, right?" Marnie asked. "Yeah. So?" Luke asked. "So what if we tried to go somewhere else other than outside?" Marnie asked. "There is nowhere else. There's only outside and inside, and right now, we're inside." Luke said. "Time travel. Oh, Grandma, you have a spell for that, right?" You asked. You went over to Aggie who was sorting socks with Gort. "Grandma, do you have a spell for time travel?" Marnie asked. "Time-travel spell." She said. "Yeah." You said.

"Oh, I believe I do. A lovely little poem." She then looked at Gort. "Gort... Gort... That sock doesn't match the other one." She said. Aggie tossed the sock into the pile. "Grandma, Grandma, none of them match." You said as you grabbed a pile of socks. "Focus. Come on. Ooh, I know. Here, here." You took out a piece of paper. "You write it down, write, write." You said. "What is it? What...? Just a minute." Aggie said. You grabbed her sock. "Give me that. Write it down before you forget it." You said. Aggie took the paper and pen and began to write the spell. "Spell, spell. Oh..." she said. "Hurry, Grandma." Marnie said. "It's a little fuzzy... fuzzy there, but... There, that's it. That's it, that's it." Aggie then collapsed on the pile of socks. "Grandma!" You said. You helped her up. Then her clothes changed into a normal outfit. "Oh... Gort, there are no matching socks here." She said. "Yes, well, uh, I have some more in the cupboard." He said. "Well, go get them." She said. "No. Grandma, read this spell with me." Marnie said. Aggie pushed her away. "No, go away. We're busy." She said. "She's gone." You said. "But, Grandma, it's me - Marnie." Marnie said. "Here we go." Gort said as he took out a pile of socks. Aggie went over to the pile. "Grandma." Marnie said. "Oh, finally we can get something accomplished." Aggie said. "Matching, matching. You want the long one?" Aggie asked. "Look, we have to get out of here. We can come back for her later." You said. "Ok." Marnie said. The three of you went away from Aggie and Gort and you took out the spell. Then you read the spell out loud, and the three of you went back in time.

"OK, I say we head back to the mortal world." You turned around and saw you, Marnie, Luke and Aggie. "The spell, it's coming back." Luke said. "Grandma, what's happening?" The past you asked. "It's the Gray Spell. It's affecting me..." Aggie said. You looked back at Marnie and Luke and pointed to your past selves in confusion. "This is only five minutes ago." Luke said. "Must not have said it right." You said. You then read the spell again. You then appeared in a jungle. A man saw the three of you and got ready to attack. "OK, I overshot just a little bit." You looked at the paper and read the spell. You then appeared back in Gort's house, but nobody else was there. You looked around in confusion. "Luke? Marnie? Grandma?" You asked. "Nice job of escaping my spell. You have real potential, (Y/n)." Cal said as he walked toward you. "Where's Luke, Marnie and Grandma? What time is it?" You asked.
"They're... Well, I guess you could say I took 'em offline for the moment. It's a simple limbo spell. I could teach it to you later." Cal said. "You better stop breaking in on my spells, Cal. It's against the Code of Merlin." You said. "Nobody cares about the Code of Merlin anymore, (Y/n). You need an update. And besides, what do you wanna hang around a bunch of moldy old creatures for, anyway?" Cal asked. "These creatures are my friends." You said. "Your mom's about to become a really moldy old creature." Cal said. "Leave my mother alone." You said. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me... Bye." Cal said. He waved, then vanished. You took out the paper and read the spell again. Then you went even farther back in time.