Chapter I
A crisp breeze had blown across all of Halloweenland,
signaling the end of All Hallow's Eve. The monsters had returned to
their Gothic styled manses. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of
Halloweentown, strolled to his oddly shaped house. He couldn't wait
to see his lovely wife, Sally, and his newborn baby son, the Pumpkin
Heir who was born at midnight of Halloween morning. Skeleton Jack
pushed open the creaky door and smiled. Sally sat peacefuly in a
rocking chair, teetering back and forth with their son in her arms.
"Is he asleep?" Jack whispered softly.
"Out
like a light." Sally replied at the same volume.
"We
still didn't name him." Jack pointed out. "We can't keep
calling him 'the kid' for the rest of our lives."
"How
about..." Sally wondered. "Eric?"
"What about
Matthew?"
The alluring rag doll pondered for a minute or so
while her husband suggested mire names. "Dimitri."
"What?
What the heck language is that?"
"Dimitri." she
repeated. "We'll call him Dimitri."
Jack grinned. "So
it shall be." The skeleton kissed his wife on the cheek.
Thee
doorbell shrieked at that instant. Sally handed the newly-named
Dimitri over to Jack as she got up to go answer it. She opened the
door and no one was there. Her eyes shot to the ground and she
screamed. This instantly woke up Dimitri and he began to wail as
babies often do.
"Sally, what is it?!" Jack dashed over
to the door, Baby Dimitri in is arms. He followed Sally's eyes to
where she stared in horror. He let out a small gasp. Oogie Boogie, in
all his burlap glory, was lying on their doorstep, his sack of a body
blackened by somthing.
"Please help!" He managed to
gasp out. He fell unconcious.
Hours later, the bug-filled
potato sack awoke, sprawled out on the couch in the Skellington's
dark den. He sat up and turned to Jack, who was glaring at him. He
turned to Sally who seemed worried.
"Oogie," she
whispered sincerely. "What happened to you?"
"More
importantly," Jack interupted, "How did you come back?"
Oogie let out a heavy breath. "It's the Heartless..."
he shivered in fear. "Lock, Shock, and Barrel had organized
enough Darkness to bring me back. Unfortunately, this large quantity
of Darkness attracted the Heartless from all the other worlds. Since
the Darkness was used to bring me back, it's inside me."
"Then
we'll get it out." Jack suggested. "No big deal."
"You don't understand!" Oogie argued, bangin his fist
on the cushion. "Not physically inside me. Even so, the
Heartless or after it. They'll stop at nothing to get it. Eventually,
there will be enough Heartless to invade Halloweentown. And possibly
all the holiday worlds as well."
"So, basically, you're
saying 'we're doomed'!" Jack yelled.
Dimitri began to stir.
"You're the only one that can help, Pumpkin King."
Oogie pleaded. "You have to help."
"He's right,
Jack," Sally agreed,
"I don't think I have much of a
choice..." Jack moaned as he buried his face in his hands. "I'll
get the Mayor to call a Town Meeting. In the meantime, Oogie, don't
try anything funny."