Oogie was mad again. Which meant Lock and Shock were taking refuge under the old tub; again. Barrel was gone. He usually just wandered out now days. It wasn't as though anyone noticed another mask floating through the street, and even risking Jack was better than staying near an angry Oogie Boogie. Jack would sometimes send you back with a warning; with Oogie, you knew what you were going to get. Another cage bounced up the pipe and slammed into the side of the tub, rocking it back and almost hitting the brim of Shock's hat. She flinched as her brother's horns were pushed closer to her before nudging him.
"Lock. Go look out and see what it is." she demanded, her voice not rising above a whisper. He turned to her, red faced, and hissed back. "I did it last time. You do it." his tail twitched unhappily. She shoved him into the side of the tub and he bite back a loud curse. If Oogie heard he might remember they existed and he was still sore from the last time he'd let it happen.
If Shock hadn't jumped in front of him... Well, the dice hadn't been rolling in his favor. And the last Gunman had been awfully close. It was only for her he hadn't left with Barrel. He didn't want her to think he was ungrateful. Even though, he noted, he'd taken more than a few hits for her when they were younger, and it was past time she returned the favor.
He pushed her back and she yelped. They both froze. The music below played on, the record skipping back to the last three bars over and over. He'd call them to fix it when he noticed, but no responding yell from Oogie meant it had covered the sound.
He looked out from the curled up corner of tub and saw the cage. It had landed in front of them in a way that suggested aim, and there was a terrified beetle inside. He felt a shiver run up his back. That was never a good sign. He yanked his head back and looked over at an expectant Shock.
"Well?" she whispered. Only Shock could make a whisper sound demanding. "It was still full." he said. She winced.
"Oh scream. That'll mean he'll want someone to play with soon." she stated. They looked at each other. Then at the wall of the tub. Then at each other again.
"I'll-"
"Go." Lock finished her sentence automatically and then shook his head. She was still his sister. No matter how much he hated her.
"I'll do it. You went last week." He winced as the words left his mouth. She'd done it last week; he'd done it three days ago. She opened her mouth to reply when another CLANG sounded against the tub. It was louder this time and the tub shivered and kicked it's legs in protest.
"Lock! Shock! Barrel!" Oogie's voice was louder than it had been the last time he'd shouted a few minutes ago. "Come on down!" His voice had the booming tone, that made it almost sound musical, that meant he was out for blood. They both lifted up an edge of the tub and peeked out. Barrel was still nowhere to be seen. Lock wasn't sure if that was good or bad right now.
"We're going to have to go." Shock grimaced; an expression that doubled as her smile. Lock nodded and they flipped the tub over and stood up.
Oogie's singing was louder now, and definitely closer. They both rushed to hide their masks behind the crates. Oogie didn't like the masks.
As soon as they were done; Lock rapped the pipes with his knuckle and Shock stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a glass breaking whistle. Oogie laughed and they heard the pipes pop as he slid back down. They hopped into the old passages in the usual order. Lock first, then Shock, and sometimes if they were lucky Barrel. They'd worked it out over the last few years. Barrel was last since he'd started jumping in at the last second; barely escaping their father's wrath. And after Shock had really started growing up; Lock'd taken the lead with only a few half-hearted protests.
After Jack'd split his seams, Oogie hadn't been all there. Or even mostly there. Sometimes not even in the neighborhood, kind of crazy. But when he wanted to, he'd remember things. Mostly things like, how he never OFFICIALLY adopted them. Or more specifically Shock. It always made Lock uneasy, and slightly jealous, to see how he followed the witch around the casino, his beady eyes never leaving her. Oogie's attention was rarely on him despite his best efforts. So he'd taken the front and the few seconds distraction it offered.
They landed in the flash of multicolored lights. Oogie'd set the whole arena up today; the full line of gunmen were out and the center wheel was spinning. A pair of dice hit Lock's feet and went flying back into Oogie's waiting hands. Lock kept his grin straight, or at least wickedly crooked, as he landed; sliding forward so Shock wouldn't hit him on her way out.
"Lock!" he called out and stood to attention in front of the pipe as the slight gust that accompanied the second person landing ruffled the tips of his bright red hair.
"AND SHOCK!" The tip of her hat popped out of the tub with a clink. Oogie's black eyes shimmered and Lock felt a sense of relief that he was blocking most of his view. Unfortunately, Shock had always been the taller one. They both slid to opposite sides on the off chance Barrel was sliding down after them and chanted.
"At your service!" They both threw up their arms in a dramatic pose. Lock sighed inwardly, the motion, the whole act, was childish. He could imagine what the Swamp Girls would say if they could see it. 'The GREAT Lock! Waving his arms like a five year old! How brave!' he blushed lightly, thankful for the poor lighting.
He secretly hated it when they teased him, even though he knew they liked him. He couldn't see how they could Not; with his devilishly good looks, and his ability to out-mischief the best of them. Thankfully Oogie didn't seem to notice either of the siblings; his attention was on the pipe, waiting for Barrel.
"Were's your Brother!?" he boomed and spun to face Lock. Lock gaped for a second, trying to come up with an explanation when Shock stepped forward.
"I... Uh... Sent him to get more bugs for you," she paused as her foster father swung around to face her. His expression was stuck between anger and interest, and Lock saw her shiver. Lock's grin twisted up as he realized he should have said it instead of letting all their father's attention drift to her. Oogie never paid him enough attention.
"Sir." she added. That did it. Oogie grinned, mouth pulling away to reveal vibrating strings and brightly colored insects. It wasn't a pretty sight. He sidled over to her and batted her chin with one of his hands. She turned to face him without dropping her practiced smile.
"Why! Aren't you being a Good little girl!" he yanked her forward and Lock trailed along after them as he pulled her through the maze of slots and knives.
"We do our best." She choked out as he set her back down. Lock slid up next to her and nodded hard. Oogie looked up at him and he felt a little hope creep in. Maybe he'd let them off this time. Maybe he'd even let Lock play one of the slots.
"You do! You do!" Oogie grabbed onto one of the nearby skeletons and two new dice rolled out. He kept them firmly tucked in his hand. He looked straight at Lock. "Now go find him! I want to CONGRATULATE you all!" he boomed. Lock felt the hope grow and he nodded almost stabbing Shock with his horns. If dad wanted him to get Barrel, he'd get Barrel! And he'd get him Better than Shock could have!
"Yes Sir Mr. Oogie Boogie! Sir!" and then he ran up the rope ladder and out to the pumpkin field. As soon as he reached the top he realized what he'd just done. He'd just left his sister alone with the boogieman.
"I should go help him." Shock offered. Her voice was strong, or at least barely quavering. Oogie laughed and bounced the dice in his hands.
"No. He'll be JUST fine sweet cheeks." Oogie leaned closer and she forced herself not to pull away as the smell of rot hit her. He whispered, "I'll deal with him. Later." His voice still hadn't lost the musical quality, she noticed.
It was funny how she noticed everything when she was scared. Like how close they were to the vats of acid. Or how much of an idiot her brother was. She didn't blame him, not really, he couldn't help that he was an attention seeking moron. And she honestly hoped Oogie wouldn't hurt him, at least not too badly. It was usually easier to keep him happy when there was at least one uninjured person to help. And Lock complained when he got a cut making paper bats.
She didn't think she could stand the wining if Oogie actually hit him.
Sometimes it felt like he was the girl of the family. After all she hadn't complained about her arm once last month, when the acid had splashed and hit her. Even though every time she'd moved, the long sleeves she'd worn to cover it had rubbed.
She really was close to those vats...
Oogie noticed her eyes drifting away from him and grabbed her chin, harder this time, yanking her until she was looking at him. "Now Girly!" he boomed. She winced; he still hadn't used her name. He only avoided it when Lock and Barrel were gone, and he was trying to forget she was his daughter. "Don't you know better than to LIE to me!" he yanked her closer and her feet left the ground. No one else in Halloween town could do that anymore. She nodded desperately, trying not to let the grin disappear. He dropped her and she collapsed onto the floor, legs folding under her like a gymnast to slow the drop. She'd had a lot of practice falling lately.
"Good!" he turned around and threw the dice into the nearest skulls. They rolled out the eyes and bounced to her feet. One and two. She let out her breath, one away. Oogie snarled as he read it.
Then he stepped forwards and slapped her in the face hard and fast.
One. Two. Three. Crack! Crack! Crack!
She gritted her teeth as the blows knocked her head backwards, but managed not to scream. Screaming was a VERY bad idea.
"I thought I told YOU to keep an eye on him! Didn't I?!" he demanded. She shook her head quickly and his cloth hand smacked into her face again, catching her around the eye. "DIDN'T I!" she scrambled backwards and stood up.
"Yes! You did!" She screamed. Her hands rushed to her mouth to try to shove the words back in, but they had already escaped into the air. He stepped forwards and pulled his arms around her. Crushing her against him until she could barely breathe.
"And do you know what happens when you disobey me?" he asked, like it was a normal question. Like he was listening to what she said. Shock shivered, and he slid his lowest hand further down her back. "I asked, if you know what happens when you disobey me little Girl?" his voice was still low. She didn't move. His other hand grabbed her hair and yanked it backwards. She bit through the scab making up the inside if her lip to keep from screaming. His free hand continued it's decent.
"Let me go Oogie. Dad." she made her voice sound confident. Like any other teenager in Halloween Town. His hand stopped. He growled.
"I AM NOT YOUR FATHER! I NEVER SAID I WAS YOUR FATHER!" and he yanked back on her hair again. This time she let out a tiny scream. The witch hat tilted dangerously on the back of her head, about to fall. She continued.
"Let me go. Okay? We can play a game. Poker." She tried to glance behind to where the table was. He liked poker. Most days. She remembered when he'd taught her how to deal.
He brought his low hand closer to his body, pulling her with it and chuckled as she twisted in his grip. She managed to plant the back if her foot into his toe before she remembered he'd forbidden heels. He kept on pushing her closer until she couldn't breathe and then he started laughing. She started slamming her hands against him, and he laughed harder. A big booming laugh that echoed across the room. Lights started to flash in her eyes and she flailed harder, trying to get away, as she realized he still wasn't letting go.
And then, the record skipped back on track.
His face lit up and his grip immediately released. He grabbed her hands and swung her around to the tune before throwing her behind a glowing table along with a pack of cards.
"Your deal beautiful!" he laughed as he swung along the room to the beat. The lights flickered as the gunman fired into the back wall on cue. She pulled out the cards like they were made of eggshells and ran the deck across her arm as she shuffled. She waited until his back was to her to breath again, hoping he wouldn't remember what had just happened. He usually didn't, rarely more than a few seconds of what he'd done, but sometimes...
She ruffled the pieces of paper through her fingers and tried to ignore the blood dripping down her mouth.
She liked cards. You knew where you were with cards. An ace rolled up her sleeve. And best of all; Cards were easy to cheat. She watched as her father danced around the lit up room and wished she'd never grown up. Things had been so much easier when she was seven.
Barrel was bored. He'd eaten the pumpkin patch clean and that'd helped for a while but; now he was bored again. Barrel didn't like being bored, it was, well, boring. So he'd made his way back to the woods and his latest project.
He liked this one, and it was mostly finished. The ground was littered around it with cages and odd parts he'd taken to make it. Oogie wouldn't care that they were gone. He would probably even give him a pat on the back for making it.
It was a cat-a-pult. When he'd finished with it, he was going to launch whatever he felt like at Halloween town. And if he was in a bad mood, it'd probably be on fire. He smiled. Barrel liked setting things on fire. Setting things on fire was Fun, unlike his siblings.
"BARREL!" Lock's voice echoed through the woods causing him to wince. Speak of the devil boy... It wasn't Barrel's fault they couldn't deal with their father, any more than it was his fault be was Oogie's favorite. He considered ducking into the bushes but Lock would probably break the launcher if he found it unguarded. He waddled out to the main path as his brother passed.
"Over here genius." Barrel threw his last pumpkin at the back of Lock's head. Unfortunately, Barrel had even less aim than Lock had brains. The pumpkin feel short by a several feet and exploded on the sidewalk splattering them both with goo. Lock yelled and ran at him. Barrel instinctively stepped away and straight into Lock's arms. He grabbed him like a football and kept running.
"LET ME GO!" Barrel screamed.
"No you little jerk!" Lock yelled back. "Oogie sent me to get you!" He said 'Me' like it was a prize. He usual did when it came to helping the old sack. Barrel kicked his chubby legs behind them. He didn't like being carried like a football, despite how often Lock and Shock used to throw him like one.
"At least let me walk!" he hissed. Lock shook his head.
"You're slow! I don't want to keep him waiting." Barrel sighed and let Lock run. He didn't really feel like walking all the way back anyway.
After they cleared the woods and the old Graveyard it got boring being carried. So Barrel bit him. That was fun even if Lock did taste like soot. He screamed even louder than the ghouls.
Barrel went flying down the hole that led to the basement, cursing at Lock all the way. He landed with a splatting sound and before he could get up, Lock landed on him. He made a satisfying yelp when the devil boy's tail stabbed him. It served him right. His arm was still sore from where Barrel's teeth had left a mark.
He stood up and looked around brushing away the cloud of dust and insect legs that the falling Barrel had landed in. Barrel rolled away from him and sat forwards.
"Oogie! Lock sat on me!" the round boy yelled. "I found him!" Lock echoed; prodding him with an elbow.
"I should have sliced you up and left you there." he whispered. Barrel stuck out his green tongue. The music had righted itself again and Shock, or at least her hat, was clearly illuminated across the room with their Father. He turned around and waved them over.
"Barrel!" he bellowed. Barrel ran towards the two and Lock raced after beaming. He didn't really care where either of his siblings were, but he did care about what Oogie thought. His dad wasn't easy to please but that never stopped him from trying. He stood to attention beaming as Oogie looked them over. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his sister ducking out from the table and sliding next to him.
"Where were you?" Oogie asked as he leaned over and inspected Barrel. "He was in the woods sir!" Lock offered, not bothering to hide his jealousy at their fathers one-sided concern.
"I was making a launcher thing." Barrel added. Oogie nodded and straightened up.
"Good! Does it work?" he asked. Barrel nodded. Oogie beamed. "Take whatever you need from upstairs then!"
"I already did." Barrel stated. Oogie laughed and ruffled the boy's perfect hair, as soon as his hand moved it settled back to it's normal position.
"That's my boy!"
Barrel grinned and Lock would have smacked him if he could get away with it.
"I did a good job too. Didn't I?" Lock added hopefully. Barrel snickered and Oogie tore himself away from the young boy long enough to nod.
"Yes, of course." He added before swinging his arm around Barrel. Shock's pointed elbow jabbed Lock in the side. He glanced over, careful not to turn his head away.
"Pushover." Shock whispered. Lock's face turned bright red, until it matched his hair.
"I am not!" he snarled and she giggled at him.
"Sure... And I'm not a the smartest either." She fidgeted for a second as Oogie cooed over her round brother. For some reason Lock kept thinking of the vampires as he looked at her, and then he realized a thin trail of blood was flowing down her chin. She reached up and wiped it away a second later. He tried not to think about it.
"You wanna go break it after they forget we're here?" she asked. He snarled and turned to her.
"You can't steal my idea!" his face turned bright red and a thin trail of smoke floated out of his ears. He hadn't thought of it, but there was no way he was going to let Shock take credit for a good idea. Especially one like that. She smirked.
"Too late!" she stated. Then he shoved her. It caught her off balance and she tipped over one of the skulls. At the last second she grabbed his sleeve and he fell with her. She punched him in the eye as they fell and he planted hid knee in her stomach. They struggled against each other and finally Lock kicked away and they both jumped up. He managed to lunge first but she ducked under it and he caught the middle of her witch hat instead.
Without quite thinking about what he was, doing he shoved it off. The purple hat hit the floor as she slid under his arm. Lock whirled around to face her.
And suddenly he realized just how much taller Shock was. And that she was running towards him with an expression that would have put Jack to shame.
And screaming.
Oogie and Barrel were watching by now but Lock was unable to pry his eyes away from the screaming fury running at him long enough to notice.
Around three seconds later; Lock was about an inch from frying alive in the vats. Shock's hands were twisted around his head and shoving it down as she straddled him. He bucked and tried to throw her off but for the first time in his memory she was stronger. A new trail of blood was flowing down her chin as she snarled. Her hand shoved him down a centimeter farther and he froze as the tips of his hair started to fizzle in the frying acid.
Suddenly there was a hiss as the flash of purple felt flew over her back. She rolled off him and lunged, slamming the hat back on her head. Lock jerked back up but she didn't even turn around.
Oogie's booming laugh echoed through the chamber, hand still extended from tossing it, and Barrel was wholeheartedly eating the lollipop that he produced out of nowhere whenever he felt interested. Oogie swept them both around the assortment of cages and skulls and instead of helping the shivering boy, he swung his arm around the snarling witch's stomach and lifted her up and placed her next to him.
"Easy Shock! Easy!" he laughed and she flailed halfheartedly before letting him pick her up. They turned around and Lock shoved himself up growling. A thin trail of fire shot out of his mouth as his Father wandered away.
He hated his siblings! He hated Shock! It was always her that Oogie favored. Sure Barrel got away with everything, but he never went out of his way to get their fathers attention. It was Lock that was going to inherit the title of Boogieman when Oogie retired. He was going to make sure of it. And then he could get his stupid witch sister back. But today he was going to smash the thing in the woods. Before she could.