Holly ran as fast as her little legs would take her. "I've got to get to Dad - before it's too late!" She cried, out of breath. "Come on, Zero," she panted. "We can't afford to waste any time!" Zero barked in response, and whimpered as he tried to keep up with her. When they finally reached the town square, Holly breathed a sigh of relief. She was so close to home.
She burst through the front door of their house, Zero close behind, frantic to find Jack. Her search of the downstairs yeiled nothing, so she rushed up the stairs and into the library. Jack was sitting in his great, black armchair when Holly threw herself through the door. "Ja - D-daddy!" She yelled, stumbling over her own words. "I need your help - Raven and Barrel, in the graveyard! He..." Jack stood up and placed his bony hands on Holly's shoulders. "Holly, this is important," he said, sternly. "Now, calm yourself and tell me what happened. You sound like a game of Clue."
Holly took a deep breath. "I... I'm sorry, Daddy. I just don't know what to do! Barrel took Raven to Spiral Hill - I think he was headed to the Treehouse! I don't know what happened, but I... I don't think Raven was conscious!" Jack looked worried, but steadied himself. He had to approch this calmly. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Did Barrel... smile, at all strangly? You know - like a crooked smirk, or a devilish grin?" Holly nodded. "Yeah... a couple times. It seemed so forced, it was really unsettling."
"I think I knew what happened, Holly," said Jack. His voice wavered as he tried to hold back his anger. "I don't have time to explain fully, but that Barrel is not the Barrel we know. This is Oogie's doing, I'm sure of it - come on, we can't spend any more time here."
Meanwhile, deep underneath the Treehouse was Raven, sprawled out fast asleep on the Roulette Wheel. Locke and Shock stood present, watching over her. "Hah!" Laughed Locke. "She's even cute when she's sleeping!" Shock let out a loud harrumph! and smacked Locke right across the face. "She is NOT so cute!" She huffed. "Geeze, you're such a - OOF!" Before she could finish, Locke dived right into her stomache, knocking her down. "Take it back!" He cried. "Never! Get off me!" Shock screamed back.
Perhaps as a result of the scuffle, Raven stirred. "Wh... where am I?" She moaned, trying to lift herself up. She struggled for a moment, only to realize with a start that she was bound and tied. "Oh, no!..." she thought to herself, thrashing against the ropes. "What am I going to do?... I can't move!" Locke and Shock halted their tussle when they heard Raven's struggles. "Oh, look! She's awake! Com'on, Locke - quit being such an idiot and let's go get Oogie! It's not gonna be MY head if he gets angry, you know."
As the two ran off, Raven glanced to her side. There, she saw Barrel locked in a nearby cage. He was sitting with his legs crossed, his head down. "Barrel..." Called Raven. "What happened?" Barrel looked up, his eyes swollen and red. "R-Raven! I'm sorry," he cried, averting his eyes. "I didn't mean to do any of this!... Oogie, he made me! I'm so sorry," he lowered his head once more and cup his face in his hands. Raven lowered her eyes. "I understand, Barrel... Don't blame yourself, okay? This Oogie... what a terrible man to do this to you!"
"Well, well, look who's talking, deary! Oh, how your words pain me," came a voice from behind them. Raven tried to turn her head. It was almost as if the voice was coming from all directions. "Where are you?..." She shivered - it was so cold so suddenly.
"Why, I'm right here, darling." Came the voice again. This time, there was no confusing it - whoever, whatever was making that voice come to life was right beside her now.
She tossed her head to the side and screamed. There, leaning so casually against the rounded wall, was a giant sack of... something, wriggling and crawling just under the surface. "Now, now, there's no need to be so rude, sweet thing!" He sauntered toward her and grinned. "You!... You did this! Get... get away from me! I want to go home!" Oogie's grin grew even wider. "Whatever do you mean? You ARE home, Raven."
"No! Why did you bring me here? What did I do to deserve this?" Raven cried, her body trembling. Oogie huffed and puffed out his chest, such as it was. "Well, my lovely little spies - Locke and Shock, here -" he said, gesturing to the side. "Heard a little tale that you've got special powers... special, like controlling people. I just want a little of your help, is all. You know, like the ability to have all of Halloween Town under my whim. That's all. Is that really so much to ask?"
Raven thrashed in anger, releasing her power. Her eyes flashed dangerously, a deep, emotionless black. "I would never help the likes of you," she said, as the ropes that tied her began to shrivel and die. Oogie smirked. "How sweet... you actually think I'd give you a choice? No, dear, you should know that won't work on me. I have no eyes, you see! Now, then, Shock, would you do the honors?" Shock nodded, and cracked her fingers. "Whatever you say," she said, pulling out a spellbook from under her witch's hat. She flipped through the book rapidly, finally coming to the page. She chanted: "The fire to change her heart from white to black, let her join us in the evil masqurade." She repeated it several times, as a large black ball appeared before Raven. Shock snapped the book closed and stashed it back under her hat. She stepped forward and took hold of the ball. "This won't hurt... much," she cackled, as she began to push the ball closer and closer to Raven.
"Leave her alone!" Shouted Barrel, ramming up against the bars. Locke moved up to him and punched the bars. "Shut it, okay?" He yelled. Shock pushed the ball into her heart, and Raven writhed in pain.
Jack and Holly ran towards the Treehouse. "Wait! I see it! I see where they took Raven," Said Holly, brushing her hair out of her face. Suddenly, they were stopped in their tracks by a horrible piercing scream. Jack ran toward the Treehouse once more. He turned and called over his shoulder, "Holly! Listen to me! Tell everyone to evacuate the town! I'm going to go get Raven, okay?" Holly nodded, and headed back toward town. "All right! Good... Good luck, Daddy!"
Jack climbed down the winding steps and entered Oogie's lair. "Oogie!" He shouted, barging into the casino room. "Unhand Raven this instant!" Oogie turned to face Jack, something clutched in his hands and hidden behind his back. "Really? You don't say. Raven, dear, why don't you come and explain to Jack here how rude it is to just barge into other people's houses and give orders?" Raven stepped out from behind Oogie, her face blank and emotionless. Her eyes were yellow - cold and bright.
"Raven," Jack lamented. "Come here... please. I don't know what's going on, but you're in danger here." Raven shook her head, her face devoid of emotion. "No," she said. "I don't take orders from you, Jack... not anymore."
A/N: Dude, this is awesome! Don't worry, there'll be plenty more in the next chapter. So don't go away!