Cobwebs Tend to Begin on Halloween

I don't own anything but my OC's.

Chapter 9

Barrel didn't know how long it had been since they deactivated Icky. A couple of years, he thought. He would occasionally go into the closet and see Icky's body, still slumped over. He didn't know why he would do that. It was a habit, he supposed, to go and see Icky. He would talk to the body sometimes, tell him how stupid Lock and Shock were being. It would calm him, knowing that he had some sort of friend to talk to. He was sure he was the only one who regretted deactivating Icky.

And he hated that fact.

He hated that Lock and Shock didn't care about Icky. They were only doing the job Oogie wanted them to do. They didn't care about Icky anymore then they cared about Jack Skellington.

Barrel sighed. It was nice when Icky was around. Icky had the tendency to follow him around and eat the same candy as him. He liked that. He was Icky's role model, he supposed.

That was it, Barrel decided. It was time to bring Icky back.

…

"You wanna do what?" Oogie asked Barrel, his arms crossed.

"I want to bring Icky back." Barrel repeated.

"An' why would d'ya wanna do that? He's a traitor! He was gonna tell Jack about our plan!"

Barrel was tempted to tell Oogie that he, Lock and Shock were the ones who brought Oogie back to life so this was the least he could do for them. But he didn't want to get scolded for yelling at him or speaking out of terms. "But, Mr. Oogie, sir, maybe he's changed!"

Oogie rubbed his chin (if he had a chin). "An' what if 'e hasn't?"

Barrel gulped and ignored Lock and Shock's panicky stares. He knew he was going to regret this later. "Then…we can get rid of him."

Oogie thought about this. Barrel was truly serious and something in the boy's expression and tone told Oogie that, regardless of what the sack said, Barrel would reactivate Icky anyway. Oogie ran a hand through his 'hair'. He must be going soft. "Fine. Whatever. We'll bring the kid back." Oogie muttered.

Lock and Shock's jaws dropped.

…

Before anyone knew it, Shock and Barrel's hair was frizzy again and Icky was sitting up. He stared at himself in surprise. How on earth was he alive again? "Alright, Ick," Oogie said, hands on his hips. "We're gonna give ya another chance. Anymore slip ups from ya, an' you're outta here. Understand?"

Icky ignored him, looking at himself thoughtfully. He could feel that same presence in the room again and it was standing beside him. Whatever it was.

"Nice to see you again, Icky." Barrel said, flattening his hair and jogging over to Icky. Icky looked at him, then looked away.

"No…" Icky muttered.

"No?" Barrel asked.

Icky climbed down from the panel. "No." Icky repeated, more forcefully this time. He walked away from them.

Oogie scowled and Barrel quickly said, "I'm sure he just needs sometime to get comfortable again! Really, Mr. Oogie!"

Oogie looked at him, then shook his head. "He better." He snarled.

…

Icky sat in the corner, knees pulled to his chest and head resting on them. He didn't want to be here anymore. He could see it now. He'd figured it out.

Jack Skellington was the good guy.

Oogie Boogie was the bad guy.

Lock, Shock and Barrel were the minions.

And Icky was too.

His so-called 'father' was the villain here. He must be. That was why Jack was ruling over Halloween Town. Before, Icky had believed that Halloween Town was the evil army, and that Oogie and the kids were part of some sort of resistance. But Jack was the hero here.

Icky didn't want to fight Jack Skellington. Jack seemed so nice, even when he'd come to their tree house to see if they were up to anything. Oogie had 'deactivated' Icky, which, Icky supposed, just meant he killed him.

What would Jack have done in that situation? Would he have deactivated Icky too? Or would he have just scolded him?

"You better eat that."

Icky didn't look up. He refused to eat snake and spider stew, no matter how delicious Barrel had said it was. "Oogie won't make you anymore, so eat it while you can." Barrel added.

Icky looked away. "Get me out of here…"

"What?"

"I hate it here. Get me out of here. Please…Let me go…" Icky pleaded, and Barrel could barely see the tears in his eye socket.

Barrel's eyebrows raised. Oogie entered the room with Lock and Shock, a pot in one hand. "Hey, Ick, here's some leftover stew."

"I don't want it." Icky said.

Oogie scowled. "What?"

Icky didn't know where all this courage was coming from, but he suddenly felt powerful and destructive like…

Fire.

"I said I don't want it!" Icky snapped, then swatted the bowl of stew away from him. The stew sloshed around before pouring out onto the floor as the bowl toppled over.

The ends of Oogie's arms curled, resembling tight fists, and he dropped the pot of leftover stew. He let out an angry roar. "That's it!"

"Hang on, Mr. Oogie!" Surprisingly, it was Lock who said this.

"Give 'im another chance, Mr. Oogie!" Barrel added.

Shock stayed silent, staring at Oogie. Oogie didn't look at the boys as he spoke. "No. This little brat wants to get out of here, then he's getting out of here. Ungrateful little…" He trailed off. He walked forward and grabbed Icky by the back of his shirt. He thrust the flailing child toward Lock, Shock and Barrel. "Get rid of him. Now."

…

Icky continued to flail, even when he was tied up in the large sack. He kicked and punched, trying to break the bag. He didn't know where they were, all he knew was that they were in the bathtub. Icky didn't know where all this anger and courage had come from. Somewhere deep inside of him, he supposed. He was tempted to call for Jack Skellington, but he knew he was in enough trouble.

"This looks like a good spot." He heard Lock say. The bathtub came to a halt and the bag opened. "See ya later, Ick!" Lock exclaimed, though it was mockingly.

"Bye, bye, now!" Shock added, in the same tone.

Barrel stayed silent.

Lock and Shock grabbed Icky's arms and tossed. Icky yelled out as he was thrown from the tub. Lock and Shock cackled and the bathtub turned and galloped away. Icky continued to fall from the hill. When he stopped falling, he didn't land on his back, or his feet.

A sharp stinging sensation developed on the back of his head as he fell on the tombstone. It felt like air was running through his mind and his brain felt fuzzy. Who was he again? I…He didn't remember the rest. Why was he falling again? Where was he? His eye socket felt so heavy as he plummeted to the ground, and the skeleton child black out.

…

Author's note:

Me: *Gasps* Poor Icky!

Mav: Kinda 'ad it comin', though.

Me: Shut it, Mav! You're supposed to be on his side!

Mav: I am! Jus' that the kid answered back. Back in my day, Montarg would've just yelled at me if I answered back. He woulda done worse if Marcus weren't there t' stop 'im.

Me: Nice. So, what'll become of Icky n-

Mav: Oh, c'mon, J! Everyone pretty much knows what's gonna 'appen now!

Me: Shut up and let me create suspense! Or I won't write you in any of the stories!

Mav: *Gasps* No!

Me: That's what I thought. Now, what'll become of Icky now?

Mav: *Sniffs sadly* And what about Jack…?

Mav + Me: Find out next time!

Me: Stop sounding so depressed, Maverick!

Mav: *Sniffs* H-Happy Holidays, e-everyone…