Chapter 13: Crawloween: The Guy in Charge of the Madness
"Goodness," said Double D. "It certainly took you two a long time to find Oogie, didn't it?"
"Yeah, it did," said Baron. "I was beginning to think we'd never find him. At least, not in time to save Halloween."
"Well, it's a good thing we never stopped looking," said Jack. "If it wasn't for us, Halloween was going to become Crawloween."
"Don't remind me…" Baron groaned.
"Something tells me we're getting closer," said Jack.
"What tipped you off?" asked Baron. "The fact that all the traps and bugs have increased tenfold?"
"Just be glad that the Clown with the Tear-Away Face was there to give us directions," said Jack.
"Yeah, after we found his face," said Baron. "Well, at least he could tell us where Sally was."
"Not only that, he upgraded my Pumpkin Bombs!" said Jack. "Now all that's left to do is find Oogie and put a stop to his shenanigans!"
"And let's hope that's soon," said Baron.
"Oh, it will be," said Jack. "It will be…"
--
The trek to Oogie's Lair wasn't easy. It seemed that every trap and bug the boys had encountered before (minus the "boss bugs") was back to get them. However, there was no way they could back down now: Jack was determined to find Oogie Boogie and make the troublemaker pay for what he was doing to Halloween. That went for Baron, too; Halloween was the only time of the year that he could pull any type of real prank on the unsuspecting! There was no way he could give that up without a fight.
As Jack and Baron seemed to be getting closer and closer to where the action would really be, the traps and the bugs seemed to be getting more plentiful…and dangerous. The boys had to use every trick they had to get through it all. Also, they had to keep in mind that they would have to have enough energy to face Oogie himself. If his bugs were this powerful, there was no telling how much of a challenge Oogie would be!
After another round of bugs and traps, Baron looked around. "Is it just me, or do we seem to be going underground?" he asked Jack.
"I'm not surprised," said Jack. "Since the residents of Halloween Town all live on the surface, there wouldn't be anyone else down below to stop anyone from scheming. And I can't lie to you, Baron…this could be very dangerous." Jack stopped walking, and turned to his friend. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Hey, you and the other Halloween Town people won't be the only ones suffering if Halloween is taken away," said Baron. "If there's no more Halloween, I won't be able to teach my little brother all the best Halloween pranks! I'm not just gonna take that."
Jack stared at Baron for a moment, then sighed. "Well…if you think you can handle it. Let's go!"
--
The boys headed deeper and deeper into the ground outside Halloween Town, fighting through all the obstacles in their way. Finally, they came across an all-too-familiar bug holding an arrow. The arrow was pointing into the deepest part of the ground.
The boys destroyed the bug with ease.
"This is it," said Jack. "After this, there's no turning back." He looked at Baron. "Are you ready?"
A smug grin appeared on Baron's face. "I was born ready," he said, taking out a fresh can of Silly String.
The two confident boys walked into the underground room. The first thing the boys noticed was that it was incredibly…dark.
Baron looked around. "Okay," he said. "So where is he?"
Baron was answered by a very loud, booming laugh.
"So, you must be Jack, the Pumpkin King!" said a booming voice. "And who's your friend?"
"I'm the Red Baron, prankster extraordinaire!' Baron claimed triumphantly. "And you picked the wrong guys to deal with, buddy boy!"
"Show yourself!" said Jack. "Now!"
"With pleasure!" said the voice.
Suddenly, a single spotlight turned on, shining straight onto a giant potato sack…with a face!
"What the…?" asked Baron.
"I'm the Oogie Boogie Man!" said the giant moving sack. "King of All Bugs!"
"So you're the one who's responsible for all this!" said Jack. "Surrender now, Oogie, and we might go easy on you!"
"Yeah!" said Baron.
"It's too late for that!" said Oogie. "Halloween Town is mine! And now, I'm free to create my own holiday, Crawloween!"
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" said Jack.
"This is for almost ruining our fun!" said Baron.
Oogie smirked. "How heroic of both of you," he drawled. "Unfortunately, it's not me you'll be fighting at the moment."
Then, without warning, Oogie jumped up to a hidden platform. When it was more properly illuminated, both Jack and Baron were able to see that there was a crank jutting out of the wall.
"NOW!" said Oogie, who had begun to turn the crank. "Zombie Centipede! Get rid of these meddlers!"
At the far end of the room, something slithered out of the darkness. It was a monstrous, bright green centipede!
"Oh, great," Baron mumbled. "What do we do?!"
Jack hesitated for a moment. However, it was only a moment, for the centipede unexpectedly lashed out at the two heroes. On pure reflex, Jack threw a barrage of Bat Boomerangs at the creature. As he dodged, Jack noticed something odd: when the Bat Boomerangs hit the segments of the Zombie Centipede's body, they turned grey.
"Baron!" Jack called to his friend. "I think I have an idea! Aim your attacks at the centipede's body!"
"Way ahead of ya!" said Baron. He took out a handful of Eggs and began pelting the Zombie Centipede's body.
Because of the plentiful showering of Bat Boomerangs and Eggs, it wasn't long until the Zombie Centipede's entire body was completely grey. The monster's grey body suddenly began to shudder, and then…it fell apart, leaving only the head.
Oogie growled from atop his post. "You think you've won, haven't you?" he asked. "Well, you're wrong. My Zombie Centipede has one last trick up its sleeve!"
That being said, the bug head suddenly began to change shape. It no longer had a visible face; it was just one big eyeball!
"Okay," said Baron, "that's just gross."
The Centipede Eyeball slowly floated around the area, after Jack and Baron; somehow, it was even able to throw smaller eyeballs at the two heroes!
"Any ideas?" Baron asked.
"We basically have the thing surrounded," said Jack. It was true; Jack was positioned on one side of the eyeball, and Baron the other. "Keep hammering it! It can't last forever!"
Then, without warning, the Centipede Eyeball was suddenly at a disadvantage. If it went one way, it was met with more Bat Boomerangs, followed by an attack from a supercharged Frog Gun; if it went the other way, it was pelted with Eggs, followed by being covered in a cloud of Silly String. After a while, it seemed to be wearing down.
"One last strong attack ought to do it!" said Jack. He took out a Pumpkin Bomb (which were now significantly larger thanks to Clown). "Ready?" he asked Baron.
"Ready!" said Baron, taking out a handful of Cherry Bombs.
The duo threw their bombs at the creature at the same time. It instantaneously burst into flames.
"WHAT?!" said Oogie, looking down at the spot where his Zombie Centipede used to be. He shot a glare at Jack and Baron. "Well…you two are certainly formidable opponents," he glowered. "You two may have won this time, but this isn't over! Not by a long shot!"
"Deal with it, dude," said Baron. "It is so over."
"Leave Halloween Town at once!" Jack commanded.
"NEVER!" Oogie shouted back.
"Mister Oogie!"
Jack and Baron's attention was directed toward the far side of the area. It was Lock, Shock, and Barrel in their Walking Tub.
"Mister Oogie!" said Lock.
"We fixed the elevator!" said Shock.
"And not a moment too soon!" said Barrel.
"Ah, my hired hands," said Oogie. "I thank you." He turned back to Jack and Baron. "If you two imbeciles actuallythink you'll be able to stop me, I'll be waiting in my real lair…with a rag doll! See you soon…not!"
With that, Oogie fled, along with his three henchmen.
"Rag doll?" Baron asked, confused.
"He must mean Sally!" said Jack. "We have to follow him! I refuse to have anyone else hurt because of him!"
"I'm right behind you!" said Baron.
With that, the duo ran after the giant sack of bugs, and his three bratty helpers.
The boys soon found themselves in another room. The only thing in it was a fair-sized cage.
"What's going on?" asked Baron. "Where'd they go?"
Jack took a closer look at the cage. "Hey, this isn't just a cage," he said. "This is an elevator! This must be the one those three troublemakers were talking about!"
"You think they went up?" Baron asked.
"I'll bet my bones they did," said Jack, stepping into the elevator. "Come on! We can't let them get away!"
"Of course we can't," said Baron, stepping into the elevator. The cage slowly began to rise to the surface. As it did, one thought crossed Baron's mind:
'The sooner all this craziness can end, the better.'