Chapter 25: Race Against the Clock
(Narrator's POV)
Jack and Al wasted no time following the elves towards Christmas Junction. They were led through a train tunnel. Not being a fan of the dark, Al clung to Jack's arm until they reached the other side. As they stepped out into the light, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The buildings weren't badly damaged, but it was eerily quiet. At the center stood Santa's bright red sleigh. The reindeer were all hooked up and all the Christmas presents had been piled into the back, ready to be delivered to children all over the world.
"Damn, that was too easy," Al said, sheathing her halberd. Then her eyes fell on the presents. "Presents!" she exclaimed, making a dash for the presents.
"Wait!" Jack cried, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back. "It might be a trap."
"How right you are, old boy!" they four of them turned around to see Oogie Boogie, now standing in the driver's seat of the sleigh. "Ho ho hooo! Merry Christmas, Jack!"
"You booby trapped the pressies?! You bastard!" Al shrieked and made to attack Oogie, but Jack held her back.
"Oogie, what have you done with Sandy Claws?" Jack demanded.
"I haven't done anything to old Sand Man…yet!" Oogie laughed maliciously
Suddenly, Benny gasped and pointed toward the sky. "What's Santa doing up there!?"
Jack and Al looked up, their eyes widening in shock. There was Santa, hanging by a rope ten feet off the ground over the train tracks. The rope was tight, making him sway easily back and forth as he struggled against his bonds. "Put me down this instant!" he cried out.
"Sandy!" Jack turned to Oogie with a scowl. "Release him at once!"
"Careful what you wish for, Jack," Oogie mocked. "Just a simple snip and Sandy Claws go SPLAT!"
"What? Serious let down, dude," Al commented, looking up at the trap, clearly unimpressed. "After the zombies, spiders–" she shivered slightly "–and the Iron Maiden, Torture Chair, and giants; you really went with a lame old rope trap? Call me old fashion, but, whatever happened to…"
"Alice!" Jack exclaimed, cutting her off. This was hardly the time to be critiquing the trap, let alone giving Oogie tips on how to torture poor Sandy Claws even further.
Oogie just continued to laugh. "Oh, did you really think I'd think up something so simple?" he asked, grinning devilishly at the group. As he laughed, the pole from which Santa's rope hung began to rise. All eyes widen as Santa was now raised twenty-five feet in the air. Suddenly, there was a low rumbling as large icicles appeared directly under Santa Claus, and out of nowhere, several dozen snowmen popped from the ground. They remained still for only a moment, before shaking and releasing the hidden zombie skeletons inside.
Benny and Henry huddled together as the zombies began hissing at them. At their whimpering, Jack readied his Soul Robber and stepped in front, blocking any direct attack from the two frightened elves. Al merely looked at the undead creatures, a clearly unimpressed look on her face.
"Still not all that much of a death trap, bozo," Al said, shrugging her chainsaw into her hands.
"True." Oogie grinned, causing Al to grip her chainsaw tighter. "If it were that easy, then I wouldn't get the chance to play with my new toy."
As if on cue, the air was filled by the piercing whistle of a train. Jack looked up, expecting to see the train he had used earlier, only to gasp at this new locomotive. He recognized the train's design from one of the presents he tried to deliver last year. However, this one was much larger and far more menacing. The head was similar to that of a crow with neon pink and green paint, and equipped with a large sharp snapping beak. The following cars were a large neon purple spade, a black cat-in-the-box with neon green eyes, and some neon green iron maiden. If they couldn't stop it in time, the scissor-tipped train would go down the track leading to the rope that holding Santa Claus up.
Oogie laughed as he watched the panic look on his foe's face. "Ho ho ha ha ha! Now then, Jack, Sandy. What are you two gonna do?" he asked, continuing to laugh at their helplessness. "This'll be fun to watch! It's payback time!"
"We've got to get him down, but how?" Benny asked, turning towards Jack and Al.
"I really don't do heights, and that train looks too freaky," Al said, turning to Jack. "Any ideas, Bonehead?"
Jack contemplated the new predicament for a moment. "I did until Oogie added that train," he replied. "Those monsters will prevent our every move, and I don't think it will be easy destroying the train. However… Al, do you think you can take care of Oogie's skeletal zombies while I find the weak spot on the train?"
Al revved her chainsaw, setting the flame to a deep red. "Have you not seen how many undead guys I've taken out today?" she asked sarcastically.
"Good. I'll need you to cover me," he added, looking back at the track. "I've got to change the tracks to buy Sandy some time, then stop that train!"
"The knife on that train is going to cut the rope!" Benny cried.
"Somebody do something! Quick!" Henry shrieked.
"We can see that!" Al barked. "Jack, hurry up and locate weakness. Come at me bro!" she called, charging blindly forward into the hoard of zombies before she yelled, "For Gondor!"
Jack was just about to join her, but first he looked back at the elves. He couldn't just leave them alone and unprotected. Getting an idea, Jack tapped the special pin Sally had given him, changing into his Sandy Claws outfit. He grabbed his sack of tricks and pulled out one of the presents, handing it to Henry.
"If any of Oogie's monsters come after you, use this to frighten them and get away," he explained. With a nod from both elves, Jack tapped his pin once more and raced towards the train. He slashed through a few skeletons before he finally made it to the track. The train was coming up fast, too fast for Jack to locate any weaknesses. He quickly whipped out his Soul Robber and wrapped it around the control lever. Giving it a good pull, he managed to change the track just as the train approached, sending the horrid contraption away from Sandy Claws. Jack followed the train, slashing at it with his Soul Robber in hopes to hit a weak spot. Sadly, he couldn't find one and the train disappeared into the tunnel.
"How's it going?!" Al shouted, fighting off three zombies at once. "Any chance I can get some help soon?"
"I'm coming!" Jack quickly dashed over to Al's side. Just as he got within three feet of her, three zombies were surrounding the girl. Thinking fast, Jack used his Soul Robber to grab two of the skeletal zombies, and smash them into the ground. Al gave an appreciative nod, before screaming, slashing and killing even more spawning zombies. Jack noticed she was preferably executing most in her favored beheading style. He brought his thoughts back to the task at hand and continued to help, slashing at the skeletons with the Soul Robber.
When the train sounded its whistle, Jack ran from the fight to meet it at the next tunnel opening. He began vigorously slashing at the train. Try as he might, no matter how many times he struck the train, it never stopped. He had to continually change the tracks to keep it from cutting the rope. All the time he kept attacking the train with everything he had. When the Soul Robber had no effect, Jack tapped his pin and used his presents to attack. The jack-in-the-boxes did nothing to stop the train, and the blizzard presents only froze the zombie skeletons that gathered too close to Jack. Jack even tried the third present, hoping the compressed miasma poison would weaken the train's advances. Sadly, it did absolutely nothing.
Finally, Jack transformed into his Pumpkin King persona. He summed his Pumpkin Fire and repeatedly struck the train. His fireballs seemed to do little damage, and in his frustration, Jack summoned a large fire blast attack, meting the snow around him. This time, the train trembled from the blast, and Jack grinned when he saw a decrease in its speed. He summed another blast, but despite the damage he had managed, the train still continued to make its way toward Sandy Claws.
"Any luck on stopping the train?" Al asked. She had just decapitated another zombie and had joined Jack next to the train tracks.
"Nothing I've done has worked," Jack shouted back. "I'm going to try and get in front of it. Maybe if I blast it head-on, it will finally stop it."
But before Jack could get to the train, a couple of Fire Skeletons popped out of the ground and attacked him. Jack tried to move around them, but the creatures kept him back, causing him to miss the train before he could change the tracks. Now the locomotive was heading straight for the rope.
"Oh no, Sandy!" Jack cried. He tried to cut a path, but the Fire Skeletons were determined to keep him back.
"Oh, for the love of… Move, Bone Man!" Al cut her way through the zombies surrounding Jack and leapt in front of the train, quickly pulling out her halberd. Aiming it directly at the oncoming train, Al set her weapon to full power before ramming it into the face of the train. The combined impact caused the train to explode, sending Al flying backwards into a snow bank. Jack finished off his opponent and ran to the girl's side, gently helping her out of the snow.
"Al, are you alright?" he asked, hoping she hadn't been too badly hurt.
"Yeehaw! Haven't felt like that since Zach first kissed me! Shooee!" Al laughed, hopping up and appearing overtly energetic. Then her eyes went wide, and she screamed, "Jack! The rope!"
Jack looked over just as a Fire Skeleton threw its boomerang, sending it flying and cutting through the rope. It snapped and Santa dropped. He began screaming as he was sent hurtling toward the ground.
"SANDY!"
Santa was falling fast. The icicles were speeding towards him, and there was nothing he could do. Just as he began to see the end, something slammed into his back, grabbing his shoulders in a vice-like grip with a hard jerk upwards. The breath caught in his throat as he felt himself being pulled higher into the air. Santa cautiously opened his eyes to find himself being carried high into the air, away from the icicles.
"W-What is the meaning of this?" he exclaimed, unable to fathom how he was falling upwards.
"I got you, Santa, just hang on!" replied a voice. Santa peered over his shoulder and was startled to see what looked like a young girl with bat wings carrying him through the air. "Better brace yourself, sir. I haven't perfected my landings yet."
Below, Jack and Al were cheering as they recognized Will in her bat hybrid form. Both of them had feared the worst for the Christmas Leader, until something flashed in front of them and snatched Santa out of the air. They had felt such relief and then great joy when they recognized it was Will who had swoop down, and caught Santa before he hit the icicles. As Will came in for a landing, Jack and Al ran over to them, instantly followed by the two elves, who had been watching from their hiding place. Will flapped her wings briskly and gently set Santa Claus on his feet before landing on the cold snow herself. She didn't have much time to recover as Al pounced on her friend, driving both girls into the snow.
"There's my superhero!" Al sang, picking Will up and twirling while laughing slightly insanely.
"Happy to see you too, Ally," she replied. She pushed her friend off and brushed the remaining snow off her shoulders. Then she looked over her friend and noticed Al's slightly frizzed hair. "Don't tell me; electrocution again?"
"Hey, how'd you know that?" Al asked, chuckling lightly.
Will smirked and picked up Al's frizzed bangs with her fingers. "Lucky guess."
"Will, you have no idea how glad we are to see you," Jack said, patting the girl on her shoulder.
"Good thing I can fly fast or who knows what might have happened."
"More than likely Santa would have been impaled numerous times on those icicles, and turned into something similar to my mother's pincushion, but more blood and guts and death-y," Al said very fast while giggling and looking at Santa.
"Oh!" Will quickly ran to Santa's side. "Santa, are you alright?"
"Whew! That was close!" Santa sighed in relief, turning to the girls. "Thank you, Will, for saving my life. I must admit I almost didn't recognize you. What exactly…"
"It's a long story but we're all just glad to see that you are all right," Jack answered, smiling to see the fellow Holiday leader was safe and sound again.
However, Santa Claus was not too happy to see the Pumpkin King. "What? You again!?" he exclaimed.
Jack flinched and stepped back. An apologetic look came over his face, looking like a child waiting to be disciplined. "Sandy, it's not…well, you see… I'm truly…" Jack tried to apologize, but after all the trouble he had caused the poor man, he didn't think any apology of his could make up for it.
"Aaaaaargh!" Oogie screamed, interrupting and causing everyone to turn and look at him. "Can't anyone PERISH around here?"
Jack growled. "Oogie! Give back that sleigh!"
"Oh, please," Oogie mocked. "You think I, the Seven Holiday's King, would be intimidated by an old fat guy, a puny skeleton, a mutated rat with wings, and a little girl? HA! Don't make me laugh."
However, while Oogie was busy toying with his foes, no one even noticed a small figure slip up behind Oogie, and drop something into the back of the sleigh before scurrying away.
"I mean it, Oogie, return the sleigh and give yourself up!" Jack shouted.
"I'd do as he says," Will added, crossing her wings and glaring at Oogie. "You already have to deal with Jack, but he'll need to get in line behind my friend–" she pointed a claw at Al "–who, by the way, is non too happy being trapped, ambushed, and of course, not being able to nap."
Al glared daggers of death at Oogie. "You ever hear about hibernating bears? Yeah, I'm the one that they made that for, honey. This bear wants her nap…and maybe a fishy cracker, but mostly a nap!"
"Do you really expect me to just hand it over, pipsqueak?" the boogieman scoffed. "Fat chance!" Oogie took the reigns in his hands and cracked them, causing Santa's sleigh to rise into the air as the reindeer took off. However, the Boogieman had still yet to learn how to control them, and he was sent flying randomly all over the Plaza.
"Fat? Are we talking about how you are fat?" Al shouted randomly as Oogie flew by. "Cause, Oogie, you'd never really fit into that sleigh. I still wonder how Santa does it…"
"Al, Santa's right there," Will whispered, pointing at Santa behind them.
Al shrugged. "I was wondering how he fit in the sleigh."
"Oh dear," Benny wailed. "At this rate, if he doesn't figure out how to fly it, that Oogie will crash and destroy the sleigh."
"Everyone, please, focus," Jack said. "We need to get the sleigh back before Oogie figures out how to control, and flies off with it."
"Without that sleigh I can't deliver any presents!" Santa said despondently. "An entire year of preparations will be lost."
"But good children all around the world are wanting for Santa…" Benny piped in.
"Don't worry guys," Will assured them. "Everything's gonna be fine."
"Um kiddo, I hate to point this out but we don't have a sleigh, flying reindeer, or presents to deliver. How is everything going to work out?" Al asked.
Will then got a mischievous gleam in her eye, and grinned at her friends. Before Al could ask what her friend was plotting, the sound of sleigh bells filled the air. Jack, Al, Santa, and the elves all looked up and saw a far-off figure in the sky, heading right for them. As it got closer, the figure took the form of a familiar coffin sleigh with skeletal reindeer being lead through the night by ghostly pup with a glowing orange nose. The passengers were still difficult to make out, but Al quickly perked up when she spotted the larger form riding in the back.
"Frankie!" Al sang, galloping over in the direction of the sleigh carrying her kelpie.
Jack looked at the sleigh, then back at Will. She had a sheepish gleam in her eye, causing Jack to smile innocently. He knew she was going to ask him to explain why he still had asked Doctor Finkelstein to keep the Halloween Town sleigh, but for now, he was glad the human girl had thought to bring it along. He was about to ask, when a short yip drew his attention to Zero flying overhead. Jack looked up to see his ghostly canine break away from the sleigh, and swoop down to his master. The pup whined and licked Jack's face, revealing how much the dog had missed his master.
"Oh, good boy Zero, you clever pup," Jack praised, scratching Zero behind his long ears. "Did you bring Will here all by yourself?"
"He sure did. You guys didn't really think I came here by myself, did you?" Will asked, chuckling. "I knew it'd take me forever to find my way through the Hinterlands, and then have to search all of Christmas Town to find you, even on Frank's back. So when I found out about your little stash, I thought, what the heck. So we got everyone loaded in and took off. Once we got to Christmas Town though, I flew ahead to help you and Al out while Zero lead the others here."
"Others?" Jack knew Zero had brought Will and Frank to Christmas Town, but if Will was standing before them, then who was driving the new sleigh? While Will, Sandy, and the others ran to greet the new sleigh, Jack followed but kept his eye sockets on the sky. As the sleigh drew closer, the driver of the sleigh became clearer, the moon shining on her newly stitched, frost colored skin and her flowing autumn red hair. Jack felt his phantom heart skip. "Sally!"
The rag doll looked out over the side of the sleigh and smiled down at her beloved. "Jack!" she called to him. "We have our own sleigh!"
Stunned from the shock, Sally's words were the only thing to snap Jack out of his trance. His chest swelled with pride as he watched Sally easily steer the sleigh. "Good thinking, Sally! Now we can chase after Oogie!" he called out to her. He turned to see Sandy Claws beside him, smiling up at the young rag doll. Despite he knew the other Holiday Leader was not very fond of him, Jack could not contain his childlike excitement.
"Come on, Sandy. Let's go get him!"
Without another word, the two Holiday Leaders ran to join the others as Sally guided the skeletal reindeer to the ground, landing in the snow. Frank quickly jumped out of the sleigh, relieved to have his webbed hooves back on the ground, despite the chill from the snow. However, he was more please when he spotted Al and quickly rushed to Al's side. Frank whinnied rather frantically as he pressed his large head against her torso, while Al wrapped her hands around his neck, tangling her fingers in his reed-like mane and whispering things into his ear to quiet for anyone else to hear.
"I missed you too, Frank," Al said, hugging the kelpie. Frank nicked softly, removing his head to put it over her shoulder and jerk her closer to his chest.
Will chuckled as she watched the reunion. She came up behind her best friend and clapped her hand on Al's shoulder. "You know, Al," she said. "If you keep this up, Cesario is gonna be pretty jealous."
"Nah, it isn't like I've taken on another horse before. I had Baker in my riding rotation for a while before he busted his hoof up, and got put on a retirement farm. Ceasrio will get a bit jealous but, sorry Frankie, he knows he will always come first in my heart," Al explained, earning a gentle nudge from the kelpie.
Will rolled her eyes before she noticed a tug on her wing. She looked down and smiled as Benny looked up her, a little nervous because of her hybrid form. "What's up, Ben?" she asked.
Benny crossed his arms behind his back and shuffled his feet in the snow. "I was just wondering," he started to say. "Would it be alright if Henry and I headed back to the factory? Mrs. Claus and some of the others must have gotten freed by now, and we might be needed to help put our town back in order."
"Hey, no need to ask." Will smiled, flashing a new set of fangs. "We got this. You go help your friends."
Benny smiled and, after a quick wave goodbye to everyone, he rushed off to join the other elves. Once he slipped back through the train tunnel, Will started walking over to the sleigh just as Sally stepped out of it. The girl gave the rag doll a quick hug before she spotted Jack rushing towards them out of the corner of her eyes. She smiled and moved just in time for Sally to squeal as Jack scooped her up in his arms and spin her around.
Jack laughed, his joy at seeing Sally swelling in his chest. When he set her down on her feet, he got a better look at her smiling face. Amazing! Not that she wasn't beautiful before, but she looked somehow even more enchanting. Not one trace of her previous injuries was detectable. Words seemed to fail him at the joy he wanted to express at seeing her here. Instead, Jack smiled and held her close.
Sally giggled and eagerly embraced him back. She had been so worried that something might have happened to him, but her heart knew he would be all right. She pulled back, much to Jack's reluctance, to look into his eyes. "I'm glad to see you too," she replied. "Jack, the Mayor returned all the Holiday Leaders back to their worlds."
"That's great news, Sally. Thanks! Now all that's left to take care of is Oogie!"
Meanwhile, Oogie had finally managed to get a hold of the sleigh. He looked out and nearly gagged when he saw the sentimental scene. "Baaah! Not that rag doll again!" he shouted, causing everyone to turn. Jack instantly moved Sally behind him. His socket burrowed into Oogie, and a fireball began to burn in his right hand. Both Will and Al readied for a fight, Will set to take off and Al made a grab for her halberd again, but it was pointless.
Oogie quickly grabbed the reigns and cracked them, taking off into the night. "So long, Jack. Ah ha ha ha!"
"Great!" Al groaned, sheathing her weapon. "We let the bad guy get away…again!"
"If we don't hurry, Christmas will be ruined!" Jack replied.
"Then I guess we better get going," Will suggested. She grabbed Al by her backpack, but when Al didn't budge, Will only managed to slip the pack off the girl's shoulders. Apparently, Al's attention was diverted to an impatient Frank pulling away from the sleigh rather nervously. Not seeming to notice, Will rolled her eyes and placed the pack into the sleigh. Then, she tried again, but when Al wouldn't move, Will quickly grabbed Al's chainsaw and halberd and set them in the sleigh. However, Al was still too busy being gushed over by Frank to voice too much protest about being relieved of her weapons.
Will then turned to the rest of the group, and she was about to ask who was getting in first when she looked over at Jack, Sally and Santa Claus, and then back over at Al and Frank. "Uh, guys? I have a feeling we ain't all gonna fit."
"Hmm… I believe you're right," Santa agreed. "This sleigh won't hold all of us."
"I can fly along the side, but some of us will need to head back to the Halloween Door on foot." Will turned to Al, noticing she instantly seemed suspicious of what her friend was about to say, and placed one hand over her chainsaw. Will looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Al, but I think Frank needs to do walking."
"But…but he is my war pony! I can't do my job very well without my war pony! I've barely had anytime with him as is!" Al accused, putting up her arm in defense of her kelpie.
"Al, he barley fit in the sleigh on the way over," Will tried to explain. "Sally and I practically had to shove his big butt into the sleigh. Plus, he wasn't all that thrilled being airborne."
Frank nickered and bobbed his head to confirm Will's story. Al turned and could see an actual shudder ripple through Frank's massive body as he looked toward the sleigh. She sighed.
"Well…okay, honey…" she said slowly before kissing the kelpie on his forehead. "Stay out of trouble, listen to whoever takes you back, don't drag anyone into the lake, eat your dinner, wash behind you ears, clean out your hooves–"
"Al!" Will shouted, cutting her friend off. "You're riding him back."
"Oh!" Al said, her sadness gone. "Yay!" She leapt on top of the kelpie, causing the great beast to rear happily and neigh loudly in equal happiness.
"Thought that'd make you happy," Will said. She turned around and addressed the others. "Santa, you're driving the sleigh, so Jack will ride in back with Sally. Zero, you can stay with Jack. I know my way back to the Holiday Doors, and I can use my echolocation to guide us out of the Hinterlands. See you all back in town."
"Wait just a moment. You two can't go off on your own," Jack protested. "All this time you and Al have berated me for wanting to split up, and now this?"
"We are all heading in the same direction dude," Al said, patting Frank's neck. "As long as we stay within eyesight of each other, we haven't really split up."
"Besides Jack, this is different from before," Will argued. "When you wanted to separate, it was unnecessary. But this time not all of us can fit, so we have to separate."
Santa chuckled, walking past the disgruntled Pumpkin King. "It would appear you've been outvoted, my boy," he said, settling himself into the driver's seat of the sleigh.
Jack was about to protest, but he closed his mouth and sighed. It looked like he wasn't about to win this argument. He looked to Sally and smiled. Well, he thought, at least Sally is with me. He grabbed her hand and led his beloved to the sleigh. As he helped her into the back seat, a voice called out to him. Jack turned to see a small red elf came running towards him. It was the little one from before, Henry. But what was he doing here? Jack had thought he had gone back with his Benny to help the other elves. He turned back and bent down on one knee.
"Henry, is something wrong?" he asked.
Henry paused to catch his breath. Then, he looked up at Jack with a great big smile. "Sir, I slipped the Halloween Present you gave me into Santa's sleigh!" he said excitedly. "It should activate while Oogie's flying, scaring the daylights out of him and the reindeer." He chuckled impishly, pleased that he had thought of something so clever.
"Thanks!" Jack said, patting the elf on his tiny shoulder. "You'd better run along now and join your friends." Henry nodded and quickly ran after Benny. Once the elf was out of sight, Jack turned back and stepped into the sleigh. "Now let's get him!" he shouted.
Santa didn't need to be told twice. In no time, he cracked the reigns and the skeletal reindeer took off. As they took off, Santa laughed with a loud, "Ho ho ho!"
Watching them go, Will looked over her shoulder at Al, noticing her friend had already mounted Frank and was ready to go. Though now, the kelpie was sporting a familiar green scarf.
"Al? Why is Frank wearing your belt?" she asked, a little hesitant of the answer.
"Water creatures get cold too," Al answered, shrugging and gripping two fistfuls of Frank's mane.
Will closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay… Ready?" she asked, stretching out her wings to their full expanse.
"Whenever you are, doll face," Al said, gently nudged Frank. Frank gave a triumphant rear and whinny while Al shouted, "High ho Kelpie! Away!" and the kelpie plunged forward as Al continued to shout random movie lines. "For Narnia! Forward the light brigade! For Frodo!"
"Sometimes I worry about her…" Will muttered to herself and laughed before quickly taking to the sky.
The two girls were laughing, enjoying a break from all the chaos of the day and having a moment for some friendly competition. Al and Frank galloped easily over the snow, Frank's great stride eating up the ground a propelling them forward. At one point, the force of the wind from the stallion's speed caused the scarf to slip from his neck. Normally, Al might have turned to retrieve it, but with her adrenaline pulsing through her in the spirit of competition, she hardly cared. Meanwhile, Will had gotten herself caught up in the excitement as well. She would sometimes fly a little higher, showing off a bit by doing flips and twirls in the air, and come back down to glide right alongside Frank. She even turned over and was flying on her back, smiling at Al.
Al smirked. "Show off!"
Will only replied with a flash of her fangs before taking the lead.
"Hey!"
XXX
GodlyJewel: Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you all have a spooky night.