CHAPTER 21

Oogieous' Secret

"I saw people change! I saw sick mutations! Things that I never remembered until I saw this nightmare! I…I…" Jack was losing his voice, caught up in the critical matter, "I…I…I SAW SALLY DIE! I saw several people DIE!"

Sydney was becoming hurt that Jack was taking out his angry feelings on her, "Well, I'm sorry that I don't take this as seriously as you! I have nothing against Sally-I like her so far-but I don't know her. I hardly even know Diego. Speaking of which, when are we supposed to meet up with him again-?"

Suddenly, there was a burst of thunder, and a blinding flash of lightning. The double doors of the city hall flew open with a BANG! The crowd of people around Diego and Sally on the floor turned their heads in the doors' direction. Several gasps went through the crowd as they stared in horror at their unwanted guest. All the town's children (an amount of about 4 or 6) broke into terrified tears.

Diego slowly lifted his head from looking down over Sally, and at the same pace, turned to look at the open doors, "Oh fuck…he's back."

Oogieous Boogie took long, intimidating strides into the building. Lock, Shock, and Barrel fallowed giddy at his heels.

Sydney and her Jack rushed onto center stage to see what was going on. At the sight of the scene, Sydney was baffled. She registered the familiarity of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, but knew better than to tell Jack that she knew them. Instead, she shot her hand over into Jack's and squeezed it hard.

He would get specious of me if he saw that I wasn't afraid.

Jack was glaring in Oogieous' direction, but when he felt the soft touch of Sydney's fleshy hand clasp his own, his hateful expression became surprised, and his tightened fist had unclenched.

She's depending on me for security again; even after our little spat.

Jack realized this, and smiled.

"Jack!" Sydney's voice broke his thoughts and brought him back into the room.

"Huh? What?"

"That man, he's the one from the ally."

Sydney pointed at Oogieous striding down a cleared path into the center of the room, with both hands behind his back and a grin of sinister approval.

"He's the crazy guy that was swinging around his knife. He tried to kill me!"

"No," Jack corrected her, "it only looked that way."

"SKELLINGTON!" Oogieous roared in the center of the room. Everyone was holding their breath and was stone still; all except for one.

"What do you want?" Diego pushed his way through the crowd to be near Oogieous, "I said, 'What do you want?' Why did you crawl out of the burning pits of Hell to be here, when you know we'll shoot you on the spot?" Diego spoke in a strong, brave voice. He held himself up with confidence, and glared into Oogieous with an intense vehemence.

Wow. Thought Sydney. Is that the same conceded Diego I thought he was?

Oogieous chuckled, "Go ahead. Find someone valiant enough to shoot."

He took sweeping glances around the room, challenging anyone that dared to volunteer. Then he grinned and held out his arms to the side pretending to be an easy target.

"Find someone stupid enough to shoot me."

Diego turned around to the crowd, desperately searching for a hero. He was alone.

"Diego, stand down. I'm not here for you."

"You're not? Then what are you here for?" Diego had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut.

"I want," Oogeious' voice was lowered to a hushed, disgusted tone, "Timothy Skellington. Where is he?"

"You will never find him, Oogieous. NEVER!" Diego cried defensively.

Just then, there was a loud sound of a toilet flushing in the bathroom. Each person in the room turned their heads to the right wall that was bare of everything but a wooden door; a door that led to the single person washroom. The sound of running water flowed through everyone's ears for a painful few seconds. To Diego, the sound felt like the acid of embarrassment. After those few seconds, the sound was ended by the squeal of rubbing, rusted metal. Living Jack Skellington emerged through the door, wiping his damp hands on his black and white stripped suit top. He was looking down at his hands as he rubbed them dry. Living Jack stopped wiping his hands when he felt this tingling sensation that someone was watching him. Living Jack raised his head and glanced around in confusion from the hundred eyes that were glued to him.

He smiled at them with a nervous laugh, "Eh…you might want to wait a minute before going in there."

Sydney giggled wildly at this, while skeleton Jack tried his damnedest to slam his skull against the brick wall behind her. He had never felt so embarrassed in all his after-life.

"Timothy Skellington, I got a bone to pick with you!" Oogieous said pointing in living Jack's direction.

The fat man's eyes became so intense at the sight of living Jack; you'd swear his little black pupils had ignited with fire! Oogieous took slow, stomping steps in living Jack's direction. He was in no hurry. Oogieous wanted Tim to feel fear. To feel the pain he was about to torture him with. To want death as he gradually dies at his hands. And to watch his friends stare down at him, not daring to be his rescue. Timothy Skellington was gonna pay!

"W-w-wait! W-what have I ever done to you?" Living Jack stuttered.

Oogieous froze. He couldn't have been more shocked if Jack started stripping.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Oogieous exploded, "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

Diego jumped out from the crowd to confront Oogieous, "You ruined your own life by killing my mother; and made things even worse by murdering Lord and Lady Skellington, you twisted bastard! They were innocent people! You had no reason to kill anyone!"

"I had every reason!" Oogieous roared back.

"Being crazy doesn't count as an alibi!" Diego yelled.

"You're mother broke my heart!"

"That's impossible! My mother was a good woman! She was loyal to you!"

"She had sex with Timothy!" his words echoed in the high roof, assaulting the residents with a skeptical shock. Every jaw was dropped, "That's right, she had sex with Timothy Skellington! And I walked in on them!"

"Wow, that was subtle," Sydney said in her sarcastic tone.

Her Jack just shook his head at her, "Sydney, did you even comprehend what Oogieous just said?"

"Sure, your brother had sex with your wife's mom…OH MY GOD! This is some Jerry Springer shi-!"

"Shhhhhhh!" Skeleton Jack hushed her.

The jaws of all the citizens still hung low. Diego's thoughts ran in a rush that caused him to lose control of his breathing.

"Tim…meek, timid…prude Tim? How could he? And…and with my mother! Why? Tim, why!" Diego turned to living Jack with shocked eyes pleading for answers. However, there was nothing living Jack could say that wouldn't blow his cover as Tim. Not like living Jack had any idea what the Hell was going on anyways.

"It was four years ago," Oogieous began. His sudden calm tone, and transfixed look into space as he recalled his traumatizing moments of the past startled the room, "It was this same date, in this same building, of the same boys' birthday party, that I remember the tragedy so vividly. I've been thinking about it in my nightmares for the past four years, snug in my padded room. Just me and my grudge.

"That night of the party, the beer was flowing, the lust was growing, and all anyone wanted to do was swing. So much for the traditional 'pin the tail on the donkey'.

"I came with Miss Ally Ragsdale. She was my fiancé of two months, and lover of three years. I had never loved anyone as beautiful, intelligent, clever, or special as her. I thought that she was the one. I thought that we were meant to be. But I should have thought better.

"It was just Ally and myself that night. Diego and Sally were still pretty young, and we thought it best to just leave them at home with a pack of cards. I had been at the party no more than 5 minutes, and I realized that it was nothing more than a big, drunken orgy in celebration of the Skellington boys turning wild 21. I was appalled that the Skellingtons, people of such sophistication and class, could ever allow this to happen! Everywhere I looked people was either making out, or that idiot, Jack Skellington, was making an ass of himself. However, I respected the Skellingtons, and kept an open mind about the party. But the very moment that old man Mr. Vampure pressed his intoxicated lips to mine; I knew it was time to go.

"I had gotten separated from Ally at our arrival, and began searching for her throughout the building. I had ventured everywhere twice, but it never occurred to me to check in one last room until I saw it. Back then it seemed so obvious! But what she was doing in there, hadn't ever clawed its way into my head."

In a flash, Oogieous shot his head in living Jack's direction and raised an accusing, pointed finger at him, "I went in that last room, Timothy! That very bathroom which you stand before, and have been using for years afterwards, is the very room where I caught you having sex with my love! My Ally!"

Living Jack looked behind him into the cramp, worn, disgrace of a washroom. He wanted to rush into their right now to hurl in the sinful toilet, but flashes of what might have accrued in there, accrued in living Jack's head. His mouth twisted to a sickened frown, and his right eye started twitching.

Oogieous was now facing living Jack full frontal, eyes burning into his, "I killed her that instant. She promised me that she would never love anyone else. NEVER! So, I grabbed her by the head and slammed it against the sink as hard as I willed. Her skull broke to shards. Blood and brains were dripping from the sink, walls, and her broken skull. I attempted to do the same thing to you Timothy, but I slipped in her blood and slide out into the crowd.

"You both were too drunk to see my attack coming. And just moments after, I was apprehended by the authorities and hauled off to Skellington Asylum For The Mentally Disturbed. I didn't even get a fair trial or lawyer! I was locked away for four years in the very thing that brought your family respect and wealth. This sickened me. I attempted suicide every week for the first year, but never succeeded. Finally, I knew what had to be done. I had to escape. My first plan to hold Lady and Lord Skellington hostage during their monthly progress check didn't go so well. When I had them in my position, things got out of hand and…well, I just snapped their necks."

Both Jacks lurched at this, trying to keep in their vomit. Sydney's head shot over to her Jack. He had fallen to the floor, braced up by his knees and one hand, the other curled around his tiny tummy. Jack breathed hard as he thought about the brutal treatment his parents went through while in Oogieous' custody. He didn't remember them, but he could imagine what they went through.

"Two years later," Oogieous went on, "I put my second plan into action. I escaped my containment room, and made it to the exit by bashing the heads of anyone that got in my way. Easy as pie.

"That was your lucky brake, Timothy, so many years ago. But it was also your last."

Oogieous reached into his back pocket, and swiftly retrieved his 6-inch knife. He held it at his head's level, ready for the stab. Oogieous took a slow, haunting pace toward living Jack.

"No!" shouted Sydney. She leapt from the stage, and ran to Oogieous. She slid to a stop in his path, "I wont let you touch him!"

"Sydney, it won't work!" skeleton Jack called to her.

But Sydney ignored him. Sydney ejected her right arm across her body to her belt, where she pulled out her holstered…nothing.

"What! Where's my rod? What's the point of having that stupid thing when I need it and don't have it? I need it now-but where is it!"

"I told you," Jack called back to her, "it wouldn't work. Our weapons didn't come here with us. Besides, you can't touch Oogieous."

"…Oh yeah," Sydney felt so stupid. Suddenly, she felt this sensation surge through her body, like being dropped in a huge glass of ice water. When Sydney wasn't paying attention, Oogieous had walked right through her; causing Sydney's body to ripple for a few seconds. She whirled around to where living Jack was cowered against the wall, but only saw the immense backside of Oogieous.

"What can I do to help you?" Sydney pleaded to her Jack. She felt so useless.

"Just watch," Jack replied, "That's all you can do. Come up here with me. Things are gonna start moving fast, and you don't want to be alone for this."