This story is dedicated to my hamigo Heather She gave me the idea and ambition while we were watching N.M.B.C. so I'm gonna try the best I can to see this story through. None of the characters belong to me; they are all creations of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman (music wise). With out further ado, here we go . . .

~Barrel Full of Monkies~

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MILD LANGUAGE, SEXUAL SCENES, AND YAOI!!! THINK OF THESE FACTORS, BEFORE READING!! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!

Two weeks. Two weeks we had to work with, before it reached the last two month line. We had just two weeks to act, and if we wanted it to go smoothly, we had to act fast. Finally getting his priorities straight, Oogie cast us off into Halloween town to perform individual tasks (which is unusual, considering we normally do things as a group).

Shock was actually sent to Finklestein's to steal some spell books and poison for the needles. Oogie heard how she 'single-handedly' snuck into his lab before, and really put her to the test, to my utter amusement. As for me and Lock, we were assigned to Sally. The expression on Lock's face was completely priceless; he was so excited, and I was excited for him.

"I think we should bag her up and take her in the bathtub to Oogie's!" I loved when he tried to think of ideas.

"No, if we use the bathtub, then the residents along with Jack, might think that we're up to something, and assume that Oogie is alive again." He nodded. He might not have been one of the most intelligent people that I knew, but he was fun to talk to. When Shock wasn't around to corrupt him, he was actually pretty decent (well except for his scatterbrained schemes of course).

"You've gotta admit, Shock was pretty slick back there with that scheme. Does it seem like Oogie's losing his touch to you?" He was right about one thing at least, which surprised me greatly. Yes, Oogie was losing his touch.

"I mean I guess so, but I think that Shock's partly to blame. And well, you know Shock. She's head honcho in her mind." He laughed. Hmmm, maybe we had more in common than I thought . . . "Yeah, Miss 'Suck up and Shut up'" I actually found myself laughing. Who knew that he thought this way? We normally did things as teams, so I couldn't always talk normally with Lock.

"Well this is it, right Barrel?" I nodded in return. I was surprised that I was able to hold a somewhat intelligent conversation with Lock. He didn't seem at all immature or barbaric either; well except for the whole 'mask' thing.

"Why do you always wear that mask?"

"Because Shock told me to . . . she said my face was too gruesome to look at." I rolled my eyes and took the mask off for him.

"Shock is weird."

We both started laughing, well, that is until he said something I wish he wouldn't have said . . . "Hey Barrel. Do you think Shock would ever find me 'appealing'?" I didn't know what to say . . . how could he ask me this?!

"Uh, well, I don't know." Shit! Wrong thing to say. Why didn't I say, No she'll always find you repulsive, or she's too good for anybody like you. How stupid! Why am I slipping; I can't slip, otherwise, my plan will be for not!

"Do you think I should ask her?" Say no, say no, say no.

"Well, I don't think that's such a great idea. It might interfere with Oogie's plans." Yes, that's it, 'interfere'.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Barrel. Oogie is our main focus . . ." Lock turned away. It made me sad that the little witch was even haunting his dreams. What I would give to be able to kill her right about now. Lately my thoughts towards Shock were getting ever more aggressive. If this continues, I'll surely end up regretting something.

"So how are we going to bag Sally?"

"Simple, you sneak into the house when she answers the door; I will pretend that I need her sewing expertise to fix my costume, and while she is repairing my costume, you try and steal a thread of her hair." Unsurely, he nodded. "Do you want me to repeat that?"

"Uh, nope." I probably should have repeated it . . .

We both approached the door, and I knocked on it twice and rang the doorbell for extra annoyance. To our advantage, Sally came to the door.

"What do you want, Barrel?" she said in a friendly, yet not so friendly tone.

"Well, you see Miss Sally, Halloween is coming up in a few months, and my costume ripped. I don't want to be in the Halloween festivities with a torn costume. And I heard that you are really gifted with sewing and stitching." She looked at my costume and then looked back at me. "I don't see anything wrong with your costume, Barrel." Did I forget to rip it? Nope! "Are you sure?" I held up my arm and a slice on the side was clearly visible.

"Will you fix it for me, Miss Sally?" She sighed; I hated her sighs; they were so annoying.

"Come on in Barrel." She turned around to let me in and that's when I cued Lock to enter. From a dying bush in front of Jack's house, he rushed up the stairs to the door in a blurring manner, and positioned himself behind a chair that was supposedly where Sally sat and stitched. Sally led me over to the chair, and began pulling out some blue and black thread and a few small needles. "Now hold still, okay?"

"Yep", I replied. I figured I might as well ask a few questions about Jack while I'm here.

"So where's Jack?" For a few minutes, she was silent, but then she decided to speak up.

"He went out to help the mayor with something for Halloween. He said something about . . . canceling it." What?! Cancel Halloween? How could he do that???

"He said something about Thanksgiving, or Easter of next year." Sally was batting tears out of her eyes. I didn't know how to feel: sick, sympathetic, or joyful.

"So, he's not serious about Halloween anymore?"

"I guess not. I loved how Jack always stunned us every Halloween, but lately he's so bored with Halloween, that he's even thought about handing over the title of the 'King of Halloween' to someone else!" Frozen.

"H-he's going to give up the title?"

"I don't know. I just don't know anymore . . ." I cued Lock to get a string of her hair.

"What are you going to do then, Miss Sally?" Lock pulled out a pair of shears (why couldn't he have just taken Sally's sewing scissors like normal people would?)

"Well, I don't really know. I mean I love Jack, but I'm so worried about him . . ." Ugh, gag me with a spoon. Lock was an inch away from her hair. I saw him snipping and I decided to cough to block out the snipping noise of the shears.

"Are you all right Barrel?"

"Yes, just a cold. You know us; we like to play out at night, especially on cold nights in autumn." This was so much easier than I expected. Lock was looking at me from behind the chair and he used his normal body language to ask me what to do next. When Sally wasn't looking I mouthed the words "Wait for Shock." He still looked confused. "Wait for Shock." Apparently, he couldn't read lips . . . Coughing was the only option I had by this point "*Cough (Wait for Shock) Cough, Cough!"

"My, are you all right? You sound really sick Barrel." I ended up slapping my hand against my head. "What's the matter?" she asked, about halfway getting on my nerves.

"Oh! I just remembered that 'LOCK' and I have to 'WAIT FOR SHOCK' outside of town. So I'll just be going then." Lock nodded; apparently he finally registered what he was supposed to do. Sally saw me out and as I reached the door I happened to edge out a 'Thank you'. She did the same and I was on my way. The next job, wouldn't be as friendly, however . . .

I had to help Shock. Simple as that. Shock didn't ask for me or say that she needed me, but knowing her, she would need someone to help her get the necessary materials out of Finklestein's without being detected. Finklestein's lab was pretty hard to navigate through. The last time I went there, it took me at least a half hour to find the necessary ingredients and avoid Dr. Finklestein and his new creation, Jewel. Surprisingly, Jewel is very mobile, which makes it hard to run or hide. If I had that much trouble, there was no doubt in my mind that Shock was having some difficulties.

When I approached the lab, I saw a small little rope dangling from one of the lower vents; it was apparent that Shock was here (couldn't she have hid the rope a little better???). Might as well start climbing; Shock was going to need rescued one way or the other. It took me twenty minutes to climb that rope; what puzzles me is why the hell didn't she fly?!? She's a witch for god's sake!!! What in hell's name would possess her to use a rope?!? Then again, if she didn't use the rope, I wouldn't be able to get up here. Did she expect me to come??? Finally, I reached the ledge and to my surprise there she was looking me straight in the face.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting!" I was right; she WAS waiting for me.

"You needed my help?"

"Cut the crap, Barrel! Just help me find the potions!"

"What's in it for me?" I always loved this answer.

Shock sighed and pretended to act as nicely as possible.

"I'll make you some Pumpkin pie okay?" She knew what I liked. Pumpkins are my kind of delicacy; and there's the fact that Shock can bake. Put two and two together, and you've got a pretty sweet deal.

"Done! My dear Shock, you drive a hard bargain." Like an instinct really, I led Shock to a well-hidden closet on the second floor of Finklestein's lab. In it there were so many different chemicals and vials that I could tell it was beginning to frustrate her.

"Well where is it?!"

"Hold your horses, pushy!" That was the first time that I ever ordered Shock to do anything. As her name implies, she WAS shocked.

"Did you just order me to do something?!" Was I in a spot? It was hard to tell; we were in a closed room and she was blocking the only exit. This was a great time to look for the ingredients. I shuffled along the floor nervously and found a loose floorboard; as quickly as I could, I opened it up and grabbed as many small purple vials that I could. As I was getting up off the floor, I turned around quickly to hand the vials to Shock and something so unexpected, randomly happened! The moment I turned, my lips met hers. She was KISSING ME!!!!! I watched as her mask dropped to the floor, and the vials fell one by one in the same manner. The kiss would never end!!!! What was wrong with her?!? Did I accidentally bump her??? No! She was doing this on her own! She was the one KISSING ME!!!! This wasn't right; this wasn't right at all; hell, it didn't even 'feel' right!!! This was Shock; the little bitch that was infatuated with Oogie; the girl who believed that she was the greatest thing since the discovery of fire. What the hell was going on?!?!?

She finally stopped kissing me (Thank you lord); it was hard to tell in the dark, but she looked like she was blushing . . . With only a few vials not broken, she swept them up quickly and made her way, as fast as she could to the door. Just as I found my way out of the small chemical room, I managed to see Shock making her way out of one of the windows on a small broom. Her sense of direction told me that she was headed for Jack's house where Lock was waiting patiently. At least she wasn't distracted from her actual work, I suppose.

Flabbergasted is the only word that could describe me at that exact moment in time. In fact, I was so frozen that what happened next wasn't pretty. Just as I, myself was about to leave the laboratory, Finklestein caught me by the shoulder and ushered me down the many flights of stairs that made up his house (lemme tell ya, it's not fun to be dragged by an old geezer in a wheel chair down at least 50 flights!)

"You wait right here now! I'm calling the town authorities!" Wait right here, yeah right! More like, you can't escape anyway, so stay there . . . Then there's the town authority crap; there was no town authority, except Jack. Wait! Was Jack coming?!? Inventively, I listened to Dr. Finklestein talking on the phone to someone, in the other room.

"Yes, I found a little rat in my house. I need someone to get rid of him before I turn him into one of my creations!" For some reason, my hearing was failing me, because I couldn't quite make out what the person on the other line said. However, the only thing I could make out was the word, 'Mayor'.

I waited patiently in a wooden chair, looking at the many different jars and weird objects on shelves. It was fascinating to be in Finklestein's house; his inventions were top notch, but unlike his inventions, he wasn't . . . Dr. Finklestein was a demanding old geezer, who, in my mind, I portray as one of those men who considers himself a 'great man'. He's the type of guy who would say "Gimme a sammich!" or "The soup's too damn hot, blow on it for me!" What an asshole.

There was a knock at the metal door downstairs.

"Coming!" Finklestein made his way down the staircase in his little wheelchair along with his creation Jewel (who looked exactly like Finklestein in a warped girlish way.) It made me wonder if Finklestein married Jewel; then again, it would be weird to marry yourself (or at least brain-wise . . .) I then heard Finklestein open the door, and then . . . I heard the voice of complete hell sounding its presence throughout the house. The only one capable of totally creeping me out entirely; the only one able to make my naturally greenish-blue skin, turn pale white: The Mayor.

I'm not necessarily afraid of the mayor, it's just, when you've actually 'seen' the mayor, you've seen way too much! The clacking of the mayors high-heeled boots echoed throughout; chills were conquering my spine like mad. What was he going to do to me? Oh god! Too unbearable!!! The echoes continued to haunt my delicate ears; each step felt like a bomb exploding. I closed my eyes, only to find that once I did the clacking ceased.

I opened my eyes . . . bad idea. Right above me was the Mayor; his smiling face made me feel queasy.

"So, you're the one who's been making trouble for Dr. Finklestein?" Retreat, retreat damnit; move your damn feet Barrel; run. As much as I wanted to sprint out as fast as I could, my feet were stuck to the ground like cement.

"What should we do with this little 'trouble-maker' Dr.?"

"How the hell should I know?! That's why I called you! Get rid of him!" NO! OH GOD NO!

"Please let me stay, I'm so fond of your inventions, I only wanted to see them up close. They're so fascinating. Please let me stay!!!" Surprisingly to me, the Dr. looked like he might have considered it, but knowing the mayor, there wasn't another option.

"I'll take him to my house for further watch. Don't you worry Dr. I believe our young lad Barrel here will learn his lesson." "Good! See that he doesn't cause mischief here again!"

Every moment felt like forever . . . I tried to keep my attention on the ground as we walked, just so I didn't have to stare at the pure terrifying creature in front of me.

"So Barrel . . ." Oh god, he was talking to me now!!! "What kind of 'mischievous' things did you have in mind for the doctor?"

As much as I wanted to say 'Up yours!' I settled for a "None of your business."

"Oh, but it IS my business. I am the mayor of the town after all, and I should know what goes on." Damn, I hated him; how was he able to negate that?

"Anyway, as I was saying . . ." he continued; sometimes I wish I was actually dead to the point where I couldn't arise . . . "You should learn to behave yourself, after all, a naughty boy always learns his lesson in the end."

"Whatever."

"So, young Barrel, while we're walking you might as well tell me a little about yourself. Tell me, do you find mischief to be an 'erotic' sensation?" My face was red; I was beyond anger.

"That's none of your fucking business!" I waited for his negation tactic; there was none. "My, my, what a naughty little boy you are!"

"Damn pedophile!"

"Oh-ho! What makes you think that 'I' would ever be a pedophiliac?"

"Damn you . . ."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment, considering I AM the 'damned one' of Halloween Town . . . well except for Jack . . ."

"Don't you dare compare yourself to Jack!" Shit! Shouldn't have said that! Was I busted; did he know from that??? . . . Yes.

"So you have a 'thing' for our beloved Jack? Well, I have to say you have good taste, but wouldn't you prefer a little meat on them bones? I mean Jack doesn't even have any glands."

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!!!!" God was I pissed! And I wasn't just pissed at the fact that he was hitting on me in a creepy manner, but the fact that he was right that Jack didn't have any sexual organs at all!!!! My mind was watching all of the wonderful fantasies of me and Jack totally crumble into a million pieces. I found myself still mouthing the words (my talkativity again, it seems).

"FUCK YOU TO HELL! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!"

"Ah yes, yes, YES! Let your anger out on me! Tell me everything! Give me that aggression, that angst, 0H! GIVE ME MORE!!!" Everything I threw at him only made him more and more addicted. I was near my ends.

"Come Barrel, my house isn't too far. I'm sure we'll spend some real 'quality' time together." I wanted to run. Why couldn't I run?! I had no restraints, no cuffs; not even ropes tied around me. Why couldn't I bear to leave?! Pure terror anchored me down . . . that was the only explanation. I mean, I wasn't enjoying it, that's for sure!!! "Oh, come now. I assure you, it will be a wonderful time. Perchance, do you like 'pick-up sticks?'" Sheet-white. I had to get away, but my feet refused to move. Come on Barrel! This isn't like you! Show him who you really are! Show this son-of-a-bitch what you're made of! That ridiculous smile of his; I would make sure that that was changed to a face of anger or confusion. But how?

We arrived at the mayor's house. I followed him up the many stairs that led to his elevated house. I clenched my teeth as he opened the lock. At this point, he beckoned me to go in first; which was what I had hoped. I acted as if I was going inside only to turn around and stand in the doorway of the house.

"You know mayor. There is a game that I would like to play." He edged the words savagely and ushered me to continue. "Dominos." Just as quickly as I said it, I pushed my hands forward as hard as I could and watched as he tumbled and rolled down those many flights of stairs. From the top, I couldn't see his face, but I could tell it was white; he was definitely pissed now.

"Now you've done it boy!!!" Surprisingly, he was able to get up (which I thought might be impossible considering his body mass and awkwardness.) Something I didn't predict; he was coming straight toward me. I was screwed now. My first instinct: lock the door. I bolted inside and used every lock available on the door; I even forced a very classical loveseat to block the entrance. He wouldn't get in . . . but there was another problem . . . I wouldn't get out.

The footsteps were getting louder and louder, closer and closer; luckily there were a lot of stairs. I figured that I might as well relax and figure out a plan. Think Barrel; Oogie is depending on you. Think . . . what would Jack do? Jack was cunning; he would get to know his surroundings and use it to his advantage. In this way, we were quite alike. A desk in the corner found my interest, and I decided to do a little snooping on the mayor. Nothing too risky (or risqué, considering the Mayor) caught my attention, except a letter from Jack.

My eyes flickered back and forth through each syllable and sentence. Sally was right. Jack was giving up . . . A sadness rushed over me all at an instance; that and the fact that when I turned, the mayor had found his way into the house. His face was no longer the white face that it was, but the demented smile that haunted me previously; the only difference was that the darkness of the house brought out a demented red tint in his eyes.

"Now, where were we?"

My lips were quivering. Never had I been more scared in my life. God! The images that flooded my head! Trapped in the most hellish experience ever!

"My dear Barrel, you are quite naughty. Now I do indeed see why Finklestein was so urgent in calling me." Caught in a corner; trapped. His silhouette was getting larger and larger as he approached me with every chilling step. Only two options occurred to me: Appeal (and possibly become a pedophile's sex toy) or take a risk. Taking the risk was the ONLY option that I was willing to consider. I backed up to one of the mayor's windows and stood of in front of it confidently and said:

"Go fuck yourself."

My body at that moment crashed through the thickened glass window. I felt myself falling. So many yards up; it seemed endless, but I knew impact was not too far away. Falling wasn't so bad though . . . I'd never felt more alive. I closed my eyes; an image crossed me. It was me. How old was I? About 6? I was . . . human. Yes, it was me; an alive me! I was wearing the same skeleton costume that I always wore, except it was newer. A taller figure was handing me a jack-o-lantern. Was I . . . was I crying? Why would I be crying? I looked sickly, well for a human anyway. The skin tone was the same as mine currently. Then, there was nothing.

My eyes edged open. I didn't remember the impact. I just remembered the pain that ensued at that exact moment. I couldn't move my left leg and my left arm felt pain but at the same time absolute nothingness. Blood. Sickly purplish-red blood, but blood nonetheless . . . My head was bleeding, not that it mattered . . . I was already dead. With my good arm, I hoisted myself up, to find that my left leg was totally twisted backwards and sprained, and my left arm was totally dismembered. Miraculously, I was able to stand with one leg and one arm holding on to the grating of the mayor's metal fence.

How long had I been there? To my surprise, it wasn't long. The mayor was coming out of his house holding a lantern. His face was full of concern; not to mention that it was ghost-white.

"S-Stay 'way furmme . . ." I was able to hop on one leg, which to say was better than nothing. I managed to grab my other arm and clench it in my mouth as I traveled to the best of my ability. The lantern's light was drawing nearer and nearer, till he was there. Fear and angst filled my entire face, but to my surprise, he twisted my leg to its proper state, and I was able to at least stand on it for the moment.

"Come, let's go inside, I'll make you some tea." Tea sounded nice . . . what was I thinking; I was dealing with a pedophile; of course tea sounded nice! I turned away from the mayor and limped away in the opposite direction. He reached out his hand to put on my shoulder, but in return, I gave him the harshest death stare that I'd ever dared to give someone and managed the words.

"Pedophile." Luckily, he didn't follow me. I guess even a pedophile has his limits . . .

My limping didn't take me far, but it took me far enough. At this point, Lock, Shock, and Oogie were none of my concern. As I walked, I happened to laugh a bit, but at the same time, painful tears filled my eyes. No, the tears weren't because I was scared or anything, just the agony and irony of it all. Snap out of it Barrel! You don't cry! . . . But then again, what was that image I saw before? My head hurt that was all I knew. Walking was the only thing that I seemed to actually know how to do, fore my feet just kept moving. Since, I could at least limp a little without the balance of my good arm, I decided that my mouth was getting tired of caring my other appendage and switched to my good arm. God was I a mess. I couldn't see myself, but I knew I was in no shape to return to Oogie and the others. As far as I'm concerned, Oogie wouldn't be too comforted to find a torn up piece of shit me with only one arm and one real working leg. Where could I turn? More importantly, what could I do?

The sky was even darker now; I knew that I wouldn't be able to see for long, but my feet kept moving. Through the alleyways and curves of the town I kept going, all the way to the dead valley of tombstones and graves. It seemed that my feet would never stop, and my gaze was beginning to fail. There was nowhere to go . . . not now. Would there ever be?

Then, my feet stopped dead. My eyes opened to see something extremely familiar. Doors; many beautifully different doors; each door was a tree. Curiously I found my hand fumbling with the knob of a door that looked like some kind of heart being pierced with an arrow. My eyes closed then. . . My thoughts along with my memories faded after that . . .

*** So here is the second part to Barrel XD, feel free to leave any reviews okies??? ^^ Also thank you so much for reading, and if you liked it well then, stayed tuned XD ***