Chapter 12: Second Rescue

(Narrator's POV)

The elevator doors opened as Lock, Shock and Barrel entered their tree house.

"I can't believe we feel for a stupid toy," Shock complained as she tossed the (now broken) toy chainsaw to the floor.

"No kidding," Lock added, "and she wasn't even a blood coated ghoul. Just some human girl covered in fake blood. Our reputations will be over if anyone finds out a human scared us, let alone a girl."

"I won't tell if you won't," Barrel said.

"At least we got her back with our slingshots," Lock said. "What do you think Oogie Boogie is gonna do to them?"

"Let's find out!" Shock suggested. The boys nodded their heads and the three ran over to the shoot. They listened for any sounds of blood curtailing screams, or moans of agony. All they heard was silence.

"What's happening? What's happening?!" Shock demanded.

The trick-or-treaters were frustrated and were getting aggravated that they couldn't find out what was going on. Suddenly Barrel got an idea. He drew his friends' attention and pointed toward the elevator. Shock, Lock and Barrel all smiled and had the same thought.

"Let's go down."

"And take."

"A peek."

"YEAH!" They all screamed and scattered about the room. Barrel grabbed two candy bars from his trick-or-treat bag. Lock got a couple of sodas from the soda barrel. The two boys entered the elevator, while Shock got herself some popcorn, only to find (and remove) a centipede from it.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Barrel called to Shock to hurry her up. Shock joined her cohorts in the elevator and soon the three were on their way down to watch their master at his worst. They arrived at the alcove Sally had used earlier and looked in at the scene below them. Oogie was setting up a vat of what appeared to be yellow acid. Santa and Sally were strapped down on a metal table above the yellow slime. Meanwhile the human girl apparently had replaced the skeleton on the spinning wheel and was being raised into the ceiling. The three snickered in their elevator and thought to themselves, Who knew humans could turn green. They wondered what their master had in store for the human, when they were distracted by the sound of Oogie Boogie's laughter.

"Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"You monster!" Santa shouted.

"I think I'm gonna puke," Will stated. "Hey lard butt, come stand over here for a minute."

Oogie ignored them both and began starting up his machine. Sally struggled against her ropes and glared at Oogie Boogie.

"This isn't over! Not by a long shot!" she yelled. "You wait till Jack finds out about this! By the time he's through with you, you'll be lucky if–"

Sally was cut off as the Mayor's voice could be heard of in the distance, shouting in his megaphone. "The King of Halloween has been blown to smithereens! Skeleton Jack is now a pile of dust!"

Sally gasped and Santa looked as if all hope was lost. The wheel had stop turning and Will was trying to remain still while her head and stomach started to settle down. Above the captives Lock, Shock, and Barrel began dancing around the elevator and started singing, "Pile of dust! Pile of dust! Skellington Jack is a pile of dust!"

Outside, just a few miles between the graveyard and Oogie's lair, Jack Skellington and his faithful dog Zero were running through the woods on their way to Lock, Shock, and Barrel's tree house. While Jack had been spreading his own brand of Christmas cheer in the Human World, a well-guided military missile had shot him down. After waking up in a graveyard surrounded by the blown up toys and burning pieces of his sleigh, Jack realized he had made a mistake. He also realized his true calling was to be the Pumpkin King and suddenly he had new ideas for next Halloween. But first, Jack needed to get back to Halloween Town and find Sandy Claws, so he could fix Jack's mess.

Jack finally arrived at the tree house and nearly fell into the open hole in the rope bridge. He looked up and scratched his skull, wondering where the elevator could be. Jack got his answer when he heard a voice from below his feet.

"If only Jack–"

"But he isn't. EVER!"

"Help! Help! Help! Help! Help! Help!"

Sally! Sally was down there in Oogie Boogie's lair and she was in trouble. Jack felt his anger rise as he also heard Sandy Claws scream for help, followed by the laughter of Boogie's boys. Zero growled at the sound of his master's friends' screams. Jack put a boney finger to his lips and shushed Zero from making any more noise. Then he took hold of the elevator's rope and silently made his way down.

"Seven! It's Oogie's turn to boogie now."

The trick-or-treaters laughed as they watched their master do his worst to his prisoners. Rolling a seven meant he got to pull the lever, and the table the rag doll and old guy were on would be titled by seven notches, bringing them closer to their doom. They kept their eyes glued on the torturous sight until a shadow fell over their cage. The three looked up and were horrified to see a presumed dead Jack Skellington gripping on to the top of the cage. He shook the cage and looked in at them with a menacing smile. It didn't help that Oogie was laughing manically in the other room. Lock, Shock, and Barrel screamed and ran for the exit.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Ha, ha, ha, ha." Oogie laughed as his captives screamed for their lives.

"Oh HELP!" Sally wailed.

Sally's scream caught Jack's attention. He peered into the alcove as Santa screamed, "This can't be happening!" Jack knew he needed to get to them. If he didn't, Sally and Santa would… No! he didn't want to think about it. Seeing Oogie's back was toward him, Jack saw his opportunity and slipped through the bars.

Meanwhile Oogie was gloating over his all to easy victory.

"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust! Ohh... I'm feeling weak - with hunger! One more roll of the dice ought to do it!" He laughed and threw the dice into a skull shaker. When the dice rolled out Oogie inspected them, only to be displeased to have received a pair of ones.

"WHAT? SNAKE EYES!" In his frustration he stuck the table hard enough to overturn them and get a larger number. The outcome changed his mood immensely. "ELEVIN! Looks like I've won the jackpot! Bye-bye Doll Face, and Sand Man."

He pulled the lever, causing Sally to scream as she and Santa were dropped into the vat. Oogie waited to at the bottom of the slab to watch them fall in, laughing in triumph. Yet despite everything, he never saw the splash that should have resulted in their demise. This both baffled and disgruntled the boogieman.

"What the?" Oogie flipped over table to see if the ropes had somehow snagged on the table. However, instead of finding Sally and Santa, Oogie found a very, very unhappy Jack Skellington waiting for him.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Hello Oogie," Jack greeted his foe in a very angered, even voice. He slid off the slab and advanced toward the boogieman.

Oogie Boogie started to stutter. "J-J-J-Jack! But they said you were dead. You must be - double dead!" Oogie pressed a spider shaped button and the floor began to rotate, throwing Jack off balance.

"Whoa!"

"He, he, he." Oogie laughed as he ran down the platform. Behind him rotating swords appeared from the mechanical playing cards and giant blades from the vat mixer. They swung around in all directions as they tried to slice the Pumpkin King. Jack ducked down in a spider-like fashion to avoid the spinning blades. Seeing his master in trouble, Zero floated out from the alcove and barked angrily. Meanwhile, across the room, an iron maiden opened to reveal Sally and Santa Claus.

Oogie watched from the only safe area of the rotating platform, taunting his foe. "Well come on, Bone Man."

Jack accepted the challenge. He gracefully bent and flipped in order to dodge the swords and blades with gymnastic grace. Oogie was not impressed. "Ohh." He pulled a string. "Ha!" The blades disappeared and were replaced by mechanical gunmen slot machines.

"Fire!"

The gunmen fired but Jack leapt on top of them to avoid the bullets. Oogie was starting to get frustrated, until he realized he was getting closer to the gunfire. "Whoa!" he screamed and tried running on the still moving platform, but it was as pointless as running on a treadmill. He started getting desperate. Then he saw an opportunity. Focusing all his strength, Oogie Boogie leapt into the air toward another secret button. He managed to hit the button, causing a giant saw to be released from the ceiling.

Seeing the danger, Sally cried, "Jack, look out!"

Hearing Sally's voice, Jack turned and managed to dodge the blade as it cut threw the gunmen's firing arms. Jack landed with feline agility, just a few feet from Oogie.

Jack took one step towards the villain, but Oogie had another surprise in store. Slamming his foot on a trap door, Oogie Boogie was propelled on top of the rotating blades hovering over the vat of yellow acid. Little did the boogieman realize that he had caught a stitch when he grabbed for the button, and the string was dangling in front of him. But Jack spotted it.

"So long Jack. Ah ha, ha, ha."

Jack grabbed the string and started to unwrap Oogie Boogie. "How dare you treat my friend so shamefully!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" He begged Jack to stop but it was too late. Jack had already entangled the thread in the rotating blades, causing Oogie Boogie's sack body to rip open. What was surprising at all was what had been hidden underneath. It turned out that Oogie Boogie, Kings of Bugs, was nothing more than a pile a bugs. "Now look what you've done! My bugs! My bugs! My bugs!"

Everyone in the room watched was the mound of bugs, formerly known as Oogie Boogie, became smaller and smaller as he continued to bemoan the loss of his bugs. Sally was astonished and stunned by the sudden revelation, while Jack looked on with a stern gaze. Some of the bugs tumbled into the vat and melted into sludge. Finally Oogie Boogie's voice became barley audible as a small green bug scurried across the floor in an attempt to escape. It continued screaming "My bugs!" before it was crushed under Santa Claus' boot.

Seeing that the danger was finally over, Jack nervously approached the other holiday leader.

"Forgive me, Mr. Claws," Jack said as he took Santa's hat out of his jacket. "I'm afraid I've made a terrible mess of your holiday."

"Bumpy sleigh-ride, Jack?" he stated more than asked, taking his hat from Jack. "The next time you get the urge to take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her," pointing to Sally. "She's the only one who makes any sense around this insane asylum!" He placed his hat back on his head and began walking away, muttering, "Skeletons, boogiemen..."

"I hope there's still time," Jack called.

"To fix Christmas?" Santa turned to face Jack. "Of course there is! I'm Santa Claus!" He placed a finger to his nose and rose out the shoot. Jack watched in amazement as Santa disappeared from sight. He hardly realized Sally had walked beside him until he felt her hand on his arm.

"He'll fix things Jack. He knows what to do."

Jack turned to Sally and asked, "How did you get down here Sally?"

Sally twiddled her fingers and looked at the ground. "Oh, I-I was trying to… Well, I wanted to, to…"

"… To help me."

"I couldn't let you just–" She turned away from him, too embarrassed to face him.

"Sally…" Jack put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "I can't believe I never realized–" Jack was cut off as a bright light shone down on them. Sally covered her eyes with her hand and Jack squinted his eye sockets to get a better look at where the light had come from.

"Jack! Jack!" It was the Mayor's voice. The couple looked up to see the Mayor peering out of the alcove with Lock, Barrel and Shock at his side. Apparently after Jack had scared them, the three had run all the way down the road and ran into the Mayor's hearse. They urged him to follow them back to the tree house to prove that Jack was alive (so to speak). They began to talk all at once.

"Here he is!"

"Alive!"

"Just like we said!"

Ignoring them, the Mayor threw Jack a rope and told him, "Grab a hold, my boy!"

Jack grabbed Sally's hand and used his free one to grab the end of the rope. They we're pulled to safety and led through the barred window. Jack slipped through the bars first, and then assisted Sally by grabbing her waist and helping her to the ground. The Mayor was relieved to see the beloved Pumpkin King had not perished in a fiery inferno, and was excited about bringing him back to Halloween Town. However, Jack was paying no mind as his attention was focused on Sally and their still joined hands. He was just amazed with her; she'd risked her own life to save Sandy Claws and try to help him. How could he not have realized sooner how much she truly cared for him? He wanted to finish what he started to say down in Oogie's lair but he was interrupted by a small voice.

"Excuse me but did everyone forget something?"

The Halloween citizens looked back through the window to see Will still hanging upside-down on the saw that almost hit Jack, and not looking very happy. Zero had apparently been the only one to notice the girl was still strapped to her prison, and was swirling around her side, barking like crazy.

"Seriously, someone needs to get me off this wheel… TODAY!" she yelled.

"Sorry Will," Jack and Sally called down at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Then Jack climbed back down the rope and walked over to Will. He first made sure she was right side up before removing Will from the large rotating torture devise. She rubbed her wrists and then looked back up at Jack.

"Listen Romeo, I get your in a new relationship but wait to kiss the girl until after you rescue all the captives, okay?" she mock scolded him.

Jack blanched as he heard snickering from Boogie's boys above. Up above Sally had a faint pink blush on her cheeks, but also a small smile. The Mayor was completely oblivious to what Will had meant and just encouraged Jack and Will to hurry. There was a town full of ghouls waiting for the return of their Pumpkin King.

XXX

GodlyJewel: Well, isn't that just like them to forget Will. I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in the background. In case anyone didn't notice, there were elements from the deleted scene from the Nightmare Before Christmas DVD. And now our story comes to an end.

WRONG!

You didn't think I was gonna leave Will stuck in Halloween Town, did you? I'm not that mean, although it would be pretty cool to live there.