Hi guys! Here's your next chapter. For those of you who have actually seen the movie, I decided to keep Oogie Boogie as he is instead of making him into a character. So there's that visual image for you guys. For those of you who have not seen the movie, I still describe what he looks like but its really difficult to do. Anyways enjoy! Make sure to vote in my new poll! Especially if you like this story. Thanks everyone.

Chapter 7: Oogie Boogie

All throughout Halloween Town, creatures of your wildest imagination were hard at work, preparing for Christmas. A new air of enthusiasm, unfamiliar to most, buzzed through the sky. It provoked excitement, enticed noise, and manifested joy. It was a sensation that bubbled in the core of Halloween Town and everyone bathed in the new feeling. Everyone but Yugi.

The violet-eyed doll in question sat solemnly at a table out in the city square with Ryou as he attempted to sew together Yami's new outfit. Malik and Jou were busy a few tables away making toys, if that's what you could call them. Yugi watched the scene of busy creatures with sad eyes. This was wrong. Everything about it screamed disaster. But what could he do? He had already tried to warn Yami. At this point, all he could do was hope that his premonition was wrong.

"Is everything alright, Yugi?"

Yugi turned to look at Ryou, the doe-colored eyes filled with concern. "I guess so." Yugi sighed. "I just feel like this is a bad idea."

"Why?" Ryou inquired curiously.

Yugi thought about this. Maybe he should tell Ryou about what he saw. Ryou seemed sensible enough. Certainly not as dense as everybody else in this world. "Well," the smaller doll began. "I was outside the other night and I—"

"Hey you two!" Jou interjected, a wide grin on his face. "Isn't this exciting?"

Yugi flashed the ghoul a weak smile. "You could say that."

Malik appeared beside Jou. "Yeah, making Christmas is fantastic. It's ours this time."

Ryou nodded. "And won't the children be surprised."

Yugi sighed at the others evident excitement. Was it really fair for him to take it away? He didn't even really belong here, right? The thought brought another sigh to his lips. If he didn't belong here then he certainly didn't belong with Yami, the handsome and kind creature who he was falling for all too fast. He tried to push those feelings away for he knew they could never be returned. He would have to go home eventually so why was he setting himself up to be hurt? That, he didn't know.

"Yugi?"

His name stirred him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Jou extending a hand for him to take. "Did you want to go and see how everything is going?"

Yugi tilted his head. Maybe it would do him some good to see that everything was going according to plan. So with a small nod and small smile, Yugi clasped on to Jou's hand and followed the blonde through the city square.

He was led to a table of vampires who were currently making a stuffed animal. Yugi frowned when he noticed the glare on the toy, along with a trail of red paint seeping out of the mouth. It was really…disturbing.

"Time to give them something fun," One of the vampires said to another. "They'll talk about for years to come."

Jou grinned at the group. "Let's have a cheer from everyone! It's time to party!"

Malik chuckled from behind them. He glanced down at the many boxes of presents that sat on the ground. "Snakes and mice get wrapped up so nice with spider legs and pretty bows. With all our tricks we're making Christmastime."

Ryou looked up from the table and smiled when he noticed a familiar figure striding down the stairs of the rather large house to his right. He turned around and spotted the small group a few meters away. "Here comes Yami!" Ryou grinned.

Yugi's head snapped up to see Yami walking out of the gate in front of his house, a beautiful smile on his face. Yugi almost melted. He watched as Yami scanned the working citizens until it landed on him. Before Yugi knew it he was enveloped in a strong embrace full of excitement and…something else he couldn't describe.

"I don't believe what's happening to me," Yami whispered into Yugi's ear. "My hopes, my dreams, my fantasies!"

Yugi could only smile. "I'm happy for you, Yami."

Yami tightened his embrace around the small doll at the sweet words. "I'm happy that I can share it with you."

Before Yugi could so much as blush, someone pulled Yami aside leaving Yugi to stare after them with slight disappointment written over his gentle features. He, along with Jou, Malik, and Ryou, followed Yami to a table where a demon was beating at a dead animal with a rolling pin. Yugi felt his stomach turn violently at the sight.

The small demon turned to Yami with a smile. "Won't they be impressed? I am a genius! See how I transformed this old rat into a most delightful hat."

And he did just that. Yugi's face lost all of its color at that point. Yami looked at the object in front of him thoughtfully. "Hmmm, my compliments from me to you on this most intriguing hat. Consider though this substitute: a bat in place of this old rat."

The demon nodded at the suggestion before taking off. It was then that Yami noticed a corpse a few inches away holding a dead turtle in his grasp. Yami immediately shook his head. "No, no, no, now that's all wrong. This thing will never make a present. It's been dead for much too long. Try something fresher, something pleasant. Try again, don't give up."

Yugi watched worriedly as Yami went table to table giving both criticism and praise on the objects that were supposed to be given as gifts. Gifts that Yugi deemed a safety hazard anyways. The amethyst-eyed doll sighed. He had to try to get through to Yami before things got out of hand. And he needed to do it quickly.

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"You don't look like yourself, Yami. Not at all," Yugi spoke softly as he made the finishing touches on Yami's Santa Claus outfit. He had to admit that even though it looked quite ridiculous, Yami was still as beautiful as ever, the slightly tanned face shining with excitement and joy.

"Isn't that wonderful?" Yami replied, watching with intent eyes as Yugi continued to pull a needle in and out of the white cuff around his wrist. "It couldn't be more wonderful."

Yugi quickly shook his head. "But you're the pumpkin king?" he reasoned, trying his best to get the other to see it his way.

Yami chuckled. "Not anymore. And I feel so much better now."

Yugi sighed, his gaze drifting down to the floor. "Yami, I know you think something's missing but—"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" Yugi apologized quickly while Yami brought his pricked finger to his lips. It was then that a flash of realization swept through those ruby eyes.

"You're right! Something is missing!" Yami gasped and Yugi's face instantly lit up with a smile. That was before Yami walked over to a mirror and gazed into it thoughtfully. "But what? I got the coat, the boots, the—"

"Yami! Yami!"

Both tri-colored youths turned to see Serenity, Bakura, and Marik approaching the middle of the city square. Yami took off at lightening fast speed leaving Yugi to watch from afar as the rest of the citizens of Halloween Town encircled the three youths who were all dragging a rather large bad behind them.

"This time we got him for sure!" Serenity chimed. "He sure is big, Yami."

"And heavy!" Marik muttered disdainfully as he loosened the ropes around the bag and opened it. Almost immediately a rather large man popped out, his snow-white beard littered with old lollipops and his red hat covering his eyes. A round of gasps floated around the entire city square, as well as a strangled noise that escaped Yugi's lips.

Yami's eyes lit up like flames in excitement. "Sandy Claws in person!" he gasped, reaching a hand out to shake the old man's hand. "What a pleasure to meet you." Yami paused, lifting up the other's hands and examining them slowly. "Wha-?! Why you have hands! You don't have claws at all!"

The red-clothed man quickly brought his hands up to move his hat away from his eyes before his vision settled upon the dozens of creatures that entrapped him. "Where am I?" he asked, still slight dazed.

"Surprised, aren't you?" Yami grinned. "I knew you would be. You don't need to have another worry about Christmas this year."

Santa snapped his eyes onto Yami's form at this. "What—?"

Yami leaned over to pat the man on the back. "Consider this a vacation, Sandy. A reward," the crimson-eyed youth clarified. "It's your turn to take it easy."

Santa's eyes went wide, his head shaking back and forth in confusion. "B-but there must be some mistake!"

Yami though had already turned his attention the three that had brought Santa Claus here. "See that's he comfortable."

Serenity nodded before motioning for Bakura and Marik to close the bag back up. Yami's eyes scanned the man once more before he gasped. "Just a second!" he reached over and snatched the red hat from Santa's head. "Of course! That's what I'm missing!"

"B-but y-you j-just can't—"

Santa's stuttered protests were immediately silenced as Bakura and Marik shoved him in the black bag and tied it close once more.

Yugi's eyes were still wide and teary from the display he had just witnessed. He glanced at the three creatures leaving with Santa Claus before his gaze fell to the ground. He quickly brought his hands up and dug his face into his open palms. "This is worse than I thought! Much worse!" He snapped his head up when a solution surfaced to his mind. "I know!" Yugi murmured before taking off in the direction of Yami's house.

A little further away, Oogie's henchmen leaned against the gates that lead out to the graveyard, pondering on their next course of action.

"Me on vacation?!" Santa protested loudly from his confinement. "On Christmas Eve?!

"Where are we taking him?" Marik asked, ignoring the man's outraged cries.

"To Oogie Boogie, of course," Bakura snickered. "There's no place in the world more comfortable than that. And Yami did say to make him comfortable, didn't he?"

Serenity grinned. "Yes, he did."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Marik laughed and, with that, the three disappeared into the night dragging the struggling man behind them the entire way.

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"Don't do this!"

Santa's pleas went unheard as Bakura and Marik tied the man's hands behind his back and pushed him back so that he was lying on his back on a flat platform. "Hope you enjoy your stay," Bakura jeered, both he and Marik making their exit.

Suddenly, the lights went out and the entire room lit up in neon green and orange colors, highlighting the several skeletons that lay discarded on the floor.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

Santa turned, releasing a fearful gasp when his eyes landed on a large figure that seemed to be made out of a thick off-white material. It had no eyes, two hollow sockets tainting the menacing face instead. A cynical smile fixed itself on the figure's face, an endless black abyss clearly visible when the creature opened its mouth. Dozens of stitched sowed itself up and down the obese creature's sides, arms, and legs. The figure circled the man lying on the platform before breaking out into insane laughter.

"Sandy Claws, huh? Oh, I'm really scared. So you're the one everybody's talking about?" Santa grunted in surprise when the creature reached down and grabbed him by the collar before feeling himself being yanked in the sitting position so that the figure could get a better look at him.

Another fit of laughter resonated from the dark abyss that was the creature's mouth. "You're joking! You're joking! I can't believe my eyes! You're joking me, you got to be. This can't be the right guy. He's ancient. He's ugly. I don't know which is worse. I might just split a seam now if I don't die laughing first."

Pushing the older man back onto the platform, the creature reached over and grabbed a pair of dice. "You'd better pay attention now cause I am the Boogie Man and if you aren't shaking then there's something very wrong cause this may be your last time now, I don't think you'll live that long."

"Release me now or you must face the dire consequences," Santa said, trying his hardest to keep the fear out of his voice. "The children are expecting me so please, come to your senses!"

Oogie turned to him, his face twisted in amusement. "You're joking! You're joking! I can't believe my ears! Would someone shut this fella up? I'm drowning in my tears. It's funny, I'm laughing. You really are too much and now, with your permission, I'm going to do my stuff."

Santa's widened his eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going do the best I can," Oogie laughed before hooking a long chain onto the binds around Santa's wrists. He walked over to a lever and placed his hand on the tip. An insane grin came to his face. "The sound of rolling dice to me is music in the air cause I'm a gambling Boogie Man, although I don't play fair. It's much more fun, I must confess, when lives are on the line. Not mine, of course, but yours, old boy. Now that'll be just fine." In one swift motion, Oogie pulled down on the lever, the chain attached to Santa pulling the older man high up in the air.

Santa looked down at the ground below him, an overwhelming amount of fear bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He turned to look at the grinning creature. "Release me now or you will have to answer for this heinous act."

The demand resulted in a loud scoff from Oogie. "Oh, brother, you're something. You put me in a spin. You really aren't comprehending the position that you're in. It's hopeless, you're finished! You haven't got a prayer cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie." He smiled before walking to the exit. He tossed a dark glance at the man behind his shoulder and grinned. "And you ain't going nowhere."

To Be Continued...

Reviews/comments appreciated as always.