Four Stories Later
Welcome to the Underworld
"Kooky..." Wally muttered, staring at the screen, fury was swelling. He clenched his hands into a fist again.
"I thought you'd see things my way." Jimmy said smugly. He pushed a button on his remote again.
There was a loud clanking noise, gears turning and rusted metal pulling. A heavy weight was shifting. The wall behind the screen started sliding away, folding and revealing another large room. Three figures stood tall... two figures stood tall and one stood at about a foot. The short one was interesting, a little pink ball with big blue eyes. It stepped forward and it's body bounced, like a pink balloon.
The other two were familiar, the girl that got attacked by the bear earlier, and Kenny were both there. Kenny was still wrapped in his snow suit, and he still looked freezing, despite the warmth of the room. The girl had changed her clothes. She wore a blue, sleeveless shirt with a black bar across the mid-section. She also wore a blue skirt and white socks stretched up above her knees. Really not too different.
"What?" Wally said, still almost speachless.
"I saw the fight with the bear earlier. I decided you would all be perfect for this mission. As for the little pink guy, I found him walking around the park. He can't say anything other then 'Kirby' so that's what I named him. He has remarkable power despite his size." Jimmy said, "Now if you'll come this way." he walked over to the inter-dimensional portal.
Jimmy pushed another button on the remote. A spark flew off the top of the metal donut, and electric surges began surrounding it. The device shook violently, sparking and clanging against the metal flooring. Finally it all stopped, and some smoke spilled from the top. Surges of blue electricity zapped from all around the middle hole in the device, all of them meeting up at the center. Where the surges met up a blue circle began to grow. The circle travelled along the electricity and eventually filled in the entire hole. The lab once seen was now replaced by splashes of liquid-like blue and white.
"On the other side of this portal is the Underworld... I hope you're all prepared..." Jimmy told the people.
Suddenly Wally's hood began to shake violently, and rustle around. An antennae poked out, and quickly followed by the little red radio.
"Hey kid! What's goin' on?" the radio asks, looking at the scene and figures.
"A radio! Excellent! I can use this as a two way to communicate with you!" Jimmy shouts, grabbing a small device off the table.
"Hey! Hey wait! Wait a sec! Put me down!" the radio shouts as Jimmy lifts it up to eye level.
Jimmy begins to screw the little device onto the radio's speaker. The device was small enough not to be greatly noticed. Radio resisted through the whole thing, swatting at Jimmy with his antennae. Finally they finished and Jimmy handed Wally the radio again.
"Now, you're mission is probably going to be dangerous. I want you all to keep on your toes... be careful!" Jimmy instructed, then motioned for the team to enter the portal.
Wally stepped forward first, hesitatingly slightly as he put his foot on the first of the three steps. The metal clinked quietly and a low hum could be heard from the portal. Wally shut his eyes and leapt forward, not knowing what would happen next. He had to save Kooky's soul, that's all he knew. Solid thuds met his feet. Loose dirt moved. Wally opened his eyes. He saw something much different then he expected to find.
He had jumped right into a cemetary. Tombstones, large and small, stood erect across the field of red and purple dirt that had an appearence like it had been freshly plowed. Dead trees stood, but only barely, threatening to fall over at any moment. Crows sat, glaring with their beedy red eyes, and bats hung from the cracking branches. Black bars formed a gate directly across from where Wally stood now. Behind it all a large and brightly glowing moon was the only light source.
The hum of the portal slowly disappeared. Wally looked around and saw Bubbles, Kenny and Kirby all standing around him. At least he wasn't alone in this place of despair. Wally felt a light tap on his shoulder, and he quickly spun around. What he saw scared the hell out of him. No shorter then eight feet tall, wearing a black suit with white stripes, complete with bowtie, and standing right infront of Wally, was a skeleton.
"Um excuse me." the skeleton began, his voice was polite, not at all what you'd expect, "But who are you? And where did you come from?"
"I-I-I-I" Wally was stuttering, all he could manage to do. What else do you do when a skeleton asks where you're from?
"I'm sorry, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself." the skeleton said, bowing in respect, "I am Jack Skellington! The Pumpkin King!"
"I-I'm Wally... and uhm... these are my friends." Wally introduces himself, and doesn't take his eyes off the skeleton as he goes to tap his friends shoulders.
He doesn't have to, they've already turned around and are gaping at the over-grown skeleton standing before them. Finally Bubbles swallows her fear and introduces herself.
"I am Bubbles, and these are my friends Kenny and Kirby." She puts on a smile and motions to Kirby and Kenny.
"Hey don't forget me! My friends call me Radio!" shouts the little voice of the mechanical contraption as it hops onto Wally's shoulder.
"So nice to meet all of you! You don't know how delightful it is to meet new faces!" Jack declares, an expression of joy flowing into his face, "Please, allow me to show you around my home of Halloween. Halloween Town! There are much more frightful places then this old cemetary."
Jack walks past the four and over to a tombstone shaped like a dog house. He pats his leg lightly and a dot of orange pokes itself from beneath the dirt infront of the tombstone. Following the orange glow is a white sheet that is tied in places with the result of a dog. Or maybe it's a dog cut in some places to look like a sheet?
"Come on Zero, let's show our new friends the town!" Jack shouts, motioning for both the dog and the four adventurers to follow him.
Wally takes a step forward hesitantly, hoping that nothing will pop out of the ground and grab his ankle. He looks down for every slow step he takes, but for each one nothing happens. He looks up and sees Kenny doing much the same he is, but Bubbles and Kirby can't be seen. A bead of sweat drips down his face and a feeling of panic torches through him, he turns to look behind, to see if Bubbles and Kirby got scared and stayed behind. No luck. Dreading the worst, he is about to headback, but he hears little giggles. He turns ahead, to face Jack who has reached the gate by now. I feeling of humiliation replaces the dread, Kirby and Bubbles have already reached the gate, leavning him and Kenny behind.
"We'd better hurry up..." Wally mutters, and rushes off to catch up.
Kenny mutters something that is muffled by his hood, and he also rushes to reach the gate. The two reach the group as their breath runs out. They stop momentarily try to catch their breath. Bubbles giggles and points at the two gasping people.
"You looked funny, trying to catch up." she giggles again.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can we open the cruddy gate already?" Wally asks, still feeling embarressed.
Jack grabs the black handles of the gate, wrapping each bony finger around them. He pulls back, and his elbows nearly reach Kenny. The gate creaks as it flies open, threatening to fall off the hinges.