You thought Halloween Town was over? Not likely. Happy belated St. Patrick's Day, everyone!
Nehrut: "And Happy Halloween... Wow, that was a lame line. Why did you make me say that?"
I'm running out of witty things to say... So just do the disclaimer.
Nehrut: "Whatever. Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Oogie's Revenge, or anything else. He does own a copy of 'Legendary' which he just bought, though."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 49: A Giant Falls
They sat in Santa's living room a few minutes after the fight. Santa sat on the large, green armchair in the corner of the room by the fireplace. "Once again, I can't thank you enough." He said.
"It's what we do, Santa." Sora said with a smile.
"And I think it only makes sense that I reward you." Santa continued. "Tell me, what do you want for Christmas?"
They were pleasantly surprised, and mentally called up their secret wish lists. Some were a bit more obvious than others. A certain two people in the room felt that they had everything they needed.
Nehrut was closest to Santa. And after a bit of hesitation, he leaned down and whispered so quietly that he could just barely hear. "Her." He just barely inclined his head to a certain blonde girl in the room.
Santa smirked a little and chuckled.
Bariss had just taken a step forward when there was a huge cracking noise. The factory shook, and everyone jumped to their feet. As if in agreement, everyone rushed through the door to the factory.
They didn't like what they saw.
Chunks of the ceiling and floor from the second and third floors were all over the ground. On the far side of the room, over three stories high, was a monstrous machine. It was made totally out of the toy machinery, and had taken on the shape of Oogie Boogie. The head was the same shape, but the eyes had yellow lights deep inside of them.
Down near its legless lower half was the Horned King. He smiled at them, and waved his hand toward the giant Oogie. "I thought you should have one final battle. Best of luck." He disappeared.
The giant Oogie laughed, and it was enough to shake the building.
"Well, well, well! Look what we got here! I'm large and in charge, and it's payback time!" There was sort of a metallic ring in his voice.
"Why won't you stay dead!?" Riku shouted in exasperation.
They ran into the room, ready for the last battle. Sora summoned the Keyboard, Riku brought out the Guardian, Kairi transformed into Angelic form, and Nehrut flew up on his own accord. The rest prepared for a fight on the ground, as Jack and Sora began to sing.
"It's over! It's over!
Your scheme was bound to fail!"
"It's over now, you're finished here!
Your next stop will be jail!"
Panels opened on Oogie's shoulders, missle platforms emerged. Three missiles shot from each shoulder and homed in on a seperate target. One for Sora, one for Kairi, one for Riku, one for Nehrut, one for Jack, and one for Santa.
"They mock me, they fight me!
I don't know which is worse!
I might just split a seam now,
If I don't die laughin' first!"
Sora swerved around his, and as it flew into the distance, he shot a fireball at it. He could see it explode harmlessly over fifty feet away. Kairi shot over hers, and when it twisted around to follow her, she blasted it with lightning. She rode the shockwave toward Oogie and destroyed one of the launchers. Riku's Guardian rushed to catch the missile, and threw it back at the remaining launcher.
Jack danced out of the way of the missile aimed at him. It exploded against the ground a full five feet away. Jack didn't so much as stumble. Nehrut stopped in the air and redirected his missile with his mind; right into the path of the missile going for Santa. He flew up right into Oogie's face, Sora right behind him.
"What's this, a trick? I'm not impressed,
You're bad and now you're tall."
"It makes it all the more worthwhile,
To see a giant fall!"
Oogie swatted at Nehrut like a larger than average fly, but he shot high into the air over his head. In his place was Sora, who had transformed Sleeping Lion into the Keyfist. He punched Oogie hard in the place where his nose would have been. His head reeled back, and he howled. His mouth opened wide, and out poured an avalanche of exploding dice that fell to the ground where their flightless friends were assembled.
"Talk, talk, talk, but I tell you,
This giant's goin' nowhere!
If I were you, I'd take a hike!
There's danger in the air!"
Riku dove into their path, with the Guardian right behind him. The Guardian spread its arms, and Riku reinforced it with a shield of Dawn. The dice hammered against it, and exploded on contact. Nobody was harmed, and Riku immediately took to the air again. Kairi swooped down, and picked Jack up by his hands. They flew at Oogie's face, and she threw him at the place where Sora had injured him. Jack covered himself in flame, and smashed the place again. They all sang,
"Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!"
"I'm the only Pumpkin King!"
When Oogie recovered from Jack's attack, he glared down at them all. He brought one massive fist down to crush them. He was stopped when Nehrut tossed a chunk of the building at his fist, deflecting it. He tried to crush them with the other, only to be stopped by a blast of burning fire. Jack and Axel were firing together.
"Well, I'm feeling angry,
And there's plenty left to do!"
"We've fought your most unwelcome help,
And now we're after you!"
The flames hit Oogie's metal chest. They kept pouring it on, and they were gradually melting through it. He brought his arm up, crackling with electricity, and delivered bolts of lightning down on them. Nehrut moved to block them, but Axel and Jack had to stop their attack.
Sora and Kairi flew at Oogie's chest were it had been weakened. The metal was now mostly melted. They sent twin Blizzaga spells into it, freezing it. Riku came out of nowhere with the Guardian, and smashed through it. Oogie shouted, and swung at the three. They just barely got away.
"Even if you catch me,
You could never do me in!
I'm ten stories high! And just as strong,
Which means I'm gonna win!"
Nehrut flew up with Jack and Mickey together. He threw them, and they landed on Oogie's head. They struck at him with whatever means they could. Oogie tried repeatedly to shake them off (as his arms couldn't seem to reach), but they wouldn't get off.
"Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!"
"I'm the only Pumpkin King!"
Oogie finally managed to shake Jack and Mickey off, but as they fell, Jack delivered a well placed fireball into Oogie's giant gleaming eye. Whatever was inside the socket keeping it lit was destroyed, and Oogie now had one functioning eye. The two hit the ground gracefully. Kairi flew toward Oogie's face, with Sora next to her. They struck his face repeatedly, singing,
"It's over! You're finished!
You'll never get away!"
"You? The king of Halloween?
That'll be the day!"
Oogie opened up compartments on either side of his eyes, revealing what resembled gatling guns. Bullets fired from either one at Sora and Kairi. They flew away as fast as possible, dodging the projectiles, or otherwise deflecting them. The Guardian was suddenly there. The bullets didn't seem to have an effect on it. Riku emerged from behind it, and fired volleys of Dawn at the guns, destroying them. Oogie didn't seem harmed.
"How feeble! How childish!
Is that the best you got?
You think that you are heroes, boys,
But I think you are not."
"I'm the King of Halloween Town!" He shouted.
"You're king of NOTHING!" (1)Jack shouted back, defiantly.
Oogie snarled. Blades appeared on his arms. He shouted, and struck at them. They were barely able to duck under them, or fly away from them.
"Wooooooooaaaaaah!
Now it's time for you to see,
What it really means to scare!
'Cause I'm a gamblin' Boogie Man,
Although I don't play fair!"
Nehrut skimmed along the side of one of Oogie's arms, where the long blade was attached. He ran his sword along the metal on the side, trying to sever the blade from his arm. After a moment, he was successful. Riku caught on to what he was doing, and started to do the same to the other one. The blades crashed to the ground at Oogie's nonexistent feet. Oogie was forced to attack with only his fists.
"It's much more fun, I must confess,
With lives on the line!
Not mine, of course. But yours, oh boy!
Now that'd be just fine!"
They decided that enough was enough. Nehrut lifted them all into the air toward Oogie's face, avoiding his fists. As they ascended, they sang,
"Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!
Wo-oh.....
Wo-oh!"
"I'm the only Pumpkin King!"
Right as Jack delivered his final line, they attacked Oogie with everything they had. The Keyblades, the fires, the mental blasts, and other weapons collided with Oogie's face. It was too much.
Oogie screamed. His metal face caved in, and there was an explosion as whatever was in there caught fire. Oogie's head was now a shredded, burning, smoking piece of metal. The rest of his new body sagged.
Nehrut set them down gently on the floor. Sora looked up at the twisted metal body, and then noticed Santa running quickly, tracking something on the floor. He realized that it was a beetle with a mangled wing. All that was left of Oogie Boogie.
Santa scowled, and crushed it, smashing it into the ground beneath his boot repeatedly.
"So," Axel asked. "Are we finally done here?"
"Not quite." Sora answered, gazing around the workshop. "I think we've got a bit of a mess to clean up."
"Do we have to?"
"You'll have some help, boys. Don't worry." Came a voice. Everyone turned around to see Dr. Finkelstein and Sally at the head of a large group of elves and Halloween creatures. He was carrying the skull of one of the three Cauldron Born that had fled Christmas Town. The doctor turned to the group and said, "Alright, listen up! Carefully remove the pieces from that giant robot! We don't want Christmas to be delayed, now do we?"
Nehrut's jaw dropped when the group got to work immediately. "This seems..."
Riku finished for him. "Convenient?"
"Uh, guys?" Bariss tapped him on the shoulder.
They turned around, and saw something on the ground, it was glowing brightly, and Sora only realized what it was when the light faded. It was the Keyhole.
Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand. He looked at it, and then at Sora. He smiled. He pointed it at the Keyhole, and a narrow beam of red-orange light shot from the tip.
*********************************************************
So, they all got to work, salvaging machinery from Oogie Boogie's old body. They were carefully supervised by Santa and his elves, the only ones who could actually tell one machine part from another. It took over an hour, but they managed to separate the functional machines from the scrap. Dr. Finkelstein usually salvaged this.
Almost five hours after the fight, they agreed to take a break, and the group scattered. Sora and Kairi wandered around outside for a while, to be on their own. They walked along the outskirts of town for a while, looking at the snow.
"Walking in a winter wonderland..." Roxas sang.
Stop.
But he was smiling inwardly.
They came to a halt, when they saw Nehrut and Bariss sitting under a Christmas tree. They weren't talking, just gazing up into the starry sky in friendly silence. Sora thought they looked incredibly peaceful.
"Will you look at that?" Kairi said, leaning her head on Sora's shoulder.
"They look quite nice together, don't they?" Santa Claus walked up to their side. He really was quieter than a mouse. "I believe that they have feelings for each other."
"You're right." Kairi confirmed. "They just won't admit it."
"Rather like you two." Santa rolled his eyes. "I've got an idea..."
He put a finger to the side of his nose, and tipped his head to the side for a second.
There was a little flash of golden light above their heads in the tree.
*********************************************************
Nehrut smiled. There hadn't been much snow in Pax Pacis, and he was enjoying every second in this paradise. It was even better, getting to spend it with the girl sitting next to him.
There was a flash of soft light above them, and they both looked up. His faced paled, and he gulped. His throat was suddenly very dry.
Mistletoe.
He cast a tentative glance at Bariss. She looked at him, and gulped.
"Just a quick one." She said, quietly.
He nodded, feeling somehow grateful that she wasn't rejecting the concept outright, and leaned in slowly. She did the same. He felt like there was a bee hive in his stomach. 'Butterflies' was much too weak a word to describe it.
Their lips touched gently. His lips pressed against hers, and he felt her nervousness dissipate slightly.
The shy kiss lasted for exactly four seconds before Bariss pulled away, turning and blushing so bright her skin stood out like a beacon against the white landscape. Nehrut smiled very briefly to himself, and looked in the other direction as she had.
Best four seconds EVER!
They both found it hard to concentrate on the snow after that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now Halloween Town is done!
I had been waiting so long to write that last scene! I was originally planning that for Riku and Yuffie, but that was back when they were supposed to get together at the very end of the story. But I think it works better for those two.
(1) Xemnas: "Excuse me?"
Review please!