Missi of Vaults

Originally written for the TNBC Fanclub Discord server 'How Does Oogie Boogie get festive' event in 2024! (Now with 100% less spaces that I forgot to fill in, because of course I'd only realize I forgot to add some lines to certain sentences only AFTER I had posted the fic....) Dedicated to the one and only 'Oogie Boogie man' himself, Ken Page. I hope I really managed to capture all the spirit you brought to Oogie (and what made me love the character in the first place), and...I'm really going to miss you. For the contest, since it's about how Oogie Boogie gets festive, there was only one direction for me to go, really. I mean, what's more festive than a holiday party (after all, the Oogie Boogie bash exists, so this guy clearly knows something about throwing a party)? And of course, Oogie's not going to settle for any ordinary holiday bash, he's going to put his own special twist on things, as you'll see...

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Once upon a Christmas fright…

Ah, the land of Halloween!

A creepy, terrifying place where the chill of the perennially autumn-like wind brought with it the scents of rain-soaked leaves, spilt pumpkin guts, and burnt sugar, where creatures and beasties of all shapes and sizes lurked around every corner, and where every day brings with it a good scare…truly a wonderfully scary dream come true for any ghoul or ghost.

And at the center of it all lies a truly terrifying town, inhabited by a host of creepy creatures and benevolently ruled over by Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and Sally, a rag doll with more than a spider’s worth of spunk in her (and was likely the most sensible creature within the town, if not the entire realm of Halloween)…or as it’s know in this realm, Halloween town.

But this story doesn’t take place within the town, oh no. No, let us turn our attention to outside of the creepy town of Halloween, beyond the twisted iron gates and into the grayish lands that lie beyond it (though not so far as you would end up near the holiday doors), to a truly horrifying place that hosts a great danger…a single, rickety treehouse.

Well, the treehouse itself wasn’t the danger, per say. Although it did pose dangers in itself, since one single step into the crumbling shack made of splintery boards, rusty nails, and booby-traps would mean that you were fair game for the three pint-sized terrors that called it home to prank into oblivion if they saw fit.

No. The real danger was what lay directly underneath the treehouse’s spindly roots and moldering floorboards…..or rather, who.

For lurking underneath the roots of that old treehouse is a creature that almost every resident of the fair town of Halloween feared to meet…The Boogeyman.

Yes, the Boogeyman. He is the shadow that you see on the moon at night, the bringer of bad dreams, a punisher of naughty children, the devourer of unwary humans… Or, as the denizens of Halloween Town knew him, Oogie Boogie.

A self-confident, selfish, ‘gamblin’ man’, he is made up of insects, spiders, and other creeping; slithering, skittering things with a taste for meat (and a fondness for a pretty leg), he is one that every resident of the realm of Halloween recognizes that you should avoid whenever possible. And most importantly…you never play any of his games.

For the Boogeyman is among other things, a gambler by trade, but he never plays fair, least of all when there’s something that’s ever so valuable on the line…your life.

But how does one such creature end up so far outside of the warmth and good cheer of Halloween Town, inhabiting a fetid hole with only the creepy crawlies of the underground (and whatever unfortunate soul made their way into his clutches) for company?

Perhaps it functioned as a prison of sorts, a fitting abode for the monster that had once attempted to take over the holiday of Halloween and twist it into something that more resembled his own twisted image, before being defeated by Jack Skellington; the Pumpkin King, and subsequently banished from Halloween town entirely, the ruler of little more than a fetid hole in the ground.

Maybe the Boogeyman himself had been the previous ruler of Halloween, cruel and greed-fueled, before a simple pumpkin farming skeleton had the courage to stand up to the truly terrible ruler, both freeing the poor citizens and the realm of Halloween itself from his wicked reign.

Maybe it was a place to plot his revenge, after his oh-so unceremonious banishment from Halloween Town when the residents of the town discovered that the Boogeyman’s brand of scaring was far more deadly than the good fun that they practiced.

Or perhaps it was just simply the only place where the Boogeyman felt truly at home.

But whatever the reason that the Boogeyman ended up in that garish, casino-themed place, riddled with torture devices, we find ourselves in it on this night, and it is looking…oddly festive.

Yes, as strange as it would seem, Oogie’s lair had practically turned into a holiday horror-land, garlands hung with the chains, bats wearing tiny Santa hats, and Even the poor skeletons that littered his lair found themselves decked out in their holiday best, colored lights threaded through their bare bones like peculiar glowing muscles. And Oogie himself was looking rather holly-jolly, a fluffy green garland thrown over his wide neck like a garish scarf and humming a merry tune as he tied the tails of two green-striped snakes together (who squirmed most piteously).

But why, might you ask, was Oogie doing all of this Christmas related stuff? Especially after that…one particular incident that revolved around that holiday?

Well, why else would the Boogeyman be doing something such as this? Clearly, it was to show up his old nemesis (and frequent pain in his burlap rump), Jack Skellington. You see, a couple of days prior, he had been….paying an unplanned visit secret visit (read: spying) to the town of Halloween, when who should he overhear? Why, the bone-man himself and that rag doll had been walking right by, and had been discussing something that had…caught the Boogeyman’s interest, to say the least. Something about a party, being invited to celebrate ‘the season’ with the other ‘holiday leaders’….a party that he clearly hadn’t been invited to!

Oh, the jealously that had flowed through his insectine core had almost been overcome by utter nausea seeing the two of them being all lovely-dovey and couple-like. Blech! It’d be enough to make him hurl his guts from how sugary-sweet it had been…well, if he had any guts.

But of course, just as soon as the jealousy had entered his burlap body, it was replaced with something…much more scheme-related, let’s just say. From what the pair had said, they’d be gone at least until tomorrow…And that meant there wouldn’t be any interference in the wicked little scheme that had already begun slithering its way through his buggy brain…

So, Jack was having himself a little party, huh?

Well then, if Jack could go off with that rag-doll and have himself a good time at some holiday party with all those other holiday big-wigs (he would have been one too had it not been for that meddling Skellington), then why shouldn’t he have a little party of his own?

After all, if Jack could twist a holiday to suit his own needs, why shouldn’t he take a crack at this Christmas thing himself?

In Oogie’s not-so humble opinion, anything Jack could do, he could very well do better, so after quickly reading through one of Jack’s Christmas books (conveniently about Christmas parties), ‘borrowing’ a box or two of the Christmas decorations that had been stashed in the back of the town hall, and collecting more than a couple of the stray bats, snakes, and remains of previous ‘visitors’ that lay around his lair, Oogie was ready to start planning for his own personal shindig!

And it would be a thousand times better than that show-boating skeleton’s! “Guy’s got no style! No class! No savior-faire!” Oogie muttered to himself as he forcefully tied two snakes tails together. “And he certainly ain’t got none of my party plannin’ know-how!” With a hearty laugh, he took a look at his handiwork, and after a good moment of thinking, stuck a ragged-looking red ribbon to the twitching tail of one particularily          before stepping back to admire his handiwork.

(Much to the displeasure of the snakes, who could only squirm feebly and hiss in protest at the gaudy crimson ribbon constricting their tails.)

Perfect!

Well, as perfect as a wreath made of living snakes tied together by their tails (and by their middles) could be. The snakes just squirmed.

Besides, it had been far too long since he had ‘entertained’ some ‘guests’ here in his humble abode. Why, his iron maiden was practically gathering cobwebs (and not the fun kind that had spiders in them either)….and his buzzsaws hadn’t been thrown at anyone in so long, they were practically rusting to the ceiling from disuse! Plus, it did get rather boring tormenting the stray insects that made their way into his lair (and on occasion, his three henchmen when they had displeased him enough).

After all… “What’s a shindig without vict- I mean, guests?” Oogie said with a chuckle. Yes, it would seem that his mood was finally improving…a fact that would likely only spell certain doom for whatever poor creature that would soon find themselves in his clutches.

Of course, finding guests to attend his bash was a whole other matter entirely, since the residents of Halloween town…wouldn’t be interested in attending it, to say the least. Most were either far too smart or too terrified to dare to set a single claw into his lair of their own free will, and there were more than a couple who were much too fast for his henchmen to forcibly ‘invite’. Plus, even if it wouldn’t guarantee a certain Skellington paying him an unwanted visit, they’d probably just spend most of his party going on and on about how it was ‘monstrous, and not in the good way’ to turn folks into stew or something, and would probably just drink all the swampwater punch. “Buncha party-poopers…don’t know what they’re missin’…”

So why shouldn’t he extend an invitation to his little party to those who were located outside of the fair realm of Halloween? And in this case, that meant…the human world.

True, Jack always hated it when he took humans, because it was apparently ‘wrong’ to kidnap folks and torture them for fun, or whatever trite that scene-stealer tried to lecture him about. Ha! What next? Was he not supposed to eat those folks, too? Besides, there were ever so many of those fleshbags wandering around in the world of the living (more and more by the day), so who would notice if he snatched up a couple of them for his little shindig?

Of course, there wouldn’t be a shindig without guests, and especially not if his three henchmen didn't get their tiny butts moving and bring him back the guests he'd sent them to invite (read: kidnap)!   

“Those three better hurry up with my guests, or they won’t be havin’ a silent night ever again…” After all, those three terrible trick-or-treaters had been made undeniably clear of several things when he'd laid out his plans for his little shindig…to hurry back one they’d ‘invited’ his guests, to make sure that nobody from town found out about his little party (least of all the thunder-stealing, insufferable showboat of a skeleton that had the nerve to call himself ‘king’), and to not get caught.

And most importantly, to not come back empty handed…or else. A fact that which he had made more than clear to the three. Though to be honest, he hadn’t exactly gotten around to thinking about what it was the ‘or else’ would entail for those three if they did wind up failing in their task. But fortunately, the three trick or treaters knew that in the case of their boss, they knew better than to ask what the ‘or else’ could entail, since when you worked for someone like Oogie, it would likely mean nothing good for them if by any chance they did fail in their mission.

Then again, why should he worry? Lock, Shock, and even Barrel weren’t the best trick-or-treaters in Halloween town for nothing (though he’d never admit it to anyone out loud, least of all to the three of them), and despite their multiple shortcomings as minions, they could be rather useful when they stopped trying to beat each other up. (Or getting distracted by candy...or playing useless, non-deadly pranks on the residents of Halloween Town...)

After all, if they’d managed to snatch up ol’ ‘Sandy’ once before, they’d surely be able to go back to wherever it was they had originally found him and snag him again. Not that he’d been really paying all that much attention to where exactly it was that the trio had found him (something about tree doors…), but he’d made enough thinly-veiled threats that the trio should be more than clear that they would need to succeed in their

(Well, he hadn't exactly thought of what exactly failure would entail for the three, he'd been more than Hey, you couldn't be on your He'd just have to come up with something suitably nasty later if they did fail him...)

True, the last time that the exceedingly juicy-looking Sandy Claws had come into his lair, it had ended with him being pulled apart….but surely the man would appreciate a good party.

Especially one with such stylish decorations as he had made! “Sandy’s gonna looove this!”

He could just picture the look on ol’ Sandy’s face upon seeing him again, the very same expression of utter disbelief and terror that he had the moment he’d found himself in his lair, followed by that oh-so delectable ….oh, it practically warmed Oogie’s non-existent heart just thinking about it!

But was everything ready for Sandy’s big arrival? “Lemme see, I got the decorations, got the spikes on my iron maiden all sharp, made swampwater punch and seven-layer slug dip…” Yet there was something missing….Oogie tapped a nubby hand to his chin for a good moment, before the thought struck him. “Ah!”

After rummaging around one of the decoration boxes for a good minute, the creation found its way onto the wall. Mistletoe! Though in this case, it wasn’t the green and white plant that you or I would be familiar with, it was…actual severed toes, tied together with a raggedy-looking scrap of fabric, and hung on an overlarge bolt that jutted out of the wall. Oogie regarded this decoration with more than a little distaste on his part.

“Waste a’ perfectly good toes in my opinion….” What kind of Christmas thing was this? Apparently humans liked to kiss one another underneath these things or something…were all humans this strange, or did he just happen to eat the more normal ones?

“They better be appreciatin’ what all I’m doin’ for them, these are some of my best snackin’ toes-“

Of course, it wasn’t too long before he heard from above that telltale metallic banging and muffled shrieking that signified one thing…someone was making their way into his lair! Oogie clapped his hands together. “Oooh! Looks like my first guest has arrived!”

Oogie's grin grew  jagged at the sound of  more sickening thuds,  more shrieking (which made the large, jagged grin that was grow even more wicked-looking), followed by a very loud, wet-sounding SPLURCH as the human (dressed in a red party dress with green fuzzy trim, hands tied in front of her) had landed face down in the admittedly large dish of putrid-colored slop. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to put the seven-layer slug dip directly underneath the entry chute…oh well!

Grabbing the human by the collar of her dress, he pulled her dip-caked face up towards his own…Ah! What a pretty little thing she was, with those brightly colored ribbons that were threaded through those cute pigtails of hers, that kissable; slug-dip caked mouth that was sputtering in pure shock…though that did nothing to distract from her cuteness. Perhaps she’d be to find herself under one of the mistle-toes……with him, of course!

But any smooches underneath severed toes would have to wait.

Because lo and behold, guest number two was on the way!

This time the guest tumbling from the chute was another girl, this time a blonde in a sparkling white dress, who landed directly in Oogie’s outstretched arms, took one look at his face…and began screaming. And after, a man dressed like some sort of deer, with a peculiar splotch of red paint on his nose, who landed butt-first into the remaining dip, and promptly scrambled out upon getting a good look at . Oogie was thrilled. This was turning out beyond his expectations! Of course, there was still the matter of one guest in particular that had yet to arrive….Ah! One last guest tumbled from the chute, this time a man in a very familiar looking red suit, red hat, and sporting a white beard, who landed on the ‘table’ with a loud shriek and a slight squelch….since he’d also landed directly into the remains of the slug dip (face-first this time, so that the pristine white beard now took on a slimy, dingy-looking color).

Pushing forward, Oogie went to greet ol’ ‘Sandy Claws’ once more, excitement practically seeping into every word as he stalked towards the man. “Well, well, well….we meet again, Sandy-“ Of course, the moment that the man looked up at him (fearfully of course), face mostly caked in the yellowish green gunk that constituted as 'dip', Oogie’s smile faded…why, he was utterly aghast!

“What the?” With one surprisingly agile movement, the man soon found himself dangling by the collar in Oogie’s ‘hand’ (or at least the nubby thing that consisted as a hand), much to the obvious terror of the other assembled humans, who were fearfully trembling together. Narrowing the dark slits that made up his eyes, he looked the man up and down, up and down, the scrutiny enough to make the man wilt into himself with pure dread, desperately attempting to make himself look as tiny and as possible.

After glowering at the man again (who seemed to be making an effort to try and shrink himself inside of that fur-trimmed crimson coat), Oogie turned his head upward and…yelled, the lair practically shook down to its very depths from the force of his voice as he called out: “LOCK! SHOCK! BARREL!

Now, the assembled humans had no idea what to expect with their captor’s sudden shout, they soon witnessed three small children, dressed as a ghoul, devil, and witch respectively and wearing matching masks hurry their way over to their boss’s side. (Practically shoving one another to the ground in an effort to reach their

The three trick-or-treaters never went down into their boss’s lair if they could help it, but when Oogie called, there was only one thing that you could do…answer. From the resulting mad dash, they were breathing a touch hard, but most surprisingly….they were looking slightly more sheepish than usual as they removed their masks. “Y-you bellowed, boss?” The devil-boy, Lock replied, a touch of fear present in his voice. “Now, what was it that I told you three?” At this, the ghoul-boy, Barrel, quickly piped up. “To always deny, even if we really did it?” At this, the stringy-haired girl in the witch’s hat, Shock, rolled her eyes. “No, dummy! To ‘invite’ the Sandy Claws to the party!” Her expression quickly took on a much more fearful look upon seeing Oogie’s displeased one. “Which uh…we definitely did!”

Oogie snorted, sockets flicking back towards the trio. “Oh really? Well, you kids must either be either lyin’ to me, or you’re worse at yer jobs than I thought…'cause this ain’t Sandy Claws!”

At their boss’s words, a chill ran lengthwise down the three kid’s spines. This was….not good. Which, was likely the understatement of the century, considering that their boss had a habit of ‘testing’ some of his nastier traps and ideas on them when he was in a ‘good mood’. And if that was the case on a ‘good’ day, just imagine what he’d do to the three of them if he caught wind of what they were trying to hide from him!

Attempting to make her voice sound as innocent as possible (which given her true nature, just sounded more unnatural than anything), Shock plastered a surprised look across her features. “It isn’t?” She elbowed Lock, who quickly nodded in response. “We grabbed him with the humans, just like you said!“

“Yeah, that’s…what we did…” Barrel replied somewhat hesitantly.

Oogie scoffed. “Sandy Claws was all plump, juicy….delicious lookin’!” He glared at the human in his grasp, dark sockets looking the quivering man up and down. With his free ‘hand’ he poked the quaking man’s side, making the poor guy yelp in discomfort at the sudden sensation. “He’s all….small.”

The all-too present note of distaste in his voice was enough to make the poor trick-or-treaters shrink down into themselves with pure dread. Quickly, they attempted to salvage the already precarious situation (which given how their boss was currently glaring at them, was slowly growing all the more precarious by the second), practically stumbling over one another in an effort to try and save their own sorry skins. “But we followed your orders!” Barrel cut in. “Went through the door and everything!” Lock added. Oogie just regarded the three with obvious displeasure. “Then what happened to ol’ Sandy here?

The three kids looked at one another, triplicate expressions of worry written clear on their tiny faces. “Uh, maybe he shrunk?” Barrel replied. “Those guys were in the tub with him too!” Lock cut in, sounding more than a little frantic himself. “Maybe they, uh….squished him a little…” The devil-boy trailed off uncertainly, most likely due to the combination of the glares he was receiving from both Shock and Barrel, and the waves of rage that seemed to be wafting of his 'boss' like flies hovering over a fresh carcass.

The rage in Oogie’s tone was all-too audible at this point. “Are you three callin’ me a liar?”

He drew himself up to his full height (an impressive eight feet), looming over the three. Almost instantly, the kids instantly shrunk back, holding their hands out in front of their tiny bodies as if to protect themselves from their boss’s anger (or at least save them from a beating). “No!” “Of course not!” “Wouldn’t dream of it!”

They’d learned from experience that it was not a good idea to insult their boss after all, whether it was unintentional or otherwise. "But we did what you said, he’s got the red suit and everything!” Shock pointed out, voice trembling ever so slightly. “And the beard! Don’t forget the beard!” Barrel responded, just a little too quickly.

Oogie     Alright, Oogie at least had to give them that, the man did have the same bushy, white beard like he did the last time…though now that he was looking at it….there was something about that white beard that made his sockets narrow in displeasure. The 

The kids on the other hand, in their effort to attempt to save their own hides, hardly noticed the fact that their boss had gone uncharacteristically silent. Barrel most of all, who continued to prattle on nervously. “Yeah, we definitely didn’t get chased out of the town before we could snatch him or anything-“

Of course Barrel never did finish whatever he had been about to say next, instead yelping in pain, clutching his arm from where Shock had pinched him. Barrel glared at Shock. She stuck out her tongue in response.

Oogie of course, didn’t respond to their blatant display of disrespect, instead he…smiled.

“Ya know, you kids are right! Ya did follow my orders.” Wait, what? “He’s got the suit, the hat, even the beard!” The three kids nodded, unsure of where exactly their boss was going. Or why they had the nagging feeling that there would be some sort of ‘but’ to this particular sentence…that was until Oogie’s smile faded. “Only, ya forgot one thing…it didn’t come off…Like THIS!“

With one surprisingly quick motion, he yanked the fake beard off of the man, who yelped in surprise and attempted to cover his baby-smooth chin with his tied-together hands.

For a good moment, neither of the three trick-or-treaters dared to move, let alone breathe as their three pairs of beady little eyes snapped to and from their boss’s enraged expression and the phony white beard that was now held in his hand, a monument to their screw-up.

That was until Shock whirled around to face Lock, an expression of pure anger forming across her features. “I told you he’d figure it out!” She whapped him over the head with her mask, making the devil-boy let out a tiny ‘eep’ in response.

“We should have just snuck around those pointy eared creatures and their stupid toy factory instead of grabbing some human off the street!” The red devil-boy rubbed his aching head, a glum expression already forming on his face. “Well, we wouldn’t have even been chased out of the town in the first place if Barrel hadn’t woken up half the town with his screaming.”

Barrel snorted. “Nuh Uh! I only screamed because Shock pushed me out of the tub! You were the one who lead all Sandy’s helpers towards us, you candy-stealer!” At this, the devil boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I stole all that candy because you would have stuffed yourself with it all, greedy-guts!”

Shock’s eyes narrowed. “This is your fault!”

Lock kicked Barrel in the shin. “No, you!”

Shock swung for Barrel, but the ghoul-boy quickly ducked down, and she caught Lock in the nose instead. “No, you!”

It took all of three seconds until the three were fully tussling on the ground in front of both their boss and the assembled humans, much to Oogie’s obvious annoyance. While the trio’s arguing and squabbling could be amusing enough on a good day, unfortunately, Oogie’s patience (which was already infamously short) was wearing thin. With a deep inhale, the Boogeyman drew himself up to his full height, and bellowed at the three fighting kids. “Get OUT!” That yell, or rather the force of it, was enough to stop the trick-or-treaters tussling right in their tracks. “Yes Mr. Oogie sir!” With that, they scrambled to their feet, and booked it toward those doors as fast as their little legs could carry them.

With an audible huff, Oogie watched the three trick-or-treaters vanished out of sight and out of his lair, out to the relative safety of the Hinterlands, where they'd likely spend the next couple of hours swimming in mud puddles, crushing pumpkins, and yelling at the top of their lungs while tossing clumps of topsoil at one another before slinking back to the lair when they thought Oogie's anger had cooled down enough.

Pity that they'd run away before he could punish them for their failure, he thought. Those brats were already going to be spending the next three full moons catching Hinterland vipers and frying maggots for taking so long with his guests,  he'd have to add something extra nasty to their punishment for not capturing Sandy Claws like they were supposed to...

But punishing those brats was going to have to wait.

He had a party to get back to, after all.

And so he turned his attention back towards the assembled (and now mostly upright) humans, who were now looking decidedly less disoriented, and more than a little terrified. Most specifically, ‘Sandy’, who was now on the ground below, lying flat on his back.

Oogie leaned over the man, expression terrifyingly unreadable. “Well, well, well….you definitely ain’t Sandy Claws, are ya?” At this, the man let out a rather uncharacteristically squeaky ‘ulp’, and attempted to scooch himself backwards, though with his arms tied in front of him it mostly amounted to him just wriggling in place.

Of course, he never 

“But we’re just gonna have to make do with what we got! Ain’t that right, Sandy?” For a moment, the man blinked in surprise, clearly unsure of what exactly was going on, until he noticed the Boogeyman’s eager expression. It took the man all of a moment to put two and two together before the realization hit him like a pile of Yep. He was going to serve as the ‘substitute Sandy’ for this little party…and likely whether he liked it or not.

“B-but my name is Gary-“ Of course, whatever protests that this ‘Sandy’ might have had immediately died upon his lips the moment that he noticed the expression of displeasure upon Oogie’s face, the man quickly replied with a false sense of positivity. “Actually, you know what, Sandy is fine!” This seemed to satisfy the Boogeyman for the time, and so, he addressed the assembled ‘guests’.

“Ah! Where are my manners? I’m yer handsome and humble host, Oogie Boogie!”

With one wave of his arm, he gestured around his lair. “Welcome to my lair!” Stomping his way over to the nearest guest, the girl with the ribbons, he took one of her bound hands in his burlap one, and made a motion as if to kiss it. More than somewhat nervously, the girl allowed her hand to be grasped, only to be greeted with a snake shooting out from the Boogeyman’s lips, its tongue brushing against the cool skin of her palm. Ribbons squealed and yanked her hand away, rushing to hide behind one of her friends.

Oogie laughed. “Aw, don’t worry your pretty little head, darlin’. I’m not gonna eat you!”

At this, the pair seemed to relax some.

“Well, not yet anyways…” He muttered under his breath with a with a chuckle.

While the rest of the assembled humans didn’t seem to pick up on the Boogeyman’s last comment, Red-Nose seemed to have heard it, looking at him with a more than slightly fearful expression. “I’m sorry, what?”

Ignoring the now terrified looking man, Oogie continued on. “Now, whaddya say we get this little shindig started, hmmm? I got some swampwater punch ready if ya want!” He clasped his hands together, looking almost like an excited child ready to play a game.

The humans looked at one another, looking more than a little worried before ‘Red Nose’ spoke. “Look, we don’t want any trouble. Just let us go, and we won’t tell anyone about your weird…kidnapping….party…thing….” He trailed off lamely, as if realizing just how pathetic this excuse sounded.

One of his friends, the girl with the Ribbons in her hair, quickly cut in. “Yeah, we were on our way to a Christmas party before we were…invited here. Our friends are probably wondering where we-“ Whatever else Ribbons had been about to say next was abruptly cut off by…laughter?

Yes, Oogie was laughing as if he’d just been told one of the funniest jokes in the entire world, clutching his burlap sides in mirth, and he continued so for what seemed like a good couple minutes, much to the confusion of the humans. Eventually, the Boogeyman’s laughter subsided, and with a loud ‘whew’ he wiped a singular ‘tear’ from his face (a tiny blue beetle that scuttled its way back inside a nearby seam).

“Oh, you’re jokin’, doll! Best laugh I’ve had all year!” With that, he drew the humans close (how fortunate they’d all grouped together like that) into a big ‘hug’, feeling them struggle and squirm against his burlap arms.

“Why would ya bother with some rinky-dink party when ya got a perfectly good bash right here? You’re my guests, after all!”

Of course, the term ‘guests’ was definitely a rather loose description, all things considered…

“And you ain’t going nowhere!”

And so, what followed over the next couple of hours would be nothing but a truly fun time…well, for Oogie, anyway.

Christmas crackers!

Oogie presented the tray of ‘crackers’ to the assembled humans. “Pick yer poison! I guarantee it’ll be a scream!” This was something he’d been itching to try out, with a few…modifications.

It was a good thing that he’d kept around some of his old Oogie toys from a previous scheme, because how was he supposed to make folks fear for their lives with plastic toys and chocolate coins?

None of the humans moved from where they stood, each staring 

“Aw come on, don’t be shy! This is supposed ta be fun!” This comment surprisingly gathered a few weak chuckles from the assembled humans. “Well, fer me anyway!” The laughter, just as soon as it started, stopped. After a minute of debilitating among themselves, the humans pushed Ribbons forward, offering her up as a test subject to whatever twisted activity the Boogeyman had planned. Glaring back at her huddled friends, she stopped in front of the tray of treats, hesitating for a good long moment before a loud ‘ahem’ from Oogie made her just grab the one that was merely the closest to her. Hands shaking, the girl pulled the cracker open, revealing…..Nothing!

In spite of herself, she let out a sigh of relief…..not noticing the swarm of tiny, newly hatched spiders that were already creeping their way up her bound hands, and already steadily up her arms. A fact that Oogie noted with abject glee on his own part. And here he thought that those eggs wouldn’t hatch in time for the party! This night was already shaping up to be much more entertaining than he thought!

It took all of a minute before Ribbons felt the first bite.

“Ow!”

It took another minute before she noticed the first tiny, grey spider, blithely creeping its way up the wrist of her left hand, followed by a second, then a third...

Pained expression on her face, she attempted to swat the spider off. Which, given that her hands were currently tied to the front of her, made what would have been a otherwise simple task virtually impossible to accomplish. And the fact that for every tiny spider she managed to sweep off her Each failed swipe only seemed to spur the infant spiders on further, and it wasn’t long before Blondie found herself utterly beset by arachnids, her arms

Squealing in terror, the woman attempted to run, but tripped, landing in a all-too ungraceful heap on the ground. All the poor girl could do was squirm around in a truly horrifying combination of terror and disgust as the baby spiders crept their way over her skin, the inability to move combined with the occasional bites from the newborn arachnids a special kind of torment in itself. All that her friends could seem to do in that moment was watch in abject horror as Blondie writhed around in pure terror, her shrieks practically music to Oogie’s ears.

Oh, this was too good, just too good! Of course, the rest of his guests didn’t seem to share the same sentiment.

Standing frozen in abject terror, the only thing they could seem to do was watch as their friend squirmed, her cries of terror piercing their eardrums. “They’re crawling in my ears! They’re crawling in my ears!”

Of course, the newborn arachnids weren’t going to her ears, since they had already found the perfect place to make their nest…right inside of that nice, somewhat damp dark cave that was currently making that peculiar ‘AAAAAH!’ sound.

Practically beside himself with malicious glee, Oogie snickered at Ribbon’s suffering. “Bahaha! Looks like yer friend’s enjoyin’ her prize!”

With a grin that only appeared to be growing all the wider, he turned back to his ‘guests, extending the box once more to the now trembling guests, their eyes drifting downwards towards the gaily wrapped ‘gifts’. One of the crackers (a particularly tacky one that was patterned with obnoxiously red spades) squirmed rather violently, making an unusually loud squealing noise, while the green striped one appeared to be beeping, of all things….and like it or not, it would seem that they would be finding out what was inside of each of the crackers. “Now….who wants to go next?”

Games! (Spin the Sandy Claws)

“Ooh! Seven!” The girl with the ribbons in her hair attempted a smile, though with the angry red bites that covered her face, it looked more like the grimace of someone suffering some untold torture than anything. Oogie didn’t pick up on this however, instead offering back a grin of his own. “Looks like Lady Luck’s on yer side, doll….” His smile took on a more mischievous quality. “Though I can’t sat that for yer friend!” He pointed one nubby hand over to the nearby wheel, still gaudily glittering, where ‘Sandy’ currently was. Yes, the poor man had found himself strapped to the center of the swirly, light covered wheel (the previous resident now nothing more than a pathetic pile on bones on the ground nearby). Unfortunately for ‘Sandy’, however, the man soon found himself being spun over, and over, and over again…..and all by his friends too! Before he could do so much as blink, he soon bore witness to Ribbons reaching for the crank that would just bring him back to untold dizziness once more.

“Please….So dizzy…”

Underneath that white beard, ‘Sandy' was already turning a lovely shard of bright green, a fact that Oogie noted with wicked satisfaction. True, it wasn’t one of his more original ideas, but Oogie had to admit that it was pretty ingenious, if he didn’t say so himself. Getting his ‘guests’ to participate in their own torment…he should have thought of this idea years ago! With a quickly muttered ‘sorry’, Ribbons turned the crank.

Oogie watched the ensuing suffering, cackling wickedly as the wheel turned a good seven times, the man shrieking in terror all the while as it. Once the wheel had more or less stopped (and 'Sandy's' screams of terror had turned in dull, queasy sounding groans, he sauntered his way over to the slumped over man, being sure to snag the dice back from Ribbons along the way (who quickly scrambled to join the rest of her friends off to the side).

“You a gamblin’ man, Sandy? Whaddya say we raise the stakes, hm?”

The man offered up no response, save for a rather nauseated sounding groan.

“Tell ya what. If I get the next roll, I spin ya as many times as I like. If not, I’ll let ya go. How’s that sound?”

Though the man’s eyes were very nearly swirling around in his skull out of pure dizziness (and his complexion was now taking on a chalky hue from the fluorescent green that it had been earlier), he still had enough strength to croak out a single word. “S-sure-“

Bad idea!

That momentary agreement was all that Oogie needed. With an all-too eager chuckle, Oogie rolled the dice…and his smile disappeared as quickly as the skull-carved dice landed on their intended outcome. 

“Snake eyes!” He growled, sockets narrowing. This wouldn’t do at all! How was he supposed to make ol’ ‘Sandy Claws’ spill his guts if he wasn’t strapped to the wheel? Of course, whatever relief that ‘Sandy’ might have felt in that moment would be short lived.

With one mighty SLAM, the Boogeyman quickly overturned the unfortunate roll. “Wouldya look at that? Eleven!” Sauntering his way over to the bound man, he cupped the man’s cheeks in his burlap hands. “Looks like you ain’t going nowhere, Sandy!”

The Boogeyman’s self-satisfied grin made the man’s eyes widen in horror, finally not dizzy enough to realize that yes, he had been had.

Sputtering in protest, the man attempted to form some type of response, to reply about how that he should be let go, that he’d seen the Boogeyman obviously cheat to get his way, something, anything…but he instead found himself only just barely stuttering out the beginning of a sentence. “B-but-“ Before ‘Sandy’ could protest any further, he soon found a burlap hand covering his mouth. “Uh-uh. You had yer chance, and the dice didn’t favor ya.” His grin widened, and he tossed the dice in the air once more. “Now, how about we go for a bakers dozen, hmm? I’ve got a hot streak comin’, and I ain’t intending on breakin’ it!”

Dancing!

What was a shindig without dancing? Not a very good one in Oogie’s option. A jazzy, somewhat honky-tonk tune coming from somewhere in the walls, a bowl of swampwater punch, a cute partner to dance with….that was all you needed to have yourself a proper dance, really.

Sure, his ‘partner’ wasn’t so much as dancing as she was being forcibly spun around like a demented top (there wasn’t much participating that you could do when you had both hands tied together), and was looking more like she would vomit with every forcible spin than anything else, but Oogie didn’t care. He always did like to lead, after all…

Of course, the scene of the ‘dance floor’ (which was really just the floor of his lair, only with a faint disco flair that crossed over the blacklight aesthetics) was lacking one guest, namely Red-Nose. Even just thinking about that deer-dressed man was still enough to make him fume internally at the sheer gall of what the man had tried to do…which in this case was trying to leave the party before the fun had really begun. The onesie-clad man had just took of and run the moment that the Boogeyman had turned his back, practically booking it as fast as he could go towards the twin doors that lead out of the lair.

Why, it was downright devious, utterly underhanded…he would have been flattered if it hadn’t been for the fact that one of his ‘guests’ was attempting to flee under his nose!

Fortunately (or in the case of Red-nose, unfortunately), he soon found the vast, shadowy form blocking his way. “Tryin’ to bow out on MY party?”

At the mere sight of the Boogeyman emerging from the ground, cloaked in shadows, formerly black sockets glowing a noxious yellow-green, the man froze in place, unable to do little more than gape in shock like a dead fish. Hey, it paid to be able to meld your physical form with the shadows at will, and especially when there were attempts to escape that were admittedly as pathetic as this. “Sorry ta disappoint, Red-Nose! You ain’t going nowhere!”

And just as soon as the man’s escape attempt had been hatched, it was soon un-hatched, and within the amount of time that it took to say ‘Boo’, the man found himself slung over one burlap shoulder, much like a bag full of moldy Halloween candy.

But what to do with a runaway guest? Oogie couldn’t just let him wander around like before, mainly because he really didn’t feel like chasing after the would-be escapee again. He could stick him on the rack, and stretch him out a bit…but then where would he move the swampwater punch? Oogie pondered this for a good minute, barely feeling the feeble, panicked kicks to his burlap sides from his captured guest.

Then, an idea hit him. An idea that was so brilliant (at least in his own opinion), so horrible,  that it made the point on his head curl in pure delight.

So, ol’ Red-Nose wasn’t interested in being a guest at his party? Well, if that was the case….then the poor sap might as well contribute to his little shindig in another way, now shouldn’t he? And fortunately, Oogie knew just how the man could ‘help’…And so, after dumping a pot of extra-strength glue over the protesting man, sticking a couple of pieces of particularly shiny scrap metal to the now very sticky ‘guest’, and being affixed to one of Oogie’s best hooks, Red-Nose was resigned to helplessly rotate above the scene of the party, serving as a living disco ball whose cries of distress largely went unheard above the honky-tonk piano and saxophone.

Yes, Red-Nose was terribly afraid of heights, a fact that made Oogie laugh all the more wickedly as he hoisted the man a good eleven, no, twelve feet up in the air as the man begged to be put down, how he’d do ‘anything’ the Boogeyman wanted (play more ‘games’ even), just don’t leave him up there!

Oogie of course, wasn’t all that concerned about ol’ Red-Nose, nor whatever height related fears that the man possessed. Eh, he’d just lower the guy down later, after another round or ten of dancing….that escape attempt was pretty insulting after all, and he was in no mood to chase after the guy again if he did attempt to ‘escape’ once more. Let him suffer for a little bit, and then he’d let him down for some more ‘fun’, you know? Of course, given the rather…single-minded nature of the Boogeyman, it was more likely than not that Oogie would probably forget about ol’ ‘Red-nose’ when something more interesting captured his attention.

And in this case, it would be the remaining pair of ‘guests’, who were standing off to the side, attempting to make themselves look as small and unnoticeable as possible, a fact that the Boogeyman noted with obvious displeasure. Oh, this wouldn’t do at all! Those two were supposed to be having fun at his party, not standing around, pretending to nurse cups of swampwater punch!

Fortunately, Oogie knew just how to fix it. “Why don’t we get those wallflowers dancin’, darlin’?” The blonde merely slumped forward in his grasp, eyes swirling around in her head. “Guh…” Though his ‘dance partner’ was currently too out of it to formulate anything coherent, this was clearly enough for Oogie. “Oh, I couldn’t agree more! And I got just the thing ta do it…”

With that, he tapped a light-colored metal plate in the wall….and soon enough, some of his favorite creaions (a group of metal cowboys with slot machines on their chests and guns in their hands) began inching their way towards the two unaware party guests with a faint metallic whirr and an increasingly loud dinging noise.

Confused, Ribbons turned towards ‘Sandy’. “Did you hear some-“ Of course, she never did get to finish whatever it was she had been about to say, since her ear (and that of ‘Sandy’s’) soon caught wind of the single word that Oogie uttered. “Fire!” The pair looked at one another. Fire? Fire what? Of course, the pair wouldn’t have to ponder this for long, since there would come a sound that would answer that question…

Dingdingdingding…

BAM!

Fortunately for the two humans, the shots wouldn’t make their home in their flesh. Rather, the bullets would make their home

Still, even with the added muffling of the music, the sound of metal bullet hitting the equally metallic ground rang out in their ears like a warning bell, causing the pair to practically leap out of their skins….or at least a couple of feet up in the air, dropping the unfinished drinks they had been ‘nursing’ to the ground below. “AAAAAH!” But the metal men didn’t stop there. They fired once, twice, thrice: BAM! BAM!, again and again…It was all that the two could do to avoid the bullets, frantically hopping up and down from foot to foot, all in an effort to avoid a rather unfortunate hole through their tender flesh.

Why, if you looked at them, it seemed like they were dancing…sort of.

All that the two humans hoped in that moment was that the mechanical men would eventually run out of bullets soon, before they eventually got too tired to avoid a metal slug making its way into their feet. Whichever came first. Not that this was of any concern to Oogie, chuckled darkly at the two ‘dancing’ fools, nudging the still dizzy blonde woman with a burlap elbow, who just merely stared blankly.

“Looks like those two really know how ta cut a rug, huh, doll?” Blondie of course, didn’t offer up much of a response, save for a sound that suspiciously sounded a lot like an ‘Uuughgh…’ that escaped her gaping mouth. Oogie just laughed. “You said it, doll!”

And finally…

Oogie regarded his three guests, who were now all tied by the ropes around their wrists to the center of his over-large roulette wheel with barely contained glee. “Alright, everyone…comfortable?” He leered down at Ribbons, who turned a particularly sickly shade of white, and attempted to duck herself behind ‘Sandy’ (which given that they were more or less tied to the same place together, was little more than awkwardly angling herself sideways), muttering something that sounded a lot like ‘please no more crackers’. Oogie of course, just snickered at this.

Humans. They were ever so much fun!

Of course, as he stood in front of his bound guests, there was that nagging little feeling that he was forgetting about something, but what could it be? He’d made the snacks, played the games, what else was left? After a good minute or two of pondering this (and subsequently coming up with nothing), Oogie shrugged and

Eh, if he’d forgotten about it, it probably hadn’t been all that important anyway, now had it? Besides, there were much more important things for him to be focused on right now. Like this. “We’re gonna get to the best part a’ the night…the holiday feast!”

And he for one, couldn’t wait another moment…

Of course, the three humans didn’t share in their ‘host’s’ excitement, instead looking at one another with a silent grimace. To say that they weren't exactly thrilled with the new 

Yes, after the events of the past couple of hours, and with the given context of the ‘games’, ‘dancing’ and ‘ they’d just barely endured, a similar thought was running its way through their minds. Instantly, their brains began conjuring up images of rancid, disgusting food and drink that would most likely be forced down their throats.

But if that was the case, then why had they been herded to the center of the lair and been tied by their bound hands to the spindle part of the massive roulette wheel? And why was their 'host' looking even more 

 With as much of a polite tone as he could muster, Sandy tried to offer up a refusal. “Oh, we’re not hungry-“

But before the man could say anything further, Oogie cut him off with a . “Oh, this feast ain’t for you. It’s fer me! All a’ this party plannin’, bein’ a good host and all that junk…really works up an appetite! A guy’s got ta have somethin’ to eat after all a’ that!” He grinned, a sight that sent chills down the spines of the three humans. “And I was thinkin’ of having…” His grin grew wickedly jagged, looking for all the world like a set of incredibly sharp teeth.

“You!”

With a single fluid movement (or rather a button press), a swathe of flooring (the one that was directly away from where Oogie currently stood) dropped away, making the ‘guests’ flinch slightly at the sudden sound. What? He had been getting a bit bored with the old ‘leave your victim on a slab and slowly lower them in’ routine, the….incident from the last time he’d had a ‘Sandy’ in his lair still was a little too fresh within his mind after all.

Besides, it would be ever so much fun to watch them drop in once they had no more floor to stand on!

More than a little eagerly he snatched up his dice, and he rolled. The first of many…

With every roll, the floor was slowly growing smaller and smaller around their feet with each passing second, every roll bringing the possibility of escape (which had already been a small possibility) further and further away as more   beneath their feet . A fact that 'Sandy' seemed to be mostly in denial of (though the amount of sweat that dripped its way down his brow seemed to say otherwise, though it could have honestly been from the heat of the bubbling    beneath his feet) “Ha, ha. Very funny! You really aren’t going to eat us…right?” Sandy looked at the Boogeyman more than a little desperately.

Oogie merely scoffed.

“Looks like I’m gonna have to wash ya down with some of that swampwater punch. Stupidity always leaves sucha sour taste.” As the man sputtered with either indignation or fear (likely a combination of both), Oogie wiped away a strand of drool that trailed its way out of his mouth. With these three, there’d be enough meat for him to stuff himself silly, and still have enough for leftovers!

All that tender, delicious meat mixing into the stew …Oh, it was making him ever so hungry just thinking about it!

“Ooh, just a couple a’ minutes boiling in my signature snake and spider stew, and your meat will be fallin’ right offa the bone!” The horrified protests and cries of distress from the three unfortunate humans were music to Oogie’s ears, whetting his appetite all the more. Why, he was so focused on the prospect of his coming feast that he almost missed the next throw and hit one of the bats that inhabited his lair in the head. What? You couldn’t blame him for being a little excited, now could you?

Of course, there was still the matter of how he was going to prepare those extra-special ingredients into his stew. “Now…do I just drop ya all in, or do I drop ya in one at a time, just so I can hear ya scream?” He feigned wiping a tear from one of his sockets. “It’s the little things that really make yer afterlife worth living’!”

Snagging his dice from where they’d landed, he gave them an extra good shake. Perhaps it would be better to just drop them all in at once, that way the three would cook more evenly. It always did spoil a good batch of stew when your special ingredient was too burnt tasting or not cooked enough after all. With that, he rolled again. “Seven!” Every roll brought another piece of the floor away, until there was little more than the single piece of floor underneath the guests, a mere layer of metal between and a rather gruesome end.

Oogie was practically beside himself with glee at this point, bugs thrumming with anticipation. Oh, he could practically taste all of that delicious, tender meat now!

The humans on the other hand, weren’t nearly so enthusiastic about the prospect of becoming a holiday feast, namely ‘Sandy’ who was looking more than slightly peaked at the moment, due to the now oppressive heat from the bubbling stew below and the mounting realization of his current situation. Beads of sweat practically dripping down the side of his face, the man pathetically attempted to say something, anything that could delay the horrible fate that surely awaited both him and his friends. “W-wait, you don’t want to eat us! You….you don’t know where we’ve been! We could have, um…diseases!”

Seeing the Boogeyman only smirk in response, the man merely wilted. “Or worms!” Blondie chimed in, attempting to grab a hold of the spiked edge of the roulette wheel’s spindle, and then shoving her hand away just as the spike poked her hand.

Ribbons, clearly thinking the ‘worms’ thing was a good idea, spoke the first thing that came to her mind: “Y-yeah! We probably have worms! Big ones!”

This response seemed to embolden the other humans who soon began clamoring over one another desperately, much to Oogie’s obvious amusement. “I-I’ve got worms as big as my arm!” Sandy replied, attempting to sound like the kind of person that would indeed have large parasites coursing through them. “I’ve got worms as big as my…eyes!” Ribbons added, cringing at how pathetic her response sounded to the others.

For a good moment, the Boogeyman appeared to consider this….but then he just laughed, and the humans all felt their hearts skink right down to the bottoms of their feet.

“Ya think that I’d let somethin’ as small as worms stop me from eatin’ ya ? Ha! I’m gonna need swampwater for the lot of ya!”

Snickering, he reveled in their now hopeless looking expressions.

“And if by any chance ya really do, I love worms! In fact…the more the merrier!” He smiled opening his mouth horribly wide, and the assembled humans got a terrifying glimpse of the writhing, squirming mass of invertebrates that lurked inside that burlap body…a place where the three of them would likely be finding themselves. Which, given how there was only a single circle of floor left, would be happening sooner rather than later, Oogie noted with satisfaction.

“One more roll of the dice ought ta do it!” And with that, the dice fell with a clatter…

While the three of them were far away enough from where the dice landed to not see the outcome of the roll, the dissatisfied growl that escaped its way from the Boogeyman’s mouth was more than enough of an indication to how that final roll had gone. The three humans breathed a collective sigh of relief. Of course, whatever momentary relief they might have felt in that brief moment was soon cut off by an all-too familiar thud…and a clatter.

“Ha! Jackpot!” Oogie sauntered his way back towards the     “Looks like I get ta enjoy my feast after all!” The three 

With an exaggerated wave, he pulled the lever one final time. “Bye-bye, ladies and Sand-Man!”

Two of the three guests attempted to scream, to plead for their lives, except for ‘Sandy’, who just barely managed to squeak out: “But my name is Gary-“

Of course, the man never did get to finish what he was about to say, as the trio were soon dropped directly into the stew below, screaming all the way down. With a wicked-sounding chuckle, the Boogeyman cupped one hand to the place on his head where an ear would have been, eagerly awaiting the ensuing splash that would signify the gruesome demises of his ill-fated guests…

Only, it never came. Oogie’s brow furrowed. “What the-“ Where was the splash? There was supposed to be a splash! Stalking over to the lever he had just pulled, the though only occurred to him just a touch too late that this was a little too similar to how certain events had gone before the ‘incident’…Somewhat hesitantly, he pulled the lever once more, watching as the center of the wheel came up once more to reveal….

Nothing!

In spite of himself, Oogie let out an all-too audible sigh of relief. Which of course, was short lived, given an all too farmilliar sound that made his bugs very nearly stop scuttling inside him. “Hello, Oogie.” That voice! No, it couldn’t be…whirling around, Oogie looked around, attempting to pinpoint the sound of the voice. A loud ‘ahem’ soon drew his attention upwards, towards the singular barred window above his lair….and who should be waiting there? Why, a tall, spindly, slender fellow in a pinstriped black and white suit, skull glinting in the light, legs dangling off the side of the window where he was currently sitting…Jack Skellington!

Oogie trembled, in spite of himself.

After all, how could he not?

Despite the swaggering, loud-mouthed bully that he was, Oogie was downright…terrified of Jack. Jack wasn’t one of the most fearsome creatures in the land of All Hallows Eve for nothing, after all, a fact that was largely forgotten about once the same old hatred reared its ugly head. Why, to him, it was all-too clear that the insufferable bag of bones had cheated him out of his feast.

How dare he!

He’d kidnapped those meatbags fair and square, and the bone man had no business snatching them back! Of course, that would be a moot point at the moment, given how much Oogie’s voice shook as he addressed Jack. “J-jack! I thought you were at that little party with your ragdoll! What’re ya doin’ back so early? Music selection not good enough for ya? Did it turn out ta be a cash bar?”

Hopefully, he could play dumb for the time being, and hope the skeleton man wouldn’t notice the fact that he was already trembling. “Oh, I was.” Jack’s tone took on a slightly more venomous tone. “And that ‘rag doll’ you’re referring to has a name. It’s Sally. And I won’t have you disrespecting her.”

Paying no attention to Jack’s words, Oogie merely glowered upwards at the skeleton. What was that guy doing up there, lounging around all unbothered-like? Why, it was downright insulting! How was he supposed to spring all of his nastiest traps on him if that pile of bones wasn’t going to come down here and face him?

Seemingly impervious to the Boogeyman’s glare, Jack continued on. “You see, Sandy Claws mentioned something about having some trouble at his workshop, and I told him that I’d sort it out for him….I do owe him a bit after all.” Oogie’s eyes narrowed. Since when did those two get so chummy? Of course, Jack’s next words were enough to snap him directly out of those thoughts entirely. “Apparently there were some intruders in his toy factory-“

Quickly, Oogie rushed to save his own hide.

“Oh I told those three not ta go out to that Sandy Claws’s realm! They just go wherever they want, but then again ya can’t fault them if they want to explore or if they want ta get up to a little human kidnappin’ in their spare time…Kids, huh? Ya know I love ‘em!” He concluded this sentence with a chuckle, though it sounded more nervous than anything. And speaking of kids, those three better make themselves scarce when they got back from wherever they’d went, otherwise they’d really be feeling his wrath. (Once he came up

Jack’s eyes narrowed, and he drew himself up just a little straighter, and in spite of himself, Oogie felt a chill run up the place where his spine would have been. “Funny, I never said anything about Lock, Shock, and Barrel being in Sandy Claws’ realm, Or anything about humans being kidnapped.”

Internally, Oogie cursed both his own stupidity and his own henchmen.

Oh, those kids were going to get it when they returned to his lair…why, the moment that they returned, he was going to…subject them to the worst thing that they could think of! And multiply it by….four!

Of course, that was if that Skellington didn’t pull him apart first. With as much false bravado as he could muster, Oogie did the only thing he could in this situation…beg. “Aw come on Jack, have a heart! Y-you can’t fault a guy for havin’ a little fun, can ya?”

At this, Jack’s sockets narrowed. “You and I have very different definitions of fun, Oogie.”

Oogie scoffed. “Ya wouldn’t know fun if it bit ya on the skull, Skellington.”

Jack actually looked offended at this, much to Oogie’s satisfaction, but quickly replaced by that very same old self-righteous king-ness that Oogie despised so much. “Release the humans in your captivity at once, or you’ll have to deal with me! “

Of course, this did nothing to sway the Boogeyman in the slightest.

“Oooh! I’m quakin’!” The sarcasm was all too palpable in Oogie’s tone as he leered up at the skeleton man, who merely scowled back.

“What’re ya gonna do if I don’t give you my little treats, Jack? Pull me apart?”

Though this appeared to be a self-confident challenge from someone who was admittedly as ego-driven as Oogie was, there was a notable undercurrent of fear that was all too present within the Boogeyman’s tone, for in spite of all of his bravado…he was terrified that Jack really WOULD pull him apart.

Besides, how could he not?

As much as Oogie hated to admit it, being pulled apart and having his vulnerable buggy insides exposed to the outside world was a real threat, especially when you were mostly held together by easily snaggable black threads that kept your bugs from escaping. The last time that Jack had done that, it’d taken him ages to collect enough creepy crawlies to rebuild his physical form. Not to mention the snake wrangling and spider searching! Did he even know how many yards of burlap it took to craft an eight-foot tall sack body, and how much thread it took to contain several thousand assorted bugs and insects?

Not that he’d know how much exactly, since he’d made Lock, Shock, and Barrel do all the work (and they’d complained the entire time, too), but still!

Jack sighed, running a bony hand across his skull. “Oh no, I’m not going to pull you apart, Oogie. Burton knows you’d just find some way to pull yourself back together again.”

As much as he’d hate to admit it (and Burton above, he did), Oogie felt rather…conflicted about this.

Was he supposed to be relieved at the fact that he wasn’t going to have to worry about being ripped apart, or insulted about the fact that Jack no longer thought that he was worth the effort to face off with in the first place?

As if sensing the Boogeyman’s confusion, Jack continued on. “In fact, I came here for a much different reason, old friend.” Oogie bristled somewhat nervously. Not to push him into his own stew, he hoped.

But instead, Jack…smiled, most surprisingly. “….To give you a little gift.”

For a moment, Oogie merely blinked in shock, too stupefied to even come up with a retort or insult. That was until a big old grin broke out over his face. “Ha! Is that all?” This was turning out much better than he expected! First ol’ Skellington was too cowardly to come down and face him (at least in his opinion), and now he wanted to give him a gift? Oh, that was just too rich!

Practically shaking with glee, Oogie could hardly contain the gales of laughter that were escaping him. “Whatcha gonna do? Holly-jolly me ta death? Pelt me with peppermints? Put me on Sandy’s ‘naughty list’? Oooh, I’m tremblin’!”

Opening his mouth even wider, he laughed again….. And that’s when something abruptly hit the back of his throat, making him gag. What in the netherworld was that? He smacked his lips, a very odd taste spreading through his being. It was….oddly sweet? Somewhat fruity….and with a very peculiar after-taste. Sort of…plant-like? If that was the word for it?

“What the...?”

What they heck did Jack just do to him? And why did he could have sworn he heard the word ‘Soul robber’ just now? No matter. Jack was gonna get it, even if Oogie had to come up there and face him himself! But just as soon as he reached for the nearest button, he felt…strangely warm, and…toasty inside…Blinking, he looked back up at Jack.

Why was the bone-man now so….fuzzy looking? And why was the room getting all spinny? Was

“Whaddya tryin’ to do, ya -“ Of course, he’d never get to finish whatever threat had been on the tip of his burlap lips.

Much like a rotten tree in a particularly strong wind, the Boogeyman swayed from side to side for a good moment, before toppling over with an audible THUD that seemed to shake the foundations of the lair. He landed, none too gracefully (Though fortunately for him not into the still bubbling pot of snake and spider stew), flat on his back, limbs spayed out to the sides much like an overgrown, burlap starfish.

Jack waited with bated breath, hardly daring to move a ligament if by any chance the Boogeyman were to suddenly awaken…Nothing.

Carefully, Jack crept his way down the wall, catlike grace making traversing the steep walls of the lair a task accomplished with ease. He approached the Boogeyman’s prone form, more than ready to face an angered Boogeyman if need be. Cautiously, he prodded Oogie’s side with one foot. “Oogie?” No response, save for a very loud, and rather contented sounding snore. Dead asleep.

Jack let out an all-too audible sigh of relief, running a bony hand over the top of his smooth skull. “I’ll have to thank Sally for the nightshade drops once I get back to the party. That was quick thinking on her part.”

While it had been Sandy Claws who had given Jack the ‘sugarplum’ to help combat the Boogeyman (such a simple name for a peculiar treat), it had been Sally who suggested that a drop of Nightshade juice (always handy to keep on you if you ever needed to make a potion) to make the Christmas treat just a little extra potent (a fact that Sandy Claws had agreed to, most surprisingly. Why, looking down at the sleeping form of the Boogeyman, it was remarkable that the little Christmas treat, combined with a bit of Halloween, was able to achieve that!

By why stop there? Sandy Claws had mentioned how these treats were usually put into the large socks of children (those who ended up on something called the 'nice' list) to give them extra-sweet dreams, but perhaps they could be used to create other kinds of dreams.

Dreams of Halloween, perhaps?

Why with the right ingredients, he could improve upon the Christmas treat even more, and give it a little Halloween twist to make it even more wonderful…But as soon as the thought entered its way into his skull, Jack shook it off. No, there was going to be no meddling around with other people’s holidays for him….he’d more than learned his lesson after that whole Christmas debacle after all. Being the Pumpkin King was more than enough for him, and Sally, his dearest friend was worth more to him than any of the wonders the holiday realms combined!

Besides, he had more important things to concern himself with….mainly the three humans who were now hesitantly peeking out from behind the jagged doors.

Composing himself, Jack turned towards them. “I’m so dreadfully sorry for everything that you’ve been through tonight.” While it hadn’t been Jack’s fault that he’d been unaware of Oogie’s scheme, it was his duty to set things right after all, and in this case, that meant getting them back home, to safety.

The three humans all looked at one another for a good moment, clearly unsure of what to make of the pinstripe-clad skeleton standing right in front of them. “Now, if you’re ready, why don’t we leave this dreadful place behi-“

Of course, Jack never did get to finish whatever else he had been about to say, since he was soon cut off by three grateful (if not more than a little desperate) voices, practically clamoring over one another in an effort to show just how eager they were to escape from this dreadful place. “Yes!” “Oh please, that’d be wonderful!” “I never want to see another bug….ever. Like ever again!”

And so, the fortunate three left that horrible lair behind them, and guided by the Pumpkin King, found themselves in a very ordinary looking cemetery (save for a peculiar, spiral-shaped hill just off in the distance), at a crypt that would lead them back to the world that they belonged in. And with a few quick promises to be more careful, Jack left to return to the holiday party he had so unceremoniously slipped away from (and to a very relieved rag doll) and the humans entered the crypt (perhaps more than a little quickly) landing in a rather messy, but very still much alive heap on the cold, mossy ground of their local cemetery.

And so, with a few quick words of goodbye to one another, the three fortunate humans made their way back to their respective homes as quickly as they could, each promising themselves to never tell a solitary soul about 

Yes, for these former ‘guests’ of the Boogeyman, it would seem that one of the greatest gifts that they would be receiving this year would be their own lives.

After all, there weren’t many (and believe me, that number is far scanter than the paltry number that you are likely imagining) who could say that they had the chance to not only encounter the Boogeyman, survive through his twisted ‘games', and actually LIVE to tell the tale.

Though in the case of these three, it was likely a tale that they would be keeping to themselves. Right now, the only thing they desired the most out of anything was to make it to their respective homes and have a nice, well-deserved rest after all that they had been through on this December night…and perhaps a nice, long, very hot shower to attempt to wash the feeling of creepy-crawly feet from their skin.

But it wasn’t until hours later, when the three of them were safe and snug in their respective homes, that something came to their minds, perhaps just a touch too late for them to do anything about it…

Hadn’t there been FOUR members to their unfortunate little group?

Meanwhile, back in the lair…

The lair itself had gone uncharacteristically, almost eerily silent, the only noise at all being the contented snores of Oogie, and the faint bubbling noises from the now unattended pot of snake and spider stew.

Yes, the Boogeyman was dead asleep, and would likely remain that way for several hours, if not more, where upon waking he would promptly blame Jack for his perceived misfortunes (and surely find a way to torment the three hapless trick-or-treaters for their perceived slight that cost him his feast, after they found him a replacement meal)…and the splitting headache that he would have upon waking from the nightshade-infused sugarplum.

And somewhere, in that realm of Halloween, three trick-or treaters felt a shudder run up the length of their spines, as if …and then went right back to flinging clumps of dirt at one another. (Why? Because it's fun.)

But none of that mattered at the moment, for right at the current moment he was dead asleep, the snake that made up his tongue lolling out of his gaping mouth almost comically, utterly immersed in a dream world designed specifically for him…where he was the undisputed ruler of the realm of Halloween, sitting on a throne large enough to contain all his magnificence, a twisted crown upon his brow. In front of him, the citizens were groveling at his feet, kowtowing and clamoring over one another with praise and favors alike, serving him the finest Halloween delicacies (Frog-eye tarts, black moss cupcakes, sandworm steaks, baby bat ribs, and of course his signature snake and spider stew) piled high on cracked plates, building terrible traps for the upcoming Halloween …oh, it was good to be king! Directly in front of him was his old enemy Jack, now little more than a pathetic jester (ridiculous costume and hat included), shakily attempting to both balance himself upon an overly large striped ball while juggling pumpkins.

He was not doing very well, as the snickers from his former subjects seemed to suggest.

As best he could, the skeleton man gazed up at the Boogeyman most piteously, a pathetic wobble in his voice. “Oogie please! I’ve been doing these tricks for three days straight! Can’t you let me rest, even for a moment?”

Oogie mockingly ‘pondered’ this fact for a moment.

Then he laughed.

“Naw. You’re gonna have ta keep on dancing’ Jackie!” His smile took on a much darker quality. “Unless ya want me to put your head on the pike again, Jester-boy?”

Though the skeleton man was admittedly as white as a scream of fright to begin with, he seemed to go even paler if that was possible, the bells on his hat jingling miserably as he struggled to keep both his balance and the juggling balls in the air. “Oh no, please! Not the pike!”

Oogie laughed wickedly at the Jester-Skellingon’s misery (which was of course followed by the rest of the townsfolk laughing alongside him fearfully), slapping his burlap knee in pure merriment. “Eheheheh…..that’s right, keep on dancin’!” He turned to the ‘serving girl’ directly next to him, the Rag Doll who was struggling to carry a truly massive platter of tiny yellow-brown treats. “Now, why don’t ya give yer king some more of those fried maggots, dolly?” In the non-dream world, a dopey-looking grin spread across Oogie’s face, and he chuckled to himself more than a little merrily.

Yes, it would seem that Jack had given Oogie a gift after all, it would seem.

Tonight, the Boogeyman’s dreams would be sweet, or at least as sweet as they could be when you were as someone who was by all accounts as terrible as he was. But for a certain individual dressed like a red-nosed deer, things were decidedly on the much less ‘sweet’, that was for certain.

Yes, old ‘Red-Nose’. Remember him? You better, since Oogie (and by some extent, the rest of his friends) sure didn’t!

The poor man was still dangling far above the scene of the party, having effectively been forgotten about by Pumpkin King, Boogeyman, and friend alike to a fate that was becoming more and more uncertain with each passing second.

Pathetically, he twisted around on the hook as best as he could, desperately attempting to catch a glimpse of his friends, hoping that he could find out what had happened that had made his friends go so abruptly silent. While he hadn’t exactly picked up on the exact moment that everything had gone quiet (nor the fact that he had been essentially abandoned by…well, everybody), the near complete silence that he currently was hearing was more than a little worrying, even without the thrum of height-related anxiety that seemed to rush through his very being.

“Guys? Guys? Where did you go?”

Nothing.

“Guys?”

Yes, for this poor unfortunate soul, it would seem that he would be facing an uncertain future as of this very moment, though whether it would be to try and figure out a way down from this precarious place on his own, some form of rescue, or just being devoured by the Boogeyman upon waking (that was if he did remember that he’d stuck the human up there to begin with) remained to be seen.

“My arms are getting sore…”