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Chapter IV
Down below, Oogie Boogie gave quite Sora and Tom a huge bearhug, almost suffocating them both.
"Gosh, I really owe you kids big time, don't I?" he said happily. "Congrats! You guys are mah new best friends!!"
"Uh, sir?" said Sora with a sheepish smile, his voice raspy from lack of air. "No offense, but bringing you back was an accident!"
Oogie's grip weakened and his face became serious. "'An accident?'" he repeated.
"Yes, sir." Sora said quickly.
The Boogieman released them and dropped them to the floor, the two boys gasping for breath. "Oh, well! These things happen!" he said, the smile on his face returning. "I was gonna kill y'all anyway, but now I have a pretty good excuse, don't I? Heheheh..."
Sora's eyes widened and his pupils shrunk. "'K-kill...?'"
Oogie laughed. "Why, yes! After all, child, it's been teo years since I was destroyed! And, as you can imagine, a Boogieman can get very hungry in that long period of time!"
But Sora wasn't looking at Oogie anymore. He was looking at the door at the other side of the casino behind Oogie; the one they had got in through. "Was that door always open?" he asked, looking at it and remembered closing it when they came in.
"Who the hell cares?!" Tom hissed. "A living potato sack is gonna kill us."
Oogie overheard them and had turned around to see the door. "Huh? Door? Whuh door?"
While Oogie had turned around, Jack Skellington himself had emerged from the shadows behind Sora and Tom.
"OOGIE!" he yelled, scowling, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THESE CHILDREN?!"
Oogie had not turned around yet. "Shut up with all of your commotion back th--JACK?!" He turned around and saw the Pumpkin King in all his skeletal glory.
"Oogie," Jack said, his scowl getting angrier, "release the kids this instant!"
Oogie's surprise turned into an evil smile. "Who's gonna make me, Pumpkin Wuss?" he said with sneer.
Jack stood his ground and took out his Soul Robber. "I'll give you three guesses." He turned to Sora and Tom. "Kids, Oogie has something planned! Get out of here now!"
"Uh, sure." said Tom.
"You don't have to tell us twice." said Sora, already heading for the door.
The boys escaped successfully and began to walk together on the path leading away from the Treehouse, the crisp autumn wind chilling both of them.
"Jack's gonna kick that guy's burlap ass, huh, Tom?" said Sora with gusto.
Tom turned around and glared at Sora, pointing at him. "If you love Jack so much then why don't you marry him?!"
Sora stared at Tom in surprise as the skeleton turned around and walked away. "What the heck is your problem?!" he said. "I know you're not very fond of Jack, but he just saved us and you should be grateful!"
Tom stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around.
"...Tom..?" Sora called after several seconds of silence.
"I've never been important to anyone." said Tom, still not turning to face Sora. "If Jack hadn't saved us, I would've gotten us out of there sooner or later."
Sora wanted to say that they would've died within minutes if Jack didn't come, but he saw Tom didn't feel like arguing.
"The only thing that Jack rescuing us meant that I was never meant to be the hero." Tom continued. "I'll just be plain, old Thomas Betelgeuse Bohnne forever. If I had saved us, I would've been a hero; someone worth talking to. But fate just couldn't attempt to give a damn about my wants. No sirree. That's my problem."
Sora looked away. "I'm sorry..."
Tom felt a bit guilty. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got angry at you like that." There was a few seconds of silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." And without another word, he walked into the Hinterlands.
"Yeah, see ya." Sora muttered, starting to head back to Halloweentown.
In Oogie's casino, things were beginning to heat up.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Oogie laughed, his belly shaking. "You're gonna be torn to peices, Jack!"
"Prepare yourself, Oogie." Jack said, getting into a fighting position. "I'm going to put you back in your place."
"Ooh, Jack, I'm shaking!" said Oogie with cruel sarcasm.
Jack charged toward him, his Soul Robber in the shape of a fist. "THEN GET READY TO RUMBLE, OOGIE!"
Oogie chuckled. Bring it on, Jack, he thought, This is gonna be really quick...
Sora returned to Halloweentown in a few minutes. He unlocked his almost empty apartment and went in. The walls were cracked in some places and were colored a faded white and the floor was made of brown wooden boards. Sora sleepily strolled over to his bed when a voice came from under it.
"Hey, Sora," said the red-eyed monster under his bed, his face hidden by shadows. "Did you have a good Halloween?"
"It was awkward to say the least, Morticai." said Sora. He plopped down on the creaky bed. "Hey, Morticai? Have you ever heard the last name 'Bohnne' before?"
The monster, Morticai, seemed confused. "No. Should I have?"
"Nah..." Sora yawned, lying down and drifting off to sleep. "But if you do...try not to get involved..."
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