Oogie had left me in the dark once again. I tried desperately to get the chains off my arms, but my attempts only caused my wrists to bruise and bleed. Twelve warriors in six minutes. I had to get out of here, or at least warn them somehow, but how? I was chained to the wall. As much as I wanted to see them again; I wished they wouldn't come and would just stay safe. They would come though. Not because I deserved to be rescued, but just because they love me. I hugged my knees to my chest and cried in the dark. Then I heard him. "Welcome Jack Skellington!" Oogie boomed. I lifted my head. "Oogie! What have you done with my daughter?" I turned my head in the direction I thought Dad's voice had come from. Though in the dark I could not see him just knowing he was there made me feel better. "Dad!" I called out. "Lini, where are you?!" "Jack, we haven't seen each other in years and you can’t even say 'Hello'. Now, what kind of manners are those?" "Don't play with me Oogie! Where is she?!" "Well, if you really must know…" Then he turned the spotlight on again blinding me as before. "Lini!" shouted dad. My eyes adjusted to the light and then I saw him. Dad was really here to save me. I had to warn him. "Dad! He's …" and that’s all I was able to say before I was hit by a silencing spell. I couldn't speak; I grabbed my thoat in surprise. "Lini, are you okay?!" Then a different voice shouted, "Let Her Go!!"
I turned to see who it was and saw none other than Jr., Lock, Shock, and Barrel ready and armed. "What are you kids doing here!?!" shouted Dad. Oogie squinted his eyes curiously at them and said, "Is that… Well, well, well, what have we here? That isn't my old henchmen is it? It is. Lock, Shock, and Barrel all grown up. And I thought you kids didn't age. Even now you have to be at least thirty and yet you're teenagers." "Let her go Oogie." said Lock. "So, joined the side of good have we? How disappointing. I thought I raised you kids better." "Oh please," said Shock, "spare me the theatrics, you weren't a parent; you were a boss who didn't pay well." "Humph. You three never were very loyal. And after all I did you for you? No appreciation. That's a teenager for you." I half wondered if Oogie had forgotten about his plans or didn't care. Anyway while they talked Junior it seemed was trying to figure out how to get onto the platform I was on. But it was pretty friggin' high up. "But I'm willing to forgive." Oogie continued, "I currently have three open spots for some henchmen, and you three wouldn't need any training. So how about it? Lock?" "F* you!" Oogie looked pissed. "Shock, what about you?" "Go back to Hell!" "And you Barrel? Are you one of them too?" Barrel paused, and then said, "You know what? The good guy thing has been getting old." He grinned evilly. "BARREL!" everyone shouted at once, including me, though no sound came out of my mouth. He walked toward Oogie then turned towards the rest of them. "You know what? I'm tired of being a good guy. You can't do anything fun. We used to be feared when we walked down the street and now what? We play nice with the Skellington children? F* that. I'd be happy to be a henchman again." Everyone was very shocked by the news and stared at Barrel as though they’d never seen him properly before. Oogie smiled and said, "Come here my boy, you always were my favorite." "HOW COULD YOU BARREL!!" shouted Shock. Junior said, "What about Lini, Barrel?" "Lini? I never really liked her." To me he said, "See ya in Hell."
Oogie then took this opportunity to reveal his plan. "Now that we're all done here, let's move on. If you want Lini back you'll have to get past my Bug-Warriors. A spotlight came on revealing the warriors. Everyone now had their game faces on. "You have six minutes before my machine rips her to pieces. Good luck with that." He released the warriors.
