I Don't Like This Plan...

I winced as Oogie's buggy, canvas-y lips touched my hand. I covered it up with a weak smile as I dragged Akane back next to me. "If I have to go through this, so do you!" I said through clenched teeth. "What exactly do you have planned after this, anyway?"

"You'll see..." she said impatiently, as if she was waiting for Oogie to do something. I tapped my foot to the tune I had heard everyone around town humming. He looked kind of interested at my sense of beat, and I stopped immediately as soon as I felt Akane nudge me.

"So... what exactly do you want with me, Oogie?" I said kind of bitterly, crossing my arms in front of my chest. He laughed at my question, and assumed the same position I had.

"Well, honestly, Dollface, I think you may need a new mentor other than that washed-out Pumpkin King." he replied, and I had to grind my jaw to keep it from dropping.

"You're joking." I laughed, and Akane gave me a look of alarm. "I'm sorry, but I have to!" I said, lauder than I should have. I knew this was going to blow our plan, but I had to. "You know, Oogie, I can honestly say I'm done with the villainy.

I mean, it was nice while it lasted, but by the time I was on my fifth apprenticing job, I realised: I don't want to be a villain! Who'm I trying to kid?" I ranted and raved, and I heard Akane's head smack her palm. We were screwed, and I knew it.

"I've gone through Olympus... Neverland... Atlantica... Agrabah... and I'm through! I'm being mentored by Jack whether you want me to or not, DiZ!" I yelled to the sky, and Akane and Oogie looked at me as if I was insane.

(Please continue...)

A Date with Oogie

I waited for Rosaxi patiently, only to find her panting and glaring at me.

"You so owe me." She growled. I sighed.

"Okay, I'll do something for you if we do this plan together." I said. Rosaxi nodded. She gave me her dice and I touched them if magic.

"Now roll the dice." I asked. Rosaxi rolled a four. Two bats came out. WE smiled.

"Okay, here's the plan." I started whispering the plan.

~

I went into the poker style room with no care whatsoever. Rosaxi was behind me.

"Wow, two hot ladies walking in my lair. Lovely!" The voice rang into the room. Glow-in-the-dark lights turned on. Oogie was looking at us with interest.

"Oogie, I would like you to meet the beautiful Rosaxi." I pointed to Rosaxi.

"Nice to meet you." Rosaxi said in a seductive tone. Oogie clasped Rosaxi's hand and kissed it softly. I can feel Rosaxi glaring at me for creating such a plan.

"While you two get to hang out, I'll leave you alone." I backed away slowly. I was stopped by the orange and black keyblade.

"Not so fast, Akane. You're in for the fun as well!" Rosaxi said to me. I was dragged back to my original spot. This was going to be interesting.

I'm No Gambler.

After we shook hands, I wandered back off to Jack's tower, comtemplating what had just happened. I walked past Jack and Sally, who were discussing something vaguely important to me as I wandered by. They looked up as I walked in, but I paid no attention to them, remembering Akane and I's pact.

"Rosaxi, wait! We have lessons tonight..." Jack started, and I turned around with the best fake smile on my face that I've ever pulled off.

"Of course, Jack!" I grinned, and he looked suspicious. "I'll be down soon, just give me a few minutes." Jack nodded in understanding, and let me go on way.

As soon as I got up to my temporary room, I rolled the dice, watching it land on snake eyes. I winced, and nothing really happened. I let my guard down, and went downstairs, my dice in my pocket, along with the letter. "Alright, I'm ready, Jack!" I called down, sliding down the banister. I landed on his hand, and he jumped back in surprise.

"Please don't sneak up on me like that, Rosaxi." he said, head in hand.

"Alright, Jack. What's on the agenda tonight?" I asked him curiously.

"Well, I was thinking I could walk you around Halloweentown, get to know you better. You are my... ward, I would say." Jack offered, and it was an awkward moment, a nice awkward. I hugged him around his thin waist.

"Oh, I would love that!" I said, jumping up and down, yet my head never reached his shoulder.

"So... let's get started! I promise to get you home before midnight; I remember what happened last time you pulled an all-nighter." he said thoughtfully, much to my delight.

***

It was midnight; the moon was high in the sky, and I looked down at the ground from my tower. I took a breath and jumped. I winced as my feet hit the hard stone. "Ooh, Akane, you so owe me." I walked at a fast limp toward the treehouse, hoping she had a plan by now.

Tricked or Treated?

I transformed my dice into spiders as we rushed to the tree house. The spiders went ahead and created a web to trip up the trio. Only Lock tripped and fell down. Inside the tree house, Shock was about to call Oogie when Rosaxi cut off the cable in time. Barrel wrote a letter, put the letter and a big bug in a cage, then threw the cage in a hole on the wall.

"Why you little-!?" I tried to strangle the little kids with my bare hands when Rosaxi stopped me.

"I summoned a ghost to get the letter. Nothing can go wrong!" Rosaxi reasured me. A ghost came into the room. He had nothing. Suddenly, a loud burp was heard. The cage came back from the hole, only to find the bug eaten and the letter gond. A new letter was the only thing inside.

"You were saying?" I said sarcasticly. Rosaxi picked up the note and read it.

"Dear Rosaxi, Thanks for the information. I'll be checking you out later, Ragdoll. From O.B." Rosaxi started to read, "PS I have a suprise for you." Our eyes widened as the letter started to smoke. We got ready to attack, but a pair of yellow and red dice came out.

"Wow, not a single heartless!" I was suprised.

"Besides the fact that Halloween Town might be destroyed, I love these new dice." Rosaxi picked up the dice.

"I have an idea! If you meet Oogie in person, then he'll be too busy with you to torture Jack." I whispered. Rosaxi nodded.

"After Jack's lessons, meet me right here at the tree house at Midnight. Don't tell Jack or Sally." I said. We shook hands on it.

Not Just Fun and Games

I smiled at the three kids and outstretched my hand. "Rosaxi!" I said happily, and Akane was shaking her head frantically beside me.

"They're trouble, Rosaxi!" she warned, and I turned to her.

"I think I've worked with worse than a trio of trick-or-treaters." I replied, and they each shook my hand in turn. "Amusing introduction, by the way. And I take it you know Akane?"

The trio giggled and nodded. The little devil, Lock, stepped forward and said, "Yes, of course we know her! We all work for Mr. Oogie Boogie, of course." When I looked confused, the little witch, Shock, stepped up and explained, "Mr. Oogie Boogie is the gambling master of Halloweentown... Jack never told you that?" I racked through my memory and figured out Jack had mentioned him to me, but as I remembered, I was yawning and the sun was rising.

"Yes, I believed he mentioned him while he was tutoring me..." That phrase made the four of them jump.

"He's... your... mentor?" Akane asked slowly, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel started laughing.

"WE KNEW IT!" they chorused, and skipped off. Akane's face turned from shock to anger. "Ooh. Someday I'm going to..." she started, but I cut her off.

"What just happened?" I asked, sounding a little slow.

"Well, since Oogie sent them here, something bad... he probably already guessed you were being taught under Jack. He sent them to investigate, and you told them what they wanted to hear."

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I feel so STUPID now..." I said angrily, pulling at my long, red streak in front of my eyes.

"Don't feel stupid, Rosaxi!" Akane comforted me, and I spun away.

"We should probably try to catch up with them." I proposed. "Got any tricks up your sleeves?"

Akane nodded, and right then I knew- this wasn't just fun and games anymore.