Jack: Hello, and welcome to the final chapter of Origins! Those of you that reveiewed, join the party! There's chips and dips over at the snack bar, and Sugary has genorously provided SoBe Courages for all.

Sugary: SoBe Courage - the official drink of writers everywhere! -shameless advertising- And I hope you all enjoyed your E-SoBes last chapter. ;)

Jack: I'm sure they did. And, now, a brief public service announcement concerning the contest we had last chapter:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Sugary and Jack will no longer be taking entries for the contest. It's over. Kaput. Done with. If you send them an e-mail, review, or PM with an answer, it will be deleted without regards to the sender. So, remember: Don't do drugs, don't drink and drive, aspirin is not candy although it might look like it, and please, from now on, only send Sugary and her monochromatic, undead compatriot reviews of the story in general. Thank you.

END OF ANNOUNCEMENT

Sugary: And now to anounce our winners! Drumroll, please!

-drumroll sounds-

Jack: And the winners are: GirlyRaven14, Flight815Surviver, and Kirby-Chan263! Congratulations! -"We are the Champions" plays- Please come on down!

GirlyRaven14: steps onto podium OMG! You chose me! Jack Skellington chose me! -fangirl squeals, faints-

Sugary: -splashes GirlyRaven14 with cold water-

GirlyRaven14: wakes up OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!

Jack: Good job! Now, don't tell anyone the answer, okay? It's a secret. shakes hand of GirlyRaven14's

GirlyRaven14: OMG, you shook my hand! -fangirl squeals, faints again-

Sugary: tucks winner's certificate into her hands as GirlyRaven14 is carried away on a stretcher.

Flight815Surviver: -steps onto podium, accepts handshakes and certificate- I'd like to thank all of you. You're so great! And I'd also like to thank Jack for being such an awesome charicter.

Jack: Well, thank you. -bows-

Sugary: Don't let it all go to your head. It's big enough already. ;)

Jack: -looks disgruntled-

Kirby-Chan263: -steps onto podium, accepts award- Thank you two. Great job, Sugary. Keep up the great work in yor fanfiction career.

Sugary: Thank you very much! -bows-

Jack: Now that that's taken care of, the reviews:

Flight815Surviver:

Jack: We can't tell you how sad we are at the end of this great fanfic. But, for every ending, there's always a beginning.

Sugary: Must you always be so mysterious?

Jack: As mysterious as Myst Island. ;)

Sugary: -rolls eyes-

Jack: And we're glad that you're happy.

Sugary: BTW, I re-mailed your certificate to you. I hope it works.

Kirby-Chan263:

Jack: You hit the nail right on the head.

Sugary: And I hope that your certificate makes it to you. If not, give me a shout. I'll send it to you again.

ILoveEdgarHoakSkellington:

Jack: No, he didn't deserve it. Nobody deserves to die.

Sugary: Except Hitler.

Jack: Except him. He actually DID deserve it.

Sugary: And, no, I'm sorry, you did NOT win the contest. Jonathan does not become the mayor. Although that would be an interesting plot twist.

Jack: Think about it: Does Jonathan strike you as the kind of person that should even deserve to RUN for mayor, let alone become him?

OnlySkelly:

Sugary: Well, I'm glad that you like the story so much! And please, don't commit suicide over my story ending. There is a sequel in the works, and I'm assuming that you want to be alive to read it.

Jack: Unfortunately, it isn't coming out until next year, at best, due to Sugary's hiatus from the Nightmare community.

Sugary: I'll miss you, man!

Jack: I'll miss you, too.

Sugary: As a matter of fact, you can still find me on Fanfiction over at the ASOUE section, writing more stories about the Baudelaires and that dastardly Count Olaf. One will be a collection of Holiday stories, which I'm sure that Jack will enjoy immensely.

Jack: -big grin-

Sugary: And, for my fellow Myst players out there, I have a Myst-ASOUE crossover also in the works. It's still up in the air about its date of publication, though.

Jack: And thank you for your kind compliments about my scaring abilities. And I certainly could teach you - if you were dead, which I assume that you are not. You do show great promise, though. Keep it up. One hint: Keep quiet in hiding, try to get to your hiding spot before your intended victim, and learn the art of stealth. Once you have that down, anything is possible.

GirlyRaven14:

Sugary: Again, you're correct. I tried to add as many clues as possible throughout the story in Jonathan's scenes, and you've picked up on them. Good for you. Also, good job at figuring out my riddle.

Jack: -reads on- -panics- Oh yeah, I'm getting a restraining order.

Sugary: Great job everyone!

Jack: Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the epilouge - or final chapter, whatever you wish to call it - of "Origins: Rise of the Pumpkin King".

--Flashback--

Halloween Town, Jack's House, 11:05 PM

Jack sat at the edge of his bed, wanting to cry, but not being able to, since he was a skeleton and could not. Emily sat across from him, trying to give him some reassureance, and Sally sat at his side, hoping to cheer him up before his first big performance of the year. But in spite of being surrounded by his friends, Jack simply could not get over his co-worker's death.

"I killed him," Jack said miserably. "I scared him to death. Literally. He got hit by a car. It really WAS all my fault."

Sally put a cloth hand on Jack's shoulder. "No, it's not," she said. "You just lost your temper. It was an accident, nothing more."

"You don't understand!" Jack threw a book across the room in his anger and pain, almost hitting Emily, who quickly scurried out of the way and onto the ceiling. "He killed me! Out of vengance! And I was too blind to see it..." He sat back down, holding his skull in his hands. "I wish I were dead."

"Uh, Jack?"

"Oh, yeah, duh."

Emily skittered over to her student, a kindly look in her red eyes.

"Jack?"

He looked up at his teacher.

"I was in your shoes once. I have also caused a human death during a scare route. Strangulation with web. Dead within a matter of moments. I was only trying to get them to hold still, and I miscalculated. It's something that every Pumpkin Monarch must face. You've learned a great lesson, Jack."

"But I thought I was done with my training," he said, confused.

Emily laughed, a silvery laugh like the peals of bells. "You may have graduated to the next level," she said, "But no matter where you go or what you do, you will never stop learning." She looked once more at her student. "You have a great gift. A powerful one. And you must use it wisely. I do not know where fate will take you, Jack, but this you must recognize, whatever roads you might take. Now, go get ready. You're on in ten minutes."

Jack nodded and got up to leave for Town Hall.

"Oh, and Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do try not to lose your temper."

Jack gave her a thin smile and walked out of the room.

Halloween Town, Underground Cave, 11:05 PM

Jonathan woke up in a place he did not recognize, feeling disoriented and odd.

The underground cavern was so huge, it must have taken several millenia to form. There were pools of lava all over, the light from them casting an eerie glow over the cavern walls. And the entire place seemed empty.

This is strange, he thought. Why would his afterlife look like this? Unless...

Oh, no. It can't be!

He squealed in horror. Wait a minute. He squealed?

A nearby shard of glass revealed why. Jonathan looked at his reflection and once again squealed in horror.

He had become an insect. A tiny green centapede.

He jumped back in surprise. If he was really in Hell, then why had he turned into an insect? And why couldn't he remember anything? It was as if his death, for he was sure that he was dead, had erased all aspects of his life. He couldn't even remember his own name.

But one thing that he did remember was his personality. His love of gambling and games of chance. And he even recalled his old cardshark name, back when he had been - oh, God, what age had he been then? 20, perhaps? Hadn't he been named Oogie?

Oogie. So that was his name.

But there was something else, too. A memory of his last moment before death. He saw himself running, but for what reason? He saw himself turning, looking back at a skeleton, who wore an angry look on its face, then one of horror. The memory cut to black from there, and that, Oogie assumed, was when he was killed. The skeleton must have killed him. But what was its name?

Oogie roared in frustration (or as well as a bug could, anyway). He had to get rid of his killer. And somehow, he knew that it lived here - not in the cavern, of course, but where the cavern was located - somewhere in the strange land that he now found himself.

Suddenly, a soft skittering sound was heard - starting out very low, and rising into a massive roar. Something was approaching from the dark recesses of the cavern, the areas not lit by the lava, and to Oogie's surprise, he saw a large swarm of various insects, spiders, reptiles, and scorpions come crawling towards him. Afraid that he might be eaten by the larger creatures, he stumbled backwards, almost falling into the lava and putting a quick end to his afterlife.

But something caught him. A black-and-white striped snake, obviously different from any snake seen on earth. It slowly and gently lowered him to the floor, far away from the bubbling lava below.

For the first time, Oogie noticed that the insects and various other creatures were carrying some sort of massive cloth, perhaps burlap. A small spider, trembling in fear for some reason, was pushed out of the crowd, squeaking in protest in some strange insect tongue, but Oogie understood every word.

"But I'm frightened, Aramel."

"You will speak to him. He will not harm one of his breatherens."

"But... I..."

"SPEAK!"

The tiny creature sighed. "I... will, sire," It said before crawling forward in obvious reproach. Oogie watched in confusion as the spider walked towards him. Why was it so frightened of him? Was it because he was bigger, or was their some other reason?

The spider stopped just in front of Oogie, then bowed before him, as if he were some sort of God. The spider began to speak to him, shakily and rapidly, in some sort of strange insect tongue, but Oogie understood every word

"Please," it said, "We have been waiting for you, Mr. Boogy man, sir, to free us from this dreadful darkness. We are so weak alone, but together, we are strong. Please, we beg you to lead us, liberate us from our insect forms; help us become stronger... if it's not too much trouble. We can help you."

Oogie felt empowered. This could be his chance to get back at his killer - whatever its name was. He looked out at the crowd, and the crowd looked back at him, waiting to see what would happen.

A snake in the back row piped up in a low hiss, which Oogie again understood perfectly.

"My Lord," it said, "Do you accept?"

Oogie looked at how many creatures were there. The power of that many single souls in one person, with him leading them... his strength would be unparalleled. He knew what his answer must be.

He looked once more out at the crowd, and, raising his voice as high as he could muster, said "I accept!"

The crowd cheered, a strange buzzing squeak, and followed Oogie into the mass of cloth they had set before him. The creatures distributed throughout it, eventually becoming arms, legs, a body, then a head. But, it had no voice - yet. Oogie jumped into the mouth of the large figure before him, surprised he could jump that high, and felt the immense change in size and viewpoint; the raw power of millions combined as one. And he controlled them all.

He picked up a broken shard of glass and examined his new form. "Well, then," he said in a surprisingly deep voice. "Yes... this is perfect!" He gave an evil little chuckle, which built into a laugh, then into a massive roar that shook the entire cavern.

So was the dawning of the Oogie Boogie Man.

Halloween Town, Town Hall, 12:30 PM

"And as we close tonight's celebration, let the record show that this was the dawning of a new leader for our horrid holiday; a new Pumpkin King. Please put your hands, tentacles, and various other appendages together for our new leader, Mr. Jack Skellington!"

Emily finished her speech to the roar of applause and stepped off of the podium.

"Knock 'em dead," she whispered to Jack as he steped on stage. "And don't sweat the small stuff, okay?"

"I'll do my best," he replied, stepping onto the podium.

"My fellow denizens of Halloween Town," he begain, "I come to you tonight with the utmost humility. Tonight, as many of you may well know, was my first scare route. My first year as your leader."

Here, he paused to collect his thoughts on what to say next.

"But Halloween, as we all well know, is not all fun and games," he continued. "There is a great challenge. We all must know when a scare is too much for any normal human to bear, or too little to evoke a good reaction. I'm afraid that, in a fit of anger, I overlooked this simple fact, as I'm sure we all have at some point. For during tonight's festivities, there was a dreadful accident, and I do not mean dreadful in the sense of a good scare occurred. I mean that a person from the real world has been killed in tonight's celebration; a person that I know from a previous life."

Silence from the crowd, except for a few murmurs of comfort from the back row.

"His name was Jonathan Hurley. He was a co-worker of mine. And he was also my killer."

The crowd gasped in horror and several comments of disapproval erupted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please! Calm yourselves. I am disappointed in his choice as well, but if he had not killed me, I would never have come here, now would I?"

The crowd began to fall silent once more.

"I accidentally stumbled upon him during my scare route," Jack continued. "I was so angry when I found out that he had... when I found out about what he had done, I lost my temper and scared him into running into a busy road."

Jack again paused to figure out how to word the rest of his speech.

"He never noticed the drunken driver in the convertable. His neck snapped on impact. Dead within seconds." He looked out at the crowd, hollow sockets surveying the faces of the audience for signs of remorse for his predicament. To Jack's great surprise, several members looked sorry for him, even guilty, instead of angry and shocked by what happened.

"I doubt that Mr. Hurley is here tonight," Jack continued, "And tonight was a dark day in my history, but I have learned one thing throughout all of my travels. Both life and death are not easy - although, in this case, the latter is more enjoyable."

Laughter erupted from the crowd.

"And so, I leave you with this last thought," he concluded. "As we close on this successful year, and as I enter my term of leadership, may I just say that we have turely made this year a terrifying one, and it's all thanks to you. Keep up the great work, and let's make next year's Halloween just as great."

But I do wonder, Jack thought to himself, Is there more out there? More towns like this in strange realities unlike my own? And where?

Emily suddenly crawled onstage, holding a box wrapped in shiny purple paper.

"Jack," she said, "It it customary to give the new leader something. A companion of sorts. And I'm sure many of you out there in the audience remember my cat, Midnight."

With this, a rather lanky black cat leapt onto the podium, purring. Emily scratched it behind the ears, and it hopped down, circling her.

"I figure that since you don't look like much of a cat person," Emily said, "You'd rather have a canine friend to share your adventures with." She handed Jack the box, picked up her cat, and walked offstage.

Jack looked at the box, then proceeded to unwrap it, and as soon as he took the top off, a shimmering white creature flew out of it, flying around his head and yipping excitedly. It stopped in front of Jack's face, looked at him with curious eyes, then licked him, its orange nose glowing brightly, and Jack soon realized that it was a ghost dog Emily had given him.

The dog picked up something out of the box, a coller with a shiny silver tag. On the tag was engraved 'Zero'.

"Zero," Jack said. "So that's your name, huh, boy?"

The dog yipped and allowed Jack to put its coller on, to the awws of the crowd.

"Thanks, Emily," Jack said.

"I'm sure that you two will be great friends," she said, "Wherever your adventures take you."

Jack gave her a huge grin. He knew that she was right. About the dog, of course, but also about the adventures comment. And as he accepted the applause from the crowd, he wondered exactly when that would be. He didn't know when, of course, but when it did occur, he'd be ready for it.

--End Flashback--

Jack: Well, that's it. It's all over. Thanks for coming to the party, and now, Sugary, I believe you have something to say?

Sugary: Yes. The dedications. This story is dedicated to my BF Nee, my Mom for putting up with me being on the computer so long, Tim Burton, for coming up with such a cool story for the movie, the crew who worked on the movie, the creative Team at Cyan and Broderbund for coming up with the game Myst, which I enjoyed in my freetime and have recently won - BOO-YA! - and everyone else who has helped me out with this fic. Some of the referances, like the Ouija board, hand-out-of-ground Corpse Bride referance, any ASOUE referances, and everything else, including movie, book, and game quotes, belong to those who own them. Thank you.

Jack: Well... Goodbye. I'll see you after your hiatus, Sugary.

Sugary: I'll see you, too. I'll miss you.

Jack: Oh, come here, you... -hugs Sugary-

Audience: Awww...

Fangirls: -jealous, thinking- How come Jack never hugs ME like that?

Sugary: Well, goodbye, y'all. I hope you enjoyed the story. I know I did. Keep an eye out for me in the ASOUE section, and keep on doing the things you do. Peace out.