Several years had passed since that fateful Christmas Eve. Halloween Town was changed by the knowledge of Christmas, and in time, other holidays. Every year on Christmas Eve, Sandy Claws made it snow as a gift to Halloween Town, and was a well-appreciated gesture among the creepy crawlies and macabre monsters.

It was far from the only change.

Oogie Boogie no longer lurked in the outskirts, destroyed by Jack as a final straw after the boogeyman tried to do away with Sandy Claws and Sally. Very few missed him - only three people in the entire town, in fact: his young henchmen, Lock, Shock, and Barrel. The trio came out with the rest of the town that first Christmas Eve to play in the snow, and even threw the first snowball right into the face of the Pumpkin King himself (much to Jack's amusement and laughter). For the first time in their devious little lives, they found joy in something other than trouble.

As the years passed, the little tricksters, no longer influenced by Oogie, became more playful at first, then began to test their new limits. If there was one thing the town could have been grateful to Oogie for, it was that he used to keep Lock, Shock, and Barrel both in check and occupied. When they weren't pulling pranks, they often looked for offerings to send down to the boogeyman's lair, or ran tasks for him, as under Jack's orders, he was forbidden to leave his underground home.

Now with more free time, and even more freedom than before, the sinister siblings occupied their time by finding new ways to cause trouble. More than that, something happened to them that rarely happened to the undead in Halloween Town.

No one - not even the trio - noticed it for many years. But there came a day where Lock came to Sally to help fix his shoes because they had mysteriously gotten too tight. Then Barrel found his shirt no longer covered his belly, and Shock realized the hem of her dress lifted above her knees. The changes were slow, gradual, but in time, there was no mistaking it: the tricksters were growing up. The common theory was it had something to do with Oogie's death. Lock, Shock, and Barrel had been with him for so long that perhaps under his influence, maybe even his power, they remained ageless, and as each year passed, a little of that influence left.

But no one knew for sure.

Several more years passed before they finally broke out of childhood and grew into teenagers. It made Halloween Town long for the days when the devious brats were small enough to crawl into spaces they weren't supposed to be and be satisfied with wrecking a few things and taking a few sweets. With age came maturity, nuance, and greater intelligence for more elaborate trouble.

In time, other changes came: the siblings better established themselves apart from their group.

Shock, always the most cunning, practical, and dominant of the three, completely declared herself as their ringleader after Oogie passed, instead of merely the guiding force keeping her brothers somewhat on target with their tasks. Her devious mind matured over the years from simple pragmatism to quiet calculation, which made any prank she was involved in a lot worse than it could have been had it been solely left in the hands of her brothers, and made dealing with her in person a hassle.

Barrel shot up like a weed, almost a head taller than his older sister, and no less round. He had always been the one easiest to get along with and sway over, and that didn't change much. In fact, it seemed Barrel had outgrown a lot of his need for trouble, or at least, wasn't up to the more obvious antics like his older siblings.

Lock, the middle child, and always struggling to crawl out of Shock's shadow, changed the most. From his outfit (some of the pieces stolen from mortals on ventures out on Halloweens past) and his newly-styled horns to try to appear taller than his sister, to his constant need to stick out from the group, he was the most reckless and noticeable, and often fought with Shock in public over her domineering attitude. But he found a way to channel that newfound rebellion.

Oogie's lair changed as much as its new occupants. Long gone were several elements in the casino. The giant roulette wheel was now stationary, and the yellow torture table in the middle long since removed. Many of the torture devices had been moved around or taken out entirely, though the lighting system remained to be re-purposed for a new kind of stage. Some of the old skeletons hung around the room, a mock audience to be entertained. The old chute had been replaced with a wider one, and then lengthened, the pipe circling the room at careful angles so those coming down from the tree house wouldn't get stuck or slide too quickly. The upper window now sported a rope ladder as a way out, with another rope ladder hanging from the bridge.

In the middle of the roulette wheel, several instruments had been set up, though it had taken time to get them all down here. Lock tuned his guitar as he waited for the others to arrive for the day's practice.

Shock controlled most of their other day-to-day operations. The Devil's Pitchfork was his idea, and something he could boss [i]her[/i] over if she wanted to remain his lead vocalist - even if part of him would never admit he let her sing lead as a way to keep her out of his hair. Still, it gave him a petty thrill to have something to hold over [i]her[/i] head for once, and Lock would savor it for as long as he could. And he had to admit, she had a great shriek, which worked for the style they played.

The chute rattled as someone came sliding down. Lock glanced over and saw the three-toed white feet first. Long pants with bones on them followed the feet, then a hoodie with a rib cage and arm-bones on the sleeves, and finally, a round, grinning face and wild green hair. Barrel somersaulted as he landed, then stood on his feet.

"You're actually on time for once," Lock said.

"Clown sprung my trap early," Barrel grinned. "You should've seen his face! It fell off and bounced into the sewer!"

"Yeah, yeah," Lock said, decidedly unimpressed. "Where's Shock?"

Barrel frowned in annoyance that his older brother brushed him off so quickly. He tapped his fingers on a snare drum just to make noise.

"On her way with the others," he answered. "They got caught up at the witch's shop."

Lock rolled his eyes.

"Probably to catch up with her 'bestie', Agatha."

That got Barrel to snort with laughter. Shock and Agatha tolerated each other [i]at best[/i]. Neither of the two witches ever stayed in the other's presence longer than they had to. Barrel climbed in his seat behind his drums.

"Guess I'll warm up while we wait for the girls," he said.

Lock just nodded and went back to tuning his guitar.

~~~

The Witch's Shop was the go-to for ingredients, potions, charms, and the occasional odd item. Shock hung out just outside the shop while she waited for the vampire twins, having no need to actually go inside today. Carmilla insisted she needed a refill of her throat spray to enhance her singing. Shock shared her opinion of such as she shared a cigarette with Carver.

"Delicate little Charmelia," she muttered as she handed it over. "'Oh, my voice is just [i]so fragile[/i] without it!' Please. She's not doing most of the shrieking."