Lock took a drag as he listened. As Carver spoke, a few more pieces clicked into place. He started to recall a few details, such as the prank preparations, and even this morning. He pondered on it, and just let the information come to him. By the time Shock and Barrel rejoined them, he at least had a decent grasp of the whole situation, and was starting to remember his side of things.

Barrel climbed up into the tree house first. He looked pleased with himself, as things has gone well in the pumpkin patch, and he was beaming about what little he heard went down in the graveyard. Sounded like Lock messed up big time. Lock worked on his third cigarette as the pieces of his encounter with the vampires began to fall into place.

Shock entered last. She flew up into the tree house on the broom, then gently landed on the middle of the room. Lock flicked some ash as he waited for the inevitable and brought the cigarette to his lips again. Barrel was still beaming until he picked up on his older brother's demeanor, then his smile began to fade. It worsened when Shock set the broom aside, crossed her arms, and glared at Lock. Barrel decided to join Carver as Shock set her sights on the middle trickster.

"You almost cost us this whole thing," she snarled. "[I]Fortunately[/i], I spotted Lillith and Carmilla in the square on my way back, so they shouldn't be a problem."

Lock's tail flicked in irritation.

"Hey, it wasn't [i]my[/i] fault!" he cried. "Lillith dodged my hit!"

"Yeah, after you got distracted!"

"[I]Nuh-uh[/i]," Lock said as he flicked a bit more ash. "What Carver told you was utter corpse rot! She wasn't there! Lillith cornered me before I could reload. I kissed her to distract her so I could smash a balloon on her head."

"So this whole thing is because you're a lousy shot?" Shock asked.

"They're affected and won't remember this, so shove it." Lock took a forceful drag, then pointed to Barrel. "At least [i]my[/i] screw-up was an easy fix!"

"Hey!" Barrel exclaimed.