Shock watched him disappear down the slide, then went to the armory for her bag of tricks. She never knew what to expect from mortals, and liked to be prepared for any troublemaking opportunities. She then headed for the graveyard to wait for Carver.

Down below, Lock had only his calves pinned under Barrel. One more heave--

And then he saw Carver.

"Sure, whatev--"

But Carver had already punched Barrel. The big oaf kicked at Carver in response, and in the process, rolled over. Lock found himself pinned from the waist down under Barrel's weight.

"CAR[i]VER[/i]!"

Lock clawed at the ground and tried to wedge himself back out. Barrel snorted, but relaxed again.

"I'm gonna tighten your bolts!" Lock screamed as Carver climbed up the ladder and out of the lair.

~~~

Over the next few days, Shock spent some time planning out trouble. The Halloween high had worn off, and while Portland was fun, she didn't want to stay longer than needed. She was also still a bit bitter about Jack shaming her in front of her brothers, so she spent time crafting some vengeance against him that wouldn't go too far. Plus, Halloween Town needed a reminder here and there that even the Pumpkin King wasn't immune to her troublemaking whims. It helped keep the town on their toes and think twice about crossing her and her brothers.

Lock and Barrel knew she was up to something, but as she didn't want their help, they figured this was a trick she wanted to pull on her own. They got further confirmation with the occasionally overheard muttering of, "that Pumpkin Puss" and "show him some [i]real[/i] trouble." Both of them knew that she was keeping them out of it in case something went wrong. Much like the rule of the lair, tricks against Jack had to be agreed upon together. No agreement meant those not involved with it were relieved of responsibility. And Lock and Barrel were happy to let Shock take a solo gamble if she felt the trick was worth it. Even Jack understood the unspoken rule not to blame them if they testified against her - something the trio [i]rarely[/i] did to one another.

Of course, they weren't going to warn Jack of the trick ahead of time, either. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, after all, and their loyalty to each other came first and foremost.

Barrel got a glimpse of her plans when he went to tend to the scorpions. Shock sometimes used her scorpion room as a sort of office when she wanted time alone. He glanced through some of her papers on the table, then giggled when he saw some of the things she had planned. Barrel then went back to his chores. He was certain Shock would let him and Lock know when she was ready to enact her plans so they could witness it firsthand.

Once the tanks were done, he went to the kitchen to make a final check of things they needed, then it was off to the Witches Shop to replenish some supplies. Shock's plans quickly took a back seat as he thought of the rotten fish stew and oyster shell crackers he was going to make for dinner tonight. A brief thought of maybe having Agatha over crossed his mind, but he quickly pushed it back.

Best not to invite anyone over while his sister was involved in mayhem against the Pumpkin King. His stinging hands from stabbing and clawing scorpions was enough of a reminder of his older sister's potential vengeance.