LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock kept Aggie's movements in her line of sight. When the older witch pulled the wedding broom from where she hid it, she grimaced, but was relieved her gamble paid off. For a moment, she was quiet.

"...I needed it to drop the fog juice," Shock muttered, mostly to get Aggie off her back. "That's all."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

She climbed up the ladder to get back to her task, but kept Aggie in the corner of her eye.

"Or what, she'll turn me into a toad?"

Shock actually looked a little uncomfortable at Aggie's cackle, but once more, she quickly regained composure. She started to wipe some acetone on the residual glue pieces.

"Lesson learned," she said, making sure to match her tone with just as much ice.

More than Aggie knew. If any monster saw her flying, and flying well, it wouldn't take much for any of the witches to put two and two together. While Shock could probably feign ignorance of her magic if caught, knowing she was capable of it at all would have every monster in Halloween Town concerned and seeking counters - and that would hinder their trouble greatly. The levitation spell alone let them get away with a lot more than they could have when left to their own devices.

Shock was suddenly more grateful for Lock's forget-me-lot mishap, and how it forced her to be more careful when flying. It kept her most precious secret safe.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock narrowed her eyes.

"It doesn't matter," she said, "because it's done."

She headed back for the ladder so she could get the rest of the glue bits off the ceiling and finally be done with this task.

"Your brooms are more trouble than they're worth."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock gave her a strange look. Why did she think they borrowed it? Well, Aggie probably wouldn't guess the main purpose was to get the hell out of dodge from the fog juice, but she was sure the witch at least considered the sort of things any troublesome teenager might get up to if they had possession of a flying broom.

And then Aggie mentioned magic talent.

Shock carefully examined the older witch's face for any further insinuation. Her magic was a secret she had carefully hidden for decades. Like hell was she going to admit to it.

"...That explains why it took so much effort for such a simple job," she said, to try to get Aggie off the subject.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

As Aggie spoke, Shock fought to keep a straight face as she made some quick calculations.

Bones. Aggie was right. Had the older witch not come in this quickly, she could have thrown the wedding broom out and been "cleaning" the handle of Agnes' broom with acetone before Agatha got back. There was also some glue residue still stuck to the ceiling.

"It's been returned with no damage to it or the ceiling," she said, mostly to buy herself a second to think, "and with no glue remover."

Aggie and Agnes checked her person when she came in to be sure, and there was no way Shock could have otherwise slipped some in or had one of her cohorts sneak her some when she had Agatha watching her every move. A little smirk formed on her lips.

Might as well come clean. Shock didn't like that glint in Aggie's eyes, and it was likely the other witch spotted the second broom - and that one definitely still had glue on the handle. On that chance, it wouldn't take much to compare them. With only a week to Halloween, that was not a gamble she wanted to make if this got back to Jack.

"Not when I didn't need any," she said, with a bit of displeasure at having to give away the trick, "seeing as that one, we borrowed."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock had not expected one of the older witches to be right there so quickly, and her face said as much, a split second before she narrowed her eyes and pulled up her usual demeanor.

"Got the damn broom down," she said, choosing her words with care to not specify which broom in case Aggie saw more than she was letting on. "Here."

She shoved the broom at Aggie and crossed her arms. If the older witch intended to test her, it was the right broom.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

As soon as Carver and Agatha left, Shock twisted the wedding broom to free it from the last snags of Godzilla glue, then climbed down the ladder. She heard Agnes' broom hit the ground, and quickly ran to grab it. She shoved the wedding broom into a nearby nook, then grabbed Agnes' broom to place against the counter.

If either of the elder witches returned, she could pretend she just got it free. Shock listened carefully. Speaking of the old biddies, if they weren't nearby, maybe she'd have enough time to sneak the wedding broom outside to retrieve later...

~~~

Barrel was in a small nook near the Crypt Cafe, just finishing up the last of the food fight. He wasn't sure why Carver bribed him with lunch just to waste good food and pelt his hoodie, but the fact that it was the first decent meal he'd had in a week countered that annoyance. He wasn't sure why she wanted his undershirt, either, but she got him an extra pumpkin mousse for it, so he let her have it on the condition he got it back clean and in one piece.

The last of the food remnants were unceremoniously dumped into the trash. As Carver and Agatha approached, Barrel was wiping down his pants. Normally hidden under his hoodie were strong arms and a sturdy chest, giving away his strength as the brute of the bunch. His round stomach flopped over his pants, his girth only kept somewhat in check from running around town with his siblings and just enough exercise to let him keep up with Shock when needed.

When he heard the girls approach, Barrel looked up with a grin and a wave, though he noticed Agatha clutching the hoodie in her arms.

"I knew you were gonna clean it, but I didn't expect a delivery service!" he said playfully.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock watched as Carver came in. She chipped off a bit more glue, and tested the remaining glue's resilience. Good. Once Agatha was out of the the way, she could break it off and make the switch. Still, she stopped working to observe the scene below.

"And to think he's the best with his slingshot," she said with a smirk. "Then again, he probably held back to eat more than he threw."

She gave a subtle glance to Agatha, then went back to pretending to chip off glue.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

As the week passed, Shock got Aggie and Agatha's brooms down, and assisted the three other witches in the shop in between rounds of getting the wedding broom down. She spent that time trying to puzzle out how to switch it, but one witch was always watching her. She had, in the meantime, brought Agnes' broom to Town Hall. Maybe she could figure out how to do it on a break.

Lock was still trying to get Lillith to at least talk with him. If he knew where she was stationed that day, he'd leave her a note. If he didn't, he tried to get her attention when he had a moment, to no avail. She couldn't really be mad at him forever...could she? Halloween plans had long since been caught up, and some preparations were even ahead of schedule. Surely he and his siblings had already made up that part? He knew Jack was keeping them busy as a small reflection of the effort the prank took. Given it was only two weeks in comparison to over a month they took time plan it, they were admittedly getting off easy.

Barrel was less sore about the spices, as he got home too tired to cook more than quick, simple meals anyway. Plus, despite the hard work he put in, being able to snack on some of the pumpkin scraps that would have become mulch anyway lifted his mood well above both of his siblings.

Jack allowed Carver to help in the pumpkin patch, one to keep her away from Dr. Finklestein, and for another, to let her have more time with Behemoth. He hardly expected him to counter Lock, Shock, and Barrel's influence, but he noticed it helped Carver's mood and kept her out of further trouble.

Shock almost had the wedding broom off the ceiling. She'd thought of something: Carver still made some trips to town to get water and snacks for Behemoth, and to check in on her breaks. She also figured out the routine of who was running the shop and when.

It took some planning, but Carver was to bring Agnes's broom at an appointed time. Shock would finish getting the wedding broom down...when Agatha was distracted.

If Barrel didn't screw this up, anyway.

He should be doing more hauling, and working up a sweat. And she needed that for this to work.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Behemoth clutched his stomach and let out a slow laugh.

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully.

He gestured back to the main pumpkin patch.

"Got more work to do," he said gently. "Almost Halloween."