LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock and Barrel were the last of the group to even remotely calm down. Barrel pushed himself up onto all fours and wiped the tears from his eyes, then used the edge of the fountain to help himself get back on his feet.

"I don't think I've ever seen her screw up a trick that badly," he said.

Another, softer set of giggles started again.

"That was-that was great!"

Lock managed to sit up after a moment. He stayed where he was, though his tail was still twitching up a storm behind him.

"Y-yeah," he agreed.

He tried to settle down. Carver's mini-tantrum helped to sober him up. The cursing made him laugh again, though not nearly as hard as Shock's trick backfiring on her. He and Barrel both picked up on the fact that Carver couldn't enjoy the mayhem the way he wanted to.

"You do that," he said with a smile, though he could easily play it off as residual amusement from his older sister's massive failure.

Barrel managed to stop giggling long enough to wave goodbye to Carver, though another glance at Jack's house and the residual smoke coming from the front door set off another round of giggles. Neither of the trickster brothers noticed Jack stroll up to the group of teens. The look on his skull was a mix of concern and amusement.

"Lock," he said, calmly. "Barrel. Did either of you--?"

"--Know about it?" Lock finished for him. He snickered. "No, Jack."

"Honest!" Barrel exclaimed. He giggled again. "Well...not this part, anyway."

"She just said to be in the square in the afternoon ," Lock said with a grin. "And that we'd--"

"--Know it--" Barrel continued.

"--When we saw it," Lock finished.

Both of them started laughing again. Jack sighed and shook his skull. With how hard they were still laughing, they were probably telling the truth - or at least, as much of it as he was going to get out of either of them at the moment. He gave a knowing glance to Agatha, then looked behind him to the tower.

"...All right," he said. "I'm going to see how much damage she caused and give her a chance to calm down. Then I'm going to go talk to her. I want the two of you to stay out of it, no tricks. Are we clear?"

Lock and Barrel both calmed down enough to show their hands. Normally, the rule was they offered no tricks, as it prevented other citizens from asking them to not cause trouble beforehand. As Jack was being lenient and even letting them off, both boys were happy to make an exception to stay out of trouble.

"No tricks, Jack!" they said together.

Jack nodded in affirmation, then turned to go. Lock pushed himself onto his feet and sidled up to Lillith.

"I still owe you a walk," he said. "And since it's probably not a good idea to be home tonight, can I stay with you?"

Barrel realized it too. Carver was probably going to be in the pumpkin patch ranting for a bit. With Shock in a mood at the lair, and Jack heading that way later...

"Rats," he said. "Guess those rats will just have to wait until tomorrow."

But he still had some money, as he was intending to do some shopping anyway. Now he simply had a change of plan...and no one to hang with afterwards, if Lock was going to be spending the night with his girlfriend. Barrel frowned. He could always bum around the sewers, but he'd also been looking forward to a fun evening at home with his siblings, had Shock's trick worked out. Barrel looked over who was left in the group as he giggled again to try to hide his growing disappointment.

Or maybe...

"Hey, Agatha," he said. "Want to go to the Crypt Cafe later?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

The second Shock burst out the front door, Lock started laughing. He laughed even harder when his older sister took a tumble down the stairs. He trembled so hard from laughter that he actually squirmed his way out of Lillith's arms, fell off her hip, and onto the ground. That he only laughed even harder showed enough that he wasn't hurt.

Being the tallest, Barrel saw the whole thing over the heads of the few monsters around Jack's gate. He clutched his sides in one arm and placed the other up against the fountain statue for support. Both of the trickster brothers had tears pouring down their cheeks.

With the other two of the trio laughing, a few other monsters started laughing as well, until it started a chain reaction in the rest of the crowd.

Over in the courtyard, Jack quickly went over to Shock to help her up and make sure she was okay. Zero flew up to Jack and licked his skull. Jack gave him a reassuring pet before he carefully knelt down beside Shock.

Shock tried to push herself up. She turned, only to see--

"--J-Jack!"

She coughed out a bit more of the smoke from her lungs. Jack offered his arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Shock moved to take his offer, then froze. She pulled away from him and tried to get up on her own, only for her foot to catch a cobblestone. Jack caught her before she could fall again and helped her to her feet. Shock let him. Her legs shook, but she stayed stable.

Then, in only a second, she seemed to remember where she was and picked up her usual haughtiness. She pulled away to dust herself off.

"I'm fine, Jack," she said, in an attempt to brush it off.

Zero barked and flew up to lick her face. Shock smiled a little, then gently pushed the ghost dog away from her.

Jack nodded. A smile started to form over his skull.

"Well then," he said. "I take it you had fun?"

Shock started to say something, but the ringing in her ears and the dizziness from the fall cleared enough that she now registered the other monsters' laughter from beyond the gate. She froze again. Jack caught something in her face - not even shame or embarrassment, but a distinct discomfort, possibly even fear. Shock pulled away from him and started to run. She shoved the gate open to make a break for it.

Her shoe caught at the threshold and sent her flying forward into the group of monsters. There was enough space between them that she hit the ground.

Over by the fountain, Lock and Barrel laughed even harder, if that was possible. Barrel's hand slipped from the fountain statue, and he joined Lock on the ground.

Shock struggled to push herself up again. They were staring. She didn't care that the other monsters were pointing and laughing, that her own brothers could be heard well over everyone else...only that they were staring and watching her every move.

Shock hated staring. She hated how she could feel their eyes on her, how some of them moved closer to get a better look.

Too many monsters.

Too many eyes.

Shock scrambled to her feet. She had to get away from here, from their staring eyes and peals of laughter. She made a mad dash for the main gate and shoved away any monster in her path, not only to clear a space, but to give the others something else to stare at.

She felt better once she passed the main gate. At least then, she was away from the staring eyes.

Jack stood dumbfounded for a moment, still frozen with his hand outstretched to help. In truth, Shock trying to run, tripping again, and getting away had only taken a few seconds. Jack lowered his hand and watched the oldest trickster flee. He shook his head, then looked back to his tower. He'd have to go in and assess the damage, but at least a lot of the smoke seemed to have cleared from the front door.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Hey!"

Lock started to fight, until he realized what Lillith was doing, then he contentedly sat on her hip. He wrapped his arms around her neck and enjoyed the ride.

"Sounds like Jack was up to something exciting," he said, when they joined their friends.

He flicked his tail and rested his head in the crook of Lillith's neck.

Just then, the doors to Town Hall burst open. Jack ran out and cleared the steps to the building in two strides, with the Mayor skittering as fast as he could behind them. Lock and Barrel both stared in surprise.

"Jack?!"

Fortunately, several other monsters called out in equal surprise, though many of them with relief.

"Jack!"

"You're okay!"

Jack held up his hands to keep the other citizens from crowding him.

"What's going on? What was that noise?"

"We don't know!" cried Clown.

Sally pushed forward to get to her boyfriend.

"It came from the tower! Oh, Jack!"

She pointed to the tower, where an odd, gray-ish green smoke leaked through the windowsill. The inside was clouded. A few more loud bangs echoed from inside.

Jack quickly went to Sally, relieved she was all right. He took her hands and gave them a quick squeeze.

"Stay here."

He then ran for his home. Several monsters parted to let him pass.

Lock and Barrel both stared at Jack as he made his way into the courtyard. If Jack was here, and Sally didn't unwittingly trip the trap, then...

Barrel watched as he tried to decide if he was more concerned for his sister, or amused. An intrigued smile started to form on Lock's face. His tail twitched in a frenzied bought of excitement.

This wasn't the aftermath he expected, but it certainly wouldn't be any less entertaining.

~~~

Five minutes earlier...

~~~

Shock just about had everything set up. She patted Zero's head and gave him another treat.

"Thanks for your help," she said.

The ghost dog actually had been unwittingly useful, as he could place things she would have had difficulty reaching otherwise. Shock held one last little bottle for the crown jewel to her scheme and went to retrieve her backpack.

Which she unwittingly stumbled over as she turned around.

The bottle flew from her hands and onto Jack's workbench. It shattered over something Jack had been working on.

Shock didn't get a chance to see where the bottle landed or what it mixed with. The ensuing explosion filled her ears with noise and the room with smoke a split second later. Shock felt behind her for her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. She held an arm up to her mouth and coughed in it.

It was definitely time to scram. With how her ears rang, she was pretty sure all of Halloween Town heard that. Shock pushed herself up. The smoke was so thick, she couldn't see even two inches in front of her. Her eyes burned as she tried to feel around for the railing leading to the stairs. She couldn't see. She needed--

"Z--" Shock coughed out. "Zero--! Come--c'mere, boy--!"

She barely heard his frightened yelping over the ringing in her ears. A second later, she saw an orange glow. Zero barked at her. Shock followed the glow to get the stairs. Her foot found one of the tripwires she set earlier.

Something went off. Shock couldn't tell what, nor did she care. She stumbled forward towards the glow as the chain reaction started.

Several things fell and swung and created hazards in her path that she couldn't see. Shock ended up falling into Zero. She held the ghost dog in her arms as they tumbled down the stairs. She tried to grab the railing, only for her hand to slip thanks to the paint she placed there earlier.

More of her traps went off as she hit certain steps. Without the smoke, they would have been annoying, but harmless had Jack walked into them. As she couldn't see, and was setting them off in reverse order, they became a lot more problematic. Shock curled her body in to protect Zero as the two of them tumbled down the stairs. Between the bangs, crashes, and the ghost dog's frightened barking and attempts to fly from her grasp, she could barely focus.

Shock managed to grab one of the bars holding the railing up. That stopped a further descent down the stairs as she regained her footing. Zero calmed down a little once they stopped tumbling. The ghost dog's nose lit the steps in front of them.

"Almost-- there--" Shock managed.

She quickly, but carefully cleared the steps. Shock reached into her pocket for the other vial of invisibility potion. That explosion probably drew a crowd. She could at least get out unseen - literally. Shock popped the top off with her thumb. Another bang went off. Zero's startled yelp and sudden squirming pushed her forward. Shock tried to catch her footing and managed...only to engage the last tripwire at the bottom of the stairs.

She fell forward and crashed onto Jack's tile floor. The bottle flew from her hands.

"N-no--!"

She barely heard the small shattering sound before another bang went off. Zero flew over and grabbed her sleeve to try to help her up. Shock grabbed him and fought off another coughing fit. She needed to get out.

It only took another second to find the front door.

Fine.

Get out, then run like hell. They can't do anything if they can't catch you.

~~~

The front door opened just as Jack got to the base of the front steps. Shock ran out with Zero, coughing and exasperated. The top of the young witch's hat dripped with an oozing green slime. Spiderwebs tangled around her legs and stuck to her skirt. Something thick and sticky covered her midsection. Dark paint dripped from her right glove, and bright, pumpkin orange splotches scattered all over her in random patterns.

Over most of it was the same grayish-green color as the smoke from the initial explosion.

Shock didn't even see Jack as she ran down the stairs, her mind set on one thing, and one thing only: getting the hell away from here and to the main gate before anyone could stop her or question what the hell happened.

She never got the chance. Halfway down the steps, she tripped over her own feet and tumbled the rest of the way down. Shock turned to her side as she hit the ground to mitigate the damage. She stayed down for a second to let the world right itself up again.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Hey!" Barrel exclaimed. "Shock practices a lot more than me!"

It took a half second after he said it to realize he wasn't doing himself any favors. Barrel gratefully took "Corvin's" question to spare himself further embarrassment.

"Yeah," he said. "Lock started a band. We meet every Saturday to--"

A loud, tumultuous explosion erupted into the town square, followed by a series of bangs and crashes. Several passing monsters looked around in confusion, though it only took a few seconds to realize the noise and ruckus came from Jack's house. Barrel quickly forgot about band practice as monsters around him expressed concern and started to crowd together.

"What happened?"

"Is everyone okay?"

"It came from Jack's house!"

"Jack?"

"Is he all right?"

Barrel started to head for the gate to Jack's house out of curiosity, but stopped. It was probably better to not be anywhere near it when Jack inevitably came running out the front door.

Shock must have really outdone herself to set that up!

~~~

"Because once in a while, I don't want to be up all night," Lock said. "I'm not a true nocturnal monst--"

They barely passed the main gate when the explosion went off. Lock unhooked his arm to grab Lillith's hand instead as he ran into the square.

Whatever Shock did, he definitely wanted to see the aftermath!

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock happily kissed her back, then nuzzled against her waist. Actually, Lillith's idea was even better, not that she'd know why.

"Sure," he said. "It is unusually gloomy today. Enough that you don't need your umbrella."

He patted her hand and headed out of the pumpkin patch. His tail twitched excitedly behind him.

~~~

Barrel watched as Carmilla came into the square. Well, it wasn't like the two ghouls weren't known to hang out when Agatha wasn't working. He grinned.

"Vocal routine for what? Band practice isn't until Saturday."

He listened as Agatha explained why she summoned Carmilla. As she explained the details of the divination, he tried to remain calm.

An interesting source of amusement...

A particular color scheme...

Shock was playing her trick today. And Jack...well, that black and white pinstripe suit was recognizable even from a distance. Barrel tried not to look too worried. He did slip up about the trick, but...Agatha didn't know when Shock was going to do it. Hell, he didn't know until that morning.

Best to keep his mouth shut until he knew for certain, lest he ruin his sister's trick. Maybe it was nothing, but he didn't want Carmilla to pry any further.

"Oh! Carmilla! Have you met Corvin yet?"

He quickly gestured towards Carver to get her off the subject.

"He's our new resident. He helped me catch some rats in the pumpkin patch."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel slurped up his next go of fountain water and nearly choked on it. Why was Carver talking like--

He turned and saw Agatha. Barrel cleared his throat after hacking up a bit of slime. He wiped his mouth, then grinned.

"Yeah, we make a pretty good team!" he said cheerfully. "Car - Corvin scares them out, I catch them."

Barrel patted his stomach.

"They're gonna make a great dinner tonight."

He went back to the fountain and got one more drink to help the residual pain, then sat down on the edge.

"We were just taking a break," he said. "And, uh, since you're out of the shop, looks like you're taking one too."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

As soon as the invisibility potion wore off, Shock got to work quickly scoping out the house, particularly the staircase leading up to the tower, and a few key places up in the main room. As she suspected, Zero was home sleeping in his bed. A few treats, a few pets, and a promise that Jack was going to love the "surprise" she was leaving him, and the ghost dog left her alone.

Well. Mostly. At least once he nudged her leg for another treat. Shock stumbled a bit. Zero was stronger than he looked; the ghost dog probably didn't mean to push her hard enough to almost trip.

Shock worked quickly and carefully to set up trip wires, slime, paint on the banister, and all sorts of other little goodies for Jack to happen upon when he got back. Once in a while, she found her footing slipped, but there was always something nearby: a loose step, one of Zero's toys, her own backpack that she didn't put far enough away. Still, she continued undeterred.

It was almost ready.

~~~

Barrel took the rats he caught home and caged them in the kitchen, where they would stay until he was ready to cook them. Then he headed back to town with Carver. His mind was on getting a few small things that would fit in his hoodie pocket, then going back home to prepare dinner, when he saw Jack's gate, and remembered: right. Shock's trick.

Barrel glanced at the shadows from the fountain. It was a bit late for lunchtime, which meant Jack would probably be coming this way soon. He didn't even notice Agatha in the square due to the daytime monsters coming and going, only that there was a good spot at the fountain to sit for a moment and wait.

Actually...after all that running around catching rats and the trek home and back, he could use a drink. Barrel cupped his hands in the fountain to get some of the rejuvenating swamp water within.

~~~

Lock was sitting in the shadow of a large, distinct pile of pumpkins to wait for Lillith. He'd been thinking on the way here for a way to get back to the square and try to see Shock's trick. His tail flicked when he saw her.

"There's my she-beast," he said cheerfully.

He offered his arm.

"Hey - mind if we stop by the witches's shop real quick? I promised Shock I'd pick up some wormwood, and she'll kill me if I forget."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Sure thing," Barrel said.

He paused to think for a moment.

"Actually, roasted rat would make a great dinner tonight."

~~~

Shock saw Jack leave first to head for Town Hall, and a while later, Sally. Good. She pulled out the first dose of invisibility potion.

Bottoms up.

It didn't take long for it to take effect. Shock had calculated the amount carefully. It would affect her and anything she carried, and wear off a few minutes after she picked the lock and got inside.

Then she could get to work.

As soon as the potion took effect, Shock scurried down from her hiding place and ran out of the little courtyard and across the square to Jack's house. She made sure no one was nearby to see the gate creak open, then slipped inside and quietly shut the gate.

She grinned as she made her way up the steps. Her foot caught on one. Shock stumbled forward, but didn't think much of it beyond cursing herself for a moment. Right. Don't get too excited; you're not there yet. She made it the rest of the way without issue, quickly picked the lock, and slithered inside to wait for the effects to wear off so she could begin her work.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Let's just say something interesting will be going down at Jack's house," Lock said, with a flick of his tail. "Of course--"

"--We wouldn't know anything about it," Barrel said with a shrug.

"But really, though," Lock said. "We don't know anything beyond that."

"But it sound like it's gonna be fun," Barrel grinned.

Lock started to head down to path to where he was supposed to meet Lillith.

"See you then!"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock and Barrel both laughed.

"It sounds like--" Lock said.

"--A lesson--" Barrel continued.

"--To be learned.

Both boys grinned.

"Be right back!" they said together.

Barrel ran back to the tree house for some better bait than pumpkins. Lock started scouring the pumpkin patch to track a few rats, and set up a trap until Barrel returned with the bait. It wouldn't take them too long to catch a few for Carver to eat. By that time, though, Lock had to get going. He knew better than to keep Lillith waiting.

"That should do it," he said. "Oh, by the way. You're gonna want to be in the square this afternoon."