Chapter one: This means war!
"No no no no no NO!" Yelled a frantic, squirming Lock, as he was shoved into Town Hall along with Shock and Barrel. Despite his escape efforts, Jack was taking special care to keep him in line. Once the trio was safely inside and the door was sealed, Jack glanced at each of the wild, hysterical, potentially homicidal children, sighed, and let out his most terrifying, ear-splitting scream he could manage. Once he finished his scream, and regained his elegant composure, all six little eyes in the room where on him.
"Now, you three have been running amok long enough! You need discipline and order!" declared Jack with a scowl. "And I have personally tracked down just who to help you with that."
"NO! We don't need some old moron ordering us around!" shouted Lock.
"We can take care of ourselves!" added Shock with a sneer.
"So let us go!" finished Barrel.
Jack sighed again and clutched at his skull, fighting the urge to run off. However, he mustered the self control to stay put, and said simply,
"Well children, meet your new mother", motioning toward the back of Town Hall. Out of the darkness of the back row of seats, emerged a woman. She was thin, and had a sharp, but with pleasant face. Her hair reached her hips, and she wore a kind smile. However, the trio took no mind of any of this, for they were focused on her most prominent feature. The fact that she was completely composed of sewing needles, from her hair, to her face, to her "clothes". Except of course, her eyes, which were two black buttons.
"What," began Lock.
"The heck," added Shock.
"Is that?" yelled Barrel.
"Don't be rude you three brats! You will accept this women into your home, or you will be put in an orphanage!" Yelled Jack with a scowl that could break a stone to pieces.
"Jack, really, when have we ever been welcoming or respectful?" sneered Shock with her arms crossed. "We are not living with her, and we are NOT being shipped to live in some rat-hole orphanage! You can't force us!"
"You have no choice!"
"Now, now," the needle woman finally spoke, in a voice that would make the supreme overlord of Sweetland say, "Wow, THAT is sweet!" "quite fighting, trust me, you three are going to be very happy with me!"
"NO!" the trio shouted at the same time.
"Oh my dears, Jack is right! You have no choice." And with a small twitch in her smile, she grabbed a tuft of each of their hair, and dragged them, with unbelievable steadiness and strength, out the door of the building. Jack merely sat down, glad to have them out of his way for a while, never suspecting any trouble.
As they were thrown into their home through the tub entrance, Lock groaned, Shock screeched, and Barrel said, "Ow! Ok ok, you win!"
But the woman was different. Her fists were clenched, her face was contorted into an ugly frown, and her voice was raspy and mad.
"I don't need to hear that little shits!" she screeched, "I am staying here in this little dump for as long as I want, and you little creeps are my servants! Unless, of course," She said with a smirk, "you want to meet my needles." She pinched Lock's cheek with her needle fingers just enough to make a small wound, and squeeze a few drops of blood out.
"WHAT!" He yelled, swatting her hand away. "GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE, NOW!"
"You will respect me, brat!" She cried, smacking him across the face, leaving four deep scratches. Shock and Barrel gasped and dragged a heavily bleeding Lock down the hall, as the needle woman laughed sickeningly. They all piled inside Lock's room and tried to comprehend what just happened. Lock wiped the warm blood of his cheek, looked and his red-stained hand, and growled. "This, means, WAR!"