Inside the dusty, barren walls of the Town Hall resonated a multitude of snickers. They were childish bubbles of laughter that concealed any purity a normal child would have had. The voices themselves sounded as if they came from every part of the room, and the accompanying echoes falsely impressed that they were present in the dry air. Every monster knew who these laughs belonged to - and they all held weary, bulbous eyes as they traveled along the room in search for the owners.

There was a tense atmosphere on top of an already-uneasy Monday morning. The inhabitants of the Town Hall had their shoulders hunched up in alarm. They were mentally and physically preparing themselves for future disaster - that at any moment, Lock Shock and Barrel would strike, and they'd all succumb to victimization of their pranks yet again.

The Pumpkin King stood in the middle of the room with a skeletal finger propped on the bottom of his lip. His skull followed the red, green, and purple colors around him intently. They were constantly moving, leaving little smears of their color in their absence. He let out a thoughtful hum as he watched the three drag a heavy bag across the room, all without any context to unfamiliar eyes.

A shorter man shifted his weight uneasily beside the King. Unlike Jack's eye sockets, the Mayor's shallow eyes darted quickly about the room. He couldn't keep sight of one of them, and he felt horribly nervous as their snickering came from all sorts of directions. He felt a knot begin to form in the pit of his stomach. He started fiddling with his fingers as he let out a stressed groan.

"I don't trust them," He stated firmly. The fear in his voice was apparent. "They're going to cause trouble. I just know it."

The skeleton glanced down at him, mouth forming into a line as he processed his words. He glanced back at the children and found that they had ripped a hole in the bag, punching each other and arguing furtively. He began to scratch at his skull.

"To be honest, Mayor...I don't, either."

"Then why did you let them in here?" His words fumbled. "Touching all of this stuff and watching them run around!?"

"They promised me they'd be careful. And they'll bring everything as soon as the party is over."

"Since when have they kept a promise to you, Jack!?"

He went silent at this revelation. His next tone sounded very apprehensive, as if he hadn't pondered their disloyalty until this very second. His voice came out weakly. "-I suppose this will be their second chance, then?"

The Mayor glanced back at them. They stuffed everything they had spilled sloppily back into the bag. He watched as they heaved it together into their bath tub. The thing was completely full to the brim with bags, contained with who-knows-what. Jack refused to tell him what they were gathering, but from what he knew, most of it was coming out of their Halloween supply. Something they desperately didn't want to lose.

He tugged at his collar and sighed deeply. He seldom doubted Jack and his decisions, but letting Lock, Shock, and Barrel be in charge of this year's 4th of July party was just asking for the town to erupt into flames. As he went to tell him this, he was cut off by the skeleton's voice.

"I want to thank you for letting them come in here, Mayor. I know how sensitive you are with the supplies and planning and whatnot." He lolled his skull to the side and shrugged. "I can't say that their party will suffice, but surprise is just the first step to scaring. And you know how the saying goes."

The Mayor held his breath as the skeleton gave him a warm smile. He felt his insecurities vanish, and whatever he had meant to say ago slipped his mind. His face switched with a click, his grin flashing as he nodded his head.

"Maybe you're right." He agreed. "A little trust in those three may not be so bad. Why, maybe they'll run the party without any of those pranks of theirs!"

"You got all the dynamite?"

Shock's hoarse voice sounded almost demanding as her cohorts came to her side. They were out of breath by this point, having ran into nearly every room in the Hall in just half an hour. The tub was filled with everything they needed for the party, and a few "extras" unknowingly tucked into the bags. The small witch tapped her boot on the wood impatiently as she waited for them to catch their breath.

"Sure...do!" Barrel huffed.

"Loads of 'em!" Lock added.

"Show me, show me!" She pressed anxiously.

Lock and Barrel exchanged smiles and went forward to open the top bag. They found a few sticks of dynamite dangerously poking out from the rest of the party supplies. Shock's grin grew to both of her cheeks as she clenched her gloves, and Barrel and Lock shared the same excitement she had. Dynamite was one of their favorite toys!

The devil began to rub his hands together, the ideas already clouding his head. "So, the plan is-"

"Fantastic work, you three!"

The trio jumped at the sound of Jack's voice. Lock closed the bag to hide the dynamite, but found that they were still poking out from the hole. Barrel and Shock spared him the stress as they used their bodies to conceal it. Lock followed suit and held his arms out. They all smiled uneasily as the skeleton approached them. They saw the Mayor trembling behind him as well and had to refrain some giggles.

"You gathered quite a bit." The skeleton noted, unaware of what they were hiding. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope!" Shock blurted out. "We're good!"

"Yep! Got everything!" Lock added.

"Well, we could use some more-" Barrel's mouth was smothered by a hand before he could finish. Jack passed them a look, but the stitched smile returned on his face.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll figure it out." His tone went low as he narrowed his eye sockets. "Remember, you three, NO tricks! The Independence Day leader is coming for this party, and I expect everything will meet his satisfaction."

"Come on, Jack, when would we ever lie to you?" Shock replied, fluttering her eyelashes. Her attempt at being coy failed miserably.

"I can name a few times."

"But we promise, this time," Lock placed a hand to his chest meaningfully. "No tricks!"

By instinct, they crossed their fingers behind their back. The notion should've went noticed by the skeleton at this point, but he was too busy changing his scrutinizing look to one that held admiration. Jack smiled at them and began dusting off his sleeves, somehow convinced that they'd hold their word. Ever so naïve.

"I can at least say you three have been behaving better ever since Oogie...passed." He hesitated with that last word. "I believe this is the start of some great progress."

They felt insulted at the insinuation that they were getting behaving, but they all put on forced smiles and nodded their heads at him cheerfully. "Yup!" "Behaving better!" "Totally!"

Their enthusiasm was almost nearly off-putting. He gave them one last look before walking away, and the Mayor scurried after him. The kids had to hold back their laughter as they watched his figure disappear. It was so easy tricking Jack! It's as if they were playing him like a fiddle. And it sure was fun, too! They just couldn't wait to see his face once their little "party" began.

They couldn't wait to see the shock on everyone's faces!

The three glanced at each other, already knowing what was on the other one's mind. They hopped inside the bath tub and Barrel thwacked the back of it with a broom. The legs started moving, carrying them out from the Town Hall and down the back steps. They enclosed their faces with their masks and grinned at each other as the tub led them back to their home.

The trio approached their tree house several minutes after they left the Town Hall. It was completely deserted - the barren lands coated with layers of dust and their old, dead tree covered in cobwebs. The abyss below seemed so empty and cold as the tub stopped next to it. The children shivered as they jumped off and began to throw the bags in their elevator. Barrel would hop in and it unload them once it reached their house. This process was unusually time-consuming.

"C'mon!" Lock huffed by slamming his foot on the ground. "I want to set the bombs already!"

"You gotta' be patient, stupid!" Shock spat. "We have a few days to set up this party."

"Yeah, but half of that time is going to be setting up stupid chairs." The devil crossed his arms and huffed. "I just wanna' have fun..."

"What are you guys arguing about?" Barrel's voice sounded as he dropped down from the elevator.

Shock threw a couple of bags in his face in return. This nearly tumbled him off the cage, and his legs dangled dangerously over the wire. He was faced with the darkness of the abyss for a few moments before he regained his senses. He grabbed at the rope and let out several gasps in surprise.

"H-Hey!" He waved his hand. "Can you be a little more careful!?"

"NO!" Shock screamed. There was a little bit of guilt settling in her stomach seeing her cohort nearly fall to his death, but she ignored it. "Just get those bags in there. We've got 1 more to go after this."

"Sweet."

His grin flashed as he pulled at the elevator. He rose inside the tree house and they listened to him ruffling the bags up there. The witch went forward to grab the last bag. She watched as Lock came to her side to assist her. She hadn't even realized she'd been struggling with its weight the moment she grabbed it. She felt his cold touch wrap around her hand.

"Get your hand off of me!" She hollered, smacking it.

"Ow!" He winced. "Hey, I'm just trying to help!"

"I don't need any help. I can handle this."

As the small witch stepped forward to try and demonstrate this, she tripped over a pebble, knocking out whatever she had in the bag. She landed face-first on the ground and would've rolled off into the abyss hadn't she grabbed a board of the bridge in time. She watched as the contents of the bag fell beside her and down into the endless darkness around her.

"L-LOCK!" She screeched, eyes bulging in fear. "COME AND HELP ME!"

The devil rushed over, eyes momentarily filled with worry. He noticed her death grip on the board and crossed his arms, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

"I thought you didn't need my help?"

"HELP ME UP, YOU DIMWIT!"

She started kicking her feet in the air. This made her lose grip of the board, and she gasped as she started to fall. But then she felt that cold grip again - and her heart leaped as she was pulled back up and onto the ground. She scrambled across the bridge until she was beside the tub and began to cling onto its side in fear. Her mouth went agape as she tried to say something, but started hyperventilating instead.

"Oh, calm down." Lock rolled his eyes. "I got you back."

"St-stupid!"

She stood up shaking and started brushing the dirt off of her dress. They both heard the elevator finally come down. Barrel jumped out of it casually. He looked over at the tub and noticed that it was empty. That last bag was nowhere to be seen. He scratched at his green hair in bewilderment.

"Uh, did you guys already get that last bag?"

"Shock spilled it." Lock said flatly, pointing to the witch. "And she nearly killed herself, too!"

"Did NOT!" She objected.

"Did TO!"

"I guess we'll have to plan the party without whatever was in there..." Barrel said weakly.

Shock shot the devil a look as she stepped forward and entered the elevator. Barrel happily joined her side and they waited for Lock to come. He huffed before following after and stepping inside. Things felt awkward and tense as they rose to the tree house, but the moment they stepped inside and saw all of the bags awaiting them, the mischievous grins grew back on their faces as they hungrily rubbed their hands together.

Time to start planning.