Chapter 3: Why?

Doctor Finklestein was not one to be nervous.

As the only mad scientist/genius in Halloween Town, one who could produce the most frightening of demons to match the Pumpkin King (with the exception of a certain rag-roll), he was known to typically show emotions short of cold and heartless. Was he terrifying? Yes, when angered. Did he scare others? His monsters do, and he could always intimidate using them. A respected man? Him?

Naturally.

Jack Skellington would bow down to him if he only used his daughter-creation as the deal-breaker. What love does to a monster...

Yet...why was he feeling so anxious?

After re-reading the letter several times, using all methods he knew of unraveling hidden writings or things of that sort, there was no doubt in his perfectly-developed mind that he was returning soon.

It was a fact the old man could only dream to ignore. There were endless possibilities as to why he would make a sudden come-back—possibilities he'd rather not imagine.

Surely it wasn't because of their deal?

"My, God, that was years ago!" Finklestein yelled to himself angrily, slamming a fist onto his worktable. Several beakers shook, and he distinctly saw the liquids in them change color. "I thought he died."

But no. The message was delivered just that morning to him without a return address, name, or any sign that it had been processed through the local post office. Clearly someone had taken their time to journey to his home and personally place a single, plain letter into his mailbox.

If that was the case, then he might be visiting anytime that day.

"You better not demand anything from me..."

"Good morning!" called Sally out to the local band playing near the wall leading to the graveyard. She waved cheerfully at them, smiling at the kind replies she received. An empty basket in her hand and a list in the other, she carefully strolled over to the large fountain in the middle of town. Surrounding it were most of the stores and homes, and the Town Hall in the center. Several of the residents often socialized in that spot, and today was no exception—by the time Sally arrived, the witches and Undersea Gal were already gossiping about the rumors concerning Lock and Shock's budding romance.

"Those two will definitely get along better!"

"Hopefully they'll have the decency to keep their little affairs to themselves."

"Ooh, what about the third boy? The chubby one?"

"I guess he'll have to find somebody else..."

Sally inwardly rolled her eyes at this; after the demise of the evil Oogie Boogie, the trio of tricksters decided that they were free to cause all the mayhem they so desired, which predictably was too much for anyone to handle. Unfortunately, their new-found freedom resulted in the almost-destruction of Town Hall and the mayor himself. Though Jack was not one to yell, threaten, and harshly reprimand children (all at once), he did not hesitate to do so when he found Lock, Shock, and Barrel happily giggling at the mass chaos they had caused. Without missing a beat, the three had cowered in fear and wasted no time in promising their future good behavior to the annoyed ruler (and probably crossing their fingers in the process).

It had been a year since, and yet the only changes visible in the kids seemed to be a few inches taller on each of their heights and maybe some loss of baby fat. Attitude and mindset wise, they were the same.

The women could say whatever they wanted, but Sally knew Boogie's Boys would no sooner start to have romantic attractions for the opposite gender (much less someone they grew up with) than they would promise to give up pranks altogether.

They had an eternity to fall in love, anyway.

"Sally! Out on an errand?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sally turned around to come face-to-face with a grinning Hanging Tree with all its Hanging Men. Relieved at seeing a good friend, she returned the smile. "Yes, actually. I have a few things I need to buy."

"Best go to the Corpse's—their rotten apples are ancient," he told her in his gruff yet friendly voice. Much like Sally, he wasn't as well-known in the town as the mayor or Jack. If anything, most only saw him once or twice a week. Perhaps their shyness was the main reason he and the rag-doll were such good friends; it was easy to understand each other.

"Mmm. I should try that...I was thinking of making pie anyway."

"I'm sure it'll turn out just fine. Well, I'll best be off, Sally. Nice to see you." The skeletons on the tree waved as the Hanging Tree departed towards the cemetery.

"Good-bye!" Sally called after him. She barely managed to turn back around before she felt a small impact in her front, pushing her backwards slightly. "Mmph!"

"Oh, sorry, miss," a smooth voice said, causing her to look up. She was then greeted with the sight of an attractive, pale-white man with dark-purple hair and cold, gray eyes. Odd. He didn't look like he belonged there.

Had she even seen him before?

"Oh. Oh, no, I should be the one apologizing..." she trailed off lamely, crumpling the paper in her hand for something better to do. For some reason, she felt uneasy around the man. There was something...off about him.

Unnatural.

"Let's not worry about it, then. A beautiful lady like yourself should never have to be at fault for a silly mistake on my part." He flashed a smile and waved vaguely towards the direction opposite to them. "You wouldn't happen to know who Doctor Finklestein is, would you?"

"The Doctor? Oh, yes, I know him very well..." She couldn't bring herself to admit that he was her father, though. Not just that, but she didn't want this guy to know more about her than he should. His presence confused much her more than just a random stranger's should.

Why?

"How about his current residence?"

"Y-yes, he lives at that tall building over there. See? It's the one with the really large window. The path's just behind that wall."

"Ah, I do see. So he hasn't moved...Very well, I thank you for your assistance." With a small smile, he bowed his head slightly to her and offered a hand. Sally saw this as a gesture for a handshake, but when she placed her small hand in his, the man took it and brought it to his lips.

At once, she felt an ice-cold chill and her vision became blurry. Everything darkened and faded, and instead, she found herself holding a silver ring with a blood-red jewel in the middle. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. Slowly, a small crack began to form, trailing a small line across the middle. The stone unceremoniously cracked and the broken prices resembled a crudely-shaped heart.

It disintegrated and the stone-less ring slowly reappeared as the infamous wedding band. Writing carved itself onto the inside of it, and Sally stared in horror as the words glowed like flames about to explode:

Save me from this tragedy.

A/N: Hey! I actually updated!

I'm sorry I haven't done anything with this story for a while now, by the way. Heh.

Oh, yes, if anybody wants to see LockXShock or BarrelXShock action, please let me know. That way I could incorporate it into the story. But if not, I'll just stick to small hints and whatnot. ;]

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!