Author's Note: Uh…yeah. You see, there is a perfectly logical explanation as to why I haven't updated in a while. It's almost Christmas, of course, and that means things everywhere are a lot busier. Man, I've gotta get some better excuses…

Anyway, I do have a favor to ask. I've created a poll for my profile page. There, you can vote on which "Ed Edd n Eddy/Nightmare Before Christmas Crossover" story is your favorite. Go to my profile page to vote for your favorite! Happy reading! ;)-AMX


Chapter 10: The Dark Graveyard: The Search for Lock, Shock, and Barrel

"My goodness…" said Double D. "What a terrifying ordeal."

"Can I get an exploding mushroom, too?" asked Ed.

"Ed, why would you want one of those?" asked Eddy.

"One of what?" asked Ed.

Eddy groaned.

"So…uh…what happened next?" asked Double D.

"Well, after that, we went to find Lock, Shock, and Barrel," said Jack.

"Oh, yeah," said Baron. "That wasn't much of a heart attack; more like a headache, if you ask me…"


"Geez…" said Baron, once again looking around the Graveyard. "This is starting to feel like a merry-go-round…"

"Well, the faster we corner those kids, the faster we stop all this madness," said Jack. Suddenly, he stopped.

"What's up?" asked Baron.

"That's odd," said Jack. "Does it seem…darker here to you?"

Baron looked around. Jack was right. The whole area seemed to be less well lit than before…

BANG!

Baron jumped. "What the heck?"

"And I'll bet anything that that sound is the cause of the dimming," said Jack. "Come on!"

"Fine," Baron grumbled. "But if the bug's bigger than me, I'm out!"

However, it was not a bug making the banging sound. Rather, it was a large, walking bathtub with three brats in it. The bathtub was repeatedly slamming into a street lamp, the source of light in the Graveyard.

"HEY!" Baron yelled.

Just as he did, the street lamp's bulb shattered, pouring darkness throughout the whole Graveyard. All the trio could hear was the sound of giggling, then somebody running down the path in front of them.

"Great…" said Baron. "Now what?"

"So that's why it's so dark here," said Jack, cautiously beginning to walk down the path again. "We need to go after them!"

"How?" asked Baron, following Jack and Zero. "I can barely see my hand in front of my face!"

"Well, this path only goes one way," said Jack. "That helps."

"In that case, you keep leading," said Baron.

---

"Oh," said Jack. "Look who it is!"

Baron looked. A little further down the path was the Mayor.

"Mayor!" said Jack, running up to him. "Did you see a walking bathtub around here?"

"Yes, I did," said the Mayor; he sounded disgusted. "Those three troublemakers are going all over the Graveyard and breaking the street lamps. Nobody can see!"

"Well, duh," said Baron.

"Luckily, I just happen to have an extra Bat Lamp with me," said the Mayor, handing it to Jack. "I'm sure you'll put it to good use."

"Did they go deeper into the Graveyard?" asked Jack.

"Yes, they did!" said the Mayor. "When you find them, put their lights out with the Frog Gun!"

"Oh, great," said Baron. "More puns…"

---

"I'm guessing this isn't going to be easy," said Baron.

"Well, like I said, the path's one-way," said Jack. "But…there are plenty places to hide around here…"

"So it isn'tgoing to be easy," said Baron. "HEY! I SEE THEM!"

Further down the path was a silhouette of the walking bathtub. Baron leapt into the air and landed right on…just that. A silhouette.

"Oh, no…" said Jack. "A decoy!"

"You think there's more of them?" Baron asked, picking himself up.

"Knowing them?" asked Jack. "Yes."

"Great," Baron grumbled.

"Well, your technique seems effective in getting rid of the decoys," said Jack. "I'm sure if we keep it up, we'll find them in no time!"

"In that case, I hope we find them soon," said Baron. "That hurt!"

---

So Baron, Jack, and Zero explored further down the path, exposing any decoys they could find (albeit in a less painful fashion), until they got to a large barrier.

"Now what?" asked Baron.

"Well, do you think we missed any decoys?" asked Jack.

Suddenly…

"CHARGE!"

The walking bathtub zipped right past the trio, crashing through the barrier and continuing down the path.

"Uh…" said Baron. "Oh-kaaaaay…"

"Well, that was easy," said Jack. "I think they're headed toward Spiral Hill!" He began running down the path again, followed by Zero.

"Spiral Hill?" asked Baron, following them. "Why do they call it that?"

---

When they got to Spiral Hill, Baron got his answer. The tip of the hill looped over the side, causing it to end in a huge spiral.

"You got a plan?" Baron asked Jack.

"We just need to chase them for a little longer," said Jack. "This leads to a dead end!"

"Dead end," said Baron. "And we're in a Graveyard…funny how things like that can happen, isn't it?"

Sure enough, as the trio continued down Spiral Hill (and as Baron got a demonstration on how the end of the hill could stretch out into a ramp), they soon came upon a dead end, where three brats in a tub were cornered.

The three children nervously looked at Jack and Baron.

"Uh…hi Jack," said Lock.

"And…Jack's friend," said Shock.

"How are you guys doing?" asked Barrel.

"None of your business!" said Baron. "And don't you play innocent with us. The jig is up!"

"Why are you trying to ruin Halloween?" asked Jack.

"Uh…" said Shock.

"What do we say?" Lock asked the others.

"How should I know?" asked Barrel. "The boss never told us we'd get caught…"

"Boss?" asked Baron.

"Now you've done it!" said Shock.

The three children in the tub started bickering with each other.

"Geez," said Baron as he and Jack watched the scene in front of them. "Kinda reminds me of my brother and me…"

"Who is your boss?" Jack asked.

The three brats' "conversation" was stopped cold.

"Uh…here, Jack!" said Shock. "Have a present!"

A box wrapped in a ribbon was tossed out from the tub and landed right in front of Jack and Baron.

"A…present?" asked Jack.

"Ooh, don't mind if I do!" said Baron, running over to the present and ripping the lid off it.

Seeing an opportunity, Lock, Shock, and Barrel zipped out past the distracted trio.

"Hey!" Baron exclaimed, looking inside the package. "There's nothing in here!"

"And even worse…" said Jack. "They're gone!"

Baron looked around. "UGH!" he groaned. "Why do I always fall for that?!"

"Hey, there's something in the way!" Lock's voice was heard saying a few feet down the path.

"Who cares?" asked Shock.

"Yeah, ram it!" said Barrel.

A few seconds later, the Mayor was rolling down toward the trio, yelling all the way.

"I'm guessingthat's what was in the way," said Baron.

"Are you all right, Mayor?" asked Jack.

"Don't worry about me," said the Mayor, getting up. "They're getting away! Please hurry!"

"Right!" said Jack, running in the same direction the tub was heading. Baron and Zero followed.

---

"Aw, man!" said Baron, looking at the sight before him. "They've thought ofeverything!"

Baron had good reason to be upset; a little past Spiral Hill, Lock, Shock, and Barrel has placed a giant tombstone right in the middle of the path, preventing the team from going any further.

"Then we'll have to go back the way we came and find another way around," said Jack.

"Huh?" Baron asked. "But…you said that was a dead end!"

"For them," said Jack. "You'll see what I mean. Come on!"

Soon, the trio found themselves back at the dead end.

"All right," said Baron. "We're here. Now what?"

"Prepare to be amazed," said Jack, taking out his Spicy Bottle.

"Oh-ho!" said Baron. "Finally gonna test that stuff out?"

Jack didn't answer him; instead, he downed half of the contents in the bottle.

What happened next was something of a blur to Baron. Suddenly, instead of Jack standing beside him, there was a giant scarecrow…on fire! The scarecrow suddenly leapt through the air and dove right into the wall; surprisingly, the fire easily destroyed it. Then the next thing Baron knew, Jack was standing on the other side of the scorched wall, a few small burning pieces of clothing falling off his black-and-white pinstripe suit.

A dumbstruck Baron walked through the new path and stopped right in front of Jack.

Jack smiled at Baron's expression. "Impressive, no?" he asked.

"That was awesome…" Baron murmured as a response.

"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" Jack asked. Then he turned around. His expression changed. "Hey, that's odd," he said. "That door looks like one I saw in Dr. Finkelstein's lab."

Baron looked around Jack. Sure enough, there was a big, metal door there. He then turned around at the singed remains of the original wall behind them.

"Man," he said. "How'd that stuff burn so easily?"

"Well, that wall wasmade of bone," said Jack. Baron whipped his head back around to Jack as he continued. "I feel bad now. Someone must have put a lot of work into arranging those."

"You mean, arrange a bunch of bleached body parts?" asked Baron, somewhat disgusted.

Jack walked to the door and opened it. "It's a dirty job, Baron," he said. "But somebody's gotta do it." With that, he and Zero walked through the door.

Baron stared for a moment. "Eh," he muttered, shrugging; he then followed the others through the door. "I'm just glad it ain't me."