a/n: well... that was a surpirise! luckily i'm working ahead and fast! Thank you to all that have read, whether you reviewed or not! thank you, thank you, thank you! now on to the disclaimer:

Disclaimer: see last chapter... now on to the story!

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I wake up to hear the alarm go off.

But then it hits me; we don't have an alarm. I look to the bottom bunk to see that Barrel has already gotten up and changed.

I hop down and quickly change into a new red devil outfit, the same as every other day, and I run down the steps only to run headfirst into Shock.

"What is it?" I ask, rubbing my sore head.

She shrugs and I turn to Barrel, who is also shrugging with a spoon in his mouth, as he sits in front of a bowl of breakfast, leftovers from yesterday probably.

I go outside and see Jack headed towards town. I want to call out, like any other day, but something stops me. A voice in my head. It's the echo of a warning we have gotten from Mr. Oogie Boogie, "Jack is not my friend anymore! You hear that kids?! He is no longer my friend and you are to have nothing to do with him!" We never figured out what made him so mad, but we know not to cross him.

I walk back inside and see that no one left me any breakfast.

I look at them both and they smile at me, putting on a more wicked grin then anything.

I walk over to our stash of trick-or-treating candy and pull out a chocolate (a/n: yes Halloween Town has chocolate, it would be a crime if they didn't!).

Shock and Barrel follow my example, Shock taking a hard candy and Barrel taking a sucker.

"What do you think?" Barrel turns to me.

"I have the same thought as you," we never need any explanation of what the other says, we understand each other perfectly.

We both turn to Shock, "If you two don't know..."

We accept the facts and sit down, wasting the day away as usual.

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An hour later, I hear the mailbox, which we have at a very inconvenient spot (between the start of the huge drop in to the crevice and the tree house), open and close. I watch the race between Shock and Barrel as they head out and decide to join in.

We race into the front hall where Shock grabs my tail and throws me aside, but not before I grab Barrel's collar and he grabs Shock's dress.

The three of us are quickly into a mess and things are near impossible to make out. A few times I swear I am biting and punching myself, but the fight is over fast, for Mr. Oogie Boogie has emerged from his gambling hall and is holding Shock and Barrel off of me as I recover, having been the last one punched.

As the three of us catch our breaths not a single one of us dares look our "father" in the eye, knowing the first is always the one that has to answer the question.

"Who started this?!" I look up to see that Shock has taken the blame, it was her turn any ways.

"I did, Mr. Oogie Boogie," her innocent act starting to be played. First the confession.

Second, the puppy dog eyes.

Third, "I won't do it again," the promise.

And bingo!

He sets Shock and Barrel down, gentle, but not as soft as a parent would.

The three of us stand still, all the while the boogie man walks down the tunnel to his lair, the walk that always seems the longest when we want to do something, but don't dare move.

When he finally leaves we all dash out the door and look in the mailbox. It's a single letter.

Shock grabs it a tears the envelope before Barrel or I could react.

She reads the letter off to us, "Shock, Lock, and Barrel,

This is an invitation to a great extravaganza. This year Halloween Town is celebrating Christmas and I, Jack Skellington, need your help in setting this up. Please arrive in town today for more details.

Signed, Jack."

My gaze travels between Barrel and Shock, both unable to talk. Grins start to spread across our faces.

"We get to..." I start.

"Go to town..." Shock adds.

"And celebrate Christmas!" Barrel finishes. In the silence that follows he adds, "What's Christmas?"

"Maybe it's like trick-or-treating," my excitement shows.

"ONLY BETTER!" Shock yells.

We don't waste our time in running back to the tree house. We quickly grab our masks; we hate going out in public without them. So few of people know what we really look like.

"What do you think we could help with?" I ask.

"Why, the tricks of course!" Shock answers.

"But besides that, I mean. How hard could it be for THEM to think up some good tricks now and then?" my point being taken Shock and Barrel shrug. We ponder for only a moment longer.

"We are the best," Barrel comments, with this, and a few evil-sounding laughs sneaking out, we head to town.

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a/n: ta da! another chapter! getting good? i wouldn't know without a good review! um... maybe only 2 this time... i think i still need a limit... ttyl!

hiei1317 ;)