Chapter Two: Kids Will Be Kids

"Give it back! Give it back!" The young corpse boy whined, reaching desperately for his toy, which was being held high out of his reach. He tried to tug the girl's arm that held the robot down, reaching up with a chubby hand. His attempts were fruitless, however; the ex-lackey of the infamous bogeyman towered above him, and the jolts that brought her arm down weren't powerful enough to put the toy in his reach. The young witch gave out a wicked screech of laughter, tossing the metal action figure into the air and catching it just as smoothly. The toy robot beeped and blinked its lights in protest of being thrown around like a rag doll. The corpse made a wild jump for it, missed, and crashed into the witch, knocking them both to the ground. Vexed and now mask less, she shoved him away with more force than was necessary and stood up. He struggled to get up as she turned the toy over in her hand, examining it.

"This is a weird toy. 'Not Halloween-y at all," Shock said, pressing a button on the robot's chest, making it beep electronically, "Where'd you get it?"

"Jack gave it to me! Now give it back!" The corpse kid said, standing up. He charged towards her, but she held her arm out, and his face made contact with her hand with a loud smack! The overweight corpse wildly swung his arms, trying to reach the older girl to no avail, and his plump little legs were determined to keep running. Shock almost effortlessly held him far out of reach, teasingly tossing it into the air a few times.

"Jack gave it to you?" She asked, raising a thin eyebrow. The wide smile on her face hinted that she was holding back a laugh that was bubbling up inside her. The idea of the master of fright playing with a peculiar toy like that was one that couldn't help but amuse her.

"Give me it!" He yelled, but her hand muffled his words.

"Hey, Shock!" Barrel shouted from a few feet away, "I'm open! I'm open!" With a small smirk, she tossed the toy to her youngest friend, who caught it with ease. The corpse boy pushed the witch's hand away from his face and ran for Barrel instead. Barrel, not having the advantage of height, threw the robot to Lock. The event continued like that for a while, like a game of monkey in the middle, with Lock, Shock, and Barrel chortling the entire time. Before long, the plump boy had tears of frustration forming between the stitches that kept his eyelids shut. The trio eventually grew bored of the little "game", although the corpse kid was exhausted from running back and forth between the three imps and now had fresh tear paths shining on his dirty cheeks. Deciding that the action figure wasn't worth any more of their time, Barrel threw the robot over his shoulder, sending it pummeling towards the foggy abyss that surrounded the ominous tree house. But it never reached the ground. A long, thin hand stretched out and caught it before it disappeared into the mist. The four children stared as the master of fright straightened up.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" He asked Boogie's Boys, handing the robot figure to the corpse boy, who eagerly grabbed it with pudgy hands and held it close, wiping his tears away.

"What?" Shock asked, "It's his fault. He came over here and tried to steal our bathtub!"

"I was not! I was borrowing it!" The corpse child said in a self-justifying tone. The quartet of children began arguing, although Lock, Shock, and Barrel argued louder and fiercer. They continued to lock horns with the corpse kid, who only tried to pacify them by clearly telling his version of events, until Jack's skull started to pound. He let out a deep roar, revealing his teeth, silencing the group immediately. From what he could gather, Lock, Shock, and Barrel had left their bathtub outside, intending to use it later. The corpse boy had stumbled across the tree house, and decided that he wanted to ride in it without asking permission. The triad of masked trick-or-treaters was very possessive, as Jack knew, and had stolen the kid's favorite toy in revenge. They seemed to view it as "an eye for an eye".

"Alright, this is an easy situation to fix," Jack said, although he was unsure of what he should say. After all, they were old enough to handle it themselves, right? "Ethan, you can stay away from their tree house, and you three can just keep your belongings inside and try not to be mean to people just for coming near your home. Okay?" He asked slowly. Ethan, the corpse child, nodded, eyeing the three older children. Lock, Shock, and Barrel, on the other hand, scowled and turned their noses up. "Okay?" He repeated. Their frowns deepened, but they eventually nodded. "Good. Now, if you don't mind – "

"What is that?" The young witch asked suddenly.

"Huh?" The skeletal man asked, distracted. Without him even seeing, she had pulled a folded sheet of parchment out of his jacket. He reached for it, but she quickly stepped out of reach and began to read it out loud.

"Seventeen, August... butterfly milkweed, wood lily, common daffodil, Spanish bluebells, true forget-me-not, or bloodroot... carbonated water... what is this?" She asked. He hesitated for a second.

"Just some plans for my and Sally's wedding," He admitted. Shock raised her thin eyebrows, grinning.

"You never told us that you were getting married, Jack!"

"I guess it just slipped my mind," Jack replied politely. He held his hand out for the paper, but she kept it clutched her gloved hand. He wriggled his fingers slightly, but she glanced at his hand, not even budging. "Can I please have it back?" Great, you're begging with a child, he thought to himself, slightly amused. The little witch seemed to consider this.

"What will you give me?"

He was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"What will you give me for the paper?" She repeated, rolling her charcoal eyes.

"Are you bribing me for it?" Jack asked weakly. What on earth could she want? She gave a tiny smirk, which he interpreted as a "yes". He sighed. "Alright, what is it that you want?"

"Not now. I'll tell you later," Shock said in a surprisingly calm and collected tone, "but you need to swear that you will do it."

Jack hesitated. He did his best to keep promises, but she might request something that he couldn't do, for whatever reason. She seemed to notice that he was debating with himself, for she waved the creased piece of paper in front of his face.

"Do you want it, or not?" She asked, picking her broom up from off the ground and waving it around a bit for effect. He continued to think for a second, studying her face, trying to see any interior motives that she might have. She began to tap her foot with impatience. "I'm waiting, Jacky." He sighed once again.

"Very well," He said slowly. With a satisfied nod, she handed the paper to him. He took it and stood up. He dusted off his jacket and began to walk towards home.

"I wouldn't use lilies, by the way."

He paused and turned around.

"Why?"

Shock shrugged.

"Tearaway's allergic."

A/N: I know, I know, it's kind of short. And I'm sorry because my personal deadline for this was Monday... Well, anyway, I give you the second chapter of Break A Vase! Thank you coraline5555, QueenSkellington, wrestlingfan438, and DarkMasterofCupcakes for your wonderful reviews!

~Inferno Shock