Disclaimer: Really, you should know by now, but just incase.... I do not own Nightmare Before Christmas, okay?

Shock wasted no time in distancing herself as much as possible from Lock without loosing him. They walked in between the trees at least ten feet away from each other, her never so much as glancing back at him. The atmosphere was tense, and Lock could almost feel the seconds ticking by way too slow. Not wanting to break the delicate tranquility, he simply strolled along behind her, watching her coal-black curls glisten in the sun's rays, swaying slightly as she walked. He exhaled lightly. Now he did it. If there was one thing he knew about his female companion, it was that she did not forgive quickly, or easily. She could hold a grudge for weeks, never having a change of attitude towards you, if you angered her enough. There was always something about girls he'd never get. They were so confusing!

Several minutes ticked by before he spoke.

"Uh... Shock?" Lock asked vigilantly. She turned her head to the side enough to look at him, before, as if she suddenly remembered she was mad, shooting a sharp glare at him, quickly turning her head back around, hair whipping through the fresh morning air. Walking as silently and as swiftly as he could, he snuck up behind her until he was close enough to touch her, in which he put his hand on her shoulder. Mistake number one. She whipped around faster than you can blink, pulling out a scalpel in the process, aiming it directly at his neck, the blade glinting dangerously. He froze, eyes wide, staring at the blade precariously. He slowly put his finger on the flat side of the scalpel, driving it away from him. "Shock, can I talk to you?"

She flipped the weapon back in her pocket before leaning against a nearby acacia. "What do you want?" Shock replied capriciously, eyeing him darkly, her eyes looking unusually violet for her.

"Look, about last night-" But he was cut off as she flipped her palm in front of his face.

"I don't want to hear it. Scram." Shock remarked harshly, continuing walking. He quickly went to walk next to her.

"Hey, I just want to talk to you about it! I don't want you mad at me until we find Barrel!" Lock pleaded.

"Scram and you won't even notice." She replied, her tone as cold as her skin.

"Oh, come on, Shock! You can't stay mad at me this long!" He exclaimed dramatically, swinging his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged him off.

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

Lock pouted, "You're no fun!"

The rays of sun shone vividly on the sleeping teenager, illuminating his lime green hair. Barrel was dozing on his side, his hand over his face, his sweater sprawled out from nightly tossing and turning. Unbeknownst to him, a creek that he had not noticed before flowed peacefully behind him. The fresh dew blanketed the vegetation around him. As he slept, a single dew drop cunningly slid down a rich green leaf on the hickory tree he was sleeping under. As it reached the edge of the leaf, it dripped down on his face. Barrel sat bolt upright, looking around for what had dared to disturb his beauty sleep. He looked up at the hickory tree's lush leaves, just before another evil dew drop hit him right on the nose. He scowled. Couldn't a guy sleep in peace outdoors anymore? He stretched, not bothering to put his shirt back on, instead tying it around his waist. The weather was pleasantly warm that morning, so he propped his hands up behind him, or, more accurately, attempted to. Instead, his right arm got plunged straight into the running water of the brook. He jumped at the sudden cold, pulling his arm back out of the water, quickly drying it off. It was then that Barrel noticed a rolled up piece of vellum floating in the water. He picked it up and unrolled it, out of curiosity. Who knew? It was the map he had dropped back home. He scowled. A lot it did now. He crumpled it up, about to throw it back into the river, but froze, a thought coming to him. If the river was flowing from where he was headed, then he must be going the right direction!

His spirit now successfully restored, he jumped up, eager to start going. H knelt down to the stream and cupped his hands, filling them with water. He used that to wash his face, and dipped his hands in, drinking from the creek. Barrel never knew how painful it was to be separated from his friends until now, but he had renewed hope that he would find them. Nothing could go wrong now, he was sure of it. Folding the map back up, and making sure he still had his lollipop, he set off.

Edith walked up to the old wishing well and grabbed a copper coin from the bucket.

"Ooh..." She cackled delightedly, dropping the coin into her cloak pocket, her rosy eyes staring after the boy, some distance away now. "I think this will prove to be fun." She grinned, revealing sharp fangs, and silently walked away.

Barrel would admit one thing right now; he was actually glad his friends couldn't see him. If they saw him skipping, they would've thought he'd gone crazy. He felt a little silly anyway, but he hadn't been this happy since he was a child. It was nice, being bubbly and innocent again. Well, not exactly innocent, but still. One thing was for certain, he'd make sure never to get separated this long from his friends ever again. He swore that to the king of the pumpkins.

Back in Halloween Town, said King stood at the dark treehouse, scratching his skull. The trio always let him in, and at least one of them was always up at this time, but the lights were out. Jack turned to the passing Mayor.

"Have you seen Lock, Shock, and Barrel lately?" Jack asked. At the very mention of their names, the poor Mayor stumbled, dropping the load of papers he was carrying. He scrambled to pick them all up, his face spinning to show his nervousness. Standing back up, the Mayor answered finally.

"I'm afraid not, Jack. I haven't seen them since they let out those giant rats in my house." The Mayor was quick to flee after that, calling back, "We still need to start on the plans for next Halloween!"

Jack shook his head, annoyed yet amused at the Mayor, before looking down at his friend and pet, Zero. "Where could they have gone?"

A/N: I'm so, so, SO sorry! Life's been rough this year (stupid teen years), and I haven't gotten around to updating. My mom had a baby, I've had H1N1 for two or three weeks, and my best friend's having boy trouble. Not to mention, HALLOWEEN! So, I had to get my costume ready (homemade costumes are the best) to go trick-or-treating with my best friend and cousin. For two hours longer than we planned. Whoops. At least we got a ton of candy!

Anyway, I love reviews! See that little button down there... no, the other one... yes, that one! Click it, please?

~Inferno Shock