Quintessence by Hugs.And.Kisses (book recommendations website TXT) 📕

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Lock swallowed and, if possible, got slightly paler. "That… that I, uh… iaskedaubreytomarryme." He said, rushing the words together nervously. Jack blinked, then look over at Aubrey.

"And you said yes, I suppose." He said, crossing his arms and frowning.

Aubrey bit her lip. "Well… I didn't say no." She said hesitantly, revealing the ring to her father.

Jack sighed, smiling wryly. "Doesn't anyone ask my permission for anything these days?"

"You're not mad?" Aubrey asked hopefully.

Jack laughed. "Mad? How could I be mad? Actually, I've been expecting this for a while." Lock flushed and looked away sheepishly. Jack chuckled. "Well, I suppose we'll have to tell the town tomorrow. It's far too late now, and I believe that all of us would do with a good night's rest." He started up the stairs, then paused and smirked down at Lock and Aubrey. "In our own, separate rooms."

Aubrey and Lock turned crimson as Shock and Barrel collapsed to the ground, laughing.

Mercy leapt off of her bed as the door to her room burst open. "Mercy, guess what?"

"Oh." She said, sitting back down. "It's just you two." 'You two' referred to Ed and Johnny, who both had enormous grins on their faces.

"Don't sound so excited." Ed said dryly, still grinning, before tossing her a bag. Mercy caught it and peered inside. Candy, of course.

Johnny let out a small noise that sounded suspiciously whine-like. "Hey!"

Mercy glared at Johnny and Ed, irritated by the fact that they had

Burst into her room without knocking or any sort of warning and

Johnny was now being more annoying than he usually was. But, knowing her

brother, he wouldn't leave her alone, so she finally asked, "What?" She sighed, pulling out a chocolate bat and popping it into her mouth.

"Lock asked Aubrey to marry him!"

Mercy choked on her bat. "Wh-what?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, he asked her earlier. You can tell he's been planning it for months; he even took her away to ask."

Johnny rolled his eyes, sticking out his tongue. "Yeah. I'm sure it was all real romantic and perfect."

Mercy scowled slightly. "Great. Glad to know. Now get out of my room!"

Ed and Johnny blinked, but turned and walked out. "Girls." Johnny muttered, shaking his head.

"Sisters." Ed corrected, shutting Mercy's door and effectively the rest of their conversation.

There was a loud 'thump' as Mercy threw her pillow against the window. "Perfect. Of course. Everything she does is always perfect!" She growled, stomping over and grabbing her pillow. "One of these days I'll prove that Aubrey isn't perfect." She muttered, tossing the fluffy pillow back on the bed and flopping down after it. 'I'll prove that I'm better than her.'


Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Book of Resurrection

"Dad, are you sure about this?" Aubrey asked, sitting on the couch. "I mean, last time you went wandering off after Halloween, you kinda tried to take over Christmas."

Jack smiled at her wryly. "Yes, I'm sure. And I'm NOT going to try and take over Christmas again." Aubrey, Lock, Shock, and Barrel exchanged a grin. "Besides, I'll only be gone for a month or two."

"The Mayor's gonna flip out when he hears about that." Barrel pointed out.

"Not to worry. I've already talked to Dr. Finklestein; he'll take care of everything while I'm gone. He knows what to do. Behave while I'm gone."

Johnny grinned at his father. "Who, us or them?" He asked, jerking his finger to the four sprawled on the couch.

Jack shook his head, smiling. "All of you. Listen to your mother." He ordered Johnny and Ed, who were sitting on either of the armrests of the couch.

"Why isn't Mercy getting the 'behave yourself' speech?" Ed asked, gesturing to his sister; Mercy was sitting on the arm of the chair Sally had seated herself in.

Jack smirked and ruffled his son's hair. "Because Mercy does what she's told. Don't give your mom any problems, alright?"

"Yessir!" Johnny and Ed said, leaping up and fake-saluting the Pumpkin King. Jack chuckled and walked toward the door.

Sally stood and went after him, catching him at the bottom of the steps. "Jack, I really wish you wouldn't do this. What if something happens while you're gone?"

Jack put his hands on Sally's shoulders. "Sally, nothing is going to happen. But if you really don't want me to go…"

Sally shook her head. "No, you're right. I've just been getting weird feelings all day."

Jack frowned. "Maybe I should stay."

"No, it's alright." She assured him. "It's nothing bad. Just… stranger than normal. I'm sure everything will settle down in a few days; you know how it is around here after Halloween."

Jack laughed. "Yes, you're right." He frowned, troubled. "But Sally, if anything does happen, and you need to reach me-"

"Don't worry, Jack. I know a way." She kissed his cheek. "Good luck. And please be careful."

"I will." He assured her, hugging her tightly before walking through the gates of Skellington Manor and the square.

-November 5, Leeches' Lake…-

Ed and Johnny scrambled out of the lake and over to the spot where Lock and Barrel were sitting on the bank. "Lock, let's play chicken!" Johnny begged.

"Yeah, c'mon Barrel!" Ed pleaded, tugging on the older boy's hand.

Lock and Barrel looked at each other and laughed. "Alright, why not." Lock shrugged, standing up. "Hey, Aubrey!" She looked over at him from where she and Shock were practicing their water magic… on each other. "We're gonna play chicken, wanna join?"

"Should we?" She asked Shock.

The witch shrugged. "Don't see why not." Shock trudged over through the water toward the boys. Aubrey started to follow her, then stopped and turned toward the shore.

"Mercy?" Her younger sister looked up from the book she was reading under a tree, far way from the water. "You wanna come play too? I'll be alright with sitting out if you do."

Mercy shook her head. "No. I'm tired, I think I'll just go home."

Aubrey frowned slightly. "Well, alright. Stay on the path." Mercy nodded, picking up her book and walking into the Hinterlands.

"And I don't need your charity." Mercy called over her shoulder as she rounded a twisted corner in the path. Aubrey couldn't have heard her even if she'd said it from the shore; Mercy could hear the loud splashes and playful shrieks and yells from where she was standing.

"Mercy…" Mercy jerked and dropped her book as her name drifted out of the trees, the caller's voice whispery and rough.

Shaking, she bent down and picked up her book. "Calm down, Mercy. It's just the wind, trying to scare you. You just… couldn't feel it." She assured herself, straightening up and starting down the path again.

"Help me… Mercy…" Mercy shrieked, though she managed to keep a grip on her book this time.

Now, Mercy may have had a jealousy problem concerning Aubrey, but she was still a Skellington, and had that strong sense of conscience embedded in her.

Stupid Jack and his stupid morals… er, um, right. Anyway…

"H-hello?" Mercy called tentatively, taking a cautious step toward the edge of the path. She leapt back as the trees seemed to bend away from her and reveal a path through the trees.

Now, if there was one thing that Jack had taught the triplets, it was to never- and I repeat, NEVER(!)- stray off the path in the Hinterlands. Ever. Ever ever, in fact. However, he also taught them to also help people who needed it. Conscience overruling logic, Mercy stepped through the trees, following the impromptu path that was forming in front of her eyes.

Finally, the tree-line curved, and as Mercy stepped through, she saw that she was in a perfectly circular clearing. There was nothing there, absolutely nothing-

Except for the pile of ash in the center of the clearing. "Help me!" A tiny- and muffled- voice called. Kneeling near the pile, Mercy dug through an inch or so of ash before something bright green scuttled out of the pile and up her arm. She jumped slightly, but living in Halloween Town, bugs were something Mercy was used to.

"Thanks, dollface." However, not even she was used to TALKING bugs. Mercy blinked, stunned. "I thought I'd never dig my way out of there."

"How can you…?" Mercy started, then changed her question. "Who ARE you?"

The bug blinked up at her from her shoulder. "A victim of circumstance, I'm afraid. You heard've a girl named Aubrey?"

"Aubrey's my older sister." Mercy replied bitterly, sitting down. She focused her eyes on the ground, just in time to miss the sinister smile flit across the bug's face.

"Somethin' wrong, sugar?"

Mercy scowled slightly. "It's just… ooh, she makes me so mad sometimes! Aubrey's always so perfect! It pisses me off."

The bug crawled up to Mercy's face and patted her cheek, grinning. "Dollface, I think you and I are going to be GREAT friends. The name's Oogie, Oogie Boogie. And I may have a way to help you get back at your sister. But I'll need some help."

Mercy paused. The name sounded familiar, but for some reason she couldn't remember where she'd heard it. Not that she particularly cared at the moment; right now, all she could think of was that this little bug- a little odd in itself, really- was going to help her get even with Aubrey. "What sort of help?"

"The best kind: revenge."

"Grandpa?" Mercy called, stepping through the door of Dr. Finklestein's laboratory. "Are you here?" When no response came, she took a step toward the stairs. "Igor? Grandma?"

Her call echoed through the house, an obvious sign of emptiness. Mercy let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, no one's here."

Something moved in the pocket of her jeans, and Oogie crawled up and onto her shoulder. "Good. You said you found his library?"

Mercy nodded. "Yeah, but what-"

Oogie shook his head. "All in good time, dollface. Now let's get to that library." With a nod, Mercy took up off the stairs. She crept over to the door carefully and tugged on it.

"It's locked." She said after several useless tugs. Oogie 'hmph'ed and crawled down her arm and hand and into the lock below the doorknob. Faintly, Mercy could hear the sound of light 'clicks' and grunts, then stepped back with a gasp as the door swung open easily on its hinges- albeit not without a loud screech.

"You were sayin'?" Oogie grinned, scuttling back up to her shoulder. Mercy rolled her eyes a little before stepping into the room.

"What… what are we looking for?" She asked. Oogie leapt off of her shoulder and onto