SC: Okay, since I don't have any inspiration for my other stories, I'm going to try TNBC again. Mainly because whenever I have writer's block for everything else, I can usually write this. So, here's the first chapter of Quintessence!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Nightmare Before Christmas or any of its characters, just the ones I made up.

--

Chapter 1

Halloween

My name is Edward Jason Skellington, but everyone just calls me Ed. Or Eddy, but that's only my grandma. I'm eight years old, my birthday is May thirteenth, I'm a middle triplet, and the second youngest child in my family. Who are completely insane. But, you know, that's a good thing where we live.

My dad is Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, the Master of fright, etc., etc. He's abnormally tall, likes to wear his pinstripe suits- a lot-, and has no skin. Or muscles. He's a skeleton, what do you expect? My mom, Sally, is a rag doll. Grandpa made her, but then she fell in love with dad, so he let her go and made Grandma Jewel.

My older brother Johnny is the oldest of us triplets. He looks a lot more like dad than me or Mercy do. He's all bones, except for the left half of his chest and his arm. Johnny's kinda crazy sometimes, and he likes to be in charge ALL the time. He also has the ability to see what happened in the past if he focuses hard enough while he's touching a person, like how they died, or something like that. For some reason, dad won't let him do it to anyone in the family. Don't see why, but…

Then there's me. Most of the time, I think that I'm the only sane person in the family. I still think I was born oldest, because Johnny certainly doesn't act like it. I look more like mom does, though I do have a quite skeletal right arm. I have dark red hair that I really need to cut; it's getting to the point where even Lock is calling it shaggy, which is ridiculous when you look at his hair. When I was about five, I found out that I could do something that Grandpa called 'scrying.' If I look into a mirror, or anything that has a reflective surface (I know; I've practiced), I can see what's going on somewhere else in Halloween Town. But it's pretty random, and I can't really focus it. Together, me and Johnny can have these "group" premonitions like mom has, but it doesn't work when we're on our own.

Mercy is our little sister. She used to be a pretty normal kid- you know, other than being dead- but lately, she's gotten really quiet and withdrawn. Like me, she's got mom's red hair, but she doesn't have any bone parts like my and Johnny do; Mercy's all rag doll. She really likes to paint, and she's really good for someone who's only eight, but she hasn't even been doing that lately. I don't think she's been too happy about not having and clairvoyant abilities like me and Johnny, and to tell the truth, I think she's a little jealous of our big sister Aubrey.

Speaking of Aubrey, I haven't heard anything from her yet tod-

--

Ed winced, dropping his pen, as there was a sound like a crash from downstairs, almost covered by a yell of 'BIRTHDAY TACKLE!' He sighed and picked his pen back up.

--

-today, which is- sorry, WAS- odd because it's Halloween, which means that it's Aubrey's twenty-seventh birthday… and deathday, for that matter. That also means that the crash I just heard from downstairs was Lock, Shock, and Barrel tackling her. It's some weird tradition they have.

I've learned not to question them. But anyway, back to Aubrey.

Aubrey's not really my sister, not by blood anyway. If I had blood, I mean. Apparently, she knew dad back when she was alive somehow, and after she died, mom and dad adopted her. Something about a key… I never really got it. Anyway, she's the next heir to the throne, but that's going to take a while. Halloween Town usually has the same ruler for centuries, and dad isn't that old compared to some of the other kings. But she's a really cool big sister anyway. Lately, she's been letting her white hair grow out so now it's down to her waist. She's got two sets of these creepy 'fallen angel' wings that she can make disappear when she needs to; which means that she has to be difficult and hardly ever does. She's got really bright red eyes, and white skin- like everyone else in Halloween Town. I mean, come on, we're dead. That means no pulse, and no blood circulation-.

Lock is Aubrey's boyfriend. He's pretty cool, if not a little extreme with the pranks he pulls sometimes. He's got BRIGHT red hair, like inhumanly so, that he keeps pretty short and spikes up. He's also got this little rattail ponytail, hence my earlier comment about him judging my hair. Aubrey says that Lock keeps his hair short to show off the horns that grew in back when they were teenagers. She also likes the ponytail, 'cause she uses it to yank him around like it's a leash or something. Lock's also a pyromancer. Which means that he likes to set things on fire, or that's what Shock says.

Shock is Aubrey's best friend. She's also like the best witch in town, except for Hazel and Zoë, but that's just because they're the head of the witches council and still have, like, a millennium on her. She's got pale skin like everyone else, but it's a pale green instead of just white or white-blue, and the wildest black hair I've ever seen. She's also dating Barrel.

Barrel is the only white mage Halloween Town's ever had since the seventeenth century, when all the witches- good and bad- were being hunted down and killed. He's also one of the best at hand to hand combat, as has been proven when he and Lock fight. He's got the weirdest hair color too; it's like someone mixed a yellow and green highlighter. Barrel keeps his hair slicked back most of the time, but it's shaggier than mine is when he doesn't. Longer too; it goes down to his shoulders.

--

Ed looked up as there was a quiet knock on his door. "Who is it?"

The door creaked open and he turned to see Mercy standing in his doorway. "Mom wanted me to tell you breakfast is ready." She said in a quiet, whispery voice.

He nodded. "'Kay, thanks Mercy. Be down in a sec." She nodded and walked out. Ed closed his journal and put it in his top desk drawer, locking it with the key around his neck.

--

"Pancakes!" Johnny cried joyously as Sally set his plate down in front of him.

"Does Aubrey ever have anything else?" Shock asked, grabbing the syrup before Lock could. He glared at her.

"May all your bacon be burnt." He muttered.

Aubrey laughed, tugging on Lock's ponytail lightly. "What can I say? I love mom's pancakes."

Ed came rushing into the room and grabbed an empty chair, plopping down between Barrel and Lock. "Aubrey, you aren't being very original." He commented, cutting a forkful of his breakfast and popping it in his mouth.

She shrugged. "I don't have to be. It is my birthday, therefore, we have pancakes. Deal."

Jack sent her a look. "Aubrey, be nice."

The white-haired girl sent him a sheepish smile. "Sorry dad. Hey, we're still heading to Paris tonight, right? Or did we change it back to London?"

"Paris." Jack confirmed with a nod. "It's going to be raining in London."

Aubrey scrunched her nose. "Eeuch. I hate rain. I can't fly with wet wings. And I was going to get really mad if all that French I've been learning was for nothing."

"Well, not for nothing." Lock said, grinning over at her. She rolled her eyes and elbowed him.

Aubrey leant forward and looked over at Shock and Barrel. "You guys are coming too, right?"

Barrel grinned over at Shock. "Mais bien sûr."

"Translation: duh. (actually, it translates to 'but of course.')" Shock said, giving her a "you're an idiot" look.

A piece of bacon was promptly tossed at the witch's head. "You don't have to be rude about it, I was just asking."

Ed rolled his eyes as they continued to talk about it. He, Johnny, Ed, and Mercy were too young to go to Living World on Halloween unaccompanied; Jack was going to be busy doing his job as Pumpkin King- a.k.a scaring the shit out of some living people- and Sally was going to be busy helping, so they were going to stay with Dr. Finklestein this year. Tuning out the conversation, he let his eyes drift over the table, where they fell on Mercy.

The young girl was glaring down at her food, her fist tight around her fork. Glancing slightly over, (a/n: yes, I know. They have no eyes. Ed can just tell, okay?) her eyes (not a word out of any of you!) fell on the glass of juice beside her plate. Her gaze traveled from the glass to Aubrey, whom she was sitting next to, several times before her hand 'accidentally' tipped the glass, spilling the juice out onto the table… and all over Aubrey's lap.

Letting out a surprised yell, Aubrey jumped up. "Sorry!" Mercy apologized immediately.

Aubrey shook her head, smiling over at her. "It's alright, Mercy. It was just an accident, right?"

For a second, Ed could've sworn he saw Mercy glare at Aubrey, but it passed as quickly as he thought it came, and she just nodded. "Besides, no harm done, it was just really cold." She scratched the back of her head. "Guess I'll go get dressed early."

"Hold on, Aubrey, I can get it." Barrel stopped her. "Naelc." The stains disappeared off of the table and Aubrey's pajama pants.

"Nice, Barrel." Aubrey admonished, sitting back down.

"So THAT'S how you keep your room so clean!" Lock accused. "I knew you didn't clean it all up yourself." Barrel just grinned at him.

-Halloween Night-

"See you later, guys!" Aubrey called over her shoulder as she, Lock, Shock, and Barrel ran off.

Sally kissed each of the triplets on the cheek. "Behave for your grandpa."

"Yes ma'am." Johnny and Ed said with a decidedly bored tone. Mercy nodded, watching as Jack and Sally walked off toward the graveyard.

Dr. Finklestein whirred past them and shut the door. "Well, what should we do tonight?"

"I'm going to go help grandma." Ed said, running off toward the kitchen.

Johnny grinned at the doctor hopefully. "Can I help in the lab?"

"Of course, my boy." Dr. Finklestein turned his head toward Mercy. "What about you, my dear? Care to join us?"

Mercy shook her head. "I'll go explore." She said quietly, turning and going outside.

--

Explore. Right. Ha! I know my way around grandpa's lab so well I could make it around with my eyes closed. Figuratively speaking.

I sat down on a crooked step on the porch, kicking at a frog that was trying to sneak up the stairs. It let out a startled croak and jumped back, falling down the steps. My eyes widened, thinking I'd hurt it, but then I glared when it flipped itself over and hopped back out to the acid works. "Stupid frog." I muttered, resting my cheek against a fist.

Of course, it wasn't really the frog I was mad at. It just happened to be a nearby way to take out frustration. This frustration was stemmed from the fact that my artistic muse seemed to have abandoned me. Normally, I painted whenever I was mad. Now I couldn't even do that!

It was Aubrey's fault for being so… so… perfect all the time. She always gets all of the attention, what with her being the 'Pumpkin Princess' and all. She doesn't even like the name!

With a huff, I kicked a random bolt down the steps and went back inside. I could hear Ed and grandma in the kitchen, and I could hear Johnny and grandpa in the lab. I didn't want to be with any of them right now. So, I had everything between the floor and the elevator to the lab to be alone in. I started up the stairs.

--

I didn't realize how hard it was to entertain yourself when you were bored out of your mind. I'd already been to mom's old room, Igor's room (the little hunchback was out in the junkyard somewhere, I guess.), and a bunch of storage rooms. Nowhere I hadn't already been before, and nothing I hadn't seen. Sighing, I trudged up the next flight of stairs, to be face with the elevator to grandpa's lab. I frowned. Explosions and other such noises were coming from upstairs, and I really didn't feel like finding out what they were being made from. I turned slightly, and that's when I noticed the other door, at the end of the floor.

Now, I had never seen this door before. Or, if I had, I certainly hadn't noticed. Glancing at the still raised elevator, then over the banister to make sure that no one was coming, I moved down the hall swiftly, tugging on the door.

It didn't budge.

I was more curious than ever now. Tugging harder, the door slid open with a loud screech. I froze, looking both at the elevator and downstairs. Still no sign of movement whatsoever, so I attempted to squeeze through the opening in the door. I heard something tear, and once I was through, I looked down to see that my arm was falling halfway off. Sighing, I pulled a needle out of my hair (they actually make very good bobby pins) and began sewing my almost detached limb back on. Then I looked up, and my mouth dropped, along with the needle. I had somehow stumbled upon this huge library that grandpa had obviously been accumulating since he died.

"What is all of this?" I whispered, looking over the rows of books. My fingers skimmed along the titles; most of which were in foreign languages that I couldn't read; some I didn't even recognize.

"Mercy?" I jolted, then realized that it was just grandma calling me from downstairs. I slipped back out the door and peered over the railing, making sure to hide my still half-falling-off arm.

"Yes?"

She looked up at me. "Eddy and I," I could almost see Ed cringe at the nickname, "are making gingersnaps. Would you like to help?"

I paused, glancing over my shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Be down in a sec." She smiled and walked back into the kitchen. I shoved the door shut (no noise this time, thank goodness) and did a hasty stitch up job on my arm before running downstairs.

-Later that night, after the Award's Ceremony…-

"Lock, c'mon, come play with us!" Johnny pleaded, pulling on said devil-horned corpse's hand.

"Please?" Ed asked, doing much the same with the other hand.

Lock smirked down at them. "Later, I promise. Right now…" He looked over the boys' heads to see Aubrey standing on the other side of the square, talking to Shock and Sandy, who had snuck out of the underworld to come and visit Aubrey on her birthday.

Johnny and Ed looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Right now you want to go and make kissy faces at Aubrey." Johnny said, sticking out his tongue.

Lock smacked the back of his head lightly. "You won't be thinking like that when you get a girlfriend, trust me."

Ed grinned sneakily up at Lock. "So, you gonna ask her?"

Lock stared down at him, obviously trying not to look surprised. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Johnny and Ed grinned at each other before singing, "Dun, dun, du-dun, dun, dun, du-dun…"

Lock's face flushed bright red and he clapped a hand over each of their mouths. "How did you two find out?" He hissed.

Ed pulled his hand away. "It wasn't hard. I saw you shove the box in your pocket before you guys left."

"Plus," Johnny said, "It's Halloween, a.k.a Aubrey's favorite holiday and her birthday. I'm surprised no one ELSE has figured it out yet."

Lock sighed, knowing the 'we have blackmail on you' tone when he heard it. He practically invented it. "Okay, what do you want?"

Johnny grinned, tapping his chin. "Well…"

Ed clapped a hand over his brother's mouth this time. "Just go ask her."

Lock laughed. "Deal. Oh, and the candy's in my room." Both boys grinned widely and ran off toward Skellington Manor. Lock shook his head and walked over to the girls. He wrapped his arms around Aubrey's waist from behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Come dance with me."

Aubrey looked back at him. "Is that an order or a request?" Lock just rolled his eyes and spun her around to face him, pulling her over to where the band was playing.

The sudden change in music didn't go unnoticed by anyone, especially not the Pumpkin King. Sally put a hand on his arm, smiling. "Jack, look." She whispered, pointing over to Lock and Aubrey. Jack followed his wife's finger. He smiled as he watched the two twirl around the small, designated 'dance floor'.

The royal couple weren't the only ones watching. "Would you look at that?"

"Stunning."

"Such a perfect pair." Came the murmurs from the on looking crowd.

Begrudgingly, Mercy had to admit she agreed with them. Lock and Aubrey just… fit together. Not once- ONCE- had they ever practiced dancing together, but it flowed seamlessly, like they had rehearsed for hours and hours. Mercy found it ironic- considering the whole angel/devil thing- how perfect the two of them were together.

But that didn't mean she had to like it. Though even she had to admit that the way the two of them moved was stunning and completely enthralling- no one could pull their eyes away.

The music stopped before they did, though they quickly did once they realized the music was no longer playing, blushing slightly as they stepped apart, though Lock hammed it up and bowed, still holding Aubrey's hand. He pulled her toward the graveyard, the two of them easily maneuvering through the crowd and their complements.

"Lock, what are we doing out here?" Aubrey asked as her boyfriend led her through the gravestones.

"I told you, it's a surprise." He said, smiling back at her over his shoulder. He kicked the pumpkin at the base of Spiral Hill, making it uncurl and reveal the shortcut to the Hinterlands.

"Alright." Lock said, stopping suddenly. "We're here."

Aubrey looked around. All she saw were the dead Hinterland trees. "Lock, where are we?"

He smirked over at her. "What, you don't recognize it?" Aubrey began to shake her head, then looked around again. The place did seem oddly familiar. The trees seemed to be standing in a ring around the clearing, and there were crows circling overhead.

Her eyes widened. "This is…"

"Where the door was." Lock confirmed. "The first place I ever met you. Remember?"

She laughed. "How could I forget that? You, Shock, and Barrel tried to kidnap me to feed to Oogie."

Lock chuckled slightly. "Yeah. I ever apologize for that?"

"Not really, but you made up for it by saving my life. Three times." Aubrey frowned, giving Lock a confused look. "Lock, why are we out here? Why are you bringing all this up?"

Lock took his hand out of Aubrey's, slipping it in his pocket. "I just thought that this would be the best place to ask you."

If anything, Aubrey got more confused. "Ask me? Lock, ask me…" She stopped, her eyes widening in realization as they flicked between Lock's face and the hand he had hidden in his pocket. "Lock?"

Lock closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pulling his hand out of his pocket. With his free hand, he took Aubrey's wrist and placed a small, red velvet box in her hand. "Open your present." He said quietly.

Aubrey looked down at the box in her hand, forgetting how to breathe for several moments. Not that she needed it, but still. Her hands were shaking as she opened the lid of the box, and she gasped as she saw what was inside, a hand going up to cover her mouth. On the black velvet cushion sat a shining silver ring. In its setting (which had been made to look like a thorny vine, the thorns holding in the gem) was a crimson stone that was cut so that when light hit it, a flame appeared to be dancing inside the solid rock.

Lock wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. "La pierre de feu. The fire rock. It's the same thing that the gem in your necklace is made out of." Aubrey looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes wide. He let go of her and walked back around to face her again, taking the box out of her hands and the ring out of the box. "Aubrey." She looked up at him, her eyes staying on his face as he went down to one knee. "Will you marry me?"

It took several tries for Aubrey to speak, but finally she managed. "Yes." She whispered. "Yes, yes, oh, Lock, yes!"

--

"Barrel, stop attempting to be sneaky. It doesn't work." Shock sighed, looking up from her book and over her shoulder at said boy.

Barrel grinned and plopped down next to her. "Why are you all the way out here? I thought you liked parties." 'Here' happened to be the bottom steps of Skellington Manor, where Shock was sitting.

She rolled her eyes. "I did before Sandy had to leave. Lock and Aubrey still haven't come back and they're standing right behind me aren't they?" Barrel nodded. Shock took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Shutting her book, she stood up and turned around, glaring at the couple. "How many times have I told you not to-" The witch stopped suddenly, her mouth falling open.

Barrel peered around at Shock's face. She had her eyes fixed on something intently. Following his girlfriend's gaze, Barrel suddenly realized what she was staring at. The silver ring that was resting on Aubrey's finger.

"Holy crap." He finally managed to get out. That, however, was about the same time as Shock let out a very loud squeal and tackled Aubrey, consequently sending both girls falling to the ground.

"Ow… Shock, that hurt…" Aubrey groaned, extricating herself from beneath the witch.

Shock just laughed and hugged her again. "Congrats." Then, she turned around and glared half-heartedly at Lock. "Took you long enough!"

Lock smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging. "I was trying to figure out how to tell Jack."

"Tell Jack what?" Lock leapt around in surprise to see the Pumpkin King and Queen standing behind him, a look of wry amusement on said King's face.

Aubrey stood up and walked over to stand next to Lock. "You tell him or I will." She warned/threatened, her hand conveniently hidden by the fact that she was hugging Lock's arm.

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.'

--

SC: Woot! I finally got this done! Yeah, I know, it's been a long time coming. But, it's really long, so… forgive me? Anyway, Read and Review! Oh, and better title ideas would be MUCH appreciated.

Ja ne
SC