Hi guys~!
Reno: Where the fuck have you been?!
Cid: Readin' fanfiction from Hetalia, Kyo Kara Maoh, Attack on Titan, and Harry Potter.
Jeez, tell my life story while you're at it asshat.
Cid: So I can tell 'em about how yer phone played Houdini at the beach the weekend before your birthday?
...You have two seconds to run.
Yazoo: In the meantime... If you've read Saki's Halloween story, As One, Two, Three last year, this is a form of a prequel about Cavin and me, and meeting Joshua.
Kadaj: Pairings will include them of course, Reno and I, Loz and Tifa, and Sephiroth and Genesis. Animesaki owns only the plot and has shared ownership of Cavin with NekuJosh; all other characters are owned by Square Enix and Disney.
This is Halloween
The sun was hot, that air was suffocating with the amount of kicked-up dust, his ears were filled with the pounding of his heart from adrenaline and fear completely drowning out the voices of the rowdy crowd that watched him, and his hands were slick with sweat as they tried to grip the shield and sword he was given. In his head he could only question his foolishness; why had he resorted himself to this? Becoming a Gladiator to earn money for something that likely wouldn't be real, but then the image of his son's smiling face flashed through his mind silencing his berating, only to change to the same face pale and lifeless, lips blue and chest still; his precious son and only family was dead. He wanted him back so badly that he jumped at the opportunity to bring him back when he heard of it; a nomadic stranger came into town claiming to raise the dead for a price, and in his grieving and desperation he resigned himself to entering the fatal lion's den to do just this.
'You are a fool Cavin, but there is no turning back now... At least, should I die, I will be with my family again...' were his thoughts as the gate across from where he stood began to open.
He had no inkling as to what he would face.
One man, or many?
A child?
A lion?
He personally hoped it would be one of the first as opposed to the last two. To face a child as desperate as he made him sick and a lion would be suicide for even the best Gladiator seeing as Julius Caesar, the sadistic tyrant, had said beasts starved for a week and taunted with fresh, raw meat before they were loosed into the Coliseum driven by aching hunger and blood lust to attack the men sent to face them. Very few left with their lives against the beasts...
...And Cavin was to be one of the unlucky ones as he heard the roar before he saw the lion run out the gate toward him.
He didn't even have time to lift his shield or sword as the big cat tackled him to the dirt and immediately sank its teeth into the flesh of his throat. Blood flowed freely causing the man to choke as he tried to gasp for breath only to cough up blood. It felt like an eternity as the edges of his sight became black and the sounds of the crowd around him slowly quieted; he could feel his pounding heart slowing and his mind echoed with one last thought as Death took him completely.
Mavrick...
This is Halloween
Darkness, but not the darkness of death.
No, this was the darkness of night; a strange comfort to his last memory of life. His green eyes looked up at the star-speckled sky lit by the full moon glowing orange through the leafless branches of the many trees of the forest he stood in. The bark of said trees were dark brown, or black possibly; the ground was hard and dry, covered with dead leaves that rustled quietly as they skittered across the forest floor in the cold wind that caressed his skin.
Was this the afterlife?
Where was his family?
"If this is the realm of Hades the depictions were greatly mistaken..." Cavin murmured to himself as he looked around.
In the near distance he heard leaves crunching, as if someone were walking, and the sound was growing closer. He didn't know if he would meet a friend or foe so he prepared himself to fight if it was to become necessary.
Out of the darkness came a figure taller than him and terribly thin, and as it grew closer the moonlight revealed them; to say Cavin was shocked would be a heavy understatement. The new arrival was a skeleton dressed in strange black and white attire he never saw anyone wear before, and strange sandals that covered his feet completely.
"Are you Hades, god of the Underworld?" he asked meekly.
"Hades?" the skeleton scratched his skull before realization struck him "Oh, you must be from Greece, yes?"
Cavin shook his head, "Rome, but I was born in Greece. My family moved when I was very young. Please, if you are not Hades then who are you? And where am I?"
"Oh, forgive me. I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. Let me be the first to welcome you to Halloween Town!" Jack threw his arms out with a flourish wearing a bright smile he hoped would be seen as friendly as welcoming to the new arrival.
Cavin could only blink as he looked around the forest, "Not really a town if you'll forgive my saying."
"Of course not, this is just the Hinterlands." Jack shrugged and put a hand on the other's shoulders pointing down the path he'd come from "The actual town is that way. Come along! I'll take you to my home, Sally will get you cleaned up, and we'll continue from there."
Having no other option really Cavin went with the eccentric character.
The walk back to Halloween Town itself took the rest of the night; seeing the sun had a face in it was rather disturbing to Cavin, as was the town. Everything was dark in color and atmosphere with the brightest color being a dingy off-yellow; even the daytime sky was dark, and it was cold. Not because the only scrap of clothing his wore was the wrap around his waist; this cold was the kind that sank into one's mind when they have nothing left, the cold that overtook him when his son died in his arms after being ill for so long, when his wife died after giving birth, when his parents were killed in front of him. There was no way he could stay here with this lingering air, so why was he here?
"Oh Jack, is this our new arrival?" a warm, kind female voice reached his ears and pushed the sadness back.
He looked up seeing a woman with long red hair, blue skin with various stitches as if she were hacked and dismembered only to be put back together again, and wore a patchwork dress. She was shorter than Cavin, but she had a warm smile and kind eyes that put him at ease; he could likely get along well with her.
"Meet my wife, Sally. I'll leave you in her hands now; I have to help prepare for Halloween. See you later!" Jack gave him a friendly pat on the back and kissed Sally's cheek before leaving.
Sally took his hand leading him inside, "So, what's your name?"
"My name is Cavin."
"I like that name. Let's get you cleaned up and dress then fed. I'll explain everything and answer all your questions."
"Thank you."
This is Halloween
A week passed, and somehow Cavin accepted this life rather quickly.
He was now a ghost with a permanent wound in his throat and the blood forever staining his skin that was thankfully mostly covered by the shirt he wore. Things were very different for him now; in Rome people wore togas and the like, there were no pants and jackets, and shoes were different from sandals except for the shared purpose they were made for, and the chariot that moved without horses! Coupled with the various creatures that he was surrounded by on a daily basis in this town Cavin wondered if this was some form of a permanent dream he was trapped in despite some of the very real pain he felt if his so much as stubbed a toe. Being a ghost though was an... interesting bit of information. He believed ghosts to be transparent beings that could pass though walls with no need to breath, eat, or drink, yet he was a solid body that needed to be sustained as if he were still a living human; Sally explained to him that ghost who came to Halloween Town were different from those on the Mortal Plane, as his home world was referred to. But things between the two words were not so different it seemed; this "Halloween" that was often spoken of was a festival in their town as well as a namesake, and Cavin loved to have fun so he anticipated its arrival once he learned of it.
"Cavin, it's time to go." Sally smiled from the doorway.
She was wearing a light blue floor length dress with a silver spiderweb pattern embroidery, the top half was a lace covered black corset with off-shoulder sleeves also embroidered with the same spiderweb pattern that glinted as the light shined on it.
"You look beautiful Sally." He smiled.
"Thank you. And your clothes, are you comfortable in them?" she asked.
Cavin was wearing a gray cloak over a black suit, the hood pulled up to cover his blond hair, "I'm alright."
Sally nodded and they left the house. Jack had already gone so he could be ready to make his grand entrance during the festivities so Cavin was playing Sally's escort for the time being.
Everyone was gathering in the square as they sang about their beloved town; Cavin, being a new resident, was fascinated by it all and amazed when Sally said no one ever rehearsed. He couldn't believe they didn't it was too well choreographed! The only part of the celebration that was rehearsed was Jack's entrance at the end of the song where he took Sally's hand to pull her up beside him on the ledge of the fountain with a nod of thanks towards Cavin, and everyone clapped and cheered; it was a complete success to revel in. Following the opening of the celebration for the night was an important ceremony; a multitude of adolescents gathered before Jack and Sally in pairs with no discrimination towards gender; Sally didn't explain this to him, only saying it was surprise and a real treat to witness.
"One-hundred and twenty-five new couples this year, wonderful! May all of you have fulfilling lives full of love and happiness! New arrivals, welcome to Halloween Town, and we hope you with accept us as your new family." Jack spoke exuberantly arousing more cheers from the crowd.
"This has to be a new record." A voice said beside him.
He looked over seeing a pale, young looking man with silver hair falling to above his waist, some bangs in his face hiding green-blue eyes with cat-like slits. He was dressed in a black leather outfit and Cavin saw elongated K-9's biting his lip.
"A record?" he asked casually.
"This was a wedding of sorts. Getting this many couples is very rare. I take it you came before tonight?" the silvert looked at him.
Cavin held back a gasp; he didn't expect this man to be so good looking. "Yes..."
The other smiled and held out a hand, "I'm Yazoo. Welcome to Halloween Town."
"Cavin. Nice to meet you." He took the offered hand and shook it.
Both of them shivered at the contact that promised future Halloweens to be very interesting and eventful.
This is Halloween
Want more~?
Cavin: Of course they will.
Three reviews and I'll get up the second part as soon as I can. The beginning portion was Cavin's actual death that NekuJosh and I made fore his backstory, Mavrick is the name of his son, and Cavin is Greek. His parents and he moved to Rome but he was taught the Greek culture as well as Roman. Did I cover everything so far?
Genesis: I dunno honey. You'll have to wait for the reviews.