"Hurry up, Max!" May yelled up the stairs, aggravated.
"Hold on, sis!" came the reply. "Just give me another minute!"
"That's what you said a minute ago!" May snapped back. There was no reply. She groaned and sat down, clearly irritated.
"Why are you so sour tonight?" Amy Rose asked, puzzled. "It's Halloween, after all. We're supposed to be having fun!" The pink hedgehog was dressed in a bright blue dress with a flowing, semi-transparent cape. She wore a bleached blonde wig with a ponytail hanging over her shoulder.
"Because Mom and Dad are at their stupid dinner event, I'm stuck taking Max trick-or-treating," May grumbled. She was dressed in her usual red outfit.
"What's wrong with that?" Tails asked. "I think it's fun!" He was wearing a cybernetic suit that actually worked, if you know what I mean.
"It's for children," the brunette replied. "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm gonna be an adult soon. I can't go around asking for candy while in some kinda suffocating costume like Max is."
Ding-dong.
Amy's eyes widened. "Hey! I think we've got some trick-or-treaters!" She ran out of the room and opened the door.
"Trick or treat!" came two familiar voices.
"Ash! Sonic! Wow, you guys look great!"
"Thanks," Sonic grinned, walking in and wiping his feet. He was dressed simply, wearing a bandana around his neck and bandages around his wrists and ankles. He also wore some long blue sleeves on his arms.
"All ready to go?" Ash grinned as he walked in. "I know I am!"
"Ash!?" May cried when she saw him. He was wearing a large, shell-like pack on his back with several spikes and a red and yellow motif. His signature hat took a similar form, and a similarly shaped red tail poked out of his shirt. Pikachu, meanwhile, had dyed his fur a dark orange and wore a long string-like tail that ended in what looked like a surfboard. His eyes were blue instead of their usual brown; he was wearing contacts.
"What do you think?" Ash grinned. "I'm a Turtonator, and Pikachu's an Alolan Raichu!"
"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu grinned.
May was appalled. "You look ridiculous!" she cried. "Where were you at this afternoon, the circus?!"
Ash blinked in surprise. "May, it's Halloween," he said. "You're supposed to dress up."
"But you're not a kid!" May said, exasperated. "You're a young adult! You're not supposed to dress up for Halloween at our age, Ash!"
"Says who?" Ash shrugged innocently. "I'm just having fun, that's all."
"That's all?!" May repeated. "THAT'S ALL?! Ash, this is childish! You don't look like a Turta-stinker! You look like a freak! You look like –"
"Hey!" he said in protest. At this point, he was irritated. "What's wrong with getting into the spirit of the holidays? Just because I'm not a kid anymore, it doesn't mean I can't have fun."
May shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe you, Ash," she said. With that, she walked away. Ash folded his arms across his chest and frowned.
"What's her problem?" Sonic muttered, scratching his head.
"Beats me," Ash said. "It's not like her to get so worked up about something like this."
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Ash! Sonic! You're here!"
They turned and saw Max bounding down the stairs excitedly. He was dressed like a Decidueye, with his face poking out of his hood. "Max!" Ash exclaimed, and the two of them shared a high-five. "Great to see you. Wow, you look great!"
"Thanks!" Max grinned.
"How long did it take you to make that costume?" Tails asked.
"We were actually working on it all month," Amy said. "Ash's mom helped, too."
"Well, it paid off!" Ash grinned.
"Is he finally done?" May asked, coming in with a dreadful expression.
"Yup!" Max grinned. "Let's go!"
"All right," May sighed, then glared at Max. "You better behave yourself, mister. I don't want to get into any trouble tonight, do you hear me?"
"Really, sis," Max mumbled. "When have I ever caused you trouble on Halloween?"
"Do you hear me?" she asked again, leering over him.
Max shrugged, unintimidated. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "Fine, don't worry."
"Good," May said, her words dripping with acid as she grabbed her coat. "Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better." With that, she was the first one outside.
"I don't get it," Sonic mumbled. "What's the deal with Bandanas?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Ash said, more to himself. "Well, maybe her mood will improve when we get going," he smiled slightly.
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
But Ash was wrong. If anything, May's mood only grew worse as they walked along the streets of Lumiose City. She constantly got asked why she wasn't dressed up like the others, which caused her to fume. She became increasingly snappy with the others. After a half hour, they stopped by Prism Tower, and Clemont and Bonnie bounded down to meet them. Clemont was dressed with wild hair and a white lab coat, while Bonnie dressed like a Jangmo-o.
"Nice costume, Clemont!" Ash said. "Are you a mad scientist?"
"Yup!" the gym leader grinned.
"I helped make the lab coat!" Bonnie cheered, jumping up and down.
"Well, you're quite the seamstress!" Tails grinned, inspecting the fabric. "Did you also style his hair?"
"Nah, I'm no good at crazy hair," she shrugged. "Clembot did that."
"A robot hair stylist?" May muttered. "Jeez. Next thing you know, they're gonna be walking on water."
"I know, right?" Ash grinned as his eyes sparkled, oblivious to her sarcasm. "Science is so amazing!"
"Wow, Max!" Bonnie exclaimed when she saw her friend. "You look amazing!"
"Oh, uh…" Max blushed, suddenly stuttering. "T-Thanks, Bonnie! You look nice, too." He quickly tried to put on a more masculine appearance as he stared her down. "But I'm pretty sure that if we had a battle, I'd be the winner!"
"Oh, really?" Bonnie smirked at him. "You know I'm a Dragon-type, right? So you're silly Grass attacks couldn't do much to me!"
"But I'm also a Ghost!" he sneered back at her.
"I still don't know how that works," May mumbled so no one else could hear.
"And you evolve into a Fighting type!" Max went on. "So your Fighting attacks wouldn't do anything to me!"
"All right, that's enough, ya lovebirds," Sonic chuckled, pushing them apart. They started blushing intensely and sputtering nonsense. "We've still got over half the city to cover, so we gotta get going!"
"Well, if you're so impatient, why don't you just run along and get all the candy you want?!" May snapped at him.
"Because I want to hang out with you guys, of course," Sonic grinned back at her.
"Huh?" Bonnie blinked when she saw Max's older sister. "May, why didn't you dress up?"
"Because I didn't want to," May replied.
"Why not?" Bonnie asked. "It's Halloween, after all! Everyone dresses up for Halloween! Why don't you?"
"I didn't want to," May replied again as she turned away, seething as her temper began to get out of hand.
"But why not?"
At that, May lost it. She whirled around and leaned down so that she was right in Bonnie's face. "Because I'm not some stupid kid who has nothing better to do than go around knocking on strangers' doors and asking for candy so I can get sick and fat!" she shouted. "I'm all grown up, and I am not going to act like a stupid kid, especially not like you!"
Everything went dead silent for a few seconds as everyone stared in shock at May. The normally cheerful girl looked angrier than anyone had ever seen her. After a moment, Bonnie, shocked by her outburst, began to tear up, sniffling as she tried to hold back her sobs.
"Oh, now you're gonna cry?" May said condescendingly. "You gonna act like a little baby? How 'bout I get you a baby bottle pop? Would that make you feel better?"
"HEY!" Max shouted. She had pushed him over the edge. He stepped forward and pushed May back, getting in between his sister and his friend. "You leave her alone! She didn't do anything wrong! She just wanted to know why you weren't dressed up for Halloween."
"That's none of her business!" May snapped back. "She's just a stupid brat, just like you!"
"She is not a stupid brat!" Max shot back. "She's my friend!"
"May, what is your problem?!" Amy said, shocked at the coordinator's behavior.
"Maybe you should go home," Sonic suggested. "If you really don't want to be trick-or-treating –"
"STAY OUT OF THIS, YOU TWO!" May screamed at them. They recoiled in shock.
Max was just as shocked. "Sis, what is wrong with you?! We're supposed to be having fun, and you're ruining everything!" He pushed her to emphasize his last word. May retaliated and pushed him to the ground, causing his costume to rip. "NO!" he cried.
"Oh, what's the matter?" May said, still condescending. "Did I rip your jammies? Here, let me fix them for you!" She reached down to cause more damage, only for a soft but powerful grip to push her back. "Hey, what are you –?!"
"That's ENOUGH!" Ash shouted, forcing her back up and away from her brother. He and Pikachu glared at her, furious.
"Oh, so you're gonna take his side, are you?" May said, folding her arms across her chest. "What a good big brother you are. You must be so proud of –"
"Go home, May."
She blinked. "What?"
"Go home," Ash repeated himself. "I've had enough of your bad attitude, and I am not going to put up with it anymore tonight. We're here to have fun. If you don't want to join the fun, then be my guest. But don't go ruining this experience for the rest of us."
"And who made you the boss of me?" May asked, sticking her finger in his face. "I'm not a child."
"Well you're acting like one!" Ash shouted, slapping her hand away. She held her wrist in pain and looked back at him, her angry glare replaced with one of shock. "I'm sick of your attitude, and I'm not going to let you ruin our fun anymore. Go home, May."
May blinked and took a step back. "Ash," she said softly. "I –"
"NOW!" he screamed, pointing his finger down the street. May took another step back, then turned tail and ran back the way that they came. Ash lowered his hand and sighed somberly. "Good riddance," he mumbled.
"Pika," Pikachu sighed.
Bonnie began to cry as she put her face in her hands. Max stood up and looked at her in concern. "Bonnie?" he said softly. "Are you okay?"
Instead of replying, she pulled him into a tight hug and cried on his shoulder. Max was frozen stiff at this, unsure how to respond (he wasn't that great with the girls).
"Man," Sonic said. "What is her deal?"
"I don't know," Ash sighed. "I really don't know."
"I'm sorry, Max," Bonnie sniffled as she let him go and wiped her eyes. "I just ruined your costume."
Max looked at the shoulder of his costume and noticed it was all wet. He brought his hood down and smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine, Bonnie," he said. "It was already ruined because May ripped it. We'll just have to fix it up for next year."
Bonnie sniffled again and smiled, wiping the last of her tears away. "Thanks, Maxy."
"Huh?!" Max exclaimed. "Uh...n-no, not Maxy! Just Max, please! That's my name!" Everyone else started laughing, and together they started down the street once again.
May, meanwhile, walked miserably down the street. The sky had long ago given way to the darkness of night, and now she didn't know where she was. Moaning at her misfortune, she eventually found herself in a small park. She sat down on a small log with a soft sigh.
She wanted to be angry. She really did. She wanted to be angry at her brother and his "girlfriend" for being brats. She wanted to be angry at Ash for telling her off and sending her away. But how could she be? They were right, after all. They were only having fun, and she had ruined everything with her bad attitude. As she sat on that log, she found that the only person she could be angry at was herself.
She sniffled slightly as she brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, shivering from the cold. The temperature had dropped significantly since they left the house. She buried her face in her arms and legs, closed her eyes, and continued to shiver as the cold wind flowed over her skin like cold water.
That was when she felt something warm and soft on her back. Her eyes shot open, and she looked up in confusion. She didn't recognize the warmth, as she knew for a fact that it wasn't from Ash. As it turned out, someone put a black cape around her. It had a sinister vibe to it, with its inside covered in bright crimson velvet. A large collar with similar material inside covered her neck as well. She turned around and saw that the end of the cape was tattered and ripped.
"Is that better?"
She jumped at the voice and turned to see its owner, though she quickly relaxed when she saw who it was. "Shadow?" she said.
"Yes?" the black hedgehog replied. To her surprise, he wore a large top hat with a purple stripe.
"What are you doing here? And what's with the costume?"
"I'm undercover," he explained. "The International Police sent me to locate a gang of drug dealers in Lumiose City. They're giving out strange candies to trick-or-treaters."
"Strange candies?" May blinked. "You mean they're actually giving out drugs?"
"Yes."
"I've read about such things," May mused. "I never pay any attention to them, though. Just a bunch of internet baloney."
"Not if the police can help it," Shadow replied, folding his arms. "There's someone in this city giving out drugs to unlucky children, and I've been tasked with stopping them."
"Then what's with the costume?"
Shadow reached up and removed his hat, dusting it off. "It's more of a disguise, really," he said. "I'm masquerading as an innocent trick-or-treater and getting candy. If I find those drug-dealers, I'll immediately call the police and have them arrested." He flipped his hat back on his head and struck a pose. "How do I look?"
May blinked in confusion. "Why do you care? It's not like you're a kid going trick-or-treating."
"No, it's not. I'm just trying to look convincing, although I've heard that those idiots couldn't recognize a Groudon if it were standing in front of them. So again, how do I look?"
"Good, I guess," May mumbled, her mind elsewhere. All this time, I said I didn't want to dress up and go trick-or-treating because I thought it was too childish she thought. And yet Shadow –
"Well, I should probably get going," Shadow interrupted her train of thought.
"I don't suppose you want your cape back?" she asked, starting to pull it off.
"That won't be necessary," he replied. "You need it more than I do. Besides," he went on, suddenly whipping out another cape, "I've got a spare."
"Is that so?" May said. "Do you happen to have a spare hat, too?"
"Sure," he said, handing it to her. "But, why do you ask?"
"Oh, my head's just feeling a little cold, that's all," she grinned innocently as she put it on. "Thanks, and good luck!"
"Let me know if you find anything," he replied as he disappeared into his namesake. She nodded and started to run back the way she came, placing the hat on her head.
I wonder where they are now she thought. I hope they can forgive me for my bad attitude earlier.
"OOF!"
"OW!" she cried as she collided with another body, falling onto her rear. "Oww," she moaned.
"Ugh, sorry. I didn't mean to – May?!"
"Huh?" she looked up in surprise. "Ash!" she said, quickly accepting his help. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the others."
"I was," he said. "But then – no, there's no time to explain. I gotta go!" He ran off.
"What?" May said. "Wait, Ash, where are you going?!" She ran after him and quickly caught up. She stopped him. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"I don't know," Ash said, clearly impatient, "but I'm inclined to say no."
"No?" May repeated, her face concerned. "What happened?"
"We went on trick-or-treating after you left," he explained quickly. "After a while, Bonnie suddenly started choking up. Then she fell down, completely unconscious. A doctor was nearby, and he said that she ate some kind of drug."
"What?!" May gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
"He sent me to get some spices, and that's why I'm here now," he finished. "Excuse me!" He ran into their house which, to her surprise, they were right in front of. I guess I stopped him at just the right place she thought. Then she ran in after him and saw him frantically tearing through the cupboards, looking for spices.
"Ash, wait!" she said. "No need to make a mess. I know where the spices are." She opened a cupboard and showed him the spices.
"Thanks," he said, quickly shuffling through them. He found what he was looking for and quickly stuffed two small glass jars into his costume, but a third one wouldn't fit.
"Here," she said, grabbing it. "I'll take that. Let's go!"
"Thanks," he said again, and they ran out of the house and back the way they came. After a while, they returned to the group, standing in front of a small pharmacy. They were all crowded around Bonnie's unconscious form. Another man in a pharmacist's attire was bent over Bonnie, his hand on her forehead.
"Thank you," he said, taking the spices from them and putting them into a cup of liquid. As he stirred, May looked at Sonic, puzzled.
"Wait a minute," she said, "if you guys were in a hurry, why didn't you send Sonic to get the spices?"
"Because I go a little too fast," Sonic replied. "The spices this guy needed would fly out of their jars through the top."
May blinked in confusion. "That sounds like a stupid reason if you ask me."
"What are you doing here, May?" Max asked. "And what's with the costume?"
"Oh!" May exclaimed as she remembered what she was wearing. "Well...I was thinking about earlier, and –"
"Save it for later," Max replied acidly. "We've got enough problems on our hands."
May heard this and slowly turned away in shame. Ash noticed this and walked up to her. "Hey," he said softly. "He's just a little bitter about his costume, that's all."
"I know," she replied in the same tone of voice. "I'm sorry."
He blinked in surprise, then smiled reassuringly, patting her on the shoulder.
"Ungh!"
They turned and saw Bonnie jerk up, her eyes wide. She was breathing rapidly.
"Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed, hugging his sister tightly. "Are you okay?"
"Ugh," Bonnie moaned. "I don't...feel good. I have a headache...and my tummy hurts...and – BLLLAAARRRGH!"
"AUGH!" Clemont exclaimed as Bonnie vomited on his costume. "Oh, no!"
"Ugh," Bonnie moaned weakly. "Sorry, Clemont."
"Bonnie?" May said, coming up and leaning down. The little girl recoiled in fear, tears starting to build in her eyes again. "Bonnie, listen. I'm sorry for how mean I was to you earlier. I won't do that again, I promise. But right now, I need you to tell me what you ate that caused you to get sick."
"I don't know," she said. "I had a lot of candy."
"More than she should have," Clemont mumbled as he wiped the vomit off of his normal clothes (his lab coat was ruined).
"Okay," May said. "Then when did you start feeling sick?"
"I don't know," she said again.
"It was after the last piece she had," Tails cut in. "It was a weird looking piece of candy, I'll say that much."
"It was?!" May shot up from her leaning position and quickly walked over to the fox. "What did it look like?! Where did you get it from?!"
"It was kinda bright and crispy," Tails replied. "Like a smartie shaped like a head."
"Where did you guys get it from?" she asked. "Do you have anymore?"
"Yeah, here," Max said, nonchalantly tossing her some candy. It bounced off of May's palm, and she frantically scrambled about in order not to lose it. "Jeez, calm down, sis! You're starting to hyperventilate."
"Where did you get this?!" she asked her brother, holding the candy in front of his face.
"From a bridal boutique down the street," he replied. "The guys who ran that place were really weird. One of them was short and fat, the other was tall and skinny, and they had the weirdest mustaches."
"THANK YOU!" May shouted back at them, running back the way they came.
"Wait!" Ash called. "Where are you going?!" She didn't respond, and he clenched his fists. "This could be trouble," he said. "Come on, Pikachu!" he said. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, and they ran after her.
"Woohoo!" Sonic grinned. "Looks like we're about to have some fun!" He ran after them. Everyone else stayed behind with Bonnie.
May stood in front of the bridal boutique Max told her about. She looked inside and saw numerous wedding dresses on mannequins. For a moment, she got lost in a fantasy.
"Hello? Earth to May."
"Huh?" she blinked, regaining her senses. She turned to see who had spoken. "Ash? What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," he replied. "What's going on? What are you trying to do?"
"The people who gave Bonnie this candy are actually drug dealers," she explained. "They're giving drugs to unsuspecting children. I'm here to stop them."
"Drug dealers?" Ash exclaimed in alarm. "But...how do you know?"
"I met up with Shadow after I left the group," she explained. "He told me about them. He's somewhere in town right now looking for them." She looked him straight in the eye. "I need you to find him for me."
"What?"
"Go find Shadow, and bring him here."
"Are you nuts?" Ash exclaimed. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself! These guys could be dangerous! Are you really going to confront them alone?!"
"Yes."
Ash was shocked. "Are you crazy?! You're gonna get hurt!"
"I'll be fine, Ash," she replied. "Shadow said these guys are idiots. If I thought I'd be in danger, I wouldn't go in by myself."
"But May –"
"Don't worry about me," she said sternly. "Go find Shadow and bring him here. The sooner he gets here, the sooner we can put a stop to this crime spree."
Ash clenched his fists and teeth. "May," he said softly, "I don't like seeing you put yourself in danger like this. Are you positive that you'll be okay?"
"Yes," May nodded.
He sighed and looked down. "All right," he nodded. "I'll go get Shadow. Be careful, okay?"
"I will," May replied. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. With that, he turned and ran away. Then she turned back to the small building and reached forward to ring the bell. With a deep breath, she pulled a rope. A buzzing sound came from inside. She listened as a commotion broke out inside:
"Wah? Hey, there's somebody at the door!" This voice was gruff.
"Eh? Oh, come on!" This voice was more whiny.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get them some candy!"
"Whaa? I did that last time! You get them some-a candy!"
"What are you, a-stoopid? I've been eating the real-a candy all night! Imma stuffed, and I can't-a move!"
"That's your own-a fault, you cheater!"
"Who are you-a callin' cheater, stoopid?"
"Who are you-a callin' stoopid, cheater?"
"Okay, that does it! Imma kill you wit' my nose!"
May blinked as the commotion dissolved into incomprehension. I knew Shadow said these guys were idiots, but I didn't think they were this bad she thought. Curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to creak the door open. She stepped in, only for something to suddenly snag her foot and whip her into the air, leaving her dangling helplessly from a string around her ankle.
"Augh!" she cried. "A trap?! What kind of bridal boutique is this?!"
The two men immediately stopped fighting and looked up at their captive. "Wah-ha-ha!" the short one laughed. "What do we have here? Looks like-a some unlucky brat decided to take a peek inside our shop!"
"Heh-heh-heh," the tall one grinned. "Trick or treat, loser!"
"Ugh," May groaned, reaching for the string that held her up. "Let me down from here!"
"You want to get down?" the tall one sneered, then started to shout, "TOO BAD–"
"Hey, shut up!" the short one yanked the tall one's hat off his head. "You want to get us-a captured?"
"Whoops," the tall one shrugged, putting his hat back on his head. "Sorry."
"Say, you got any-a money on you, loser?" the short one grinned as he looked up at her fanny pack.
"No!" she shouted back. "But even if I did, why would I give it to a creep like you?!"
"Hm," he said, looking at her pack. "Let's-a see." He reached for her back and unzipped it. Something fell out and poked him in the eye, causing him to instantly recoil. "WAAAAAH!" he cried. "My eye! Owwaaaaahh! Waaaa!"
"Oh no!" the tall guy cried. "You tricked us, you cheater!"
"You did that to yourself!" May shouted back with a grin. "Now let me down from here!"
"I'll-a make you pay for that, you cheater!" the short man shouted, a hand over his eye.
"No you won't," said a familiar, dark voice.
Everyone turned and saw a black hedgehog standing in the doorway, with a familiar face standing behind him. "Shadow!" May exclaimed. "Ash!"
"Well, well, well," Ash said, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks like the Pokemon smuggler escaped from jail, huh?"
"WAH?!" the short man exclaimed. "You! You're that-a brat who ruined my Spewpa operation!"
"Yep, that's me!" Ash grinned. "Nice to see you again, Dolan."
"Grrrrrrr," the short man growled. "Imma get you for this, you cheater."
"No you won't," Shadow shot back. Then he threw two small devices at the two men, releasing energy that suddenly materialized into cages, trapping them.
"Wah!" the tall man exclaimed. "Hey, that's not fair, you cheater!"
"Not fair?" Shadow glared at them in anger. "You give out drugs that are harmful to children on Halloween night, and you dare to talk about what's fair?!"
"Somebody cheated," the short man mumbled under his breath.
Shadow grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him against the bars of the cage, leering into his eyes. "You can spend time thinking about what's 'fair' in prison, Mr. 'Dolan,'" he snarled. With that, he started pushing the cages, which were stationed on wheels, out the door.
"You cheaters!" the tall man shouted. "Next time, I cheat!"
"Ohh noo!" the short man moaned. "I lost...to a bunch of losers!"
It was now eleven o'clock at night. Everyone was asleep in the house, except for May. She sat on the couch, slowly caressing the cape Shadow gave her with her hands. She sighed and leaned her head on her hand.
"Are you still awake?"
She turned and saw Ash looking at her. "Yeah," she nodded. "I can't really sleep."
"Oh," he said and walked up to her. "Is something bothering you?"
"Maybe a little," she shrugged, averting her gaze.
He walked around the couch she sat on and sat next to her. "I don't suppose it has something to do with those drugs those guys were giving out."
"That's part of it," she nodded.
"What's the other part?"
She sighed sadly. "The fact that I ruined your trick-or-treating," she admitted. "I was such a jerk tonight." She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry."
He smiled and put his arm around her. "It's all right, May," he said. "But if you don't mind me asking, what changed your mind about dressing up?"
"Remember how I said I ran into Shadow on my way back home?"
"Yeah."
"Well, he was dressed up for trick-or-treating, or he looked like it. He said it was a disguise he was using so he could catch those drug dealers. Seeing him dressed up like that got me thinking about how I'd been acting."
"Weird, isn't it?" he muttered. "Of all the people to dress up for Halloween, Shadow is the last one I'd expect."
"That's what got me thinking," May said. "If Shadow could dress up for Halloween, what was my excuse? I didn't really have one after that."
Ash smiled as he squeezed her shoulder. Then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "So does that mean you'll be joining us next year?" he whispered, causing her to blush profusely.
"Count on it," she winked back at him with a smile. He chuckled, and the two of them sat there for the rest of the night. She rested her head on his shoulder while he rested his head on top of hers. Before long, the two of them were fast asleep.
Well, that was interesting. I didn't think this would become such an elaborate story. I got the idea for this when I stumbled on some artwork of Shadow dressed up for...Halloween. I thought that was amusing, since Shadow's the last character in the Sonic universe I'd expect to go trick-or-treating. I got the initial idea for this story from that, while the rest came swiftly after.
This is probably rushed, and some of the characters might be a little OOC, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Thanks for reading, and have a Happy Halloween!