ACRN-y Halloween Special 2015
"This place is pretty old," Wolverine pointed out.
"Yup," Squirrel Girl responded happily, "And that makes it perfect!"
"It certainly is rustic," M. Bison from street fighter added, "Are we supposed to be here?"
"Oh, it's fine," said Kaiki Deshu, "I scouted this place out weeks ago. No one has lived here for years."
(Hang on a second... What is this? This isn't RWBY related at all!)
...
(Or is it?...)
It's Halloween Night, and a party has started in an old Victorian Style house on the outskirts of town. Everyone on team ACRN is dressed to the nines.
Auron Malachite is sporting Marvel's Wolverine outfit - Logan's Yellow and Blue outfit to be exact.
Rouge Charlise is Squirrel Girl, and she pulls the look off beautifully.
Clay Brun is the intimidating M. Bison, partially because his build fits the look, and partially for the cunning wordplay.
Finally, Nero Aegis has taken the classy look of Kaiki Deshu from the Monogatari series.
However, they aren't the only ones at the party. Dozens of other Beacon Students milled around, taking in the sights of the old, weathered house.
"Hey guys!" Came a familiar voice, "Lookin' good!"
It was the Wolfman! Or rather, it was Dyanne Argentum dressed as the Wolfman.
"Woah, that's weird," exclaimed Clay.
"What?" asked Dyanne.
"Your voice," Clay explained, "It sounds… familiar"
Dyanne gave Clay a confused look.
"I wouldn't dwell on it," Nero finally said, "I'm gonna go for some punch."
Nero swooshed his coattails and dashed off to the refreshments table.
"Um.." a shy voice hummed out, "Nice costume Clay."
Clay looked over to see Akane Kuro, the Cow Faunus, dressed to look like a wild west cowgirl. Needless to say, she totally owned the look.
"Haha, looks like you took the same route as I did when choosing a costume." Clay remarked.
"Hehe.. heh.. kinda yeah.." Akane tipped her hat down to hide her smiling face. Her voice becoming smaller the more the conversation kept on.
Elsewhere in the room...
"So, I figured that the best choice for me was the race car driver," Ash N. Col was saying, "It comes with a flame-proof suit, in case things get spicy~."
"Please don't get spicy," a shaman formerly known as Lexus Shads pleaded.
Akaki Kirimaru dressed as Axel from Kingdom Hearts nodded his head, "It's a good plan. You never know when you might need to use your semblance. Legend has it that this area is plagued with all sorts of monsters and ghosts." He was really getting into the Halloween spirit.
"Aha! Don't you worry. A level 5 from academy city doesn't believe in something so unscientific," claimed Misaka Mikoto (Hadia Sienna in disguise). "They're probably just some kind of AIM field that's been accumulating in one spot, so this pointy-haired idiot can take care of it with his Imagine Breaker!"
"You're getting too into this, Hadia," complained Kamijou Touma (Yasu Aoi).
"Who is Hadia?" asked Hadia, "I am the #3 level 5, Railgun!"
"I knew that this would happen when you forced me to do a pairing costume with you," Yasu sighed, "Ugh… Fkouda…"
"Is it true?" Asked a doctor (Jen Wilde Knight), "About the ghosts I mean."
"Of course!" Nero popped up behind the group that was chatting, a cup of punch in his hand, "Why do you think we chose this spot for the ultimate Halloween Party? Razz, could you play a more ambient piece?"
The rock star known as Slash (Razz Matazz) was playing his lute happily in the corner. He switched to a more ominous, dissonant song to prepare the mood.
"Gather 'round, and hear the tales of the House on the Western Border!" Nero hissed.
"Wow..." said a Wolf Girl (Kira Storm), "He's loving this."
"There goes a tale," Nero began, "about the previous owners of this house. They were smugglers. Brass smugglers to be exact."
"Brass smugglers?" asked a confused Blanka from Street Fighter (Renge Quartz).
"I'm not making this up," Nero explained, "Apparently, it was a lucrative business, brass smuggling. 300% normal profit margins… Don't ask how I know that... Anyway!"
Nero brought his voice back down, "Unfortunately, the owners weren't very good at keeping their base of operations a secret. Rookie mistake. A rival gang soon found out where a huge amount of money and smuggled goods was stored. Needless to say, they held the place under siege." Nero was getting into the story, moving his hands acting out the scenes.
"Now, the previous owners didn't have a lot of members, but their leader was a cunning Dust Artist. He was always experimenting with the Dust combinations that lead to Mind Control."
"But that's impossible…" a disapproving Ghost Rider ("DZ" Amaranth) said, "It's been proven logically that Mind Control using dust cannot be done."
"All right, spoilsport," sighed Nero, "You are correct, he never did learn how to control minds. However, while studying the subject, he learned how to use dust to synthesize emotions like Anger, Fear, and Teen Angst. With these formulas, he was able to direct Grimm by using negative emotion."
"Grimm control?" gasped Mabel Pines (Topaz Urobolin), "That's rad!"
"Agreed," agreed Dipper Pines (Amber Urobolin).
"That's not all," Nero added with a smile, "He had learned the proper formula to a Dust Spell known as Remove Corporeal. With it, solid objects would become intangible - you could pass right through them. If he wanted to, he could turn into an untouchable mist, and then blast his enemies away with Dust Magic!"
DZ put her hand up again, "Wasn't that-"
"Yes, I know, it was a dangerous spell that had only been theorized about," Nero interrupted, "Reverting to a solid again would be very difficult to get right, seeing as being a mist cloud would churn up your insides. Nasty stuff... He didn't use it on himself. No -
"He used it on his Grimm."
Nero paused for a moment, ... "... There's never a flash of lightning around when you need it…" ...
He picked up the story again, "The siege was a living nightmare. Beowolves, Nevermores, and Ursa, all charging down on the gang members like a vicious, rabid mist. They would envelop their enemies and drive them mad with the negative energy that all Grimm hold inside them. Platoons of attackers would die by their partners swords. Friends would end the lives of one another. It was like being attacked by darkness itself~" Nero gave the group a quick startle, then he stood up straight and walked from them a few paces.
"Still, there was one gangster who was able to infiltrate this mansion. He knew that there was only way to take down the army of unkillable Grimm: Kill the Dust Master." Nero turned around and clapped his hands, a loud BOOM echoing out.
"Without his constant control, the Grimm would dissipate, and there would be nothing left to worry about."
Nero shrugged, "Long story short, he pulled it off."
"What!? Talk about anticlimactic," Renge complained.
"I'm not done yet," Nero explained, "He pulled it off, and was able to work a knife through the Dust Master's ribs. But, at the last second, the Dust Master was able to cast Remove Corporeal on himself. He managed to escape death, but he had to use his own body as a fuel source. With no basic form to revert to, he became a blank phantom - The White Spectre!" Nero tried to imitate a ghost, enlarging his frame over the crowd.
"However, he didn't have enough energy to sustain his form for long though. You know what he did?"
The room was silent, aside from Razz's ambient music.
"He used the body of the gangster who killed him!"
Nero looked around to see if his story had gotten any reactions.
'A few,' Nero thought, 'But I'm still not done.'
"Fortunately for the attacking gang members, once the Dust Master was stabbed, the Grimm dissolved and the battle was over. The gang went straight to looting the place. They noted that not everyone may have returned to base when they left again. They weren't very friendly as gang members, so they really didn't look into it. People left the game all the time." Nero put up an arm noting 'What can ya do?'. Then his tone became serious again.
"However, the tales of this house don't end there. Oh no they don't. Stories of a bright white light coming from the windows still circulate. Schoolchildren often go missing when they wander too close to the border. Will-o-wisps, the heralds of doom, are often sighted here, possibly indicating that the being between life and death still lingers within these walls. And…"
Nero paused dramatically before continuing, "Every so often, when a dark mist falls on these hills, the howl of a remnant Beowulf can be heard, signaling the unending hunt of the UNKILLABLE GRIMM!"
"AAAAWWWRRROOOOOOOO!"
Screams erupted from the group as Akaki finished his low wolf howl.
"AHAHAHAHA… priceless," Nero complimented his partner in crime "Nice one Akaki." Nero went in for the hi-five.
"Happy to help." Akaki responded in kind.
"Geez," Rouge gasped, "There are some things you just don't do, and that's one of them." Her face pursed a bit, still trying to calm down from the sudden start.
"Come on now," Kira laughed, "It's all in good fun."
"I don't think I can settle down now," Hadia shuddered.
Yasu yawned, "Don't fret Hadia. Using bodies as a power source is impossible. Or, at least, it's pretty impractical."
"Stop it!" Hadia exclaimed as she smacked his arm.
Akane moved a little bit closer to Clay, who had been looking around the room, searching to see if there was any trace of danger.
"That's it!" Ash shouted, with her hands beginning to glow, "We burn the house down! It's the only way to be sure."
"Woah, cool your jets Ash," consoled Kira, "It was just a story."
It seemed the story had been a success. Everyone was getting antsy. This was the best way to spend Halloween - a hair's breadth from being scared out of your mind.
The party went on, with candy corn, orange Oreos, and Maltesers for all. Apples were bobbed for, pumpkins were carved, and tails were pinned on corgis. Everyone was having a grand ole time.
"Hey," Auron said off-handedly, "Has anyone seen Nero?"
"Nero?" Responded Clay, "No, I haven't seen him."
"He was right here," Dyanne shrugged.
"He probably just wandered off trying to pretend that he was devoured by a ghost Grimm or something," DZ said, with a roll of her eyes.
"This is a bit of an old house," Rouge commented, "Should he be wandering any further than the foyer here?" Rouge pointed towards the structural integrity of other parts of the house.
"Why not?" Renge challenged, "This is supposed to be a test of courage! There's no risk just lazing around in the entryway!"
"We prob'ly should find Nero, wherever he's hiding," Hadia put in, "We can explore while we're at it."
"Let's make it interesting," Jen suggested, "First to find him wins first dibs at the laundromat for the semester!"
"Ooh, sounds fun!" Dyanne laughed
"We should stick together though," the Urobolin twins said in unison.
"Actually, let's split up a bit," Lexus offered, "We would cover more ground that way."
...'Ah but don't you know that splitting up is how you meet your demise?'...
Auron took charge, "Okay, how about this? We'll have three groups. Full teams can stick together: AQUA, ACRN, and KLWN. We can split up the outliers to the full teams. Akane, you're with us."
You could almost see Akane's eyes light up and cheer when she got to join the same team as Clay.
DZ took a look and decided, "We'll take Akaki. He seems useful." Akaki joined the rest of AQUA.
Kira looked at the remaining outliers, "I gotta go with Razz. Lute it up, my man!" Razz happily obliged and slid into place with KLWN.
Auron spoke up quickly, "We'll take Dyanne. She can take Nero's place. Somehow, the two are kinda alike. Dunno what it is though."
DZ chose next. All that was left was Yasu and Hadia.
"I'll pick Yasu," DZ decided, "He seems less troublesome."
"Hey!" Hadia exclaimed, "Rude! Besides, Yasu and I are a package deal."
She grabbed on tightly to his arm.
"Apparently so," Yasu muttered.
"Fine," DZ agreed.
"Okay," Auron affirmed, "We meet up here in a half-hour?"
"Sounds good," Kira replied.
"Affirmative," DZ agreed.
And so, the three groups went their separate ways.
'Yes, don't worry, you will soon know the true terrors of the night'
~Who knows what they'll find searching this supposedly abandoned old home? (Hint, it might be something a bit spooky, so hold onto your boots).~
The day seemed just like any old Halloween.
It was an Octoberween Bash, and fun was had by all. Candy corn, Orange Oreos, apple bobbing, and pumpkin carving made the night a blast!
Then, spooky stories were told about Will-o-wisps that beckon followers to their doom, an army of ghost Grimm, and a White Spectre that hungers for living blood.
Then, uh oh, Nero went missing! He's probably fine - he's probably just trying to mess with people's heads. It's all become a game now! The first to find Nero gets first dibs at the laundromat for the semester! The hunt is on!
Kira had hoped that Razz's music would make KLWN's search less spooky, but it really wasn't working. For some reason, Razz only played dissonant, picking lines that set everyone on edge.
"Why, Razz?" Ash demanded, "Are you trying to drive us crazy?" The hint of anger in her tone was more than just a hint.
"Force of habit," Razz explained, pausing his song, "I can sense emotions with my semblance, and I play them out through my Lute. Everyone is on edge, so the music I'm playing reflects that. I can try to play something more upbeat."
"That would be nice," Jen suggested happily.
Razz began playing the Scooby-doo Theme.
Lexus sighed, but then shrugged. "Marginally better..." she finally decided.
"We could just burn the house down," Ash suggested again, a smile creeping on her face, "That'd sure flush 'im out."
"No Ash, remember," reprimanded Kira, "Not all of us can stand being on fire."
Smoke began to rise from the floor.
"Ash!" Kira shouted, "What did I just say?"
"It isn't me," defended Ash.
The smoke was getting thick. It was getting hard to see, and hard to breathe.
"Is there some kind of fire?" Jen asked. The group beginning to cough heavily.
"I don't see one," Kira reported, "You'd think we'd see the light from a fire that would make a smoke cloud like this."
Suddenly, there was a light visible through the fog. However, didn't look like firelight.
A bright white light shone between the crack under door in the hallway. It was like a floodlight - one that had been wired poorly. The light flickered and beamed through the smoky hallway.
In reaction to a potential threat, Kira took action. She unsheathed her chain axes and barked orders, "Weapons at the ready! Ash, take point."
"Gotcha!" Ash replied. Her wrist-blades slid out from her costume's sleeves. She took a battle stance at the front of the group.
Lexus held her hunting knife at the ready. Jen uncoiled her bladed whip. Razz played a semitone trill on his Lute.
There was a moment of indecision. No one moved in the room. The light never stopped glowing.
Ash finally had enough waiting.
"To heck with this!" She shouted, "I'm coming for ya you white, floaty bastard! Ahhh!"
She charged the door.
"Ash, No! Wait!" Kira called after her, but it was too late.
The door swung open on its own, revealing a spectre made of blinding white light!
Ash tried to break off her charge, but she was already too close. A tendril of light lashed out and wrapped around Ash's chest.
"What? No!" Ash struggled to escape the spectre, but to no avail. Like a flash of lightning, the tendril retracted back into the room, with the helpless huntress in tow. The door slammed.
The team knew Ash wasn't giving up. Her battle cry combined with a fiery explosion emanated from the closed door.
"AAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRGGGGG!"
*FFWKOOOOM!*
Then...
... Nothing...
"Ash?" Kira called out,"... Ash?!"
She ran up to the door. The light had stopped glowing. "ASH!?"
"Stay back," Lexus warned, "It might grab you too!"
"I can't leave her!" Kira shouted.
She creaked the door open slightly.
... Nothing happened.
She peeked inside.
"Ash..." Kira gaped.
The room was blackened with soot. Burnt out glass was scattered around the room. This was definitely Ash's handiwork, but...
Ash was nowhere to be found.
Team AQUA+3 had found a clue. Or rather, a whole bunch of them.
"Someone had to have lit all of these candles," DZ theorized, "I would hazard a guess that it's our missing huntsman."
The group walked down the hallway. Every so often, a candle stand would protrude from the wall, and a lit candle was flickering in each one.
"But why would he go and do that?" Akaki asked, "Lighting candles only makes finding him easier."
"I dunno," DZ replied, "Maybe he's scared of the dark, or maybe he's leading us on. Either way, this is our best bet. We know he was here at least."
"We'll find him first," Renge said excitedly, "No way we'll lose now!"
"Well, he could have somehow doubled back, so victory is not necessarily assured," rebutted DZ, "But these candles were lit pretty recently. He's probably just ahead."
"I have another theory," stated Amber.
"Look behind us," agreed Topaz.
The group turned around.
Behind them, there was nothing but a dark hallway. The candles behind them had gone out. Actually, the wicks looked like they had never been lit.
"What?" DZ was dumbfounded.
"I don't get it..." Hadia pondered, "Who turned out the lights?"
"The question is, were they even on?" Yasu asked.
Hadia pondered this for a moment, "If the candles aren't melted at all, then that means..."
Hadia walked up to a lit candle ahead of them, and pushed her finger towards the flame. The instant she made contact, the flame disappeared before her eyes.
Suddenly, as if a nonexistent wind raged through the hallway, every single one of the remaining candles were snuffed out. Darkness surrounded the group.
"What was that?" Renge wondered in the darkness.
"They were almost like..." Akaki began to speak, but stopped himself.
"What?" DZ demanded.
"Like... Will-o-wisps," Akaki responded.
"What? No no no," DZ denied the thought, "It's probably just Nero right? He's a Pyromancer right? He's messing with us."
Hadia shook her head, "When I touched the candle... It wasn't hot. That wasn't fire. It felt almost... Like it wasn't there."
"B-but..." DZ couldn't comprehend it, "Why would Will-o-wisps pretend to be candles?" She asked angrily.
"They say that the Will-o-wisps are like lighthouses for doomed souls," Topaz said ominously.
"They say that following their trail leads only to death," Amber added.
"Okay, twins? Stop it," DZ ordered, "I'm not buying any folk town ghost story, but... just to be safe, let's not follow the candle trail anymore."
"Okay then," Yasu agreed, "One question."
"What's that?" DZ asked.
Yasu pointed behind the group, "What about those guys?"
A wall of white candle flames hovered behind them.
"Run!" Shouted DZ.
The group fled at top speed. They were recruits from Beacon, so they were all incredibly agile.
However, the wall of candlelight was gaining on them. Soon, it was right on their tails. They would all soon be caught, if nobody did something.
Renge made a decision.
"You go on ahead," she said, her teeth clenched in a cool grin, "I'll hold them off."
"Renge! No!" DZ shouted after her, her eyes wide. But it was too late.
Renge skidded on the blades of her feet and launched herself back at the wall of Will-o-wisps. The wall closed around Renge, the wisps of flame swirling around her like piranhas.
"Renge!" DZ kept shouting.
There was a flash of light, and then...
Renge was gone.
"She can't just be gone..." Jen said hopefully.
Lexus looked around, "Do you think Ash vaporized herself to beat the spectre?"
"Lex!" Jen shouted angrily.
"It is a possibility," Lexus argued.
"Ash was our - is our friend," Jen whispered.
Kira looked at her crumbling team. She was shaken by the loss of Ash, but she couldn't lose her head. Her team needed her now more than ever. She needed to take charge. The Wolf Faunus' keen eyes darted around the room, surveying the wreckage.
Kira looked at another door. It was open, and the molding was intact.
"Look. That door wasn't blasted open," Kira deduced, "Someone opened that door normally. Someone left through there."
"And it probably wasn't Ash," Lexus warned.
"You sure? Spectres don't use doors," Kira rebutted, "Something's not right."
The group followed Kira out of the door into another hallway. It was dark here, the curtains were drawn preventing any moonlight from shining in.
However, Lexus could still see something move at the end of the hall with her Panther Faunus night vision.
"There!" Lex shouted.
Kira, Lexus, and Jen all charged down the hall at high speed. As Faunus, their night vision was excellent. A little darkness wouldn't slow them down.
Razz was left at the beginning of the hall. He only human, so his night vision was no help. He calmly played the Jeopardy "Think" theme until help would arrive.
Lexi dove into the shadows that surrounded her by using her semblance. Like a fish through water, Lexus dashed through the darkness, outpacing her other other teammates.
At the end of the hall, Lexi resurfaced from the shadows with her red dust blowdart in hand. Still in midair, she fired down the hall without hesitation. The fire dart sailed down the hallway, lighting the area around it.
However, the light was growing dimmer.
The fire around Lexus' dart was dissipating. By the time it hit something, is was nothing but a harmless pin. It finally stuck in a large wooden door.
"What?" Lexi was perplexed.
"What is it?" Kira shouted.
Lexus tried to figure out what had happened, "My dart was a dud I think..."
"Where'd they go?" asked Jen.
"Where did Razz go?" Lexus added.
Faint Jeopardy music could be heard a short distance away.
Kira was stressed, but she knew Razz couldn't find his way in the dark. "Could you get him, Lexi?" She said with a sigh.
Lexi nodded, "Hang on."
The group assembled in front of the large door. They weren't sure how to proceed.
"Do we just walk in?" Jen asked.
"We should be careful," Lexus warned. "Whoever is doing this is obviously dangerous."
Suddenly, a weak, familiar voice could be heard, "Guys?... Is that you?"
It was Ash's voice.
"Ash!" Everyone said in unison.
"Are you hurt?" Jen pleaded, "What happened?"
"Help!" came Ash's voice.
They needed no more prompting. They burst into the room, with weapons at the ready.
The room was...
Beautiful.
It was a gorgeous dining hall. It was brightly lit by hundreds of candles as well as an extravagant chandelier. The table was set for a feast. The plates and cutlery were all golden, and the tablecloth was bright red. There was no food on the table yet, but it was set for at least fifty people.
The room had no one in it, Ash or otherwise.
"What's going on here?" Jen growled, "Someone is dragging us around, and I don't like it!"
"Jen, calm down-" Lexus started.
"No!" Jen shouted, baring her lion fangs, "I've had enough! Stop messing with us! Show yourself!"
The lights dimmed.
"Jen, maybe don't call out the immortal body-snatching ghost-man until after you figure out how to kill it," Kira suggested.
"A little late for that," Lexi pointed out.
The candle's flames faded to a pale white. The flames then seemed to "jump" off of their candles and hover through the air.
Will-o-wisps. Mischievous little spirits... Harbingers of death.
They gravitated to the centre of the room, and began revolving around the chandelier.
They formed a single, blindingly bright shape.
'As they continue forward, I will be there. In the darkness, in the air. For tonight is the night for a true Hallow's Eve Scare.'
(Are people dead?! Is this special even canon?!)
Team ACRN, well Team ACR+ Dyanne and Akane, was walking down a hallway, looking at all of the doors that they could walk through.
"Odds are," Auron began, "We'll find him before anyone else."
"Why's that?" Dyanne asked.
"We know who Nero is. All we have to do is think," Auron continued, "If I was Nero, where would I hide?"
"Hm..." Rouge contemplated the thought while tapping her chin, "Nero doesn't really hide does he? He more like... makes you want to look somewhere he isn't." She looked around, "We wouldn't have to look very far, try looking Near-o."
Clay patted Rouge's arm in retaliation for that word play. "So," Clay concluded, "All we have to do is look where we aren't looking."
"Okay..." Dyanne responded, "You guys are always like this?"
"No, listen," Clay said, "Everyone is searching this massive mansion, right? Where is the only place where nobody else is looking?"
"The foyer!" Rouge shouted.
"Exactly," Clay affirmed.
Akane smiled, "Nice thinking!"
Just as they were about to turn around, the hallway started shaking.
"What is this?" Rouge asked, close to panicking.
"An earthquake?" Dyanne gaped.
It was more than that. The hallway warped and twisted. Windows bent without breaking It was like space itself was being bent over someone's knee.
"W-what's going ON!?" Akane shouted, she tried to grab a hold of somebody.
Then...
The hallway was normal again. It was like nothing had changed. There wasn't a crack in the floor. The pictures on the walls weren't even crooked.
"What was that?" Auron whispered.
"Yeah," Rouge commented, "that's the loudest Akane has ever been since I've met her."
"H-hey- Rouge..." Akane murmured, her face turning redder than Rouge herself. Rouge gave a reassuring smile.
"This is serious," Auron was worried, "Someone might have been hurt in that quake. This house isn't as sturdy as it once was. We have to find that idiot fast. Not to mention the others... Let's get Nero, then try to get everyone together to do a head count."
'The pieces are finally moving into place'
"Renge was taken, we have to find her," DZ was adamant about it at this point.
"DZ, I know you don't want to leave her behind," Akaki reasoned, "but we don't know where to look. We're still in danger here - at least until we find out what is even happening."
Hadia agreed, "We should find the others and exchange ideas. Plus, there's safety in numbers."
"They said they'd meet up in the lobby," Amber suggested.
"But it hasn't been a half an hour yet," Topaz commented, "They won't be there."
"Let's head back anyway," DZ decided, "I don't want to lose anyone else."
Auron's group ran back the way they came.
"Um.. We're sure he's in the entryway?" Akane asked uncertainly as they ran.
"Don't worry," Clay assured, "Nero's pretty predictable once you get to know him."
"Hey," said Dyanne, "were all of these candles lit on our way here?"
She was right. The candle stands, once cold and lifeless, now were alive with flame.
Actually, more alive than usual.
The candles started out dim, but they soon flared up into large tongues of fire. The fire blasted heat on either side of the group.
*FWOOOSH!*
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"What is happening!?" Rouge panicked.
"Who's there?" A familiar voice asked.
"AQUA! And Akaki! And Yasu and Hadia!" Clay shouted.
"Not quite. Renge is gone," DZ sighed and gave a situation report through clenched teeth.
Their shadows elongated thanks to the blazing candlelight. The shadows seemed reach out to grasp at the students, grasping at their heels.
The door to the lobby was just ahead. They were so close.
*SLAM!*
The lobby door was blasted open. Standing in the doorway was a massive canine monster.
A massive, terrifying, ghostly...
"Beowulf!" The group screamed!
Thunder and lightning crashed outside. The room seemed to spin and distort. The will-o-whisps seemed to consume everything. Shadows whirled about the massive wolf creature as it stalked closer. A distant laughter began cackling from what seemed like all around them.
The walls were laughing, the shadows were laughing, the fire was laughing, the... Beowulf was laughing... someone outside was laughing.
"What?" Auron gawked.
The air of horror dissipated as this hysterical laughter filled the room.
"That went perfectly!" Howled the Beowulf.
A shape formed from the shadows.
"Excellent execution," confirmed Lexus, who was failing to keep up her calm, cool personality amidst her bursts of laughter.
"Man, I wish I could have seen your faces," Renge laughed as she crawled in through a window, "You must have been terrified from that scream."
"What's going on here!?" Rouge demanded.
They were all here. Team KLWN, Renge, and Razz all stood before the terrified groups, laughing their heads off.
Razz was playing Never Going to Give you Up by Rick Astley.
Nero stepped out from behind the crowd.
"You were all a wonderful audience," He chortled, "I called an audible there at the end, but this went better than I could have ever expected."
"You were behind this, Nero? Why am I not surprised?..." Auron sighed.
"We all took part, really," Nero admitted, "When I tried to spook KLWN by using my heatless Firelight technique, Ash nearly gave me away when she charged me. I had to get her away from the rest of the crowd with a chain grab to keep up the charade."
"When he told me that we were gonna spook everyone," Ash put in, "I couldn't say no."
"It snowballed from there," Nero continued, "I remembered how disappointed I was when I didn't have a thunderclap during my story, so we went after Renge next due to her semblance."
"The rest of us joined later," Kira explained, now back in her Faunus form, "I got to be the Beowulf thanks to my transforming semblance, Jen made the room spin with hers, Lexi messed with the shadows, and Razz played the Psycho music."
"Psycho music?" Akane asked.
"Nobody ever notices the background music," Razz elaborated in a jazzy voice, "But it can be the most important part of establishing mood. The magic's in the subtly."
"All to get a scare out of us?" Auron asked, "You guys need a hobby."
"Getting a rise out of you is my hobby," Nero chuckled.
"You can't be mad," Kira laughed, "It's Halloween - this is par for the course."
"Geez," Akaki lamented, "I thought I was the partner in crime."
Rouge had started laughing now too, "At least everyone's okay, and we'll never forget this Halloween."
The hallway was a picture of spectacle. Everyone was either laughing or being laughed at, but none could deny it had been a great time.
"So, was that story about the previous owner all made up then?" Hadia asked cautiously.
"Well," began Nero, "Mostly. The part about the gang attack and the smuggling was true, but I added a bit of the local legend as well as my own splash of flavor."
"The idea of a Beowulf ghost is flawed anyway," DZ said, "Grimm are soulless, so I doubt they could keep their forms together if they were incorporeal anywa-"
The lights blacked out. A low, whistling howl hummed through the house.
"Nero?" Auron called out, "Joke's over. You aren't fooling anybody."
"It's probably just the wind," Nero explained, his voice oddly shaken.
Yes. The wind.
A howling gale suddenly picked up, sending a whistling screech through the house. Everyone fled the building.
Out in the yard, moonlight flooded the rural plains of the area. Suddenly, the moon was blacked out by the shape of some flying spectre. The wind never stopped howling.
A chattering laughter echoed through the gale.
"Is that?" Auron whispered.
"It couldn't be..." Clay gawked.
"It is," Nero confirmed.
"Rouge!" Everyone shouted.
"Hehe, I couldn't let everyone else have all of the fun." Rouge said as she landed, sticking her tongue out a little.
"Now all you kiddos stay safe. You never know what the night will bring come all Hallow's Eve." Rouge grinned and turned her back, using her semblance to blow out the candle lights outside.
Truely, this Halloween would be one to remember for all time.