Thursday Night, October 27th

"And that's another touchdown for The Davensfield Woodpeckers!"

The latest score update boomed from the speakers, wired to the the little announcer's box above the bleachers on the field outside Polyneux Middle School. The steel stadium seats, dotted with children of all shapes, colors and sizes, shouted in protest, as the students of the small suburban school watched as their home team was being demolished on their own turf, yet again.

"Come on, Rainbows!" The brawny, gray haired coach screamed from the sidelines at the top of his lungs, "Get. In. The. Game! Move it! Do I have to come out there and show you ladies how to play?!"

One of the Phys. Ed, Teacher, Mr. Workout, stood at his side and watched the brutal defeat of his boys. "We can't take another defeat," he declared, looking over his clipboard and flipping over to paper with the season's schedule. "We're never getting to state if the boys don't pick it up."

On the field, a clumsy pale yellow-jerseyed jock with a rainbow on the front of his chest collided with one of the red clad Woodpeckers. The Rainbow crashed, taking with him the Woodpecker, who incidentally was carrying the ball, which went soaring into the open arms of yet another Rainbow.

The bleachers lit up with encouraging cheers.

This Rainbow, stunned at first, took off for the goal line, knocking over two challenging Woodpeckers in his path. He was actually making good distance until one of the white laces of his left cleat came loose, flying frantically as he ran, flew underneath the bottom of the right, and as the spike of the shoe nailed the lace to the grass. The boy's foot shot forward with nowhere to go, and he stumbled to the ground near the bleachers, leaving the ball to be scooped up by a waiting Woodpecker.

One of his eighth grade pals on the second bottom row cupped his hands around his mouth. "Nice one, Jared!"

"Haha," chuckled the boy next to him as the Rainbow pulled his helmeted face from the clean cut fake grass "Next time, try double knotting the laces, buddy!"

The Rainbow looked in the direction of the voices and muttered a gruff, "Whoops," before he stood up.

"What's a' matter, Rain-BOWS?" the Woodpecker mocked. "Left your tutus on the warming bench?"

Back on the bleachers, the Polyneux students watched their football team in what looked like another inevitable defeat.

"Man, our football team blows this year," a short black haired by by the name of Cubey muttered, reluctant to be there in the first place when he could have been at the arcade.

"Hasn't been the same since ol' Clay left for Indiana," Mitch said back to him, trying to find two working batteries for his portable gaming device in a bag of used batteries.

And just above them, the next row up sat a silver skinned student in red with what looked like large, yellow light-bulb that made up the top of the skull. "The Rainbows appear to be struggling against the other team,"

"Tell me something I don't know," she said in her easily aggravated tone, arms folded over her chest. .

"I must say, it rather irks me that they believe they can get away with such rude name calling. Why, if I were assisting them, the Woodpeckers would be required to change their mascot," he said in his monotone, chopping one arm again the other, "to the Woodpulps."

"Oh yeah? If you're so sure, why didn't you sign up for varsity football?"

"Negative," he replied, folding his arms and turning away. "Team sports provide little if no educational not data value. I had my fun once, but I'll leave athletic activities to the humans."

Shannon tisked. "You're just afraid you'll blow it."

Robot frowned. He'd gotten used to brushing off most criticisms from humans, but when it came from her, it still kind of hurt. And as she was half the time, tonight, she was not in the best of moods today, but if Robot could keep his cool, he planned on changing that.

The coach checked his watch, then picked up the whistle hanging by his neck and blew. After letting the whistle drop to his chest, he stuck up one hand and covered it with the other. "Half time!"

While the Rainbows took a breather, and the disapproving fans took a break, Robot caught the main group of cheerleaders standing up from the bleachers on his right, down on the first level, and bounding onto the field.

He turned to Shannon, who seemed to have left her cheerleading uniform at home, with a curious look. "Pardon my retort, but shouldn't you be up there with them?"

Shannon rubbed her arm and looked away. "Yeah... about that... I'm kinda suspended from the team for the rest of the semester."

"Suspended? Whatever happened?"

Shannon rolled her eyes upward in the attempt to be nonchalant. "Well.. there was an incident where I may have pulled on some chatty girl's ponytail while we were doing the big pyramid... and consequently..." she curled in her fingers, bearing her teeth with a little, pained hiss,"... knocked down the whole formation."

"They kicked you off for an accident like that? That's terrible."

"Yeah," she rubbed her shoulder, "Let's call it an accident."

Robot replied with a silent look of bewilderment.

Shannon laughed nervously, a smile finally finding its way to her wire-bound face. "Quit looking at me like that would you?"

Pleased, Robot smiled back. He loved it when he could put a smile on her normally cranky face. He considered it an accomplishment. Then he got the satisfaction of watching her grin. His vision became fuzzy around the edges, as the rest of the world and its unimportance faded away, leaving her and only her.

While the cheerleaders did their routine down on the field, the Yogman boys ran around the field-dividing fence and ran under the bleachers unnoticed. With Lenny leading, they dropped to their knees and crawled to the lowest part of the seats. They stopped where, just above their heads, a familiar nemesis of theirs sat next to his "lovely" metal-ridden friend—neither of them aware of the twin's presence. Luckily for the boys, it was so loud both on the field and on the bleachers that they could get away with talking low and not being heard.

"Now the rule to a good prank is to be clever and original. The simple water balloon on the head does not do proper justice. We take no prisoners, but all is fair in love and war. And it is never wrong to go classic, or," he snickered, "Go dirty."

"Exibit A," Lenny held up his tool of choice for this particular prank, "The fake arm."

"Ooo," Denny said, eying the authentic-looking robot arm.

"Robot may think he's becoming quite the lady-killer, but let's see how he holds up to the advanced test." He smacked the working, flexing ball-wrist of the fake robot arm against his own palm a few times."Watch and learn, brother."

Lenny peeking through the spaces one final time to make sure the coast was clear—his narrow, stained white eyes penetrating the darkness of his blackened silhouette beneath the shadows of the steel bleachers, looking out through the space between Robot and Shannon's ankles. He pulled back and smiled at his brother, then carefully, he slipped the fake arm through the slit above their heads, and gently let the claws rest atop the red plaid skirt.

Shannon, who had been watching the game with a note of boredom and had begun to space off into her own mind didn't immediately take notice of the fake arm that had come to rest on the upper part of her prosthetic leg. However, it wasn't long before she felt the odd sensation of light metal inch up to her still-living thigh. Her upper eyelid slowly rose, her back straightened, she dropped her hands from her face and glanced down. With a silent gasp, she turned her gaze instantly at her metal neighbor in the bleachers, her brown eyes suddenly taking a blood-red shine.

"Why, you-!"

SMACK!

Robot's lose head spun on his chassis like a top. "Wait!" Robot cried in confusion. "Wh-Whoa! WHAAAA!"

The twins watched the scene unfold, trying uselessly to restrain themselves from laughing aloud at the risk of getting caught. It seemed like only an instant had passed between the start of the prank, to its very satisfying ending. Only a few moments ago, Shannon and Robot were sitting contently next to each other on the bleachers. The next, Shannon had seen the fake claw out of the corner of her eye, instinctively smacking it away before she could get a good look at it, and assuming the obvious conclusion of who it belonged to, took her revenge out on the innocent Robot—smacking him in hard in the face, and with an almost inhuman display of strength entirely formed of fury, throwing his lightweight metal body far out to the right side edge of the sandy baseball field in front of a gallery of confused, but pleasantly surprised students. He landed on his face, and the rest of his body uncurled soon after and fell flat with it, creating a cloud of dust with both impacts.

"-fresh little creep," she finished in a muttered hiss, brushing her palms against each other in a sweeping motion as if to get them clean.

Lenny carefully pulled the claw back underneath the bleachers, and turned from his view in between the seats back to his brother. "And now," he calmly stuck up his finger, "To rub in the pain and humiliation."

As carefully as they had entered, Lenny and Denny crawled back out from under the bleachers. They carried themselves nonchalant to the baseball field, where the restanding Robot was brushing the excess dust off of himself with the back of his claws.

"Well, well, well," Lenny mocked, "How the mighty have fallen."

The automaton was not nearly the same naïve creature he was when he first came to school. At least When it came to the Yogmans, he far passed his days of gullibility. Before even asking what they were talking about, Robot had a couple of questions for the sinister twins. "Where did you two come from? Weren't you banned from attending football games this season after painting over all the signs?"

"Please Robot," Lenny said, "You give my brother and I too much credit. Meanwhile, it's apparent that we are not the only kick-outs here."

"You two don't even know what happened," Robot said, glaring. "I was not 'kicked out.'"

"We were watching the game innocently from the sidelines when we heard a certain damsel cry out in distress—came to find out it was you that she shrieked about," He tried to appear impressed, and at the same time, ridiculing. "I can already hear the story spreading."

"What story?"

Lenny rubbed his knuckles into his shirt and gazed at them, keeping his eyes nonchalantly off of Robot. "So you couldn't keep your hands to yourself, they say. I really must hand it to you, Robot, it takes nerve to do what you did," he rolled his wrists in a circular motion. "In Junior High, and all.."

Robot slowly lowered his gaze. "What are you insinuating?" he asked softly.

Lenny gave Robot one of his trademark, maniacal smirks. "Come on now, Robot, you're smarter than that. We're the kind of lads that kill the ladies."

"I beg your pardon?"

"All I'm saying is that you and I know that a little touch, goes a long way, hehe..."

Robot wasn't as naïve as people tended to think by his usual behavior. He'd correctly caught on to Lenny's implication, gasped, and roared. "We robots are forbidden to lay unwarranted hands on humans. And furthermore," Robot said, tipping his head "I would never, ever disrespect Shannon like that."

"Sure thing, Robot," Lenny said. Denny, losing the battle within himself, suddenly unleashed a bundle of light chuckles. Lenny motioned for them to leave before Robot realized what his twin was laughing about. "Have a fun time this evening."

The automaton was mad, but until driven to the breaking point, he could douse his anger pretty quickly. After all, there were humans watching, and he didn't want to repeat another first day meltdown. It took him forever to earn their trust after that. As Robot continued to check himself for nicks and scratches, his best friend, Socks Morton, late arriving to the game, pulled onto the darkening horizon on his bike.

The curly haired blond with mild acne stopped four feet away from his robotic companion and dropped a foot from the pedal. "Hey I just saw the Yogmans slither off," he blurted all together in a single exhale. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Robot said, avoiding his gaze.

Slowing down his breathing, Socks took notice of Robot's miffed expression. "Don't give me that with that look-What did they say to you?"

Even though the human was his best friend, Robot felt it wasn't right to burden Socks with every one of his problems.

But Socks thought of himself, Mitch and Cubey as the guardians who looked after a sometimes helpless Robot when no one else would.

While Socks himself was a little guilty sometimes for being preoccupied at the times it sounded that Robot could really use him, such as his numerous run-ins with the Yogmans, who Socks had never got a chance to warn Robot of before he met them.

Socks didn't give himself credit for being better at identifying it when a seemingly no-hint Robot was having more personal problems, thereby making him more suitable for helping him out in an emotional crisis. This was nearly as important as what Mitch and Cubey did, since Robot's emotions did run out of control when he couldn't handle certain situations.

"Never mind it," Robot finally said. "It's fine."

"You sure?" Socks asked, still standing with the bike in between his legs, jutting the front wheel slightly to the right and pointing behind himself "'Cause I can bike down the hill after them right now and make them walk home with their underwear over their hats-all you've got to do is give the word-"

"No, that's okay. They aren't worth it."

Socks looked the other way awkwardly. "Alright." He gazed at the grass beneath his tire. "So, you heading back to the game?"

Robot turned and took a quick look at the field. "I suppose… though I suppose I'll have to find a new seat..."

Socks hopped off of the seat of his bike and trailed behind him with his bike by his side.

But even as they watched the rainbows make a touchdown, Robot's mind was nowhere close to the game. Every time he tried to calm down, frustrated thoughts found their way back, blocking his concentration.

It wasn't just about their plotting to steal his brain that bugged him. Now the Yogmans did just about everything to annoy him, from challenging his status as the smartest kid in every class (the few that they actually attended) to their stupid, random pranks. Robot was sure they would go out of their way just to make his day a smidgen more unpleasant.

He didn't know what he ever did to make the Yogmans—Lenny especially, being the mastermind behind the hazings—hate him so much. But even as Robot grew wiser about them, they still found a way to abuse him.

It just gave Robot all the more reason to stay wary about the humans. It was the Yogmans and a few others like them who kept Robot incapable of really trusting the whole species, as badly as he wanted it wasn't just the Yogmans who made him feel unwanted. Just when he was beginning to feel assimilated, something came along to make him feel like an outsider again. How could he trust them when they wouldn't even acknowledge him as one of their own? When would this ostracization stop?

Robot could shake his head and stand tall throughout their tauntings, but it was going to take a big change before this pointless cycle of egoistic build up and fall down would draw to a close.

The Next Day...

"I have heard about Halloween from books," Robot told his human lunch companions. "What usually occurs on this day around here? I'm afraid I didn't time to learn much about the holiday last year." Robot asked.

With the Harvest Dance and its related issues looming over his mind, Robot hardly noticed Halloween come and go last October. This year he paid the dance itself no mind-he set in his mind that wasn't even going to try asking Shannon to the dance-at least not after the events of last night. If he was lucky, they might share a dance again by circumstance.

Yeah, right.

"Oh, it's cool," Socks said. "On Halloween night, kids go out in scary costumes and travel from house to house, collecting candy and toys from the neighbors for their own private stash. It's the easiest way to get a goldmine of sweets without inheriting a candy factory—if you're dedicated enough."

"The coolest part was," Cubey added, "They'd let you wear your costume to school."

"No, the coolest part is seeing all the girls in their costumes now."

"Oh, yeah," Cubey said. "Witches, devils, and kitty cats,"

"Ooooh my..." Socks crooned.

It was a weird transitional time in the boys lives where they had barely gotten over the nostalgia of collecting candy door to door, and had just started to understand the appeal of costumes made for adults, particularly females. And it made Robot's attempt to understand the holiday all the more confusing. "Explain to me: What does Halloween celebrate exactly?"

The three boys all looked at each other. "Huh. That's a good question…" Socks started.

"Oh no, here comes double trouble," Mitch whispered to the gang.

Oh, not the Yogmans again. Not twice in one week, Robot thought exhaustedly. Usually the Yogmans slithered off after an appearance not to be seen for weeks. Robot hadn't prepared himself to deal with them again.

But instead came a perhaps more intimidating duo: Shannon Westerburg, and her often overprotective best friend, Pam Simon. They carried their lunch trays right passed the boy's table.

"Hi girls," Socks called to them in a friendly manner.

"Perverts!" Pam shouted over her shoulder, taking Shannon's arm and pulling her away from the boys.

"Uh, OK..." Socks replied, pulling his waving hand down awkwardly.

"Um, who were they talking about?" Mitch asked.

Strangey enough, both Cubey and Robot suddenly started stammering. "Oh, probably just nothing-"
"Crazy girls," Cubey laughed.

"Affirmative," Robot said weakly, looking down at his iron based lunch of nuts and bolts. Instead of finding anything odd about Cubey's stammering, he was thinking about how long it was going to take to get Shannon just to say 'hi' to him again. Months of wearing her down again down the drain.

Later that day, out in the hallway, Madman was strolling his way to the staff lounge when he paused in front of the Sport's Trophy case, humming when he saw how dusty it had gotten, and used the end of his tie to wipe off a small portion of the glass. The awards in this case included the Rainbow's one and only regional football award, a banner given to the team from the early 1950s.

"Oh, Kenny Hughes," he said, remembering the quarterback that year, "You were a true legend in your day. Polyneux football just hasn't been the same since you left. These kids today just don't have the same fighting spirit they used to. They've grown," he hissed, "Soft." He dropped his tie from his fingers. "Oh, but I suppose I should stop living in the past now, shouldn't I?" he said.

A rumble for the ball in his head were suddenly interrupted by a rumble in his stomach. "Oh, getting hungry. I'd better hurry down to the cafeteria before all the corn dogs are snatched up!" he said, scurrying down the hallway.

Coming in the other direction, Robot, carrying a stack of books from the school's library, was educating himself on the details of Halloween. Nothing to distract his depression like data. He managed to read a book while carrying five more in his other arm, and carry on a conversation with Cubey as he walked. "You see Cubey, Halloween originated as an ancient Celtic holiday once known as Samhain which celebrated both the spirits of the deceased, and the start of the harvest. It wasn't until the 600th century A.D. that it was officially renamed 'All Saints Day' to honor hallowed religious martyrs, and thus was also called 'All-Hallows' eve."

Cubey was a little offput at Robot's immediate genius on the subject. "Robot, an hour ago you didn't even know what Halloween was, now you're broadcasting the whole story like some history documentary they'd make us watch in class."

"I'm sorry Cubey, but I am a robot," he informed of the obvious, "And was designed for recording information-and playing it back, too," he winked. The sound of a familiar female voice cut Robot off almost immediately, and he spun his head around to see his crush approaching for yet the second time that day- this time without her overbearing companion. "Hm," Robot said, "Perhaps I could strike up a new haste free conversation with Shannon with this subject of Halloween that has all the humans so intrigued.

He handed a bewildered Cubey his stack of books-which the boy only then, unfortunately, realized they were immensely heavy-and made his way up to Shannon with a spring in his mechanical step. "Greetings, Shannon unit."

"What," she asked, "Do you want?"

Robot gulped. Maybe this was a bad idea. "I was just," he thought to reshape his question, "Well, curious about your planned activities on the night of Halloween."

"I'm going to Roger Prattman's party, duh, like the rest of the seventh grade," she emphasized, slamming her locker door.

From around the corner, Socks and Mitch joined them. "Uh oh, what's Robot doing?" Socks asked.

"Aagh, crashing like a rock, that's what he's doing!" Cubey said, "OOMPH!" exclaiming as the books finally dragged him down and he slammed onto the floor.

"Should we help him?" Mitch asked.

"I kinda don't want to get involved…" Socks responded.

Coming back the other direction with a plate of corn dogs, Madman hummed a '50s radio tune as he headed back to his office. But upon turning his head affectionately towards the trophy case once more, his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

The case was there, but the one and only huge banner from the state championship was gone.

Madman dropped his plate of food on the floor and ran to the nearest fire alarm, where he smashed the plastic covering with his fist and yanked down the lever. A klaxon horn started, and all the students in the hallway froze and saw the red fire light flashing.

But because Polyneux was such a poorly designed school, the horn sent kids and teachers running for the nearest exit, only to find the doors locked, iron bars slamming down over the windows. Fearing they were going to burn alive, the entire school was sent into panic-all except for Robot and the boys, who seemed to be immune to the insanity.

"Silence, everyone!" Madman shouted into the intercom after some time. "This school has been put under emergency lock down. Clancy and I have already set in action the search plan. No backpack or locker will go unexamined. Nobody leaves until the thief and the lost item are found and replaced!"

"But it's already 3PM!" one random student shouted, causing the rest of his peers to complain.

"I repeat!" Madman shouted over the intercom back in his office, banging his fist into his desk, "Nobody leaves until the lost item-"

"Um, chief…?"

Madman's head swiveled to the far left. Clancy was pointing behind Madman's shoulder, outside the window to the flag pole.

The American flag had been replaced by the missing Rainbow colored banner. And it was on fire.

"Jumping Jane and Tarzan!" Madman shouted, tugging on his short, black hair. He violently pushed his way out of the office, shoving his secretary, Mrs. Wilson, and knocking her against his own desk, shoving his way through the children as they, too, scrambled out of the auditorium and towards the locked exit. With his seemingly superhuman strength that appeared in moments of intense emotion, Madman smashed the lock he himself set on the door and lead the pool of the student body outside. With Clancy trailing behind, Madman yanked furiously at the cord, bringing the banner down from the top of the flagpole, and stomping on it to put out the flames. Clancy produced a fire extinguisher, but while the flame had already been put out, it just covered Madman in a white foam. "C-C-clancy! T-that," he coughed, "That's enough!"

Now a mess, Madman stepped off of the foam and scorch covered banner and picked up the remains.

"Rival school pranks are getting reaaaaaaal tough," Clancy observed.

"An oddly specific and devilishly thing for a rival school to do for a prank," Madman noted, narrowing his eyes. He could bawl at the pitiful site, were he not suddenly full of suspicion. When he examined the charred remains of the banner, he noticed something oddly specific about the burning pattern on it. "Hmm… circular precision laser burns… oily brown claw marks... " he narrowed his eyes further. "...red and black paint chips !"

Madman tossed down the rag and stomped off, pushing Clancy out of his way. In the doorway, Robot and friends were some of the last kids to escape the school before Madman came back. These friends included Shannon, who was currently alone with them due to Robot's unbreakable joint at the hip, and Pam abandoning her due to being too creeped out by Cubey.

"The heck was that about?" Mitch asked the guys.

"Who knows? Madman's a-"

A large shadow cast over them made the boys and Shannon freeze with intimidation. Madman leaned over them.

"All five of you, in my office at once!"