My thanks to koolkame and Chibi Horsewoman for the reviews!

I am pleased to say this story is an original idea and was not inspired by any original work.

WARNING: This story is rated T for a very dangerous prank. DO NOT ATTEMPT!

Darev and Hallowinx Tales proudly presents…

Pranks

Every Halloween it was the same thing. Riven would take sick pleasure in making Timmy's life a living hell by playing stupid pranks. Last year, Timmy woke up to find himself covered in bugs from the school's biology lab. The year before that, Riven had stashed a life-size skeleton into his closet—squealing with glee as the prop scared Timmy out of his wits. The worst, and most humiliating, was when Timmy had been in the shower and Riven snuck up on him wearing a werewolf mask. Pulling back the curtain and foaming at the mouth, Riven growled like a beast and Timmy had wet himself in fear. Riven chased the poor boy out of the showers and into the hallway where Timmy was forced to run stark naked pass numerous fellow students. To this day, Riven would never let him forget it.

Well not this time. Tonight, it will be Timmy's turn to have the last laugh.

He'd been planning it for some time now. Timmy would wait for dark when Riven was asleep before he sprung his master plan. He considered bringing Sky, Brandon, and Helia on it but then he realized how much he wanted this victory for his own. Since freshmen year, Riven had treated Timmy like his own personal punching bag. A man could only take so much disrespect before he had had enough, so Timmy would carry out this plan on his own and reap the rewards of hearing his obnoxious friend's wails of terror…and he would laugh. Oh how Timmy would laugh!

Late at night when everyone was asleep, Timmy snuck out of bed. He crept his way out of the room he shared with Brandon and out the hall. Riven's room was just one over and when Timmy got there he input the code he cracked from the system's mainframe and smiled with glee as it slid open. Now there was nothing standing between him and his revenge.

Inside, the room was pitch-black. Helia's snores filled the room as he lay sprawled out on his bed. Ignoring him, Timmy moved over to the study. Peeking inside, he spotted Riven huddled underneath a lamplight in front of his computer. Beside him was a cup of warm milk which Riven drank to put him to sleep every night. That was Timmy's target. Pulling out his PHA, Timmy typed in a sequence of numbers. Moments later, Riven's cellphone began ringing.

Startled at first, Riven swiveled around his chair and headed for the exit. Timmy quietly moved aside, watching Riven leave and make for his cellphone which was charging beside his bed. Quickly, Timmy tip-toed inside the study and went straight for the glass of milk. Removing a pill he kept stored inside a small container in his PHA, Timmy dropped the capsule into the cup. It fizzled purple at first before turning white. With that accomplished, Timmy ducked behind the desk and remained quiet.

He heard the phone stop ringing and overheard Riven's baffled comments on why someone would call him this late and then not answer before he returned to the study. Sitting back down, Riven began to click the mouse. Timmy was patient. Sooner or later, Riven would take a sip. He didn't have to wait long as he heard the cup move and could not help but smile when he heard Riven take a big sip before setting the cup down.

Any second now.

Riven groaned…and collapsed onto his keyboard.

Success!

Timmy came around the desk to find his quarry laying unconscious. "You asked for this, Riven," Timmy said venomously. "It's time you paid for all the stupid things you've ever done to me. I'm going to show you a Halloween prank the likes of which have never crossed your low IQ." With that, Timmy began the arduous task of dragging Riven toward the window. He opened it and peered outside to make sure the coast was clear. Timmy raised his PHA and pressed a button. From out of the darkness below, his levabike came silently toward the window, Timmy having set its engines to stealth mode earlier today.

He carefully placed Riven on the back—no sense in losing his prize before he cashed it in, right?—prior to taking the helm. Timmy took great care to avoid any of the guards and sentries that scoured the school's grounds. He knew the defense grid by heart and was able to sneak past weak points in the school's security without setting off any alarms. Once they were through, Timmy had them flying off into the night.

Timmy pulled them to a stop by a predetermined tree behind which he had stashed a large duffel bag. After changing into a new pair of clothes, Timmy sorted through his tools one last time before mounting up again. He drove for almost an hour down to an old cemetery where the gloom was just perfect for the prank he had devised. Timmy pulled up to an unmarked grave which was still open. A wooden coffin lay open within.

People rarely visited this cemetery anymore. It was easy for Timmy to secure the items he needed to carry out his master plan. With a wicked smile burgeoning across his normally friendly face, Timmy removed Riven from the back of his bike and carried him toward the grave. He'd placed a ladder there earlier so that he might carry his victim down to the coffin. Timmy could not help but chuckle. This was it! He was about to get Riven back for all the bad times. He could just taste it…revenge—how sweet!

With none too much care which resulted in Riven bumping his head, Timmy placed his sleeping comrade inside of the coffin and tucked his hands over his chest. Once that was done, Timmy eagerly closed the lid over the coffin, taking special care of the tiny hole he had drilled into the side. This was where Timmy had attached a tube which led up to the surface to provide Riven with plenty of oxygen. He didn't want the guy to die, only be scared into thinking he was going to die. The hole was on the corner so that while hit led to the surface, the angle prevented any light from coming through. Riven would wake in complete darkness.

With the lid on, Timmy began to hammer down the nails. Making sure he was completely sealed in, Timmy then climbed back up and hoisted the ladder. Taking a moment to catch his breath from all the excitement, he then went for the shovel beside the grave and began to cover it up. Timmy worked tirelessly making sure Riven was buried good and deep. When he was done, only the small tube remained above ground.

Putting the shovel aside, Timmy paused to gloat. "Riven, you so deserve this. I'm sick of the way you've been treating me. Now let's see how you like being scared out of your wits." Timmy then turned, hopped onto his levabike, and made for home.

"Where's Riven," Sky asked the next morning. Only Timmy knew the truth. No one knew the whereabouts of the missing magenta-colored youth except a perpetually grinning young man who seemed pretty smug with himself.

Timmy feigned ignorance when asked about his whereabouts stating, "You know Riven," as if that was all the explanation needed for his absence. Riven normally wasn't one to go off on his own but he often did things that defied the locale norm so many specialists wrote him off as "just being Riven." His friends weren't too sure about it though. Sky went so far as to call Bloom to see if perhaps he'd gone over to see Musa but when she told him that wasn't so he began to worry. Sky formed a search party to find Riven. Timmy partnered up with Helia and while Sky and Brandon searched the city and Riven's preferred hangouts, the duo went about scouring the more isolated parts of the realm. All the while, Timmy did his best to hide his smirk.

He would continuously check his watch to keep track of time. Riven, he knew, had enough air to last for several hours, giving Timmy enough time to get back and dig him up. He considered having the guys go with him but knowing them, Prince Sky in particular, he would be scolded for doing so. Helia might get a kick out of it. Brandon for sure. But Sky? He would go off on some rant about being part of a team and of how immature it was for Timmy to do something like this.

Oh so it was okay if Riven did it? How wrong was that? Timmy was simply getting some payback and nothing more. Sky would never understand. He was always too busy playing leader to appreciate a good joke…and it was a joke Timmy would laugh about for years to come.

They were forced to call off their search and head back to school for classes. At the end of the day, Timmy snuck out after dinner and made for his levabike. He figured it was about time he let Riven out in time to gloat before bringing him back to Red Fountain. Timmy sure his friend would be furious, possibly enough to kill him, but it was all in good fun and if anyone could appreciate a prank it was Riven. What's more, Riven would never admit he was fooled by Timmy. He'd probably make up some crazy story about playing hooky or visiting some secret lover, preferring the repercussions than to reveal the truth.

Again he managed to sneak out without being noticed and headed for the graveyard. The night was gloomy like before and Timmy zeroed in on what he knew to be the grave where he'd buried Riven. Laughing like some giddy schoolboy, Timmy parked the bike beside the grave. He dismounted. Two steps later and the smirk on his face disappeared. The tube was nowhere in sight!

Timmy looked around. He was sure this was the right grave. It was! So where was the tube? Without it Riven would…

"Oh God!" Timmy searched the ground. How long had he been down there? Hours! There's no way somebody could have survived that long without oxygen to sustain him. "No…" Timmy's voice turned hoarse. His heart beat against his rib cage like a prisoner in a cell. It threatened to leap out and vanish into the night. Timmy could not believe this. This was not how the prank was supposed to go!

He found several footprints around the grave. Somebody must have come by earlier and…completed the burial!

The undertaker! Timmy could believe his luck! This cemetery had been practically forgotten by the general populace and yet some dumb smuck still tended to the grounds late into the evening. Could his luck possibly be this bad?

Timmy fell to his knees and started to dig. Sure enough, he removed a clump of dirt to find the tub sticking out, its top filled with dirt. No!

"Riven!" Timmy dug faster. His hands shoveled dirt around so blatantly that he appeared but a dog. Difficult as it was, fear drove Timmy on like some enraged whip, snapping, biting, forcing him to dig deeper and faster. His hands became dirty. His fingers started to bleed, but he would not stop. He could not. He just may have caused his friend his life.

It seemed like an eternity but Timmy finally reached the casket. Fighting back tears of shame and of guilt, he tried to force the lid open but it would not budge.

"Riven!"

He tried again.

Enraged at his own ineptness, climbed back out of the grave. He stumbled towards his bike and removed his crossbow gun. Returning to the coffin, Timmy took careful aim and shot out the nailed sections. Crying out, Timmy dropped the gun and pulled back the lid.

Riven was dead. His face turned blue. Gaping mouth turned to the side. Fingernail scratches were all over the inside of the lid, indicating that the terrified youth had struggled to free himself upon his awakening. Timmy could only imagine the horror that was going through his mind when he woke up to find himself buried alive.

Buried alive!

Buried…by Timmy.

He had killed him!

"Riven!" Timmy cried and fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…I just…you did…" His words were lost in sobs.

Reeling back, Timmy cried openly and begged his dead friend for forgiveness. How could he have done something so stupid? What was he thinking? Timmy hated himself. He was worse than any of the villains he had helped defeat in the past. They at least were evil. Timmy had done this out of some stupid attempt at revenge. Now his prank had backfired and someone had paid for it with his life.

He wanted to die.

Timmy stayed in that grave for a good long while, his wails filling the night, until he finally decided to come out. How could he return to Red Fountain and tell his friends what he'd done? How could he tell Musa? They would all hate him. Timmy would not blame them. He hated himself. In all his pranks, Riven had never done something that would have jeopardized Timmy's life. But Timmy had taken it a step too far.

Crying, Timmy stepped out of the grave and raised his eyes toward heaven. The moon was out. It was Halloween.

"Riven," he began. "Please…I never meant for this to happen. I only wanted…" Something grabbed his foot and pulled him back down. Timmy landed inside the coffin hard, his head cracking the bottom of the wooden casket.

Dazed, Timmy looked up to see someone standing over him. It was a face he recognized…and yet there was something different about it.

"R-Riven?"

The figure leaned down until he was almost face to face with Timmy. Riven's eyes were glossed over and his tanned face was pale. The stench of death was all over him and when he opened his mouth to speak it was accompanied by a rasping inflection.

"You…killed…me."

"No! Riven, I'm sorry! It was only a prank!"

"Prank?" The animated corpse asked disbelievingly. "I'm dead!"

"I'm sorry! Please, Riven." Timmy held up his hands. "H-How are you doing this? How are you moving?"

"It's Halloween, Timmy," Riven answered. "Strange things always happen." Those empty eyes narrowed.

Timmy was shaking now. "What are you going to do?"

The Riven zombie chuckled—it was an ugly sound. "I'm going to show you how it's done." He reached for Timmy.

"Riven! No! NO!"

Few people ever visited the cemetery but those that did would find two unmarked graves standing side by side. A lone levabike was found beside them the next morning, the undertaker calling Red Fountain to have it removed from the graveyard. No one ever did find out what happened to the two missing specialists—but come Halloween, those graves would be empty and two laughing pranksters would go out into the night looking for some fun.

Halloween Tip: It's all fun and games until somebody gets killed.