I'm sorry I'm a little late in posting this, but school has been crazy the last few days. Really I'm lucky I was able to get this posted at all.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Summerween
Today had started off much earlier than the Pines children were used to. Stan had barged into the attic at seven and began working furiously to get them dressed and out the door. The kids went along with it without asking too many questions, mainly because Stan seemed excited more than anything else, and within fifteen minutes the whole Pines clan, including Soos, were pulling out of the Mystery Shack parking lot. The triplets sat quietly in the back while they tried to really wake up. Stan swerved wildly off the road and came to a sudden stop throwing the kids against their seatbelts. "Here we are, the Summerween Superstore!" Stan with a wide smile as he looked at the small store he had parked in front of.
The three climbed out of the car and nodded in understanding until Dipper processed what Stan said. "Wait, Summer-what?" He asked in confusion.
Stan nodded eagerly. "Summerween! The people of this town love Halloween so much, they celebrate it twice a year. And wouldn't you know it, it's today!" Stan explained as he pulled a calendar out of his pocket and showed them the circled date.
Dipper studied the calendar, and then looked at Stan quizzically. "Do you always carry that calendar in your pocket?"
"Yes." Stan said awkwardly as he put the calendar back.
"Summerween? Something about this feels unnatural." Mabel complained as she stared at the store nervously.
Mikey nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I'm not too sure about this."
Soos used the one argument he knew would work. "There's free candy!"
The siblings glanced at each other and seemed to consider this for a moment before they ran straight into the store with Stan and Soos close behind. "TO THE COSTUME AISLE!" They screamed as they ran in and Soos began playing with a talking skull decoration.
He pressed the head down and listened for the joke. "I'd lend you a hand... but I don't seem to have any!"
Soos laughed at the skull and moved to press it again. "This guy tells it like it is."
The only employee currently in the store approached Soos seriously. "Sir, could you please stop pushing that?"
Soos nodded. "Ma'am, make these heads less hilarious, and you got yourself a deal." He said as he pressed the head again. The worker sighed and turned to walk back to the checkout counter.
Stan picked a barrel of fake blood as he looked around for other supplies he'd need. "When the children come to my door tonight, they're gonna run away screaming from Stan Pines, Master of Fright!" He said with a laugh. Seeing a baby in a stroller, he decided to get some practice in for tonight. "Boo." he said as he leaned into the baby's face. As it began crying, he laughed until he felt something sticky begin to pour out of the barrel he was holding. "Uh-oh. Think this one's leaking!" he said as he held it out from his body. The triplets didn't notice as the ran around the store in a shopping cart, crashing into various displays.
The employee picked up the phone and said loudly and clearly, "Have the police come and eject the Pines family from the store."
Stan grabbed a smoke bomb out of his pocket and threw it to the ground, obscuring the family as they ran away with their supplies. "NOT TODAY!"
"MY EYES!" The worker screamed as she tried to close them against the smoke.
The Pines continued to run for the car carrying their things. "You paid for the stuff, right?" Mabel asked her grunkle.
"Of course!" He said with a serious nod.
Mikey chimed in as they started to pack the car. "With Stan Bucks!" Mabel sighed and gave Stan and her brother a small glare, but didn't protest as they climbed into the car.
"Let's move!" Stan said as he threw the car into reverse and sped away, crashing into a massive inflatable decoration as he did.
Later that night the Shack had been fully decorated for the night, and the triplets were ready to get into their costumes. "I'm so excited!" Mabel said as she looked outside at the younger kids that had already begun trick-or-treating.
Dipper nodded his agreement. "We're gonna have the best costumes, get the most candy…"
"And have the biggest stomachaches ever!" Mikey finished with a wide smile.
"Yeah!" Dipper and Mabel agreed.
Soos, who was already dressed as some kind of masked super hero, noticed their excitement. "Dude, I've never seen you guys so pumped."
"Well, back at home, me and Dipper were kind of the kings of trick-or-treating. Triplets in costumes, the people eat it up." Mabel explained as she held up a scrapbook that held their Halloween pictures.
Mikey nodded his agreement. "Twins have nothing on us."
Soos nodded. "Well, you dudes better be careful out there. It's a night of ghouls and goblins. Not to mention…" He paused dramatically and turned the lights off before shining a flashlight into his face. "the Summerween Trickster!"
"The Summer-what-what?" Mabel asked.
"The Trickster goes door to door, so the legend goes, eating children who lack the Summerween spirit." Soos explained.
"Well, you don't have to worry about us. We've got spirit to go around." Dipper said as he took a piece of candy out of the bowl and popped it in his mouth. He quickly spit it out in disgust. "What is this stuff? I've never even heard of these brands." He said as he began showing off the candy. "Sand Pop? Gummy chairs? Mr. Adequate-Bar?"
Mabel was just as upset as Dipper. "This is all cheap-o loser candy!"
"Quiet your discontent, children, lest the Trickster overhear." Soos warned.
Dipper rolled his eyes at him. "Your cape is caught in your fly, Soos."
"Touche…"
"Goodbye loser candy!" Dipper said as he poured it out of the window. The doorbell rang before he finished, and he stopped to see what to do.
"Trick-or-treaters. Quick! Give'em that terrible candy." Stan called from deeper in the house.
Dipper carried the bowl to the door and opened it with a smile. "Happy Summerw…" he stopped with a small scream when he saw that it was Robbie and Wendy at the door.
"'Sup, squirt." Robbie said dismissively.
"Hey Dipper!"Wendy said with a happy smile and a wave.
"Wendy! Wha… what's up, guys?" Dipper rambled nervously.
"I left my jacket here. Again." Wendy said with an eye roll.
Robbie glared at Dipper as Wendy grabbed her jacket. "What's with the candy? You goin' trick-or-treating or something?"
"Well actually I, uh…" Dipper stuttered as he tried to think of a good answer.
"Shut up, Robbie, of course he's not going trick-or-treating." Wendy said as she punched her boyfriend playfully.
Dipper nodded and laughed nervously."No! Uh, yeah. Trick-or-treating is for babies. I guess."
"You should come to this party with us." Wendy said with a smile. "Tambry's parents are out of town, and it's gonna be OFF THE CHAIN."
"Not surprised you didn't hear about it." Robbie muttered as he walked Wendy out the door.
"Hey guys, wait! Maybe I'll see you at the party." Dipper said as they began to leave.
Robbie rolled his eyes at the idea of Dipper at a party. "If you're not too busy playing dress up."
"It's at 9! Don't forget!" Wendy said, ignoring Robbie.
Dipper waved as they left, but once they had gone a look of concern covered his face. "How am I gonna tell them?"
Mabel and Mikey heard the doorbell ring and raced downstairs to greet Mabel's friends in their matching costumes, paper, and scissors with Dipper being the rock. Stan entered the room shortly after and was quickly introduced. "Grunkle Stan, these are my best friends, Candy and Grenda." She said, pointing at the girls that were dressed as a piece of candy and a witch, respectively.
"I am so sweet I could eat myself." Candy said with a slight giggle as she looked up at Stan in his vampire costume.
Grenda waved and said in her deep, raspy voice. "Hello, Mr. Pines!"
Stan blinked, taken aback by the sound of her voice. "You got a cold, honey? Something wrong with your voice there?" He asked, slightly concerned. Mikey winced slightly at the insensitive question.
Grenda's face almost instantly changed to one of worry. "What do you mean? Why would you say that?"
Stan realizing his mistake, backed out of the room without answering.
After he had left the girls turned back to the siblings. "Is Waddles coming with us?" Candy asked with a smile, she loved that pig almost as much as Mabel.
Mabel's grin grew even wider as Waddles walked into the room, wearing the business suit Mabel had made for him. "I wish he could, but he has some very important meetings to attend!" she said as she picked up her pig. "File these documents under 'I', for 'I have a curly tail!'" She said, causing her and her friends to burst into giggles.
Mikey smiled at the girls' laughter, and he couldn't wait for them to see the three of them together. "If you think that's good, wait until you see Dipper's costume, Mabel really outdid herself this time."
Mabel smiled at Mikey's compliment and then ran to the foot of the stairs as she heard footsteps coming down. "Here he comes now!" She told the others.
When they saw Dipper walking down the stairs, Mabel and Mikey deflated and Candy nodded, impressed. "That is a very good Dipper costume." She said, and it was impossible to tell if she was being serious.
Mabel confronted him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "What the hey-hey bro-bro, where's your costume?" Mikey said nothing but stared at him in honest confusion.
Dipper scratched the back of his head nervously and quickly thought of an excuse. "Look, I can't go trick-or-treating. I'm... uh, really sick." He said with a gentle cough. "Must have been that bad candy. Go on without me." He said dramatically as he dropped to his knees. Mikey looked even more confused and was starting to get a little suspicious, being sick on Halloween had never stopped the Pines triplets before.
Mabel grabbed Dipper by the arms and began to shake him violently. "Fight through it, man! Where's your Summerween spirit?" Before Dipper could answer, there was a knock at the door. He took the opportunity to avoid the question.
On the porch stood a tall and thin man wearing a large coat, and a smiley face mask. "Trick-or-treat." The man said slowly as he opened his bag.
Dipper looked at him incredulously. "Dude, really? You're a little old for this, man. Sorry." He said as he closed the door.
"But wait, I …" The man protested but was cut off by the door slamming.
"Why'd you close the door?" Mabel asked.
Dipper shrugged his shoulders. "I told you, Mabel, I'm just not feeling it tonight." He said with another fake cough.
Mabel eyed him critically. "I think a little trick-or-treating will make you feel better." She said with a firm nod.
Mikey quickly agreed with her. "Yeah, Dipper. Since when has being sick stopped us?"
"I'm not trick-or-treating!" Dipper yelled, tired of their pestering. Another knock sounded through the room, and Dipper opened it revealing the same man. "Look, man, just go to another house!" He said as he slammed the door.
Mabel gasped at her brother's rudeness. "Dipper! Where's your Summerween hospitality?" She chastised him.
Another knock and Dipper crossed his arms resolutely. "I'm not getting that."
Mabel walked to the door. "Well, I am! I apologize for my brother, he came down with a case of the grumpy-grumps." She said as she opened the door.
The man stepped into the house, and seemed to grow taller, he easily would have towered over Stan had he been there. "SILENCE! You have insulted me! For this, you must pay... with your LIVES." The man said as he glowered down at the children.
Mabel smiled at how in character he was. "Aww, what a cute little mask! You're a funny guy, aren't you?" She asked with a smile.
"Funny, am I?" It asked with a dark chuckle.
Before any of the kids could react, a new trick-or-treater arrived on the front porch. Gorny walked through the open door and waved at the others. "Twik-owr-tweet! Hi, Mr. Pines!"
Mikey smiled at his young friend, currently dressed as a pirate. "Hey, Gorny. You enjoying your night off?" The child's eager nodding was cut off by the tall man grabbing him around the waist and picking him up on a massive hand. As his body split open into a massive mouth and Gorny was swallowed whole, it became abundantly clear that this thing was not a trick-or-treater.
"Gorny!" Mikey screamed, and ran at the monster, just barely being stopped by Dipper grabbing his arm.
The creature laughed again and then spoke in a slow, menacing tone. "There's only one way for you to avoid his fate. I need a treat. If you can collect 500 pieces of candy, and bring it to me before the last jack-o-melon goes out…" He said, grabbing the jack-o-melon off the porch and blowing it out. "I will let you live."
"Five hundred treats in one night? That's impossible!" Dipper said, beginning to panic.
"The choice is yours, children. You must trick-or-treat... Or DIE." The creature leaped into the darkness outside, laughing insanely.
Dipper turned to his siblings, Mabel was gaping in horror at the open door, and Mikey stared with his mouth hanging at the spot where Gorny once stood. "Oh my gosh, do you realize what this means?" He asked the group around him.
Mabel recovered from her shock and looked at Dipper with a serious face. "I do. It means you have to come trick-or-treating! Yay!" She said as she gave her brother a hug.
Candy turned away from the doorway and asked the question that was on all their minds. "Who was that guy?"
Mabel remembered what she had heard just a few minutes ago, and realized what the monster was. "It's the legend Soos told us about. It's true!" She said, her tone a mixture of terror and excitement.
Grenda, ignoring Mabel, grabbed the still shocked Mikey and began to shake him urgently. "What do we do what do we DO‽" She asked, clearly the most frightened of all of them.
Mikey snapped out of his daze and pushed Grenda off of him. "Listen, everybody!" He shouted to the room. "We don't have time to panic, we need to start trick-or-treating NOW!" They all nodded, except for Dipper. He looked at the floor and tried to think of a way to get out of this.
Before the ids could head out the door, Soos walked into the room with a wide smile. "What's goin' on out here, dudes? I heard a ruckus." Soos let a chuckle, clearly not noticing the mix of serious and terrified faces in front of him. "That's a funny word. Ruckus."
Dipper quickly filled him in on what was happening. "Soos, a monster is making us trick-or-treat or else he's gonna eat us!"
"I got a picture!" Candy said as she held up her phone.
Soos studied the picture for just a second before he gasped and looked at the kids in horror. "The Summerween Trickster! Oh man, dude, you guys are in crazy bonkers trouble."
Dipper nodded his agreement. "How are we gonna get that much candy in one night? There's no way!"
Mabel clapped her hands to bring everyone to attention. "Listen up, people. Now some might say that being cursed by a blood-thirsty holiday monster is a bad thing."
"I wet myself." Grenda said with a nod.
"But that monster messed with the wrong crew." Mabel continued without stopping. "With Candy's spirit, Grenda's strength, Dipper's brains, Mikey's cunning, and... Soos here, we'll get 500 pieces of candy and have fun doing it too, even if it takes all night!" She finished confidently, inspiring cheers from the others, except for Dipper. "To the streets!"
"All night? But… but I'm sick, remember?" Dipper protested weakly, coughing again.
Mabel started to say something but was interrupted as Mikey stepped in front of Dipper with a frown on his face. "Dipper! We just watched Gorny get eaten alive, and you're just gonna let the same thing happen to us‽" Dipper looked away, but didn't answer. "You are going to change into your costume and come trick-or-treating now."
Dipper tried again, much more meekly now. "But… I'm sick…" Mikey said nothing, but his glare sent Dipper running upstairs to change.
Stan adjusted his fake fangs and smiled as he looked out the front window. "Ah, Summerween. Those kids aren't gonna know what hit 'em!" He said, laughing evilly as he watched to kids approach the door. He opened the door as soon as they knocked.
"Trick-or-treat." the large group of kids said together.
Stan bent down and smiled at the group. "What can I do for y…" Stan started t make choking sounds as his face started to drip off. "uh, ugh. Oh no! No! Augahhh!" the rest of his face sloughed off, revealing a bare skull. The kids ran away screaming, and Stan laughed as he took off the skull mask.
"Can we have candy now?" The voice made Stan realize that two of the kids hadn't run, a mummy and a soldier.
He looked down at them with a frown. "What's the matter with you kids? That was the scariest thing you've ever seen, right?" He asked, honestly confused. One of the two responded by making a so-so motion with his hand. "Well have you seen this!" Stan said as he began to pull out the hot dog chain hidden in his shirt. "Ah! Guts! Real, very real guts!"
The kids rolled their eyes. "Uh, we've been watching horror movies since we were like, two years old." The mummy kid said.
"Yeah, we're not scared." The soldier agreed.
Stan backed into the doorway, slowly and menacingly. "Oh, you will be. You will be."
Most of Gravity Falls seemed to be out for Summerween, even the older kids, not to mention the adults. Manly Dan was dressed as a Viking along with his sons. They carried a massive battering ram between them and aimed it at the door of a house. "For glory, my children, CHARGE!" Dan screamed as he and his kids broke down the door and ran into the house.
Blubs and Durland were out dressed as he each other. "You make a great me." Blubs told his deputy.
"No, you make a great me."
"No you do." they both giggled as the "argument" continued.
The Pines group walked down the street ready to begin raking in the candy."I don't understand why we can't just buy our candy and be done with it." Dipper said as he tugged at the rock costume he was wearing.
Mabel rolled her eyes. "That sorta takes the fun out of trick-or-treat-or-die."
"I'm trying to take the DIE out of trick-or-treat-or-die." Dipper snapped.
Mikey cut them both off. "The Trickster is going to eat us because we don't have Summerween spirit. I doubt buying candy is going to help." Mabel and Dipper stopped arguing at the tone of Mikey's voice. None of them were exactly happy, but Mikey definitely seemed to have taken this the hardest.
The group approached Lazy Susan's house, as another group walked away with nearly full bags. "Trick-or-treat!"
Susan looked over everyone's costume. "Is everyone in costume? Chimney sweep, elephant man, squeegee, ant farm, sunglasses, volcano!" She said, completely missing everyone's costume.
Dipper rolled his eyes as Lazy Susan kept talking. "Yeah, look we're, we're kinda in a hurry, here."
She frowned at Dipper's attitude. "Oh. I see. Enjoy!" She said as she dropped a single piece of candy into each of their bags.
The group walked away as they looked at their candy. "One piece of black licorice?" Grenda said in disgust.
"Circus peanut! This is loser candy."Candy shook her head and threw the peanut back into her bag.
"Four pieces of candy‽ This is gonna take forever!" Dipper said truly distraught.
Mabel shook her head resolutely. "We've gotta up our game, Dipper." She locked eyes with Mikey. "Candy dance?"
"Candy dance." Mikey answered with a nod.
Dipper immediately shook his head. "Oh no! I am not doing the candy dance! I'm not up to it."
Any response that might have come was stopped as the trickster climbed down a light post and picked the candy out of their bags. "Oh, really? I've seen better." He grabbed a jack-o-melon and blew it out. "Tick tock."
Mikey and Mabel radiated smugness. "So what was that about being too sick to do the candy dance?" Mabel asked Dipper lightly.
The kids still stood outside of the Mystery Shack, chanting as they waited for Stan to give up. "We want candy! We want candy!"
Stan sighed as he stepped outside, no longer dressed up. "Alright, you got me, kids. You guys win. I guess I'm not that scary, you know, you've-you've- Oh! No! Ughh!" Stan began to scream as Waddles burst out of his shirt. "Why?! Why is there a pig jumping out of my chest‽" The kids didn't react as Waddles got free of the shirt and ran away.
"Candy."
"Candy!" They said resolutely.
Stan stared at the kids, completely shocked. "What scares you two freaks?"
The kids shared a sideways glance and handed Stan a phone with a video ready to play. "Here, watch this."
Stan watched the video, even more confused. "What, what is this? Some kinda... some kinda kitten or..." The monster that suddenly appeared on the screen caused Stan to jump back in shock, screaming as he ran back into his house. The kids laughed outside. "What happened to you, Stan Pines? What happened?"
The triplets stood in front of their second door of the night, ready to get more candy than they ever had before. "Do you really think this will make a difference?" Dipper asked his siblings. His only answer was a pair of nods. The doorbell rang, and the largest biker any of them had ever seen opened the door, growling slightly. They immediately launched into their dance, and within moments they had brought tears to his eyes. He dumped all of his candy into their bags, as they finished.
They rejoined their friends by the side of the road and were congratulated on their haul. "I will make you internet famous." Candy said as she held up her phone, showing the video she had taken.
"Hey! Erase that! Let's just get this over with, okay?" Dipper said as he walked away with his head down. Mikey whispered for Candy to text him the video after Dipper had walked by.
"Let's get that candy, guys!" Mabel said as she pushed the wheelbarrow they borrowed for their candy.
They quickly counted out the candy they had earned from their first house. "34, 35…" Mabel finished counting.
Candy climbed into the wheelbarrow and smiled at her friend. "36. You see? Because…"
Mabel cut her off. "Yeah, I get it."
They continued to hit every house in Gravity Falls, filling the wheelbarrow at a rapid pace. The group eventually ended up in the slightly less nice part of time, where they encountered their most horrifying monster yet.
"Hello." Toby determined said as he stepped outside to greet them.
They all screamed once they got a look at his face. "What a horrible mask!" Mabel screamed in terror.
Toby heaved a depressed sigh. "That's just my face. This is a mask. Roar!" He said as he placed a green monster mask on.
The rest of them quickly relaxed once it was covered. "Oh, yeah. That's actually better." Soos told Toby with a happy nod.
Mabel counted the candy out from Toby's house. "498, 499. We did it! All we need is one more piece of candy." She said happily.
Dipper smile was even wider when he realized the time. "And it's only 8:30. Perfect timing!"
Mabel pulled her brothers in for a hug. "Mwah! And your cough went away too!"
"Dude, I'm gonna go around and grab the truck. Soos, away!" Soos said as he ran, his cape flapping in the air.
"Last one to the last house is a pair of wax lips!" Mabel said as she ran.
"Not me! Nooo!" Grenda yelled as she ran to catch up with the others.
Dipper stayed behind to watch the candy as the others left. He couldn't believe things had worked out so well! "The perfect time to go to Wendy's party, and no one needs to know I was trick-or-treating." His good mood quickly turned to panic as he watched Robbie's van turn the corner. With a burst of energy, he took off his costume and hid and the wheelbarrow in the bushes.
"Hey Dipper!" Wendy said as the van pulled to a stop next to him.
Dipper leaned against the bushes in an attempt to look casual. "Oh hey, Wendy. What's up?"
"Are you comin' to the party?" She asked with a smile.
Robbie was a little more suspicious of Dipper's behavior. "What are you doing out here?"
Dipper nervously laughed while he tried to think of an excuse. "Oh, um, I'm on my way. I like watching the trick-or-treaters. Reminds me of when I was a kid." He said awkwardly.
Wendy nodded slowly. "Ok, then. You're coming, right?"
"Definitely, definitely."
Wendy smiled and waved good be as they drove off. "Cool. See you there."
"Later, guys."Dipper called after them. He was cut off by Mikey's voice.
I knew you weren't really sick!" Mikey said as they all approached.
Mabel looked devastated by the news. "You're going to a party?"
"Well, hey, I…" Dipper stumbled over his words as he tried to explain himself.
Mabel"s hurt quickly turned to anger. "That's why you were acting so weird and trying to hurry us! You're not sick at all! So if it wasn't for this crazy monster, you were gonna ditch us! On our favorite holiday!" She screamed as she threw one of her pieces of candy at him.
Mikey shook his head, somewhere between frustrated and furious. "I can't believe this. Dipper, I was going to that party!" Dipper looked at him in shock, but couldn't respond before Mikey kept talking. "I was going to invite both of you after we were done! When was the last time we were out later than, like, 9:30 anyway?"
Mabel continued to rant at Dipper, paying no attention to Mikey. "What happened to the Dipper who used to love Halloween‽ And where's all the candy‽" She asked, suddenly terrified.
Dipper felt trapped by all of the accusations, no matter how truthful they were, but at least that was a question he could answer. "Relax, relax. I left it right here. Behind this bush." He pushed aside the branches to see the wheelbarrow tipped over, spilling all of the candy into a small creek. "Oh no." He said quietly.
"What did you do‽" Mabel asked when she saw the candy being washed away.
Grenda tried to get their attention as jack-o-melons began to go out, one by one. "Uh, guys?"
The triplets looked around to see that they stood on a dark street. "Oh no! All the jack-o-melons are out!" Mabel said beginning to panic.
Dipper looked down the end of the street, where one jack-o-melon was still lit. "Look!" The group all rushed towards the melon
Old Man McGucket picked it up and took a deep breath as he called out to the children. "Good night!"
"Stop!" Mabel yelled once the group made it too him.
McGucket looked at the kids in confusion. "What?" They continued to frantically beg him to leave the jack-o-melon lit, leaving him more confused. "Eh? What's happening?"
"Just don't blow out that candle!" Dipper said urgently.
"What?" the old man said again, pulling out an ear horn so that he could hear.
"Don't blow out that candle!" Dipper yelled again.
McGucket seemed to consider that for a moment before he threw the ear horn away. "I'm Old Man McGucket!" He said and took a deep breath to blow out the candle.
Grenda knocked McGucket to the ground and grabbed the melon before he could blow it out. "Sorry."
"Phew, that was close." Dipper said. The group let out a sigh of relief with him, unfortunately, that was enough to put the sputtering candle out.
The group huddled together as they looked fearfully into the darkness around them. "Knock knock." The Trickster said softly as he walked into the light of a street lamp. "So children. Where's my candy?"
Dipper stepped forward and began to explain what had happened. "I swear, we had all 500 pieces. Look, it's down there somewhere. We can still get it." The others nodded and agreed eagerly.
"I'm afraid it's too late! That was your last chance." The trickster said as he began to approach again.
Dipper threw a handful of what was left of their candy, just to watch be absorbed by the Trickster. "Go, go, go, go!" He yelled as they ran between the monster's legs and down the street.
The Trickster chased after them, and the massive monster was quickly gaining ground on the small children. Mabel was the first one he grabbed when she tripped on a small pothole. "Guys! Help!" She screamed as the others continued to run. Mikey turned and began to run towards the monster when he heard Mabel's cry. He reached into his pocket to grab the stone before he remembered that this costume had no pockets and the stone was sitting on his desk in the attic. He tried to dodge out of the way of a grasping hand but was grabbed with little effort by the trickster. The others were slowly grabbed one by one, and then the Trickster stood in the middle of the street laughing at their struggles. His laughter stopped as a pickup truck crashed into him, breaking him into pieces and sending the kids flying.
The kids stood up, and quickly made sure they were okay, and then ran towards Soos and his pickup. "We're alive! Yeah!" Grenda cheered as she stood up.
"Woah." Soos said as he continued to stare at the spot the trickster had been standing at.
"Soos!" Dipper said happily as he climbed in.
Soos looked back at Dipper and asked nervously, "That wasn't like, a regular pedestrian, was it?"
"It was the monster!" Mabel said, receiving a sigh of relief from Soos.
"Thanks, Soos. Phew. I'm just glad it's over, right?" Dipper said as he looked at Mabel and Mikey for theiragreement, , but they just frowned and walked to the back of the truck.
"Did everyone remember to put on their seatbelts?" Soos asked when everyone was in.
"Yes." the group answered together, all except for Mabel, who just nodded as she stared out of the window.
"Let's go!" Soos said as he began to drive the truck away from the scattered pieces of monster.
Mabel rubbed her bruised elbow quietly as she stared out of the window. "Hey, are you okay? There's probably some bandages back at the Shack." Dipper said.
Mabel didn't respond, she just kept staring out the window. As they drove she saw something small shoot past them in the direction they were coming from. Straining her neck, she could see the Trickster reforming in the street. "Uh, guys? She said, pointing at where the Trickster now stood fully formed. It roared, and jumped after them, landing on the bed of the truck and causing it to swerve wildly. The monster was shaken off and smashed into a telephone pole, but Soos couldn't regain control of the truck as they sped towards the Summerween Superstore.
"Breaks! Breaks! Breaks!" Dipper screamed as they approached the front of the store. His screaming didn't help, and the truck plowed into the storefront. Everyone checked themselves over again and found that they were okay. They slowly climbed out of the truck, steadying themselves on shaking legs.
"We have to hide, now!" Mikey urged as they ran into the store.
The kids quickly hid amongst the shelves as they watched the monster slowly climb into the store. "It's blocking the only exit. Everyone, stay quiet!" Dipper hissed out.
Mabel rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, so now you're worried about the monster. I thought all you cared about was Wendy."
Dipper tried to explain himself again. "Mabel, you know that's not true. I just felt like I was getting a little too old to go trick-or-treating." He said, desperate to make her understand.
"That's exactly why we need to go trick-or-treating, Dipper!" Mabel said, turning away dejectedly. "We're getting older, there's not that many Halloweens left! I guess I didn't realize it was already our last one." She said sadly.
Mikey shook his head with a slight smile. "You two are both crazy. I'm gonna keep trick-or-treating until they stop giving me candy, and I'm dragging you two along with me." He said trying to cheer his siblings up a little. It seemed to work, and a small smile grew on both of their faces. The moment was interrupted by a loud roar from the monster.
"We have to escape." Candy said.
Grenda shook her head, cowering back in the shelf. "What if it sees us?"
"If only there was something we could use to cover our bodies and faces with." Soos said as he poked his face out of the costume rack. "You know, like a disguise of some kind." The kids shared looks and grabbed their costumes as stealthily as possible, pulling on costumes and hiding themselves in the shelves just as the monster began to search among them.
As the creature passed their aisle, the kids ran for the entrance. "This way!" Dipper whisper-yelled to the others as he led them away. Looking around he realized that Soos wasn't with them. "Soos!" He called, and then saw Soos standing in front of the talking skulls. "Stop!" he yelled as Soos began to press down on one.
"Soos, don't you dare!" Mabel said as she watched him.
"Sorry dude, today's been way too stressful. I need some levity." Soos apologized and pressed the skull.
The kids tensed, but nothing happened. "Oh thank goodness. It was out of batteries." Dipper said with a relieved sigh. The relief turned to terror as he watched Soos open a package of batteries. "Soos, no!"
Soos pressed the skull and the loud voice rang out through the quiet store. "No matter the score, I'm always a-head!"
Soos laughed along with it. "This cackling head's the voice of a generation!" He said before he was snatched up and eaten by the Trickster.
The kids turned to face the creature, knowing that they could no longer run from it. "Hey, monster!" Mikey yelled as he and the others pulled out plastic weapons and charged.
The weapons weren't doing much to the Trickster, at least until Grenda hit him with all her strength, shattering one of his legs. A piece of the leg fell into her mouth and she began to gag at the flavor. "Salt water taffy? Gross!"
"What are you...?" Dipper started to ask. He stopped as he blocked the monster's hand with his sword, and a piece chipped off and landed in his own mouth. "Wait, it is."
The distraction was enough for the Trickster to grab the kids. "You really haven't figured it out yet?" It asked darkly. "Don't you recognize me? Look at my face! Look closely." It said as it pulled off the mask, revealing a face made out of the worst part of Summerween.
"Loser candy!" Mabel gasped in horror.
"That's right!" The creature said angrily. "Did you ever stop and think about the candy at the bottom of the bag that no one likes? Every year the children of Gravity Falls throw away all of the 'REJECTED' candy into the dump. So I seek revenge; revenge on the picky children who cast me aside. I'm made of every tossed piece of black licorice, every discarded bar of old chocolate with like that white, powder stuff on it. You know that stuff!"
"I hate that stuff!" Mabel screamed defiantly.
"No one would eat me. But now, I'm going to eat you." The monster said as it raised Mabel above its mouth. A sudden rumbling from inside the monster stopped him from dropping her in though. "What is that?" The monster asked, before beginning to scream as Soos ripped through his stomach.
"'Sup, bro?" Soos asked as he continued to eat the body. The monster collapsed on the ground, vomiting jelly beans. "Dudes, you want some of this?" He asked offering a handful to the kids.
The creature sat up at the sound of Soos eating. "Wait, you actually think I taste good?"
Soos shrugged at the monster. "Uh, sure! You know."
"All I've ever wanted is for someone to say that I was... good. I'm so happy!" The monster said ecstatically, crying candy corn tears of joy.
"Crying makes it a little weird, but, guess I'm still eating." Soos said through a mouthful of the candy. Movement beneath the monster's chest could be seen before Gorny burst out with a wide smile. "'Sup, Gorny?" Soos asked the young child.
Gorny smiled widely. "I've been twaumatized!" He answered excitedly.
Mikey ran up the monster's side and pulled Gorny from the chest. "Gorny! How are you feeling? Better or worse than when Gideon set the stand on fire?" He asked as he checked his friend for injuries.
Gorny seemed to think for a moment before he answered confidently, "Wuhse."
"But you are okay?" Mikey asked, and Gorny's eager nod was good enough for him. "Do you want another night off?" Mikey asked his young employee.
Gorny appeared shocked at the suggestion. "No suh!"
Mikey smiled, convinced now that Gorny really was okay. The smile fell off his face as he looked at the carnage around them. "Don't tell your parents about this, okay?"
The kids stood on the porch waiting for Stan to come back outside, but they were quickly fed up with waiting. "Now what?" The mummy asked his friend as they stared at the slightly open door.
The soldier shrugged, then stepped through the door. "Let's just get our candy already! Old dude? Old dude?" He called into the house.
Stan meanwhile, had just gotten out of the shower and stood staring at himself in the mirror. "Wash off the shame, Stan. Wash off the shame." He said as he continued to scrub.
"He thought he could scare us." The soldier scoffed, causing his friend to laugh as they walked threw an open door.
Stan could hear something right outside the bathroom and turned to look at the doorway, dropping the towel around his waist in the same motion. "Eh? What's that?" He asked as the kids got a good look at him in his boxers, causing them to scream and run away. Stan laughed as he realized what happened, and stepped outside to grab the bags of candy they left behind. "I still got it!"
The trick-or-treaters walked into the living room and greeted Stan. They were tired but happy that none of them had been eaten alive.
Dipper came to sudden stop as he saw Wendy sitting at a side table. "Hey Dipper." She said as she finished carving a face into a jack-o-melon
"Wendy!" Dipper said, shocked to see her here. He grabbed at his costume, before realizing that there was no point now.
"I didn't see you at the party. Where were you?" Wendy asked him.
"Uh... I-uh…" Dipper stuttered out as he tried to think of the best answer. The look on his siblings' faces settled it for him. "I was trick-or-treating. With my family." He said, smiling as he pulled Mabel and Mikey into a sideways hug.
Wendy nodded and went back to carving. "The party was lame anyway. Robbie ate a lollipop stick-first and had to go home sick." She said with an amused tone. Dipper barely covered his own laugh, but Mikey didn't even try.
They all gathered in the living room to begin to watch the Summerween horror movie marathon, and as they began to sit down Mabel realized the saddest part of the night's adventures. "Aw, man. We went to every single house, and we didn't even get to eat any candy!" She said, causing the other's faces to fall.
Stan smiled and held up the bags the kids had left on the porch. "Candy? How's that for candy?" He said throwing the bags on the floor and spilling the candy out so that they could grab what they wanted.
As the kids gathered around to watch the movie Stan began to speak. "You know, kids? I've been thinkin'. At the end of the day, Summerween isn't about candy or costumes. Or even scaring people. It's a day when the whole family can get together at one place and celebrate what really matters: PURE EVIL!" When he finished the entire group laughed maniacally into the night, stopping just as suddenly when the show came back from commercials.
"I ate a man alive tonight." Soos said, in a completely dead monotone. The kids smiled at the memory, while Wendy and Stan stared at him waiting for an explanation they would not receive.
So that is Summerween. Not much is different, but I kind of liked this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, and Don't forget to leave a review.
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