The Way We Were Chapter 14

Story from Arnold's Halloween.

(A/N Hey there readers I am glad to be back to writing another chapter for this story. I know you have waited and waited and I commend your patients. A lot has gone on. First my old software Windows XP 2007 went out of date and would no longer work with this site so it took me some time to replace it with Windows 10. Also my grandmother is in need of constant care due to the onset of dementia as well as nephropathy and arthritis. So I have had to sit home a lot. I wanted to come and write chapters based on the holiday specials so since it is October Arnold's Halloween was the obvious choice.

Also wanted to let you know I have started a new Ed,Edd,N,Eddy fan fiction called You've Got A Friend In Edd so if you are a fan I implore you to check it out as well. I am hoping to make more time over all depending one what happens to write more chapters. I will not be abandoning this fan fiction as it is a labor of love and I want to see in through. So please enjoy and stay tuned)

It was Halloween and everyone was getting ready. The house was decorated and would soon host a party. Everyone was getting dressed in this years costumes. Helga now had to get creative due to her pregnancy now starting to show so she dressed like a cow and incorporated her stomach to look like udders. Arnold was dressed like a cowboy with a hat,vest, boots, and holsters. Arlo was a space outlaw with a laser gun and space suit. Juniper was a unicorn with a shiny colorful mane and tail with an iridescent horn.

Phil and Gertie didn't really run these parties anymore in their old age so they just settled on letting their grandson and granddaughter-in-law (their word for it) take care of the party. They had more fun sitting outside on the sidewalk next to the boarding house in rocking chairs dressed like a phantom and witch seeing if they could scare a few kids in the process.

As the other tenants and kids were helping to get food and punch out on the table they all took turns manning the door to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Arnold was setting up the stereo system while he did so he picked up a frequency with a man shouting about government corruption, the rise of globalism, and for the audience to watch his film Endgame the blueprint for global enslavement . Helga messed with it a bit until it was clear and playing the music from the mp3 player clearly. "There you go now we can get this party started" She said.

"That reminded me of a prank your uncle Gerald and I pulled years ago on Halloween that threw the whole town into a panic" Said Arnold.

"Yeah and nearly got me killed by my own dad" Helga shot back.

"Now this I gotta hear" Said Arlo. "Might as well tell us" Said Juniper.

Arnold walked right into that one. It was a story still told around the neighborhood and it was one of the many stories he and his friends would recount for the fun of it. They were nearly ready so they decided to talk and work at the same time.

"Well it happened the night before Halloween when your uncle Gerald and I had just gotten done watching an episode of The Z Files about an alien invasion when this program we used to have called UFO tonight with Douglas Cain came on".

Helga jumped in. "He was this wack job extraterrestrial alien enthusiast that used to be on TV here locally. Your grandpa Bob used to watch him all the time. Basically he was just constantly trying to prove aliens existed and struggled to come up with anything real"

"Anyway, Gerald and I wanted to help out with the annual boarding house Halloween party but grandpa wouldn't allow us because he believed it was a "Serious business that was not for kids" that it was about scaring people until they scream bloody murder,how much he loved a good Halloween prank, then sent us out of the room"

"That was kinda mean" Arlo responded while opening hummus containers.

"Well after that it just became an argument over costumes and who was going to be Frankenstein so it wasn't too big a deal. Gerald and I then realized that because he underestimated us this would be the perfect time to pull the greatest Halloween prank on the grown ups and have it involve aliens. Little did we know however that this would make a huge impact on the town and scare everyone".

"Cool" Said Arlo

"Not to mention it nearly got me hunted down" Said Helga

"Your grandpa Bob was a huge fan of Douglas Cain and had it on TV while playing a card game with Mr. Green and Harvey who of course like me knew that Cain was full of hot air. He then got into his story of his own alleged close encounter to your grandma Miriam's dismay"

"What is the story there mom"? Asked Juniper who was arranging the centerpieces on the tables.

"He was driving a pick up of Canadian electronics across North Dakota. The radio started acting funny and a strange light was flashing from all directions. Next thing he knew he was wandering around in the parking lot of The Royal Fork Smorgasbord with no explanation as to how that happened. Since he was the only witness it can't be backed up. In my opinion I really think he was mistaken or under some other kind of influence.

"Sounds really crazy" Said Arlo.

"Yeah anyway he was telling them that we would see aliens one day and then pointed to a picture of what they would look like. I had tuned out at this point having heard the story so many times over. But then I had a great idea to dress like an alien for Halloween and get the rest of our class to do so. Of course many of them had their own ideas pirates,vikings, and clowns were thrown out but I made it clear we would be aliens and started assigning jobs for preparations to the other kids"

"Mom's the boss as usual" Said Juniper filling a bowl with chips.

"At that point Gerald and I were there and told your mother we wouldn't be joining in on this since we had other plans. Then I suggested they come to the boarding house party as aliens which I knew would scare the grown ups with the correct timing "

"So what was it that you did Dad"? Arlo said eagerly.

"I'm getting to that" Arnold assured him.

"So Gerald and I decided to set up a fake radio news broadcast on the roof. We just waited for the right time namely your mother to arrive with the some creative wiring and use of grandpas equipment from the attic we were set for the greatest Halloween prank in the city. As soon as we saw the kids we were ready to start the show".

"Now it's getting good" Juniper said.

"Using an old phonograph,microphones,and transmitter your uncle Gerald who has a great radio voice did the broadcast. As he stated the broadcast was being interrupted to report a saucer like object had landed on the outskirts of the city. Gerald went on to say he was at the scene with a small crowd. I was making all the sound effects of the lid of the craft opening and making the sounds of aliens coming out using random objects like a helium tank,pasta, and pounding on a punching bag."

"You two should have gone together into the radio profession" Said Juniper.

"I guess that explains why uncle Gerald is such a popular local radio host today" Said Arlo

"He followed his calling well kids" Said Arnold.

"Anyway at that point Gerald reported them heading down Vine street and that's when your mother and our friends approached"

"So did you have any idea what was even going on mom"? Asked Arlo

"I didn't kids. It was just after I left the house after dad wouldn't even bother looking at my costume. I got together with the others and as your dad and I agreed we would come around 8pm. When we knocked on the door and said trick or treat your grandpa screamed "It's the aliens, they're here" then came after us with a wooden mallet and a man with a camera was filming us as we ran away. Little did we know this guy was with Douglas Cain and all thought we were real aliens. He even took over another TV news broadcast and started showing the video of us and they even ended up picking up your father and Gerald's broadcast airing it on live TV that the alien mother ship had landed on Welles Ridge. Which threw the whole town into panic. All we could do at that point was run".

"Man"! Said Juniper

"Did you know this was going on Dad" Arlo asked.

"No son we were on the roof so we couldn't hear or see a whole lot of what was going on on the ground and around us. We just kept going by contacting Stinky on a walkie talkie to turn on the lights he strung around the water tower to look like a glowing space ship. However this ended up causing a power surge that took out the power in this city plunging it in darkness and further panicking everyone. Unknown to us we started wondering if our radio show scared anyone. So we decided to go down and see"

"Sounds like you did" Said Juniper setting out the cups, ice, and marker.

"Anyway we come back down to find Grandpa packing up the car believing aliens were attacking. So at that point we had to convince him it was a hoax. He thought we were joking and pointed out the mother ship. We explained that it was the water tower and that Stinky was up there and lit it with Christmas lights. We then explained that the aliens were our friends in costumes. Lastly Gerald demonstrated he was the voice on the radio".

"Needless to say I was quite proud of your father and Gerald that night for a prank well done" Said Grandpa Phil as he came in on his walker and sat on the couch in his phantom costume. "Your father got us all that night and I had wondered how they convinced Douglas Cain that it was real since it was broadcasting it all on TV and showing video of them and threw the whole town into a panic".

"At that point it wasn't even funny anymore. Now I was concerned about your mother and the other kids" Said Arnold. "Right then I heard screams and saw them run by with an angry mob after them. All we could do was get in the Packard to go save them and tell the town it was all a Halloween prank gone wrong. Of course then Grandma ran out in front of us in her action gear and told us not to wait up before running off"

"She was in character" Said Arlo.

"So what happened to you and everyone else mom"? Asked Juniper.

"They had us trapped at a wall and I yelled at them that we weren't aliens we were just a bunch of fourth graders in costumes wearing makeup. However it wouldn't come off and they believed we were just trying to trick them and came at us with weapons. We managed to climb the wall and jump where when I asked Harold what kind of face paint he got that wouldn't come off. Turned out he got permanent exterior latex because he wanted something that would last. At that point all we could do was run" Said Helga.

"He sure didn't think that through". Said Juniper.

"He was certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed kids and this was one of the many times this nearly got us killed" Said Helga.

"What did you do dad"Asked Arlo.

"Gerald and I were out the windows with mega phones trying to convince the town that it was all a hoax and part of a Halloween prank. Nobody would listen. At that point a huge hummer started ripping through the streets nearly running into people and almost crashing through the Used Food Store".

"Used Food"? Juniper asked with part of her unibrow raised. "Ew"!

"How does that even work" asked Arlo not even sure he wanted to know.

"It was a terrible business model that didn't last for long kids. It was the first and last time we saw it" Said Arnold.

"Anyway it turned out the man behind the Hummer was Grandpa Bob on his own mission".

"So while me at the kids were running Curly blamed the whole thing on me and believed it would never have happened had we gone as pirates. I just told him "Put a sock in it you weird little gerbil" then as we headed to Welles Ridge up to the water tower Harold started whining that he couldn't run anymore and I yelled at him to suck it up"

"You were kinda harsh mom" Said Arlo.

"Hey we were a bunch of kids running for our lives and doing what kids do. Anyway as we run up to the lit up water tower thinking we could hide there we run into Stinky. He asked if we were having fun and I told them an angry mob was after us thinking we were real aliens. It was then he started wondering if it was due to the radio broadcast your father did fooling the town. So that's when we realized this was all due to your dad playing a Halloween prank. Kids at that point I had a fit and started beating the heck out of Stinky. Your father wasn't there so it was the next best option."

"Man mom" Juniper

"So we all come up to Welles ridge in the Packard where Douglas Cain is reporting live. I see your mother,Stinky, and the others over by the tower so I ran right past Douglas Cain toward them. Then Bob went and grabbed Helga believing her to be the leader and unaware that she was who she said she was. He seemed really serious and I had to do what I could to stop him from hurting your mom".

"He didn't really hurt you did he mom" Said Arlo finishing up with a few more decorations.

"When I told your grandpa it was me he believed I was taking over his mind and trying to trick him. Your father came running over trying to stop him and told him that it was really me. He still wasn't convinced believing still he was being tricked. Thankfully when he waved his hand as he proclaimed he was saving the world Harvey and took it as a signal to launch explosive beepers into the water tower this cause water to come out and all over the kids which washed off the paint and revealed the truth"

"Wow how did he react to that"? Asked Juniper

" I was still in his hands and with the make up gone he then asked "Helga is that you"? I screamed that it was me the whole time calling him a goof".

"Man he nearly killed his own daughter" Arlo added.

"Yeah he felt guilty about that and hugged me" Helga replied

"I was thankful that it was over kids and grandma managed to fix the power returning light to the city". Said Arnold

"What about Douglas Cain"? Asked Juniper

"Well Dad sat me on his shoulders and went in front of the camera where Cain was having to admit this was all a hoax and called him a "Big pompous windbag" and for everyone to go home and get some sleep. After that whole thing he lost credibility and moved on from the town. Needless to say it followed him for years and made him the butt of many a joke. I believe he is retired now." Said Helga

"So Grandpa Phil did you like the prank"" Asked Arlo

"Yep kids I gave your father a ride on my shoulders and while he was saying he was glad things worked out and wouldn't play a prank like that again. I told him it was great. He terrified an entire city and nearly caused the end of the world. Needless to say I was very proud of him that day. He surpassed me in a way I would never be able to pull off even today."

"Anyway I decided to make it up to everyone by inviting them back to the boarding house for the party and making sure they got plenty of candy. I apologized to your mother so much that night and told her that I never meant for it to escalate to that point. She was still pretty ticked off but since it was over and nobody was hurt she didn't pound me.

"For that I gave your dad here a break" She said throwing her arm over his shoulders.

"Not to mention it was the talk of the town for a long time and even to this day it is still talked about. So I guess you can say we contributed to the town's history with that" Said Helga

"Just one of many" Said Arnold.

"Of course Big Bob had to pay for the damage to the water tower but it really was a small price to pay" Said Helga.

Later that night after sticking around for the party the twins and they're friends decided to go trick or treating for awhile before returning to turn in for the night. Thankfully Halloween went smoothly and no alien invasions happened hoax or otherwise.

However before they turned in for the night Arlo and Juniper booted up the computer and did an internet search. Sure enough they found some old news articles and even video/audio footage of the incident. It was amazing to see the videos of their parents as kids. There was even an interview with a local news station asking Arnold and Gerald how they did it. Douglas Cain however could never shake off what became known as "The Halloween Alien Invasion Hoax". While he went on to do radio shows he never lived it down and had died 3 years ago. They would wait till morning to show them this.

(A/N I will give the ultimate candy bar to anyone who can guess who the man was on the radio when Arnold and Helga were adjusting it)