Halloween Special!

If there was something Xibalba hated, it was Halloween.

He considered it to be a 'ridiculous mockery of Samhain' and a complete waste of time. He didn't find it any funny to dress oneself as a 'monster' and go around from house to house asking for candy or vandalize it. It was so unlike Day of the Dead, when people pay their respects to their ancestors and put offerings in their graves, that is an authentic celebration. He'd rather die than let his children take part in such a stupid American holiday.

Unfortunately, La Muerte was not as close-minded as him. She saw no harm in letting her subjects and family celebrate modern holidays such as Christmas, Valentine's day, etc. He usually had no problem against most holidays, but Halloween simply was the exception. He got irritated when he arrived home and found the castle decorated with pumpkins, skulls, bats and many other Halloween things. Heck, even the stupid disguises annoyed him. Soon the servants and everyone in the Land of the Remembered saw the holiday put him on a sour mood, and tended to avoid disturbing him.

Naturally, this year he was beyond bewildered when he saw Marigold and Alastor dressed up as a witch and a devil respectively.

"What the heck?! Niños!" he snapped as soon as he saw them.

"Look papá! I'm a devil!" Alastor chirped happily, waving his trinche happily.

"I can see that! But I want to know why!"

"It's Halloween, papá. We're supposed to disguise and ask for candy." Marigold replied.

Xibalba couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Not on my family! Get out of those ridiculous outfits!"

"But papá-"

"Xibalba!" La Muerte noticed what was going on, and approached her husband with a deep frown. "They asked me if they could go trick-or-treating this year and I told them they could."

"Don't tell me you like this stupid holiday!"

"There's nothing bad with it, Xibalba. It's just a time of the year for children to have fun disguising and collecting candy."

"And vandalizing houses."

"That's only for people who don't give us candy, papá." Marigold rolled her eyes.

La Muerte crossed her arms at her husband. "I don't understand why you can't let our children test out holidays from other countries."

"Muertita, you know I don't have anything against most other holidays, but Halloween?! Come on! What happened with the old traditions?"

"Just because the children want to try out new things doesn't mean they will forget about the old traditions."

"Papá, we were going to ask you to come along." Alastor said, looking up at his father innocently.

"Absolutely not."

"Please, papi!" Marigold tried to give him the puppy look.

"I'm not going to lower myself to that!"

"Xibalba!" La Muerte narrowed her eyes at her husband. "If you don't accompany the children tonight you're sleeping on the couch!"

"Why can't Zipacna go?! He's much more prone to getting messed up in these things!"

"He's too busy right now, you know he has to keep the devils under control during this time of year!"

"But-!" when Xibalba was about to keep arguing, he shivered when La Muerte gave him a much more threatening glare, and instantly knew he had lost this battle. Finally, he relented, sighing. "Fine, I'll do it but I don't have to like it."

"Yay!" Marigold and Alastor hugged their father's legs, while La Muerte calmed down and grinned, running a hand down his beard. As always, Xibalba melted with her touch and shivered in delight.

"Aww, eres un amor, Balby." She whispered into his ear.

Damn it, he felt like a dog on a leash with this woman sometimes, and yet he loved it.


He was starting to regret it.

The dark god had gone to Mexico City for the trick and treating with his children, as always taking human forms. Even Medianoche had tagged along, also guised as a thoroughbred normal Friesian stallion, painted as if he were a skeletal horse, while Xibalba was in his normal 'Black Rider' glamour. But what bothered him the most as the fact that some people had already thought he was disguised.

Sadly, he was seeing that Halloween was gaining terrain, most colonies were decorated with lamps, there were pumpkins with carved grimaces on the gardens and windows, white blanket ghosts, bats, spider webs and many other things. Similarly, children were running around the place with one parent or both, all disguised as ghouls or monsters or other silly costumes he disliked very much. He led his children through the streets, leading his horse by the reins as well, and watching as they asked for candy in the doorsteps (he had seen the homes of those foolish enough not to give candy tonight, it was not a pretty sight). He couldn't understand why his children wanted to celebrate this stupid holiday so much.

Xibalba waited on the street with Medianoche while Marigold and Alastor knocked on yet another door, and received a generous amount of candy from a friendly old lady. When they returned, Xibalba decided it was enough. "Okay, niños. It's time to go home."

"Aww, but papá! We're having fun!" Alastor whined.

"And we are still collecting candy!"

"For goodness sake, you two!" Xibalba pointed at his horse's saddlebag, which was overfilled with candies, sweets and other treats they had gathered. "Aren't those enough?"

"Por favor, papi…" Marigold tried to muster her best puppy look at the moment in her witch disguise.

"It's very late and your mother will be worried."

"Please! Just one more home!" Alastor continued to tug on his father's trench coat. "Pleaaasee!"

Xibalba sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. But only one house." As he watched his children go to yet another house to ask for candy, Xibalba leaned against Medianoche, running a hand through his white hair. Medianoche turned his neck to look back at his master, snorting in discomfort. "Don't worry, chico. Just one more and we'll go home."

"Going home so soon?"

Xibalba was startled when he heard a mysterious voice a few steps away and took his hand to the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe it if necessary, only to find himself facing an elderly man. Oddly, this person had no costume (he was glad of it, though), but he almost looked like he wore one. He wore a green tunic with adorned with trimmings of leaves and natural designs, as well as pale skin and golden eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dark. His hair was long and white, as well as his beard.

"Don't scare me like that, old man." Xibalba growled, releasing his sword, while Medianoche snorted in annoyance.

"My apologies, my friend. I was just passing by and overheard your small discrepancy with your children. They're yours, right?"

"They are, and it's not your business."

"Oh, don't worry. I don't mean to intrude, but I could tell you don't like this holiday very much, do you?"

"You guessed right. It's a complete waste of time."

"I don't see why, everyone around here seems to be having much fun, even your own children."

Xibalba couldn't shake the eerie feeling off, there was something off about this old man. He could sense his aura, it was not normal for a human's… "Why are you so interested in what I think about this ridiculous celebration?"

"Well, I don't expect an Ancient God to like the modern holidays."

Xibalba froze and nearly tripped on his cane. "I-I don't know what you're t-talking about…"

"You're not the only divine being here, my friend. I know you are Lord Xibalba, King of the Land of the Forgotten. Lady Epona has spoken fondly about you."

At the mention of his old friend, Xibalba relaxed. "Are you a god as well? I could tell you are not human."

"I'm not precisely a God, but yes, I'm no mortal either." The old man said, stroking his long beard.

"What are you then, old man?"

"Let's say I'm a spirit who likes to hang out on this day of the year."

A spirit… "You're an Aos Sí."

"Effectively, my friend!" the old spirit laughed heartily. "I never thought I'd meet the great Lord Xibalba, the Last of the Ancient Lords of the Underworld! It's such an honor!"

"Thanks, I suppose." Xibalba replied, and couldn't help but smile a bit. "But how come you're wandering around here?"

"Like I told you, we like to hang around the Land of the Living during this time of the tear."

"'We?' you mean there are more?"

"On various other parts of the world, but yes."

"You mean you…?" Xibalba glanced around at the disguised people. "Like this?"

"Why not? It's entertaining."

"I imagined your kind wouldn't like it."

"It's entertaining and a way to remember the old traditions in a fun way, we see nothing bad in that."

Xibalba didn't know what to say. The spirit said he didn't mind this celebration, not even when it was an obvious mockery of the previous way to honor the Aos Sí. The spirit looked at the sky.

"Well, My Lord, I'd like to keep chatting with you, but I should really be going. The bonfire will be starting soon and I wouldn't like to miss it. I hope I will see you around next year!"

Before Xibalba could say anything else, the spirit was already gone in the blink of an eye; he wanted to go after him, but Medianoche snorted and nuzzled at his cheek. Xibalba chuckled and gently pushed his horse's head away, though soon he saw the reason the horse had called his attention. Marigold and Alastor were finally coming back with bags full of candy, but they looked exhausted. Indeed, it was already past their bedtime.

"Alright, niños, it's time to go." He said, leading lifting them off the ground and mounting them on Medianoche. "It's past your bedtime, and your mother will be worried."

"But I'm not tireeed…" Alastor yawned, rubbing his eyes, making his father chuckle.

"Even if you're not, we should head back. Don't worry, I won't eat your candy."

"Papá…" Marigold yawned as well.

Xibalba led his horse somewhere where there was no people, before teleporting himself and his children back to the Land of the Remembered. Carefully, he lifted them off the saddle, ordering the servants to take the candy to the kitchen when they took Medianoche to his stall. La Muerte was waiting for them in the dining room, and saw her husband carrying their children inside. She teleported next to them in a blur of marigold petals to take Alastor in her arms. "So how did it go, Balby?"

"Well, we collected a lot of candy, and they had fun. That's all that matters, right?"

"How about you?"

"Well…" Xibalba thought for a moment. "Let's say I made a friend."

Perhaps Halloween was not so bad after all.