The Slayer had to admit this was actually the first time he was celebrating Halloween in a normal sense. He couldn't remember the last time he saw children dressing up as their favorite monsters and fictional characters and going around Trick or Treating. It made him feel whole in a way that he had never felt in a long while.
Of course, he also knew the dangers Halloween presented, such as punks looking to trash houses and steal candy, to mentally disturbed individuals who used the holiday as an opportunity to disguise themselves and mingle with the common folk before going in for the kill.
Thankfully, The Slayer still had his cache of weapons and his wits. It also helped that both he and Felicia would be supervising Erma and her friends for Trick or Treating. He had even dressed up special for the occasion; his old Mega Armor from when he first began killing demons as a regular Space Marine. It brought a sense of nostalgia to him.
He soon went downstairs to see Felicia and the kids. Felicia was dressed up like Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, Terry was Frankenstein's Monster, Amy was Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street, Connor was the Good Hunter from Bloodborne, and Sylvia was the Bride of Frankenstein.
"Whoa! That's like the classic Doomguy Armor!" Terry gushed when he noticed The Slayer's attire. "So Retro!"
"Speaking of costumes. Does anyone know what Erma's costume is supposed to look like?" Amy asked curiously.
Suddenly, everyone turned to see Erma come down downstairs as Amy gasped and The Slayer chuckled in amusement. Erma was wearing a Little Sister costume from Bioshock with a bear trap of all things holding back her hair in a ponytail.
"Aww, that's so cute kiddo! What are you supposed to be anyway?" Felicia asked.
Erma's response was to bite her babysitter's arm and then everyone realized what she was supposed to be as Felicia gave a slightly amused look.
"Oh, I see now."
Trick or Treating had commenced as Erma and her friends approached their first house with bags at the ready as Terry rang the doorbell. Felicia and The Slayer stood by, acting as supervisors to make sure there would be no problems. The Slayer even had his weapons with him to make sure NOTHING went wrong.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" Shouted the kids, with the exception of Erma due to her being somewhat of a mute.
The woman smiled and giggled before seeing Erma. "Oh! You couldn't get a costume this year sweetie? Here, have some extra candy for your troubles."
Erma just looked confused that she wasn't seen as scary. She saw two kids walking down across the street and then teleported to a nearby bush before popping out to try to scare them."
"Was that her costume?"
"Looks pretty normal to me."
What followed next was just plain sad and pathetic as Erma proceeded to try and scare anyone she saw. People were either confused or just thought she looked adorable. It got even sadder as she tried to scare a cat….the animal just looked at her unamused before walking off.
The half-ghost girl became downtrodden after that, trudging behind the others with Connor who was walking close beside her. He looked at his friend sympathetically and thought of a way to cheer her up before getting an idea and looking at The Slayer.
"Hm?" The Slayer grunted as he squatted down so Connor could whisper into his ear. The Former Night Sentinel grinned behind his helmet and nodded his head in approval at what Connor was telling him.
As Erma was walking with her head down in disappointment and sadness, Connor suddenly popped up in front of her, hanging upside-down as the Slayer was camouflaged to make it look like the boy was hanging like a vampire bat.
Erma giggled and laughed, happy at Connor's gesture, and hugged him making the boy blush and stammer. The Slayer chuckled while keeping still to keep his active camouflage on. Those two were so cute together.
After a few more rounds of Trick or Treating, the kids took a break and gathered together to see what they had in their candy bags.
"I got a Popcorn Ball!"
"I got a Woohoo Bar!"
"I got a bag of Candy Corn!"
Erma took out what she got and it appeared to be…a rock?
The Slayer couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu as Erma stared at the rock before shrugging and taking a big bite out of it as the other kids looked mildly surprised.
"Huh, Charlie Brown should've checked to see if the rocks he got were edible..." Felicia commented, causing The Slayer to snort in response.
Soon the group made their way to the next house, which belonged to some crabby old lady who wasn't too happy at having visitors.
"What are you all so cheery about! Every year, I get bombarded by you pests asking for candy!"
As the old lady continued to ramble on in a manner similar to Eustance Bagge from Courage the Cowardly Dog. Victor and Felicia leaned over to see the large bowl of candy on her table, even though she denied having any candy to give. After threatening to call the cops if they didn't get out of her sight, she soon slammed the door in the kid's faces.
"Sheesh! What's wrong with her?" Grumbled Sylvia.
"Got a case of Old Grouch Fever, I guess." Muttered Terry.
"And she apparently has the best candy in town…" Amy added in.
Felicia and The Slayer looked at each other and both had the same idea running through their heads. Felicia then made her way over to Erma.
"Hey, Erma, I think you scared her pretty badly with your costume. Would you mind going back there without your bear trap?"
Erma looked a little unsure but the Slayer then whispered into her ear and she perked up, her bear trap popping off and letting her hair flow out normally. She then answered the doorbell and the old lady answered, none too pleased.
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO-"
The old lady then got one look at Erma and immediately suffered a heart attack, falling flat on her back with her legs standing up.
"I think that worked a little too well..." Felicia nervously said.
"SNATCH AND RUN!" Amy cried as the kids ran into the house to swipe the candy for themselves. The Slayer checked the old ladies' pulse and winced, finding none. He shook his head as Felicia awkwardly moved Erma away from the house, not wanting the poor girl to know she just accidentally killed someone.
After the kids had left with all the candy in tow, the Slayer took a Molotov cocktail and lit the house on fire to burn the body and hide the evidence, no need to let Erma have that guilt on her conscience.
The group soon was now facing a large house that could only be entered through a gate.
"How...foreboding." The Slayer said nonchalantly.
"So….Aren't you kids gonna go and knock on the door?" Felicia asked Terry as he looked at her as if she was insane.
"No way! Haven't you heard about this place? Local tales tell that the owner of the house went mad and cut his own head off. Some say that he rose up from his crypt to haunt the place to this very day, always leaving out a lit candle in the attic to remind us of his presence…"
Felicia looked unamused as she stared at Terry. "So let me get this straight. You all hang out with ERMA and are told stories of HELL by the actual DOOMGUY who was there and yet, y'all are scared of an old house that's SUPPOSEDLY haunted?"
Erma approached the house without any fear as The Slayer joined her out of curiosity to see if the story was true while the kids got concerned. Erma rang the doorbell and it was answered by an old man who was holding a bowl of candy in one hand and his own head in another.
"Well, look at what we have here!" Said the old man with a smile as Erma beamed. "It's been quite a while since I've had any visitors!... Well at least any that didn't run away screaming."
"Trust me, you're not the worst sight I've seen in my own long life, my friend." The Slayer joked as the old man chuckled and poured his whole candy bowl into Erma's bag. After bidding him farewell with a promise to come back next time. They regrouped with the others…who just stared at them with stupefied disbelief.
"What?"
As the group continued on with the Trick or Treating expedition, The Slayer and Sylvia noticed Felicia looking at a nearby house with a despondent look in her eyes.
"What's the matter, sis?"
Felicia sighed as she looked at her little sister. "Oh, nothing Sylvia. Just missing out on one heck of a party.
"Isn't the party right here with us?" The Slayer playfully pointed out as Felicia smiled and giggled before Connor perked up and realized somebody was missing from their group.
"Hey, has anyone seen Erma?"
That got the whole group concerned as they looked around for their half-ghost friend and wondered where she floated off to. Soon they heard the back gate of the house where the party was occurring break down as multiple people in costumes screamed and ran out in terror.
After the brief and weird moment, Erma walked out with her bear trap ponytail missing. She was carrying apples in her arms and was munching on one quite happily.
"Well, that's one way to crash a party…." The Slayer muttered with a shake of his head.
After the Trick or Treating was over, the group began making their way back home as Amy looked up to Felicia apologetically.
"Sorry that you had to skip out on the party to chaperone us, Felicia."
"Agreed, I could have handled the Trick or Treating myself." The Slayer said.
"Eh, it's alright don't worry about it. That party was short-lived anyway." Felicia said with a reassuring smile before giving The Slayer a teasing look. "Besides, somebody here has to make sure you don't go full-on Rip & Tear Mode on immature tricksters who think it's funny to scare children while in clown costumes."
"Do not mock the code, sister..." The Slayer warned with a wry grin as Felicia just laughed.
Meanwhile, Erma soon developed a pondering expression before smiling at the idea she had. Wanting to make sure her babysitter and surrogate older sister had a good Halloween Night, she took Felicia's hand and dragged her to the local cemetery with Victor and the other kids following.
"Okay, Erma….are you planning on sacrificing us out here or something like that?" Felicia asked as the kids looked around nervously. The only ones who weren't afraid or not wary were Erma and The Slayer.
Soon, Erma approached a nearby tombstone and knocked on it gently three times. A decaying hand soon ripped out as the dead rose from their graves.
"Much better than what Hell did, I guess..." The Slayer muttered as one zombie approached Felicia…and offered her his hand. She took it and was soon swept off her feet as they began dancing.
The Slayer was soon approached by two rather attractive-looking zombie girls and danced with them as well when a group of undead musicians began doing a musical number which caused others to dance as well.
"HIT IT!" Said a specter who had an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Tim Curry.
I wouldn't change places
With anyone tonight
We'll carve pumpkin faces
And watch the witches' flight
Every human heart will shudder
Every soul will shake with fear
Tonight, the creepiest
Tonight, the scariest
Tonight, the most wonderful night
Of, oh, the year
Anything can happen on Halloween
Your dog could turn into a cat
There may be a toad in your bass guitar
Or your sister could turn into a bat
Christmastime brings the snow
Summertime brings the sun
But on Halloween, your blood begins to run
Something spooky's going down on
Anything can happen on Halloween
It's better than a video
Gremlins going to mess up every cassette
From London to Idaho
April 1st can be fun
New Year's Eve is a ball
But on Halloween, your flesh begins to crawl
Oh, I'm losing control
Anything can happen on Halloween
Your toenails grow long and your hair turns green
Your teacher could become a sardine
Your dentist could turn into a queen
Has anybody seen my tambourine
I may start playing "Begin the Beguine"
The craziest night you've ever seen
This hairy, scary, creepy, crawly
Halloween
(Anything Can Happen On Halloween from The Worst Witch starring Tim Curry)
It truly was a night of spooky scary spectacular fun for the group and a wonder Halloween Night that would be remembered for a long time.
After the Cemetery Party, the group decided to spend the night at Erma's house as it was late and they were pretty exhausted.
The kids sat in the living room eating their candy and chatting happily while Felicia slept in a chair and The Slayer watched while petting Daisy.
You really think I wasn't gonna have a Tim Curry reference in this fanfiction? My name is literally 'The Toxic Love Machine'!
Next Time: Williams Family Outing!