Hello Hello~ I hope you're doing well :) It's time for another chapter! I made a small update to the chapter titles, hopefully, that will help a bit with showing the passage of time in addition to the quick 'x weeks passed' that show up throughout the chapters. It can be a bit confusing.

This is going to be a bit of a silly chapter, it's still in October but I felt like it would be for the best to separate this part from the last chapter which was a bit heavier. So welcome to chapter 6, Halloween.

Song Suggestion: Spooky Scary Skeletons Remix - The Living Tombstone

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction written by a fangirl. There's no connection to CapCom please don't sue.

The second week of October came and passed. True to her word, Emma adjusted the meals she was making for Chris but the week after he was send off for a week to check on Ethan and monitor his progress. Luckily, this time around he still had not moldy food and was able to avoid having to go to his neighbor for scraps to hold him over. Not that it really changed much since, even though they missed a week of practicing, Emma dropped off a stack of 5 Tupperware containers in exchange for the empty ones that had been waiting on his counter. It had become a natural part of Sunday evening over the last 3 months that neither of them really questioned anymore.

The weekends were never long enough though as Monday began. Chris gave a tired sigh as he made his way into the Cafeteria to put away his meal for later only to find the whole of Wolf Alpha squad starting at the bulletin board on the far wall. the leader gave an attention call which the group instinctively reacted to and lined up. "Shouldn't you guys be busy," Chris asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey ease up, it's our first day back after a mission," Lobo says with a short laugh.

"We were just catching up on company news. anything worth knowing is usually posted to the board anyways" Night Howl admits as he shifts to relax a bit.

"Pretty sure that you'll find it interesting" Umber eye says with a smirk which causes Canine to nudge him.

"Hey don't tell him, we're gonna end up losing," he says with a frown which got his attention.

"What are they hosting another shooting competition?" Chris asks with a laugh which causes Tundra to raise an eyebrow.

"And here I thought the one holiday you wouldn't forget is Halloween" she points out which causes Chris's expression to shift to confusion then realization. Halloween was coming up in a few days.

"There it is" Night how says with a short chuckle.

"Company is hosting the usual costume contest, are you gonna join in again?" Umber Eye asks "that sailor costume was a big hit a few years ago."

"I was more a fan of the samurai one the year after," Lobo says poking fun at the leader. "Hey let's make this fun," he says with his usual mischievous tone.

"Here we go," Tundra says rolling her eyes.

"What if we make it a contest for us too." Lobo offer with a smile "The person with the lowest rank for the costume contest has to host Thanksgiving?"

"So what you're saying is that your volunteering to host this year?" Canine asks earning a frown from Lobo.

"Hey it could be anyone's game, I don't think any of us really had time to prepare something this year." Lobo argues before looking to Chris "No repeat costumes though. if you wear those damn short shorts again I swear to the powers that be."

"You'll what?" Chris asks amused.

"I'll. think of something but it's officially cheating to reuse an old costume," Lobo says upon realizing he really couldn't back up that threat, all the same, the others nod.

"yeah," "fair," "agreed,"

Umber eye chuckles at that and looks to Chris "Pack rules right?"

"Fine." he reluctantly agrees. "Now get to work I don't want to see any of you distracted by this."

"Yes sir," the group says and goes on their way. Chris looks at the poster for the costume contest with a small smile before taking a picture of it with his phone and sending a quick text.

[Chris] -Image file of the poster- Hey. Think you can help me out again this year?

[Bastion] I thought you'd never ask.

[Bastion] What are we doing?

[Chris] not sure... Vampire?

[Bastion] eh. kinda boring but I'll see what I can find to spice it up. I only have a few days so don't expect a miracle.

Before long Halloween day arrived and Chris heard a knocking at his door around 7 in the morning. He walks over to find Bastion waiting on the other side with an arm full of clothes. "Took you long enough," Chris jokingly greets with a short laugh.

"How do you feel about corsets?" Bastion asks with a devious smile which got Chris's attention.

"You're joking right?" Chris asks with mild concern.

"Nope. Either let me in or don't take my help" Bastion says still smiling away.

"...Fine" Chris agrees and moves to get out of the way so Bastion could enter.

"Thank you," bastion says as he walks into the apartment and towards the living room. "you have black dress pants ready right?"

"Yep," Chris says as he closes the door.

"Good, go ahead and change into that for now" Bastion instructs as he starts laying out the different pieces he brought with him on the couch. before long Chris walked back out wearing his dress pants and a plain white undershirt.

"oh no, you won't be needing that, off," Bastion says gesturing to the shirt which Chris reluctantly removes. the nail tech hands over a pure white corset that closed in the front with 3 thick plastic clasps that looked similar to the ones on Chris's regular tactical gear. Chris puts on the corset with a grumble "it's a bit tight" he admits. it felt a bit weird too as it only covered from his waist to right under his chest.

"That means it's working," Bastion says with a laugh before handing.

"Alright now put this on over it but don't button it up," Bastion says while handing over a very loose cotton shirt. Again Chris does as he's told dawning the shirt before tucking it into his dress pants without buttoning it up. Bastion then hands over a new package of fake fangs.

"Go ahead and put those on to I need to work with this last piece a second" bastion says while adjusting a floral broach. The agent does so, opening the package to get the plastic teeth out and attaches them to his canines to make them look sharper. "so what are we doing about this area" Chris asks making a vague gesture to his bare chest.

"I mean you could wear some dog tags if you want" bastion offers, seeming a bit confused.

"Bastion I need a shirt," Chris says unamused as he checks the time. 7:25.

"you have one" bastion counters as he gesture towards Chris.

"one that covers me, I know I got away with the half bit for the samurai but I got a warning with it and this is definitely more skin than that." he points out as a frown starts to cross his lips.

"Fine, take it off then we can rearrange the layers," Bastion says with a disappointed sigh. "offices are no fun."

Chris fumbles with the top clasp for a few moments with little progress before noticing that it was pressed in but not releasing or popping back into place."Shit, it's stuck."

"What do you mean it's stuck," Bastion asks bewildered. "Suck in," he says as he walks over and attempts to help but with how long his nails were it was difficult to apply pressure to the clasp.

"I am!" Chris rebuttals.

"UM!" Bastion says before an idea comes to mind "okay just stay right there I'm going to get some help," he says before walking out of the apartment. it took a few minutes but he eventually returned with Emma who was also in costume but Chris was a bit too distracted to focus on that at the moment.

"What on earth," Emma says upon seeing Chris. Holy, hello pectorals, what was that outfit. "Okay, hold still." she says as she walks over and checks the clasps "I could try cutting the fabric" she suggests.

"No! that's my favorite corset," Bastion says horrified.

"You tried putting him in your clothes?" Emma asks bewildered. "What were you thinking? Of course it's stuck" she says before walking over to the kitchen to get a butter knife to wiggle into the clasp to try and get it to release. it took her a good 10 minutes but she managed to get all 3 clasps open.

"Welp to heck with that thing, I'm not putting that back on," Chris says as he puts the corset over the back of the couch.

"What are you trying to dress as?" Emma asks confused while trying to focus on his face. he had a nice six-pack tho-crap eyes at eye level.

"I could ask you the same thing, what did you do to your face?" Chris asks since he had the time to finally breathe and absorb his surroundings. Emma's hair was a sticky black and was clumped together in sections as if it was soaked in black ink. She was wearing black-out contacts and black lipstick with dripping marks coming from her eyes and mouth. a simple black sleeveless Aline dress clung to her torso but flowed freely from the waist to a few inches above the knee, complemented by matching black stiletto heels and opera-length black gloves. and a black choker.

"It's kinda an inside joke at the office," she says with a laugh "I'm going as a diva meltdown."

"You look like the ring decided to go to junior prom," Bastion says in response.

"Perfect, that's about what I was aiming for" she joked in response. "So... space pirate?" she asks confused by the corset.

"Vampire," Chris says which causes Emma to nod.

"Well, not anymore. you're ditching the main part of the costume" Bastion says with a sigh.

"Probably a good idea, he's already got some bruises forming from that thing" Emma points out before putting a hand on her waist and drumming her fingers. "Give me a minute," she says before heading back over to her apartment. While she was away Chris took the time to fix his shirt, untucking it so he could button it up except for the top 3 buttons then tuck it back in so it was a bit more comfortable now that the corset was gone. she eventually returned with two containers, a plastic straw, and a toothbrush.

"Luckily I had to look up the drip effect thing for my own costume," she says with a smile as she opened the container which had a dark mixture in it.

Chris walked over and looked at the mixture with a bit of suspicion.

"It's Chocolate syrup, water, and red food coloring, it's safe," she says shaking her head "I used the same thing with black dye" Emma explains "a bit of blood from one corner of the mouth will make the vampire part a bit more apparent when people can't see your teeth.

the agent nods "fair enough... what's the other container." he says since that one hadn't been opened yet.

"Hair moose with white dye. I was thinking about going with a white version of this costume but decided against it, Dracula is usually depicted with white streaks of hair on the sides. Do you want to use these?" she offers.

"Sure, if I don't place then I'll lose the bet with the squad," he admits with a slight frown but it causes Emma to chuckle.

"do you guys bet on everything?" she asks amused.

"It passes the time" Chris replies with a shrug.

"Fair enough. Hold still then and I'll help you with this" she says in return. he nods before holding still as Emma gently held the side of his face in one hand while using the straw to pick up a few drops of the fake blood and places them at the corner of his lips to let them drip. it only took a few seconds for the mixture to dry and Emma nods "okay good," she says with a nod before opening the moose and picking up the toothbrush to scoop out a bit of it and gently brush it into the sides of Chris's hair.

Bastion leaned against the back of the couch and watched with a small smile as he noticed Chris relax during the process and close his eyes. suppose anyone could enjoy a bit of personal attention.

"There," Emma says "all done," she adds before stepping back so Chris could get up and go take a look. the man takes out his phone to use it as a mirror.

"Not bad," he says looking it over. "could maybe use a bit more blood though?"

"You're the boss," she says with a chuckle. "There's plenty in the container so you can reapply throughout the day if you need to."

"Maybe some hand marks on the shirt?" Chris suggests which causes Bastion to nod.

"I don't mind, it's a goodwill find so I'm not attached to it" he says with a smile.

"Sounds good, did you want to help with that bastion?" Emma requests, these gloves took forever to get on...

"And mess up my nails? oh no. I'm good, you have fun with that" Bastion says with a smile.

"Ah, right," Emma said with a wince as she forgot about how sensitive Bastion was about his hands. She took a moment to shimmy out of her gloves and dip the tips of her fingers in the mixture and press that against Chris's neck waiting for it to dry before taking her hand away "one down."

"Maybe one here ish" Chris suggests as he grabs at a section of the shirt close to his torso and Emma nods.

"Sure, I can do that" she agrees and dips the fingers of her other hand in the mixture before rubbing it into the palm of her hand as well and grabbed onto the shirt where Chris had before. "do you want some blood splats as well?" she offers with a chuckle.

"Might as well" Chris says with a nod as Emma dips her fingers once more and flicks the mixture at Chris resulting in various splatters.

"Okay, I'm cutting you off there," she says with a laugh as she goes to wash her hands before closing the containers. "Any more and you're going to get pulled over by a cop."

"Thanks, both of you. With any luck, I'll be able to avoid coming in last" Chris says as he gets up and looks at the clock 8:03. "Shit I'm going to be late," he says as he hurries to get his shoes on. Emma looks at the clock hearing this and hurries to get her gloves back on.

"Oh dang it!" Emma says as she manages to get one on "I'll see you guys around." she says hurrying for the door.

"let me know how it goes you two" Bastion says with a laugh as he walks out and heads back to his own apartment.

"Will do" they agree in unison as Chris gets his second shoe one and heads over to the counter to get his keys and wallet before grabbing the last container from the fridge and heading out for the day.

After narrowly avoiding a speeding ticket he managed to park and head into work for the day 8:31. technically late but who was counting. He walked into the cafeteria and found the Hound Wolf squad gathered up and chatting.

"Hey Alpha took you long enough," Tundra says with a short laugh as she was wearing an interesting costume that looked like fried egg over a black long sleeve shirt and leggings, along with a headband with horns on it.

Umber eye, Night Howl, and Canine were wearing matching outfits with canes and sunglasses while Lobo looked like a giant dust bunny full of clutter as he was wrapped in gray tulle.

"So, Vampire, Three blind mice, Deviled eye" Tundra lists as she points at each person before looking at Lobo.

"Sharknado," he says with a smile which caused the others to groan.

"Hey, it's creative. besides what are you three going to do if you lose. you can't all host thanksgiving," Lobo says with a frown.

"We'll just work together." Night howl says with a shrug.

Chris shook his head "when do we get the results anyways."

"around noon I think," Canine says before gesturing to the doorway. "You gotta get your picture taken for the poll though and that's going out in 10 minutes" He adds which got Chris's attention quickly. He quickly put away his lunch and briskly walked to the receptionist to get checked in for the contest. it wasn't his best costume today but it was better than nothing.

As Canine said, a company email went out shortly after with a rule that you couldn't vote for yourself and that the poll collected email addresses so they would know. By noon the results were in.

Deviled Egg - 8 votes

Vampire/Dracula - 7 votes

Three Blind mice - 14 votes

Sharknado -

"23 votes and Third place overall?" Canine read aloud as the group decided to have lunch together for once.

"I told ya it was creative," Lobo says with a cocky smile.

"You wrapped yourself in a sheet of fabric and hot glued sharks to it" Tundra said unamused.

"Don't hate the player hate the game" Lobo rebuttals. "besides that's rich coming from the Walmart clearance bin."

"So if we divide 14 by 3," Chris says only to get a chorus of argument in return from the three.

"That is not how that works, you lost," Night Howl says with a frown.

"So, what time is dinner?" Umber eye asks amused.

Chris gave a tired sigh, "Fine, I'll host but don't expect anything impressive."

the squad laughed as they finished their meals and finish up a very unproductive day before heading home. Chris was admittedly not in the best mood as he entered the apartment.

"Are you sure you're okay with that Em? it's asking a lot." says a distantly familiar voice.

"Yeah I don't mind, it's just a few months" Emma's voice replied and was greeted with high-pitched cheering which caused Chris to wince. before heading up the stairs to find two tiny little girls dressed as princesses, a now not pregnant mother holding a baby that was dressed as a pumpkin, and a very tired father standing next to her. Bastion was leaning in his doorway and the Russo's were also standing in the hallways as Mrs. Russo Cooed over the children who were more than happy for the attention.

"Did I miss a meeting?" Chris asks to make his presence known.

"Nah, just handing out candy, we have trick or treater's visiting," Bastion says with a shrug "how'd the contest go?"

Chris stared in response.

"that well?" Emma asks with a wince as Chris shook his head. "oh well. you'll get them next year" she offers with a partial smile.

At this point Summer finally registered that the vampire in the hallway was Chris and gave a small gasp. "My Friend is bleeding?" she says and walks over to wave her wand at him s if it would magically make the 'blood' go away.

"It's Chocolate Summer," Emma says to try and get her to calm down.

"Oh," she says and pauses to think about it for a bit before looking to Emma. "Auntie Emmy, can I have chocolate blood too?"

"You probably already do with how much candy you've eaten," Emma says quietly which causes the parents to laugh.

"We should get going before they crash, thanks again Em. we'll see next Saturday?" Chelsea says and Emma nods.

"yep, see you then," she says with a smile and Chris made his way past the gathering and to his own apartment to wash up and get some sleep.

Credit to theobromic_ on Twitter for the initial vampire Chris top. I saw their drawing of a Lady Dimitrescu skin for Chris and could not resist referencing it a bit for the story even if it didn't end up sticking around for more than a few lines.

I thought it would be a fun way to interpret the DLC costumes by just writing it as Chris being super into Halloween. maybe not the most creative idea but it made me chuckle. Hopefully it caused you to smile too.

Until the next chapter, Have a great day :)