Here's Act 2 of the Luz Clawthorne/Reunion Falls crossover, taking place in everyone's favorite holiday: Summerween.
I don't own The Owl House and I don't own Gravity Falls. They belong to the insane minds of Dana and Alex. Enjoy the story.
Chapter 19: Summerween Fright
The Summerween Superstore was having its annual sale. Unfortunately, a peaceful shopping store wasn't safe thanks to a certain red 1965 El Diablo speedily coming into the parking lot, taking the handicapped spot. Coming out of the car were Stan, Soos, Dipper and Mabel. However, Stan spotted Eda, Luz, King and Gus already waiting for them on the roof of the store.
"Damn, you beat us!" Stan called out. "And I cut through the woods for nothing!"
"Well Stan, witchcraft once again wins," Eda replied as she lowered herself and the kids from the roof on her staff. "Alright, let's go wild!"
Bursting into the store, Luz grabbed a cart with King. "Come on, King, to the costume aisle!"
"Yes, we're going to take the human offerings of this frightful night!" King declared as he jumped into the kid seat of the cart as Luz drove them both down the aisle. The clerk looked at them with a tired sigh.
"Clawthorne…" she muttered.
Gus, meanwhile, was taking photos around the store. "We got stores like this at home, except instead of costumes and party hats, it's just cauldrons, cowls, crystal balls, and portals that lead you to the astral plane," he told the Pines twins.
"So you don't go around trick-or-treating in the Boiling Isles?" Mabel asked him.
"No, but we do have something called Somhaim, where we have festivals, bonfires, the spirits enter the world of the living just to watch the Scareball game, and we worship the Titan while giving offerings to the underworld," Gus explained. He then noticed a shelf of novelty skull candy bowls and he slowly pressed down on one of the skulls.
"I'd lend you a hand, but I appear to not have any! Wohahahaha! Wohahahaha!" laughed the novelty cackling skull in the center of the candy bowl when Gus pressed on it.
"What magic is this?" Gus asked, analyzing the skull.
"Oh you should press more of these, dude," Soos replied, pressing down on more of the novelty skulls. Gus did the same, the air soon filling with corny jokes and cackling laughter.
Stan was lifting up a barrel of fake blood. "When the children stop by my door tonight, they're going to be running away screaming from Stan Pines: master of fright!" He turned around and noticed a baby looking at him while strapped to his mother's back. "Boo!" The baby started to cry and the mother moved away from him.
"Well with that mug, I can see why," Eda told him while noticing a leak in the fake blood barrel. She put some of the fake blood on her finger and tasted it before she gave a wince. "Bleh, if you really want to scare kids, I suggest real blood."
The store clerk looked at the chaos: Soos and Gus playing around the skulls, Luz and King along with the twins grabbing costumes and running over watermelons, Stan and Eda accidentally spilling a few of the fake blood barrels. She was starting to have enough of them, so she picked up the intercom speaker. "Have the police eject the Clawthorne and Pines families from the store."
"Not today!" Stan shouted as he threw down a smoke bomb, blinding the employee while he, Dipper, Mabel and Soos made their escape.
"Byee!" Eda grabbed Luz, King and Gus, flying them out of the store before the clerk's vision cleared.
"We did pay for all of this, right?" Gus asked.
"Sure…" Luz told him.
Left on the counter for the clerk was a crudely drawn counterfeit 'Stanbuck' and an IOU from Luz. "I hate Summerween," the clerk said to herself, while just outside the window the Stanmobile knocked over a telephone pole, which fell onto an inflatable watermelon jack-o-lantern.
Back in the Boiling Isles, in the Park household Willow was carrying large bags of soil to the garden in her yard. As she started to spread new soil, she noticed a growing weed and grabbed it. "Sorry Mr. Weed," she apologized as she easily pulled the screaming mandrill-monkey head weed out of the ground. She threw it into a worm bin, where the worms began to eat the screaming mandrill-monkey head weed.
As Willow continued to work, her dads came out of the house with some refreshment. "Willow, we've noticed how hard you've been working at school ever since you changed Tracks," said Willow's dark-skinned and bearded father, Gilbert. "And because we're so proud of you…"
"We've decided to let you pick what we're going to watch for movie night!" finished Willow's other father Sully, who had dark spiky green hair, glasses, and a fair skin complexion.
"That's great," Willow replied. "But I gotta go to Lambi's place. Me and Bo plan to study there for the exams, we're cramming hard."
"Oh, we just thought that since it's the weekend, you would want to take some time off to relax," Sully explained.
"Sorry Dads," Willow said as she continued to work on the garden. "The exams have to be my priority right now. Especially since my study mates need help. But maybe afterward."
"Okay, if you say so," Gilbert said, looking down, while Sully patted him on the back. "It's happening, Sullivan… our daughter's growing out of us."
"Come on Gil, try not to stress over it," Sully calmly told him, before starting to escort Gilbert back into the house after they left the refreshments for Willow. Sully looked over his shoulder. "Remember Willow, if you're worried at all about your exams or anything else… you can always talk to us."
"Don't worry, Appa, I'm fine," Willow told him as her fathers went inside. Willow then turned back to her garden and noticed some vermin trying to get closer. The vermin looked at her, as she stared them in the eyes. "Sorry, you can't eat here. You don't want to end up like Peter, do you?"
She pointed to a spot on the fence which showed the burnt silhouette of a rabbit. The vermin gulped as it quickly ran back in the direction where it came.
"That's right, nobody messes with Willow's turf."
Back in the Mystery Shack, Luz came into the living room while wearing black witch's costume, with a top hat and a green mask. "What do you think?" Luz asked her mom.
"You wore that just for the irony of it, didn't ya?" Eda asked her daughter.
"Maybe…" Luz smirked as King showed up.
"Who needs costumes when I can just blend in with the festivities," King said while holding a green bucket.
"That's because you'd pass off as a kid in a costume," Luz told him, noticing Gus as he came in wearing a white lab coat, blue shirt, khaki pants, and a stethoscope.
"Check this out, I'm a member of what this world's equivalent to a witch in the Healing Coven is: A pedia-tristian," Gus explained. "Man, if Willow was here, she'd love this."
"Yeah, she would…" Luz agreed.
"Alright, make way for the Skywalkers!" said the voice of Mabel.
Luz looked up and almost snickered when she saw Dipper in a white vest and robe shirt with baggy pants, while Mabel wore a white gown with her hair tied in a bun. She was holding a toy blaster while Dipper held a toy lightsaber. "Nice costume, Dips."
"Yeah, yeah, Mabel insisted we dress like this for our first Summerween together," Dipper replied unenthusiastically.
"And I have Wads Solo so the trio is complete!" Mabel held up the pig Waddles, who was dressed as Han Solo.
"That's a weird way to dress up your food," Luz commented.
"Waddles isn't food! He's a sensible pig with feelings." Mabel hugged her pig protectively.
"Woof, not my fault the pig's potentially delicious," Luz said as she rolled her eyes.
"You wouldn't eat this cutie widdle face, would you?" Mabel asked as she held up Waddles, showing to Luz how cute he was,
"...Yes," Luz responded simply.
"Nice costumes, dudes," Soos said while passing by in his homemade Lucha Libre costume. "Hope you're not lacking in Summerween spirit or the Summerween Trickster will get you."
"Summerween Trickster?" Mabel asked.
"Oh it's just another urban legend, don't worry him," Luz assures her. "Hey Dips, hand me that bowl of loser candy Grunkle Stan was gonna give out to the Trick-or-Treaters."
"Sure, help yourself," Dipper handed over the bowl to Luz, who walked into the kitchen with it.
Luz went up to the open kitchen window and placed the bowl on the windowsill. Looking out into the trees, she saw someone tall lurking in the dark. He had long limbs and wore a pointy hat, a trench coat, and a smiley face mask. He was breathing very heavily as he watched the Shack.
Luz narrowed her eyes, grabbed some of the loser candy… and ate it. She continued to eat the loser candy in view of the creature until he backed away out of view. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she whispered.
"AAAAH!"
Luz quickly ran back into the living room after hearing the scream. She saw Gus frozen in fear while Dipper and Mabel looked at him in worry. "What? What's going on?"
"I don't know," Mabel told Luz. "Gus was just taking pictures and he wanted me to show him some of stuff in the closet and-"
"C-C-Clown…" Gus pointed to the fallen painting of a sad clown.
"Oh, that's just the clown painting Grunkle Stan stole from the Gleefuls," Dipper explained.
"Gus, Gus, listen to me." Luz went to comfort Gus, shaking him by his shoulders, "It's just a painting, it's not going to pop out and eat you, okay?" Gus started to calm down.
"Are you okay, witch dude?" Soos asked him and Gus nodded.
"Sorry, Gus has had this fear of clowns for as long as I've known him," Luz explained as she patted the boy's head.
"Oh yeah, he gets it from his dad," Eda commented. "I don't know how it started, honestly."
"Come on, Perry, just get the ball!" shouted a Hexside student during a game of Scareball.
"Okay, I got it!" replied a young Perry Porter, who resembled Gus and wore a Bard Track uniform with a camera hanging around his neck and glasses on his face. He went to the sewer drainage where the ball was. "Perry Porter's reporting that he's got the ball!" he said while grabbing the ball, before a clown hand with claws popped out of the drainage. "Gah!"
"Hey kid, do you float?" asked a creepy voice. "We all float!" A clown faced creature popped out of the sewers.
"AIIEEE! Breaking News: Sewer Clowns are real!" Perry cried out as he ran. "Mamaaaaa!"
The creature removed her mask, revealing a young Eda who snickered at her prank. "Hehehe, gets them every time."
"I honestly think it's a hereditary dorkus thing," Eda commented.
"Oh, then he must have heard about all those clown sightings," Soos said, making Gus's eyes widen.
"C-Clown sightings?" Gus asked nervously.
"Oh yeah, there's been a recent rise of clown sightings across the country," Soos explained, not realizing he was starting to scare Gus. "Like we don't know why, but there appears to be some clowns scaring people. They appear on roads, playgrounds, forests-"
"Ahem." Luz hit Soos's big belly with her elbow, making him notice Gus's worried look.
"Oh, right, the fear of clowns thing," Soos realized. "Sorry, little dude."
"N-No sweat, Soos," Gus said as he brought out something from his travel bag. "Luckily, I made sure to have these!" He brought out a bag of orange fruit.
"Oranges? How would that stop clowns?" Dipper questioned.
"Oh no, oranges are the weakness of poets," Gus explained. "These are tangelos. Got them from some guy named Vanz. He said that clowns are weak against them. It messes with their minds!"
Luz sighed. "Gus, it's going to be fine," she assured him. "You don't need those tangelos. Clowns are just… people that wear makeup and goofy clothing to entertain or scare kids. This whole clown sighting thing is just one big trendy prank."
"A prank?" Gus asked and Luz nodded as they heard the doorbell ring.
"Hey, can someone answer that and hand out the bad candy to the kids?" Stan's voice asked from another room.
"I got it." Dipper volunteered, getting the bowl and walking over to the door. Opening it, he saw Wendy who was wearing a yellow blouse, dark shorts, a black belt and muddy boots. Robbie was next to her wearing a skeleton hoodie and hanging his arm around Wendy. "Oh, hey Wendy and… Robbie."
"Nice costume, Dork Vader," Robbie snickered, only for Wendy to hit him on the side. "Ow!"
"Hey, that's Luke Skywalker to you," Wendy defended Dipper. "I just came by to grab my jacket, me and the gang are going to this Summerween party. You can come if you want."
"Not if he's out playing dress up," Robbie snickered.
"You've never heard of cosplay, Robert?" asked Luz, who joined Dipper. "A super cool teen party sounds like an outlet for free food."
"Well hate to break it to ya, but no Clawthornes allowed in the party," Robbie mentioned as he held up a flyer that had Luz's face with a red 'X' over it. "So you can't go."
"Psh, like that's gonna actually stop me," Luz replied.
"Yeah, like that's gonna stop us," Dipper added..
"Well if you say so," Wendy said, putting her jacket on. "But you know, I'll see you two around."
"Yeah, if you do come," Robbie said as he walked Wendy to his van.
"Yeah, see ya later tonight!" Luz waved before turning to Dipper. "A party with free food sounds like a good plan."
"Yeah, just what we need," Dipper agreed. "Dips and the Witch Girl is back in business!" They both high fived each other.
"Of course, but I gotta show Gus at least a little trick-or-treating first, then party crashing!" Luz declared before realizing something. "Though you are going to have to ditch Mabel."
"Yeah…" Dipper admitted. "But she'll be fine. Her friends are coming along too, so they can-" He noticed a group approaching the Shack. "Oh hey, here they come."
"Hi, Dipper," greeted a short young Korean-American girl with fair skin, shoulder length long black hair, glasses over her black eyes, pink circular blushes, and a candy costume.
"We're here to see Mabel!" shouted a tall and buff girl with a deep voice, brown hair tied in a ponytail, brown eyes, and a witch costume like Luz's. "Who's the other girl?"
"Hi Candy, hi Grenda," Dipper greeted before turning to his stepsister. "Luz, these are Mabel's friends. They tag along with us on our mystery solving adventures as one of her conditions of letting me use the journal. Meet Candy and Grenda, and you already know Pacifica."
Crossing her arms was a girl with tanned skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, a hoodie, sunglasses, white leggings and brown boots. "Dipper," she nodded before looking at Luz. "I heard you were back in town, witch girl."
"Northwest, how are your folks?" Luz asked with a smirk. "Still spoiling ya?" Suddenly, Mabel shoved past Dipper and Luz.
"My best friends are here!" Mabel shouted. "And I love the costumes you have!" She hugged Candy and Grenda, then turned to the blonde rich girl. "Paz! You've made it!" She hugged Pacifica as well, which made her blush
'Wait, what?!' Luz thought and Dipper noticed her surprised expression.
"Yeah, Pacifica started hanging out with us since Pioneer Day thanks to Mabel," Dipper explained. "It's a long story, though her parents don't know that she's been spending time with us which is why she's wearing the hoodie and glasses."
Luz just shook her head in disbelief that someone would want to be friends with Pacifica for reasons other than her money.
"Wait, is this the legendary Luz Clawthorne?" Candy asked when she saw Luz. "You look even wilder than I imagined."
"Our parents always tell us to stay away from you!" Grenda added.
"I see you know my reputation," Luz chuckled as Gus and King showed up.
Pacifica cleared her throat after Mabel finished hugging her. "Anyway, I'm just here to say hi. I can't stay. My parents wouldn't want me asking for handouts with the 'poor people' and they need me at a party anyway." She looked at Luz. "They're still mad at you for what you pulled last summer, by the way."
"You mean when I crashed the annual Northwest Manor party?" Luz asked with a grin. "Maybe I'll be in town again later in the summer for this year's party…"
Pacifica sighed before turning to the twins. "Anyway, catch you later or whatever." She started walking away, happy to put some distance between herself and Luz.
"Who's she?" Gus asks.
"That's Pacifica of the Northwests, the wealthiest and snobbiest family in Gravity Falls," Dipper explained.
"She kinda reminds me of Amity back home" Gus mentioned and Luz gave him a look.
"She's nothing like Amity," Luz told him as Eda and Stan came in with Soos. Stan was dressed as Dracula, while Eda was dressed as Elvira.
"Alright, so the gerbil man and Luz will watch over you kids as you go around trick or treating while me and Count Stan stay here to deal with any trick or treaters that drop by" Eda explained.
"So watch out for the Summerween Trickster, stay away from white windowless vans, and punch a teenager while you're at it," Stan added.
"Can we go already?" King asked. "I want to conquer every human house for candy goodness!"
"Oh, what a cute little doggy," Candy said while trying to scratch him under the chin.
"Yeah! Is he an adorable talking pet?" Grenda asked.
"I'm no pet! Luz, tell them!" King ordered Luz, who rolled her eyes.
"He's the King of Demons, so give him as much belly rubs as he wants," Luz told them, making the two girls squeal as Grenda picked up King in a hug.
"No! Let go of me! I demand it!" King cried out helplessly.
"So when's the party?" Luz asked in a whisper to Dipper, who looked at the flyer.
"About 9pm," Dipper replied.
"Good, that should give us plenty of time," Luz told him. "I'm definitely looking forward to pulling some tricks tonight…"
In front of a large green apartment in the Boiling Isles, Willow and Bo waved at Bo's mom after she dropped them off.
"Thanks for dropping us off at Lambi's, mom!" Bo thanked..
"I'll pick you both up later tonight!" Bo's mom replied as she rode away on her staff.
Bo walked into the apartment and Willow was about to follow. But before she did, she heard a whispering noise coming from the bushes. She turned around and noticed Skara behind the bushes. Willow just sighed.
While Bo was already inside, Willow walked over to the bushes and Skara popped up. "What do you want, Skara?"
"Hey Willow," Skara replied, looking nervous. "I was just… wondering how's Bo doing?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Willow asked as she started to turn back toward the building.
"W-Wait!" Skara called out and Willow stopped. "Look, I just want to say… you're right." She looked down in shame. "What I did to Bo was unfair and I have no excuse for it. I shouldn't have let Boscha order me around. I… I should've stood up for Bo if she really meant something to me. I am a coward."
Willow listened and nodded. "Well, you should be telling that to Bo instead of me. But you can come in if you or stay behind those biting bushes."
"Yah!" Skara jumped out of the bushes, feeling itchy all over. "No wonder I kept feeling like I was being bitten!"
"By the way, how did you know where we'd be here?" Willow asked.
"Oh I uh… must've, you know… overheard you and Lambi talking about it," Skara replied, twiddling her fingers. "I also have a cousin that lives here."
"Then why are you out here instead of inside?" Willow asked.
"I'm not allowed inside whenever she has guests over for 'Cloud Nine' time," Skara explains, "Whatever that is…"
"I think I have a good idea what it means," Willow replied with a blush. "But you could've just waited in the lobby."
Skara blinked in realization. "Ooooh…"
In the suburban neighborhood part of Gravity Falls, kids were going from door to door in their costumes. Among them was the group consisting of Luz, Dipper, Mabel, Gus, King, Soos, Candy and Grenda.
"Wow, compared to Bonesborough this looks more advanced," Gus mentioned as he took photos of the human houses.
"So is he really a witch boy?" Candy asked Mabel.
"Yup, and Luz is from the same dimension as him," Mabel pointed to Luz, who popped out of the bushes to scare a few trick-or-treaters. "She was raised by witches, right Dipper?"
"Yeah," Dipper said with a shrug, glancing at his watch.
Meanwhile, King had gone off on his own away from the rest of the group and he knocked on the front door of a house. Appearing it was a short mustached man wearing a classic journalist outfit with suspenders and a small press fedora. "Well, aren't you a cute demon skull fella."
"Give me your candy, human! Or face thy wrath of the King of Demons!" King declared.
"Well, I like that you're in character but you didn't say trick-or-treat," the man told King.
"Then I guess you deserve a trick-weh!" King was suddenly shoved aside by a short young boy with white combed hair, dressed in a black suit with an American flag pin.
"Twick-or-tweat, Mr. Determind!" he spoke with a sweet, Southern-sounding accent.
"Oh, President Lil' Gideon, here's some king sized candy," Toby Determined said happily as he placed several king sized candy bars in Gideon's summerween bucket. King witnessed this. "Happy Summerween, Lil' Gideon!"
"You too!" Gideon said as he walked off the porch.
"Hey, hey!" King shouted as he got in front of the short boy. "You shoved me!"
"Oh, sorry about that, kid," Gideon apologized insincerely. "Why don't you have some of the candy I don't plan to eat?" He offered some of the loser candy from his bucket.
"I don't want your pity candy!" King swatted it away from him. "Those candy bars were meant for a king, aka me!"
Gideon dropped the act, looking at King with a frown. "O-ho, you think you can mess with me in my turf, boy? Sorry kid, but you can't compete with widdle ol' me."
"Oh please, you think you're the only adorable demon around here?" King asked with a wave. "I mean, you're not even in costume."
"I'll have you know that I'm the president," Gideon objected.
"Well, last I checked, a king is a higher rank than a president," King countered..
"Ugh, I have no time to deal with you," Gideon said, annoyed. "I'm going to the next house." He started walking away from King.
"Not if I get there first!" King shouted as he grabbed his bucket and raced past Gideon.
Back with the others, Gus was excitedly taking more photos. "Man, wait until the H.A.S. see this-" At that moment, he noticed a creepy-looking clown behind the bushes "GAH!"
"Gus, what's wrong?" Luz ran up to him, seeing Gus shiver as he pointed. She saw the clown over there. "Gus, look at me." She turned him away from the clown as she helped him calm down. "That clown's not gonna hurt you, okay? It's just a guy in a costume, trying to scare some kids like I was earlier."
Gus started to nod, but then looked past Luz and saw another big headed clown behind a tree, grinning his fangs at him. The boy's eyes shrank "CLOWN!" He pointed again, but when Luz turned around she saw no clown.
"I don't see one over there, G-Man," Luz told him as she looked back, but noticed that the clown behind the bushes was also gone. "Okay… look, it's probably a Summerween prank or something. Do you want to go back to the Shack?"
"N-No, I'm still good," Gus assured her.
"Well, everyone else is already hitting houses for candy without us," Luz told him. "Come on, let's catch up."
Gus followed Luz as they went door to door to get candy. Neither of them noticed the smiling figure watching them and the other trick-or-treaters…
"Trick-or-treat!" said a group of children that Stan greeted at the door.
"Well, what can I do for you- oh… oh no… WAAAAAAAAHHH!" Stan hunched back as the flesh started to melt off his face leaving only a skull.
"AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" All but two of the trick-or-treaters ran in fear and Stan removed his skull mask. "Ahahaha, eh?" Stan noticed the two trick-or-treaters who had not run, a boy dressed as a mummy and a boy dressed as Rambo. Neither looked scared.
"Can we get some candy now?" the Rambo boy asked as he and his friend held up their bags.
"...What's the matter with you kids? Wasn't that the scariest thing you've ever seen?" Stan asked. The two kids looked at each other, then gave his scare an average wave. "Well then, have you seen-" He began to pull sausages from a fake hole in his chest. "-yhis?! Oh! Oh no, my guts! Oh the pain!" However, the kids still don't look impressed.
"Um… we've been watching horror movies since we were two years old," the mummy boy said.
"Yeah, give us candy, old man," Rambo demanded.
"Geez, losing your touch already, Stan?" Eda asked as she appeared at the door, holding the bowl of candy. "Here kids, help yourself." She handed the bowl to the kids, but then her hands snapped off and fell to the floor with the bowl. "Whoops, my hands slipped." Her head then suddenly fell off, landing in the bowl. "Bleh… ow, I must've had a crick in my neck." She rolled her eyes back and stuck out her tongue while her now headless body continued to move on its own.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! MOMMY!" The two trick-or-treaters screamed in terror and ran away from the Mystery Shack, dropping their candy bags in the process.
"Hehehe, now that's a scare!" Stan laughed as Eda's body reattached her hands and head. "Glad you haven't lost your touch at least."
"Scaring human kids is one of the best things about being a witch," Eda said as she crossed her arms. She spotted someone at the edge of the woods. "Oh hey, it's the Summerween Trickster." She waved at him. "We're all good here! Plenty of Summerween spirit to go around!"
"Uuuugh, Clawthornes," the Summerween Trickster groaned before turning around and walking away.
Eda turned to Stan. "Hey, you know, since the kids won't be back until later tonight, why don't we take advantage of the empty house and… have some fun?"
Stan grinned. "Oh, I know what you're talking about, hehe." They both gave each other looks…
"Bam! Six of clubs!" Eda declared, slamming her cards in front of Stan. Playing with them was Owlbert and Waddles.
"I knew I should've bet on the owl's cards," Stan grumbled, turning to Waddles. "I thought you could read poker faces?"
Waddles oinked and placed his own cards down, showing nothing.
"Ha! Not even the pig has a good deck, right Owlbert?" Eda snickered and Owlbert threw down his own cards. Both Eda and Stan's eyes widened at his cards.
"Well, never knew we'd lost to an owl's Royal Flush," Stan commented as Owlbert collected his winnings.
"Thank you, Susan!" Lil' Gideon thanked Lazy Susan, who was dressed as a yawn ball.
"Oh it's no problem, Lil' Gideon," Lazy Susan said with a hand wave. "I would've given you the king sized peanut-butter and chocolate cup candy, but the last adorable kid was such a cutie pie that I gave it all to him."
"What?!" Gideon asked before noticing King doing a kawaii face for a local named Tad Strange across the street.
"Haha, you are an interesting little guy," Tad Strange, who was dressed as a loaf of bread, commented. "Here, take as much as you like."
King grabbed some candy and put it in his bucket. "Thank you, strange bread human!" he replied as he walked away from the house and noticed his new rival Gideon, who was glaring at him. "What were you saying about me not being able to compete with you? Now it will be I that gets the most candy tonight!"
"Oh if it's a challenge you want… whoever ends up with the most candy before the last jack-o-melon's blown out will be Summerween King!" Gideon declared.
"I accept that challenge, pudgy short human!" King declared before the two dashed off to hit every house.
"Okay, what candy did you guys get?" Luz asked the others when they met up later that night.
"I got Sugar Sparkles!" Mabel shared.
"They have chocolate spiders here? This is not so bad!" Gus said excitedly.
"I have lollipops and fruit snacks that turn your head into a fruit." Candy showed an old 90s candy with a picture of a boy with an apple for a head.
"I got Peppermint Paws!" Grenda declared.
"I got jolly ranchers!" Soos told everyone.
"...I got a rock," Dipper dryly said while holding up a rock. "I don't think anyone should go to that house."
"Just show me the house and I'll TP it," Luz volunteered. But as some kids walked by, one of them caught her attention. 'That costume looks kinda like… no, it can't be. Can it? White robe, witch hat, dress, green hair, the sugar coating…'
"Oh my Titan… be right back, guys!" Luz quickly sprinted over to the girl in the Azura costume.
Mabel turned to Gus. "So uh, Gus, who is this Amity that Pacifica reminded you of earlier?"
"Oh, she's well… someone who tutors Luz," Gus explained. "The two used to hate each other, but they're apparently friends now and I think Luz even has a crush on her."
"A crush, eh?" Mabel asked, her crush-senses tingling. "Interesting…"
"Hey, you in that witch costume!" Luz called out to the girl that had gotten her attention.
"Yeah?" the little girl asked Luz.
"That costume… it wouldn't happen to be…"
"Oh, you noticed my Azura the Good Witch costume?" the little girl asked. "It's my favorite book series, cartoon, and movies! Are you an Azura fan as well?"
"You could say that… you know where I could find any Azura books?" Luz inquired.
"Try the Gravity Falls Mall, they have a Books-A-Jillion there," the girl said before rejoining her friends.
"Cool, thanks!" Luz shouted to the girl, waving at her. 'I can't believe it… the Azura books also exist here? I thought it's something from the Isles… maybe I could find the fourth volume before I go back home.' She ran back to her friends, not noticing the creepy yellow eyes watching her from the bushes.
When Luz caught up to them, she noticed Wendy was there as well. "Wendy, what are you doing out here?" she asked.
"Hey, something really messed up happened," Wendy told them. "Like, one moment, me and Robbie were just picking up some snacks for the party, right? I was getting them while Robbie waited in the van…"
Robbie stood by the van while looking over his phone as he waited for Wendy to get the snacks for Tambry's party. He tapped on a song from his playlist and started to hum a tune.
"Disco-girl, coming through…" he muttered, until he was interrupted by the sound of something slapping against his van. "What the hell!?" He turned and saw that a pie had been thrown at his van. The culprits was a group of strange looking clowns. They laughed at him. "Oh, you punks think this is funny?" he asked before getting hit by a pie as well. "Hey! These are washed skinny jeans!" The clowns kept giggling and throwing pies at him "Wait! Stop! This isn't rhubarb, is it? I'm allergic!"
Soon Wendy came back with the snacks. "Hey Robbie, I got the… fuck!?" She saw the clowns jumping up and down on the van, as well as a pile of pie in the driver seat. "Hey, get off of the van, punks!" She got a closer look at the pile of pie and a hand suddenly stuck out, causing her to scream.
"Wendy… help me…" Robbie begged, covered in pie and his face puffed up as a result of his allergies.
"What the hell…" Wendy backed away but bumped into something behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, seeing a big nosed and long faced clown with crooked teeth and creepily small eyes. She threw her fist at his face. "Get off me!" The rest of the clowns began to advance on her. "Stand back!" she shouted, but she knew that there was no way she could handle them all by herself…
"So I immediately bailed and got away from those clowns," Wendy finished her story, before realizing something. "Oh shit, I think I left Robbie behind."
"You see, Luz?! The clowns have already made their move!" Gus looked horrified.
"Gus, I keep telling you, it's just a bunch of teenagers pranking everyone," Luz assured him. "Hell, I'm pretty sure Robbie's in on this."
"That is a possibility, he did spray paint that muffin on the water tower," Candy recalled.
"I agree with Luz," Dipper said, "Probably a few high school jocks wanting to scare some kids."
Mabel scratched her chin, then snapped her fingers "Grenda, Candy, Soos, be on the lookout for any clown sightings. Let no kid be scared out of their candy on our watch."
"You got it, Mabel!" Grenda nodded.
"Don't worry, Gus, we won't let the clowns try to eat you," Mabel tried to assure the worried Gus. Luz, however, just sighed.
"No, they won't," Luz said as she grabbed Gus. "Cause he's going home."
"Wait, what?" Gus was surprised as Luz pulled him away. "But what about hitting the other houses?"
"Gus, this whole clown thing is scaring you!" Luz told him, starting to lead him away from the rest of the group. "It's about time to send you home. I'll get mom to use the key to send you back to the Isles, because right now I can't handle the stress of worrying about you."
Gus managed to get Luz release him. "You don't need to worry about me, Luz. I mean, there's still so much I can learn around here-"
"This isn't an expedition, Gus," Luz told him impatiently. "This was meant to be a personal vacation for me…"
"But I might never have gotten this opportunity again if I didn't come with-"
"I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO COME, OKAY!?" she yelled at him. Gus was taken aback, his eyes widened. Realizing this, Luz looked down in shame. "Look Gus, I know you're interested in human stuff, but… this was a trip meant for me to get away from the Isles after…" She sighed. "I'm sorry, Gus. But you have to go home."
Gus looked saddened as Mabel, who had overheard them, walked up. "H-Hey, he can stay as long as he likes, right? I mean, there's no reason to yell at him-"
"This isn't any of your business, Mabel," Luz told her and she patted Gus's shoulder. "Come on, G-Man, time to go."
Watching this, Wendy winced. She then noticed Dipper, who didn't look happy at all about how the situation was escalating. "Hey, is everything okay?" she asked him. "And don't say it is, because nobody sweats that much when everything's okay. Not even you."
Dipper looked up to her, then looked down with his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I dunno, it's like, I don't mind having Mabel around, but we're always together and she wants us to do all these 'twin' things now and I'm just not sure I'm ready for it yet. This is just the latest example, since Mabel insisted on us trick-or-treating and now it's starting to get out of hand with all the clown drama. This just isn't how I wanted to spend tonight, you know?"
"Yeah, I getcha," Wendy replied, hands in her pockets. "It's gotta be a lot to take in. And as someone with a lot of siblings, I can totally relate to still wanting to be your own person."
"So much for me and Luz going to Tambry's party," Dipper muttered.
"You were planning on going to a party with Luz?" a familiar voice asked. Dipper turned and saw that Mabel had heard him. "You were going to ditch me?!"
Both Dipper and Wendy looked at Mabel awkwardly. When an upset Mable started to turn away, Dipper tried to stop her.
"Mabel, wait-"
"Seriously!?"
The gang heard Luz's outcry and spotted her with one of the creepy looking clowns that had been earlier. Gus was hiding behind her, but Luz looked unafraid. "Okay, this has got to stop!" She marched toward the clown, raising her bat.
"Luz, no!" Gus shouts in worry.
"Gus, I'm going to show you that clowns are nothing to be afraid of," Luz said, sounding angry as she grabbed the clown's big red nose and tried to pull it off. "Cause you see… they're just… guys in makeup and bald caps that smell like elephant crap!" She successfully pulled the red nose off and showed it to Gus. "See?!"
Gus looked at the nose, his eyes filled with even more fear. Luz felt something trickle from the rubber red nose. She looked down and saw blood.
Turning back to the clown, Luz saw he was still giving a sickening grin despite his now noseless face and the blood coming from where Luz had ripped it off.. She slowly handed the nose back, then hit him with her bat to the head while sprinting back to the others and pulling Luz with her. "RUN!"
Wasting no time, the gang began to run, but they stopped when they saw more clowns appearing. The clowns crawled down from the trees and from the rooftops of houses. A small one rode a tricycle around the corner, while another climbed out of a manhole.
"Hehehe-Hahaha!" the creepy clown posse laughed.
"What kind of freaky clown shit is this!?" Luz shouted while holding her bat.
"These are those clowns I've been warning you guys about!" Wendy shouted while finding a dropped hockey stick and holding it up. "Soos, get your truck!"
"On it!" Soos ran to find the truck.
"So many clowns," Candy said before one popped up from the trash can next to her. "Eep!" She cried out in fear and hid behind Dipper.
"Yarharhar! Looks like we got more trick-or-treaters!" spoke a deranged clown dressed as a pirate.
"Hehehe, they will make a fine feast!" said a lady clown in a gothic lolita dress, red nose, and curls holding a poodle.
"I second that!" said a fat clown on a unicycle, who tore his face off showing his skull.
"Oh hell no!" Luz shouted, using her bat to smack the fat clown off of his unicycle, "RUN!" she told the gang as they ran off from the clowns. "I may not be able to use my magic here, but that doesn't mean I can't fight!"
On the other side of the neighborhood, King and Gideon continued to hit every house they could. They met up at a cul-de-sac, showing the stacks of candy they had obtained.
"So how much you got, kid?" Gideon asked while breathing heavily.
King panted, out a breath. "I got… about… 355."
"Dang it!" Gideon responded. "I got 355 too!"
"Hey, is that a jack-in-a-box?" King noticed, pointing to a jack-in-the-box.
"Ooh, looks like someone left it out here," Gideon said as he walked over it. He turned the knob and the tune of Pop Goes The Weasel played. As the tune reached its end, the lid popped open, but nothing came out.
"Well that's a little disappointing," King admitted.
"…"
"BAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHA!" Popping out of the box was a scary demonic clown with pure dark eyes, raising its hands with long fingernails.
"GAAAAAH/WEEEEEHH!" Gideon and King held each other in a scream before fleeing from the demotic clown.
"Now remember, always keep calm when doing the tests," calmly spoke a dark-skinned girl with brown eyes, purple poofy hair with a black head band, and big horns and in a white long dress. She was known as Lambi. "I suggest clearing your mind of stress, as the Healing Track has taught."
Willow and Bo nodded along with the other three students in the study group. There was a short bat kid from the same track as Willow's named Batroc, next to him is the large pufferfish-headed boy formerly from Abomination Track, now in Construction, named Puffer, and lastly was Elliot who was focused on his book.
"Well, this is actually pretty nice," Bo said as she and the others practiced the relief techniques that Lambi showed them. She noticed that Willow didn't seem to be following the technique as well. "Hey, are you alright, Willow?"
"Hmm?" Willow looked at Bo. "Oh, it's nothing. My thoughts are just… elsewhere right now."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Bo asked. "Is it the exams that you're worried about?"
"No," Willow shook her head. "It's… a lot of things… including Luz. Ever since we decided to take a break, I can't help but worry for her. Especially after hearing that she was arrested."
"You miss her, don't you?" Bo asked. Willow nods. "I know how you feel, I miss hanging out with… my old friend."
Willow remembered Skara and sighed. "I honestly know how you feel, Bo. I… used to have this friend, before Luz and Gus. We used to be inseparable, but when she developed her magic and I didn't, she decided to cut ties with me. And honestly, it still hurts. That pain doesn't go away easily, but it helps to surround yourself with people who do care about you. People like Gus or Luz. They made me realize that the problem with my old friend wasn't me, it was her. And they made me see that I wasn't alone." She looked at Bo. "Does this help at all?"
Bo smiled, understanding "Yeah… it does help."
Willow took a deep breath. "There is something else you should know… Skara is waiting for you in the lobby…"
"So yeah, the Emperor's Coven has had more guards around Bonesborough since the muggings," Eda explained as she sat on the couch while eating cashews. She and Stan were watching a movie about a werewolf surfer or some garbage like that. "Apparently the muggers might be in a gang or something."
"And they're not giving Luz any trouble?" Stan asks her, eating the same cashews.
"No, but even if they did, I know she can take them," Eda answered proudly. "Your advice to toughen up did wonders for her." Then remembering something else, she looked down.
"Uh-oh, I know that look," Stan noted. "Is there something bothering ya?"
"Well… Luz has had one of her… episodes twice recently," Eda began, holding up her flask of apple blood. "I decided that she needed some time away from the Isles, which is why I wanted to bring her here for the weekend… but there's something else." She sighed. "My sister has informed me that the Emperor of the Boiling Isles, Belos, has a special interest in my Luz."
"Don't like the sound of that," Stan said worriedly.
"Then there's my other problem." Eda held up her bag, which contained her elixirs. Half of the bottles were empty. "My curse is getting worse. It takes more elixir to keep it at bay when it used to only take one."
Stan frowned. "Does Luz know about this?"
"No, only King knows and I told him not to talk about it in front of Luz," Eda replied. "I hate keeping secrets from her, but the poor kid already has enough to worry about. Ugh, I'm such a mess…".
"Nah, you're just trying your best and I know that your kid appreciates that more than anything," Stan told her. "I care about her too, Eda. And if anything ever happens to you, I'll watch over her." He placed his hand over hers, comforting Eda. "She won't be alone, I promise."
"Thanks, Stan," Eda whispered, looking at him with a heartfelt smile.
As Luz swung her bat at another clown, she realized that the demonic clowns were surrounding her.. She heard a honking noise and turned around to see Soos's truck stopping nearby, with Wendy waving to her.
"Come on!" Wendy shouted, grabbing Luz's hand to pull her up in the truck as Soos began to drive away from the clowns. "Are you okay?" the redheaded teen asked her.
"Yeah," Luz nodded, turning to Gus who looked very scared. "Gus, don't worry. We'll get to the Shack and send you back to your dad, alright?"
"R-right," Gus replied. "But what about you?"
"I can take those literal clowns," Luz reassured him. She then noticed circus music and looked back, her eyes widening when she saw three small cars in pursuit on them. Standing on the top of the hood of one of the cars was a clown extending his long black arms and claws as he cackled. "Shit, what is their deal!?"
"Soos, step on it!" Wendy screamed.
"Got it!" Soos shouted back, while inside the truck Dipper, Mabel, Candy and Grenda hung onto their seats.
"Okay, is there anything in this journal that tells us about these clowns!?" Mabel pulled out the journal, flipping through it but finding no mention of clowns. "Ugh! Nothing!"
"You've been keeping the journal with you?" Dipper asked her.
"You mean the only reason you even want to spend time with me?" she asked back, shocking Dipper.
THUMP!
A clown had just landed on the truck, standing on top of the hood. This caused Soos to try shaking him off. In the back, Luz held Gus protectively while Wendy tried to keep her balance. The tires screeched just as the clown jumped off.
"HANG ON!" Soos yelled, unable to stop the truck from going into the Summerween Store. Everyone screamed except for Luz, who looked shocked as they were about to crash.
"MIJA!"
CRASH!
She gasped, just as the truck crashed through the store and into some shelves. As the smoke cleared, Luz was holding onto Gus protectively while Wendy hung onto her.
Shivering, Luz checked up on Gus. He looked shaken, but not hurt. "Are you alright?"
"Now that… was scary," Gus replied and all three of them let go of each other.
"Oh man… MASON!" Luz realized, jumping off the back of the truck and opening the door to let Mabel out. She tried to find Dipper. "Mason, Mason are you alright?!" Tears were coming out of her eyes.
"Ugh, I think I'm good," Dipper replied, only to be pulled into a hug as she brought him out of the truck.
"Thank Titan you are," Luz stated, not noticing Mabel. The female twin looked away as Candy and Grenda got out along with Soos, but then gasped when she saw something at the entrance of the store. The others looked too and saw a clown clapping.
"What a show," said the particular clown as his gang appeared behind him. This clown appeared to be a leader and he wore a purple suit and hat while having a sickening pale face with curly red hair. He smiled with his sickening yellow teeth, red long nose, and soulless eyes. "I gotta admit, you made this more fun than we thought." His voice was very Jack Nicholson-like.
"What the… who are you?" Luz asked. "Why are you clowns terrorizing us!?"
"The name's Joke R. McPolka, but you can call me Mr. McPolka!" the clown introduced himself. "We're not just your average clowns, but an entirely different breed of non-human."
"Non-human?" Soos asked.
"So you're not wearing makeup?" Wendy questioned.
"Must've fallen into some kind of chemical vat that mutated them," Mabel theorized.
"Not exactly," Mr. McPolka corrected. "You see here, kiddos, a long time ago, our ancestors were once indeed humans who worked at the circus with their makeup, fake noses and really big shoes. They raised their children to be clowns, but when those children had babies of their own… their environment had changed them. They were born as clowns."
"Of course…" Candy nodded with a narrow look of interest.
"The offspring became a new species," McPolka continued to explain. "Our bones are made of rubber, we can stretch out faces and arms, and not to mention our poor dental plan. We were thriving once, but circuses have been in decline these days and we clownmen - we may need a better name - have found ourselves increasingly out of work. So we were forced to take on other jobs: children's birthday parties are a no go thanks to John Wayne Gacy, so we had to resort to fast food services, amusement park ride operators, heavy metal bands, food truck owners, and political officials! Even as TV executives…"
"That sounds horrible!" Grenda stated.
"But why are you chasing around and scaring us?!" Mabel asked.
"Because nobody loves clowns anymore!" McPolka answered, his fist clenched. "Once we only wanted to entertain and make others laugh, but now we're feared and hated by humanity. We can't even compete with today's comedians, especially that poser Zack Galifianaskis! So we've decided that if humans want to fear us, then we'll give them a reason to fear us! Anyway, get'em, clowns!"
Wendy raised her hockey stick, getting in front of the others. "Everyone, go! I'll handle these butt-ugly clowns!" Wendy charged and swung the hockey stick at the nearest clown. "GO! NOW!"
Luz nodded and grabbed Gus. "Come on!" The group split up, with Dipper and Mabel hiding in the shelves while Candy, Grenda and Soos hid elsewhere.
Luz managed to find a broom closet, pulling herself and Gus in before closing the door. "We should be safe for now," Luz said, wincing. She saw a scratch on her elbow, the gown of her witch costume was torn, there was a cut on her cheek, and she had lost the hat.
"I shouldn't have come," Gus shivered and Luz noticed that he looked like he was gonna have a panic attack. She quickly put her hands on his shoulders, remembering the technique that Amity taught her.
"Gus, listen to me, look at me," Luz told him, her voice calm. "Look around your surroundings. I know we're in a closed space right now, but what do you see?"
Gus was breathing heavily, looking around the room. "A… light over our head… some cleaning supplies… the floor… the mirror…" He started to calm down and Luz gave him a hug.
"I'm sorry, little guy," Luz apologized, holding him tightly. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." She released him. "I had an episode again… this time, I clawed a guy's eye out." Gus looked concerned as she continued. "Mom wanted to bring me here as a way to get away from the Isles for a while. Seeing Grunkle Stan and Dipper again helps, but now Dipper has a twin sister that neither of us knew about and I had to bring you along… it just… stressed me out. I know that being here means a lot to you, but this is Gravity Falls. There's a lot of danger around here and… I don't want you to get hurt. If you did, Willow would never forgive me, and I would never forgive myself."
Gus looked down before responding. "I'm sorry too, Luz. It was… selfish of me to tag along. I didn't realize how much this trip meant to you. I wanted so badly to be included in your adventures here, but instead I got in the way."
Luz sighed. "Right now, we have to find a way to take these clowns down." She then had a thought. "Do you still have those tangelos?"
Dipper and Mabel were hiding underneath a shelf. Candy and Grenda were hiding in a shelf across the aisle from them, while Soos was hiding among the costumes. They hear a clanging noise as a rogue clownman passed nearby, clanging together soda bottles that were on his fingers.
"Children… come out and play…" the clownman taunted. "You wouldn't want your redheaded teenage friend to get hurt, would you?"
"Wend-Hmm!" Dipper gasped but Mabel covered his mouth. Once the clown walked out of ear shot, she uncovered his mouth. "We can't let them hurt Wendy, there's gotta be a way to stop them. Luz might have an idea, so we should try to find her…" He noticed his sister's expression. "Hey, are you alright?"
"No… I'm not," Mabel replied, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's just…"
"You're upset about what I said earlier, right?" Dipper asked and Mabel nodded. "Man, I'm sorry for what I said, Mabel. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I guess I just…" Mabel sighed. "Twins are supposed to have this special bond, y'know? Like a mind meld or something. And I just feel like I've missed so much. things could've… should've been different. And I came here because I wanted to make things the way they were supposed to be. I thought like, maybe if we were together, we could pretend that its the way things always were and everything was okay. But I can't. It's not. And yeah, I am jealous of what you and Luz have. Even if you don't see each other all the time, you both care about each other and have the close bond that I wish I had with you. I never had a brother before, but you already have a sister."
Dipper looked down, feeling guilty. "Yeah, I… I'm sorry, Mabel. Everything just happened so fast, and I couldn't handle it, and I avoided thinking about it, and… I ended up avoiding you, too. I've been kind of a crummy brother so far, huh?"
"No, no, I get it… I'm weird, and this is weird, and you're one of those weird people who likes to be by yourself except for a few that you're really close to. Like Wendy or Soos or Luz. And I understand if you don't want to be siblings. But… can we at least be friends?"
Dipper was silent for a few moments, thinking about what she had said. Then he looked at her… and smiled. "I don't see why we can't be both," he told her and Mabel smiled as well.
Both siblings then heard crying and they noticed the same clownman from earlier, standing next to their hiding spot and tearing up after he had listened in.
"Oh man…" He sniffed. "I-I'm sorry, just that… hang on a sec." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Mac? This is Ronald… sorry that I woke you up… just want to hear your voice again-AAAAH!" He was suddenly knocked out after being hit in the face by a grappling hook that Dipper had pulled out..
"Never leave home without it," Dipper whispered with a smirk before spotting Luz and Gus passing by. Luz gave the twins a shush and a wink as she prepared her bat.
"You know, I used to be feared. Originally, I just wanted revenge on the children who never cared for the pieces of candy at the bottom of the bag. All I ever wanted was for someone to think that I'm delicious. But just like back then, nobody cares about me now. I'm a has-been." The Summerween Trickster lamented while drinking a can of store brand soda in the woods. "Do either of you two want some?"
Gideon and King were too busy shivering, having lost all their candy while running away from the monster clown. And they were even more afraid now that the Summerween Trickster had appeared before them.
"No, we're good," King said out of fright.
"I just want to go home!" Gideon said while rocking himself. "This night is the worst!"
"Tick-tock, tick-tock," Mr. McPolka said while Wendy was tied up and held down by the clowns.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Wendy warned him. "My friends will beat your asses back to the circus you came from."
"Wow, that's so foolishly optimistic I could gag!" McPolka mocked Wendy before coughing up a knot. He pulled it out of his throat and pulled it out more knots as well until the rope of knots ended with a chicken leg. "Oh, I just pulled out my lunch."
"Hey, Polka-head!"
Mr. McPolka turned around and spotted Luz with her bat up. "Bet you can't catch me!" She stuck her tongue out at him while pulling down the skin under her eye.
"After her!" McPolka ordered, his creepy clown gang running towards her.
One with the extended arms went to grab her, but the Luz illusion disappeared, confusing the clown. "Huh?" he asked, only to get pelted by a tangelo to the face. He got knocked out and fell on the floor.
Two more clowns went to search for her, but got tripped by some string that Candy had set up, making them fall down. When one looked up, he saw a tangelo in front of him. "Oh no… tangelos!"
"It's messing with our minds! Is it an orange or a tangerine?!" the other asked, before both got hit in the head by two fists that belonged to Grenda, knocking them out..
Grenda and Candy looked at each other, hi-fiving. "Monster hunting success!" they declared.
A short clown looked around until he spotted Luz and Gus running from him. "I got you now-"
"No matter the score, I'm always… a-head! Yahahahaha!"
"Huh?" the confused clown turned to the shelf with the laughing novelty skull, only for the shelf to fall down on top of him. "OOF!" Soos had been the one to push the shelf down.
"What is going on here!?" McPolka demanded.
Wendy saw Dipper and Mabel hiding nearby. Dipper gave a thumbs up and Wendy smirked, jerking her knee at a female clown, while kicking the other clown holding her in the balls. As she began to free herself, the clowns were kept from fighting back by Dipper and Mabel throwing tangelos at them.
"Take that, you weirdly abnormal clowns!" Mabel yelled.
"Gravity Falls is our territory!" Dipper added, the two hi-fiving each other.
McPolka saw all this and was not happy. "Alright, no more screwing around!" He pulled up his sleeves, ready to fight. But he was then pelted by Gus with tangelos. "What the - tangelos!? Ow! Stop it! That hurts!" He was then hit on a soft spot of his… his nose. "My nose! You broke my nose!"
"That's not all that will break!" Gus said as Luz jumped over him, raised her bat and swung it at McPolka's face. He was hit so hard that he was launched out of the store and into the parking lot, his teeth getting knocked out. He bounced off the concrete of the street and spat blood. He managed to look up though and he saw Gus with a tangelo in his hand, the others behind him.
"W-Wait! Wait!" McPolka begged. "I-I just didn't want to be forgotten… don't you all know what it's like, to be hated just because you look different from anyone? All I ever wanted was to make people laugh…"
Gus turned to Luz, who looked down at the leader of the clown gang. She sighed. "Don't come to Gravity Falls ever again," she told him. "The legendary Luz Clawthorne is only going to warn you once."
"Right, right," McPolka said as he whistled for one of the small cars. "Alright, let's go to the next town!" He called for his gang. They all came out in groups, carrying their fallen comrades as they climbed into the small clown car. "Gravity Falls is crossed off the map."
"Well, now that's settled - TAKE HIS SHOES!" Gus shouted, as the group ganged up on and pinned down McPolka.
"Wait, what - AAAH!" McPolka struggled while Luz stole his large shoes. "Noooo! My granny-mama gave me those! They're a family heirloom!"
"Well now they're my trophy," Gus said as Luz handed him the shoes "Now get out of town!"
McPolka was tearing up. "F-Fine! You kids are cruel! Screw this town, we're heading for Wisconsin!" He climbed into the clown car and once the door closed, it drove out of the lot.
"Yah! We beat the clowns!" Mabel cheered along with everyone else.
"Sorry this didn't turn out the way you planned," Luz said to Gus. "But hey, at least thanks to this experience, you've probably gotten over your fears of clowns."
"No, I'm still afraid of them," Gus corrected. "In fact, after this experience, I'm ten times more afraid of clowns now. But now I know that my fear is rational."
"This encounter does make me wonder if mimes are a separate species from humans as well, just like clowns are" Soos wondered.
"Meh, don't think about it too hard," Wendy told him.
"...I think I'm ready to go home now," Gus admitted.
"Too bad Soos's truck crashed," Dipper pointed out. "Guess we'll have to walk home."
"Wait, look!" Candy pointed at a black van that drove up to them.
Rolling down the window was Robbie, who still looked a mess but his allergies had calmed down. "Wendy… you're alright! Those clowns, they're not around here, are they?"
"Nope, we've taken care of them," Wendy reassured him. "Looks like you're alright."
"Oh yeah, got an EpiPen just in time," Robbie explained, sounding tired. "Then I started looking for you. Man. First ghosts, then living video game characters, and now this? What is wrong with this town?" He groaned. "But you know, we can still make it to Tambry's party."
"Actually, we're pretty tuckered out, just drop us at the Shack," Wendy told him.
"Great." Robbie replied. "But… can someone else drive? I need some rest."
Soon Soos had driven the others back to the Shack and the gang climbed out.
"Sorry that you have to miss a party," Mabel said to Dipper as they walked toward the Shack.
"Nah, I think fighting clowns with my sisters and friends is enough excitement for a night," Dipper told her. "Us weirdos have to stick together, right?"
Mabel smiled at him. "Yeah, us weirdos have to stick together."
"Robbie is already out cold, so I've texted his parents to let them know that he's sleeping in his van tonight," Wendy, the last one out of the van, explained.
"At least they'll know that he's safe," Luz nodded.
"Hey um, Luz. Before I go, I gotta ask…" Gus took a deep breath. "You have a crush on Amity, right?"
Luz sighed. "Yeah," she admitted. "I never thought that I'd like her at all, much less really like her. But you know, we've been through some stuff since she began tutoring me and… she's not that bad." She blushed a bit. "It's complicated…"
"Oh…" Gus said and Luz noticed that he didn't sound enthusiastic about it. "Well… I don't… get it, in fact I've never got why Amity of all witches… but you know, if she makes you happy then I'm here as your support. Just be careful, please. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Thanks, G-Man," Luz told him as they followed the others into the Mystery Shack. They found Stan and Eda in the living room eating cashews. "We're back! Also Gus is ready to go home."
"I was forced to face my fears!" Gus said while holding up the clown shoes.
"Well, looks like you guys have a night," Eda noticed. "Where's King?"
Luz's eyes widened, realizing that she had completely forgotten about King. "Uh…" She heard a knock on the window and saw the Summerween Trickster outside holding King. "He's… outside the window…" She walked over to the window and as she opened it the Summerween Trickster handed King to her.
"Found these two in the woods," he said while also holding up a terrified Gideon Gleeful.
"C-c-clawthorne," Gideon managed to say, recognizing Luz.
"Oh hey, Gideon," Luz nodded. She looked at the Summerween Trickster. "You going to eat him?"
"Nah," the Summerween Trickster answered. "He's too good of a listener. Gonna take him home instead. See you next Summerween." He then jumped away from the Shack with Gideon.
"...So King, got any candy?" Luz asked.
"I had candy, but then I didn't," King replied, before noticing a piece of candy stuck in his fur. "But I got one and Gideon has none! Victory is mine!"
"Alright Gus, time for you to go home. You got everything you need?" Eda held up her key.
"Yes, Mrs. Clawthorne," Gus answered with a nod.
"Not everything," Stan said as he tossed Gus a t-shirt. "Here, my inventory is overstocked and some free advertising in the Boiling Isles wouldn't hurt."
Gus looked at the t-shirt, which is a jade shirt with letters that read 'I Survived The Mystery Shack.' He smiled. "A cultural human t-shirt, I love it. Thank you, Mr. Pines!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mabel shouted as she ran up to Gus. "Even though we just met, I wanted to ask… are you interested in dating?"
"Oh… um, I've never had an interest in dating," Gus answered honestly. "But after meeting you guys, I would like to be friends with you, Mabel. You're an interesting human."
Mabel's eyes lit up and she smiled "You know, I'd like that."
Gus turned to Luz and Dipper, fist bumping them both. "See you when you get back, Luz. And nice meeting you, Dipper."
"You too, man," Dipper told him. "And don't be a stranger."
"See you tomorrow, Gus," Luz said and Gus nodded as Eda opened the portal for him.
At the Porter residence, Perry came out from the basement and locked it behind him. He then noticed that his son had returned. "Gus? You're back!" He gasped when he saw that his son was holding up two big red shoes. "Are those…?"
"Yes, dad, clown shoes," Gus confirmed as he handed the shoes to his father. "Let's just say, they'll think twice before messing with the Porters."
Perry could only tear up as he went to hug his son. "I'm proud of you, Augustus. You did what your old man could never do…"
Skara was waiting in the lobby when she heard footsteps, followed by a familiar voice. "Skara?" She turned and her face lit up when she saw Bo along with Willow.
"B-Bo! How's it going?" Skara asked her.
"I'm fine," Bo replied, her expression indifferent.
"I think I'll leave you two alone." Willow said, walking over to the hot cocoa machine while watching Skara talking to Bo.
"I just want to say… I'm sorry for breaking our friendship," Skara apologized, while rubbing her arm. "I got witch peer pressured by Boscha into doing it, but I really should have been stronger and stood my ground. I hope we can start over and be pals, right? Bo?" She gave a hopeful smile.
SMACK
Willow was shocked when she saw Bo slap Skara across her face.
"B-Bo…?" Skara asked, shocked as well.
"You hurt me, Skara," Bo said with a glare. "And I've realized that I don't need to be with people who hurt me, especially when I do have friends who actually care about my well-being and won't break up with me over Penstagram! Consider this a challenge to a witch's duel at the exams." She walked away from Skara and turned to Willow before passing her. "I'll be waiting outside until my mom comes to pick us up." She then walked out of the lobby.
Willow didn't know how to react, surprised by Bo's actions. However, she heard a sniffle and she looked to see Skara sitting down in a chair. Concerned, Willow walked up to see if Skara was alright. "Skara? Are you okay?"
"I'm so stupid…" she said, her mascara running as she wiped the tears coming down her face. "How could I let this happen? Bo…" She started to cry as she leaned onto Willow. The Plant Track girl patted Skara on the back.
"It's okay, it's okay… shhh," Willow said, hugging Skara. "Come on, I think Lambi will allow you to sleep over at her apartment. Would that be good?"
"I-I don't mind," Skara said as Willow escorted her to Lambi's apartment. She held Skara's hand on the way, which made Skara blush a little while her eyes were watery.
Luz was in a sleeping bag along with Candy and Grenda at the bedroom of the Pines twins. King was sleeping on top of her, but as the night went on Luz started turning her head left and right. She was murmuring in her sleep.
All she could see was the back of a car seat. Then there was a sudden flash and she heard the voice of a woman calling out to her.
"MIJA!"
CRASH!
Luz gasped, sitting up in her sleeping bag and breathing heavily. She looked at her surroundings, still in Dipper's room. She sighed, laying back down. "Mija," she whispered.
So this chapter was something else, ain't it? A Summerween where instead of the Trickster, there's monster clowns terrorizing our main gang. Love to write a horror aspects of this chapter, as writing about Gus's fear of clowns is a neat use for this chapter. But I also like writing about what Willow's up to, especially in how Skara trying to rekindled her friendship with Bo only to get slapped and challenged at the witch's duel of the exams. I've also made the subplot of Stan trying to scare those kids that aren't afraid of his horror but to have Eda scare those kids away, which leads to a moment of them. And sorry to those expecting Mabel x Gus in this, but it wasn't really a plan to have them paired. Also pinning King vs Gideon for who gets all the candy is a hilarious subplot, and the Summerween Trickster not going around spreading fear is a hilarious touch. I've also gave out some hints about what happened in Luz's memories that leads to her mother's death, wondering if you guys actually pick up on it.
Also surprised that none of y'all ever brought up in your reviews about how I've basically hinted about Luz and Dipper's step-siblings relationship. I mean, it was mentioned, hinted a lot. Just like a few hints I've left out. Like seriously, am I the only one who have not taken their oblivious pills? Like, I'm not calling you guys out on anything, but I was expecting at least some pick ups. Maybe this will be more clearer.
Now for reviews:
BuckJohnson: Yeah, that was a good time to post since Disney refused to sell more of their merch. Like, who's running the merchandising department? The Old Man from the knockoff Beauty and the Beast Goodtimes movie Phelous reviewed?
Gamelover41592: It was actually BuckJohnson's suggestion after comparing it to Reunion Falls, and after some consideration, I've decided that this would make a neat crossover. And when you consider the timeline, this takes place in the middle of season 1, which should be obvious with the Summerween episode.
The Great Fossil King: Actually more like on a few days of posting.
MysteryGirl7Freak: No, not at all. I wouldn't mind using a reference like that. Also sorry to disappoint about the Gus and Mabel ship. Mabel and Luz will have some common grounds, and the Summerween Trickster comes to an...understanding with Luz around…
Ultimate-drax: Thanks for the review, and hope you didn't expect this chapter.
RonaldM4: By the time I get to the end of season 1 of Owl House timeline, things will probably escalates to dramatic territory…
ReviewerDWJ: It's a lot to take on, and this AU is also shared with another AU due to their similarity.
BlueKnight-X2: I've hit the right mark on this one.
Guardian of the Inheritance: Thanks but I do appreciate it if you actually give me a full on review rather than saying "Good job, keep it up" over and over. It makes me think that's all you can say and I appreciate it if you actually put in an actual review of what you think. You know, just say what comes in your mind about the chapters.
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