A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! As a holiday treat I thought I'd write up this special chapter seeing as I haven't done one since the anniversary special back in April, so here you go. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and had a good Halloween. See you in the next chapter!
Halloween, the time of year full of thrills and treats for everyone of all ages and species. Though not as well celebrated in Japan in comparison to the States, the staff of the ICEP Headquarters in Tokyo were holding a Halloween office party to celebrate, seeing as most liminal species partook in the holiday festivities. Fancy dress was a must, though a lot of the human employees had found difficulties on choosing costumes for the event, seeing as the main go-to costumes of the pre-exchange era were based on the once fictional monsters, which would nowadays be considered racially insensitive, so they had to come up with new costumes to wear. Thankfully there were enough ideas to take from media to avoid such an outcome. Smatterings of anime characters, video game characters and so on dominated the party, though the few liminal staff there took the opportunity to work on the classic costumes themselves. Doppel had voiced the idea of coming to the party as her 'true self', but Ms Smith quickly put a stop to that idea, not wanting to traumatise everyone.
It was late at night and the party was in full swing. Everyone was enjoying themselves, though Yuuto, dressed up like Vergil from the Devil May Cry series, was in a deep discussion with his girlfriend, Lala. She was in her classic outfit which was made up of a white dress with a short skirt which she wore under a black robe with a huge cropped collar, as well as her black scarf and black stockings, not to mention her black gauntlets, waist guard and armoured boots, all of which had gold trimmings. The only difference from her usual attire was that she was wearing a carved pumpkin where her head would normally be, while her head was held under one of her arms.
"Wait, hold on. You know the Headless Horseman?" The hybrid asked with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Aye, he is the direct descendant o' the original Headless Horseman o' Sleepy Hollow, as well as a distant relative from me father's side o' the family, going back at least seven generations." The young dullahan replied pridefully with a smirk on her face.
"THE Headless Horseman that spirited away Ichabod Crane? I thought that story was a work of fiction."
Lala merely pouted at him as she now held her head under her breasts. "I assure ye that the tale is true, me Love. Me uncle, Michael Kassel, is the current Headless Horseman and he works as a horse-riding instructor near Sleepy Hollow. I am more than willing tae introduce ye tae him if ye doubt me claims."
"Yeah, New York State isn't exactly down the road from us…" Yuuto replied in an unenthusiastic tone.
Just then, Blare, Kasumi, Kestria, Raia, and even Zombina showed up in their costumes. The hellhound had decided to go with a sexy black witch outfit, complete with a broomstick and a large pointed witch's hat with holes at the base to allow her large cropped ears to poke through. Kasumi had dressed herself up as a Japanese spirit, wearing a white kimono as well as a white triangular forehead cover, though this kimono was specially designed with four sleeves to accommodate for all four of her arms. Kestria was wearing a native American dress, complete with a headband with one of her recently moulted feathers attached to it. Raia had found out one of her old royal outfits from her days as an Egyptian princess, which was made up of a white linen gown with a yellow belt, a pair of golden armbands, a golden coloured shoulder dress, and a gold headband as well. Finally, there was Zombina, who had opted to dress up like Jill Valentine from the original Resident Evil/Biohazard, complete with a blue beret and shoulder pads.
The zombie was the first to call out to the pair. "Hey! Beesh! Headless! Sweet costumes!" She shouted enthusiastically while waving at them.
"Hey girls. You all look great," He replied before focusing on his fellow squad captain, who was now standing to his side. "especially you, agent Valentine." He added with a smirk on his face.
"You're damn right, Devil Boy!" Zombina exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around the back of his neck and pulled him in close. "Took me forever to find a costume in the right size!"
"No kidding, finding costumes for us liminals is still a bit tricky," Blare added. "but, it's totally worth it when it's this goddamn sexy." She teased as she struck a sexy pose.
"Indeed, who would've thought finding a kimono with four sleeves would be so difficult." Kasumi said with a slight pout on her face.
"Well, I had an easy time of it," Kestria interjected as she struck a sexy pose herself. "turns out my old outfit from my tribe did just the trick."
"Likewise, though I can't remember the last time I wore this old thing," Raia added as she showed off her outfit. "I'm surprised my royal garbs have stayed in such good condition for so long."
"Yeah, must be easy for some." The hellhound interrupted as she focused her attention on the young reaper. "All you needed to do was stick a carved pumpkin on your neck and you're done." She continued as she stared at the pumpkin sat upon Lala's body.
"It is certainly well crafted." The empusa added with a look of awe on her face.
Lala's lips pulled into a smirk as she placed a hand on top of the pumpkin. "Aye, I learnt the fine art o' pumpkin carving from me Uncle Michael, the Headless Horseman."
Blare's eyes widened as her flame lashes flickered to life. "Wait, you know the Headless Horseman?! That's awesome!" She shouted excitedly.
"For real?!" The zombie interjected loudly. "You've gotta introduce him to us!"
"Not to ruin the mood, but I think she might be pulling your leg on this one." The raptor harpy of the group chimed in while rubbing the back of her head.
"Yeah, even I'm a little sceptical." The mummy added.
The dullahan started to pout at the group before she removed the pumpkin from her shoulders and placed her head on its rightful place once more. "It seems ye mortals give me little choice. I must do right by me uncle and prove tae ye that he is truly the descendent o' the Headless Horseman." She started as she walked up to her boyfriend and grabbed his wrist tightly. "Come, we shall traverse to the realm o' Sleepy Hollow!" She shouted as she started dragging the hybrid with her.
"Hey, quit dragging me already! I didn't consent to this!" Yuuto yelled in annoyance.
"Hold up you two, I ain't missing out on this!" The redhead shouted as she started to follow the couple.
"Hey, I want to go too!" The hellhound added in an excited tone.
Kestria smirked to herself for a moment. "Might as well go, it's a good excuse to head back to the States for a bit if nothing else." She said as she went after the group.
Raia and Kasumi were left standing there for a moment before they looked to each other. "We should probably go and keep an eye on them just in case." The mummy suggested.
"Right, there's no telling what trouble they might get into." The shinobi added with a nod, and with that, they followed the rest of the group.
The group quickly found themselves in front of one of the office storage rooms on the floor and Lala turned to the group dramatically as she placed a hand in front of her face. "I shall warn ye now, mortals. This will be a perilous journey we are about tae undertake, so if ye wish tae continue, then make peace with yerselves and enter the darkness." She said as she opened the door to the storage room.
"Babe, you do remember that Zee and Raia are undead, right?" The blonde asked while Zombina was giving her a toothy grin, as well as Raia giving her a smug look.
The young reaper faltered for a moment as her cheeks went bright red. "N-N-Never ye mind that. Quickly, we have little time tae waste."
With that, the group entered the small storage room. It was a tight squeeze, but everyone just managed to fit in and Lala closed the door behind them. She hadn't bothered to turn the lights on, and the group was left in complete darkness.
"Lala, can you at least turn the light on in here? I can't see a damn thing." The hybrid complained as he had felt the girls pressing up on either side of him.
"I canna do that. I need the darkness o' the Abyss tae traverse the realms." The dullahan answered in a dramatic fashion.
"Reaper, I know you can transport yourself, but can you transport a group this big with your powers?" Kasumi asked in an inquisitive tone.
The young reaper huffed to herself pridefully. "Ye would do well tae nay doubt the powers o' a Spectre o' Death."
"Well, can you do it quickly? I don't want to be stuck in here any longer than I have too…" The hellhound whined. As they were shuffling around, the empusa's head accidentally pressed against her soft mounds, which voiced an elicit yelp of surprise from Blare. "Hey! Who did that?!" She shouted in annoyance.
"Oh, my apologies," Kasumi answered in an apologetic tone. "though I must admit, they are rather soft and comfortable to rest against." She added as her cheeks went red in embarrassment.
Much to the group's surprise, Blare seemed to enjoy to compliment. "Aren't they just? Itaru can't seem to get enough of them himself." She replied in a smug tone.
While this was going on, Yuuto felt something soft press up against the side of his leg. "Um, who's butt is that?" He said out loud to the group.
"Oh, sorry about that, Hotshot." The raptor harpy answered. "Kinda cramped in here, you know."
He then felt a pair of soft mounds press up against his back, followed by a giggle from his mummy squadmate. "Raia, I know there's not a lot of room, but do you mind?" The blonde asked in an annoyed tone.
"Oh, come on, Medjay. We might as well have a little fun while we're in here." Raia whispered into his ear in a sultry tone as she pressed her breasts against him harder and had started lightly wrapping some of her wrappings around his chest.
The hybrid then felt a hand against his buttocks and gave it a light squeeze, which elicited a surprised gasp from him. "Okay, you're taking this a little too far now."
"That was me, Beesh," Zombina interjected as she pressed her breasts to his side. "you think I'd miss out on something like this? Not a chance in Hell." She teased in a suggestive tone. "Besides, you seem to be enjoying yourself."
Yuuto had gotten rather annoyed and triggered his devil mode, his now crimson demonic eyes slightly illuminating the room as the chaotic energy coursed through them. "I swear to God I'll shock the two of you if you don't cut it out." He threatened in an annoyed tone as his voice reverberated around the room.
"Don't you fucking dare, Stud!" Blare shouted out loud with both annoyance and worry as her flame lashes burst to life. "You'll shock the rest of us as well!"
Lala was starting to get rather annoyed herself and thus took the opportunity to transport herself and her passengers to their destination. "O' shadows o' the Abyss! Take us tae the plane where the Headless Horseman resides!" She shouted, grabbing everyone's attention.
The room shook for a moment and everyone grabbed hold of the nearest person to them to keep their balance. The group felt a strange sensation come over them, a tingling sensation that felt like it was wrapping itself around them. After a moment the shaking stopped and soon a sliver of light appeared behind them.
"Woah, what the hell was that?!" The hellhound exclaimed in surprise.
As the group began to shuffle around again, they tripped over each other and started to topple backwards towards the slivers of light behind them as they let out yelps of panic. They fell through an old wooden door and fell to the ground with a hard thud. Yuuto found himself at the bottom of the pile lying on his front with Zombina and Raia lying on top of him with their breasts pressed up against his head from either side. Everyone else had thankfully fallen away from each other, though Lala's head had fallen from her shoulders and rolled its way in front of where her boyfriend and her undead colleagues had landed.
The hybrid groaned in pain. "Why does this shit keep happening to me?" He muttered to himself before he looked up at the zombie and mummy that were currently keeping him pinned to the ground. "Hey, you two mind getting off me already?" He asked them in an annoyed tone.
Raia rolled away from him and sat herself up to the side of him as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that, Medjay." She replied in an apologetic tone.
Zombina got off of him and sat up straight with her legs crossed as she straightened out her beret. "Yeah, what Wraps said, but thanks for the catch, Beesh." She added with a toothy grin.
Yuuto just let out an exasperated sigh as he got himself up and sat up straight, deactivating his devil mode in the process. "You're welcome, I guess…" He said as he began to look around to see where they were.
The group had found themselves inside what looked like a small old-fashioned barn. They had fallen out of one of the storage cupboards near the back end of the building, and in front of them was a row of stables running the length of the building. All the stables had horses occupying them, most of which were stood at the back of their stalls. As they started to get to their feet a couple of the horses moved to the front of their stalls to see what was going on. The first was an average height mare which had light grey fur with speckles of darker grey fur all across its body, with the exception of a triangular white patch near the top of its face. It also had a black mane, as well as a long black tail. The second was a slightly taller and slightly more muscular stallion with fur that was pitch black all over, with its long mane and tail which were pitch black too. Lala's body finally picked up her head and placed it back on her neck as she looked towards the two horses looking at the group.
A smile appeared on the young reaper's face as she saw the mare. "Aurora." She called out as she walked towards the horse.
The mare responded with a happy nicker as the dullahan approached. Lala then dematerialised her gauntlets before she began to pat the sides of its face gently with both hands, to which the horse responded by nuzzling her face against the woman.
"It has been an age, but it is good tae see ye once more." She said with a bright smile as she continued to pat the mare's face.
"Lala, you know these horses?" Raia asked as she moved to the reaper's side, staring curiously at the horse.
"Aye, we are in me uncle's stable. I used tae come here quite often when I was a wee lass." She answered as she looked towards the mummy while still petting the mare. "Uncle Michael taught me how to ride horses on Aurora, seeing she has a good temperament."
Aurora then moved her head and started nuzzling it against Raia. The former princess was surprised at first but soon a smile curled onto her lips as she started to pat the horse. "She certainly has, definitely a good horse for beginners."
As the two women were talking, Zombina and Blare walked up to the black stallion out of curiosity. "He's definitely a big one, isn't he?" The hellhound commented. As she got close, the horse turned its head to her suddenly, causing Blare to jump back in surprise as he snorted at her. "Hey, watch it!" She exclaimed in annoyance.
"Take it easy, Blare." The redhead interjected with her signature grin as she closed in on the stallion, causing him to turn his attention towards her. "The big guy just wants a fuss, don't cha?" She said to the horse as she was about to reach out to pat him. Just then the stallion nipped at her beret and yanked it off her head in an instant, much to the annoyance of the zombie. "Hey, give that back!" She shouted as she tried to grab it, only for it to be taken out of reach as the horse backed up into his stall.
Yuuto chuckled to himself as he made his way to his fellow squad captain's side. "You never seem to have much luck with animals." He commented as his lips pulled into a teasing grin. "Still remember that one time you lost your hand and that stray dog almost had it."
Zombina crossed her arms and pouted to herself as her cheeks went red, remembering the embarrassing incident. "Yeah, and it would've gotten away with it too if you weren't around to help.
Lala stepped away from Raia and Aurora as she took notice of what happened and started making her way towards the stallion's stall. "That's Midnight, me uncle's main riding horse. He's quite the mischievous one if ye take yer eyes off him." She explained as she made his way in front of his stall and picked up a nearby carrot to hold out for him. "Midnight, over here." She called out with a smile as she held up the vegetable.
Midnight took notice and trotted over towards the front of the stall again with the beret still in his grasp. As soon as his head poked out the front of the stall he dropped it to the floor and lapped up the treat from the palm of the dullahan's hand.
"Good boy." She praised him as she started to pat the sides of his face, which he responded by nuzzling up to her.
The blonde moved up and picked up the beret before walking up to the redhead and handing it back to her. "There you are, Zee."
Zombina retrieved it and held it in both hands as she looked at it with a displeased look on her face. "Geez, it's got horse slobber all over it now…" She replied unenthusiastically.
Suddenly they heard someone approach the barn from outside. "What's with all that racket in there this early in the morning?" The voice of a man called out as he approached the building.
The group turned around to see the front doors of the barn open, revealing a tall man with blue skin, short brown hair and a short but neatly trimmed brown beard. He was wearing a long-sleeved red plaid shirt, a red scarf around his neck, well-worn blue jeans and a pair of brown working boots. The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment as he laid eyes on the group, but as soon as he saw the young reaper of the group next to Midnight, his eyes went half-lidded as he gave her a loving smile.
"Well, call me a monkey's uncle." He said as he as he held his arms out wide. "Lala, get your keister over here."
Lala's lips also curled into a smile as she started quickly making her way over to the man. "Uncle Michael." She said out loud joyfully.
She soon made it to him and wrapped her arms around his chest as she rested her head against him, and her uncle happily obliged as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, resting a hand on top of her head as he stroked her hair gently. "You've grown so much since I last saw you," Michael said before loosening his grip on her. "what brings you all the way out here? I thought you were staying in Japan."
"Aye, I am. I told me friends about ye, but they doubted that ye were truly the descendant o' the Headless Horseman. So, I decided tae bring them here tae reveal the truth tae them." She answered as she stepped away from him.
He looked up at the remainder of the group as they moved up towards the pair to introduce themselves. The older dullahan gave them a polite smile as well as a curt nod, making sure his head didn't fall from his shoulders. "Mighty fine to meet you all. I hope the trip with Lala wasn't too strenuous for you, it can be a bit rough for first-timers." He said to them with a hint of concern.
Kestria finally spoke up after staying unusually quiet. "Yeah, I do still feel kind of light-headed." She said as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Likewise, I was not expecting to travel such a vast distance so suddenly." Kasumi added as she did the same with one of her sickles.
Michael chuckled to himself for a moment. "You'll be alright, just try to take it easy for a bit."
Lala eventually went to her boyfriend's side and wrapped her arms around his right arm. "Uncle, this is me Love, Yuuto. We have forged a pact together." She said as her cheeks went red.
Yuuto gave the man a polite smile. "Hey, it's an honour to meet you, Mr Kassel." He said in a friendly tone.
"Please, just Michael is fine." He replied before turning his attention back to the rest of the group. "And who are these fine ladies with you?" He asked in a courteous tone.
The zombie was the first to speak up. "Hey, the name's Zombina! Nice to meet cha!" She exclaimed with a toothy grin.
"Hi, I'm Blare." The hellhound added with a wave of a hand.
"I am Kasumi Hayashi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir." The shinobi said as she gave him a respectful bow.
"Sup, I'm Kestria, but everyone calls me Kes." The raptor harpy answered with a wave of a wing.
"And I'm Raia. I'm sorry if we're inconveniencing you." The mummy added in an apologetic tone.
"Hah, it's no problem whatsoever, Miss," Michael replied in a jovial tone. "so, you all want to know more about my many times great-grandpappy then? I reckon I can help with that." He added as he went to pick up a pitchfork. "But first, I need to get on with my morning chores, as well as sort out breakfast." He then turned his attention to the hybrid. "Yuuto, you look like a strong young man. How about you lend me a hand in exchange for what I know about the Headless Horseman. Does that sound like a fair deal?"
The blonde nodded in response. "Sure, sounds fair to me."
"Perfect." The older dullahan answered as he went up to him and handed him the pitchfork. "Though I reckon you might want to take off that fancy robe and those boots, I'm going to need you to clean up the manure in the stalls." He added with a cheeky grin. "I've got a spare jacket and a pair of boots you can borrow in the meantime."
Yuuto grabbed the pitchfork as he gave the man a deadpan look. "Glad to see I got the best job…" He replied sarcastically as he put the tool to one side to take off the robe.
Michael chuckled to himself once more. "You'll be fine, Son." He then turned to the women of the group. "As for you ladies, I'm fairly certain I haven't got enough food for all of you, so do you mind running into town and getting some groceries? My treat."
Raia stepped forwards with a smirk on her face. "Sounds like a deal, though do you have a car or truck we can borrow."
He pulled out a set of keys and handed them to her, as well as his wallet. "It's the blue truck parked in front of the house, it can fit three in the front and however many in the back. There's a decent sized supermarket near Tarrytown way, shouldn't be too far."
"Thanks." She replied before turning to the other girls. "Blare, Kasumi, Kes, you're with me."
The three women nodded in response without question, not wanting to be on the wrong side of her wrappings.
"I think I'll stay here and help Beesh out." Zombina said as she moved to his side and pat his back hard.
"And I shall assist ye with the horses, Uncle." Lala added with a smile on her face.
"Glad to hear it," Michael replied. "looks like everyone's got their job, now, let's get to it."
With that, the girls of Squad Bravo made their way out of the barn to get the groceries, with Michael and Lala leading the horses out to graze and exercise, while Yuuto and Zombina were left with the dirty work. It took about an hour to sort out, but by the time they were done Raia and the girls were back with the groceries, and they had quite the haul. It didn't take them long to get cleaned up and get the food ready. Soon everyone was sat at the table and about to dig in when the older dullahan came into the dining room with a dusty old book in his hand.
Kasumi was the first to raise her head and look at the book quizzically. "What is that you're carrying?" She asked out of curiosity as everyone else looked towards the man.
Michael smirked at the group. "This is the diary of Heinrich Kassel, the Headless Horseman."
Everyone went wide-eyed for a moment, apart from Lala, who was smiling to herself in satisfaction. "I canna say I am surprised that ye kept his tome safe fer all these years." She spoke up with a smug look on her face.
The older dullahan took his seat at the table and placed the book down in front of him. "The diary has been handed down my family since the late 18th century, and it recounts the life of my ancestor, Heinrich Kassel. It also recounts the events of what happened on that fateful night in Sleepy Hollow from his perspective."
"Wait, hold up," Yuuto interjected with a look of confusion on his face. "I know you're not lying about this, but I always thought that the legend was just a book written by Washington Irving. If he didn't make it up, how the hell did he find out about it?"
"I have no concrete evidence on how he came upon the information, but I always presumed that he found out from one of my distant relatives and adapted the story for his own purposes, at least that's what my grandfather always told me when I was young."
The MON agent nodded at the man's explanation an seemed satisfied with his answer for the time being. "That's fair enough, though now I'm curious as to what actually happened. Does anyone else know?"
Michael shook his head. "Apart from Mr Irving, the truth of the tale has never been told to anyone outside the family, and it seems he took that secret to the grave with him."
Zombina smirked to herself as she heard this. "Well, I know what we're doing after we're done eating."
"Indeed, I'm rather curious myself as to what actually happened." Kasumi added flatly.
With that everyone made quick work of eating breakfast and they soon found themselves in the living room after cleaning up after themselves. Yuuto took a seat on the couch with Blare and Zombina sitting on either side of him, while Kasumi, Kestria and Raia were leaning over the back of the couch behind them so they could read over his shoulder. Lala and Michael were sat on the couch opposite them, eagerly anticipating their reactions from reading the diary. The hybrid eventually opened up the book to discover what secrets it held.
The older dullahan spoke up to the group. "The entry is on September 23rd, 1790. That should detail the events of what happened to Ichabod Crane." He explained.
Yuuto nodded and carefully flicked through the diary. The book was old and worn, and the handwriting within was written in cursive, making it barely legible enough for him to read. "September 23rd, September 23rd…" He muttered to himself until he found the entry. "Ah, there it is. Now, let's see."
It was the night of the harvest moon, and the mortals of this town were busy preparing for their harvest festival at the homestead of the Van Tassel family. The day seemed like normal until evening when the festivities began in earnest. I kept an eye on them from a distance until I recognised the form of the town's schoolmaster, Herr Crane.
"Herr?" He questioned himself as he read the entry.
"It's German for 'Mr'. His family originally immigrated from Germany, so I'd imagine that he had a thick German accent." Michael explained.
"Right." The blonde answered before her continued to read the entry out loud.
As I saw him make his way to the barn house where the festivities were taking place, I noticed him coughing to himself frequently, though at the time I thought of it nothing more than a common cold. Several hours pass and all seemed well until I spy Herr Crane exit the building on his steed. His mood seemed downcast and he was coughing to himself once more, only this time more violently. It was at this moment that I was able to sense that his life is on the brink of death.
"We believe that the man had contracted some sort of disease, and from what we gathered Heinrich feared that is left unchecked it would spread to everyone in the hollow." The older dullahan interjected, wanting to explain the situation to the group.
"Wait, you're saying he killed Ichabod Crane?!" Blare exclaimed in shock.
"We won't know for sure until we read the entire entry." Her squad captain explains before he continued to read from the diary.
Seeing the schoolmaster enter the woods between the homestead and Sleepy Hollow by himself, I took the opportunity to intercept the mortal and fulfil my duty as a Spectre of Death. I was able to catch up with him at an intersection, though he and his horse were spooked as I came into sight, a natural reaction from a mortal if I have to be honest. I proceeded to chase down Herr Crane on my steed through the woods, though he seemed determined to escape my clutches despite his illness. I was gaining ground on him by the time we reached the bridge near the burial grounds, though he seemed relieved after crossing over it. Were he to make it back to Sleepy Hollow, I believed that a great calamity would ensue. With that, I desperately grabbed my head and hurled it at the man in a vain attempt to stop him in his tracks. He turned around in horror, not expecting me to be on his heels and my head collided with him, knocking him off of his horse and causing him to roll down towards the bank of the river. My head rolled to the side of the road as I noticed his tri-corner hat fall to the ground, along with a pumpkin he apparently had on him. After my body got off my steed to retrieve my head I headed down to the riverbank to see if I could find him. Surely enough I was able to find his body, his soul still barely clinging to life. The poor sod was truly suffering as his skin grew pale, but soon enough with the effects of the illness in conjunction with his recent injuries from his fall, the life slowly slipped from his body, bringing an end to his existence upon the mortal coil. I proceeded to make sure that his soul safely made its way to the afterlife, and not wanting anyone to discover his body I wrapped it up in a cloth and took it with me, which I proceeded to burn in order to fully sever the connection between his body and soul. I may not have known what kind of man he truly was, though I believe his untimely demise may have been a fortunate outcome for Sleepy Hollow. I also believe that this encounter will come to affect my judgement as a reaper of souls for many years to come until the time my own soul must return to whence it came.
Yuuto closed the diary with a look of realisation on his face, along with the other MON agents. The group stayed quiet for a moment, but Blare was the first to speak up. "Holy crap, he practically saved Sleepy Hollow, and no one knew…" She said with a sense of disbelief, but she couldn't deny what she and the others had read.
Michael stood up from his seat and walked up to the group as he gave them a knowing look. "We reapers of Death have always worked towards keeping the balance between life and death. Heinrich believed that intervening here would've been the right thing to do for the good of Sleepy Hollow."
"Wow…" The hybrid uttered before looking up to see his girlfriend standing in front of him with a smug look on her face. "Well, I guess I owe you an apolo-"
Before he had time to finish, the young reaper placed a finger on his lips to silence him as she gave him a loving smile. "Do nay worry, me Love. I am glad that ye at least understand the truth."
Yuuto couldn't help but smile back at her as she said that. "If you say so."
"Well, seeing we found that out and all, maybe we should be on our way now." Raia spoke up just as Yuuto, Blare and Zombina got up from the couch.
"Oh, nonsense." The older dullahan interjected with a massive grin on his face. "You've come all this way, so you might as well make the most of it. We're actually holding a Halloween party near the Phillipsburg Manor tonight, you're more than welcome to join us. We even have a barbecue set up."
"Wait, for real?!" Blare asked excitedly.
"Oh, hell yeah! I'm in!" Zombina exclaimed with a hunger in her eyes.
"What the hell, you two only just had breakfast." The hybrid responded as he quirked an eyebrow at them.
"Technically, it would be a late-night snack for us, Senpai." Kasumi interjected.
He thought about it for a moment before realising what the empusa was on about. "Oh, yeah. We're like fourteen hours behind right now." He said before letting out a loud yawn. "Speaking of, I'm absolutely exhausted."
"You're all more than welcome to rest here while I go about my day. Just head down to the manor when you're all good and ready." Michael offered as he stepped out of the living room. "I only have a couple of guest rooms you can use, as well as my own, so it may be a tight squeeze."
Yuuto chuckled to himself at the response. "Sounds good to me, I could sleep just about anywhere right now." He replied as he tried to fight off another yawn.
Lala took the opportunity to move to his side and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Then ye won't mind if ye rest with just me then." She suggested as her cheeks went a light shade of red.
He couldn't help but smirk at his girlfriend. "You don't have to tell me twice."
With that, Michael showed them to their rooms where they proceeded to clonk out for the day. After a good long rest and getting themselves ready, it was nightfall by the time they made their way out and headed towards Phillipsburg Manor. They were not disappointed as the place was decked out in Halloween decorations, and the barbecue they were promised was there as well. They spent the night partying and gorging themselves on food, and to their surprise, there was also a re-enactment of the famous chase scene from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with Michael as the Headless Horseman and a friend that worked at the manor as Ichabod Crane, both riding around on Midnight and Aurora respectively. The re-enactment was a blast and the crowd was cheering and whooping by the finale. Overall, the night had been a huge success, and the members of MON didn't regret coming to Sleepy Hollow for the day, though they would eventually have to explain to Ms Smith why they disappeared for so long. Despite how tired the group were, they were all enjoying themselves thoroughly. This was one Halloween they wouldn't soon forget.