Halloween Hilarity with the Gal Pals – Part Four

(Story Synopsis: Fall Arc Finale! As the big night approaches, Miss Grimwood and the Ghouls make their promised return back to Royal Woods...but they did not come alone. Meanwhile, after gathering several pieces of evidence from their mall encounter; Biff and his cronies send word to everyone in town about the true identities of Lincoln's new friends. This in turn attracts the attention of Mayor Davis; who is also, ironically enough, the judge of the decoration contest.

What will happen when the Humans of Royal Woods meet the Monsters of Grimwood? Will it be Halloween fun for all or will the townsfolk come at them with weapons in hand in monster movie mob fashion? Find out as the Loud Family unveils its newest Halloween look.)

Three days had passed by since the Grimwood Ghouls visited the neighborhood and life went on like usual...so to speak. While in school; anytime Lincoln caught sight of Biff's group, he'd cast them incredibly vicious glares. But he did everything he could to not be too open about his anger.

At the same time, Lincoln also feared for Sibella's safety; wondering if Milly's "Martian doohickey" and Miss Grimwood's pill actually did the trick in cleansing her body of any remaining traces of garlic. He also wondered how her father, Count Dracula would respond to this incident. Perhaps, it would force him to not allow Sibella to associate with humans any further.

But then; Lincoln thought of his other daughter, Mavis' husband and son. If he was able to welcome a human and a half-human into his family; surely; he wouldn't keep any of his other children from associating with them. Still, the fact that Biff's little "prank" almost took the life of another was inexcusable.

To add further stress to his situation, Lincoln's house still appeared undecorated; save for a few pieces on the windows. After everything that happened, the family wasn't quite in the mood for decorating. Furthermore; Lana, Lola, Lisa and lil' Lily weren't quite in the mood to prepare for Trick R' Treating. Truly, what Biff did to Sibella felt like a severe blow for all of them.

But there was one piece of good news in all this; thanks to Miss Grimwood's healing remedies earlier that week, Lucy was feeling so much better than before. Her only regret was that she didn't get the chance to meet the Grimwood students, while she was recovering. Still, Lucy was thankful for everyone's help; Lincoln's especially.

"Don't be thanking me for anything just yet" he murmured in shame, "Sibella got hurt and our plans got derailed...all because Biff wanted to get even with me." No sooner had these words passed her son's lips, Rita approached him and gave him a firm look straight in the eyes; stifling any further negative talk. "Listen to me closely, Lincoln...what happened wasn't your fault" she said insistently, "this Biff boy just seems like a cheater and would stoop to any level he can to get what he wants."

Lynn Jr. sounded off in agreement with her mother, listing all the times Biff took the easy way out during practice. "I remember; on my first day of school, Coach Keck said that he'd been 'mooching' off of Lynn's successes for a couple of years" Lincoln stated, "makes me wonder if he's even a jock." The family shared a brief laugh at his small joke, even Lisa couldn't help but find it funny.

At that moment, Lori's cellphone rang and she saw that Carol was on the other line. Thinking it was something everyone needed to hear, she answered the call and turned on the speaker. "Hey, Carol; heard about what happened" Lori stated, "I just hope it didn't literally ruin your dinner out with everybody."

On the other end, Carol let out a soft chuckle before assuring her bestie that everything was okay. "Aside from that...rather serious hiccup, everyone had a great time" she stated, "those Grimwood Girls...er, Ghouls are a very intriguing bunch." Upon hearing this, Lucy let out a soft sigh; further expressing her regret in not getting the chance to meet the group.

"Don't you worry about that, lil' missy" Carol assured, "Miss G told us she and the girls would be back very soon...once Sibella's been cleared of all signs of garlic." After this, Lola started pacing about the floor; stressing about how they won't be ready for the contest in time and that Halloween could be "ruined" for everyone. "Now that's just stinking thinking, princess" Carol said firmly, "you will be ready for the judging in time...and we will all come and help you."

With these words, she vowed to get every member of the Gal Pals and Guy Squad she can get in touch with; including the ladies within Ronnie Anne's clan. "We may not be able to come up with the same level of scary stuff you can think of, Lucy" Carol stated, "but until the Ghoul Girls come back...we'll do whatever we can to help." After hearing the teen's statement, a most startling thing happened...Lucy shed a tear.

It wasn't one of mourning or regret; this was a true, genuine tear of joy. Not long after that, she gave Carol a soft smile and told her "thank you" in a kinder version of her monotone voice.

(Line Break)

The date was now October 30th, the day before Halloween and as she promised; Carol assembled nearly every member of the Gal Pals and Guy Squad crews available to come and help the Louds prep for the big night. Of course; when some of them learned about what happened, they felt horrified. "Biff...that arrastramiento podrido" Dolores grumbled bitterly, "it's bad enough that he tried to ruin Lincoln's first day of school...now, he wants to ruin Halloween for him too?!"

The Loud Parents felt just as bothered by the situation as she did, making a note to inform the boy's parents about his actions when the holiday preparations were over. With that in mind, Rita called for everyone's attention and thanked them all for coming. "No prob, Mrs. L" Omar said humbly, "when I heard my man, Lincoln was havin' some troubles, the fam and I wanted to help in any way we could."

The girls and their parents chimed in agreement with him, feeling eager to get their creative juices flowing. "So, y'all; what's the plan" inquired Ellie, "we gonna give this house a haunted makeover or what?" With these words, Lucy was quivering with excitement; appearing eager to make up for all the time she lost while she was sick.

But the moment the thought popped into her head, realization hit her like one of Lynn's boxing punches. "Normally, I would have a whole notebook of new ideas for Halloween" she confessed, "but after being sick over the past few days...I can't remember any of them." This bit of news left the rest of the Loud Family feeling distraught.

How could they or any of their gathered friends possibly come up with any kind of horror theme for the house with Halloween being just a day away? "If I could make a suggestion" Carlos interjected suddenly, "perhaps we could...make a sort of educational display; teach the neighborhood the origins of the holiday's themes and traditions?" Almost immediately, this suggestion was met with a unanimous groan of boredom from his family; who were following along behind him.

As expected; the moment they all arrived, both Lori and Bobby greeted one another with their traditional enthusiastic embrace and the outcry of "BOO-BOO BEAR/BABE." In the past, such a sight would've made Lincoln and even his sisters groan with annoyance at their sappy behavior. But for the former, it was something he was actually quite happy to see again.

After visiting Great Lakes during the summer; Ronnie Anne, through video chats with Lincoln, revealed that their older siblings were making strides in rekindling their relationship. They chatted together after Lori's therapy sessions, made a reasonable time limit on how long they would text or chat with one another and while they still used their same lovey-dovey nicknames, they never let their relationship blind them from important things; like assisting family. Speaking of whom; when they learned the Louds needed help, the Casagrande and Chang Families headed right over.

The Gal Pals own parents, their grandparents, Haiku's extended family (specifically her grandmother's acting troupe from the faire) even the members of the Junior Morticians Club came to help lend a hand. To say that Lincoln was surprised by such a supportive turnout would be a gross understatement. Meanwhile, Lola had suspicions that they were only there so that they could have a shot at the prize.

Coincidentally, Lincoln speculated the same thing; upon seeing all the newer faces that came. "This is about more than some fickle contest, Lincoln" Bertrand said suddenly, "when we first heard that Lucy had fallen ill, we wanted nothing more than to offer our assistance." When someone asked why they didn't come right away; Persephone, the tallest/oldest female member of their group, explained that they had been otherwise occupied in decorating their own homes.

"We apologize for our late arrival, Lucy" Robert said with a light lisp, "but we're here to make up for that lost time." The crowd of people sounded off loudly in agreement, which made Lincoln and Lucy feel all the more humbled. "We're yours to command, guys" Sid proclaimed while saluting, "you tell us what to do and we'll get it done!"

After taking a moment to let everything they saw sink in, Lincoln and Lucy snapped out of their daze and thanked everyone for coming. "We promise you we'll do whatever we can to repay you for your help" Lincoln stated, "some of us might even share whatever trick r' treat candy we managed to get a few days ago with you." Some shook their heads at the offer, proclaiming that helping friends was all that mattered to them.

However; others, like the Junior Morticians had other ideas for compensation. "If what Haiku told us is true, all my associates and I desire from you is a chance to meet these...'monster friends' of yours" Bertrand said bluntly, "I'm particularly eager to see if this...Sibella truly is the child of the famous Count." His fellow club members sounded off in agreement, each of them hoping to get a photo op moment with him.

But in an instant, they realized that vampires can't show on photographs; which caused each of their faces to frown heavily. "Don't ye fret now, wee ones" Haiku's grandmother, Fiona said reassuringly, "I'm sure we will think of somethin'." Just then, a bright orb suddenly appeared in the center of the street.

While the sight of this caused everyone else to leap in alarm; the Louds, Gal Pals and several members of the Casagrande Family appeared slightly unfazed. Just like before, the orb formed into a portal; which allowed Miss Grimwood to step through from her school grounds. The moment the Morticians Club caught sight of the headmistress' clothing, they could tell right away she was a witch.

"Perhaps, Lincoln spoke the truth after all" Bertrand thought to himself, "but what about those monster girls...where are they?" While the young Goth boy pondered these thoughts, Lincoln warmly greeted Miss Grimwood and asked if Sibella was okay. "Why not ask her for yourself, my dear boy" the headmistress asked playfully, "she and her family are right behind me."

Upon saying these words, everyone saw Sibella stepping through the portal. But what truly took her eye was the group following behind her. Almost immediately; everyone, especially the Goth children, recognized the Count in all his ghoulish regality.

Much like his daughter; Dracula also had an odd yet...somewhat appealing purple-skinned complexion. He was dressed in a black, white, and dark red evening suit, sported a gold medallion around his neck and wore a black-and-red cape with a high collar. Beside him stood a woman wearing a long, form fitting and slightly tattered purple dress.

She had long black hair that reached to the middle of her back and unlike her husband; her smooth, peachy skin appeared rather human-like. But she did have a few physical vampire traits, such as her yellow eyes and her long fingernails. At first glance, many believed this woman may have been a human in a vampire outfit.

To the left of this woman was what appeared to be a teenaged, slender looking vampire, much like Sibella. But unlike her; this one was pale-skinned, had a head of shoulder-length black hair that had bangs hanging over her forehead slightly and wide blue eyes. She wore a black turtleneck dress with long black fingerless gloves, black and red striped tights and red Converse shoes.

Her face showed off quite a few adorable features as well; such as her black lipstick coated lips, lined eyes and dusky eyelids. Needless to say, everyone thought the two vamp teens were hauntingly beautiful; especially the Morticians Club members. Speaking of whom; after seeing the vampire family appear before their eyes, the five young Goths appeared ready to burst with joy.

"It's okay, guys" Haiku murmured with a soft smile, "if you wish to express your excitement, no one will judge you here." With these simple words, the group suddenly squealed in delight and started giggling like mad fools. "I can't believe it, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...oh, my gosh" Persephone gasped excitedly, "you're real...you're all really, really real!"

No sooner had she said all this, someone stumbled out of the portal and chuckled happily. It was a young man with fair skin and shaggy ginger hair. He was dressed in a yellow and green t-shirt over a long-sleeve orange shirt (both of which appeared too big for him,) brown shorts and blue and green sneakers.

"Of course they're real, brah" said the young man while he dusted himself off from his fall, "they're as real as I am." Without hesitation; this stranger introduced himself as Dracula's son-in-law, Jonathan. "Oh, yeah...you're the guy Sibella told me about" Lincoln blurted out, "but...where's your son, she told me you two had one."

As if on cue, everyone saw a little bat with big blue eyes and a tuft of puffy red hair fly out of the portal. Once it got close to Dracula, the bat suddenly changed into a little five year old boy. In the eyes of the Louds, he looked like a toddler version of Jonathan; from the clothes he wore to his thick head of curly hair.

To say that the Gal Pals (young and old) thought this boy was adorable would be a gross understatement. But the ones who appeared the most enamored were Carlota, Dolores, their mothers and especially Ms. Santiago. "AY QUE LINDO" cried the Latina ladies in unison, "SUCH A CUTE LITTLE BOY!"

At first, Carlota was moments away from tackling the little curly-haired toddler in a hug. But she was immediately stopped in mid-air by Dracula's powers. "No one is to touch my family" he said firmly, "not until I've spoken my piece first." With that statement, he began to make a stride over Lincoln's way; which made the lad feel...understandably nervous.

"My daughter tells me you tried to help her, after she inadvertently sampled some garlic" the Count in his famous accent, "is this true?" After taking in a nervous gulp, he gazed up at Dracula and nodded; while also clarifying that Milly was the one who saved the day. Upon saying her name, the young Martian came flying out of the portal with her jetpack.

Not long after that, Lincoln spotted another Martian stepping through; someone Lincoln presumed was Milly's father (or whatever title Martian children gave their elders.) Much like her; this Martian was dressed in the same uniform, gloves, boots...he even had a pair of alien eyestalks as well. But not only was he taller than Milly, Lincoln could see small fangs protruding out from this alien's upper lip.

Lastly, while Milly's eyes had a light green color, her "parent's" eyes were nothing but a pair of black dots. As the creature landed upon the ground and turned off his pack, Lincoln hoped he came in peace (as cliché as the phrase sounded in his head.) "The Earthling speaks the truth, Count" said the tall Martian, "M-149 told me everything during our video correspondence yesterday evening."

After hearing this clarification, Dracula glared intently down at Lincoln; which led to him finally crumbling under the pressure. "YES! YES, YOUR LORDSHIP; IT'S TRUE" he cried, "I...I didn't know such a thing would happen, when I went to use the restroom...but..." Before he could continue, Carol hurried to his side and reminded Lincoln to do his calming breaths.

Without delay, the young Loud boy began to do just that; feeling his mind and spirit calming down slightly with every breath. Meanwhile, Sibella glared softly up at her father while waving her finger in disapproval. "Daddy, there's no need to sound so authoritative" she said firmly, "what happened with me wasn't Lincoln's fault."

Just as the other ghoul girls began to say the same thing, Lincoln became calm enough to speak again and confirmed Sibella's words to be true. "I...I just went to wash my hands in the restroom for just a moment, you see" he explained, "when I got back, I found Sibella choking on the floor and the lightly chewed garlic knot." From here, Zanya added that "some boy in a sports jersey" offered it to her while Lincoln and his friends were away.

"The jerk must've wiped off all the garlic stuff on the surface of the knot" Haiku murmured, "but Sibella didn't count on it being baked inside of the dough." After all this was said; Lincoln hung his head in shame and apologized, once more for what happened. "What happened was an accident, I promise you" he stated, "but...if you're gonna hurt me, make it quick."

At first, Lincoln expected the Count to slap him down or gnaw into his neck and drain him dry of his blood. But instead, he suddenly heard him and the rest of the Ghouls parents laughing heartily. When he calmed down enough, Dracula smiled down at Lincoln and held him close in a light embrace.

"Hurt you, dear boy...perish the thought" he stated, "I vant to hug you...for making my daughter feel so velcome in your town." Upon being released from the hug, Lincoln soon found himself surrounded by the other Ghouls' parents. "Yes, my daughter speaks rather highly about you" said the mummy figure, "she tells me two of your younger sisters treated her very kindly."

As if on cue, Lana and Lola raised their hands high; proclaiming they were the ones Tanis spoke about. "Truthfully...after hearing about Sibella's episode, we came close to demanding Miss Grimwood to placing our daughters on lockdown at the school" growled an adult werewolf, "but our girls helped convince us otherwise...as well as Zanya's folks." Upon hearing the name of their zombie friend, everyone wondered why she wasn't with them.

"Don't worry, her parents are escorting her here" Miss Grimwood assured, "her father insisted on her having a police escort." No sooner had she said this, the sounds of a police siren "wooed" softly; mildly startling everyone. When they looked down the road, the Loud Family spotted a police cruiser heading their way. "This must be Zanya's police escort now" Luan murmured, "either that or it could be one of Miss Simmons' friends coming to join the party."

The officer in question smiled lightly at the girl's little joke and shook her head, explaining that everyone else she knew was busy with their own Halloween plans. Then, at that moment; they spotted a hand waving at them from out of the window. Upon taking a close look, everyone could see some stitches at the wrist; which meant that Zanya was the one on board.

Once the cruiser was safely parked, the side door sprung open and the wee zombie teen came storming out; laughing like a kid coming home from the theme park. "HEY, EVERYBODY" she cried while hugging each of the Louds, "sorry we couldn't come with the rest of you, Ms. G...but thanks for teleporting us to the police station." The headmistress smiled kindly at Zanya and greeted her with a light hug.

After that, the rest of the cruiser doors opened and the other passengers slowly exited from the vehicle. Straightaway, the Louds and Gal Pals immediately recognized the firm face of one Officer Schoffner; hoping that she was only here as an escort. But walking alongside her were two entirely new faces.

One was a tall, grizzled and supposedly lanky looking fellow; though one couldn't tell from his trench coat. Beside him was a young woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes and appeared to be dressed in blue jeans with a matching jean vest over her pink shirt. "Those must be Z's folks" Luna announced, "guess we know where she got her looks from."

No sooner had she said this, a heavy shadow suddenly loomed over the young pixie-cut rocker. With a nervous gulp, Luna turned around and saw Zanya's father standing behind her. "Did you just make a joke about my lil' princess' looks, Missy" he said in a slightly gruff voice, "because my Zanya can't help it with her stitches!"

Though she wasn't quite that afraid by his voice, especially after dealing with her own parents' wrath before; Luna couldn't help but quiver a little. But then, Zanya gave a whistle and urged her daddy to back off. "She meant no offense, Daddy" she said firmly, "I think she meant that I got a few of yours and Mommy's traits in me."

As she said these words, the young zombie teen gestured at her eyes and hair color; which seemed to appease the fierce detective. Once he backed away, the blonde woman approached and chuckled softly. "I'm so sorry if my husband was rude" she stated, "after what happened with Sibella, he's been feeling...a little tense."

After letting out a soft chuckle, Rita and Lynn nodded slightly and assured her that no harm was done. "Trust us, we literally get it" Lori stated, "if what happened to Sibella happened to any of us...our folks would be just as overprotective." After that, the couple introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Talon.

"Wait...I think I heard about you" Lincoln stated, "Miss Higgins told me she met a rookie named Talon down at the police academy down in Lansing." With great care; he then said that Miss Higgins described Mr. Talon as a "strict, by the books" type of person. "That was ages ago, Jenny" the detective groaned at the officer in question with a light smile, "I've loosened up a lot after becoming a family man."

Officer Higgins chuckled softly with joy and waved hello at Zanya. Soon; everyone, human and otherwise was accounted for and were ready to get started working. But then, just as everyone was about to decorate; the Gal Pals cellphones suddenly started going off.

"Hold on just a sec, folks" Carol said politely, "that must be a notification that the judging's about to..." Before she could finish her sentence, the teen took one look at her phone's screen and saw something that made her face turn pale. Coincidentally, the other Gals had the same look about them; which made everyone feel worried.

"What's going on" Lana asked confusedly, "is the contest cancelled or something?" Without a word, Ronnie Anne made her way over to the toddler and showed her what was on her phone; which showed a series of images featuring the Grimwood Ghouls. Underneath each of them was the short and simple hashtag #TricktheTreaters.

"Okay...First of all, that hashtag is totes uncreative" Leni stated, "second of all, these are really cute pics of you guys!" Turning her phone towards the adults, she showed them each of the presented pictures; which were taken from Reininger's and Gus' Games n' Grub. "I don't know what sort of place that is" murmured Frankenstein while pointing at the Games n' Grub photos, "but you girls looked like you had a wonderful time."

The Ghouls sounded off loudly in agreement, going into detail on everything that happened at Gus'. "Normally, pics taken at such a popular place are a good thing to make a trend about" Carlota stated, "but something tells me there's more to this than we think." After taking a moment to look at her own phone, she saw something that proved her suspicions were true.

The very first pictures on screen showed what looked like a sunhat floating above a chair at Reininger's. But in reality; it was actually Sibella in it, which meant that she would appear invisible on photographs. Above this picture was a statement proclaiming that the Grimwood Ghouls truly were monsters and not young children in costumes.

"So this guy tried to snag a pic of Sibella while she was shopping, big whoop" Ronnie Anne murmured, "what's the big deal?" While he couldn't help but slightly feel the same way, Lincoln had a good feeling who posted the photos. "The second one here shows Suki accidentally breaking one of the moles at Whack-a-Mole in Gus'" he stated, "and another shows a video of Phantasma eating."

With this announcement, everyone could feel a strong sense of dread wash over them and urged Lincoln to play the video. Naturally, everyone knew that ghosts couldn't really be shown on camera; just like with vampires. But all too quickly did everyone see that that particular factor was the thing they feared most.

As the video piece began to play, it showed everyone seated at the booth; eating together. But at the spot where Phantasma was known to have been sitting, everyone only saw a pizza slice floating in mid-air and being nibbled on; as well as the bits being chewed thoroughly. "Ah, dang it" groaned Lincoln, "if the pics won't convince them, that video will be proof enough that our friends are monsters."

Upon hearing this news, Mr. and Mrs. Talon appeared relatively calm; believing the girls had nothing "sinister" to hide from anyone. "That may be; Ma'am, Detective" Rita murmured, "but...not everyone is as accepting of your daughters as we've all now become." Not only did the Loud Children agree with their mother on this; they also revealed that since the posts were trending, it meant everyone in town probably knew the truth now.

"This must've been Biff's plan the whole time" growled Lincoln, "to expose my friends and humiliate me as a bonus...that rotten CREEP!" Upon coming to this conclusion, Lincoln saw the confused looks the Ghouls' parents were giving him and grew a little nervous. Just as her husband was prepared to go into "Work Mode," Mrs. Talon calmly held him back and requested to speak with Lincoln herself.

"I don't wish to seem pushy or rude to you, dear" she said gingerly, "but why would this boy want to hurt any of our girls just to get to you?" Not wishing to see their friend struggle like this, all the Gals within Lincoln's grade stood beside him and offered to help explain things. "Long story short, Biff's group are among those few who believe Lincoln was the bad guy during his family issues last Spring" Jordan stated, "Biff also happens to be one of Lynn Junior's...'supporters.'"

Detective Talon nodded silently in understanding; over the course of his career, he'd seen his fair share of overzealous sports fans before. "To wrap things up; even though I apologized for everything that happened between me and my family, Biff and a number of other students still wanted me to suffer" Lincoln said grimly, "and they were willing to viciously pelt me with dodgeballs to see it happen!" Understandably so, this part of the story truly shocked the adults...but it was the near conclusion that clenched it.

When Lincoln revealed how he actually wanted to be struck by the dodgeball barrage, everyone gasped in shock. "Though I'm certain such an attack wouldn't be fatal" Milly said bluntly, "you still wished to put yourself in harms way...just to make things right with your 'haters' as they are called?" Without a moment's pause, Lincoln nodded in response; which surprised the other monster folk.

"Earthling...I admire your spirit" Milly stated, "you may not appear quite strong but you are certainly not weak." Not only did her "father" seem to agree but so did the Ghouls' other parents. As the story slowly reached its end, Winnie hoped Biff and his cronies got what they deserved for what they almost did to Lincoln.

"Thankfully...before Biff or his group could make the slightest move; Miss Keck, our Gym Teacher returned" Lincoln said with a light smile, "and Lynn was right beside her." This reveal caused the Ghouls to cry out in victory, even their fathers couldn't help but feel elated. "Turns out she had been tailing me most of my entire school day" Lincoln stated, "she saw everything Biff and his pals did to me and wanted to wait for the right moment to bust them!"

The Monster Adults couldn't help but lightly applaud the former jock for her efforts, which caused her to lightly blush out of humility. "As it turns out, though; Biff didn't really learn his lesson from that" Jordan groaned, "now, it seems his vendetta against Lincoln is stronger than ever." This statement caused Milly and her "father" to roll their eyes slightly, thinking that Biff seemed to act more like a primate that an intelligent lifeform.

After everything had been said and done, all was silent for what felt like ages. When he saw the serious looks in the eyes of the Ghoul Gals' parents' eyes, Lincoln became even more nervous than before. Then, at long last; both Dracula and Detective Talon approached the boy, took a knee...and smiled at him.

"I apologize for ever doubting you, young man" the Count said kindly, "and I am also sorry this boy vishes to cause you, your friends and our girls harm." The other parents sounded off in agreement, some of them demanding that justice should be served. "Just give me anything that belongs to him" Papa Werewolf growled eagerly, "I'll get Biff's scent, follow his scent to where he lives and scare the daylights outta him!"

With a hearty howl, he proclaimed that the bully would be too busy soiling himself to want to mess with anyone again. "That's a good idea for a Halloween prank, dude" Ronnie Anne complimented, "but seeing as how news about you guys' being here has gone viral...you won't be able to surprise him." A split second later, Maria followed up her daughter's words by adding that scaring Biff would only be helping him succeed.

"Man...this tanks" Lincoln grumbled, "all I wanted was to make a nice Halloween display that would stand equal to what Lucy does every year, something that shows off the true spirit of Halloween." No sooner had he said this, everyone (specifically the parents of the Gals and Ghouls) suddenly started to question where Lincoln heard such a thing. "It's written here on the contest notice" Cristina said while showing off her own copy, "whoever takes part in the contest had to make something that showed what Halloween was truly about."

On that note, Lincoln confessed that he had the same idea as everyone else; that Halloween was about the candy, costumes and genuine scary stuff. "Oh, my dear child; those are all fine examples" Miss Grimwood said kindly, "but there is so much more to the holiday than all that." Feeling both mildly frustrated yet still intrigued, everyone asked the headmistress what she felt was the spirit of the holiday.

"Alas, I do not think I can explain it properly in words" Miss Grimwood replied, "but...if you all would permit me, I will be more than happy to show you." While still feeling somewhat confused; the Louds, Casagrandes, Gal Pals and all their friends nodded slightly in agreement to her request. "Very good, all I need now is my old wand" Miss Grimwood murmured, "does anyone know where I put it?"

As soon as she asked this, what looked like a small white hand suddenly floated towards the headmistress. At first, the humans among the crowd believed it to be a disembodied hand. But after taking a closer look, everyone saw that it was just a glove...a seemingly enchanted one but a glove, nonetheless.

They could also see that it held what looked like a long silver wand between its thumb and index fingers. When Miss Grimwood saw the glove's approach, she smiled with relief. "There we are, thank you for finding it for me" she said thankfully, earning a quick thumb's up from the glove; "now, then...I believe the time has come to change."

As if somehow, sensing everyone's confusion; Miss Grimwood explained that they needed to get dressed before the judges (or a possible angry mob) would arrive. "With all due respect, Ma'am...how are we to do that" Lisa inquired, "all of the closest costume shops have sold out of the best (and possibly cheapest) Halloween attire available." Upon hearing this, the Grimwood Ghouls and their parents started laughing/cackling/yowling happily; which confused their human friends.

Once they calmed down, Miss Grimwood took her wand in hand and called for Lincoln's family and friends to step forward. "Sure thing, Ma'am" Luna murmured, as she approached the headmistress; "but we'd still like to know how you plan on solving our costume problem." With a light yet hearty chuckle, Miss Grimwood was moments away from revealing her plan.

But then, she realized they were missing some people; whom she felt would be integral in making sure everything runs smoothly. "Jonathan, dear; could you do me one favor" Miss Grimwood asked, "run through the portal quick and collect the students from the Military School next door for me." While the request seemed a little odd, especially since the aforementioned school was the home of Grimwood's academic rivals; Jonathan still accepted the task and leapt through the portal.

"Wait...aren't those the guys who bullied the Ghoul Girls in their neck of the woods" inquired Ronnie Anne, "if so, why do we need them?" Miss Grimwood simple patted her upon the head and assured her that, in time; everything would be revealed. "Well, can you at least tell us what you plan on doing with your...wand thingy" Sid asked, "are you planning on turning us into toads...BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!"

Lana couldn't help but agree with her, while Lola dreaded the idea of becoming a frog like Hopps. But much to the girls' dismay, Miss Grimwood told them that witches ceased turning people into toads centuries ago. This only seemed to leave everyone with more questions, unfortunately

"Permit me to ask you all something, my dears" Miss Grimwood asked, "if you could be anything for one night...what could it be?" This question caused not only the little ones' eyes to sparkle with excitement but the older kids and adults as well. This response signaled Miss Grimwood to put her plan into action.

(Line Break)

Hours passed by and the big night finally arrived, All Hallows Eve. All throughout the town; people were seen walking about collecting candy, singing ghostly melodies...as well as marching through the streets with torches and pitchforks. Just as the Gal Pals feared; once Biff's social media post started trending, a lot of people rallied to his side.

Of course, not all of them joined because they believed him; rather, some thought it was all an elaborate Halloween themed sketch. Others meanwhile, believed that if they said no; the boy would simply pester them until they gave in to his "request." Among those who didn't feel like they belonged with the mob was Mayor Davis, who only agreed to come with them because she thought she could two birds with one stone; assist one of the townspeople with their problem and judge the houses she'd pass for the contest.

"This had better not be some sort of elaborate prank, young man" she said firmly, "some of us have important business to attend to tonight." As the mob started roaring loudly in agreement, Biff used as much "charm" he could muster to try and calm them down. "We promise you, Ma'am; this is of the utmost importance" Vicky assured, "one of your citizens has been seen cavorting with honest to goodness monsters!"

As expected, this claim was met with a collection of disgruntled groans and loud rants of disbelief. When the preteens tried to reference the evidence Biff collected, they still refused to bend. "That could've all been homemade movie footage" Mr. Bolhofner said firmly, "we expect to see true physical evidence, if you expect us to do anything."

After that, everyone remained silent during the remainder of the march until they reached their destination; the Loud House. When they looked at it, everyone saw that it had some of the same pieces of décor from last year; fake gravestones in the yard, cobwebs on the windows, the pets dressed up as demonic versions of themselves etc. While the pets' looks were relatively nice, nothing appeared to be amiss.

"I suppose Miss Lucy is still sick in bed" Mayor Davis stated, "too bad, my kids were really looking forward to trick r' treating here." With that said, she informed the crowd that nothing was out of the ordinary there; which caused them to groan in annoyance. But just as everyone was ready to disperse, a soft voice called out to them.

Everyone, young and old turned around and spotted an old man sitting in his rocking chair under the glow of the porch light. In an instant, Vicky recognized him as Lincoln's "Pop-Pop;" Albert. "Well hello, everybody" he greeted casually, "hope y'all are having a Happy Halloween." At first, Mayor Davis felt confused by this sight; wondering why the Louds' eldest member was out on his own here.

But before she could question him about it, Albert decided to "share a quick story" with them. "Don't know if it was wise of ya to come here, folks" he said warily, "things get awfully loopy at the house this time of year." While he couldn't help but sense some truth in the man's words, Biff shook his head and asked where the family was.

But instead of answering him, the old man just kept on "rambling" to the crowd. "Yup...this time of year, just about anything can happen" he said with a sly grin, "especially at this house." With that simple statement, he snapped his fingers and the light suddenly shut off.

When it turned back on again, the old man was gone from the chair; which seemed to startle a lot of the people in the mob. As if sensing their fear, Biff glared at the crowd and called for their attention. "C'mon, people; this is all a trick" he shouted, "are you really going to fall for Loud's old tricks?!"

For a moment or two, no one answered his question; not even his two associates. "I dunno, Biff" murmured the punk rock kid, "this all makes the Slaughterhouse at Dairy Land look like a kiddy ride." In response to this, Biff let out a loud yet sarcastic laugh; proclaiming that it would take more than light shows and a disappearing act to scare him.

"YOU HEAR ME, LOUD; I WANT YOU TO GIVE ME ALL YOU AND YOUR FREAK SHOW FAMILY'S GOT" he challenged, "I WON'T FLINCH...NO MATTER HOW MANY SPOOKS YOU SEND ME!" Before anyone could reprimand the boy for tempting Fate, the Loud Family's garage suddenly flew open and some sort of fog started pouring out of it. Not long after that, everyone swore they heard music playing from out of nowhere; while also claiming to have seen ghostly images around them.

Soon, the music began to grow louder and everyone recognized it as "This is Halloween" by Danny Elfman. Before anyone could ask about what was going on, several shadows appeared and started to sing to them.

(Shadow of Clyde as a ghost)

Boys and girls of every age

(Shadow of Chaz as a gargoyle)

Wouldn't you like to see something strange?

(Phantasma and her father)

Come with us and you will see

This, our town of Halloween

(Ellie, Tonya and Dolores as Zombies)

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

(Jack O Lanterns fall rhythmically around the mob)

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

(Ellie, Tonya and Dolores as Zombies)

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene

Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright

It's our town, everybody scream

In this town of Halloween

(Phoebe's voice speaks from somewhere in the shadows in a demonic tone)

I am the one hiding under your bed

Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red

(Whitney appears from beneath the Loud House's porch as a demon with strange hands and spiders in her poof)

I am the one hiding under yours stairs

Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

(CHORUS)

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

(Several coffins appear and pop open with each beat, revealing the Junior Morticians Club inside as vampires)

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

(Morticians Club sings in unison)

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

(Zanya)

In this town, don't we love it now?

Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

(Biff and his crew yelp in alarm, when they see Zanya pull off her head after saying "surprise," while the rest of the crowd watches in morbid curiosity)

(Omar's and Joey's voices sing hauntingly)

'Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can

Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll...

Kat pops out of a can as a demonic puppet: Scream!

Winnie appears out of another: This is Halloween

Kat: Red 'n' black

Liam as a swamp creature appears at the center of the mob: And slimy green

Lynn Jr. as a Banshee: Aren't you scared?!

(Sibella along with Carol, Dana and Lori dressed as witches sing in unison while flying/floating into the air)

Well, that's just fine

Say it once, say it twice

Take a chance and roll the dice

Ride with the moon in the dead of night

(Rosa Casagrande while as the Cucuy performs a Flamenco dance and eases herself towards the crowd)

Everybody scream, everybody SCREAM!

(Maria, Arthuro, Carlos and Frieda appear as Mexican Calacas)

In our town of Halloween!

(Luan dressed as a female version of Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise)

I am the clown with the tear-away face

(she rips off her face with some gag flypaper and speaks her next verse in a crazed tone of voice)

HERE IN A FLASH AND GONE WITHOUT A TRACE!

(Ronnie Anne's voice speaks in a haunting voice from seemingly out of nowhere)

I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"

(Lucy's voice softly howls like a breeze)

I am the wind blowing through your hair

(Haiku's silhouetted face suddenly appears on the moon)

I am the shadow on the moon at night

Filling your dreams to the brim with fright

(Fiona and her theater trope appear as banshees and float merrily around the mob while singing)

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

Halloween! Halloween!

(Lana, Lola and Tanis appear; the twins appear to resemble gremlins)

Tender lumplings everywhere

Life's no fun without a good scare

(Lynn Sr. in the likeness of the Phantom of the Opera)

That's our job

(Rita as a Morticia Addams)

But we're not mean

(Both parents sing in unison)

In our town of Halloween

(CHORUS)

In this town

(Miss Grimwood)

Don't we love it now?

Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

(Sid, her parents, Lisa and Elsa come wheeling in a couple of large coffins, a medical table, a sarcophagus and a strange-looking scarecrow)

(CHORUS)

Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back

And scream like a banshee

Make you jump out of your skin

This is Halloween, everybody scream

(Detective Talon along with Officers Higgins, Simmons and Campos gesture towards the scarecrow)

Won't ya please make way for a very special guy?

(Luna and Hector start to sing a duet, while the "lifeless scarecrow's" head starts moving slightly to the rhythm)

Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch

Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!

(As the crowd of monsters sings, the Scarecrow comes to life and starts dancing while its head is slowly engulfed in flames. At the same time; both coffins and the sarcophagus suddenly burst open while Lisa pulls a switch on a machine next to the medical table. This causes the device to spark while the thing on the table starts twitching violently)

(Chorus)

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

(Lana, Lola, Lisa sing in unison with Tanis, CJ and Carl; as the scarecrow's pumpkin head peels away)

In this town we call home

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

(As everyone starts singing/chanting, the Scarecrow's true face is revealed to be Lincoln Loud...or rather, a skeleton version of him. He marches forward to the rhythm of the chants while smiling wickedly. Following behind him are the monstrous forms of Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a ghostly phantom in a trench coat and hat and a tall purple-faced Martian)

La! La! La! (Crowd: Halloween! Halloween)

La-La La! La! La! (Crowd: Halloween! Halloween!)

La-La La! La! La! (Crowd: Halloween! Halloween)

La-La-La! La-La-La!

(The crowd of creatures makes loud, gleeful exclamations)

(As the music dies down; the creatures start cackling, laughing, growling, yowling and giggling with merry delight)

Once the performance was finished, all went silent; save for the soft chirruping of the crickets. Then, two people started applauding in the crowd; much to Biff's surprise. Then four more people clapped along with them, then a few more and soon; the whole angry mob started wailing with delight.

"WHOOO! BEST PERFORMANCE PIECE EVER" cried Mayor Davis, "am I right, people?!" Without a second thought, the crowd behind her suddenly erupted into a wild fit of applause (save for Biff and his partners.) Flattered and quite surprised by this behavior, the Louds and those beside them bowed graciously to the crowd.

"Louds...I must say, you have exceeded all expectations, this year" Mayor Davis praised, "I especially loved all the effects you used...how was your son able to set his head on fire the way he did?" With a sly smile on his face, Lincoln wagged his finger at the mayor and said "a magician never reveals their secrets...or even a magician in training." Not long after this, several other people from the mob started walking over to praise the family for their performance.

Meanwhile, the children of this mob began to crowd around the monsters; all of whom didn't appear afraid of any of them. "You guys are so cool" cried a kid dressed as Rip Hardcore, "I hope to be as scary and awesome as you, when I'm older!" As the mob continued to praise the creatures rather than want to lynch them, Biff became desperate and made one final attempt to get them back onto his side.

"Don't you people get it" he exclaimed, "the Louds are involved with monsters...real monsters!" While she wasn't quite ready to give in to the boy's cries just yet, Mayor Davis was still eager for answers. "Why not show your true faces, everyone" she requested, "we will need them for the photo op."

Not wishing to deny the mayor's wishes, Lincoln gave a whistle and asked Miss Grimwood if she could change everyone back. "With pleasure, my dear" said the headmistress, "good people of Royal Woods...look upon the true faces of our monstrous chorus!" With one quick wave of her wand, the creatures' faces were suddenly engulfed in a white light.

Then, seconds later; they were instantly restored to their original selves. Of course, as one would expect; this open display of witchcraft/sorcery did raise a few eyebrows. But Miss Grimwood remained confident that she could keep them calm.

"Rest easy, everyone" she said with a reassuring smile, "as you can see; though their 'costumes' were created by my magic, they're all relatively unharmed." After taking a moment to look over both families; the mob saw no signs of scars, burns or even the smallest blemish (like a wart.) "So...hold on a second" questioned Howard McBride, "all that stuff you just did...was real magic?"

Miss Grimwood smiled warmly at the young man and nodded in response. "And...those other people that didn't change back from your...'spell'" Mayor Davis murmured uneasily, "they're real monsters?" In spite of the nervous sensation welling up inside of them, the Grimwood Ghouls and their parents nodded without hesitation.

Once this was confirmed, Biff's friends suddenly burst into jolly laughter and started dancing like fools. "SEE...It's just like Biff said" the punk kid shouted, "they are monsters, which makes them the bad guys!" As expected, this accusation greatly offended the individuals in question.

But before any of them could say anything, Flip suddenly rushed onto the scene and held up his hands to the crowd. "Now...hold on there, folks" he said while panting heavily, "these kiddos...they may be monsters...but they ain't evil, I can tell ya that." From here, he told everyone how Elsa helped restore power to his store; after his generator blew out.

"Ah, it was nothing" the Frankenteen girl said humbly, "like Miss Grimwood taught us, it never hurts to help." Upon letting this sink in, the mob suddenly started murmuring softly; both in confusion and in slight admiration for Elsa's actions. Then, a little girl stepped out of the crowd and happily raced into Suki's arms for a hug.

"This nice dino girl gave her whole pile of prize tickets to me at Gus' Games n' Grub so that I could get my kitty toy" she said happily, "she's the nicest monster ever!" The crowd cooed softly in a unified "aww," which only intensified after Suki returned the child's embrace. "And just the other day; Miss Grimwood, the Ghoul Girls' teacher, made a special potion to help heal me when I was sick" Lucy murmured with a smile, "and it worked."

That did it; with that third display of generosity, the crowd now saw that the monsters weren't evil after all. This in turn gave a group of teens the opportunity to approach Dracula and his family more confidently. Almost instantly; Lincoln recognized this group as Fiona, Miguel, Mandee and Jackie.

The Count watched with mild intrigue; as the young man pushed the "lead girl," Fiona towards him. "Vell, vhat is it that you vish from me" inquired Dracula, "do you have something to say?" After gulping down a nervous lump, she reached into her fanny pack and brought out a small notebook along with a fancy pen.

"Um...I know this totally must be the most awk-weird thing in the world for you...Sir" Fiona murmured timidly, "but...can I, uh...have your autograph?" At first, the teen expected Dracula to deny her request; believing he didn't understand the idea of autographs. But then, not only did he sign the notebook; the rest of his family did as well, including Johnny and Dennis.

As he watched the scene unfold, Miguel became inspired to ask a similar request towards Dracula's daughters; which they happily agreed. "There we are, hope this will be alright" Mavis said while handing the book back, "WHOOPS...Sibella, we almost forgot to dot the 'I.'" The young purple vixen gasped playfully in realization and immediately decided to rectify their mistake.

After taking Miguel's notebook back, both Dracula girls lightly kissed the page; leaving small kiss marks above the "I's" in their names. Amusingly enough, this gesture caused Miguel to swoon loudly; which also made his lady friends either giggle or roll their eyes at him. Meanwhile, Myrtle was chatting idly with Sibella's mother (named Vanna;) telling her that her dress was "absolutely to die for" (no pun intended.)

"It's funny you should say that" chuckled the vampiress, "this dress actually was the same one that I died in, hundreds of years ago." Even though the statement sounded rather morbid, at first; both Myrtle and Albert couldn't help but share a good laugh with her about it. Elsewhere, Lucy looked around at the scene before her and sighed blissfully with contentment.

Seeing all her friends and family conversing with monsters was a sight to behold. She was especially surprised by how brave her father was being around them, considering how much the holiday made him quake with fear. "This is the greatest Halloween ever" she said with a grin, "I should really thank Lincoln for putting this all together in my place."

No sooner had she said this, something...or someone whispered the simple words "see that you do, young lady" into her ear. Not used to being the one receiving a startling surprise, Lucy gave a soft "yah" and fell over herself. Then, a hand reached down and helped her up off the grass. "Be careful, dear" a soft voice murmured, "don't want you having another medical reason to stay in bed; now, do we?"

As Lucy looked ahead of her to find the source of the voice, she saw a sight that shocked her so greatly; it made her bangs stand on end. Standing before her...or rather floating before her, as it were was her Great-Grandmother; Harriet Loud. After hearing her gasp, the family turned around to see if Lucy was still okay.

When the rest of Lucy's sisters saw her chatting it up with what seemed to be the ghost of their great-grandmother, time itself seemed to slow down. It was surprising enough to see yet another real ghost. But as they took a close look at Harriet, it was like looking at a past life version of their sister.

Much like Lucy; Harriet had the same black hair, bangs and pale complexion. But very quickly, they could see a few key differences between the two. While Lucy's attire consisted of typical Goth pieces; Harriet's own looked like something out of the 30's.

She had white pearl earrings like Lola's, a pearl necklace, a black dress with a brown waistband and brown cuffs. Atop her head was a small yet adorable looking brown 1930s hat. The most notable difference between Harriet and Lucy was the fact that the former looked much older and taller.

Needless to say, it was quite a surprise to see her; particularly for Lynn Sr. "G-G-Grammy, is it...is that really you" he murmured while cautiously approaching the ghost, "all this monster business must be messing with my head." Upon hearing his murmuring; Harriet momentarily stopped speaking with Lucy, faced her grandson and smiled.

"Lynn...baby boy, look how you've grown" she said while swiping away a stray tear from her cheek, "and Lucy here tells me you've become a chef with your own restaurant, great job." That did it; whatever fears about ghosts he had before were pushed away, the moment Lynn heard his grandmother express pride towards him. With a hearty laugh, he rushed over to her; eager to give Harriet the biggest hug of his life.

But as he tried to envelop her in his arms, he realized too little too late that humans couldn't touch ghosts. As a result; Lynn phased right through her and fell hard onto his face, almost breaking his nose. "Oh, dear; are you okay, honey" Harriet asked worriedly, "did you hurt yourself?"

After taking a moment to look himself over, Lynn was relieved to see no sign of injuries. "I'm just...so happy to see you, Grammy" he cried joyfully, "there's just so much I wanna share with you...along with other things that you might...hate me for." In regards to the latter, Harriet frowned slightly and confessed that she knew all about the family's..."little tiff."

"Before you ask, understand one thing" she said bluntly, "just because I am no longer among the living...doesn't mean I'm not able to see what goes on with my family." With this statement, both Lincoln and Lucy smiled coyly; being rather well-read on ghosts themselves, they knew exactly what Grandma Harriet was talking about. Meanwhile, Lynn Sr. was lightly quivering in his grandmother's presence; fearing the idea of facing even a sliver of her ghostly wrath.

But then, he quickly snapped out of this state; when he suddenly felt a light chill upon his shoulder. When he looked up at his grandmother, Lynn saw that she was smiling at him while resting a sympathetic hand upon his shoulder. "Dear...you messed up, it happens" Harriet murmured, "everyone does from time...but what's important is that you, Rita and my girls have made amends with Lincoln and worked hard to earn the town's trust again."

This statement caused Lynn to blush softly and he tried to say that it was all no big deal. "It was, honey...and I'm especially proud of your son" Harriet stated, "speaking of which, where is he?" No sooner had she said this, Lincoln let out a soft and squeaky cry of "present" and began to approach her.

Then, just like with Lynn; Harriet proceeded to give him a hug, not caring that her arms couldn't touch him. "I'm very happy you and the others are okay, honey" she murmured, "I'm also happy your new friends were able to help you in your time of need." As if on cue, the Gal Pals and Grimwood Ghouls murmured bashfully; expressing that they were more than happy to help a friend.

"If you don't mind my asking, Great-Grandma" Lincoln inquired, "how did you get here, shouldn't you be...you know, upstairs or something?" Harriet chuckled softly at him, knowing full well what he was referring to and sensed that her granddaughters wondered the same thing; especially Lisa. "It happens every Halloween, dearies" she stated, "when the big night arrives, the veils between the natural and supernatural worlds open (so to speak,) allowing beings like us ghosts to move freely among the living."

She then faced the Casagrande Family and said that the same thing applied with their Day of the Dead celebration. "Speaking of which... Señora Rosa, your Papa says he will see you very soon" Harriet said with a smile, "he also wants you to stop feeling so jealous of your family enjoying other people's cooking." Naturally, this "request" felt like a gut punch to Rosa's honor; who refused to believe her father would say such a thing.

"Don't believe me...well, then; you can ask him for yourself" Harriet giggled coyly, "he will see you on Nov. 2nd and make sure to have a helping of your tamales ready." As both humans and monster folk chatted idly, Lola approached Miss Grimwood and lightly tugged on her cloak. "Um...Miss Grimwood, singing as a gremlin was...pretty cool, I guess" she murmured shyly, "but...could you use your magic to turn me into what I really like to be?"

The headmistress smiled warmly at her and gave a nod of acceptance to her request. "What is it that you would really like to be tonight, dear" she asked, "anything you want?" After giggling with excitement for about ten seconds, Lola calmed herself down and whispered softly into Miss Grimwood's ear.

This did not go unnoticed by her students, who took the scene as an opportunity to show off to everyone what she can do. "And now, Ladies and Gentle-Monsters; prepare yourselves" Phantasma said dramatically, "get ready to see a dazzling display of Halloween magic!" With this statement, Miss Grimwood waved her wand over Lola and transformed her into the thing she desired to be the most; a queen.

In this look; she now appeared older, had long golden hair, a beautiful bejeweled crown atop her head, pink gloves and wore a dazzling violet-colored medieval gown. Lola also had a golden scepter in her right hand, which her family proclaimed she couldn't be a queen without one. But what truly amazed everyone was Lola's beautiful pink skin tone and her golden fairy wings.

The crowd gasped softly in surprise the headmistress' handiwork, while the Louds stared at their daughter/sister in amazement. "Hey, can you do me next" Lana begged, "I wanna be a werewolf like Winnie!" Without a second thought, Miss Grimwood immediately fulfilled the young toddler's request.

In the blink of an eye, she was suddenly changed into a blonde-furred werewolf pup. The only things that remained unchanged were her overalls, hat and shirt. "ME NEXT! DO ME NEXT, PLEASE" Lincoln begged eagerly, "Clyde and I wanna see ourselves truly become Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack!"

With a hearty laugh and a nod, Miss Grimwood happily fulfilled his request; instantly changing Lincoln and Clyde into their favorite heroes. Only...they didn't look like themselves; rather, they appeared older and more muscular (like any comic hero would.) To say that the boys were pleased by this would be putting it mildly.

"This is amazing" Lincoln as Ace said in a booming, hero-like voice; "and...hey, we even have cool voices too! HA-HA!" As he and Clyde began posing like their heroes, the crowd couldn't help but cheer; while Biff and his crew stood slack-jawed in confusion at it all. "Don't cheer for them, you idiots" Biff shouted, "they're monsters...freaks of nature and they need to be destroyed!"

The punk kid sounded off in agreement but no one listened to either of them, choosing only to focus on the Grimwood Ghouls and their monster fam. "This is ridiculous" Vicky growled, "you should be running these freaks out of town!" What happened next could've been seen as Karma by many...but in Biff's eyes, it seemed like simple stupidity.

With his face scarlet with rage, the punk rock kid demanded everyone to listen to them; especially after all the work he claimed Biff put into having all this happen. With this simple phrase, everyone ceased chatting and turned towards the trio; who appeared to be sweating profusely with fear. "Uh...ha-ha, don't listen to my friend here" Biff chuckled softly, "the dye he uses for his Mohawk affects his brain, sometimes."

Sadly, this only seemed to make the crowd feel even more suspicious; as well as rather angry. Sensing the hostility of the crowd, Biff was ready to make a hasty retreat. But as he tried to run; the jock bumped into the chest of a tall, well-dressed military figure. This man was dressed in a blue officer's uniform with a matching blue hat.

At the center of the hat and shoulder pads were golden eagle pin, he had a red circle upon his right sleeve (possibly a military symbol) and a white scarf tucked neatly into his shirt. He also sported a pair of polished black shoes, a black belt around his waist with a golden square buckle at the center, had gold buttons on the pockets and cuffs of his shirt and there was a yellow streak on the outer side of his pants legs. Though Lincoln had no idea who this man was, it was clear that Biff did.

"C-C-Colonel Calloway...Sir, it's n-n-nice to see you" the jock murmured, "what brings you to town?" While still keeping a firm glare on Biff, the man known as Calloway said that he was asked to come and provide assistance to Miss Grimwood's class. "Wait...you wanted to HELP Grimwood" Vicky shrieked in confusion, "but Biff said you guys hated each other!"

No sooner had she said all this, a group of boys suddenly surrounded her; each one wearing clothes that were near similar to the colonel's. These boys then faced the Grimwood Ghouls and offered a friendly salute, which they happily returned. Poor Biff was so confused by what was happening, he wondered if this was all a dream.

"Okay...this is getting ridiculous" he growled irritably, "first the town starts actually loving these freaks and now...I hear the Calloway Cadets are chummy with them?!" Upon hearing his cries; one of the cadets, a young lad with blonde hair and black eyes, made his way over to Biff. "First of all, cuz; we never 'hated' the Grimwood Girls" the boy said firmly, "at least not in the way you're thinking."

While Biff continued to stare at this boy in shock, Lincoln stared as well...but mostly out of confusion. As if sensing this, Miss Grimwood called the Louds over and introduced them to her associates. "This is Col. Calloway, headmaster of the military school next door to mine" she stated, "these are some of his students; Masters Baxter, Grunt, Miguel, Jamal...and it seems Biff is familiar with Tug."

With a soft smile on his face, Lincoln greeted the group with a respectful salute; thinking it was the most appropriate gesture. "At ease, Mr. Loud" the Colonel said kindly, "now, then...what's exactly have you done to the girls here?" It was nerve-wracking enough seeing Calloway stare him down...but as he watched everyone else divert their gazes upon them, Biff and his cohorts knew they were in trouble.

(Line Break)

After a while, no one in Royal Woods had any desire to harm the students of Grimwood or their families. Instead, they were now becoming rather friendly between them; much to Miss Grimwood's delight. As for Biff and his friends; after hearing the punk boy's accidental confession, Mayor Davis disqualified them from the contest.

This decision pained her a little, truth be told because Biff turning his house into the Harvester's haunted farm left her feeling quite impressed. Afterwards; Officer Schoffner placed the trio under arrest for inciting a riot, poisoning Sibella (which she considered as a form of possible attempted murder,) spreading unjustified rumors throughout the town and wishing to harm innocent lives. "Hope you kids didn't have any plans for the holiday season" Detective Talon grumbled, "because with these sort of crimes, you'll be busy serving community service time."

Upon hearing this news, Lynn Jr. couldn't help but smile a little; thinking that this fate felt like a form of poetic justice. "Now you'll get to see what my sisters and I did over the summer, Packard" she exclaimed, "hope you like litter cleanup!" Enraged by this statement, Biff and his friends started bouncing about inside of the cruiser; screaming with rage.

However, Schoffner and her fellow officers decided to ignore that; choosing only to focus on speaking with Dracula and his family. "Thanks for helping out my in-laws, ladies" Jonathan said gratefully, "to think I used to be a scaredy cat about monsters like Biff was." Upon hearing this statement, Lincoln scoffed softly and said he and Biff were nothing alike.

"This is true" Dracula's wife, Vanna stated, "not all humans are like the ones who hated us, Drac; just look around." With a toothy grin upon his face, the Count looked about the crowd and saw his fellow monsters happily chatting amongst the human folk. "You are quite right, beloved" Dracula stated, "which leads me to my final decision."

After briefly calling for everyone's attention, he declared that humans and monsters could coexist. "Thus, I happily side with Miss Grimwood's wishes to allow humans within her finishing school" Dracula proclaimed, "all in favor, howl and shriek!" Without delay, all of the count's fellow monsters sounded off loudly in their own way; along with a few humans as well.

"Now, hold on just a moment there" Miss Higgins interjected, "we'll all go along with your lil' plain there, Count...but on one condition." Upon making this statement, several people from the former angry mob began to line up before Miss Grimwood; asking her to work some of her witch magic on them like she did for the Louds earlier. "Hold on...back up, did I hear you people right" questioned Vicky, "you actually want her to turn you into freaks and weirdoes?"

Rather than be insulted by the girl's terminology, Miss Grimwood smiled and proclaimed that Halloween was made for "freaks and weirdoes." "I think I see what she means, everyone" Lincoln stated, "every other day of the year, we go about our lives in the same old way; which can get kinda boring...am I right?" Without pause, several teens and adults murmured softly in agreement with him.

"But then, there's Halloween Night" Zanya chimed in suddenly, "the one night in the year where we can become whatever and/or whomever we want!" Miss Grimwood cheered gleefully at the young one's enthusiasm, happy to see that the holiday's spirit still lived within them. She then turned towards the crowd and proclaimed that this applied to everyone, no matter what age they were.

"Make merry, everyone; pretend" Miss Grimwood chuckled, "let your most secret fantasies and fancies run wild!" After making this statement, she and the count approached Mayor Davis and her family; asking what they'd like to be. Without the slightest delay or hesitation, the mayor's children begged her to change them into their favorite members of the Full House Gang; Eight of Spades and Eleven of Hearts.

After letting out a hearty chuckle, Miss Grimwood waved her wand over their heads and transformed them into the aforementioned heroes. With the two of them now taken care of, Miss Grimwood asked the mayor what she'd like to be for one night. "Well...ever since I was a teenager, I'd always wanted to be a keytar player for a band" Davis confessed, "hence why I'm always out in public playin' with my kids' electric keyboard."

Miss Grimwood nodded lightly in understanding and, one quick transformation later, the madam mayor of Royal Woods was changed into a 1980's style keytar musician. "What about you, Sir" she inquired while looking over in Flip's direction, "what is your deepest fantasy." With a bashful smile upon his face, the old man confessed how his mother always hoped he'd become a more "saintly" (i.e. generous) figure.

Of course, Miss Grimwood knew what he really meant...but as a small Halloween trick; she decided to take his statement in another direction. With one wave of her wand; the once grimy old man in dirty clothes was transformed into a clean, stoic and well-dressed saint. His look comprised of a hooded monk's robe, a gold staff called a crosier and a small satchel hanging from his belt.

After the transformation was finished, the first thing Flip said to the crowd was a brief yet harmonious Latin chant; "dona nobis requiem." The next person who asked for a new look was Albert, who urged Miss Grimwood to turn him into a barbarian gladiator. A split second later, the old fellow got his wish and was transformed into a fierce axe-weilding warrior.

Instead of his usual pants, shirt and suspenders; Albert now wore leather shoulder-pads, a matching leather skirt, leather arm bands, sandals and held a long double-bladed club in his hands. After he let out a fierce growl, the crowd gasped in pure astonishment. "Me next, please" begged Luan, "I wanna like one of those jesters from the Medieval Times!"

In an instant, the young teen was swiftly transformed into her desired look; complete a pair of jingle bell shoes, a harlequin mask and a scepter with a face on it known as a marotte. After this, Miss Grimwood started getting all sorts of costume requests from the people of Royal Woods; from cowboys, to superheroes, movie stars...even animals. One would think that fulfilling so many requests would tire the headmistress out. But truth be told, she was absolutely euphoric about it all.

"Ah! Nice to know that I still got it, even after all these years" she laughed joyfully, "thank you all, my dears for making this old witch feel alive again!" The people of Royal Woods cheered loudly at her, expressing both their praise and thanks for her earlier gesture. "Whoops! Got so swept up in the excitement, I almost forgot to name a winner for the contest" Mayor Davis said suddenly, "and while the earlier competition was rather stiff; after all this, I am proud to say that this year's winner is...LINCOLN LOUD!"

The other members of the townsfolk cheered loudly with joy at this news; while Lincoln's sisters, the Gal Pals and the Ghouls proceeded to swarm him in a group hug. Thankfully, in his Ace Savvy form; he was both big enough and strong enough to handle this much love. "Oh, Linky; we're so proud of you" Dana (as a black cat) gushed, "you've finally won a trophy of your very own!"

Lynn Sr. and Rita were especially proud of him, believing he truly earned the victory; after all the mental stress he put himself through. Soon after her announcement was made, Mayor Davis happily handed the "Best Decorator Award" (which was actually a plaque) to Lincoln. But surprisingly enough; though he felt honored to receive it, he claimed he didn't truly earn it.

"I mean...thanks to Biff, he distracted you from judging everyone else's homes" Lincoln stated, "I feel like I'm robbing them of a fair chance at the award." While his words did hold some truth in them, the townspeople agreed that he deserved it. "If not for the competition, at least accept it for everything else you've done" Mavis insisted, "you not only helped make my sister and her friends feel welcome here...you also helped establish good relations between both our kinds."

After this, the Ghost of Harriet Loud added that though he felt nervous about it and had his doubts; Lincoln still went along with trying to set everything up. "That showed me that all is truly well between you and your sisters, now" she said with a broad smile, "that alone proves you deserve credit where credit is due." While he still felt otherwise; Lincoln understood there was little chance of him winning the argument and, with a playful shrug, he accepted the award and the prize money.

The whole time this was happening, Biff continued flailing about in his seat; claiming he deserved the award more than Lincoln did. "That is it, I've grown weary of that boy's ravings" Dracula scowled, "it's time he had a little rest!" With that said; he floated over towards the police cruiser, much to the trio's shock, and stared at them intently.

"W-W-What's going on" Vicky murmured fearfully, "why are you staring at us like..." Before she could finish her statement, Vicky's eyes suddenly flashed red; as did Biff's and the punk kid's. Within moments, everyone saw that Dracula's eyes had the same glow as well.

"What's going on" Lori asked uneasily, "Sibella...is your dad doing something to them or..." The young vampiress chuckled softly and assured everyone that all was well. "My daddy's simply using his hypnotic stare on them" she explained, "which will put them all to sleep in 3...2...1."

Upon finishing her countdown, Biff and his cronies instantly fell into a deep slumber; snoring loudly. "There ve are" Dracula said with relief, "they'll be sleeping for the next few hours; which will make your ride all the quieter, Officer." Officer Schoffner (who now looked like a female version of Rambo) smiled at the Count and thanked him for his help.

"I'm happy all this turned out well...but there's just one problem" Rita stated, "how are we going to throw a party for the whole town?" With this simple question, the Louds suddenly realized the issue and frowned. As hard as it is for the house to handle their own kind of parties, it wouldn't be able to hold up against all of Royal Woods going wild.

"Don't you fret Mrs. Loud" Miss Grimwood assured, "we can hold the party at my school!" The Ghouls and their fathers all sounded off loudly in agreement, even the Calloway Cadets liked the idea. "Are you sure it's no trouble, Ms. G" questioned Luna, "we may be a small town...but Royal Woods is a big small town with loads of people."

With a hearty chuckle, Miss Grimwood said that there was no trouble at all; adding that she had held many grand engagements at her mansion many times before. "In that case, Aggie; lead the way" Albert stated, "I'm ready and rarin' for a party! Almost instantly, the entire crowd sounded off in agreement with him.

This all made not only Lucy excited but her fellow Junior Morticians as well. To see an actual monster school was like a dream come true for them, a real Halloween treat as it were.

(Scene Change: Miss Grimwood's Finishing School)

Back over at Miss Grimwood's school, the whole building echoed loudly with sounds of music and laughter. Inside; everyone, human and monster was having the best Halloween of their lives. Meanwhile, Miss Grimwood was having a brief chat with Lisa; asking if she could help...modernize things a little in her school.

"If my girls and your brother are going to continue communicating with one another, we will need the right gear" she stated, "phones, computers...and those rather small cameras you place on top of them." Lisa nodded slightly in understanding and said she would be happy to help...on the condition that she would get to be one of the first human students to attend her school. "I shall see what I can do, dear" Miss Grimwood stated, "but I've already got three other applicants in mind."

When Lisa asked who the applicants were; she was shown three folders belonging to Haiku, Lucy and Lincoln. Speaking of whom, the young lad in question was thoroughly enjoying his new look; wishing he could stay this way forever. "Now, what fun would that be" Carol said suddenly, "if you looked like this all the time...I'd miss seeing my special little guy's cute face."

Naturally, this statement caused Lincoln to blush deeply; insisting that his guardian didn't talk that way about him in front of the Grimwood Ghouls. But before he could protest further, a familiar purple bat flew up to him and pecked him on the cheek; causing Lincoln to turn even redder. "It looks like our new Gal Pal agrees with me" Carol chuckled, "same with the rest of her crew."

With a coy smile on his face, Lincoln looked across the room and spotted the rest of the Ghouls; who proceeded to exclaim "GAL PALS" upon seeing him. But then, he noticed that one of them was missing; Phantasma. Of course, he didn't have too far too look.

At the western edge of the room, Lincoln spotted her sitting in front of a large antique organ. Beside her were Luna, Hector, Robert, his dad and Mayor Davis; who all appeared to have their music gear with them. "AH! HA-HA-HA-HA! Get ready, everybody" Phanty giggled, "time to kick this Halloween party into overdrive!"

With that said, she began to play a tune on the organ; which signaled Robert and Mayor Davis to follow her lead. Once the music started up, it signaled Lynn Sr. and the others to begin singing. "This little ditty goes out to our new monster pals" Luna decreed, "especially Miss G., the baddest witch in the building!"

After everyone lightly chuckled at the rocker's little joke (much to Luan's jealousy,) the band kicked up and started to sing a sort of disco Halloween song. Not wishing to be left out, Miss Grimwood took out her wand and began to provide some effects and visuals for the melody.

(As the music plays and Luna sings, an image of a sick Lucy in bed appears overhead of the crowd)

If you're stuck inside and you can't get out

And you feel like being free

(an image of Miss Grimwood smiling appears before it shows her waving her wand)

Grab a witch and make a switch and see what you can be!

(Luna, Lynn Sr., Phantasma, Robert, Mayor Davis and Hector sing while playing their instruments)

That's Halloween!

Witch Magic Halloween!

Halloween, Witch Magic Halloween (Halloween, Halloween)

(The next verse of the song is "sung" by Robert and Mayor Davis. But in reality, it's only musical notes that sound like synthesized speech)

Halloween, it's a dream. TRICK R' TREAT!

(Musical warbling plays)

(the whole crowd starts to sing together with the band)

That's Halloween!

Witch Magic Halloween!

Halloween, Witch Magic Halloween (Halloween, Halloween)

That's Halloween!

Witch Magic Halloween!

Halloween, Witch Magic Halloween (Halloween, Halloween)

While the band plays and everybody dances; Leni, who is wearing a sort of peacock outfit, spots Matches sniffing around the floor. "Aww! You must be hungry, little guy" she cooed softly, "want a piece of candy?" After she ruffles her hand through her peacock feathers for a bit, she brings out a small piece of caramel and offers it to Matches.

With a joyful purr, the little dragon hops over and takes the candy from her. Before eating it; he looks up and says the words "thank you, Happy Halloween!" Needless to say, this came as quite a surprise for the young teen.

"OM GOSH! That's totes cute" she squealed, "you never told us you could talk!" Excited by this little trick, Leni made a quick beeline back to the dance floor; eager to tell the others what she saw. While alone; Matches turns towards the viewer, gives a mischievous chuckle and winks.

Then, the ghost of Harriet Loud flew out of the dragon and giggled at him. "Thanks for letting me do that, boy" she said gratefully, "I know it's not right to trick Leni...but without tricks, it wouldn't really be Halloween." The two chuckled softly in agreement at the statement and proceeded back to the dance floor, eager to rejoin the party.

(First AN: And thus, the Fall Arc has ended and a party is a great way to end this part of the anthology; am I right. Originally, I thought of making a Thanksgiving oneshot to be the true definitive end to the Fall Arc. But I realized such a thing wouldn't work. The main reason for that is the fact that in a sense, the Gal Pals are...kinda, sorta like family now to Lincoln and Thanksgiving is all about being with family.

But seeing as how The Loudest Thanksgiving, a special within the original show, did a rather...sub-par job at trying to share a member of the Louds with other people on the holiday; I didn't want to give my readers a feeling of déjà vu.

Thus, I've decided to use Halloween as the finale for this arc and will only briefly mention Thanksgiving in the Winter Arc premiere. I hope that makes sense to you, everyone and I hope you enjoyed the Halloween Hilarity Four-Parter. Hope to see you in the next installment)

(Second AN: This part of the adventure contained references from not one but two Halloween specials, one widely recognized and the other...rather obscure by many. The first one being the performance of This is Halloween, which is a song from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. Many consider it to be the official/unofficial "anthem" of the Halloween season...I know I do.

The second Halloween special reference is the obscure one, only a rare few even know of it. More to the point, the song "Witch Magic Halloween" that the gang plays near the end is from Witch's Night Out; a Canadian animated special that premiered on NBC back in 1978. Moving along, both songs are under ownership of the aforementioned owners.

I hold no claim to either of them, I only wanted to share them in the story because the songs sounded so catchy. Thank you for understanding and to those who haven't heard of it, look up Witch's Night Out on YouTube; you might actually like it)

(Third AN: For those who haven't read this note in the last part, here it is again, since they officially appeared in this one. While Miss Grimwood, the Ghouls, the Cadets and Matches are all Hanna-Barbara characters from the Ghoul School movie; Mavis, Jonathan and Dennis are all from Hotel Transylvania 2 and 3. The latter and its characters are all owned by Sony Animation, not me.

Just thought I'd be safe and make that clear again)

(Fourth AN: Speaking of Dennis; the phrase Carlota, Dolores, their mothers and Maria Santiago all say is "Ay Que Lindo." In English, the phrase means "oh how cute/oh so cute;" for those unfamiliar with the language. Not only did I think it would be a perfect thing for them to say. I especially wanted someone like Officer Campos to scream it as well, considering how police officers don't make such exclamations openly...that I know of)

(Fifth AN: I wish to express my thanks one final time to Thefoxmage for letting me use some of his/her ideas for this four-parter. To make certain I would do them proper justice, I did research on characters like Zanya in his/her Ghoul School story. If I've described her parents incorrectly, I apologize)

(Sixth AN: To anyone who felt Biff and his associates were too vilified in this four-parter, understand this. He's the kind of bully who never lets anything go, especially grudges and Biff's got one heck of a grudge on him. Such behavior leads to people doing stupid stuff...like stalking people or intentionally trying to poison them *like what he did to Sibella.*

Now that he's got his own Community Service work to do, he'll understand exactly what his former hero "endured." Hopefully, it will all make Biff a more humble person as well)

(Seventh AN: In regards to the part where Matches spoke; in the movie, he mostly communicates through growls or gruff/raspy murmurs of words. But seeing as how this is a Halloween story, I wanted Matches to play just a tiiiny trick on Leni for funsies. Sorry if anyone felt confused by that part)

(Final AN: For both the performance piece and the Halloween party at the end, I wanted everyone to have a costume that best reflected who they wanted/hoped to be but never could any other time of the year. For example, while Lola's fairy queen request was an obvious one; I wanted Flip to be transformed into a sort of "saint," which is rather unheard of for people like him. As for the mayor, I chose keytar player because she...just seemed to love playing with her kids' keyboard.

Sorry if that one seemed uninspired)