Someone asked if I would do a story with Balan dressed up in his Candy Man form that the wonderful CarpeNatem did on Deviantart. :) Since it was for Halloween, I decided that I would and CarpeNatem gave me permission to use their Candy Man concept for Balan. :)
Balan Wonderworld belongs to its respective owners. I only own Courtney and Rachel.
Spooky Doesn't Always Mean Scary
Courtney stood outside the theater that belonged to her two Maestro uncles, taking a deep breath and going inside. Her mother and father were away at work and the Mansion was empty as the rest of the family were either at work or elsewhere, so the young girl would have been alone, but Balan had extended the invitation for her to come to the theater. The girl wasn't sure why it was just to her and not her siblings, but she accepted, letting her mother know where she was and getting the okay from her parents that she could stay at the theater for the night.
I believe Uncle Balan is holding a Halloween party, so you can attend that, Rachel had texted her daughter. You can even stay the night. I've already asked Uncle Balan about that since your father and I might be working late and Balan agreed you could spend the night. Mind your manners and have fun, sweetie.
Nodding, the girl looked around, seeing the theater was decorated for Halloween. Some décor that was spooky, but not overly spooky, greeted her as she walked down the hallway. When she got to the doors that would lead to the main stage of the theater, she reached to open them, jumping in surprise when they opened before she could reach the handles and she found herself looking at a tall being she didn't recognize.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" She screamed, scrambling backwards in alarm at seeing the ghoulish person, tripping over her feet and falling down to the floor.
"Whoa!" The person said in surprise, their deep voice catching Courtney off guard and she thought she recognized his voice. She trembled as the person came closer and kneeled down to her. "Courtney, it's me, little one."
She blinked before her eyes widened. "Uncle Balan?" She asked before sighing in relief. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry, young one," he said, helping her back to her feet. "I heard you enter the theater and came to greet you."
Courtney managed to calm down, noting her uncle's outfit. "What are you dressed up as?" She asked.
"The Candy Man, my dear," he said as with a flourish, some candy appeared in his hand and he smiled, gently taking one of her hands and placing the handful of candy into it. "For you, my dear."
She smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Balan," she said. "Sorry for freaking out."
"You were startled, my dear, and your reaction is understandable," he said. "Though...am I right to assume that you are unnerved by spooky things, even if they are harmless fun?"
Courtney hung her head and looked away, which told the tall being that he was correct. "Oh, little one," he said, scooping her up into his arms, holding her as a father would their own child. "I know some things for Halloween are terrifying, but I assure you that there is none of that here. Only harmless fun."
She snuggled into his hug, clinging to him. "Before Mom and Dad adopted me, there was this really scary house someone had set up to be a haunted house," she said. "My foster folks made me go inside and walk through it and it was horrible. There were a lot of monsters that looked really realistic. One was even dressed as a famous horror movie villain and chased after me, which made me believe it wasn't an animatronic, but a person." She shuddered as she remembered that. "Something caught me and I was so terrified that I screamed and somehow got away. I couldn't sleep for a few days afterwards."
"Goodness," Balan said, rubbing his niece's back to comfort her, frowning at the thought of how some people could be so cruel to a child who was easily terrified. "Give that memory no more thought, little one. I assure you that the costumes, inhabitants, and I have decorated the theater and the various parts of Wonderworld in spooky, but harmless items. And the 'monsters' are not scary in a bad way."
Courtney felt something tap her shoulder and she turned her head to see a pumpkin head near her own. "Boo!" It said.
She squeaked and clung to Balan, who chuckled and the person moved back, revealing it was just Pumpkin Puncher, who smiled. "See?" He said. "Just harmless fun."
The girl didn't look too reassured, to which Pumpkin Puncher frowned a little. "Hmm, maybe I scared her a bit too much?" He said.
"I'm afraid an old memory has surfaced of a time when her foster family played a cruel trick on her, making her go through a haunted house that was too scary for her," Balan said.
Merry Ghost gasped at hearing that. "No wonder she's so nervous," she said. She then perked up. "I've got an idea!"
The Maestro smiled. "What is your idea, my friend?" He asked.
"What if Courtney comes to the haunted house at Attilio's theme park?" She asked. "It's not too scary and me, Pumpkin Puncher, Invisible Man, and Web Wrangler will be there. We're actually looking for Invisible Man, who is hiding in the haunted house."
"That's a great idea!" Pumpkin Puncher said with a nod.
Lance came forward and he nodded. "I'll go with you," he said. "It seems some of my Negati are playing a few tricks and I need to find them as they are getting a little rambunctious."
Courtney looked a bit unsure before looking up at Balan, who smiled and gently squeezed her shoulder to reassure her. "If you'd rather not go with them to the haunted house, you can stay and help me set up the theater for the party later on," he said.
She fell into thought before turning to Lance, who smiled at her. "We'll make sure nothing hurts you, young one, but if you'd rather not do the haunted house, we won't push you to do so," he promised.
"If you do go with us, we'll stick with you the whole time," Merry Ghost promised.
Courtney took a deep breath, knowing her uncles wouldn't lie to her, but she was still unsure. Balan then had an idea.
"How about a compromise?" He suggested. "You got with Lance and the others to the haunted house. If it becomes too much for you, Lance will teleport you back to the theater auditorium where I will be."
The girl bit her lip and then nodded. "Okay," she agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly. She felt Balan gently lift her chin up with a hand and he smiled, kissing her forehead in affection.
"It'll be alright," he promised.
Nodding, Courtney turned to the others, taking Lance's hand when he offered it and the group, save for Balan, was soon outside the haunted house.
"Okay, so Invisible Man could be hiding anywhere," Merry Ghost said.
"Let's split into teams," Pumpkin Puncher said. "I'll go with Lance and Courtney."
"And I'll team up with you, Merry," said Web Wrangler as she came up.
"Wait!" Courtney said. "You guys only have two people on your team and we have three. We need another person to make it even."
"Good thing I came along then," said a voice as Telepotter poofed next to them.
"Telepotter! Perfect!" Merry said excitedly.
"Now it's even," Lance said in agreement, smiling and gently ruffling his niece's hair, pleased that she had wanted to be fair to the others. "Now, let the hunt begin."
"What does Invisible Man look like?" The young girl asked.
"Like a mummy with a coat and a fendora," Web Wrangler said. "You'll have to be quick to catch him though. He can vanish in an instant like Telepotter."
Courtney nodded and the hunt was on. The girl noticed the furniture floating and took a deep breath. "Okay, that's not too scary," she said. "Actually reminds me of when some of my uncles at home practice their scares."
Lance chuckled. "It adds to the atmosphere," he said as they continued looking around.
Pumpkin Puncher gasped. "There he is!" He said, pointing to a figure that was quickly moving to hide again. "We've got him now!"
Lance flew towards where Invisible Man had gone and Pumpkin Puncher followed with Courtney running to keep up. But when they entered the room they had seen their target go into, he was gone. "Rats! Where'd he go?" The pumpkin costume asked.
"A slippery one, he is," Lance said, though he sounded amused. He turned to Courtney, seeing she was looking around. "How are you doing, my dear?"
"I'm doing okay," she said.
As she came up to a mirror and went to look behind it, she thought she saw Invisible Man in the mirror, but when she blinked, he was gone. Curious, she leaned closer to the mirror, letting out a surprised yelp when she passed through the mirror, stumbling a bit before she caught herself. "What in the world?" She asked.
Just then, something grabbed her and she shrieked in shock, falling down and looking around, but not seeing anyone. "Whoa! Easy, kid!" Said a new voice as a person that matched Invisible Man's description appeared in front of her. "You okay? Didn't mean to scare you that bad."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I-I'm okay," she managed to say.
But he wasn't fooled and got an idea, going invisible. Courtney looked around, but suddenly felt fingers wiggle into her sides and stomach, making her burst into laughter as she fell down and Invisible Man popped into existence again, tickling her stomach. "Tickle, tickle, tickle!" He cooed to her.
Hearing Courtney's laughter, the others gathered around and smiled at seeing the scene in the mirror before getting into character.
"Why that rascal! He's got Courtney!" Merry said.
"We better go save her," Web Wrangler said.
"I don't know," Telepotter said. "She looks like she's not afraid."
"Yeah, listen to her laugh," Pumpkin Puncher said.
Lance chuckled at hearing their playful banter. "Then perhaps a team up would be best?" He asked. "To help my niece see that spooky doesn't always mean scary?"
The others agreed and entered the mirror. Invisible Man grinned at them as he stopped tickling Courtney. "So this was a trap to get me to come out of hiding, huh?" He asked playfully.
"On the contrary, dear friend," Merry Ghost said. "It was to help Courtney. We wanted to replace the bad memory she recalled long ago with a good memory."
"Her mom asked if we could help out because she noticed how Courtney seemed nervous about going through a haunted house that wasn't set up at the Grant Mansion," Web Wrangler explained.
"We were more than willing to help," Lance said as he helped his niece to her feet. "After all, one should have fun at a party, correct?"
The girl giggled before looking at them. "Wait, Mom called you guys?" She asked.
"Yup!" Pumpkin Puncher said. "She wanted you to not be scared when you arrived for the party, so she asked us if we could help you out."
The girl smiled. "Well, you guys definitely helped," she said.
"That's good to hear," Lance said before he tickled her sides, making her laugh. "Come, everyone. Help me out here."
They jumped in, Web Wrangler and Merry Ghost tickling Courtney's underarms while Lance tickled his niece's stomach along with her sides and Invisible Man and Telepotter removed Courtney's shoes and tickled her feet.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The girl laughed out, squealing when her uncle blew a raspberry into her neck.
"Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" He cooed to her before they let her up, Lance scooping his niece up into his arms as she giggled for a bit longer. "There. I'd say her fear is gone," he said.
"Good," Telepotter said. "Because we actually really do have to find Invisible Man."
"But he's right...," Courtney trailed off as their friend was gone again.
It was a merry time to try and find their friend and Courtney spotted him again, playfully tackling him and making him laugh. "You got me, kiddo," he said before Courtney felt magic swirl around her and she was soon dressed just like Invisible Man.
Lance smiled. "And that's the reward for catching our elusive friend," he said.
The girl looked thoughtful, though she did like the costume. "I don't know. Don't you guys think I'm a little too old for dress up?" She asked.
"Not at all!" Merry Ghost said, smiling.
"You're never too old for that," Pumpkin Puncher said.
"I agree," came Balan's voice as he smiled at them all. "I can see the game was a success and now our Courtney is no longer afraid."
"Well, maybe not totally unafraid," she admitted. "But I know with my friends and family with me, I can enjoy a Halloween party without getting too scared."
Lance smiled at hearing that. "A humble answer," he said.
Balan nodded. "Well then, we best finish getting the theater set up," he said. "Our other guests will be arriving soon."
Lance quickly put on his own costume of a phantom and with everyone working together, the theater was soon ready and everyone arrived. Courtney was thrilled to see her whole family was there and hugged her mom. "I thought you guys were working," she said.
"We were, but we got a little help from some friends and family members that scared the villains we were after so much that they practically turned themselves over to us," Rachel said, smiling. "And I see you won the game the others created for you to show you that spooky doesn't always mean scary."
"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best mom in the world. And this family is the best family in the entire universe."
"I agree," said Balan as he came up to them and Courtney hugged him happily before accepting some candy he gave her and the party continued in full swing far into the night.
This one took off on me. :)
Be safe and have fun! :)
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418
