I do not own the Lego movies. Unless you count the DVD's but I doubt that's the case.


Scare Factor

Lucy took a deep breath of the crisp, autumn air. Her smile growing at all the decorations being put up and the specialty products appearing in stores. Finally, the most wonderful time of the year, her most favorite time of the year, was here.

It was Halloween!

She'd always loved Halloween. It was a time where even the gentlest of souls sought out something a little darker. When fear was indulged rather than avoided. When everything got a little spookier. That love had only gotten stronger when she became a Master Builder. Halloween was practically a Master Builders bread and butter; it was the one holiday that really encouraged the imagination to run wild and free.

Oh yes, Halloween was the best holiday ever as far as Lucy was concerned.

This year in particular was going to be extra special for two reasons. For one, it would be the first real Halloween since their new home, Syspocalypstar, was formed. She hadn't really been able to celebrate properly during the five years at war, not that Emmet hadn't tried, so she had a lot of lost time to make up for.

Which lead to the second reason. This would be hers and Emmet's first real Halloween together. Heck, their first real holiday together. The notion made her giddier than she'd ever admit out loud. She and Batman hadn't really done holidays when they were together, too busy being the cool and brooding couple who were too mature for such things.

Man upstairs, how lucky were they to have found Emmet and Watevra.

Emmet on the other had was a big celebrator. Heck, he didn't even really need a holiday or an excuse; he found a reason to get excited about anything. Even during those five years, he'd done his darndest to bring her and everyone some joy by continuing to keep the holidays going to the best of his abilities.

A part of her was a bit worried Halloween might be too much for him admittedly. It was more on the scary side and Emmet was practically a marshmallow. The last thing she wanted was to force him into doing anything that brought him any kind of discomfort.

She'd learned her lesson about doing that.

The hard way.

Granted, if those little Halloween parties he'd try throwing her during the war were any indication, he should be alright. Although she'd still make sure to learn his limits, and ensure said limits were respected.

"Good morning Wyldstyle" Unikitty's voice suddenly came, breaking her out of her train of thought as she bounced up beside Lucy. "Ooh sorry, did interrupt your brooding?" She asked with a wince.

Lucy smiled "not today, I'm in too good a mood" she declared proudly. She looked over at her friend and felt a chuckle escape her at the sight of the witch hat on her head "guess I'm not the only one excited for Halloween."

Unikitty bounced with a squeal of delight "I know! I can't believe its only a few weeks away!"

"I gotta say, I didn't think you would be into Halloween" Lucy admitted "its not exactly rainbows and cotton candy."

"Oh, but the costumes and parties are so much fun" Unikitty explained "not to mention all the candy!"

Lucy chuckled again "I should've guessed."

"Yes, you should have" Unikitty said with a nod as they shared a laugh. "So where are we going?" She asked, apparently planning to join in on whatever venture Lucy was embarking on.

"I'm picking up Emmet for a lunch date" Lucy said with a soft smile. They hadn't really had a chance to go on a real date during the last five years for obvious reasons, and she was surprised to find herself enjoying the little dates Emmet arranged for them. They were a nice, calm change of pace to the hectic life she knew.

Plus, they met each other half way. Emmet was more than willing to go along with her ideas for dates too. He was just happy to spend time with her. A feeling that was very much mutual.

"Don't make a big deal out of it" Lucy told Unikitty casually before the cat could squeal and start gushing about how cute they were.

Again.

Unikitty giggled sheepishly "sorry, but you totally are the cutest" she said with a smirk, earning her a playful jab from Lucy.

By then, they'd reached the site Emmet's construction team was currently working on. "Hey!" Lucy called out to the various workers, trying to get someone's attention. A couple of them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her "can one of you go get Emmet for me?" She asked as politely as she could. If Lucy was being honest, she didn't like Emmet's coworkers that much.

"Uh, right" one mumbled, looking around with minimal effort "Emmet, Emmet…" Lucy frowned, this was why she didn't like these people. Even after everything, Emmet was still as good as invisible to most of these people. She hated to admit it, but she could understand how Rex had happened.

Fortunately, she and the others knew better now.

"I'll get him, don't strain yourself" Lucy said after a moment in irritation, pulling out a hard hat Emmet had gotten for her.

"Hey! You're Lucy, right?!" A voice suddenly called out before she could set foot onto the site. both she and Unikitty looked up to another worker staring down at them from what looked like the future fifth floor. "Emmet's not here, he's helping old man Jeb Roswell!" they explained.

"With what?!" Lucy called back.

"Decorations, I think!" With that, they returned to their work, ending the conversation.

Lucy glanced at Unikitty questionably, who just shrugged in return. "Hm, okay well" she looked back at the worker she'd been speaking with "where do I find this Jeb guy?"


"Aaaannnddd…that should do it!" Emmet announced cheerfully, wiping his brow as he looked up at the seemingly innocent house. A billboard by the entrance advertising a new bug repellent.

His smile grew as an older man dressed in cowboy attire approached him. "How's she commin there, Emmet?" Jeb Roswell asked as looked over the house.

"This once ready to go sir. That's three down, two left. Right on schedule!" He reported enthusiastically.

Jeb chuckled "they broke the mold when they made you, my boy."

"Oh, it's nothing-"

"No, I mean it now" Jeb stopped him, his tone stern yet gentle. "You've been helping me get this all together out of the goodness of yer heart for some time" he said with a tip of his hat "now I never did appreciate that like I should've in the past, never appreciated you, and its high time I changed that."

Emmet looked away with a bashful smile, not used to such praise. "Really Mr. Roswell, I'm happy to help" he said again. "You're the one who dose this for everyone every year, this is the least I could do."

"Emmet!" Both blinked in surprise and turned to the source of the new voice, finding Lucy and Unikitty standing on the other side of farm's fence. Lucy was waving at them while Unikitty looked around in fascination.

Instantly, Emmet's smile grew, if that was possible. "Lucy!" He cried happily, rushing over to the fence "what are you guys doing here?"

"I went to get you for out lunch date and they told me you were here" Lucy explained, taking Emmet's hand into hers.

Emmet gasped "shoot! I forgot that was today!" He frowned; eyes filled with guilt "I'm so sorry Lucy, I totally forgot to tell you I'd be here today."

Lucy just smiled "that's okay, Emmet" she assured him before frowning herself "but what exactly are you doing here, anyway?" She said as she glanced around with Unikitty. There were three different looking houses set up and two more in progress in the area, each looking different from one another yet nonetheless extravagant. They almost looked like…

…No, they couldn't be, could they? Were they really?

"Oh, I was helping Mr. Roswell set up his annual haunted house" Emmet explained.

At those words, Lucy's already existing excitement went through the roof.

They were!

"Haunted house?!" Lucy cried in excitement, practically rivaling Emmet's usual level of enthusiasm. Again, if that were possible.

By far, haunted houses were Lucy's favorite part of Halloween. Everything from the atmosphere to the creativity in the theming, they were to Lucy what trick or treating was to kids.

Emmet nodded, a bit surprised by her reaction but loving her enthusiasm nonetheless "yeah, Mr. Roswell has a haunted house on his farm every year" he explained. "And since this is the first time everyone's been able to celebrate in five years, he's having five of them this year!" He gestured to the three that were near completed and the two still in progress.

"That's right, one fer each year we missed" Jeb added as he joined the group. "And fer as long as I remember, Emmet here's been helping to make it a reality" he patted Emmet's shoulder "might not even get this off the ground without him. So, these friends of yer's Emmet?"

"Oh! Yeah, this Lucy and Unikitty" the special introduced them, motioning to each as he did "guys, this is Jeb Roswell."

"Nice to meet yeah" Jeb said as he extended a hand to them.

"Nice to meet you, too" Lucy replied as she accepted the hand with a hearty shake. Unikitty too, gave him her paw with a cheery hello.

"This here your best girl, Emmet?" Jeb asked playfully, nudging the construction worker. Emmet gave a bashful laugh as he blushed.

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle too, it was honestly cute how flustered he still got sometimes. "Yes, yes I am" she answered proudly before her smirk turned almost devious "now about these haunted houses…."

Jeb chuckled "you a fan?" he asked "yeah, we should be open fer business sometime next week. Y'all should come by." Lucy was practically bouncing now, much to Emmet and Unikitty's amusement, they'd never seen her so excited for anything they would think she'd wright off as mundane.

"I didn't know you liked haunted houses, Lucy" Emmet said, happy to see her so excited "I would've thought they'd be too childish for you."

"You are never too old for Halloween" she said, her face and tone dead serious. "I would love to check these places out" she told the old cowboy enthusiastically "we will totally be here!" As soon as she said this, she realized too late that Emmet might not want to go into a haunted house. They didn't really seem like his thing, and the last thing she wanted to do was force him into doing something that made him uncomfortable.

Then again, she didn't want to make assumptions either. "I mean…" she corrected herself quickly, clearing her throat as she looked back at her boyfriend apologetically "…do you want to go in any of them Emmet?"

Emmet hummed, rubbing his chin "well, I'm not great with haunted houses" he admitted casually "but I'd love go with you."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely, what about you Unikitty?"

"Sure, I've never been in a haunted house before" she said cheerfully "ooh! We should see if the others want to come too!"


"A haunted house village, you say?" Metalbeard mused as he scratched his beard. They were all gathered for a pizza night when Unikitty bought up their trip to the farm the day before, earning the intrigue of the rest of the group.

Unikitty nodded "there's going to be five of them, all different too!"

"Ooh, that does sound fun!" Watevra gushed, her body shifting around in anticipation "well I'm in, baby what about you?"

Batman grumbled with a nod "totally, I'm down for a little scaring." He looked over to Emmet "so what are we talking about here?"

Emmet made a noise as he swallowed a bite of pizza. "Okay well, there's mutant bugs, a hospital, uh a school…" he tapped his chin as he did his best to recall each theme "…something with clowns-"

"Ugh, clowns" Batman grumbled.

"And…what was the last-oh, duh! A pizza place" he chuckled, feeling kind of silly having trouble remembering that one while eating pizza.

"What's so scarry about a pizza parlor?" Mayhem asked in confusion.

"Mmh, Mr. Roswell said something about people getting eaten by the robots."

"…Sorry I asked."

"I guess it could be fun" Benny agreed, although he sounded pretty reluctant. "I've always been too afraid to go inside haunted houses" he confessed as he fiddled with his hands "but if we're all going together, I'd be willing to give it a try." Who knew, maybe being in a group would make it less scary. He turned to Emmet with a look of uncertainly "you're really going in?"

Emmet nodded "sure, I mean I'm not great with haunted houses but Lucy's really excited for them."

Benny nodded "well, if you can do it, so can I" he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

"Don't worry, you won't be alone" Mayhem assured him with a smile, placing a hand on his. Benny smiled back before they both looked away nervously, trying to ignore the growing warmth in their cheeks.

"Well, if the rest of yah are going, then I suppose I'll be coming as well" Metalbeard said with a shrug "will I be able to fit in yar houses?"

"One of us might have to carry your head" Emmet said with a wince "sorry." Metalbeard sighed and shook his head with a grumble, he should really look into a travel size body.

"Aaah! Our first real Halloween in five years all together and it's starting off with a bang! This will be awesome!" Lucy practically squealed.

The rest of the Master Builders couldn't help but snicker in amusement at seeing Lucy acting so unlike her usual self. It was strange, but a good strange, seeing her so happy for the holiday.

"You're a bad influence" Batman joked as he playfully nudged Emmet.


After what felt like forever, especially for Lucy, the big day finally arrived.

The Master Builders entered Jeb Roswell's haunted village with the rest of the crowds, looking around in awe at the completed ring of houses. Each one looking like a rundown version of what it was emulating, with various fake molds and webs strewn about. Sings of danger and the promise of something threatening were well placed in the forms of fake dismembered body parts and broken glass.

Combined with the lighting and ambiance music, the mood was well set from the get-go.

"Alright I'll admit it, this is pretty cool" Batman confessed as he stroked Watevra, who was cradled in his arms. With all the debate on if Metalbeard would be able to get his bulking body through the door, she thought it be best to explore the houses as something smaller.

So for tonight, the Queen was a cat.

"I can't wait to see the insides" Watevra said as she nuzzled her husband "you'll protect me from all the bad, bad monsters, won't you sweetie?"

"Baby, you know I will" Batman replied with a smile, nuzzling his wife back.

"Wow! It looks even better at night!" Emmet gushed as he looked around excitedly.

"Didn't I tell you?!" Lucy said eagerly. She was so psyched! She could already feel the adrenalin pumping through her "where should we start?"

Unikitty looked at the layout of the houses, they were set up like a little cul-de-sac "why don't we go in order?" She suggested.

"Sounds like a plan" came Metalbeard's response from next to her. They'd been able to borrow a spare robot body from President Business for the night for the pirate captain to use. He may not have been president of the world anymore, but he was still CEO of his company and still working to make amens for the whole "Taco Tuesday" fiasco. Especially with the Master Builders.

Pity he and Bad Cop were too busy working to come.

Metalbeard had been reluctant, but he had to admit this body wasn't half bad.

Lucy nodded in agreement "alright, let's get this horror show on the road!" With that, she grabbed Emmet's arm and sprinted towards the first house. The rest of the group followed close behind as they got in line. From the looks of the fake billboard, this house was the bug one dubbed Infestation.

Benny stared up at the far too innocent looking house in apprehension when he felt a hand take his. Glancing next to him, he found Mayhem smiling reassuringly. He returned the smile before they both looked away shyly, not once letting go of each other's hand.

Upon entering, they were greeted with a showroom where a Systarian was pretending to ooh and awe over a machine pumping out colored smoke. A voice could be heard overhead talking about how the device would keep your home bug free. "Hey, its Betty!" Watevra pointed to the actor before waving "hi Betty!" She received a quick wave back, but otherwise, Betty remained in character.

"Setting the stage" Lucy mumbled with a nod of approval "very nice."

The next room was where the real fun began. They entered an industrial looking hallway filled with a light amount of smoke and a blaring alarm. "Alright now were getting some-" Batman was cut off when someone dressed like a scientist jumped out covered in worms crying they were eating him, startling most of the group.

"Oh wait, it was just worms, not all bugs" Emmet chuckled "my bad guys."

The others didn't respond as they made way through the rest of the house. Next was a kitchen covered in fake worms and an actor with a large, fake worm sticking out of his mouth, wiggling and everything. Then a bedroom with a poor woman lying on the bed, several fake worms of various sizes and weirdly glowing worms emerging from her swollen belly as she wailed in agony. Even a bathroom with the things coming out of the toilet and shower like a waterfall.

Each room was filled with a generous number of scares mostly consisting of actors being devoured one way or another or dressed as monsteras, mutant glowing worms. Effectively terrifying the majority of the Master Builders. The whole thing ending with a room covered wall to wall with worms, including one giant one the size of President Business old tower, hissing and drooling down at them.

"UGH! That was so gross!" Mayhem cried with a shudder as they existed. "How are you doing Benny?" She asked the astronaut in concern. Benny glanced at her, looking nauseated, and nodded.

"They got me a few times, I'll admit it" Batman confessed, snuggling his wife.

"Are they all going to be like that?" Unikitty asked apprehensively, wondering if she'd bitten off too much. She was beginning to have second thoughts about this.

"Most likely" Metalbeard nodded, making the cat frown with a whimper.

"That was pretty good" Lucy said, she was feeling thoroughly disturbed and she loved it. "I do wish it'd been a bit creepier, but it was still a great start" she confessed "you doing okay, Emmet?"

"Hm?" Emmet blinked and smiled at her "oh yeah, I'm great" he said casually.

"Hey wait a minute" Batman suddenly spoke up. He turned to look at the construction worker with a raised brow "I didn't see you get scared once when we were in there."

This caught the others attention instantly, which was then turned onto Emmet.

Now that they all thought about it, Emmet hadn't gotten scared while they were in there. They couldn't recall him jumping or screaming once, and Emmet was usually a screamer. "Hey, he's right" Benny said "you weren't scared at all" not in a way they'd noticed, anyway.

"I did feel you flinch a few times" Lucy said, tapping her chin. She hadn't let go of him once in there, just in case he got overwhelmed "and I saw you wincing a little, but otherwise, you were pretty calm."

"Well, I was a little worried about the animatronics" he shrugged. "We weren't sure they were gonna work, and there were some problems with the fog machines in test runs" he explained factually before smiling "but they all worked great!"

The others just stared at him in confusion. Maybe they were making a big deal out of nothing, Emmet had never really had a problem with bugs or worms in the past, so maybe the theme just hadn't bothered him?

"Anyway…" Metalbeard said after a moment "on to ye next house?" The second house was the hospital, doubled Wellness. It looked like a run of the mill hospital, minus all the blood on the windows.

"So, what's the story behind this one, Dad?" Watevra asked, leaning over to look at Emmet excitedly.

"If I remember, the doctors torture and experiment on the patients."

"Nice" Lucy cheered quietly as they entered. Instantly, they were greeted by a front desk where a deranged looking receptionist gave them a creepy welcome.

They headed down a hallway filled with screams and blood-soaked doctors jumping out at them, holding various types of medical equipment or organs. The operating room really kicked things up, there were organs strewn around and a mangled patient on gurney, barely alive, urging them to run. A doctor with a trail of intestine draped around his neck and buzz saw in hand jumping out as they passed.

As the group made their way through, they couldn't help but glance over to Emmet. They were curious to see how he'd react this time around, but he didn't. He flinched a little like Lucy said, and occasionally could be seen mumbling something under his breath, but otherwise he didn't look the least bit fazed.

Even when they reached the big climax in the morgue, filled to the brim with living bloody body bags, nothing.

Which wasn't the worst thing considering both Benny and Unikitty were gagging as they left.

"Easy, there you go" Emmet did his best to comfort them as he patted their backs. "Don't worry you guys, the next two are way less morbid" he assured them before wincing "I uh, can't make any promises about the last one, sorry."

"You did it again!" Batman cried in irritation, pointing at him accusingly "you didn't get scared in there again!"

"Uh…huh?"

"That be making no sense, mate" Metalbeard chastised the superhero before giving Emmet his own stink eye "but he's right, you were as cool as the arctic sea in there."

"And what were you mumbling?" Mayhem asked in confusion.

Emmet frowned, trying to recall what Mayhem was talking about "OH! I was taking notes."

"Notes?"

Emmet nodded "yeah, Mr. Roswell was going back and forth on if the effects were too convincing or not convincing at all" he explained. "I was taking notes for him, but judging by you guys, they should be fine" he winced and looked back at Benny and Unikitty who were still recovering "sorry you guys."

Benny held his hand up "it's okay, you're right. They're pretty spot on."

"But…you really weren't scared in there?" Unikitty asked slowly as she glanced at the construction worker.

Emmet shrugged "I mean…maybe not scared scared…" he said hesitantly, waving his hand awkwardly.

Watevra whistled "dang Dad, you've got nerves of steel."

Emmet chuckled "oh, I don't know about that…"

Okay, now this was getting concerning. It wasn't like they wanted Emmet to be terrified, but Lucy was starting to get worried. Was it possible he couldn't get afraid of simple scares anymore?

Surly Emmet wasn't so traumatized by everything he'd gone through since finding the piece of resistance, since meeting her, that he'd been left completely desensitized, right?

She wasn't sure she could forgive herself if that was the case.

She was still struggling to forgive herself for Rex.

"You, uh" Unikitty spoke up "you said the next two weren't as icky. What are they about?" From the looks on hers and the others faces, they were having similar concerns as Lucy.

"Uh, let's see, the clowns are aliens" Emmet explained "and the school is haunted." Okay, those sounded promising, perhaps one of them would get a reaction out of Emmet. Different people are scared by different things after all, maybe fake gore just wasn't something that got to him and ghosts and clowns were.

Again, they didn't want Emmet to be badly scared. They were just…really, really hoping they hadn't screwed him up.


Oh Man upstairs, they'd screwed him up, hadn't they?

Once Benny and Unikitty had collected their bearings, they headed to the school house dubbed Scar-Care Elementary. The buildingwas eerily worn down, with signs of fire damage creating a narrative before they even set foot inside. This one was far more tragic, with the sounds of children's quiet sobs and terrified screams filling each decimated room.

That wasn't to say there weren't plenty of scares. With several actors posing as ghosts, many covered in fake burns and clearly meant to be children.

This time they all kept a close watch on Emmet. He was clearly saddened by the story behind the attraction, occasionally wiping away tears, but still the actors and recreations of the devastating fire failed to get a reaction of fear out of him.

"You didn't get scared again" Batman said as soon as they left, the worry not lost even in the usual gruffness of his voice.

Emmet glanced at him as he scrubbed his eyes "I was scared" he mumbled weakly with a sniff.

"No, you were sad" Mayhem corrected "that's not really the same."

"But that one was sad!" Unikitty wailed, burying her face into Emmet's side as she let the tears flow freely.

Lucy stared at her boyfriend in concern "Emmet-"

"Was it too dark in there?" He suddenly asked, still comforting the distraught cat.

Lucy blinked "wasn't it supposed to be dark?" She asked hesitantly "its supposed to be a tragedy-"

"No, no I meant the lighting" he corrected "you could see okay without losing the mood, right?"

"…Uh, yeah the lighting was fine" she shared a look with the others, was that really all he cared about? The lighting?

Maybe the next one would do the trick.

They apprehensively made their way into the clown house called Laugh Factory. This one ended up being more abstract, covered in ultra violet light that made everything glow, in particular the graffiti littering the walls. The whole thing resembled a twisted circus tent with equally twisted looking clowns around every corner.

Not surprisingly, Batman hadn't been a fan.

Also not surprising by that point, Emmet hadn't been very scared.

Again.

The occasional flinch and a few small jumps here and there, but that was about it.

"Ah! That ultra violet was awesome!" Emmet cheered as they left. "I was worried it might be straining on the eyes, but I feel fine! Oh, but we should probably check in with the actors" He looked back at the others with a wide smile "what about you guys? You doing alright?"

"Yeah" came everyone's very unenthusiastic response.

Emmet blinked, caught off guard by the change in demeanor "are you guys okay?"

"Are you?" Batman asked more accusingly than he'd intended. Interrogating villain after villain had sadly robbed him of most of his tact.

"Huh?"

"Never mind" Lucy said with a shake of her head, forcing a smile "come on, one more to go." Emmet frowned as they made their way to the final house, Cheezzy Monty's. They all seemed really bothered by his reactions so far, or lack of from the sound of it. He hoped he wasn't ruining everyone's good time, that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Okay, he could fix that. They wanted him to be scared, right? He could be scared.

The layout of the final house had a very eighties-to-early nineties vibe. Like the first one, it opened harmless enough with advertisements about the parlor and its state-of-the-art robots. The actual parlor however, was nothing short of a bloodbath. There were fake body parts and rotting food stung about, some in the grasps and mouths of various, blood socked robotic looking animals.

The ball pit, if it could even be called that anymore, was an especially gruesome scene.

Most of the actors were playing either half devoured victims or poor souls trying to hide, while the rest were dressed as the ravenous mascots hidden around each corner. Emmet made sure to put on a good show of leaping and crying out in terror when they jumped out, hoping he was convincing enough to please his friends each time they were faced with a scare.

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

They'd known him long enough to know his acting skills were…not the worst but not the most convincing either. This was no different, especially since they'd heard him scream before and had seen him afraid plenty of times, so it was obvious to them that he was faking it.

Except at ending. After leaving the kitchen, where a hippo was chopping up a family with the father already in the oven, they entered what was dubbed the birthday room. The bots were gathered around the table where a feast of what could only be described as people pizza, that was not the least bit subtle looking, was being served.

There was no denying the nauseated look on Emmet's face was real, but it just wasn't the same.

"Oh wow" he mumbled as they left "that ending was more effective than I was expecting" with a shake of his head, he cleared his throat and looked at the others with a smile. "Boy, that was a scary one, huh? I was terrified in there!" He was laying it on thick, he knew he was laying it on thick, but maybe it was working "really, I don't know how I'll sleep tonight-"

"Emmet, we know you weren't scared in there" Mayhem said flatly.

"We know you were faking" Batman added, Watevra nodding in agreement.

"…Pfff, what? No!" Emmet chuckled nervously "I-I was totally scared! I mean like…so, so very scared-"

"Emmet" Lucy said softly as touched his arm, giving him a small grin "you can stop, its fine."

Seeing no one was buying it, Emmet deflated slightly, causing the group to fall into an awkward silence. "I'm sorry" he suddenly said after a while.

The others all looked at him in surprise "what?"

Emmet sighed, looking down in guilt "I'm sorry if I ruined tonight for you guys" he continued softly "maybe I should've waited outside-"

"No, no, no Emmet" Lucy quickly cut him off "you didn't ruin anything."

"Yeah!" Benny said urgently. He didn't want Emmet to think they were upset with him, or worse, ashamed of him.

Not again.

"You can't help it if you weren't scared" especially if it was their fault. "We should be the ones apologizing to you" he said as he lowered his head in shame.

Now it was Emmet's turn to look at them in confusion "what? Why?"

"Because we broke you!" Unikitty cried, tearing up again "with the piece of resistance, and the prophecy that wasn't a prophecy, and Armamageddon, and Rex oh man upstairs Rex-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Emmet waved his hands franticly in an effort to calm her down "what do you mean you broke me? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, they think all the craziness they dragged you into and how hard they've been on you may have messed you up" Watevra explained to her father casually. "You know…" she pointed to the side of her head "…up here."

"What?!" Emmet cried in disbelief "no, no, no! You guys, that's crazy!"

"But then why weren't you scared in there?!" Batman cried in frustration, but the concern was no less clear.

"Not that we want you to be traumatized" Lucy quickly corrected, shooting her superhero ex a glare "we're just worried about you."

"It be concerning, lad" Metalbeard added with a somber nod.

Lucy took her boyfriend's hand into both of hers, rubbing it gently "I know we weren't the best friends to you in the past, but you know you can talk to us about anything, don't you?"

Emmet placed his free hand on top of hers with a smile "of course I do" he assured her "but you guys didn't break me, I swear." Emmet shifted awkwardly.

"The truth is I'm not scared of haunted houses" he confessed.

"…Say what now?" Metalbeard couldn't help asked. They all couldn't help but stare at the construction worker in stunned disbelief. He couldn't be serious, could he? "Yer not afraid of haunted houses? At all?"

Emmet shook his head "I haven't been for years, like, long before I meat you guys. I mean, I did tell you I wasn't great with haunted houses-"

"That's what you meant?!" Batman cried in disbelief "that they don't scare you?!"

Emmet just nodded with a shrug. The group stared at him in amazement, not sure how to respond. He was being serious.

"You're really not afraid of haunted houses?" Benny asked in awe.

"Well, I mean I used to be" Emmet explained "I could barely set foot in one, never mind get through them. Then one year, Mr. Roswell was having trouble getting his yearly house together, it was a whole mansion." They nodded in understanding, making sure he knew they were listening "anyway, he worked so hard every year to make Halloween just a little more awesome for everyone, I couldn't let all his hard work go to waste, so I volunteered to help. We just barely got it ready in time."

He smiled fondly at the memory "when the big day came, I couldn't help it, I wanted to see how it all turned out. I know that sounds selfish-"

"That's not selfish" Lucy assured him "why wouldn't you want to see the end result of your hard work?" She smiled shyly "even I give myself a little pat on the back whenever I build something" the others all nodded, voicing their agreement.

"There be no shame in taking pride in yer work, me boy" Metalbeard nodded before nudging Batman "so long as it don't go to yer head" he chuckled as the hero scoffed.

Emmet smiled "so, despite every part of me screaming it was a bad idea, I went inside."

"And you just, what...stopped being scared?" Mayhem asked, trying to understand where this was going.

"Not exactly. It started off like every other time I went into a haunted house, with me freaked out of my mind, but then…" he paused as he tried to find the right words to explain. "…Well, the longer I was in there, more I began thinking back to when I was putting it all together" his gaze drifted towards the five houses behind them, his smile growing "every brick I helped put down, all the decorations I helped hang up, the time spent planning everything out to the last detail. Soon that was all I could see."

The others listened intently, fascinated. "Yeah, you were doing that tonight, too" Watevra pointed out "you kept talking about stuff like the lights and decorations"

Emmet nodded "suddenly I wasn't scared anymore."

"Because, now you just focus on that stuff?" Mayhem asked, earing another nod.

"Because now all I see are the numbers."

With that one sentence, everything clicked into place for the Master Builders.

When Emmet went into a haunted house, he didn't see the story of terror trying to crawl its way under his skin. He saw the individual pieces that came together to tell that story. The pieces he helped put together. It was the same as when each of them assembled something. They saw each part on its own and how to bring them together for the final product.

They saw the numbers.

Turned out Emmet had been doing that even before becoming a Master Builder. Just a little differently.

Lucy couldn't help but smile, Vitruvius really had been right to choose Emmet. She was just sorry it took them all so long to see and appreciate that. "Still, why come if you're not going to get scared?" She couldn't help but ask "you could've said no if you knew you weren't gonna have fun."

"Oh, I still have fun!" Emmet said enthusiastically. "Like I said, I love seeing how everything turns out and where to improve on for next year. Also…" Emmet suddenly became embarrassed, looking away as he fiddled with his hands.

"Emmet?"

"…I kinda…really wanted to see all of your reactions" he confessed with a guilty smile.

Once again, the group stared at him in stunned disbelief. Suddenly, Lucy gave a snort and bust out laughing, causing the others to follow suite.

They couldn't help it. They'd spent nearly the whole night worrying about Emmet's lack of terror, only to find out Emmet had come along to watch all of them get scared.

It was too much!

Even Emmet couldn't help but laugh.

"T-this night really didn't play out as expected" Lucy managed to say as she caught her breath.

"I'm sorry you guys" Emmet apologized again as he wiped his eyes "I should've been more clear when I said I wasn't great with haunted houses" he admitted. "But that dinner scene really did get to me" he told them honestly with a shudder "I was this close to throwing up."

Benny groaned "you and me both."

Lucy shook her head in amusement before taking Emmet's hands in hers. "Hey, how do you feel about a round two?" She asked with a playful smile "my reaction might not be as good, but I promise I won't be distracted."

Emmet returned the smile "that sounds great, what about you guys?"

"I'm down" Watevra nodded "baby?"

Batman shrugged with a grin as he nuzzled her "sure."

"I'd be up for another go" Metalbeard agreed.

Unikitty nodded "maybe they won't be so bad the second time around, right?" She suggested, sharing a hopeful gaze with Benny.

Benny sighed anxiously, but nodded "yeah, okay." If Emmet could stop being scared of haunted houses, maybe he could learn to be okay with them.

"You sure?" Mayhem asked gently, taking his hand again.

Benny nodded "yeah, I wanna give it another shot" he smiled at her. Mayhem smiled back, this time the two of them didn't look away.

"Well come on" Lucy said as she once again pulled Emmet towards the row of houses, the others close behind. "Round two!" She cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

Emmet laughed "yeah, round two!" He repeated equally enthusiastically.

"Round two!" The others joined in with their own laughter.

No doubt the night had definitely taken an interesting turn, but they weren't complaining. It had actually been nice to learn something new about Emmet, no matter how random. It made them all the more eager to plan out the rest of their spooky season together.

All and all, not a bad start to their first official Halloween together.


So, literally, this whole fic was born from "hey what if Emmet was the only one not afraid of haunted houses?" Randomly popping into my head, and me just saying "okay."

Anyway, I hope this was an enjoyable fic for the spooky season. If not, well, here's hoping the next one will be better.

Until next time, I wish you all a happy Halloween.