A Twisted Halloween Volume 5: Final Fright

Chapter 1: Wide Open

Meanwhile, Cater, Rook, Sebek, Deuce, Trey, and Vil walk around the mysterious stairway.

"Whew… This has been quite the trek," Rook replies.

Then turns to the others, "Vil? Cater? You two holding up alright?"

"I know my usual retort is 'Who do you think I am?' but I must admit, I'm not in top form at the moment," Vil answers.

"I'm kinda beat, TBH. I'm slowing you down, aren't I?" Cater replies.

"Don't worry about it. No one blames you. The three of us fought pretty hard when you were possessed." Trey answers.

Deuce turns to Sebek and says, "Sorry, Sebek. I can tell you're antsy. You probably want to get a move on, huh?"

"OF COURSE I DO," Sebek answers. "I'm not going it alone because we have a higher chance of rescuing Malleus as a group, but if it weren't for that I'd be sprinting… Wait!"

He soon stops and says, "Our group has three Hallowenders and three possession victims, yes? Rook, Trey, and I can carry those of you who are exhausted!"

Trey laughs, "Ahaha, that's pretty funny…" and soon realizes, "Wait, you're not joking are you? You're totally serious."

"I wouldn't be caught dead in such an unseemly arrangement. I'd soon crawl on the floor," Vil answers.

"Friends aiding friends is such a beautiful thing! I would be quite willing, but… Perhaps we should check in there first? If you would look to our right," Rook says, and looks at his right.

Sebek says, "To the right?" and turns to the right.

The others do the same. And soon enough, they find another door.

"Ah, a door!" Sebek says, surprised. "Now we can move on."

Then says with determination, "Let's be off. And if any of you have trouble walking, don't hesitate to inform me!"

The group then walks towards the door, and Sebek opens it. Soon, everyone walks through the door and closes the door behind them. And soon find themselves in the same staircase.

"Hm? Were we not just here?" Sebek questions.

"That's strange. All the other doors have taken us to completely different areas," Trey says.

Suddenly someone calls out, "TREY!"

Trey's group turns to see Ace, Riddle, and the others. And all the groups who have been separated walk through their individual doors and into the same place.

Riddle smiles and says, "And Cater and Deuce are with you too! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Riddle! Ace! Boy, am I glad to see you guys. Neither of you look too banged up, either." Trey says, relieved.

Cater happily waves, "Riddle! Acey! Sorry if I worried you guys."

"I'm sorry too. If I'd been sharper, I wouldn't have put you through all this trouble," Deuce apologizes.

"You should be! I thought you were snorin' away, then poof! You were just gone. Talk about leavin' yourself wide open," Ace says.

Deuce frowns, "I wasn't talking to you."

"Yeowch, what's gotten into you?" Ace questions.

He then smirks and says, "Oh right, I heard from the headmage that you bawled like a baby when you were possessed. I woulda paid good money to see that!"

"Wha… just shut up!" Deuce exclaims.

Confused, Sebek asks, "What's happening…?"

"Tres bien! Our four scattered teams have been reunited once more!" Rook happily says.

Silver walks to Sebek, "Looks like you're largely unscathed, Sebek. That's a relief."

"Hmph. Well, you seem fine, and I could hardly allow myself to fare worse than you," Sebek replies.

Then asks, "Are you alone?" What of Malleus and Lilia?"

"We've yet to find any trace of them. I'm guessing it's been the same for you," Silver answers.

"Rrrgh…!" Sebek growls in frustration.

And the Pomefiore students come together.

"Ah, Epel! Your charming smile, so easily mistaken for a flower… How glad I am to look on it once more!" Rook says.

"I don't know about this 'charming' business, but…" Epel says, but he smiles, "Rook, thank you for coming to my and Vil's rescue."

Ortho practically runs to his brother with joy, "IDIAAA!"

"ORTHOOO!" Idia screams in relief.

And the two practically hug each other.

Ortho happily says, "I'm so happy you're safe… I was so worried, I thought my circuits might fry!

"Thank you for coming to rescue me. Ahhh… Nothing beats the taste of sweet, sweet freedom from that awful party comp," India says.

And the Octavinelle students get together.

Floyd says, "Wassup, Azul. Jade. You two look just fine."

"You actually joined the rescue team, Floyd? What possessed you to take on such a menial task?" Azul asks.

Then Jade smiles and says, "He must have been worried and flew to our aid. My brother truly has a compassionate, benevolent soul."

"Yeah, that's totally it. Us Octavinelle folks are all about that spirit of benevolence. And I'm sure I can expect a little somethin' - somethin' in return." Floyd says.

And then there's Savanaclaw dorm.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little lost pup who scampered out the door. Did you remember where your house was?" Leona questions in remark.

Jack is shocked, "Leona! Look, I didn't intend to 'scamper' out -"

He then stops himself and says, "... Y'know what, never mind. Splitting hairs is never a good look. I'm sorry for the trouble I put you through, sir!"

Ruggie snickers and whispers to Leona, "Shyeheehee. C'mon, Leona. Would it kill you to be honest with the guy and tell him you were worried?"

And then there's Scarabia's group.

Kalim smiles and says, "It's nice to see everyone in such high spirits!"

"I'm not sure we can really say that," Jamil replies.

And says, "You, Jack, and everyone else who got possessed must be running on empty."

"Ah, yes, we found that to be true in our group as well. We should be grateful that we've all reassembled at this juncture," Rook says. "We're all finally in the same place. Was it happenstance we arrived here at the same time?"

Then Sebek says, "We found a door in our travels, but it was locked. We were discussing what to do when we ran into you all."

"It was much the same for us. We came upon a locked door and we're at an impasse…" Riddle says.

"When we suddenly heard it unlock, and we dove right in," Ruggie says.

Then Trey says, "Our door wasn't locked; it opened right away."

Just then, Leona says, "Okay, I get it. The doors must've been designed to only open when everyone was ready to go through. Which means someone intentionally brought us here at the same time.

"D'accord. I imagine it was for that right there," Rook says and looks down one of the staircases.

"For what?" Sebek asks, walking over.

He turns to where Rook is looking, "... Wait, what's that door?!"

Trey walks over and sees the door, "A giant, ornate door at the bottom of the stairway… And it's different from all the others we've seen so far."

"Welp, we know where that goes, don't we? Couldn't be more clear than if they'd slapped a 'BOSS THIS WAY' sign on it. Might be a trap, but so what? Not like we've got any other options," Floyd says.

"For once, I agree with Floyd," Riddle replies.

Then Riddle says, "If the source of this endless Halloween lies beyond that door, then there's only one thing to do - eliminate it!"

"Right. And we'll get Malleus and Lilia back too," Silver says.

"Then I suppose we must let the chips fall where they may," Rook says.

Then asks, "Are you all ready to proceed?"

"You bet!" Everyone agrees.

With everyone ready, they walk down the stairs to the door and ready to solve this mystery.