I guess it's weird to have a Halloween chapter with only two regular chapters, but it's serendipitous. It's one of those filler chapters that introduce things that are important later.

Here's to the next season of Castlevania! Yay, Leon cameos! I like how they explained things like where their names are from (Belmont is French, Trevor is a form of the Celtic Trefor), and how Dracula expected to survive in a world without humans. The bit where Sypha makes a giant pillar of ice to get out of the vaults and then throws it away because it would melt and destroy all the books was a great addition; I was thinking that the whole time, and it's a nice touch of realism.

I always found it interesting how after the original Megaten Duology, there's almost no justification for the human party members learning magic. Yumiko in the first game is Izanami's reincarnation. The Witch and the Friend of the second game were taught by Pazuzu. Both times, magic is special. Then you have the first two Shin Megami Tensei games, where it seems like every human except for Kazuya and Aleph can sling spells around without any explanation.

This chapter is based off of Jack Bros., the first Megaten game to be released in English.

As timeline context, Aria of Sorrow takes place in September 2nd, 2035, in canon. Dawn of Sorrow in my story takes place in December of 2036, and this fanfiction begins in January 2037.

Jack's Halloween

Unless something extraordinary disrupts the balance between the worlds, it is difficult for a human or demon to cross between worlds. Under rare circumstances, however, some of the barriers between worlds may be lifted, allowing easy passage.

Halloween is one of those exceptions. For one night a year, demons may walk alongside humans, to play pranks or to just play. Fairies in particular love this holiday, as fairies love humans.

For, Jack Frost, Pyro Jack, and Ripper Jack, Halloween was the best night of the year.

Sunday, October 31, 2032

"Trick or Tr-hee-t!" said the little trio in unison.

"Jack Frost?" said Yoko Belnades, holding a large bowl of candy. "Pyro Jack? Ripper Jack? It's been so long! It's good to see you again!"

"Yo-ho-ko, you're so big!" said Jack Frost. "I thought we just played together a few decades ago, ho!"

"Humans don't live as long as demons, Jack Frost," said Yoko patiently, giving them each a large chocolate bar. "One decade is about an eighth of our lifespan."

"He-oh…" said Pyro Jack sadly. "Why?"

"That's one of those big philosophical questions that people have been asking themselves since humans could think," said Yoko. The Jack brothers were a bit like children; difficult concepts confused them. You had to break things down into small pieces.

"So what's the answer?" said Ripper Jack curiously.

"We still don't know," said Yoko.

"After all this time?" said Ripper Jack.

"We're just not very good at agreeing on the answer," said Yoko.

Pyro Jack looked sad, and then brightened up. Literally; his lantern flared up three times its normal brightness. "He-how about you come trick-or-treating with us, ho?" he said.

Yoko shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. I'm the one handing out candy now, you see. My family's depending on me."

"Leave them!" said Ripper Jack. "Have fun with us! Kids eat too much candy these days, anyways."

"No, really, I can't," said Yoko. "Demons worse than you three go out and hurt humans every Halloween. Most of my family's out fighting them, and I have to stay home to protect my little cousins."

"He-oh," said Pyro Jack.

"But," said Yoko, brightening up. "If you come by in an hour or so, I'll have some special treats for you."

"Hee-ho-ho-ho!" yelled Jack Frost. "Thank you, Yo-ho-ko!"

The trio of little demons scurried off into the night.

"…You're the only people in the world who can get away with calling me a ho, you know that?" Yoko said when they were far out of earshot.

"What's that, cuz?" said her younger cousin, emerging from the bathroom.

"Good timing, Kaitou," said Yoko, putting down the bowl. "Mind holding down the fort for a bit? I'm making dessert."

X

"Hee-ho!" said Jack Frost, drenching his shaved ice in strawberry syrup. "This is great! Thank you, Yo-ho-ko!"

Kaitou stared at Yoko. "Since when were you friends with demons?"

"Since I was seven," said Yoko. "Spiriting away. Grandma was furious. That's where we got that flayed orc skin hung up in the living room, remember?"

"I thought that was a gift from Auntie Yuka, after she went on vacation in England."

"No, that's the goblin skin in the parlor. Completely different."

"How's this so wet on the inside, ho?" said Pyro Jack, poking his lava cake.

"It's batter," explained Yoko. "The outside shell is cooked, but the inside is slower than-"

"These entrails are delicious!" said Ripper Jack.

Yoko and Kaitou stared at one another. They couldn't find any entrails, so they thawed out a bag of ground pork and dropped it in a bowl.

"Yo-ho-ko, what're those numbers on that box?" asked Jack Frost.

"That's a clock," said Kaitou. "It tells time."

Jack Frost stared. "So it's ten… fifty-seven!?" Jack Frost stood up. "We have to leave, ho!"

"Don't let Wyvern eat me this time, ho!" shouted Pyro Jack.

The trio scurried off into the night.

"…What was that all about?" asked Kaitou.

"Demons who cross over on Halloween lose their powers and die if they stay here past midnight," explained Yoko.

Kaitou stared. "…Is that true?"

"No, but it keeps them out of our hair," said Yoko. "We'd have armies march here every year if we hadn't spread that rumor."

"Oh…" said Kaitou. "Is that why Mom and Dad don't come back until morning? They're slaying the stragglers, so none of them find out we're lying?"

"Pretty much," said Yoko, wondering if it was a good idea to tell the ten-year-old about the adult's after-battle drinking parties. "Well, time to clean u-"

The monster alarm went off. Without as much as a backwards glance, Yoko sprinted out the house, wand in hand, ready to do battle the flock of harpies.

Kaitou stared at the uneaten food. "So… I guess I'm cleaning this up?"

Monday, October 31, 2033

Yoko sighed as she took another piece of chocolate out of the bowl. "House duty again," she muttered. "They tell me I have to go through the legendary castle of evil alone in two years, but they can't trust me on the night guard?"

"Sorry, Yoko," said Kaitou, head hanging low. "I didn't make Rank Five."

"No, it's fine, it's not your fault," said Yoko. "They just chose me instead of someone else, that's all."

"But-"

"No buts," said Yoko firmly. "Most children take that test when they're at least fifteen. All that means is that you're not a prodigy."

"But my cousin knows advanced lightning magic, and she's not even a Belnades!" said Kaitou. When he realized what he had said, he coughed and added, "I mean, shouldn't she be spending all her time on weapons training instead of magic like us?"

"She's also an adult," said Yoko. "You're a good magician, Kaitou. Just give it a few years; you can't rush experience."

"Okay," said Kaitou, not quite convinced.

There was a knock at the door.

"TRICK OR TR-HEE-T!" yelled a trio of demons.

Yoko's eyes widened in surprise. "Jack Frost, Pyro Jack, and Ripper Jack?" she said.

"Of course, ho!" said Jack Frost cheerily. "We-hee talked it over, and we're going to visit you every year!"

"Human lives are too short," said Ripper Jack. "Make the best of it when we can, right?"

"So we made you a cake!" said Pyro Jack. He held out a crushed cake with leaves and branches sticking out.

"Thank you," said Yoko. "That's so sweet of you."

"I know, right?" said Ripper Jack. "Want to come play some pranks with us? Pyro just found something called TP."

"It burns really good, hee-hee!" said Pyro Jack.

"…I still need to keep my family safe, you know," said Yoko. "Speaking of my family, if you burn anything down, they'll come after you. And you know what they do to demons…"

The trio shuddered. Jack Frost's head melted a little. Pyro Jack's flame dimmed to a pale yellow. Ripper Jack's skull lights dimmed.

"But, I'll make you a treat if you don't destroy anything," added Yoko brightly. "Just swing by in an hour or so, okay?"

"We can do this every year!" said Kaitou.

"Yeah, hee-ho!" said Jack Frost. "Come on, let's go get some more candy!"

When the demon trio were out of earshot, Yoko said, "You just want lava cakes, don't you?"

"What, you don't?" said Kaitou.

X

"…They're still not here," said Kaitou. "Yoko, can we-"

"No, Kaitou," said Yoko.

"But it's almost eleven," said Kaitou. "They can't make it-"

There was a knock at the door. "Sorry, ho!" shouted Jack Frost. "We were putting out fires all night!"

"T-hee-y weren't my fault, ho!" said Pyro Jack quickly. "We were scared! If something burned down, you might not give us dessert, ho!"

"You put out fires?" said Yoko. "That's-"

"No time!" said Ripper Jack. "We're just here to say goodbye. Goodbye!"

"We're sorry, Beelzebub!"

Once again, the trio scurried off in a blind panic.

"…I'm getting you all watches next year," said Yoko.

"So can I…?"

"Yes, you may."

Kaitou bit into the Jacks' cake. "Hey, this is actually pretty good!" he said.

But Yoko didn't hear him, because she had to chase off a gang of elves.

Tuesday, October 31, 2034

"TRICK OR TR-HEE-T!"

"Good evening, Jack Frost, Pyro Jack, Ripper Jack," said Yoko, not holding the bowl of candy. This year, Kaitou was handing out the candy, and they had real entrails for Ripper Jack.

"Ho-w'd you know it was us, ho?" asked Jack Frost.

"No one else talks like you three," said Yoko. "Come in, I made dessert early this year."

"Don't worry, Yo-ho-ko!" said Jack Frost. "We solved the time problem."

"…Solved it?" said Yoko, raising one eyebrow.

"We can stay out as long as we want now!" said Ripper Jack. "…All right, not really, but we can stay out after midnight now!"

"We're not supposed to tell humans how, ho," Pyro Jack said in a low whisper. "The b—I mean, we'd get into big trouble if any humans knew! E-hee-ven you!"

Yoko's face turned grave. "Can anyone else do what you did?"

"Er…"

"Tell me. Or no dessert."

The Jacks looked at one another. "…Yes," confessed Pyro Jack.

Yoko sat down. "I have a duty, you know. The Belnades family must protect the world from demons. I am obligated to tell my family about this."

The Jacks looked at one another.

"And they might have to destroy you," clarified Yoko.

Kaitou's eyes went wide. "But Yoko-"

"However," added Yoko. "I can make an exception, if you three agree to a deal."

The Jacks were silent.

"I'll let this slide if you prevent any other demons from doing what you did," said Yoko. "You can't hide it; they'll see you return late. Give them a fake spell or ritual, one that requires at least fifty complicated steps, so that when it inevitably fails, they'll blame it on themselves. [1] I can write one up in half an hour."

"But…" Jack Frost said, looking from side to side. "W-hee were supposed to-"

Fire flared in Yoko's hands. "Do I make myself clear?"

Jack Frost yelped and hugged Ripper Jack. "Y-yes ma'am!" they said in unison.

"Ha, fire can't hurt me!" said Pyro Jack. "I'm Pyro Jack!"

Lightning arced between Yoko's hands. "Is this clear?"

"…Yes, ma'am," said the Jacks in unison.

"Now, then," said Yoko. "How about some dessert?"

"Yeah!" said Kaitou. "Now we can party all ni-"

"You have school tomorrow," said Yoko.

"Aw…"

X

Kazuya Kawamoto sat at his desk, debugging his compiler. It was several hours past midnight on a school night, but he neither noticed nor cared. He could sleep in class. His first class was English, which he had mastered in the future, and his second was Japanese Composition, which he did not care about. He could skip Gym if he had to, but naginata practice was a lot of fun.

"Hi-ho!" shouted a voice behind him, tapping his shoulder.

"Cal!" he shouted, falling off his swivel chair. He turned around, and saw the three Jack brothers. "When did you get here?!"

"Just now, ho," said Pyro Jack. "We opened the window."

"How did you not notice?!" said Ripper Jack incredulously, holding up a slightly damaged razor blade. "I had to break your lock to get in!"

"I have terrible tunnel vision," said Kazuya simply. "So, had fun running around? Nochy air do you good?"

"It did," said the trio in unison.

Kazuya stretched. "Time to hold up my end of the bargain," he said, typing something into his COMP.

Nothing happened.

"It's probably a technical glitch; let me check the manual," said Kazuya, looking at his emails. "Just sit down, don't break anything, and be quiet."

This went against the nature of the Jack brothers, but they couldn't disobey a direct order from their contracted summoner.

After a few minutes, Kazuya moaned. "Found the problem," he said. "The return function's destination isn't locked yet."

"Hee?" said Jack Frost, tilting his head.

"The computer doesn't know where your home is," explained Kazuya, still staring at the monitor. "It can't send you back until it knows."

"Why, ho?" asked Jack Frost.

Kazuya paused to rearrange the thoughts in his head to a higher (that is, more comprehensible) level. "This program is supposed to summon and dismiss demons. It's good at summoning, but the designer was in a hurry when he was programming the dismiss function, so it's poorly optimized. Most of the time, it returns you to your world by… reversing the ritual. Obviously, that doesn't work when I didn't summon you, like right after the contract is made, so there's another function for that. That one works by sending you back through the way you came… which, apparently, is closed." [2]

"Ho does it know which way we got here, ho?" asked Jack Frost.

"Apparently, it's supposed to lock onto your home world using your quantum dimensional wavelength and cross-referencing it with the quantum signal that comes from parallel dimensions, which we know about due to quantum, and using multiple imaginary numbers to simulate the quantum tunnel…" Kazuya paused to stare. "…Nothing that uses the word quantum ten times in one paragraph can possibly be real physics."

"What's quantum?" asked Ripper Jack.

"It's a big field of science with lots of quarks in it, but that's not important right now," said Kazuya. "The point is that it can't send you back the way you came because the portal's closed. This wouldn't have happened in my time, since Stephen's teleporter broke all the barriers, but that's right horrorshow where it is."

The Jacks looked at one another. "So… we-hee're stuck hee-re, ho?" said Jack Frost.

"Yes," said Kazuya gritting his teeth and calculating how much Magnetite he'd be set back by. "Once the portal opens, I can send you back, but until then, you're stuck for the whole year."

The Jack brothers looked at one another. "Well, that's not so bad, ho!" said Jack Frost. "We can see summer! And winter! And spring!"

"Yay!" said Pyro Jack.

Kazuya glared at them. "If you're going to be taking up a year's supply of Magnetite each, you're going to have to make yourselves worth it. Now go make me a chasha of coffee. No moloko, two sakar. The Em's our, so you don't have to worry about her as long as you clean up."

"Even me, ho?" said Jack Frost.

"Fine, you can dust my shelves," said Kazuya.

Ripper Jack raised his hand. "Wait, so you can only send us back on Halloween nights?"

Kazuya shook his head. "The destination will be saved when I send you back the first time. Once that's set, I can summon or dismiss you at any time of the year. Your contract would be a waste of memory if it was that inefficient. Not that memory is a problem anymore," Kazuya added, smirking. "Thank you, Moore's Law."

"Sir?" asked Ripper Jack.

"Yes?"

"How did you know that we were demons instead of kids in costumes?"

"Easy. Pyro Jack hasn't got any legs. Most human children can't float."

Pyro Jack looked down. "…How did no one notice this until today?"

The three demons scurried off to their assigned tasks. Kazuya settled down at his computer, but before he could type in a single word, he said, "You did what to my lock!?"

TO BE CONTINUED!

[1] A spell with a lot of complicated steps: People did this in real magic spells, for plausible deniability. If you cast it and you get what you want, you'll think it's a real spell. If it doesn't, you'll assume that you cast the spell wrong.

[2] Dismissal by sending back the way they came: Stephen found a better way to dismiss demons by SMT2, which is why you can summon from their homeland, Makai. I also forgot about the Diamond Realm when I was writing this… maybe it's just because it's a metaphysical space?

I had to change the years a few times for this to make sense. Kazuya sent back the Jacks in 2035, before he went off to college, or else I'd have to explain how none of them were caught by Soma or Naoki. Soma might be more oblivious without his powers, but Naoki is kind of jumpy at the moment.

OMAKE

For the government workers in Makai (for lack of a better term), Halloween was a holiday. As it was the only time where demons could consistently travel to the human world, it would be unfair to deprive them of this freedom.

Not many government workers travelled to the human world. Most of them were content to put their feet up and go drinking, take walks on the seaside, or organize field sports. But there were a few who took regular trips. Surprisingly, their leader was one of them.

Every Halloween, Lucifer disappeared to the human world. He told no one where he went, not even his trusted second Beelzebub. Speculating on where he went was a casual pastime for his lieutenants when they were off the clock.

"Sabbaths, probably," muttered Crowley in the break room.

"For the last time, Lucifer does not hold Sabbaths!" snapped Hecate. "Why do you think he forbade them?"

"Oh yeah? Then what do you think he's doing?" said Crowley.

"There is more to life than sex," said Virochana serenely.

"Feasting," said Beelzebub.

"There's more to life than just feasting, too," said Virochana.

"I could go for some sex right now," muttered Ishtar.

"I'm always up for a round," suggested Mara. "Hey, how about we-"

"No, Mara," said everyone in unison.

"Party poopers."

There was silence. "In all seriousness, where is His Excellency?" said Lucifuge Rofocale.

"I know where he is," said Ashtar.

All eyes were on him. "He told you?!" said Ishtar incredulously.

"I am his faithful servant!" said Lucifuge. "I run the government for him! Why would he tell a mere lackey like you? You didn't even sign up for this; you're just a package deal with Ishtar!"

Ashtar shrunk. "He didn't tell me; I just saw him across the street when I was out buying shrubberies in Halifax! I couldn't follow him because there was only one cashier on duty, but it was definitely His Excellency!" Ashtar shuddered. "You don't forget eyes like his, even when he's in human form."

Lucifer's generals sat in silence. "So… what do you think he's doing in the human world?" said Hecate after a while. "And don't you dare say Sabbaths, Crowley!"

Beelzebub stood up. "Well, I'm off to punish the stragglers. Save me some grub."

X

"So… then… it turns out that it was a cockroach all along!" said Vincent Brooks, shaking his banana rum daquiri.

"Fascinating," said Louis Cyphre.

"That's not all," continued Vincent. "She thinks I'm an alien now, because of the whole sheep thing!"

"That reminds me of the time I lost my friend's scooter keys!" said Teddie, taking another swig of coconut liqueur. "Boy, he was so mad, he locked himself in the basement and drank all the hot chocolate! It was un-bear-able!"

"That reminds me of the time I lost my first job," said Louis Cyphre, taking another sip of his third bottle of brandy. "I was quite literally thrown out of the building."

His drinking companions stared. "Was it a tall building?" Teddie squealed nervously.

"No, it was not a tall building at all," said Louis Cyphre. Technically, the building's proportions were around the usual for Heaven. But he had been thrown out from the sky, which made it rather painful when he hit the ground.

The trio took another sip in unison.

"So," said Vincent. "Want to go see a movie or something? I hear there's a midnight showing of Silence of the Lambs at the theater down the street."

"I would very much enjoy that," said Louis Cyphre, dropping a large pile of money on the table and picking up his groceries. "Allow me this round. Alas, it is almost midnight, and I must be going. Good night, Vincent, Teddie."

Walking in a straight line, as if he was completely sober, Louis Cypher strolled towards the exit at a brisk pace.

Vincent fell out of his chair and stumbled towards the exit. "B—but—hey, Lou! Wait for-"

GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG!

Vincent clutched his head. Whether it was the loud noise or the holy origin, church bells hurt his ears.

Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong!

Vincent squeezed his eyes shut, and stumbled back into the bar.

Gong. Gong… gong…

When the noise of twelfth bell faded, Vincent deemed it safe to walk unsteadily outside.

Louis Cyphre was nowhere in sight. Not a single footstep marred the freshly fallen snow.

"He's gone," said Vincent, face turning pale and teeth chattering. "Just like a… a…"

"Cinderella?" suggested Teddie.

"GHOST!" wailed Vincent.

Teddie, the abomination spawned form the darkest depths of the human mind stared at Vincent. His breath unmisted, he said, "Aren't you the Lord of the Netherworld?"

"…Oh, yeah," said Vincent Brooks, Lord of the Netherworld, King of the Incubi, Protector of Lost Sheep, Conqueror of Nightmares, and loser of the drinking contest. "I probably have a hundred ghosts just like him down in the basement. Want to get some ice cream before the movie?"

"Do I?!"