Happy Halloween! Persona 5 Royal comes out today. I can wait for the English version.

Royal remade the SMT1 Kichijoji map theme! I don't know what it means, but I am hyped!

Some of the characters chose their costumes based on a hidden theme that will become apparent as the story goes on. I will list the ones who followed the theme at the end of the chapter.

I think that Castlevania's third season is coming out around the middle of winter, since the first came out in July and the second came out in October.

Devil May Cry will not have any impact, because I don't know enough about the series. Naoki met Raidou instead.

So Fire Emblem Heroes came out with an option to cook for your units. That's cool and all, but I keep getting Arvis as my chef. You'd think he'd had enough of barbeque for one lifetime.

Woo-hoo! Leif's got a Legendary Alt! The reveal was so late that I was almost about to dump my whole stock to get Halloween Hector/Lilina. Glad I didn't!

Kind of interesting: there was an early Plastic Man story about a witch who held a city for ransom with voodoo. It's a supervillain cliché, but I find it interesting that I've never seen a witch do it before or since. Witches in stories are usually subtle and secretive, use their magic for power, revenge, or fun, and tend to look down upon muggle police. This one announced her plans to burn down a city, demanded a million dollars, and tried to destroy FBI HQ.

Another thing: it's been a while since I've heard or seen a character use 'mortal' as a noun. I associate the (noun form of the) word with 4kids Yugioh's Yami Bakura, and one line in Discworld ("Cower, brief mortals, for I am Death…") which was meant for an in-universe play.

This story takes place in the autumn of 2037, ten months after when the last story left off. The only spoiler is that the three roommates eventually find each other out and Kazuya and Aoi will be reunited. I will include a few future characters who will not be named, but it will be apparent who they are on later readings from their costumes.

Costume Catastrophe

The Medic checked her supply of Medigun fluid. Almost half empty; six shots, or seven if she could pull back the trigger fast enough.

Beside her, Ripley fiddled with her machine gun and Marty McFly nervously clenched his katana. Normally, any healing unit was precious, and the Medic should have been guarded by/keeping alive a dozen soldiers or more, but the rest of their squad had been captured by the enemy. They had only barely managed to escape into a side tunnel, but they were deep in enemy territory, and none of them knew which way to base.

And yet, not a single one of them would have rewound time to the comfort of home base, where piping hot food was served in warm rooms, nor to the security of the legion, fifty men and women strong. For they held a treasure, more valuable than jewels and gold, more coveted than warmth on a cold winter night, more powerful than an army of thousands.

"Psst!"

The Medic almost dropped her gun. Captain Nobeard seemed to materialize from the shadows. "I believe ye be wanting to know this," he said. "The booty we seek be on the fifth floor, down what the locals call the Murder Hallway."

"And you expect us to charge in, with only two fighters and a healer?" spat Ridley. "That's suicide."

"The Professor has called for all hands on deck," answered Captain Nobeard. "Ye will not be alone. I swear it on Neptune's briny beard."

The Medic shook her head. "Ve must return to ze base at vunce." She reached into her pocket and showed him the treasure.

Captain Nobeard's jaw dropped. "…Aye," he said. "That be a surprise." He drew his cutlass. "Fear not, me hearties. I shall accompany y—"

There was a crash and a thud as the door behind them was kicked open by the Lone Wanderer, accompanied by a pack of demons.

The Lone Wanderer gestured menacingly towards the party, because the Lone Wanderer is a silent protagonist. What he really wanted to say was something along the lines of, "Aha! I see we have found our intruders! Surrender now, or be torn apart by my minions!"

"Shiver me timbers!" shouted Captain Nobeard, drawing his cutlass. "You shall ne'er take our colors, landlubbers!"

What the Lone Wanderer wanted to say was, "Aha, you have spirit! But you shall never take our flag! For a hundred thousand devils guard the citadel of doom, and all would fight you to the death!" Alas, he could not, because he was mute.

The Medic readied her saw, and charged.

X

According to Stolas, you couldn't use magic unless you knew that it was possible. You could have the potential to become an archmage and command power over life and death itself, but you couldn't cast a basic candle-lighting spell unless you expected it to work.

That was the best news Vincent Brooks heard all night.

"So does that mean that everyone can only use new magic?" he whispered as they huddled underneath the table, concealed by a black, floor-length tablecloth. Vincent had attended the party dressed as himself back when he was human dressed as himself as Lord of the Netherworld.

"Yes," said Stolas, who had been voted by the rest of the souls as the one in charge of Soma's mouth. The rest of the body was being controlled by Zephyr the magical time-stopping vampire, since he was among the most humanoid of the bunch, and because his exaggerated and flamboyant manner of walking was a lot of fun to watch.

"But you can still use your own?"

Zephyr shook Soma's head. Soma had started the party dressed as the Head Inquisitor from Monty Python, with the addition of a small sticker reading: 'Hello my name is: Penelope'. "The Inquisitors of Spain believed that demons were ethereal beings that could only influence the spiritual realm. According to them, only God—" Stolas spat the name "is capable of influencing the world."

"Meaning?"

"We can manipulate the master's mind and possess his body, but since he does not believe that we can use magic, we cannot," said Stolas.

Vincent blinked. "So he's using magic to control—to keep you from leaving, but he doesn't believe in magic—"

Zephyr shook Soma's head. "That is different. He exerts Dominance all the time, whether he is aware of it or not. Zephyr, would you kindly point to your left." Zephyr pointed Soma's finger to the right. "No, that is… I suppose it is unimportant. The master's friend Kazuya retains contracted to demons despite his foolhardy insistence that he is a mafia Don, and his other friend Naoki has succeeded in demolishing that wall despite his belief that Popeye the Sailor Man may only use superhuman strength as long as he has consumed spinach in the last ten minutes."

"Wait, what?!" Vincent popped his head outside of the tablecloth and cursed. "We just had that—oh, wait, that's the one we were planning to knock down eventually."

Zephyr yanked Vincent back underneath the table right before a flying teapot struck the ground, splashing everyone in sight with scalding hot tea.

"Now, now," scolded Louis Cypher, who for some inexplicable reason had decided to dress up as a Japanese schoolgirl, complete with brunette wig and messenger bag. "If you insist on behaving in such a preposterous manner, you shall have no cake."

Teddie pouted, and put the teapot back on the table. It was less inexplicable why Teddie had decided to dress up as Alice; he was reusing the costume from some crossdessing contest that he had won a few years ago. His idea of Alice's character, however, was even more bizarre than Louis Cypher's schoolgirl costume.

Right on cue, Teddie turned yet another one of his victims into a zombie, giggling happily as it bumbled into a Sudama who looked like it really wanted to be somewhere else, and promptly exploded.

"…Nergal, you're cleaning this mess up."

X

Vincent had to admit that Teddie's sudden bout of insanity wasn't really Nergal's fault. Vincent never paid much attention to what Nergal told him about ruling the Netherworld; after escaping his stifling life to become a demon, he wasn't about to let such stuffy things like precedent get in the way of his freedom, and so hadn't paid much attention to the whining Nergal. And it had worked out fine for years; Nergal had spent more time playing video games than doing any actual ruling.

Since Vincent usually spent his Halloween drinking with friends, Nergal had no reason to tell him about the grand tradition of the Hallow's Eve LARP party, where costumed demons gathered at the Netherworld Palace to play games such as Hide and Seek and Capture the Flag. Or that to make everything more fun, Ose of the Ars Goetia altered the minds of everyone involved to believe that they were their costumes.

Still, everything else was Nergal's fault for not vetting his guests properly.

For whatever reason, some mortal had the gall to summon Nergal and bind him to his service, and had convinced Nergal to accept compensation in the form of video game companionship. That Nergal was desperate enough to force mortals to play with him was not at all surprising to Vincent; after all, Vincent beat him every time, Catherine wasn't interested, his wife Ereshkigal and his sister-in-law Ishtar were too obsessed with beating each other in competitive Tetris to pay attention to him, and all of his minions and former minions let him win out of fear. What surprised Vincent was that Nergal liked this mortal and his friends (who also played video games with him) enough to invite them to a party, and that these friends were daft enough to accept a demon's invitation.

In hindsight, Vincent really should have realized that anyone who could have a casual chat with a gigantic devil was probably someone to watch out for. At least Teddie could be (mostly) placated with a tea party and lots of sweets, unlike Nergal's summoner (Kazuya), who was currently shaking down a group dressed as Innocent Bystanders (who found just as much amusement out of those costumes as humans dressed as serial killers, thieves, and other bad role models) for protection money, flanked by someone covered head to toe in black armor, save for a small sticker reading 'Hello my name is: Tony'.

Vincent looked at the sticker on Soma's chest. "So, uh… what's with the stickers?"

Stolas gave a long suffering sigh. "Any costume traits associated with the name 'Penelope' would have been overshadowed by the Inquisitor costume," he explained. "And that boy is unable to properly emulate an Italian stereotype."

"Ah," said Vincent, who was just as confused as the audience. He held out a hand, and an orb of dark magic appeared.

"I would not advise a head-on confrontation," said Stolas, as Zephyr gently pushed his hand away. "A not insignificant number of us would only be momentarily inconvenienced by your attack, and would take revenge should you attack any of the others."

Vincent was about to open his mouth to say that they had free revival services, but a heavy leather rope lashed around his neck, choking him.

A heeled boot stomped onto Vincent's back. "It looks like someone is in need of a little discipline," said a woman's voice.

Normally, Vincent was all for fun and games with instruments of torture. But the pain in this whip spoke of murder and executions, not pleasure and play.

He clawed at his throat, but that just made the whip tighter. He rolled from side to side, but she dug her foot deeper into his back.

"Madam, I do not know what the safe word is, but we do not consent," Stolas interrupted.

There was a pause, and the leather whip uncoiled, leaving Vincent gasping for air. "Oh," said the woman, carefully removing her foot from Vincent's back. "Sorry about that. I thought you were roleplaying as a submissive."

"An easy mistake to make," said Stolas agreeably, as Vincent rubbed his neck vigorously. "I believe that it would be wise to ask first."

Unsurprisingly, she was dressed from head to toe in black leather, with a layer of black cloth to prevent chafing. Like many dominatricies, she was wearing a hat, but rather than the stereotypical police or officer's hat, it was a brown fedora. I mean, I guess it goes with the whip? If Vincent remembered her name correctly, it was… um… Owie?

Aoi nodded. "Rule four: better to break character than to break bones."

"In fact, I believe that that gentleman… I apologize, but I cannot point at the moment… the gentleman in the suit with the fedora and candy cigar would very much enjoy a night with a lady as lovely as yourself."

"Duly noted," said Aoi, picking up her whip.

Vincent stood up. "Oh, yeah, no sex allowed in the castle tonight."

Aoi fiddled with her whip. "Why?"

Because you can't consent if you're not in your right mind, and even though it's my job to send succubi and incubi to seduce humans, you'd probably kill me if you remember that I didn't stop you. "Sanitary reasons."

Aoi crossed her arms. "Sanitary reasons," she repeated.

Vincent nodded.

"And the giant pit of fire ants and honey in the attic is perfectly okay?"

"…Well, honey is an antibiotic, isn't it?" said Vincent.

Aoi sighed. "Whatever. It's your party."

She strode confidently towards Kazuya and the gang of terrified demons (many of whom Vincent had seen tear other demons to pieces in single combat). Whatever Aoi the dominatrix said, Kazuya the mafia don seemed to like it, and they ran off together into a side room, protection money abandoned.

Stolas and Vincent would have looked at each other had Zephyr had the proper stage directions. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Vincent.

"Sadly, telepathy is not one of my magical abilities," said Stolas.

Vincent grinned and told Stolas the plan.

X

"Hey, youse looking for some… cannoli?" said Vincent in the best bad Italian accent he could muster. "Because the kitchens—"

The guy who was dressed as the Black Knight from Monty Python turned to face him. "If you're here about the brainwashing, forget it," he said.

Zephyr was so shocked that he fell over backwards, and pointed at Tony the Black Knight in horror. "Pardon me?" said Stolas politely.

"Mind control doesn't work on me," he said, opening his helmet to eat a canape.

"But—mafia don—"

'Tony' shrugged. "Going along with it was easier than fighting back."

Zephyr puffed himself up, posed dramatically, and pointed at 'Tony'. Stolas growled, "Then you, miscreant, of your own free will, have assaulted—"

'Tony' continued to eat his canape. "Don't you have something better to do? If you still have a problem, go ask your master to fight me tomorrow."

Zephyr bristled, but did not move.

"Thought not." 'Tony' stared off at a wall. "This will make total sense in… three, maybe four chapters?"

X

"Hello, Tony's needs a che…" Vincent muttered to himself. "I bet that Tony over there would be happy to help you with a… You know what Tony would love right now…" He slumped against a wall. "Christ, I can't do it."

Zephyr clapped him hard on the shoulder. "Worry not," said Stolas, who then gave him a perfectly valid reason that cannot be revealed to the audience at the moment.

Vincent blinked. "O…kay then?"

It is said that if you play a video game too much, then you start seeing signs of it everywhere. Gamers who play 3D platformers see parkour paths on every roof and fire escape, people are discouraged from playing Mario Kart and driving, and Tetris is an excellent way to learn special reasoning (if you are willing to waste a not insignificant chunk of your life).

If there is anything that remains with a player long beyond the game is done, it is sound. Music soundtracks follow players everywhere, stealth gamers try to hide when alarms ring, and sound effects show up in the most unexpected places. But above all else, players hear voices. They hear the narration, the mocking tones of the villain, the aggressive bite of the rival characters, and the obnoxious chirping of the animal companion.

And one word haunts the ears and minds of players. It is not Navi's ignorable "Hey," nor the memetic "OBJECTION!" on the lips of many a fictional lawyer. It is a word that must be heard, on a game that cannot be muted, in a world where you hold the lives of all other players in your hands. Failing to heed that call guarantees pain, from enemies and teammates alike, and so players are forced to hear tha cursed word over, and over, and over, until they hear it in their sleep.

Vincent took in a deep breath, and shouted that word.

"MEDIC!"

As expected, a figure in red and white charged towards them, stuffed dove bobbing from the shoulder. "Vat iz eeit?" said Mina Hakuba in a bad German accent. Her white coat was stained with rusty blood (her blood, but she hadn't injured herself to get it), and the glint in her eye was almost as bad as the glint of the (very real, as it turned out) knife in the hands of the boy dressed as a werewolf wizard.

The overall effect was rather spoiled by the hacksaw, which was clearly tin foil over cardboard. And the 'medigun', which was just a super soaker; Ose's magic prevented her from realizing that she didn't need the water to heal.

"I bet that Tony over there would love to help you with a live vivisection!" said Vincent quickly.

Mina gave a maniacal grin. "Und I vill decide how he shall… help?"

"Of course," said Stolas smoothly.

Mina the Medic belted out an evil laugh that terrified Vincent, but wouldn't have ranked Top Ten compared to the rest of Nergal's guests. "To ze laboratory!" she shrieked.

Vincent looked at Stolas. "You are absolutely sure that he'll be fine?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

X

Now all that was left was Popeye 'Naoki' the Sailor Man. Actually, there were a lot of others people to deal with, but they haven't been introduced yet.

What? Fine, 'Tony' wasn't, either, but I had to tell you about him so I could get to Mina.

Of all of Nergal's guests, the Demi Fiend was the only one that Vincent had heard about. Like Vincent, he was a demon who was once a human, but much, much stronger. Where Vincent had bested Nergal alongside Catherine, the Demi Fiend had slaughtered thousands upon thousands of gods, devils, and angels, many of whom Nergal had advised to avoid at all costs.

If there was anything that Vincent learned from taking over the Netherworld wearing nothing but heart-print boxers, it was to never underestimate someone by their looks. The Demi-Fiend looked like a short, flighty teenager to begin with, and the sailor suit and pipe did nothing for him. In fact, the sailor suit made him look more like a teenager playing a British child. And yet every instinct in his body (not related to food, mating, or defecation) screamed at him to run away.

So it was rather disappointing that he only needed one sentence to get him to stop destroying his walls.

"I, Vincent, Lord of the Netherworld, formally request that Popeye the Sailor Man shall serve spinach for dinner!"

Naoki the Sailor Man saluted, then ran off to acquire and cook spinach.

"That was easy," said Vincent.

Zephyr shook his head. "Naoki is not a good cook. First, we must find someone who knows how to cook spinach."

Vincent groaned.

"I know how to cook spinach," said one of Megaten's many characters named Akira. For complicated reasons, he was dressed as the human form of Akira Fudou of Devilman, which made him more lucid than normal.

"Good, go help him," said Vincent.

X

After hours of work, all of Nergal's guests were safely contained. Despite the loss of the most powerful players, the game of Capture the Flag had completed (red team won).

Vincent and Stolas had removed themselves to a Halifax pub, where they could drink in peace.

"I never want to do that again," said Vincent, sipping his banana rum daiquiri. "You're all banned from LARP night."

"I must agree," said Stolas. Zephyr was drinking a non-alcoholic fruit cocktail, because when Soma had a hangover, everybody had a hangover. "However, you cannot deny that the events of this night were truly unforgettable. Chasing Lieutenant Surge down the Fields of Blood and Flame in a magical motorcycle will be emblazoned within my mind for centuries."

"Yeah, but we wasted half an hour trying to get a ghost to take his meds," grumbled Vincent. "Why did it take him so long to realize that he could touch things? Louis Cypher was just fine."

Zephyr recoiled dramatically. "Pardon my ignorance, but why do you mention Hi…Lu…Louis Cypher?" asked Stolas nervously.

"He's a real ghost," said Vincent. "What, you didn't notice?"

Zephyr shook his head dramatically.

…Maybe I should ask someone about this. "Anyways, how about that—"

Zephyr went rigid. With slow, robotic movements, he put down the cocktail, and then began to breathe in and out. Then he turned to look at Vincent.

"Hi," said the being that was neither Zephyr nor Stolas. "I'm Soma Cruz, spelled with a zed. Thanks for taking care of my friends back there."

"Vincent, Lord of the Netherworld, Protector of Lost Sheep, S—"

"Yeah, yeah, you did a bunch of stuff, we've all been there," said Soma, rubbing his temples. "Your titles aren't impressing anybody."

"…Vincent Brooks." He took a sip of more liquor. "So, uh… who else do you have in there?"

"The Society?" said Soma. "That was all of them back there. You can join if you want, but only on days when Nergal's not there."

"No, I mean, in your head," said Vincent.

Soma sighed. "Stolas really shouldn't have told you that," he said. "Don't tell anyone else."

"Why?"

Soma shrugged. "Do you tell every human you meet that you're a demon lord? I don't go around announcing that I'm a soul-devouring monster."

Vincent shrugged back. "Yeah, I guess. So, is that more of a—"

The bar suddenly became sweltering hot.

Vincent looked around. "Hey, did you—"

"Do not cross me, Lord of the Netherworld," growled Soma, eyes blazing red. "Know that I have plundered your realm one hundred times before, and I shall do it one thousand times more if you dare betray me."

Soma got to his feet dramatically. "Should you keep my secrets, I shall spare your life. Until the day we meet again, farewell." He strode out the pub door, jacket flowing in an invisible wind.

Vincent stared. Of course something like this would happen. If he had so many souls in him that they had to vote for a representative, it was only natural that he'd find a nasty one that he couldn't handle. Classic villain mistake; getting greedy and taking more than he could chew.

This also had nothing to do with his problems. Sure, whatever demon possessing Soma was probably stronger than him, but he had challenged powers greater than himself twice before, and emerged victorious. Except he had no reason to gamble his life to rescue this kid. Vincent had to win against Dumuzid to live and get Catherine back, and he smote Nergal to marry his daughter and usurp him as Lord of the Netherworld. Besides, the kid didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. His friends could take care of him.

The pub door opened again. "Oh, don't bother trying to warn my other self," said the demon in Soma's body. "He can't even remember that his memory is missing, even if you remind him."

The pub door shut.

Vincent stared at Soma's drink. "I guess I'm paying for that?"

The pub door opened again. "Hey, uh… could you give me a ride home?" said Soma, eyes back to normal. "I don't know we got here."

X

Meanwhile, Yoko Belnades, Kaitou, and the Jack Bros. were chilling out together in her apartment. Well, heating in the case of Pyro Jack. And the Agents were working on damage control due to the influx of demons. And Julius Belmont was off doing important Belmont stuff. Whether they had declined Nergal's invitation or hadn't been on the list to begin with is a spoiler.

TO BE CONTINUED!

One day, I want to write a real capture the flag game where everyone uses their absurd powers. But that day is not today.

The unthemed costumes:

Vincent Brooks is dressed as his human self dressed as his demon self. He was able to opt out of Ose's spell.

Teddie is dressed as Alice, again. He isn't dressed in his bear suit because he considers Halloween to be a night where you dress up as something you aren't, and he still considers the bear suit as one of his bodies.

Louis Cypher is dressed as Hikaru, the schoolgirl disguise worn by SMT4's 'Lucifer' (whom I consider to be a separate entity). Like Teddie, he isn't in any of his other forms because he considers those to be himself, and Halloween is a night where you're something you aren't. Also, Ose's spell never worked on him. He was just playing along for fun. Actually, pretty much anything that Lucifer does in this story is for fun. Pretty much everything he does is either to further his own goals or for random amusement, and since I don't know his goals and can't come up with complex, functional plans, it all defaults to random amusement. Or it's all just one cog in an extremely complicated plan that lies beyond the scope of this story.

A ghost.

The mystery theme costumes:

Soma is part of the Spanish Inquisition from Monty Python, except he is named Penelope.

Kazuya is a mafia don.

Naoki is Popeye the Sailor Man.

Aoi is a dominatrix.

Mina is The Medic from Team Fortress 2.

The themed costumes of characters who haven't been introduced:

Ellen Ripley from Alien.

Marty McFly from Back to the Future.

Captain Nobeard, a pirate.

The Lone Wanderer of Fallout 3.

The Black Knight from Monty Python, named Tony here.

A werewolf-wizard; saying more would be too obvious.

Akira from Devilman.

Lt. Surge from Pokémon.

I'm not making up what Stolas said about the Spanish Inquisition. While I won't say that everyone was a skeptic, the Spanish Inquisition was skeptical about witches and demons. The most famous skeptic was Alonso de Salazar Frias (unrelated to Salazar Slytherin; J.K. Rowling took his name from Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar). He got a lot of cases thrown out based on lack of evidence; not only was there no physical proof, the testimonies didn't match up. It helped that most of the confessions were about attending sabbaths while sleeping. He concluded that it was all paranoid people having bad dreams, and if any supernatural shenanigans were going on, it was the Devil duping people with bad dreams to get them killed.

I'm not actually sure whether the Inquisitors scoffed at all magic as superstition, or if they just thought these specific cases of 'went to a Sabbath in my dreams, so I'm a witch' were ridiculous.

Stolas's explanation on why he can't use magic is also a real school of thought, although I'm pretty sure that's not what the Spanish Inquisition believed in. Basically, since only God is powerful enough to change His creation, demons can't alter the physical world and can at most alter peoples' minds. I realized halfway through writing this that Inquisitor!Soma wouldn't believe in this school, but I went with it because it went neatly with the idea of magical belief.

Vincent is strong, but he's the weakest Megaten protagonist, since combat isn't a part of his game at all. Pretty much any Castlevania fighter can beat him, too.

I wanted to have an omake showing what the Agents were up to last year, but I didn't have any ideas for plot, just costumes. Can you spot any themes?

Agent Lily, or Jun Kurosu, was Sailor Mercury, partially because they have similar haircuts, but mostly because his initial Persona is Hermes.

Agent Dragon, or Lisa Silverman, was going to be Raphael of the Ninja Turtles, because the ninja turtles know martial arts.

Agent Reaper, or Eikichi Mishima, was going to be Captain Ginyu, to go with Captain Death.

You don't care about her, but I really wanted to show the description of Agent Wolf's costume. She's dressed as Akalinetta McDuffel, the protagonist of a popular anime that came out in 2027. She forged a suit of armor that resembles a school uniform, knitted a bright red and impractically long scarf that floats in the wind, dyed her hair dark green and put in purple contact lenses, then put on sunglasses, and slathered her legs in green gelatin.

Agent Fireball was going to be Cyborg 009, because it's a classic manga and anime that I like.

Arikado (whose Agent name I haven't decided yet) was going to be the Thing from the Black Lagoon. Because the costume is so ridiculous, and it's even funnier on someone as serious as Alucard.