Disclaimer - If you recoginize anything, then I don't own it. I don't lay claim to any of the video game, movie or anime characters mentioned below. They all belong to someone other than myself.

Thank you to FlamesOfFury, sashary, lalalalala2, Corn- The OTHER White Meat, Tezi, Butterfly Ishida blackangelz23 & Ceriadara for reviewing.

A/N - Here is my special Halloween edition. I thought what the heck since it was chapter 13. I couldn't resist the temptation of dressing the little chibis up in cute costumes & have them go trick-or-treating. I am aware that other countries do not celebrate Halloween like this so just pretend.

Happy Halloween! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Thirteen - Double, Double, Toil & Trouble

"You are going to do it, Hiro," Bruce stated, firmly as the three men sat around the table, "I've been thinking about this for several days and it would be great to take them out. Besides, Judy has been planning it with the others." Hiro groaned since he had a feeling that this was a bad idea. Today was October 31 or what the western world referred to as Halloween; the night when the veil between the human and spirit worlds was thin and allowed interaction between the two. Hiro didn't believe in all of that since he only looked at the day as a nusiance where children dressed up in costumes and begged for candy or treats. Then if it was denied them, they would play mean pranks on you.

"I am not going, dad," Hiro protested with a glare, "if you want to take them out and to the party, then more power to you but I'm not setting foot outside of the gate today of all days. I have no interest in taking any of them trick-or-treating and that definitely includes Brooklyn." "He will be devastated if you do not go with him," Bruce informed, "how can you say no?" "Easy," Hiro added with a smirk, "no." "That is not fair, son," Bruce stated with a glare of his own, "the little chibi is not even in the room. I bet you can't say no when those wide chibi eyes of his are looking right at you."

"Dad, over the past few days, I have done things I have sworn never to do," Hiro replied, "and I am not backing down on this. I am not going to the party or am I going trick-or-treating with him. There is no way that is going to happen. You can't make me. My mind is made up." Hiro crossed his arms and leaned back with a smile, thinking he had won the argument. Little did he realize that he hadn't.

A few hours later found Hiro dressed up in a costume along with Tyson and Brooklyn, who were both ready to go trick-or-treating. The two little chibis were excited since Judy and the others were suppose to join them for a quick trip around the neighborhood before returning to the house for a Halloween party. They were waiting in the garden as the sun was going down and night was falling but that didn't deter the two chibis from getting even more hyper if it was possible. Tyson was dressed as a dragon in a green costume that had silvery scales and a tail. He had wanted to be white like Dragoon but the only color they had was green so he had to be satisfied with it.

Brooklyn on the other hand was dressed as a pumpkin. He had a jack o' lanturn smiling on his stomach with a matching cap that had a green stem. He was wearing green tights underneath the costume and he had some orange paint on his cheeks to make him stand out even more. Both of them were carrying an orange plastic pumpkin for their candy. They were hoping to get lots as Tyson had put it.

"You look really happy, son," Bruce remarked with a sarcastic chuckle as Hiro turned around to face his father, who didn't have to don a costume since he had decided to go as an archaelogist, "you need to cheer up a bit. Is Cosmo ready to go?" Hiro grumbled beneath his breath even more from that question since the dog was sitting patiently with them with a clown hat and mask on his head. He didn't know how they had gotten the puppy to keep it on but he was and he looked as excited about the evening as the two bouncing chibis. He was wishing that he could be anywhere but where he was.

He had hoped that he could send the evening with Zeus instead. Hiro had ask the bit beast if he would like to go trick-or-treating with them but the Greek god had refused. He had mentioned something about a party and then had vanished after he had ask. Hiro swore that the bit beast knew something that he did not by the way he had been laughing before he vanished. That had been an ominous sign if there ever was one and he dreaded the outcome of this evening.

"We're here," Judy called as the gate opened to reveal ten other chibis in various manners of dress. Hiro had to do a double take since he didn't recoginize some of them at first glance. "Brookie," Kai called as he ran forward. He was dressed in a red body suit with a hooked tail and a red cape with horns. His blue triangles had been painted over with red. Hiro had to stifle a laugh since the devil costume fit him perfectly.

"Any particular reason as to why he is attired in that manner?" Hiro ask with an eyebrow arched in amusement, "he and Tala should have had identical costumes." "It just fit," Judy replied, simply with a shrug as Tala ran forward to greet Brooklyn as well, "but Tala wanted something different." Tala was indeed different than Kai since he had on a baggy and very colorful costume that was half purple and half red that clashed horribly with his hair. He had on a cap with bells and shoes that matched the one piece suit. Hiro had to do a double take since he couldn't believe that Tala had wanted to dress up as a court jester and act goofy as he waved his scepter that jingled as well. He definitely was going to have a headache before this night was over from all the noise he was making.

"I think we chose your costume well," Judy added with a smirk, "Michael said it would suit you and I have to agree with him now. Too bad that you are gay; I would interested if you were straight." Hiro groaned as he tried to wrap his cape around his outfit. It seemed that Michael had chosen this particular costume just for him since he was such a video game freak. Most of the costumes they were wearing had been inspired from various video games, animes and movies.

Hiro was wearing a blue tunic that was trimmed in gold and white with dark navy blue pants. He had on blue and white boots with a blue cloak that was red on the inside. In his hair he had a crown with his divine sword Falchion hanging off his belt in a scabbard. He was suppose to be Marth, the betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea from a Fire Emblem game. He knew that since he had been particularly fond of that game as well. At least Michael had good taste when it came to video games.

"Who are you suppose to be?" Hiro ask, looking at her white dress accented in red velvet and gold. Her blonde hair fell gently to her shoulders as a strange tiara adorned her brow. She had pointy ears as well and she smiled. "Look at Maxie and see if you can figure it out," she hinted with a wink as Hiro's attention diverted to the small blond, who was wearing a white shirt and pants with a large green shirt over it and brown boots with a green cap. He had a play shield on his back along with a wooden sword and several other items that looked like a kiddie-sized slingshot and boomerang. He too had pointy ears as Hiro laughed after he had figured out their identities.

"Young Link and older Zelda from The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time," he stated with his own smirk, "I should know those outfits. That is one of my favorite video games of all time." "One of Max's too," Judy added with a nod, "that is why I chose it." Another blond ran past to greet Brooklyn. He was dressed in a strange orange pantsuit with zori (traditional Japanese sandals) on his feet and had a hitai-ate (headband) wrapped around his long hair. "Naruto," Hiro whispered as he smiled at Mystel's outfit. It was obvious that someone liked that manga as well.

Hiro had figured that Rei would be wearing a costume that would match Mystel's but it was quite the opposite. Rei was attired in a black body suit that had the outline of a skeleton with white gauze wrapped over it. "I'm a mummified cat," Rei said, happily as he pointed to the cat ears in his hair and nearly tripped over his wrappings that Judy had to adjust, "do you like? "Very cute," Hiro commented as Rei giggled with glee as he went to talk to Brooklyn and Tyson. A silvery blond darted past as he recoginized Garland, who was attired like another manga character.

Someone had the bright idea of dressing him up as Edward Elric from FullMetal Alchemist. If you are wondering how Hiro knew all of these different characters, it was quite simple. Travelling with Tyson during the tag team tournament had introduced him to different video games and mangas that he had never played or read before. Now, he was addicted and couldn't get enough of either of them. Older Brooklyn had complained about his addiction before his transformation since he had the need to carry a portable game system around with him everywhere he went now. Recently, he hadn't the time for his games and mangas and he was missing them almost as much as another activity.

"Hey Hiro," Miguel greeted, "how do you like my outfit?" It was obvious of why he had come on the outing because Hillary had no intention of walking around the neighborhood in her costume. He had on a brown leather jacket, a tight black shirt, black gloves and black pants with a weapon holster on his side with a toy gun. His hair had been tamed and framed his face. "Do you know who I am?" he teased as Hiro laughed since he knew his costume too. It was one of Tyson's favorite video games.

"Leon Kennedy," he guessed as Miguel nodded, "from Resident Evil 4. Very nice costume and I love the jacket." "Thanks," Miguel replied, "Bryan suggested it. Whoever would have thought that he played video games of all people?" Julia and Raul's costumes matched since they were dressed as Raggedy Ann and Andy. Romero's chosen outfit nearly made Hiro burst into laughter since he recoginized it from a movie. He had decided to dress himself as Legolas from Lord of the Rings; probably thinking that he would attract women, who had swooned over the character.

Two more chibis ran past his legs clad in very familiar Halloween themed costumes. Oliver was dressed in a black outfit with a hood and when he spread his arms he had wings. He was a cute little bat while Kevin was dressed in a brown fuzzy suit with pointy ears. He was a typical werewolf. "The easiest way to do this is to split up," Judy suggested as the adults and one teen gathered around her, "with each of us taking two of the children. I know that Brooklyn will be going with Hiro." "Then who gets the devil and his jester," Hiro motioned to Kai and Tala.

"I'll take the dynamic duo," Grandpa offered as he swung his shinai. Halloween had even prompted him to don a costume for the occasion. Grandpa had put on the family's coat of armor and was now a samurai. He didn't have the family katana on him but his shinai instead. He couldn't hit anyone with the katana unlike the bamboo sword. "Then I'll take Max and Tyson," Judy stated, "and I assume that you will take out Julia and Raul, Romero."

"Si," he replied with a smile, "the twins are my responsibility." "I'll gladly take Mystel and Rei," Bruce suggested, "and Cosmo can go with me." "Miguel, can you watch Oliver and Kevin?' Judy ask as the teen nodded, "and take Daichi with you." "Certainly," Miguel said, softly and with a smile, "not a problem." "That leaves only Garland," Judy noted, "Hiro, can you handle he and Brookie?" "Not a problem," he replied with a sigh, "let's get this over with."

"We are so ready to go!" Daichi yelled with impatience and since he was so short, he too was going trick-or-treating. He was dressed as a pirate with blue pants, a red and white striped shirt, a red bandanna, eye patch and purple sash tied around his waist. He had a play cutlass hanging from the sash as he ran after the chibis yelling "Argh!" The chibis were having the time of their lives playing with Daichi before Hiro grabbed Brookyn and Garland as they ran past. They then split up and went in their separate ways or at least tried too.

"Grandpa, NO!" Kai shouted as Hiro saw his grandfather struggling with the little devil, "I want ta go with Brookie!" Hiro knew that the little Russian wasn't going to give in as he nodded to Grandpa who looked relieved. He just hoped that the two behaved themselves; otherwise they wouldn't be able to sit without the aid of pillows for a few days at the least. Brooklyn giggled as Kai took one hand while Tala took the other and he walked inbetween them. Hiro knew they looked quite a sight but on this night no one noticed. Maybe there were some advantages to them dressing up after all.

The four chibis ran up the walkway of the first house that had a light on, dragging Brooklyn with them. Grandpa waited for them from the sidewalk while Hiro followed but kept his distance. Since Garland was the tallest, he rung the bell. The door swung open as the four yelled "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" That was when Hiro's intuition was proven right.

A man jumped out from the dark interior wearing a skeleton mask and costume and shouted, "BOO!" One look at the man sent Brooklyn into tears and hysterics as he wrestled out of Kai and Tala's grasp and ran right to Hiro in a panic. "HERO!" he screamed, glomping Hiro around the legs and refused to let go, "there a monster!" "Brook, it is just a costume like you are wearing," Hiro stated, trying to pry the chibi off but his grip was too tight, "don't you want some candy?" He made the mistake of bending down as Brooklyn jumped into his arms.

He wrapped his arms tightly around his neck as Hiro sighed. He knew something like this was going to happen and he had been proven right. He whispered in Brooklyn's ear, trying to calm him but nothing would soothe the distressed chibi. He was beyond words or comfort. He just wanted to be safe and the only place that offered such comfort to him was in Hiro's arms.

"Brookie, there is nothing to be scared of," Hiro reassured, trying to comfort the shivering and shaking chibi in his arms, "he was just playing with you." The man at the door looked upset that he had scared him as Kai, Tala and Garland looked at Brooklyn for a brief moment but then their eyes turned back to the candy that the man was holding. He passed out a handful to each of them as Hiro could not say anything that would change Brooklyn's mind. He couldn't get his chibified boyfriend out of his arms as he sighed, walked forward and held out the pumpkin so the man could put something inside of it. "I am so sorry," he apologized, putting a few extra bars in the container, "I didn't mean to scare the little fellow like that."

"It's all right," Hiro informed with a slight smile, "he's a bit timid and his friends are not helping." They walked back down the driveway to Grandpa Ryu, who was chuckling from the earlier display. Brooklyn burrowed his face even further into Hiro as he felt something wet on his neck. He had never known that Brooklyn had been this easy to scare and it probably had something to do with his parents. "Is the little dude all right?" Grandpa ask as they moved on to the next house. Kai and Tala had tried to snap Brooklyn out of his current state but the small tot ignored even his friends' pleas. They gave up after a few minutes to talk among themselves about what they were going to do with all the candy they were going to get.

For the next hour, Hiro had to carry Brooklyn to the door of each house they visited since he refused to be put down for any reason. Hiro's arms were getting tired from carrying the overflowing pumpkin full of candy and Brooklyn as he handed the container to Grandpa. It seemed that if you wanted more candy than normal, all you had to do was carry a crying chibi to each door and it made both sexes give out more to him than the others. Kai, Tala and Garland were begging to let them eat just one piece but they had to refuse. Hiro knew that Brooklyn wouldn't be eating much of what he had got since the contents of the bars would have to be checked before a single piece went into his mouth.

His father had all ready thought of a solution to the problem and had went to the store earlier to buy some of Brooklyn's favorite sweets that he could eat without worry. They would just switch the two pumpkins and the tot probably wouldn't even notice the difference. They were the first group back to the dojo as they entered the gate and went into the lounge. Kai, Tala and Garland sat down on the floor and immediately dumped out their candy. Grandpa removed some of his samurai armor so he could inspect it as Hiro took Brooklyn to the kitchen. He was hoping that something to drink would comfort the chibi.

When he tried to sit him on the counter, Brooklyn would not loosen the death grip he had on Hiro's neck. He refused to let go as Hiro sighed in frustration. "I am not going to leave you, Brookie," he whispered, "would you like some hot chocolate or tea? It might soothe your nerves." "Don't let go," Brooklyn murmured as he heard a sniffle, "swared of monsters. They get me if ya let go."

"It was just a costume, tenshi," Hiro added, giving up on the notion of tea or hot chocolate, "and the man didn't mean it. He did apologize." "Pwease," Brooklyn begged, "don't weave me alone." "I promise not to leave you," Hiro stated with an exasperated sigh as Brooklyn finally let go of his neck. Hiro's felt his heart break at the mere sight of the sad and pitiful looking chibi sitting on the counter. He wet a towel to wipe off the paint that had run down his cheeks.

"Others must twink me a big baby," Brooklyn mused as his bottom lip quivered, "ta be swared by mask." "Everyone gets scared sometime, tenshi," Hiro informed, "even me. It is not a weakness. It just shows that you are human like the rest of us." That got a small smile from his charge as Hiro picked him up and returned to the lounge to wait for the others.

Kai, Tala and Garland were dividing out their candy according to their favorites, flavors and what they were willing to trade. Within minutes the others started to come in. Romero looked beat as he fell to the floor and grandpa had to revive him with a hit on the head from his shinai along with a cup of tea. Bruce came in looking haggard and Hiro had to hold back a laugh. He knew taking Cosmo out was a big mistake as the man was muttering something beneath his breath about baka puppies as he went to change his filthy clothes. Rei and Mystel joined the other five chibis on the floor as they compared their wares.

Miguel came in next looking quite happy and energized unlike the adults. His jacket pockets were full of candy and small pieces of paper. It seemed that some of the teens they had encountered of both sexes had given him their phone numbers and treats. Daichi had a pillowcase full of candy while Oliver and Kevin's sacks were full as well since they could barely carry them. After a brief inspection of a couple of pieces, Kevin was feeding Oliver chocolate and Hiro made a comment that if any of them got sick, he wasn't going to clean it up.

Judy was the last to return as she looked exhausted from her excursion as she slumped into a chair. Max and Tyson were both laughing and smiling as they were swinging their pumpkins that were full to the brim with treats. They looked a little jealous of Daichi, Oliver and Kevin, who had gotten more as they drew their candy to themselves for protection against theft. "You looked exhausted, Judy," Bruce noted as Grandpa handed her a cup of tea. "I had a time keeping up with the hyperactive twins," Judy replied with a tired sigh, "I can't believe how fast they can move. What happened to Brooklyn?"

"At the first house we visited," Hiro explained, sitting with Brooklyn, who was currently curled up contently in his lap, "the man answered the door with a scary mask on his face and shouted, 'BOO!' He came running to me and I have had a difficult time extracting him from my arms since. From that point on, I had to carry him to each door since he refused to leave my arms. I knew this was a bad idea and I was proven right, Dad." He glared at his father, who just shrugged as they enjoyed their tea for a few minutes before making the chibis gather their candy. The bus had returned and they were suppose to visit the house for a party.

Hiro intended to stay home with Brooklyn and use his behavior from before as an excuse. The small chibi wouldn't have that however. He didn't want to miss the party even though he might be scared again before the evening was over. "You protects me with your sword," he had pointed out as Hiro blushed and was forced to get on the bus with the others. Besides both his father and grandfather had said that if they had to go so did he.

A quick bus ride took the group back to the house. The party was being held in the ballroom that the German ambassdor had entertained guests in before. The room was dark and decorated with all kinds of Halloween images from spider webs to bats and pumpkins to skeletons. Brooklyn shifted uncomfortably in his arms as though he was having second thoughts about the matter. Hiro decided to make a brief appearance before putting him to bed. The others could stay up later if they wanted too but Brooklyn wanted only comfort and wouldn't be getting it inside of this particular room.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, tenshi," Hiro murmured as he noticed the other bladers and how they were dressed. Kenny of course had chosen to be Harry Potter while Emily's costume matched his since she appeared to be a witch. Hillary was dressed in a fancy yellow ball gown with a crown on her head. It seemed that she was Princess Daisy from the Mario series. Bryan was dressed up as a vampire that made even Hiro shiver since it fit the pale teen so well. Spencer was talking to him as Hiro identified the long coat and strange outfit. He apparently was Vash the Stampede from Trigun.

He had to stifle his laughter when he saw Lei and Mariah. Mariah had her hair up in pigtails and was wearing a short blue checkered dress and was carrying a picnic basket that had a stuffed dog in it. She was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and she had somehow convinced Lei to dress as the Cowardly Lion. He had painted on whiskers and didn't look at all happy about the way he looked. The three members of the Majestics were wearing their families' armor that they once had bladed in so Robert and Johnny were knights while Enrique was a Roman Centurian.

Mathilda was talking with Hillary and she was a fairy godmother it appeared with glittery wings on her back and was holding a wand in her hand. Rick was definitely a surprise as he made an appearance to talk to Mariah. He was wearing a familiar outfit that one would definitely see on their DVD players across the country the next day. He was carrying a blue lightsaber and had slicked his hair down on his head since there was no way that he would shave it. He was Mace Windu from the Star Wars series.

Micheal was the last to appear with Mr. Dickerson, who was not dressed up. Michael was wearing a costume that had America written all over it. His ten gallon hat was a dead giveaway to what he was. He was a cowboy all right and even had a lasso hanging from the side of his pants. "Howdy, partners," he greeted with a western drawl, "and welcome to this here Halloween party. Hope ya enjoy your time with us."

Brooklyn started to giggle from his accent as he soon relaxed and joined his friends. Music began to play as several of the teens started to dance with one another while the adults conversed in a corner. The chibis just ran around the room bothering everyone. Hiro stood to the side and watched as they ran by playing all manner of games. It seemed that the chocolate had made some of them hyper and it would probably be hours before any of them was ready for bed especially Max and Tyson, who had a sugar high that would last until morning at the earliest. Judy had made certain that there was nothing on the refreshment table that Brooklyn was allergic too and he would have eaten to his heart's content if Hiro hadn't stopped him. He knew that if he ate too many of the sweets that he would be sick and he wasn't in the mood to nurse a toddler with a stomachache.

They had a pinata for them to swing at that Kai broke open. None of the chibis had any luck with it until he had gotten pissed off at the swinging donkey when he kept missing it. He said a few colorful words before grabbing a chair, pulling it underneath the pinata, climbing on it and then hitting the donkey full force with the stick. Candy rained down upon everyone as all of them grabbed it. Like the refreshments on the table, everything was safe for Brooklyn to eat as they stuffed more sweets into their mouths.

The evening progressed as they bobbed for apples as well but began to wind down after that. The adults were thinking it was time for the younger ones to go to bed as Kai, Tala, Brooklyn, Mystel and Rei were sitting under the refreshment table watching the adults and teens dance slowly to the music. "What they doing?" Brooklyn ask, sucking on a piece of taffy that had made his hands and face all sticky, "why are they walking wike that?" "It called dancing," Tala informed, shoving a whole piece of chocolate into his mouth and having trouble swallowing it since there was marshmellow in the center, "you do it with someone you wike. I think it some kind of adult ritual or sometwing."

"If that true," Rei noted, "why they doing it then?" He pointed to two couples that were much shorter than the others. Garland was swaying to the music with Julia while Oliver and Kevin were doing the same a few feet away from them. "Wanna try, Rei-Rei?" Mystel ask as he pulled the small neko-jin out from under the table to the dance floor. "Wanna try, Kai?" Tala ask as the dual-hair shook his head firmly. "There is no way," he snapped with a chibi-Kai death glare, "that you will get me ta do that."

"Spoilsport," Tala mumbled, looking at the third wheel, "come on, Brookie, let's try it." Tala grabbed Brooklyn by the hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. They tried to mimic the others but Tala only succeeded in stepping on Brooklyn's feet more often than the floor itself. After a few minutes, the two gave up and rejoined Kai, who was smirking. "Told ya it wasn't so fun," he smirked. "Kai wright," Brooklyn admitted, "my feet hurt. That not fun at all."

The threesome watched as Rei and Mystel had more success but they soon got bored. When Hillary and Enrique waltzed by, Kai grinned quite evilly at the brunette. He really disliked Hillary from the way she had treated Miguel the day before. She had obviously made up with Enrique from the way the two were acting. It was strange how flirtatious they were being to one another since it seemed that they were a little drunk. It might have something to do with Michael spiking the punch on the table earlier. The chibis were fortunate that they were drinking juice boxes or Judy would have probably killed him for the prank.

"Wait here," Kai whispered, disappearing under the tablecloth on the other side as Brooklyn and Tala exchanged a puzzled look and shrugged. Kai returned a few minutes later with something cupped in his hands. He grinned evilly at his playmates before sneaking up behind Hillary and placing something black on her dress that started to climb up it. Kai rejoined his comrades under the table to watch his mischief unfold. "What you do?" Tala ask as Kai's eyes wouldn't leave Hillary. "Just watch," he replied as their attention turned to the brunette, "it time for me ta live up ta my reputation and the costume that I'm wearing."

Nothing happened for a few moments as the trio looked disappointed but when the black thing Kai had put on her dress went inside of it, hell was about to break loose. She started to shift uncomfortably and scratch. "What's wrong, Hil?" Enrique inquired, looking quite puzzled at her behavior. "I feel something crawling on me," she murmured as she pulled the black item from her bust and looked at it. "Really funny, Enrique," she added with a glare, "do you think one of those fake spiders is going to fool me?" "I didn't do it," the Italian defended as he looked at it, "Um Hil-"

"What?" she snapped and glared. "That isn't fake," Enrique pointed out as the spider was moving and trying to get loose from Hillary's grasp. Hillary paled to the color of death as Kai burst into giggles that Tala and Brooklyn joined in. She then shrieked so loud that it nearly burst everyone's eardrums. She flung the spider across the room that conveniently landed in Mathilda's hair as she ripped at her dress to see if there were anymore within it.

Chaos broke loose as Mathilda screamed and then fainted as she flicked the spider off of her and threw it on Romero, who freaked out worse than the girls did. The trio roared with laughter underneath the table that they had taken refuge under. Grandpa tried to take charge of the situation as he yelled, "It's just a little spider, dudes!" That didn't matter since most of those present were arachnophobic. It was quite hilarious to see the teens and the adults freaking out over a little spider while the chibis were looking at them with expressions of 'what is the matter with you?'

Kenny was quite safe in the corner that he had been making out with Emily in and had a video camera in hand, taping the incident that would one day be infamous in the blader circles. "Why they so swared?" Brooklyn squealled as the matter got completely out of hand as some of the bladers ripped at their costumes thinking that there was more than one spider for some weird reason (probably had something to do with the vodka in the punch), "it just a wittle bitty buggy." "Girls for ya," Kai shrugged as he continued to laugh, "they swared of them." "Did the three of you have something to do with this?" a voice ask from behind as Hiro climbed under the table for safety. He looked at the trio and knew who was responsible since Kai reeked of guilt.

"Don't wike mean old woman," Kai informed, crossing his arms, "she deserve it." Hiro couldn't stifle his laughter from the chaotic scene any longer as he began to laugh so loud and hard that he thought he was going to die. He hadn't drunk much of the punch since he had saw Michael pour something clear into it and then added more juice to cover the contents. He could have snitched but thought what the hell; maybe it would loosen some of the others up which it definitely had. He just hadn't expected it to go this far.

"I don't think you need to see anymore of this," Hiro stated as he grabbed Brooklyn and motioned for Kai and Tala to follow. It seemed that Miguel had the same idea since he had Raul and Julia in his arms with Garland, Kevin and Oliver tagging along at his heels. Rei and Mystel followed Hiro and the others out of the room while Bruce had Tyson and Max, who were both squirming in his grasp. "Can I inquire what just happened?" he ask with a big grin on his face, "who is responsible for this?" His eyes roamed over the chibis and stopped on Kai, who was blushing a dark red and pouting. "I should have guessed," Bruce murmured before he started to laugh at the chaos in the ballroom, "it just reeked of Kai for some reason."

Hiro and Bruce burst into more laughter when they heard Mr. Dickerson start yelling at the teens to calm down. It took a lot to make he and Grandpa lose their tempers as the three herded the chibis upstairs and away from the ballroom. "I am going to have to get Kenny to make me a copy of his footage," Hiro remarked as you could still hear the chaos in the ballroom from the upstairs hallway, "for blackmail." "It was just a little spider," Miguel added with a shrug, "why didn't any of them just drop it on the floor and smash it with their shoe? But no - they have to take it to the extreme."

"My point ewactly," Brooklyn added, sounding quite grown-up for a moment, "it just a wittle bitty buggy. Can't hurt ya." Bruce, Hiro and Miguel looked at Brooklyn funny for a moment before they burst into laughter once again. "What me do?" he ask, looking quite puzzled at his guardian, daddy and friend, "did me say a funny?" "Brooklyn," Bruce stated inbetween his laughter as he wiped away his tears and took Brooklyn from Hiro's arms, "Why am I never surprised by what comes out of your mouth?"

"From the mouth of babes, dad," Hiro remarked as his chuckles lessened, "that is where the most intelligent observations come from." "Darn straight," Kai added with a smirk, "we know more than ya give us cwedit for. We not stupid, ya know." "I'll be," Bruce noted as the laughter started again for an entirely different reason. It seemed the chibis were more aware than they first had thought and this was going to be even more trouble later on.

AS

R & R