~Help From Undertaker~

The group of four were making their way through the trees in the forest, and once they came upon some sort of clearing, they could see what looked to be a shop of some sort. It was decorated for Halloween, although the group had a feeling that it looked like that every day of the year. There was a sign hanging above the entrance that read 'Undertaker'. There was a sign on the front door that told the hours. From 12am to midnight, only on Halloween.

"Come on, let's go in." The four of them walked in, and the shop looked a lot darker than it did outside, at least out there, they had the moon, but inside, there was only a single lantern.

"I can't sense any presence in here." Sieglinde said.

There were coffins around the room, as was to be expected from a mortician, but they couldn't find the owner of the shop. All of a sudden, laughter filled the room, and no one could pinpoint the source of it. Just then, a coffin lid started to open, seemingly by itself.

"Why hello children, have you all come to try out the coffins I have made especially for you?"

A man with long, silver hair that covered his eyes peaked out of the coffin and saw the freaked out expressions that the trick-or-treaters were giving. It took a while before any of them were able to form words. "Are you the Undertaker?" Ciel asked.

The silver haired man stepped out of the coffin. "Well of course. That's what the sign says, doesn't it?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose it does."

Undertaker turned to the entire group. "Now I bet you're all here for candy is that right?"

Alois nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Well, before I give out any of it, I would like to tell you all about the history of my shop, here. You see, every year we have trick-or-treaters, and every year, the Alpha Demon always steals their souls. Since he has no need for the bodies, I always take them in and give them a proper burial. Most of the guests that I bring in are children about your age."

A chill went down Lizzie's spine. Suddenly, Undertaker looked as if he had forgotten something. "I don't know if anyone's told you lot this. Have you seen any spiders crawling around here?"

Their memory suddenly went back to when Lizzie found that spider and they all rode it off as ordinary. "Well, yes, we actually did see one." Lizzie answered.

Undertaker suddenly frowned. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"What's wrong?" Lizzie asked.

"That spider you saw most likely wasn't ordinary. What you saw was most likely the Spider Demon, Claude Faustus in disguise."

"Is he the forest demon?" Alois asked.

Undertaker shook his head. "No, but he is a direct line to the demon. Most spirits would want to protect trick-or-treaters, however, Claude is different. The Alpha Demon chose him to be the one to bring him trick-or-treaters, and now that he has his sights on you lot, your lives are most definitely in danger."

"B-But that's impossible! I would have known if he was watching us, because I would have sensed him."

Undertaker smiled. "Ah, you're the witch who can sense spiritual presences, isn't that right?"

Sieglinde nodded. "Yes, and I know that he wouldn't have possibly escaped my attention."

Undertaker smiled and shrugged. "You're right. There is no way that he ever could have hid his presence from you. Except of course, if he put a shield on his soul, disguising himself."

The young witch's eyes widened. "There's no way he could have done that."

"Oh, but he did. You see, whenever trick-or-treaters enter the forest, he does research on them beforehand by examining their souls so he can figure out what to avoid, and since you could sense his presence, he had to hide it."

Sieglinde didn't know what to say about that. "Anyway, since you all have caught his attention, he'll most likely report you to the demon, but I don't think he'd do it without observing you a little longer."

"Um, Mr. Undertaker, would you happen to know what's supposed to happen tonight at midnight?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes, midnight is when the blood moon appears."

"But, what does the blood moon have to do with anything?" Alois asked.

"Well, we typically wouldn't tell trick-or-treaters this, but I guess you all deserve to know the truth. The blood moon doesn't happen on Halloween to often, but when it does, the Alpha Demon partakes in something called the Feast of Souls, where the Alpha demon consumes one special soul to become stronger and obtain more power. Usually this special soul was twisted and tormented. None of you would happen to have any souls like that, would you?"

"How would we know something like that?" Ciel asked.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but you should still be careful. The Spider Demon has no more power than I, but he is still someone you should avoid. He is the one that brings me my guests, however."

Suddenly Undertaker stopped moving all together, and he froze. He then tilted his head to the side, revealing a golden-green eye and part of a scar. "Well, speak of the devil."

He shifted his attention back to the group. "One thing that neither Claude or the Alpha Demon knows is that my coffins are able to disguise the presence of anyone, and that is exactly where you four should be right now. Hurry and use the empty ones. Can't have you disturbing my guests in their sleep."

Undertaker quickly pointed out four empty coffins and the group of four quickly went inside, trying to ignore the fact that they were inside coffins located in a lunatic's store. "Don't come out until I tell you to." He whispered.

A few seconds later the door opened, and it was Claude who entered. "Hello Undertaker, there is something I need to discuss with you."

"Ah, yes, I haven't seen you in a year. Have you finally come over to try out the coffin I've made especially for you?"

Claude gave him a stoic look. "No, that's not why I'm here." He adjusted his glasses. "As the only spirit who doesn't long to kill me, I can only ask you. Have you seen this year's trick-or-treaters yet? I seem to have lost their signatures."

Undertaker didn't falter in his answer. "Of course. They already left. I believe they might be at the next stop by now, maybe you should check there."

Claude scowled. "If they really had been by here, then your shop's sign would be on the ground."

Undertaker scratched his head as if he was trying to remember. "Really? Then they must have not come by yet. I think the Reaper Princess stopped by earlier, so it might be her I'm thinking of. You know I'm as blind as a bat without my glasses."

Claude never broke his stoic stare. "Bats have other powerful senses such as smell and hearing. I know that you have a completely different side to your personality that you won't let anyone see. Why don't you just drop the act."

It was silent between the two for about a minute, then Undertaker tilted his head once more, revealing an eye that only a Reaper could have. "Alright then. You see, underneath my shop I have been working on a little project of mine. I was planning on releasing them tonight, but I can't with trick-or-treaters in the forest. They are a work in progress however and they need to be improved. Now I do trust that you won't go spreading this around, as I would like to keep it a secret for now. And as for me not longing to kill you..."

It was quiet for about another minute, then Undertaker tilted his head back up, and his hair covered his eyes once again. "Well, if that will be all, then I think you should start catching up with those children now."

Claude sighed. "I suppose you're right. Thank you for your cooperation, Undertaker."

He then opened the shop door and left. Undertaker waited a few minutes before he couldn't sense the Spider Demon's presence anymore, so he knocked on the lids of the four coffins. "Don't worry, he's gone now. You lot can come out."

Once the lids of the coffins were opened, everyone took a deep breath. "I thought I would never get out of there." Lizzie commented.

"Well, coffins do usually have that effect on people, especially when they're about to be buried alive." A chill suddenly ran down Lizzie's spine.

"Now, I suppose you all should be receiving what you all came here for."

The four of them were about to utter the magic words, when Undertaker stopped them. "Except this time, the price for candy will be different than that of the other spirits."

The group remembered when Hannah had told them about how some spirits wouldn't accept the usual words for candy. "In order to receive candy, you have to give me the gift of laughter."

"So all we have to do is make you laugh?" Sieglinde asked.

Undertaker nodded. "You have to make me laugh so hard that the shop's sign falls off."

The four exchanged looks with each other. "Uh, alright." Lizzie said.

The four of them huddled together in order to think of a plan. "So, what should we do?" Ciel asked.

"I don't know, let's just tell a joke and see if it works." Alois suggested.

"Yes, but what? Sieglinde asked.

"I don't know, but let's just try something." Lizzie said.

The huddle split up and Alois decided to go first. "Alright, here's my joke. What did one koala say to the other? I'm bear-y sorry that I finished the last jar of honey."

He waited for a reaction from Undertaker, but the mortician wouldn't budge. "Uh, you do realize that koalas aren't actually bears, right?" Sieglinde pointed out.

Alois only blinked. "They're not?"

Sieglinde shook her head. "No, they're marsupials."

"Oh, I did not know that."

After watching the girls' failed attempts, Ciel finally decided to crack. "Alright, I have an idea, but I do have some conditions." He turned to his friends. "You three must go outside, and no matter what happens, you must not peak. Got it?"

Three of them exchanged looks with each other. "Okay then."

Within the next minute, Alois, Sieglinde, and Lizzie were all outside, but one of them was having trouble containing their curiosity. "Come on, I just want to know what he's doing in there."

Sieglinde and Lizzie were both working together to hold Alois back and make sure he didn't pull on the curtains. "No, we can't peak inside. That was the deal!"

"But I just have to know! I want to make sure that he's having fun!"

"I'll bet he is, now stop it!"

With one pull, the girls were able to successfully pull him back. After that, he stopped all together. "Alright, fine, let's just wait."

Within the next minute, a huge amount of laughter was heard coming from inside the store, and they all had to step back because the sign fell off of the shop. After that, the three of them walked in only to see Undertaker, drunk on laughter with an exhausting looking Ciel. "What happened?" Alois asked, looking at the state his friend.

"Don't ask."

Undertaker had finally recovered from his laughing fit and started handing out candy. The group noticed as he held something else out, that didn't resemble candy. "If you eat these, you can hide your own presence so that you can be temporarily protected." He put them in each bag.

Lizzie smiled. "Thank you so much, Mr. Undertaker."

"Well of course. I have to do my part as well."

Soon, they had said their goodbyes and the group of friends had left. By now, they had pretty much figured out that Undertaker wasn't like the other forest creatures. They had heard all of his conversation with Claude, but they were too polite to ask about some of the things that the Spider Demon had mentioned.

Undertaker had an idea, but he didn't want it to be known about just yet. He figured that the trick-or-treaters wouldn't think much about it since it didn't concern them. The strange mortician started walking downstairs into the basement, wanting to continue with his little project.