Halloween - The Singing Pumpkin Castle: Ending

"So how is everything looking so far?"

"You stuffed most of the food into a sack." Arkon bluntly replied as he stepped through the hole in the wall, sheathing his sword and looking at Tamamo Cat "And did you truly betray her so easily?"

"Hey, I've got a reputation to uphold! Woof!" Cat growled back, placing her hands on her hips and giving the knight a chiding expression "Imagine if it got out that I lost the battle and lost the war instead? These guys won't even agree it was a draw!"

"Because you were unconscious and face first in a pie." Ritsuka bluntly stated as he oversaw the looting of the food, turning to Cat and then wincing before he gestured to the top of his head "By the way, you've still got a little of it just here." he gestured to the back part of him, Cat froze before clicking her tongue.

"This is just great." She hissed in annoyance as she licked her paw and then started to wipe down the area which still had smears of custard in it. "You know how long it takes to groom?"

"Considering none of us are cats or have fur, I'm not even going to make a guess in regards to that." Ritsuka sighed, shaking his head and looking back across the room towards the direction of Ash and Patches, he could see the pair of them bartering for something while the Director's face was visible and providing commentary.

Shaking his head, he then turned his attention onto Arkon "So what about you?" he asked the Silver Knight, the pointed helm turned to face him and tilted ever so slightly in confusion. Ritsuka threw a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Cat "She flat out admitted to betraying her master to help us but I'm not sure about you."

Arkon grimaced behind his helm "She was the one who summoned me…and the Master of this castle of freaks is a crossbreed, I hold no loyalty to her in the first place." he paused before giving a derisive grunt "A fitting turn of events."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the man before he pursed his lips. From what he knew from Ash and the others, Arkon was a silver knight and from the same place as Havel therefore some obvious dislike of dragons was to be expected. It didn't sit right with him but for the moment he wouldn't make any comments about it and invite hostility where none existed. Besides, Arkon wasn't a Servant of Chaldea just yet and Ritsuka knew he didn't have much authority over the man just shy of having the Servants beat the racism out of him.

Which probably wouldn't work either.

"So…talk of Elizabeth aside for the moment, are you coming with us then?"

"I am." Arkon nodded his head in response "Although I very much doubt you intend to slay her." the man looked over in the direction of Kiyohime "Given how you are in the company of a Crossbreed."

"Oh? Are you speaking of me?" Kiyohime looked over to him before tilting her head "You seem more hostile than when we met in France."

"I tolerate your existence for the simple fact you are not of the Dragons Lord Gwyn ordered us killed." Arkon bluntly stated "Do not mistake that restraint for kindness. Take care not to give me a reason to end you."

"For the moment let's try and remember that the fighting is over." Ritsuka cut in with a stern expression aimed at Arkon "And that while we might not all be friends, there's no reason to start fights with anyone else. Considering how quickly they could escalate."

Arkon stared at him in silence for a few moments before he grunted and looked away, sliding his shield onto the holster on his back and crossing his arms.

Ritsuka stared at him for a few more moments before he turned towards Siegward "So, how are we looking for food?"

"We've gathered up most everything that is fresh or can be kept alive after a few days." Siegward replied in a jolly tone, holding up the sack "I feel as though I am carrying a bag of treasures!"

"...Now I'm having visions of Santa claus." The master muttered and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, Siegward's body jolted in confusion before leaning forwards slightly.

"Who?"

"I'm not getting into Christmas right now." Ritsuka chuckled, waving his hand "I'll explain later…and pray that it doesn't end in a disaster in itself." he sniffed before coughing "Anyway, once we finish up here we'll carry on towards the final room." he turned to Cat "There's no one else left, right?"

"Nyaope!" Cat beamed at him "As you can imagine they saved the best guards for last! Naturally me and my trusty stooge!"

"Stooge?" Arkon's head snapped over to her incredulously "You were the one who started a pointless brawl and spent most of the fight climbing around the walls like some manner of rabid beast and throwing food around like a child!" he pointed upwards towards one of the chandeliers, still with a piece of chicken leg impaled upon one of the decorations. "How are you the aspect of a Goddess!?"

"Hey! I'm a cat! Woof!" Tamamo defended herself with a frown before levelling an accusatory glare at Arkon "At least I managed to hurt one of them!" she pointed towards Ash "I got him with my claws! Who did you manage to hurt?"

"I punched the shield girl in the face." Arkon defended, earning a double take from Ritsuka who then looked at Mash in concern only to blink when he noticed she didn't have a single scratch on her cheek.

"Really?" Cat drawled, then looked at Mash with a studious gaze "Because I don't see anything even close to a scratch on her!"

"She's got tough skin." Arkon defended "Besides, you had the easier opponents. I was fighting a Knight of Catarina and another Knight of equal skill, then there was the undead with the Chaos sword."

"Hey, that was the one I wounded." Cat realised before smirking "So if I was able to wound him and you weren't doesn't that make me more powerful than you?"

"What?" Arkon blinked at her behind his helm, his whole body jerking in surprise at the outrageous statement "You-you said you were an aspect of a Goddess! Of course you're supposed to be stronger than me! I'm just a knight!"

"Exactly." Cat preened at the statement "I'm glad we managed to work out the pecking order. Woof."

Arkon pinched the bridge of his helm and shook his head, turning away from Cat and strutting away from her towards the far corner of the room. Ritsuka watched the man go before he exhaled and turned to Mash.

"I don't even know what is going on anymore." He exasperated tone of voice which matched the tired expression he was now wearing, the Shielder matched his look with one of her own, looking equally exacerbated by the non-stop string of bizarre happenings and surprise encounters. "What are the chances there is going to be another horrible surprise in store for us before we're done here?"

Mash winced ever so slightly "I-I'm sure it will be fine, Senpai!" she exclaimed with as much cheer as she could muster forced into her voice, although neither of them were truly convinced. Mash slumped her shoulders ever so slightly before giving the Master a questioning look "Is Halloween normally this tiring, Senpai?"

"...Really it depends." Ritsuka admitted with a shrug "Some people have Halloween parties and while I'm not entirely certain how many of them end in random fist fights, they certainly have their fair share of mishaps."

"Have you ever been to one?"

"Eh? Not really. I knew people who went to them but I didn't really get into that sort of thing all that much." He dismissed with a wave of his hand "I went to a couple of Christmas parties but Halloween was mainly me staying at home…Although I do recall one Halloween party I went to years ago when I was like…Ten? Eleven?"

"Let me guess." Romani's face popped up on Mash's communicator, the man wearing a sly smile "You went dressed as a pirate?"

Ritsuka blinked at him "...Actually I went as the RX-78-2 Gundam." he replied with a straight face "As best I could anyway. Most of it was actually just some old boxes I painted red and white." giving a wry chuckle, the Master scratched the back of his neck "It…erm…wasn't very good but I had fun."

"...Huh." Romani blinked, leaning back into his chair and staring at the Master with a hint of surprise "With how you were like around the pirates, I thought you would have gone dressed as one of them. I didn't take you for a mecha fan, Fujimaru-kun."

"Eh, I have a variety of interests." Ritsuka replied with a wave of his hand "What about you? Aside from Vtubers that is."

"Ha. Ha." Romani gave a laugh drier than the sahara "I actually have a passing interest in magical girls, I'll have you know."

Ritsuka snorted "I'm really not surprised." he paused before he gave the man a concerned look "When you say magical girls…you don't mean Madoka-"

"Nope." Romani gave him a thousand yard stare "Not at all. Just classical for me."

"Sailor moon?"

"Theme tune is catchy."

"That it is."

Mash looked between the two of them with a bewildered expression, to her it was as if they had started speaking in an entirely different language and she hadn't received a translation for it. "E-erm…Senpai? What…erm…"

Ritsuka stared at her before he gave a small noise of understanding "Ah, we're talking about anime."

Mash still gave him a blank look.

"Not even that, eh?" Ritsuka muttered to himself before looking at Romani "You seem like a man who keeps Sailor moon DvD's in his room-"

"Why do I give you that impression!?" Romani sputtered "We're a secret scientific/human preservation organisation in the middle of an undisclosed location! I'm working as a doctor, why would I have the complete box set of the original sailor moon anime in my room with all two hundred episodes and the three tv specials?"

Ritsuka gave him a raised eyebrow.

"...Okay, maybe I do have them somewhere." Romani coughed into his hand, pointedly ignoring the snickering that was happening in the command room behind him from those who overheard his blunt confession. "B-but why is that a bad thing!?"

"In this case it gives us something." Ritsuka pointed at him, then at Mash "...We're gonna have to introduce her to Sailor moon."

"...Well, I'm not against it but why?"

"...Why not? It's like the archetype magical girl?"

"Why are you talking about women Casters?" Mash asked with a baffled tone of voice as she looked between the two of them once again, her voice containing a hint of pleading as if to be clued in. "Senpai? Doctor?"

"Maybe Romani can go as a magical girl for Halloween?" Da Vinci's voice mirthfully called through the communicator "I'm sure I can whip up a mystic code."

Romani sputtered "Leo! Th-that is-I-I'm not a girl for starters!"

"Ah yes, yes…that is a big problem." Her voice contained a knowing tone to it which had Romani feel a sense of dread "...Unless of course we had a Servant who possessed a mystic code that could change genders."

"H-huh? But we don't-" Romani was cut off by Ritsuka holding his hand in front of his mouth and laughing into his palm, his eyes closed shut as he looked away from the doctor's growing expression of panic "F-Fujiamru-kun? Why are you laughing like that? Fujimaru-kun!?"

"What is that idiot screaming about now?" Olga muttered as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of Romani frantically calling out through the monitor on the opposite end of the command room. The woman continued to stare at him before shaking her head and returning her attention to the individuals in front of them "...Get the phoenix feather as well. Ten of them."

"Ten you say?" Patches nodded "A fair number that requires a fair payment." he turned to Ash with his trademark smirk. Ash wordlessly handed over the required plastic decorations "A pleasure doing business with you, chum!" he grinned as he took the currency and placed it in his own bottomless box.

Ash took the glowing feathers in his hand, using his other to pick up one of them and study it closely. One of the few things unkindled were capable of feeling was warmth and the feather offered merely a flicker of that, however it was still enough that he could sense it.

"Be careful with those." Olga told him sternly "Phoenix feathers are rare and very useful in the crafting of rituals and spells."

"Hmm." Ash grunted in response, gently placing the feather back with the others and then moving them into his own bottomless box before he looked back up "You had other items?"

"Bits and pieces." Patches replied with a half-smile as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest "Depends on what you're looking for." he raised a hand before twisting it around and revealing a dark coloured skull in his hand with glowing white eyes. "Something for a spot of trouble?"

Olga frowned "What on earth-"

"An alluring skull." Ash informed her with a straight face "Shattering them releases their essence which is useful for attracting the attention of creatures and hollows. They are drawn to the power. I used them frequently to disperse crowds and fight through." his eyes moved away from the skull and back onto the man "I was unaware that there could be any left with the fall of the Cathedral."

"I have my ways."

The Director stared at the skull, then looked at Ash with a raised eyebrow "Well?"

"Large crowds of enemies which might delay time. Alternatively if one was looking to sneak past or cause a distraction." Ash informed her "I have been told that Presence concealment is useful for spying. This might be used by Assassins to cause havoc when faced with large gatherings."

Olga hummed in response, cupping her chin and nodding her head "...You might be right about that. Get one, we'll have Da Vinci analyse it and see if she can work up a method of copying them."

"Good luck with that." Patches chortled then nodded to Ash "He knows why."

Olga looked back at the Saber expectantly.

"The skulls are made with dark magic." Ash replied with a slight frown "Made with the Deep, an essence of the Dark and can only be crafted by one who was taught in the arts. I am capable of slinging abyssal pyromancies but that does not make me a craftsman."

"Then we would need someone who was taught 'dark magic' to create more?"

"Most likely. As well as a supply of human skulls."

Sighing to herself, Olga rubbed her eyes before waving her hand and giving a tired nod "Fine, fine…get three. Just in case."

"Pumpkins this time." Patches replied with a wide smile "Pleasure doing business."

"I'm sure." Ash replied with a dry voice as he supplied the payment and took the skulls "How long before you attempt to kill us again?"

"I'm almost hurt you'd ask that." Patches placed a hand over his heart with a hurt expression "It's these places that I travel to. They have horrible effects on a person but once I'm there long enough the madness leaves me." he gestured between the two of them "See? We converse like old friends now that I've been here long enough."

Ash stared at him in silence before he went back to placing the skulls in his box and closing the lid shut "What else?"

"Something rather special." Patches smirked at him before reaching into his box and pulling out an ashen coloured square stone with the shape of a skull emboldened on the front of it. Ash eyes widened slightly before they narrowed "I knew you'd recognise it."

"...Where did you get this?"

"I travel." Patches smirked, holding the stone with one hand "Useful item despite its nasty history."

"What is it?" Olga asked as she narrowed her eyes "And what is with this theme of skulls?"

"A purging stone." Patches chuckled as he waved the stone in the air "If you should ever find yourself cursed, just use this little thing and you'll be right as rain."

Olga blinked "It cures curses?"

"...Sure, we'll go with that." Patches shrugged "I doubt you'll find the truth much appealing."

"I am not using that." Ash bluntly declared. Patches stared at him in silence for a few moments before he shrugged and returned it to its spot, the Director giving him an irritated look.

"He just holds up something that can cure curses and you say no? Are you an-"

"It does not cure the curse, it transfers it." Ash informed her as he turned to stare at her "And curses might only affect living things…or at the very least, beings who possess a soul." he nodded towards Patches "That stone does not just possess the face of a skull. It possesses the soul of a man."

The director stared at him for a few moments before her face went paler than usual and her eyes widened "W-what?"

"The monument in the Ringed City was far more gruesome." Ash turned to Patches with a scowl "Thousands of bodies lay at its base. Their souls warped into the ability to hold curses even after death."

Patches merely shrugged "I didn't build the thing so there's no point baring your fangs at me."

Ash sighed and turned back to her "Curses can be dealt with in other fashions that do not involve abusing the souls of the dead. Least of all transfering more pain onto them. They have suffered enough, I would rather they not suffer anymore."

"R-right…" Olga swallowed before shaking her head and composing her expression, although she still looked slightly sickly after the reveal.

Ash turned back to Patches and crossed his arms at the man "I shall suppose you have other items that might prove useful that do not come from the pain of others?"

"That's a bit hypocritical coming from you isn't it?" Patches replied with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, then raised his hands in surrender when Ash's eyes hardened "I joke, I joke. No need for all that." lowering his hands, he placed them back on his hips and hummed to himself "I do have some other items that you might find interesting, some fruits and plants. I suppose you can work with those, can't you?"

"The type used for curing poisons or restoring stamina?" Patches gave a single nod in response "They will do."

"Curing poisons?" Olga shook her head and turned towards Ash with a more serious expression "Specific poisons or a general treatment?"

"Any sort of poison." Patches offered with a merchant's grin, from the Director's perspective the man was akin to a snake oil peddler "Never met one that it didn't have a problem curing." he raised a single finger "Now I know Patches sounds like he's exaggerating it but this is quality stuff. Hard to get but definitely treasured."

"Then why would anyone bother with poisons?"

"Because most can just cure it with spells." Patches shrugged "And most other poisons are so fast acting that you're dead before you can get to a mage who could cure you." an ugly snort came from his mouth "Or a Cleric but good luck trying to get one of them to heal you and still having anything in your coffers afterwards."

"Your cheapest item, I assume?"

Patches merely gave him a knowing smirk.

"I would recommend getting some." Ash nodded towards the Director "I have some of the different plants already in my bottomless box, however it is preferable to have surplus now rather than fall short when we find ourselves in a position where it is useful."

Olga pursed her lips then nodded her head "Excluding the possibility of a Servant using poison as a special skill or a Noble Phantasm. There are many Assassins who could use such things."

"How many leaves do you want?" Patches asked as he raised up the purple clump of moss "Or for extra…" he revealed in his other hand the purple clump of moss with white flowers blooming from it "For those rare times?"

"Do the flowers make a difference?"

"The flowered variety cures toxins as well." Ash informed her with a curt response "More effective but much rarer." he looked at Patches "And more expensive?"

Patches smiled in response "Some of us have to eat, you know? I'm not trying to fleece you, honest."

Ash merely hummed in response before looking at the white haired woman, Olga remained silent for a few moments before she nodded once at him "Get the blooming variety. I will see if we can convert one of unused storage rooms into a botany lab. Keeping and growing some of these plants would be much more beneficial than having to wait."

Turning back to Patches, Ash handed over sixty candles to the man, receiving three moss clumps. The Saber placed the plant in his box before turning back to Olga's screen "We're almost out of funds and I doubt we have enough to buy anything more of value."

The woman merely grunted in response "It is still a better position than before we came down here-" she clicked her tongue and looked over her shoulder at Romani's raised voice "What on earth could you possibly be yelling-!?" the woman did a double take and then walked away from the screen, Ash raised an eyebrow at the muffled voices before the woman came storming back and stared at him with wide eyes "What's this I hear about you swapping genders?"

Patches snorted once.

"We're not going to turn you into a magical girl, Roman." Ritsuka placated the man with a soft tone, raising his hands and waving the panicked man down.

"...You promise?"

"I promise."

"Alright…" Romani coughed into his hands "G-good. I probably wouldn't make a very good magical girl anyway."

"I'm sure you'd be a very attractive woman, Romani!~" Da Vinci sang across the room with a pleased look in her eyes "Besides, being a woman is rather exciting!" she gestured to herself "Speaking from experience, of course."

"Not all of us are as adventurous as you, Leo." Romani shot back with a tired expression before looking back at Ritsuka "So…you got all the food then?"

"Just about, yes." He looked back at Cat "You're not going to complain about this, right?"

"It was baked for the guests." Cat shrugged her shoulders, rolling back and forth on her furred feet "What's wrong with turning a banquet into a takeaway? Woof!"

"Fair enough." Shrugging to himself, he turned back to Romani "Siegward's got the sack of food and I assume the Director is now grilling Ash about the rings?"

"Something like that." Romani replied as he looked to his side with a wry smile "I think she's more baffled as to why he has it to begin with."

"I asked him the same thing."

"Really? What did he say?"

"He just said 'why not?' and left it at that."

Romani opened his mouth to reply before he paused and slowly closed it again "Huh…I can't think of an answer as to why you wouldn't have one."

"Me neither."

"...Has he ever-"

"Once."

"I see."

"Yep."

"...Did he say what-"

"He said he was top heavy."

"Alright."

"Sure."

"...Would you ever-"

"I am seriously considering it." Ritsuka quietly admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, placing his right hand on his hip while his left held the communicator "If only because I was curious as to what it's like being a woman. You know?"

Romani squinted slightly before he gave a slow reply "Can't say that I do…But Leo would be the one you'd want to ask for that." he paused "She'd one hundred percent tell you to go ahead though."

"Telling me." Ritsuka chuckled to himself before looking towards Mash and seeing her staring at him with an odd look in her eyes "Something wrong?"

"H-huh?" Mash blinked before shaking her head "N-no! I was just thinking of what Senpai would look like as a girl…" her eyes became distant before they gleamed with a spark "Girl Senpai…"

"What the heck are you filling her head with, Fujimaru-kun?!" Romani turned on the boy with a shocked expression and an accusatory tone.

"Wha-!? How am I to blame for this!?"

"Myself and Olga have completed the collection of supplies and are ready for us to depart further into the-" Ash spoke as he approached, unaware of the chaos he was strolling into, striding past Arkon with the pair not even offering the other a nod.

"Senpai…in…a dress?" Ash paused and stared at Mash as she whispered to herself in an almost hesitant tone, her eyes betraying some semblance of personal shame before she clapped her cheeks twice.

His eyes drifted away from the girl and towards Romani and Ritsuka, both of whom looked as though they had no idea how to approach the situation.

He then looked to Olga, the woman merely blinking repeatedly before she turned to him and merely stared.

"Right…" Ritsuka stared at the door in front of him before he turned to Tamamo Cat "You're sure this is the last door?"

"Second to last." Cat responded "Although this room is supposed to be empty. Lizard girl is waiting further on."

"...And you're certain nothing is in this room?" Ritsuka asked as he pointed at it "Nothing at all? I'm not going to fling these doors open and get assaulted by the mummy?"

"Why would your mother attack you?" Siegward asked in a shocked tone as he stared at the young Master "My word, are you alright?"

"Mummy, not…" Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose "It's a type of monster. Wrapped in bandages. A zombie."

"Oh!" Siegward nodded his head in understanding "...Why do you call them mothers then?"

"Fairly certain there's nothing beyond these doors. Woof!" Cat exclaimed with a confident smirk "I would stake his life on it." she remarked, pointing towards Arkon, the Knight doing a double take when he saw the claw pointed at him.

The man stared down at the hand in obvious shock, arms loosening from their crossed position before they fell to his sides "Why my life?"

"Because it's not mine."

"Alright then…" Ritsuka ignored the chaos behind him as he placed his hands on the two doors and took in a deep breath, turning his head towards Mash, he nodded to her once "You ready, Mash?"

"Ready, Senpai!" Mash nodded her head before her cheeks dusted with a speck of redness "A-also I'd like to apologise for the…um…bit about the dress, Senpai."

"It's fine." Ritsuka dismissed easily before he threw the doors open, then promptly paused and paled.

Everyone else stared at the room full of skeletons with baffled expressions.

The skeletons stared back at them, the peculiar thing was that none of them were armed with any sort of weapon and several of them were on all fours in a bench position in front of other skeletons.

"Umm…Fujimaru-kun." Romani whispered to him through the communicator "Is it a bad time to say I'm picking up a reading of divinity?"

"Your wha-" Ritsuka had barely enough time to speak before noticing a large black shadow moving across the ground with seemingly nothing casting it, the dark mass moved into the centre of the room before it slowly rose up as if emerging from water.

The eyes of everyone slowly trailed up as what looked like a mass of bones emerged from the black mass, several dozen skulls morphed along the surface before halting, all of their heads facing forwards with the largest among them resting at the top of the pile. A creaking sound echoed throughout the room as the mass continued to rise up, a loose collection of bony limbs dangled down like a horrible curtain and covered the front of the torso as the being hunched over.

The shadow had risen with the creature, rolling over their body like a waterfall onto the ground with a faint luminescence to it. By the finish, the creature was easily the size of Heracles, if not slightly taller.

"Ah, visitors. At last." The voice was rich and ethereal, as if coming from somewhere behind the mass of bones, a single hand rose up from the left side of the dark cloak and gestured to them "We have been waiting for you."

"R-really?" Ritsuka squeaked "G-glad we could make it."

"I'm sure…" The skulls never once opened their mouths as the voice spoke, the mass of heads scanning the individuals in front of them before falling onto Tamamo Cat "And what brings you into such a form, Lordess of Light?" the voice asked with a tinge of amusement "Much as I prefer the dark, seeing this body of yours is almost worth stepping forth into the rays of the Sun…" a haunting chuckle emerged from the being "If only for the amusement it represents."

"Hey! When you say it like that it sounds like you're making fun of me!" Cat called back before rolling her arms "You spoiling for a fight, huh!?"

The skulls stared at her in silence before they moved past her and towards Ash and Siegward. Ritsuka felt as though the temperature of the room - which had already been rather chilly - abruptly plummeted.

"Undead." The being spat out the word with disgust "Well…at least not anymore." the hand pointed at Siegward before moving past him towards Ash "...For you, it seems we are forced to await that outcome for but a little while longer."

The large being moved further down the line before stopping upon Kiyohime "A crossbreed? How curious…and one so young. Yet without the touch of divinity…a mixture of dragon and human? How…quaint."

It moved onto Mash "So young…and so fleeting." then onto Arkon "Well, well, well…" the being rumbled in amusement "What business does a Silver Knight of Gwyn have with such…exotic companions? Did you tire of the company of your fellows?" they paused before their skulls all seemed to focus on them "Or mayhaps it revolves around that essence of Chaos deep within your being?"

The heads finally moved onto Ritsuka "...How curious. Naught but a human."

"H-hi." Ritsuka coughed into his hand, putting on a polite smile and waving at the rather imposing skeleton "Fujimaru Ritsuka, and you are?"

A pregnant pause followed, soon ending when the voice rumbled with a chuckle.

"How daring." They pointed a single hand towards Arkon when it looked like they were going to berate the boy "I shall allow his tone, Knight of Light. I find it most amusing." Arkon stepped back, although still looking visibly shaken.

"For now though…I will adhere to the one reason I came to this place." The mass of bones melted back into the floor before the shadow swam across the tiles before the being rose up again behind an object made from bones. Two hands came out from beneath the cloak, both holding large bones as they moved towards the large ribcage in front of them.

Then the skeletal being started to tap away at the ribs, forming musical notes in an odd pattern. Ritsuka's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull when he recognised the tune. The bafflement grew when he saw the other skeletons in the room abruptly start strutting from side to side in step with each other, their hands curled into fists and placed upon their hips.

"Spooky, Scary Skeletons send shivers down your spin~"

The eyes of everyone went from the dancing skeletons to the large figure cloaked in black shadows, their deep voice holding a hint of musical theme to it which caused everyone to nearly collapse at the sheer absurdity of it.

"Shrieking skulls will shock your soul, seal your doom tonight~"

"Is this actually happening?" Ritsuka whispered to himself in shock as he watched the skeletons link hands and then dance around in a circle. From the disbelieving stares of everyone to the left and right of him he could - at the very least - confirm that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Spooky, scary skeletons speak with such a screech~"

"You'll shake and shudder in surprise when you hear these zombies shriek~"

Ritsuka leaned back as a skeleton rolled past him with what looked like the wooden wheel of a cart embedded in its body, the Master raised an eyebrow as it was then joined by another one which proceeded to circle each other while rolling along the ground before splitting off towards opposite ends of the room.

All the while the skeletons were still dancing or now playing bony instruments.

"We're so sorry skeletons, you're so misunderstood~"

The lighter voice had them turn to another individual who was in the corner, the man had pale blue skin with dark red eyes, wearing a chainmail tunic and shoulder length silver hair flowing down from his head.

"You only want to socialise, but I don't think we should~"

The man's voice was crip when compared to the deep tone of the skeletal giant and yet equally rich in tone.

"'Cause spooky, scary skeletons shout startling, shrilly screams~"

"They'll sneak from their sarcophagus and just won't leave you be~"

The large figure unveiled another hand from under their cloak, this time coming from the mound of bones that served as their torso with another bone held in its grip. The three limbs worked on playing the solo piece on the pseudo-xylophone which had everyone utterly unsure of what they were even supposed to do in the first place.

"R-Roman?" Ritsuka whispered to the man as his eyes danced to all the skeletons in the room "A-are you recording this?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Good…just making sure so we have proof we're not all crazy."

"R-right-"

"Spirits supernatural are shy, what's all the fuss?~"

Several skeletons fell into a pile on the floor, rolling around on the ground before coming to a half.

"But bags of bone seem so unsafe, it's semi-serious~"

The pile of bones dragged themselves along the ground and locked themselves back together, rising up and forming a complete skeleton once again before the group went about resuming their dance as if nothing had ever happened to them in the first place.

"Spooky, scary skeletons are sill all the same~"

"They'll smile and scrabble slowly by and drive you so insane!~"

The large figure resumed singing, seemingly enjoying their amusement if the curling of the skulls on their body into smiles was any indication.

"Sticks and stones will break your bones, they seldom let you snooze~"

"Spook, scary skeletons will wake you with a BOO!~"

The group jolted at the sheer power behind the final word which seemingly shook the entire room with its base. The skeletons slowly stopped dancing as the music faded away, the bony xylophone the giant had been playing abruptly stood up and revealed itself to be the skeleton of some manner of bear before it blooded off and vanished into dust.

The other skeletons soon followed through with their counterpart, disappearing without a trace. The tall blue man remained stationary for a few moments before he grunted and closed his eyes. His body vanished into golden motes of light indicating he had been a servant and was departing the singularity.

"What…" Ritsuka spoke in a shocked tone.

"The…" Romani followed through.

"Heck?" Olga finished with a choking sound "W-w-what was…what the…this was…What!?"

"It seems I have overstayed my welcome." The large being rumbled, their hands disappearing back under their cloak "This passing moment of amusement has left me satisfied." they chuckled to themselves as they turned away and started to melt back into the floor "Perhaps we shall meet again, mortals."

They vanished into the ground without a second word, the shadow swam across the tiles before disappearing underneath one of the doors and leaving them alone in the room.

"...Does anyone want to explain what that was?" Ritsuka eventually asked after a few moments, his eyes wide and looking around "No, seriously. What the heck was that? That was simultaneously one of the best and one of the most terrifying experiences of my life." he looked around "Anyon-why are you so tense, Ash?"

"H-hm?" Ash blinked, looking at Ritsuka and then noticing his hand had been on the handle of his sword. He pulled it away in surprise "I…do not know. I merely felt that being in his presence was akin to a life or death situation."

"Yes…" Siegward nodded in response, giving a shaky breath "As if all it would take for him to end me is just to make eye contact. A rather frightful fellow indeed."

"...Well he was a spooky scary skeleton." Ritsuka offered with a chuckle, being rewarded with groans for the lame pun. "Fine, fine…" He smiled, shaking his head and turning back around "I'm actually in a good mood now. Whatever that was."

"That was scary is what that was." Romani blurted out as he stared away from the screen and at one of the monitors "Fujimaru-kun, that person was a Divine Spirit and a powerful one as well."

"...Heh?"

"These readings easily exceeded those of the Rider in France two-no three fold." Romani exclaimed as he looked back at the boy "Probably more! They were probably a very powerful God wherever they came from and the skeletons leave little to the imagination as to what they were the God of."

"...Ah…right." Ritsuka coughed into his hand and nodded his head "...He just sang a halloween song, Roman." the boy shook his head, cradling his forehead in his hands "I'm going to struggle to take him seriously."

"I would." Arkon spoke in a strained tone of voice "...That was Lord Nito. First of the Dead and if he wished it…he could have killed all of us with but a wave of his hand and we would have been unable to stop him."

Ritsuka stared at him "...Well that's grim."

"Stop with the puns." Olga berated him with a shocked look "This is serious!"

"Right. Yes. Of course." Ritsuka nodded his head at her seriously before biting his lower lip "...As serious as bags of bones?"

The woman glared.

"I'll stop."

Ritsuka stared at the final door "...Through here then, is she?" he asked Cat, raising an eyebrow at her. Cat nodded her head and walked past him, pulling him back and placing him with the others and putting her hands on her hips.

"Hey, Red Lizard!" Cat called out as she slammed her fist on the door three times in a loud knock. "Are you ready yet?"

"Wha-!? Who are you calling a Lizard! I'm a Dragon!" A young female voice called back, Ritsuka looked at the others with a raised eyebrow before turning back in the direction of the door. "And I'm nearly done! Just give me a second, okay!"

Rituska placed his hands on his hips and furrowed his brows "We've spent an entire evening fighting through a castle and she still isn't ready yet?" he asked himself, rolling his jaw before he pursed his lips "...Why not?"

"Some of these things take time, Fujimaru-kun." Romani offered with a shrug of the shoulders before he paused "That being said, if I were you I'd be thankful that she isn't ready yet. Small miracles and all that."

"We're going to have to listen to her anyway, Roman."

"Actually we've got to turn the microphone of the communicator off to conserve power." Romani replied with a strangled tone of voice and a facial expression that made it plain as day he wasn't being entirely truthful "Y-you know?"

"...No. I don't." Ritsuka narrowed his eyes "Explain it to me."

"W-well…erm…"

"Okay!" Elizabeth's muffled shout came from behind the closed doors "I'm ready, you can come in now!"

"Oh boy, would you look at that?" Romani loudly called out in a forced tone before he pressed a single button and the screen shut off. Ritsuka glared at the communicator before lowering his wrist.

"That guy…alright, Ash get the door." Ritsuka waved his hand, his brain catching up with what he had said a second later, his eyes widening "No wait-!"

"Bwah!?" Elizabeth's panicked voice followed when Ash grabbed the door by its handle and ripped it from its hinges, hurling it behind him and then pausing. "What the heck are you doing here!? Why would you do that to my door you pig!? Are you thick!? Where is puppy!?"

"...That's my bad!" Ritsuka called out from behind Ash, poking his head through the door and then blinking in surprise when he saw Elizabeth. "...Nice outfit by the way."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply before she paused, a wide grin splitting her features as her body puffed up with pride. "Of course it is! An idol must exemplify whatever theme they have decided upon!" The girl wore a frilly dress with a blue and orange pattern, a black shoulder coat with a neon orange underside and long black gloves which extended up her arms. Sitting atop her head was a large pointed hat which looked as though it had been pulled from Beatrice's wardrobe.

Her smile diminished when everyone else filed into the room as well, blue eyes narrowing when they caught sight of Kiyohime "What are you doing here, belly dragger?"

"I'm looking after my Anchin-sama from those who might wish him harm." Kioyhime defended before she looked around the room with narrowed eyes "This is…"

"Senpai's room?" Mash blinked as she looked around and frowned "W-wait…how did we get here?" she paused and narrowed her eyes at the display "And what is with all this mess?"

"Why is my room filled with pumpkins?" Ritsuka asked as he looked around, then stared at the ceiling "Is that bunting as well?"

"Well obviously." Elizabeth replied as if the answer had always been clear "It's a Halloween concert so there would naturally be appropriately themed decorations." she explained "While you were all away fighting, I was busy using the Grail to redecorate."

Ritsuka paused, "...Are we back in Chaldea?"

"Well I linked space together to bring you here, yeah." Elizabeth shrugged, "Well, are you surprised?" she asked with an eager expression as she looked around at the faces "Well? Well?"

Ritsuka blinked and looked around before turning back to Elizabeth and raising an eyebrow "Well…?"

The girl slumped "Are you surprised?"

"I'm surprised at this intrusion into my husband's room." Kiyohime commented with a noticeable frown but with a hint of puzzlement in her tone "But what are you referring to?"

"Not the room!" Elizabeth snapped at her then threw her arms wide and grinned "T'was I who sent the mysterious invitation that summoned you all here!"

"That was supposed to be a secret?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow as he stared at her. Elizabeth did a double take at him, eyes widening and shoulders slumping.

"What?" Elizabeth looked struck by the statement "W-what do you mean? I went through the trouble of leaving the invitation unsigned! I summoned Servants to act as my proxies and entertainers! I even went through the effort of changing my look!" she waved her hands around, cheeks flushed with embarrassment "How are you not surprised!?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Ritsuka gave a half shrug "You have a very specific style that makes it easy to tell its you." he responded with "That's basically it…" he winced "Sorry."

Elizabeth paused, seemingly mulling over something in her mind before she crossed her arms and pouted "...Well, I don't know if I should be happy that I'm already iconic enough that you can spot me out or annoyed that you ruined the surprise." she remained silent "...It's hard being famous."

"Not that famous." Kiyohime countered swiftly, "However, I have but a single question for you." she pointed the fan at Elizabeth and narrowed her eyes "And you will answer."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow "Will I? Alright then…"

"Why did you have us fight all those Servants on our way here?" Kiyohime asked "Each one of them was tasked with battling us, why?"

"I was wondering that." Mash quietly supported with furrowed brows.

"Don't get your hopes up." Ritsuka muttered to her in an equally quiet voice "I can feel the headache coming on."

"Mata Hari, Carmilla, Tseldora, Uncle Vlad-"

"Uncle?" Ritsuka repeated the word with a hint of incredulity.

"-some weird rat, Tamamo Cat and that rude knight who tried to cut my head off when we first met." She narrowed her eyes at the final figure, Arkon merely grunted from the back of the group and looked away from her. "They're all powerful Servants who fought you with everything they had. So now you must be tired, right?"

"...Probably a little." Ritsuka admitted with a shrug, crossing his arms in front of his chest before he paused "What about the skeleton man?" he snapped his fingers as he tried to remember the name "Neato?"

"Lord Nito." Arkon supplied "First of the Dead."

"Yeah, what about him?"

Elizabeth blinked at him profusely "Who?"

"...You had no idea he was here, did you?"

"Who was here?" The girl asked as she looked at each of them in confusion "Was their someone here I didn't invite?"

"Lets just set that aside for the moment." Ritsuka held out his hands as if he were grasping a box and then shifted them to one side as if moving something "You were saying about us being tired?"

Elizabeth shook her head "Yes, I was." coughing into her hands, her smile returned in force "An exhausted band of travellers, tired from their long and arduous journey finally stumbled across paradise where they find…" she trailed off dramatically, eyes shining with excitement.

Kiyohime delicately raised an eyebrow "Where they find?"

"They find happiness!" Elizabeth exclaimed with a cheer "That's right! They find the bluebird of happiness right beside them!" she pointed at herself "It's me! I'm the bluebird! Your reward for this achievement is a one night only concert with me!" there was a pause before the grin widened "And I shall sing loud!"

Her eyes darted between each of them "Well? Aren't you happy? You're moved to tears aren't you? Aren't you?"

Ritsuka stared at her in silence for a moment before he raised a single finger "...Excuse me a second." he turned around, gently wading through the small crowd in the room before stepping into the hallway, his voice dropping into something just quiet enough that only his intended target could hear him "Roman, I know this communicator is still on. Get us out of here now!" there was no response "Roman!" Unfortunately the super senses of servants made the entire act of whispering pointless as they all heard him anyway.

"Oh?" Elizabeth looked past the group at Ritsuka "Is puppy trying to invite more people? He can't do that! This is supposed to be a special concer-where are you going?" she directed the question to Ash, the servant paused with one foot already out of the door.

"...Anywhere but here." Ash bluntly stated as he continued on, stepping out into the hallway and crossing his arms. He had already experienced her 'singing' once and he was far from inclined to suffer it again.

Arkon similarly took several steps back and carried himself out of the room and into the hallway, visions of her opening act at the Nerofest and the subsequent deafening experience that left him bleeding from the ears played on repeat in his mind.

Three individuals now stood in the hallway, Ash leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed while Arkon paced around. Ritsuka was still hunched over the communicator and hissing at it, trying to get Romani's attention.

Mash watched the display with a strained expression before she turned back to Elizabeth "Erm…c-couldn't you have just done this concert at Chaldea without using a Holy Grail, Elizabeth-san?"

"Ha?" Elizabeth stared at Mash dubiously "Why would I do that? That's boring." shaking her head, she assumed a teaching pose "An idols concert is supposed to be an event, right? some thing that you brave the winter snow and the summer heat to even have the chance of attending. Their songs are supposed to be anticipated with every fibre of your being, to be quested for." the girl sighed, "If I had just shown up in puppy's room and started singing to him, I would have been a demon right?"

Mash very wisely decided not to answer that question.

Siegward raised his hand "So this entire adventure was a passage to this concert?"

"Exactly!" Elizabeth beamed at the man "Aren't you all so happy?"

"..." Siegward remained silent as he lowered his arm before he turned around and walked into the hallway, Elizabeth's features faltering slightly at his departure as she looked around with a confused expression bordering on hurt.

"I-is something wrong? Is everyone ill?"

Ritsuka rubbed his brow, shaking his head and eventually giving a tired sigh "...We're gonna have to listen to her song, you know?"

"...Must we?" Ash asked, face showing discomfort at the idea of sitting through another of her songs.

"Right now, I'm tired of fighting and would just like this to be over." Ritsuka replied to him, placing his hands on his hips and exhaling "And Roman isn't going to answer the communicator until we're done and she went through all this effort."

"Is effort how you measure quality?" Arkon asked with a strained tone of voice "Because if that is the case, if I were you, I would reevaluate how I determine quality."

"This probably isn't one of those times." Ritsuka looked over his shoulder, wincing when he saw Elizabeth's expression "...Sometimes I really do hate being me. I just can't ignore that face."

"I could." Arkon bluntly commented with a grunt.

"As could I." Ash supported it with a flat expression.

"Yes well…I can't." Ritsuka muttered before he walked back into the room, putting on his best smile "Alright Elizabeth…hit us with your best song." the manner in which her smile lit up the room upon hearing the words almost made it worth it in his mind.

Almost.

The moment she started singing, he could feel the doubt creep into his skull although at the very least she was having a fun time.

That and when they were done they could just walk out of the door.

At the very least, he wasn't alone this time. Looking around the room, he noticed that both Arkon and Cat had crossed into Chaldea with him and the others, he privately wondered if that meant they would now be joining the Chaldean roster. If they were then that was another good thing that had come out of this besides the food and other supplies.

He also noticed Ash immediately open the door the second he got in and walked out of the room.

A small part of him envied Ash for a few moments. As he turned back to Elizabeth, the girl still singing her heart out and destroying the word of music itself, he did admit to himself that it was still a fair bit of fun. Even if the ending was rather vocal.

"This is hardly worth it. Anchin-sama." Kiyohime whispered to him with a strangled tone of voice "Can we not just...beat her up?"

Ritsuka shook his head "She set this all up...we'll at least humour her this once but I really hope this doesn't become a trend-" he paused as he realised his own words before he scrunched up his expression and slapped a hand over his face "...I just jinxed it."

Halloween: End