NOTE: Okay, so I had to update the chapter count by 3, because I realized two chapters weren't going to fit everything that I wanted. So, yeah.
Sorry, this is coming out so late after Halloween, but I've been busy with college.
Enjoy and Review
Halloween Special: Monster 10 (2)
A Few Years Ago:
Alice preferred the silence that night usually brought with it; it would comfort her when neither her father or sister could. When the moon was full, when her sister and father slept, Alice would sneak onto the roof of their house to relax herself.
She could forget about this accursed town, she could forget about her father's plans, she could forget about the lives she and her sister took part in robbing, and she could forget about her mother.
Neither Alice nor Bella could remember much of their mother, having lost her too early, but the pictures that their father would show them and the stories he would tell kept her memory alive: A woman so full of love that she could power the entire planet with it.
Looking up at the moon, Alice raised her hands towards it. "I wonder…what does that feel like? The love of a mother."
It was impossible for her to ever know, because Halloween had robbed that from her.
"C'mon! Let's go to the next house!"
"No way, I'm not going to that one! Let's just hit the next block!"
Alice frowned as several other kids, dressed in various costumes, pushed past her with their buckets full of candy. A sight that was more than familiar to her after spending most of her life in a town that worshiped the holiday. She felt a larger hand touch her shoulder, bringing her attention to Maxwell Tennyson.
"Are you sure you girls are gonna be okay?" He asked carefully.
Alice avoided making eye contact as she replied. "It'll be fine, Mr. Tennyson. Bellwood isn't anything like that town, so we'll be alright."
"If you're sure."
CRASH!
"I ain't going out there!"
"Just shut up and move already!"
Turning towards the parked Rustbucket, they watched as Ben attempted to push Bella out of the motorhome, but due to her super-strength, it was proving to be an impossible task. "It's bad enough that you lied to me about free food to get me to leave the farm, but that's as far as you're getting!" Bella yelled.
"Will you just get a grip already!? I technically didn't lie about the free food!" Ben responded.
"Halloween candy doesn't count!"
Their struggle didn't last any longer as a pink tendril crashed into them both, blasting them out of the RV and into the bushes across the street. Gwen, dressed in her new Lucky Girl attire, huffed at the two. "How about I just make things easier and shut you both up?!"
"Don't you think that was a little too much?" Kenny asked, walking up behind her.
"Nah, they don't learn unless a little force is applied." Gwen shrugged.
Kenny looked at her nervously. "I think Yukiko had a little too much influence on you."
"No, I don't think that's right."
"Gah!" Ben suddenly went flying out of the bush, luckily landing in Max's arms. He glared at Bella, who was getting out of the bush. "Watch it, fur-ball!"
"Call me 'fur-ball' again, midget! See what happens!" Bella barred her fangs at him.
"That's enough!" Max exclaimed, getting their attention. "Gwen convinced me that I can let you four go off trick-or-treating on your own tonight. Of course, Kenny and I will be here waiting here at the Rustbucket if you need us."
"You're not coming?" Ben turned towards Kenny.
"Nah, not really interested in trick-or-treating. It's too much of a kid thing." Kenny responded.
"Mom grounded him for failing a test, so he's not allowed to." Gwen revealed his lie. "Dad convinced her to let him watch us."
"Shut up!" Kenny whined at his little sister.
"He had a costume ready and everything." Gwen giggled, avoiding Kenny's swipe.
"I said shut up!"
Max smiled at the brother-sister duo before turning to Ben. "Which reminds me, Ben, why aren't you dressed up?" Ben responded by raising the Omnitrix, causing the ex-Plumber to scratch his head. "Well, as much as I'd rather you didn't, I know you wouldn't listen. Just be mindful of how you use it."
"Don't worry, Mr. Tennyson. We'll keep watch over him." Alice assured him with Bella nodding her head.
Ben glared at Alice. "I don't need babysitting!"
"Yes, you do." Everyone responded, causing him to pout.
Bella glared down at the Jack-O-Lantern themed candy bag in her hands. "Y'know…after all this time I never thought we'd be on the other end of it."
"Mmhm."
"Is there something in your mou-" Bella frowned as she caught Alice eating a candy bar. The older twin stared back at her sister with a dead stare.
"What?" Alice asked before taking another bite.
"Y-you're eating that candy!" Bella exclaimed, pointing at her sister frantically.
"Yes, I am." Alice responded.
"It's Halloween candy, Alice! Y'know, poison!"
CRUNCH!
"Doesn't taste poisonous." Alice took another bite. "Plus, I'm hungry."
"Traitor!" Bella accused.
"Mmhm."
"Don't just ignore me!"
"Mmhm."
"UGH! You're so frustrating!" Bella cried, glaring daggers at her sister. Alice stared at her sister for a moment before pulling a piece of candy out of her bag and held it up for Bella to take. The younger twin stared at it for a moment. "Heck, no."
"You're hungry."
"No, I'm not!"
GRUGGLE!
Bella's glare intensified as a large blush formed on her face. Alice's small smug smile did little to make her feel better. "Fine! I'm hungry, but I'd rather go hungry than eat some Halloween candy!"
THUMP!
"And that's another house down!" The twins turned to see Wildmutt walking over to them with Gwen on his back. The Vulpimancer lowered his head to let Gwen slide off his back. Four full bags of candy were held in her arms. "Huh, I guess we did find a use for your transformations after all."
"Rwar!" Wildmutt huffed, slightly offended. Gwen rolled her eyes, lightly patting the alien dog on the head to calm him down.
"I'm just joking, doofus." She giggled before turning to the twins. "So, I'm hoping that you two got some candy at least."
Alice gave a silent thumbs up, while Bella crossed her arms with a pout. "I don't understand why we have to be out here!? I could be back home and eating Todd's stash of chips that he keeps hidden from Joan!"
"It's not hidden, she knows it's under his bed." Alice said before adding, "He's not good at hiding things."
FLASH!
Ben brushed off his clothes as he turned back to normal. "Maybe, we should've invited him this time."
Bella shook her head. "He'd get in the way, besides they still don't know about…all we can do." That last part carried some weight that didn't go unnoticed by the Tennysons.
"I never thought about it before, but... Joan and Todd really don't know about your past, do they?" Gwen asked.
"They don't, it was something that the adoption center and police decided to keep hidden. If people knew…"
"...Then we wouldn't get adopted." Alice finished Bella's sentence. "So, it's best to keep our secrets hidden unless we want to destroy whatever relationships we still have."
Ben and Gwen felt terrible, sort of relating to the twins' situation. They still hadn't told their parents the truth of everything that had happened over the summer, and they were certain the same was true for Yukiko's parents. And considering what they learned about the truth behind Max's relationship with their parents, they were afraid to discover how they'd react to everything.
As much as they tried not to keep secrets, those were the only things keeping their relationships with their family from falling apart.
Ben snapped out of his thoughts, noticing the depressing air around his companions. This wasn't the time to be focused on depressing matters! Tonight was the night of being spooky and funny! Especially if it meant making J.T. and Cash pee their pants!
"Guys! We don't have time for this!" Ben got their attention.
Bella glared, still mad at him. "What do you want, shorty?"
Ignoring the jab at his height, Ben pulled out the flier he was given. "It's time for our real Halloween night fun."
Alice read the poster. "Some party that our peers at school are putting together at the cemetery? Tch, what a way to disrespect the dead." She hissed dangerously.
"I can't believe you would want to go to something like this!" Bella accused.
"I don't! I couldn't care less about some dumb party, but it's who's at the party that does matter." Ben alluded, confusing the twins.
"He means J.T. and Cash." Gwen cleared it up.
"You want to go get humiliated again by those losers!?"
"NO!" Ben yelled at Bella, getting right up to her face.
"Then, please explain what your idea is instead of being all vague!"
"Fine!" Ben huffed, crossing his arms. "We're gonna go to this party and give everyone there a Halloween they can never forget!"
"So, you want to scare them? You do remember the last time we did that stuff, right?" Alice reminded him.
"I do, but this time will be different. You're not attacking people to use them for some spiritual sacrifice. You're doing what any other immature kid would do and play one heck of a prank. We're gonna make this Halloween fun for you guys, so let's do it." Ben explained.
Bella would be a liar if she said the idea of scaring the hell out of the kids in their school wasn't an enticing idea. But it's what Ben said at the end that caught her attention. "You're going to make this Halloween fun?"
"We understand that your history with this holiday isn't the best, so we want to help you guys not be miserable. You're not in Halloween Town anymore, but Bellwood." Gwen smiled softly.
"Okay." Alice agreed before Bella could say anything.
"Alice!" Bella exclaimed until she felt a terrifyingly familiar chill of death coming from her sister.
"I know, but those two idiots poured grape soda in my hair a few days ago. So, I'm open to getting my revenge." The cold tone from Alice sent a chill down the other's spines.
"I-I've never seen her like this…" Ben whispered.
"Alice is NOT a person who you should get on the bad side of!" Bella whispered back. "Last time I ruined one of her sweaters and found each one of my shorts torn beyond wear!"
Gwen shivered, shifting away from Alice. "Ugh, it's like when Yukiko got into one of her moods!"
"Come, you three! We have children to frighten!" Alice ordered, marching towards the cemetery.
"C-COMING!"
Scrooge stood below the moon's light, bathing in the familiar warmth. The old vampire's black cape danced softly with the breeze. His black suit covered him with nostalgia, reminding him of the days of the past. Staring up at the moon, he allowed his mind to drift. "Soon, my dear Maria, I shall bathe this city red with blood to honor our reunion."
"Master…!"
Leaving his thoughts, Scrooge looked over to see Dutch scuddling over to him. The hunchback knelt down in respect. "The ritual pieces are ready, all we need are the sacrifices and the moon's highest peak."
"Thank you, Dutch."
"M-master!?" Dutch exclaimed. He watched as his master smiled softly at him, filling the hunchback with joy.
"Out of all of my servants, you're the one who has remained the most loyal. Tonight will be the night of retribution and love." Scrooge's attention turned down to the cemetery, where a bunch of kids dressed in costumes were gathering. "And the first pieces of our plan have just arrived." A bloodthirsty grin spread across his lips. "Awake the horde!"
"Yes, master!" Dutch pulled out another vial from his clothing. Several little pills poured out of the vial and into the dirt below. Each one sunk quickly before several hands erupted from the ground.
Cash laughed loudly as he observed the party, seeing that Tennyson and his geek of a cousin were no-shows. "See, J.T.! I told you that Tennyson was too much of a wuss!" He was dressed as Spider-Man for Halloween.
"Hehehe! Totally, Cash! Even if he was here the dweeb would be too busy peeing his pants to actually take part in any challenge." J.T. laughed with his companion. He was wearing a Batman costume for the party.
Behind the two, unnoticed by everyone else, four figures were hiding behind the gravestones. "Why those little…!" Ben growled, urging to go out there and teach those two a lesson. However, Bella was currently holding him back from doing something dumb. He cursed the fact that she was so much physically stronger than him, because he could barely budge her arms.
"As much as I would love to watch you rush out there just to get humiliated, we don't want to ruin our plans." Bella informed him.
"Besides, Ben, wasn't the idea to scare the daylights out of them? Just sit still for a second, so that we can plan this out." Gwen advised.
"But-"
"If you dare to ruin this opportunity, you will be the one getting scared instead, understood!?" Alice's threat was the final nail in the coffin to calm him down. Ben stopped struggling, and sat next to Bella with a huff.
"Okay…"
"Good, then let's plan something out. We're gonna have to wait till they start doing the challenges." Gwen explained.
"Luckily, the graveyard is big enough for us to hide in enough spots to avoid being seen. When people start splitting off, we can begin hitting them." Alice said.
Bella cracked her knuckles. "I can hi-"
"No, Bella, you can't actually hit anyone." Alice instantly shut down her sister's train of thought. The younger twin grumbled something under her breath. As Alice and Gwen continued planning out the prank, Bella noticed Ben sneaking off quietly. Wondering just what he could be up to, Bella followed after him.
Ben shook his head, making sure to stay out of sight of his schoolmates. "Those two can keep planning all they want, but there's no way I'm letting J.T. and Cash keep acting all high and mighty." He activated the Omnitrix, scrolling through his options. Most of his forms could work, but none of them were particularly scary. The only ones that could work were Snare-Oh, Frankenstrike, Blitzwolfer, and…
…Ghostfreak.
"Right… I forgot you were back in here." Ben frowned at Ghostfreak's icon. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to use him; the Ectonurite was the perfect choice for something like this. However, the fear of Zs'Skayr returning overpowered everything else, so Ben scrolled past him to pick a different one. Finally, coming to a decision, Ben was ready to press down the dial.
"Yo, moron!"
"WHA-!?" Ben jumped, spinning around to see Bella grinning smugly. He grumbled at her, blushing slightly. "Oh, it's just you."
"Yup, and that was payback for earlier." Bella crossed her arms, smirking. She was about to take another step towards him until a scent hit her nose. The wolf girl scrunched her face in disgust, pinching her nose. "Yuck! The heck is that smell!?"
"What smell?" Ben asked.
"You don't smell that!?" She exclaimed, receiving a head shake in response. "It smells like rotting fruit and blood! Whatever it is, it's close by." Turning towards the far ends of the cemetery, she pointed at the creepy looking fog setting in. "Ughhh… and as if a cemetery wasn't creepy already."
"Pretty sure the weather guy didn't say anything about creepy fog this morning." Ben said.
Bella nodded her head, initiating her transformation and getting down on all fours. "I don't think he said anything about THAT either!"
Emerging from the fog was a horde of zombies, and not the slow stupid ones either. These ones were rushing towards the kids with malicious intent. "SCREEEE!" The zombies screeched.
"Ben!"
"Yeah, looks like this Halloween night is going from terror to thriller! Going Hero!" Ben declared, enveloping the foggy night in green light.
To BeContinued...
NOTE: If it feels like an abrupt ending that's because I split this into two. It was getting a bit too long. Don't worry, the last part will get uploaded pretty soon.
Have a great day!