The Sunken Mall was bustling with holiday excitement when Alice touched down on the overhead bridge. The scent of autumn leaves drafted by her nostrils, followed by the strong smell of pumpkins. It was carried on the breeze that brought a slight touch of coolness to the warm evening. It was perfect weather for the holiday. Actually, everything about the day was perfect. It was warm, it fell on a Friday, and the moon would be a full moon once it rose. It was like Gaia was going out of her way to ensure that this year's Halloween was the best Halloween as a reward to the people of Earth for their victory against Fuse.
Alice glanced around, staring in wonder at everything. The Sunken Mall was hosting their annual Halloween Festival, and it felt like almost everyone was out to celebrate. Despite it already being after sundown, the stage was still being set up for the evening's festivities. Based on the flier, she recalled that Valhallen, The Funkaneers, Puffy AmiYumi, Pizza Party, The Upper Crust, and The Hex Girls would be performing for the evening. On the north side of the mall, the stores were closed with many of them setting up booths in front filled with games to play or items to sell. Food vendors were among the stalls lined up, still putting out their food. Although she couldn't see it from her angle, she knew one of the abandoned stores had been converted into a haunted maze run by the Eds. Already she could hear the screams from the visitors coming from the maze.
It was Alice's first time attending the festival; every year prior was her trick-or-treating with her mom in the local neighborhood. Tonight was the first time she'd be attending the festival, and she wished her Aunt Muriel had decided to join her.
Her Aunt Muriel and Courage were at the Spacebyte home, waiting for the local trick-or-treaters to come out and begin the holiday tradition. Alice had offered her aunt to come to the Sunken Mall, but Muriel declined. While she stated she didn't want to intrude on Alice and her friends, the truth was that she wanted to be at the Suburbs home to pass out candy to the little Suburban children since she hardly ever got a trick-or-treater out in Nowhere. Courage was staying behind with Muriel to keep her company. Secretly, he had wanted to go with Alice, but he was needed with Muriel, so he reluctantly let Runty Jr pair off with Alice.
Alice looked around for her friends, trying to find them in the massive crowd. It seemed that everyone had come out to celebrate, dressed in a variety of costumes. There were many familiar faces recognizable to Alice.
There was Bubbles and Boomer, going as the bunny and seal, respectively, from The Great Funtime Adventures of Bunny Bunny and Friends. Blossom was dressed like Freedom Gal and Buttercup was in a black cloak. DeeDee and her two friends, LeeLee and MeeMee, were dressed as Pony Puff Princesses. Dexter and his rival Mandark were dressed as racers and in the midst of an argument that had drawn some spectators. Backing up Dexter was Douglas, dressed in a Star Check science officer outfit, and three boys Alice didn't recognize: a tall blond dressed as a knight, a brunet dressed as an archer, and a raven-haired boy dressed as a sorcerer. Supporting Mandark was Goo, dressed as a pop star. Numbuh Three, dressed as a butterfly, and Numbuh Four, dressed as a luchador, were purchasing candy apples. Jimmy was dressed in a princely costume to compliment his friend Sarah's princess costume as they shared a snow cone made from the superhero, Snowman. Johnny Bravo was dressed up as Elvis and manning a booth with a sign that read "Kissing Booth;" there was currently no line. Kevin was on the skate ramp with Nazz, dressed as a gorgon, cheering for him on the sideline. Lazlo, Raj, and Clam were bobbing for apples, dressed as Frankenstein's monster, mummy and witch respectively.
So many people she knew, but none of them were the friends she was looking for. "Let's go find our friends," Alice told her Imaginary Friend, placing him on her shoulder.
Runty Jr purred in agreement and content. Riding on Alice's shoulder was his most favorite thing. It gave him a good viewing spot, and he just overall enjoyed it. Smiling at her Imaginary Friend, she descended the stairs to the Sunken Mall's lower level. It was crowded, but she was at least able to move through the large body as she swiveled her head left and right in her search for Suzy and Junior. Runty Jr was mimicking her movements, although because he had no actual neck, he had to move his whole body to search.
"Alice!" a voice called out to her over the crowd.
Alice looked in the direction of the voice, and found Suzy waving at her. Junior was standing next to her, looking in her direction. Alice smiled and walked over to where they were standing, taking in the costumes her friends had chosen. Suzy was dressed as Red Xiona from the old TV show Red Xiona: Warrior She-Devil. Junior was dressed in a tuxedo with a raven sitting on his shoulder.
"Happy Halloween, Alice," Suzy greeted the girl. "Cute farmer outfit." She then reached out and petted Runty Jr's head. "And you're the most adorable pumpkin here."
Alice's costume for the year was a farmer, with her costume consisting of a blue flannel shirt, blue overalls, brown boots, and a straw hat. With the help of her aunt, Alice's hair was put into a simple braid. Her uncle had snuck a real pitchfork into the bed of his truck that had been discovered by Muriel when she arrived in her niece's driveway. Muriel had been furious with her uncle over the phone, but Eustace had defended his choice, telling his wife to give it to Alice so she could - in his words - "keep those blasted boys away from her." Muriel had forbade it and locked the pitchfork in the garage. She was sharing the theme with Runty Jr, whose body was painted orange and his fin brown so that he'd look like a pumpkin. She was the farmer, and he was her pumpkin.
"I really like your costume, Suzy," Alice complimented.
"Thanks! It's homemade. Mom helped me make it," Suzy said with a grin. She then jerked a thumb at Junior. "Take a guess who Junior dressed as."
Alice looked at Junior, trying to pin where she'd seen the tuxedo. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. It simply looked like he was going to a black tie dinner.
"Uhm...I'm not sure," Alice answered. "Sorry."
"Told you no one would get it," Suzy said, grinning like a Cheshire at Junior.
The boy scowled at the redhead. "You don't have to gloat about it. Besides, I doubt she'd even know." Realizing how rude that sounded, Junior quickly followed it up with, "No offense Alice, but I don't think you read a lot of horror stories. I'm Edgar Allen Poe. Billy and Mandy wanted to do a death theme this year." At Alice's confused expression, he explained, "Mandy's going as Hamlet, Billy's going as Grim, and I chose Edgar Allen Poe, since the guy wrote about death."
Alice nodded in understanding.
"Didn't Billy dress up as Grim when he released Jack O'Lantern?" Suzy asked their bespectacled friend.
"Yeah. They liked the theme so much they wanted to do it again," Junior answered. "We've locked up the scythe so that he can't us it again or give it to some evil entity."
"After an alien invasion, I don't think I want to go through a pumpkin invasion," Suzy said.
Alice shuddered as she recalled the Halloween night when a monster known as Jack O'Lantern had taken over the holiday to make it an eternal Halloween. Her mother and aunt had protected the house just fine while she and Courage hid under her bed's covers, but Halloween had been a bust that year.
"Alright, no more reminiscing on the past. We have a festival to explore. There's pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, the hayride, and so many games to play. There's also the haunted maze Double D and the Eds set up," Suzy said.
Alice frowned slightly at the mention of the haunted maze, but it went unnoticed. Junior gestured to the maze's line, which was incredibly long and spanned the width of the mall.
"That's a pretty big line," Junior pointed out. "Let's go do something else and swing back to it later."
"Alright, that's fair. How about pumpkin carving?" Suzy asked. She reached out and rubbed Runty Jr's chin (or at least what could be considered a chin). "What do you say? Want to carve a pumpkin, pumpkin?"
Runty Jr purred and hopped excitedly on Alice's shoulder.
"That's a yes," Suzy said. "Let's go pumpkin carving."
"Good evening, kids. Happy Halloween," Miss Spell greeted the trio as they came up to the pumpkin carving station.
"Hi, Miss Spell," the trio chorused.
"Are you running the station by yourself?" Suzy asked.
"Yes. All of us at the Justice Friends volunteered to help out at the carnival," Miss Spell answered.
"Isn't a Justice Friend helping out with the maze?" Suzy further asked.
"That's right. Those boys from the Cul-de-Sac reached out to us and asked for Phan Tone's help. He's in the maze to add to the scare, but to also help evacuate anyone who may be so scared they want to leave," Miss Spell answered. "Have you kids experienced it already?"
"Not yet. Line's long so we're going to wait it out," Junior answered.
"Don't wait too long. I've been listening to the crowd as they pass, and many of them are raving about the maze. It's a big hit," Miss Spell suggested.
"What about trick-or-treating?" Alice asked, subtly trying to get the conversation off of the spooky maze. "Is anyone from the Justice Friends handing out candy?"
"Major Glory is. He was very insistent about it," Miss Spell answered. "Are you planning to trick-or-treat?"
Alice nodded. From her NanoCom she pulled out a woven bag with a stitching of simplified images of Alice, Runty Jr and Courage on one side of the bag.
"I promised Courage and Runty Jr some candy, and Aunt Muriel made this candy bag," Alice explained.
"Did I just seriously hear you say you're going trick-or-treating? What are you... five?!" a shrill voice taunted from behind the trio.
Alice spun around and was greeted by the sight of Princess staring at her mockingly. Of all the people she thought she'd see at the festival Princess was not one of them. She didn't think the festival would have been in Princess' interest, and it was possibly true since the girl wasn't wearing a costume.
"Is there something you want, Princess?" Suzy demanded, putting the back of her wrists on her hips.
"Puh-lease. Like I'd want something from you nobodies," Princess fired off, scoffing at the very notion. "I was just passing by when I heard this baby talk about trick-or-treating."
"Newsflash Princess. Nobody asked for your opinion," Junior said, coming to Alice's defense.
"I am a Morbucks. Everyone wants my opinion!" Princess protested. "Alice should have asked for some fashion advice because she looks like a loser in that farmer costume. So hillbilly."
Suzy's frown deepened and Junior's face darkened. Alice was used to Princess' bullying, so she merely frowned, waiting for the girl to become bored and leave. Runty Jr on her shoulder growled at Princess' insult on Alice's behalf. Before Alice's two friends could come to her defense, a voice spoke out from behind Princess' person.
"Now, now, sister. There's no need to insult her costume," the feminine voice admonished.
From behind Princess, a brunette a few years older than the four teenagers appeared. Unlike Princess, who wasn't wearing a costume, the brunette wore a white and purple dress that wouldn't look out of place in a magical girl anime. The biggest draw to the costume was a gold crown she wore on her head that looked like the one Princess wore only it was bigger.
Based on the fact that she said 'sister,' Alice guessed this girl was Princess' older sister, Duchess. Alice didn't know her very well since the older teen went to Peach Creek High School, but she was wary of her because she was a Morbucks. Besides, the smile Duchess was bestowing upon her felt like it was brimming with malicious disdain.
"After all, she's merely getting in touch with her roots," Duchess continued, delivering the punchline to her insult. "How quaint. It's so nice to see when the peasants know their place in society."
The more Duchess talked, the angrier Junior became. His face was filled with so much rage that Alice had to grab his arm just to keep him from lunging at the Morbucks sisters.
"My sister is right about you being a baby for trick-or-treating when you're a teenager. Can I rightfully assume you'll be too scared to enter the haunted maze?" Duchess asked. When Alice remained tight-lipped on the matter, Duchess chortled. "How ridiculous. The savior of the Earth can't even step into a cardboard maze? You're one of the most pathetic people I've met. Some savior you are."
"Alright girls, that's enough," Miss Spell stepped in. She moved around the booth and came to stand between the two parties. "I will not stand for bullying to happen in front of me. Continue on your way or you will be removed from the event."
"You can't do that to us! We're the Morbucks! We can buy this whole stinkin' place with one call to Daddy!" Princess argued with the superheroine.
While Princess was fiery hot and ready for an argument, Duchess was cooly calculating. She silently regarded the superheroine for a moment, before plastering on her pleasant smile that hid away all her vicious thoughts.
"Of course, we were already moving on. Staying would only waste our time, and as they say, time is money," Duchess agreed. She looped her arm through Princess' and said, "Come, sister, we have other places to be."
Princess went willingly with her sister, though she did turn around just enough for her to stick out her tongue to the members of Team Super Stars. Miss Spell shook her head in disappointment as the two troublemakers left. She then directed her attention on the three teenagers, casting a concerned look at Alice. Suzy wrapped an arm around her companion and offered her a reassuring smile.
"Don't let them get to you. They're just jealous," she encouraged her friend.
"They're also pretty stupid," Junior added in.
"Push their negativity aside and focus on the night. There's so much to do at the festival, and we're going to have so much fun," Suzy continued, ignoring Junior's contribution.
"You three planned to carve pumpkins, right?" Miss Spell asked.
"Yeah. You still want to, Alice?" Suzy asked.
Alice nodded. Miss Spell smiled kindly and used her magic to drop three pumpkins into their hands. From the feel of it, Alice could tell her pumpkin - and by extension all the pumpkins at the booth - was hollow. That made things easier for the trio to carve their designs into its surface. Suzy and Junior were carving more complicated designs, but Alice was going for a simple jack-o'-lantern design. Runty Jr supervised her work from her shoulder, making approving sounds when she made a cut he particularly liked.
While she was carving her simple design, she thought about Princess and Duchess' words. She wasn't really insulted when Princess mocked her for wanting to trick-or-treat. She had never cared about Princess' opinion of her before and tonight wasn't going to be the start of that. However, she did think about what Duchess had said about the maze. She didn't care about what Duchess thought of her not going into the maze, but she thought about Junior and Suzy. They wanted to go into the maze, and now, because she had inadvertently revealed she didn't want to go, her friends wouldn't. The thought filled her with guilt. The two had talked about the maze all the way up to the festival, and it was clear that they were clearly excited for it. But now, because Alice was a scaredy cat and didn't want to go, her friends weren't going to do it because they didn't want to pressure her or leave her alone. Alice didn't want to do that, especially not to Junior and Suzy.
With that thought on her mind, she came to a decision.
"So, where should we head next?" Suzy asked her friends once they were finished with their pumpkins. "Bobbing for apples? Or maybe grabbing some candy apples?"
Junior opened his mouth to give an answer, but Alice beat him to it.
"Let's go do the maze," Alice suggested.
Suzy and Junior looked at her in surprise, and then that surprise morphed into concern.
"Alice, you don't have to. You shouldn't let what Princess and Duchess force you into something you don't want to do," Suzy gently tried to dissuade her friend.
"I'm not doing this because of them. I'm doing this for you two. You both want to go into the maze, and I don't want to ruin that," Alice explained.
"Maybe I can get Double D to tone down on it when we go in," Suzy suggested, mostly to herself.
"No, that wouldn't be fair to you or anyone else in the maze," Alice argued. "I'll be okay. I've faced scarier things."
Fuse was the unspoken word, but from the way her friends' mouths twitched she knew they had thought about the villain. When remembering that Alice had faced two near-death experiences, a maze orchestrated by some teenagers shouldn't be that scary. This seemed to be what convinced her friends that she was 100% committed to doing the maze, because the concerned look disappeared from their faces.
"Okay," Suzy agreed.
"You could probably call out Nano Boomer if you get scared," Junior suggested.
Alice had briefly entertained that thought. She loved all three of her Nanos and knew any one of them would come to her defense. However, Nano Boomer was always the most aggressive in his pursuit of protecting her. While it would have been comforting to have such a personality with her to make her feel safe, she was also worried he'd destroy the set pieces. So for the Eds' sake, he was better off not going through the maze. Plus, he was currently at the Great Machine with all the other Nanos having fun at a Halloween party DeeDee, Douglas and Computress had organized, and Alice didn't want to tear him from that.
"No, I don't want to pull him from the Nano party," she refused. "Besides, I have you two and Runty Jr. I'll be okay."
Suzy smiled and nodded. "Right, we'll be with you the whole way."
"Well, the night's not getting any younger. Might as well hop in line before it gets longer," Junior said.
"That won't be necessary," Suzy said with her Cheshire grin spreading across her face.
Turns out, Suzy had a V.I.P. pass that let her skip the line. She had been holding it until she knew whether or not Alice wanted to go into the maze. Suzy led the group to the front of the line, ignoring the complaints and grumblings from the ones still waiting in line. Alice flushed under the negativity and tucked behind her straw hat.
"Salutations, Suzy, Alice, and Junior," Double D greeted.
"Hi, Double D," Suzy greeted, handing over the pass. "Three for the haunted maze." Runty Jr grumbled from his perch on Alice's shoulder, so Suzy amended, "Four for the haunted maze."
"That'll be 120 taros," Double D said. The group paid the admission price, bringing a smile to the former guide. "Thank you. Please keep your hands to yourself, and no flash photography. Actually, no photography of any kind." He swept his arm to the black curtains that separated the outside with the maze inside. "Enjoy the maze."
Before the team entered the abandoned-store-turned-haunted-maze, Alice reached out and slipped her hands into her friends' hands. They squeezed her hand, showing their support and reassuring that they'd be there for her. Steeling her nerves before she could chicken out, Team Super Stars stepped through the curtain and into the maze.
Predictably, the scare floor was dark. It took Alice a couple seconds to adjust to the darkness. What light was in the space was a blacklight, causing any white fabric to glow. Eerie music came from hidden speakers and fog pooled at their ankles. The room was cold, sending chills not produced by fear down Alice's spine. Even in the dim lighting, Alice could see that the maze had been constructed by cardboard and plywood.
Suzy took the lead, guiding the group through the maze. Alice followed behind as close as possible without tripping the other girl. Her head was on a swivel, searching left and right for something to scare them. Since they were walking through a cemetery section, she suspected there would be somebody hopping out to scare them.
She was correct.
The first scarer was Numbuh Five, who hopped out of a standing up coffin. Alice screamed when she saw the K.N.D. operative in her zombie costume. Zombified Numbuh Five lumbered toward the trio, groaning about eating their brains until they moved away from her scene. They ran right into a Viking looking Ed, who raised his spatula to the sky.
"I AM LOTHAR! PROTECTOR OF MONTEZUMA! I WILL DEFEAT YOU, VILE FIENDS!" Ed roared.
He punctuated his threat by swiping his spatula at the group. His swing was bad, so it missed them, but the group still flinched back from the attempted swipe. When he saw that he had missed his targets Ed released a roar and started charging at them. The group of friends shrieked and ran away. Ed chased them for a bit, but then he remembered he was supposed to stay in a certain area and gave up on the chase. When the friends realized Ed wasn't following them, they stopped to catch their breath. It was while they were standing still that their next scarer appeared.
Appearing from behind a plywood painted to look like a skyscraper, Numbuh One appeared. He didn't hop out like Numbuh Five, and instead approached stealthily. He reached out with his tongs and grabbed Junior's shoulder. The shoulder grabbed startled the boy, who spun around to face who was behind him.
"Join us," Numbuh One intoned in a monotone voice. "Join us."
The group ran off again, getting away from the cyborg operative easily since he wasn't actually chasing them. They slowed their pace when they lost sight of him, taking another breather. The section of the maze they were in was styled to look like a forest. It created a claustrophobic feel as the paper leaves hung over them. Red eyes were painted on cardboard and plywood to make it look like they were being watched by multiple creatures. All of a sudden, Jonny 2x4 dropped down right in front of the group, causing them to jump back out of surprise. He was dressed as a spider, not a terrifying one either, and was hanging upside down from his web string.
"Howdy folks!" Jonny greeted amicably. "Aren't I a sca~ry spider!"
"Hi, Jonny," Suzy greeted, smiling good naturedly. "Just hanging around?"
Junior glowered at Suzy, unamused by the pun. Alice found the joke a tension reliever and relaxed her shoulders. Jonny thought the girl was funny, and chuckled.
"Haha! That's a good one!" Jonny laughed. "Plank! Write it down."
Looking to his side, the three found Plank floating in the air by a giant brown rope. The only change to Plank was pointed teeth painted on. Alice found this part of the maze to be lighthearted, which confused her. Wasn't the maze supposed to be scary? What she didn't realize in the moment is that Jonny was a distraction. While he kept their attention on him, Phan Tone phased through the floor and grabbed Alice's ankle. The Arthenadite shrieked and would have flown up to the roof if it wasn't for Suzy and Junior anchoring her.
"Wowee! You shoulda seen your face, Alice!" Jonny chuckled. From the sound of his laughter, he sounded like he was going to bust his gut. "You were totally scared!"
Alice flushed out of embarrassment. She knew the maze was supposed to scare guests, but Jonny's laughing still made her feel stupid. Jonny found her reaction funny, but Phan Tone became tangible and observed her from behind his red eye mask. It was at the sight of him that Alice remembered what Miss Spell had said about him. He was helping out in the maze, but was also there to quickly evacuate anyone that became too frightened of the experience. Realizing he was accessing her, she offered him a smile.
"I'm okay," she said.
Phan Tone nodded in understanding before turning intangible once more and slipping back through the floor. Recognizing this part of the maze was finished with, the group left Jonny after bidding the bald kid farewell and continued through the maze. The forest theme switched to a rocky terrain, looking like the group was heading into a cave. Messages in red paint meant to simulate blood were written on the cave's walls, warning the trio to turn back and leave. Of course, the group ignored the heeding and came to the next show piece.
Madame Foster, dressed as an old, green-skinned witch, was standing at a cauldron, stirring the green bubbling liquid with a large wooden spoon. Madame Foster cackled when she saw the trio arrive, perfectly mimicking a witch's cackle. The cackle was so wicked it sent chills down Alice's spine.
"You fools fell right into this witch's trap! Now then, my magic chicken! Get these kids!" Madame Foster called.
Coco, dressed as a chicken, appeared from behind the trio, having been waiting for her cue. She released her version of a roar and chased after the trio, Madame Foster's witchy cackling following them. Like Ed, Coco chased the trio for a bit before returning to her set, letting the trio continue through the maze. The cave had disappeared, but the rocky environment had remained. Only instead of a cave, black curtains with stars sewed in now made the area look like a desolate planet. Alice only had a moment to take in a sweeping glance at the space before Wilt suddenly appeared in front of them. He was wearing cardboard painted red, making him look blocky and almost robotic. On his stubby arm was a gray painted mailing tube, making it look like a weapon. He released an evil laugh as he loomed tall over the teenagers.
"Foolish children! You dare to challenge I, Lord Snotzax, Super Meanie Beanie Baron Von McNasty, Unsavory Leader of the Vicious Space-Nut Boogies?" Wilt questioned using his deepest voice to make him sound scary. "You will rue the day you invaded my territory!" His evil chortle was cut off by Wilt asking, "Is that okay?"
"Stay on track!" a voice hissed, unseen by the teenagers.
"Oh right, right. Sorry!" Wilt apologized. He then cleared his throat, falling back into his Lord Snotzax role. "Space-Nut Boogies! Get them!"
Purple, fuzzy, identical creatures hopped out from behind the plywood space rock, poised to chase after the teenagers. The group ran away from the Space-Nut Boogies, who were able to keep up thanks to their jetpacks. A couple times they took swipes at the group, coming within a hair's breadth of grabbing the teenagers. Sometimes they took out their laser guns and "shot" at the teenagers, but would miss and instead "blow up" a rock (in reality, it was just an effect rigged to go off whenever the Space-Nut Boogies pulled the trigger). However, they never did catch the teenagers - not that they were supposed to - and instead chased the kids all the way to the exit. Team Super Stars burst through the curtains and back into the Sunken Mall.
The Hex Girls were performing "Who Do Voodoo?" but Alice's blood was pumping so hard the sound drowned out the rockers' song. She was bent over, having finally released her grasp on her friends so that she could support herself on her legs. She was breathing deeply and heavily, partially from the physical exercise and partially from the fear still lingering in her system.
"How're you feeling Alice?" Suzy asked her friend, running a critical eye over her.
Alice didn't answer for a moment, still regulating her breathing. Then, once she had it under control, she found that a giggle was bubbling up inside her. She didn't try to stop it, and began to giggle. The giggling changed into full on laughing, making it harder for her to breathe again. Tears were springing to her eyes, but didn't yet fall.
"Did we break her?" Junior asked in concern.
Suzy smiled and shook her head.
"Nope, that sounds like she enjoyed herself," she told the boy. Looking at Alice, she asked, "Am I right?"
Alice nodded her head, and took in another set of deep breaths to stop the laughing fest. She swiped at her eyes, removing the moisture built up there.
"It was scary but...it was fun," Alice said. "I'm glad I did this."
Suzy grinned and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder. "I knew you could. You're braver than you give yourself credit for."
Alice's face flushed under the praise. She wanted to deny it, but Junior and Suzy would have argued against it. She didn't want to start up that, especially not on a night where they were supposed to have fun. So she instead smiled and decided to share the credit.
"It's only because I have such good friends," Alice said, and she felt happy when she saw the two smiles from her friends.
"Alright, we got the maze done," Junior said, moving the conversation along. "What's next?"
"Time to trick-or-treat," Suzy declared. "There's a puppy and a pumpkin that are expecting some sugary sweets."
Realizing he was the pumpkin she was referring to, Runty Jr hopped up and down on his perch in excitement. He still didn't understand what exactly trick-or-treating entailed, but he liked the word treat, and was therefore excited for it. Runty Jr's excitement was contagious because Alice found she was excited for trick-or-treating as well; or maybe that was from the adrenaline still pumping through her veins. Either way, Alice was excited to spend the rest of the night with her friends. Perhaps it was still too early to think it, but she could already tell that tonight was going to go down as the best Halloween she'd ever experienced.
Instead of doing an exchange, we decided to do a prompt. It was a real easy one: Celebrate Halloween in your own universe. Despite how easy the prompt is, I found it difficult to write. It seemed to be fighting me at every turn, and I had completely redone the beginning of the chapter.
Like always, I made a list of characters and their Halloween costumes, and half didn't make it in. Of those mentioned, I didn't go into great detail on everyone's costume because I pulled them from media sources. Whatever they wore for their Halloween episodes is what I used with some exceptions. Junior and Suzy didn't have official Halloween costumes, so I chose for them, I made Boomer the seal from Bubbles' favorite series from Super Zeroes since it'd have him twinning with Bubbles, gave Numbuhs Two and Four their costumes from the game Trick-or-Treat Beat (or Operation: T.R.I.C.K.O.R.T.R.E.A.T which is just a KND recoloring), changed Jimmy's costume to his frog prince outfit from "Sir Ed-a-Lot," and had DeeDee and her friends go as Pony Puff Princesses since they're so into that franchise. Goo and Wilt take their costumes from the episode "Make Believe It or Not." The three boys backing up Dexter are his friends from the "D & DD" episode; I gave them costumes off of their D & D characters.
I wanted to have a scene of Dexter, Mandark and Mac all meeting together since they're homages to Speed Racer, but it just didn't work out. There was also going to be a scene of Johnny Bravo and Eddy arguing about who is the better Elvis, but again it didn't work out.
I am 100% aware chocolate is not good for dogs. This is fiction, though, so I say dogs can have chocolate without repercussion.
I don't know the conversion rate between USD and taros is, so I just opted to pick the first Future Mission and set the taro rewarded as the price to enter the maze. On the topic of the maze, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it, but decided it was needed. If the maze sounded lame, that's my fault. I don't go into haunted mazes, so I did the best I could with what a CN-friendly haunted maze would look like.