"Are you sure this is a great idea?" the kangaroo asked with concern.
The zebra, dressed in a blue funny-looking monster costume, that was walking alongside her and her friends named Zane reassured her with a nod. continuing to walk up the grassy hill. "You and Tara said you were going to join me at the costume party we talked about."
"Yeah, Zane," added Tara, "but you didn't exactly specify that the party you told us all about was going to be... here."
The tiger pointed to the house that sat on top of the hill they were walking up. From the outside, they could all see that this place certainly had seen better days. The first glimpse at its dilapidated exterior told them whoever seemed to be here didn't care about keeping it in top shape.
"Looks a little creepy from here," Kira said from behind as she walked along with Noah and the others. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a real-life haunted house."
"This is really where it's happening?" Tara asked Zane. "Where exactly did you hear about this?"
"I saw a sign for it posted on that bulletin board downtown," the zebra replied. "To be honest, all I saw was an address and not much else. But it looks like more mammals are here than I thought."
The four kits saw shadows of what probably were others that had come to this party Zane brought them to, walking around near the windows of the house. The muffled sound of music, presumably a bit louder inside, became clearer as they got closer to their destination.
The fox kit of the group, Noah Wilde, sighed for a moment as he looked down at the white material of his costume. "Too bad my costume stinks," he remarked. "Dressed as a ghost. It was all they had at the store, though."
"That's alright," Kira said. She pointed to her face that had been painted a shade of green that resembled the inside of an avocado. "Look, all I did was put a little bit of face paint and, voila, I'm a zombie."
"Yeah," added Zane. "Halloween's all about having fun, not having the fanciest costume."
"I know, guys. I was just hoping to come up with something more... original, you know?" Noah replied. "Like what Tara is. What was she again?"
"An onryo," Tara chimed in as she looked back. She was wearing a dress that was bright white and had splotches on it to make it look like it was dirtied up, as well as a wig that made it look like she had strands of jet-black fur covering the top half of her face. "It's supposed to be a spirit that wants revenge in folklore overseas." The tiger always enjoyed reading up on the different cultures around the world, and what she was dressed up as was just one of the many things she knew random facts about. Sometimes it was as if she was a walking and talking version of the encyclopedias that her parents had grown up with.
"Huh." Noah nodded his head, not knowing about that before.
They approached the front door of the house, which had been painted a dark red, quite different from the rest of the house's lighter and more neutral color. Zane reached up and rang the doorbell, which gave out a deep chime that sounded like the toll of a church bell.
The red door opened up to the frail figure of an old hedgehog that greeted them over the sounds of the ongoing party. "You're here to join the party?" she said to them.
"We sure are," Zane replied to the seemingly kind mammal with a smile.
The hedgehog opened the door more and gestured for them to enter the front room, stepping to the side. "Well then, do come on in. Things have only just begun."
The four kindly let themselves in to where things were taking place, seeing that there were actually a bit more kits in costumes that had come to this place than they expected there to be. Meanwhile, as she shut the door behind her and started to walk on back towards another room within the house, she did her best to hide the mischievous smirk on her elderly muzzle.
"Perfect..." she muttered. "I didn't think it would be so easy to lure one poor sap into my spell, let alone four of them..."
After a few minutes breezed by, the party was something Noah was glad Zane had convinced him to attend, even though he had initial concerns about the strange location. He chuckled at the misconception of this being a haunted house. Maybe it was just because it sat on top of a hill and wasn't surrounded by other neighbors? It was quite presumptuous of him, he thought.
Familiar tunes filled the room as he looked around for Kira, Tara, and Zane. Though no other familiar faces were among the party guests, he later spotted Kira chatting and laughing with others, her bubbly self on full display.
He also saw Zane standing by some snack trays on a nearby table, and he walked over to grab something for himself. Reaching for one of the little pastries that hadn't been touched by anyone else, he took a bite of it and nodded his head.
"The food here's not too bad," remarked Noah with his mouth full.
"Say, have you seen Tara anywhere?" Zane inquired. "I don't know where she is."
Right before he could ask anything else, the tiger suddenly reappeared from another side of the house. She lifted the portion of the wig she wore above her eyes so they were visible, and Zane could see the look of concern on her face as if she had seen something awful just then. "Zane," she said worriedly, "I spotted something. I need to-"
"What's wrong?" he interrupted, seeing her unusual concern. Normally when the four of them were on one of their misadventures as friends, it was him that was normally the worrywart of the group and was showing fear at things.
"There's something fishy going on here," Tara replied, "and I have a feeling that hedgehog's actually some kind of witch."
Zane remained silent for a few seconds before a laugh burst out of him. "I see what you're doing, Tara." He thought that she was playing a prank to scare him.
But from the look that was on her face, the tiger was not in a joking mood. "I'm serious, Zane!" she responded, her voice tense, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to where she was heading. "Come on!"
She trotted toward the unoccupied kitchen of the house. Once they were over by the stove, she pointed at a strange-looking pot that seemed to be made from worn materials on the outside, containing a shimmering, bright pink liquid simmering with frothy bubbles.
"And look over there," Tara muttered, pointing to something else she found odd.
"Uh, that's just a spice rack," Zane replied.
"It's not the rack, you doofus," the tiger responded. "Those aren't spices in those bottles." She grabbed a bottle from the rack and showed him that it contained black feathers that looked like they had belonged to something like a raven.
"What are you doing in here?" rasped the elderly hedgehog as she walked into the kitchen with an evil gleam in her eyes.
Zane and Tara both gasped in unison upon being startled by her sudden appearance.
"So, it seems you two kits waddled in here and discovered my little secret," the hedgehog said to them. "Yes, I am a witch, and certainly not the good kind. It was going to be a surprise, but I guess I'll let you know now. That brew you've laid your eyes upon has been waiting all night for someone like you guys and your friends to use on."
"Oh, no..." Zane sighed as he shook his head.
"But if you're planning on using it, why us?" Tara asked bravely. "Aren't there other kits here?"
The hedgehog chuckled with delight at the question. "Just another layer of my plan, my dear." She waved her little paws around and clapped them together, and in the blink of an eye, the guests walking around disappeared in puffs of smoke.
The old mammal started to laugh loudly as she raised her arms like a triumphant hero. The simmering pink brew began to boil violently before emitting steam. A scent permeated the air, stronger than anything they had inhaled before. Zane and Tara started to cough as it hit their nostrils. A bright beam of white light encompassed the entire room. The floor below them rattled as if an earthquake was happening beneath them.
The two shouted as they ran out of the room and navigated their way back to the room they were in before. Noah and Kira saw them and looked over at them, the two also equally in a state of confusion by what was happening all around them.
"Zane, what's going on?" Noah shouted. "Everybody just disappeared."
"It's a little complicated," Zane responded, "but first we need to get out of here. Right now!"
"I'm afraid it might be too late for that..."
As the elderly hedgehog stood before them, her cackling laughter filled the room. The kits, Noah and Kira, exchanged fearful glances, realizing that something truly sinister was unfolding. The hedgehog's body began to morph, her appearance changing before their very eyes. Her spines turned into grizzled ginger-colored fur, her snout elongated, and her previously little paws twisted into much bigger clawed ones.
In a matter of seconds, the elderly hedgehog transformed into tall and aged dingo, her wicked grin stretching across her face. "Guess my little secret's out now, dearies," she said, her voice now raspy and menacing.
Noah and Kira trembled with fear, clutching each other for comfort. Zane and Tara exchanged alarmed glances but were quick to step forward, shielding their friends. "What do you want from us?" Zane demanded, his voice wavering but determined.
The dingo witch's eyes gleamed with malevolence as she waved her staff, which was now adorned with feathers and strange symbols. "I've been waiting for someone to fall for the luring sign about a party and stumble into my lair. You see, my potion is not just for fun; it's a curse. A curse that will turn you kits into what you're dressed as."
Noah and Kira gasped in horror, the gravity of the situation something that was difficult to grasp. Never had they thought of witches that could do that sort of thing as something they would find in real life. Those were things the two might have seen in a cartoon, but never in the flesh.
"You can't do that!" Tara protested, her voice quivering and her legs trembling.
The dingo witch chuckled once more. "Oh, but I can, my dears. And I will." She began to chant in a language unknown to the kits, the small wind in her paw that looked like it had been made of tree bark glowing with an eerie light.
The kits felt a strange sensation wash over them, like their bodies were being pulled in different directions. They clung to each other, their costumes and features changing before their very eyes. Noah felt himself becoming ethereal and weightless, his body translucent as he drifted off the ground just an inch, becoming the ghost he was dressed up as.
Kira, who had been dressed as a zombie, found all of her fur changing from its tan color to the green of a mammal from the undead, her limbs stiffening as she started to move with a much slower, zombie-like shuffle. Tara, felt her body transforming into the vengeful ghostly figure from folklore that she had dressed up as, her eyes filled with an eerie, otherworldly light. Zane, in his monster costume, meanwhile, underwent a terrifying transformation. His body started to become a monstrous, unidentifiable creature that looked like a scaly dragon. He was becoming the same blue thing that he was dressed as, his hooves growing before changing into sharp claws as he became much taller.
The dingo witch's laughter echoed in the room as the transformation neared its completion. The kits were now becoming the very creatures they had dressed up as, and there was no way to reverse the curse.
In their new forms, they exchanged bewildered and frightened glances, unsure of how to navigate this strange and perilous situation. As the elderly dingo witch continued to cackle, her dark magic grew stronger, and she looked more menacing by the moment. Her eyes shimmered with power as she glared at the transformed kits, who were now the real-life versions of their costumes.
"Once I harness even more power," she sneered, "I will put Zootopia under an unbreakable curse this Halloween night."
The front door of the house creaked open once again, and a familiar voice called out, "Hey, is this where the Halloween party is?"
The kits turned to see their unsuspecting friend, Koda, a young koala, standing at the entrance. Panic filled their voices as they shouted in unison, "Koda, run!"
Confused, Koda took a step forward. Looking at how his friends looked in that instant, he started to say, "What the heck? Wait, why are you guys all-"
But before he could finish his sentence, the dingo witch raised her wand and sent a powerful zap of magic toward him. Koda's body shrank and transformed, and within seconds, he had become a small white-furred mouse.
Meanwhile, Noah and the other three kits gathered their courage, determined to stop the witch and reverse the curse. Noah, now a ghostly apparition, found his voice and asked, "Why are you doing this? Why put a curse on Zootopia?"
The dingo witch turned her attention to the fox kit, her eyes glowing with malevolence. "The better question, Noah Wilde, is why not?"
She seemed to know more than she should, as she addressed him by name. Noah felt a chill run down his spine and stammered, "H-H-How do you know my name?"
With a wicked grin, the witch replied, "I am a witch with clairvoyance, dear Noah. I know your name and the names of your friends."
Noah's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked desparetly, "But why? Why do this?"
The witch's expression changed, a hint of regret appearing in her eyes. She had never considered this perspective before, and Noah's words struck a chord within her. She began to explain, "I was never liked when I was your age. I was always the one that was different, the weird one that everyone made fun of and picked on. This is my payback to show everyone I'm more than what they thought I was."
"But maybe it's not too late to change," Noah responded. "What about good magic?"
"That's right," chimed in Zane, agreeing with the smart observation made by his friend. His voice had become a bit deeper and matched his monster-like appearance. "Good magic."
The elderly dingo laughed to herself as if she heard the funniest joke that was ever told. "And what would I do that for? To bring a flower back to life? To make it sunny outside when it's raining?"
"You could use it for so much more than that," Noah responded outspokenly, bravely not showing any fear as he tried to persuade the witch. "You could... help someone find something they lost with magic."
"Yeah, or, uh..." Zane grasped for something to add onto what his friend was saying then. "Making someone sick feel better."
Tara outstretched a very shaky paw and pointed towards the witch. "Friends..." she muttered in a low and vengeful-sounding voice that was a result of her being turned into a real-life onryo spirit.
Noah looked over at Kira for a quick second, just as she muttered a grumbling sound and stumbled forward. He knew that she was trying to say something that was a part of what he was saying, but being turned into a marsupial zombie, she could not utter coherent words. Noah returned his attention to the witch while he nodded his head.
"And what they said," he responded. "You could have friends. As you do all this good, many mammals will be friends with you and be kind."
He finished what he had to say, but felt for a moment that it was just going to be wasted breath for him. In that instant, it seemed like all hope was lost and the dingo had made up her mind. The four of them were going to stay like this forever and the city of Zootopia, the diverse place they loved and called home, would be under an irreversible curse. There would be nothing they could do about and they would just have to accept that gloomy fate, incapable of resolving it all despite the sadness they would feel.
However, he realized it was not the end as he saw the dingo witch hesitate, her resolve weakening as she contemplated Noah's words. She looked around at the kits, her expression softening and eyes widening. It seemed as if the darkness that had consumed her for so long began to wane, replaced by a glimmer of hope.
"I... I never thought about it that way," she admitted, her voice wavering at her own revelation. Her eyes welled up with tears as the weight of her actions began to sink in. The dingo witch's demeanor shifted from menacing to emotionally fragile.
Noah and his friends, now transformed into their costume characters, gathered around her, sensing her vulnerability. Tara, the onryo spirit, reached out a ghostly paw to comfort the dingo witch. "It isn't too late to change," she said, her voice still in that ghostly tone but her words filled with empathy.
Zane, still in his monstrous form, nodded in agreement. "We may not know magic, but we can help you in any way we can."
With a faint but reassuring smile, Noah chimed in, "You don't need curses and revenge. You can use your powers for good, to make friends, and be happy."
The dingo witch was overwhelmed with emotion. Her tears flowed freely as she realized the depth of her mistakes and the potential for change. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to make them pay, but I lost myself along the way. I just..." She sighed heavily as she wiped her tears away. "I feel as if I should have focused on that and bettering things than striving to get revenge."
"It's okay," Noah said gently. Being the kindhearted mammal that he was, a trait he had learned from both his parents respectively, he kindly reached out his transparent paw to hold hers, quickly realizing that he couldn't do so being a ghost and all. "We understand. We forgive you. Don't we, guys?"
Zane spoke for the others and nodded back at his friend. "This'll be a Halloween I'm never gonna forget," he answered before chuckling.
After receiving such straightforward forgiveness from the four friends, with a deep breath and newfound determination, the witch raised her staff, her eyes shimmering with a newfound resolve. Her voice was unwavering as she chanted in a language unknown once more. The room around them began to glow, but this time with a very soft, golden light that best described happiness if it were a color.
One by one, the kits felt a gentle, soothing sensation wash over them. Noah, the ghostly apparition, felt his body solidify, regaining its familiar form. He became more tangible with each passing moment. He was glad to have his russet fur back and to not be hovering an inch above the ground like he was, his white costume now taking on a more corporeal shape as normalcy returned for him. No longer was he a ghost for real, but simply a fox dressed like one!
Kira felt the stiffness in her limbs fade away. Her greenish zombie fur returned to its usual tan color, and she could move freely once more as she became her regular self again.
Tara saw her ghostly visage fade back to normal. Her dress returned to its original vibrant white aside from the spots that were part of the costume, and her wig fell aside, revealing her own eyes as she breathed a sigh of relief.
Zane felt the monstrous features that made up the form he had been transformed into soften and change once more. He shrank back into his previous zebra form, his sharp claws retracting back into his hooves and his black-and-white striped fur coming back.
They exchanged looks of relief and joy, realizing they were completely free from that curse. Kira, no longer stuck as a zombie, hugged Noah tightly, her voice filled with gratitude. "Oh, thank you, Noah. You saved us."
Noah's heart raced as he blushed, his tail starting to wag. "I... um, it was all of us together," he replied.
The dingo witch smiled through her tears, realizing that she was no longer alone. She had found a new purpose for herself. She promised to use her magical abilities for good and to make amends for her past actions. With all the time that he passed with her learning the eviler kind of magic, she had a lot of time to shift her focus on the kinder kind.
As the four friends left the old house together, Noah couldn't help but feel that Halloween had turned into a magical and unforgettable night, filled with the true power of kindness and how it could change everything, even when it was shown during the darkest and most unusual of circumstances.
"And that's the end of the story," Noah said, officially concluding his tale of witches and evil curses.
The moon hung high in the sky, casting eerie shadows as Noah and his three friends continued their adventure through the neighborhood, collecting candies on Halloween night. The story he had just shared felt like a distant memory, but the excitement of the night still lingered in the air.
As they reached the well-lit suburban street, the kits took a break from their candy quest, standing together under the soft glow of a streetlamp. Laughter and chatter filled the night as other trick-or-treaters hurried past, their costumes ranging from cute and funny to resemblant of a character they knew to downright scary.
Tara, with a playful grin, turned to Noah. "Noah, that story you told was really something!" she told him. "You almost had me convinced it was real for a sec."
Zane, who was dressed in a ninja costume, agreed with the tiger next to him as he started to unwrap a piece of taffy candy he got. "For real. I was pretty scared for a moment there. Nice job, storyteller."
Noah chuckled, pleased with the reactions he'd received. He wasn't too proud to say that he had been working on getting better at telling stories as of recent, even if they were just silly little tales in the spirit of the holiday. "Well, what's Halloween without a spooky story, right?"
Kira adjusted the tiara that complimented her pink princess costume and smirked back at him. "True," she returned "but next time, don't make me a zombie in a story. It wasn't very fun being stuck as one."
The kits shared a laugh, and as they continued their way down the street, the story remained a fond part of their Halloween adventure together as friends. The night was alive with the spirit of fun and excitement, and the kits were ready to collect even more sweets. Their journey soon led them back to Noah's house, which had been decorated with its fair share of small skeleton props and orange lights that led to the front porch. They found Noah's parents, Nick and Judy, standing on the front porch, the fox and rabbit pair dressed in their own Halloween costumes and handing out candy to the neighborhood kits that came by.
The four made their way up to the steps, and Noah's father Nick, with his trademark sly grin, handed a piece of candy to each of them. "Good evening," he greeted. "Impressive costumes, I must say."
Judy, with her infectious enthusiasm, added, "Have you all been having a spooky good time?"
"Absolutely, Officer Hopps," Zane replied with a cheerful nod. "We've been on quite an adventure tonight."
Kira held up her bag of candies, which had started to become a bit heavy after what had been a long night of trick-or-treating. "I think we've got enough candy to last a lifetime!"
Judy chuckled warmly. "Well, that's the spirit! That's what Halloween's all about. Just remember to brush your teeth and not to eat too many of those at once."
After exchanging a few more words with Nick and Judy, Noah and the three continued their way through the neighborhood. With each house they visited and every piece of candy they collected, the kits cherished the joy of Halloween, and the memory of Noah's spooky story only added to the enchantment of the night.
Eventually, they made their way back to Noah's house once again as he prepared to head back in for the night, and the porch light illuminated the path before them. As they sorted through their candy haul and prepared to head inside, Kira turned to Noah and offered a genuine smile. "You know, Noah, your storytelling was the highlight of the night."
The fox kit, a bit taken aback, blushed slightly. He had been keeping a secret crush on Kira and hearing her praise him felt like a dream come true. "Really? You think so?" he inquired.
Tara nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it made our Halloween even more special," Tara said.
Zane chimed in, "You saved us from the boredom of the usual 'trick-or-treat.' How 'bout next year we all try telling a story and see who has the best?"
"Glad you guys enjoyed it. Anyway, I guess I'll see you later." As he began to head inside the house, Noah couldn't resist the opportunity any longer. With a newfound sense of courage, he turned around and walked back up to Kira. "You know, Kira, you make every day feel as magical as Halloween with your smile."
Kira's eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushed with the unexpected compliment. "Oh, Noah, that's the sweetest thing anyone's said to me on Halloween!"
Tara and Zane exchanged knowing glances, and the kits shared a collective laugh as their Halloween adventure eventually came to a close.
Author's Note: Hey there, everyone! Happy Halloween! :)
I tried to get this Halloween story out a lot earlier but it ended up taking a little bit more time for me to get finished than I wanted it to. I originally had this being written as Nick and Judy and some others being who it was about, but I decided to rewrite the whole thing with Noah Wilde and some OCs I had come up with recently instead.
I know this was more centered on these characters instead of being about our favorite fox and rabbit like it usually is, but I hope that it was still enjoyable and filled you with that Halloween spirit. The reason I decided to make a story with Noah and the characters that are his friends is because they are actually part of another writing project I'm working on that I was going to keep a surprise but need to tell you now...
In the future, I hope to come out with a series of short stories that will be entirely centered around Noah and his friends in Zootopia as they get into misadventures and learn a lesson or two along the way. Isn't that exciting?
I enjoy writing about Noah a lot when I do, and the concept came to mind about doing this and I couldn't say no to it. I have a couple ideas I brainstormed and want to build on (such as one about Noah's liking Kira or even one about the upcoming holidays) and I can't wait to share them real soon and hope that they'll be able to put a smile on your face when I do. :)
As always, let me know what your thoughts are on this. Your feedback, whether good or bad, is gladly appreciated.
'Til next time! :)