Author's Note: Here we are folks, at one of the most beloved Gravity Falls episodes in the show. I almost didn't make this, but everyone was so looking forward to it, so I made it work.
After this, I'm going to cover the Deep End, an episode that, for some reason, was also heavily requested.
Enjoy the chapter. Have a spooky time reading. Any and all comments are welcome.
Kamala walked downstairs to her family's living room. She hummed to herself until she reached the bottom and saw her parents waiting for her. They pointed smiles at her while sitting on the couch. There was a barely-sealed cardboard box sitting in between them.
"Uh, hey, guys." Kamala said suddenly feeling awkward. "What's up?"
"Well, Kamala, today is a very special day." Muneeba said.
"…Friday?" Kamala guessed. "Payday? I know it's not either of your birthdays or anniversaries…"
"No, no, no." Yusuf said. "Today is Summerween!"
Kamala raised an eyebrow. "Summer what-now?"
"As it turns out, the people of Gravity Falls love Halloween so much, they celebrate it twice a year. Once at October 31st and second tonight." Muneeba explained. "And we know how much you always loved to celebrate Halloween, so we went into the attic and picked out… this."
Yusuf opened the cardboard box beside him and pulled out what was inside. It was a full costume that was identical to what Captain Marvel wore in Kamala's beloved comics.
"Is that…" Kamala asked with widened eyes.
"Yep. It's your Captain Marvel costume from last year. I bet it still fits." Yusuf said tossing the costume to his daughter.
"Oh, this is… nice." Kamala said forcing a smile. She cleared her throat before speaking clearly. "But… I don't think I'll be celebrating tonight."
Just like that, her parents' smiles faded. "What?" Muneeba asked. "But you always loved to celebrate Halloween and dress up as your favorite superheroes. Now, you have the chance to do so in the summertime."
"I know," Kamala said handing the costume back to her dad, "But I guess I just… don't feel the Halloween spirit, or in this case, the Summerween spirit."
As she said that, a figure crawled into the bushes from outside the house. It looked into the house and stared intensely at Kamala through an open window. It clutched the bushes tightly in its grip.
"Anyway, I gotta go." Kamala said lifting her handbag over her shoulder. "If today's a spooky holiday, I'm sure Mr. Pines will want all hands on deck at the Mystery Shack." She headed to the door and started to walk through it when her father placed his hand on her shoulder to stop here.
"Here." Yusuf said offering the Captain Marvel costume back to her. "At least take it with you, in case you change your mind."
Kamala looked at the costume and stared for a minute. She gave a soft sigh and took it. "Thanks, Abu. See you two later." She kissed him on the cheek and headed off.
Once Kamala left and closed the door behind her, her parents looked at each other sharing looks of concern.
"Guess she's not over what happened last Halloween." Yusuf said.
"I know." Muneeba said. "You know, to think, I always thought her favorite hero was a bit too much for her. And now…" She chuckled. "I'd give anything to see her parade around town in that costume while getting candy."
"Me too." Yusuf said joining his wife's side on the couch.
When Kamala reached the Mystery Shack, she saw that the front yard was decorated with take tombstones and a scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern face carved into a melon instead of a pumpkin. When she entered the shack, she looked on in to see Dipper and Mabel excitedly sitting in the living room. Soos was also there sitting on the chair with a bowl of candy on his lap. He was wearing a luchador costume.
"Hey, guys." Kamala said. "Excited for tonight, I see."
"Oh, yeah. Our first Summerween ever!" Mabel said.
"We're gonna have the best costumes, get the most candy…" Dipper said.
"And have the biggest stomach aches ever." Mabel said.
"Dude, I've never seen you guys so pumped." Soos commented.
"Well, back at home, me and Dipper were kind of the kings of trick-or-treating." Mabel said. She and Dipper pulled out a scrapbook and opened it up. It showed pictures of the two over the years wearing identical costumes. "Twins in costumes, the people eat it up."
"Glad you kids are so excited." Kamala said.
"Well, not as excited as you, I bet." Mabel said.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Kamala asked.
"Well, it is you we're talking about." Dipper said. "You worship superheroes so much, I'm surprised you're not already in a Captain Marvel costume or something."
Kamala glanced down at her handbag where she stuffed her costume before shifting her eyes back at the twins. "Uh, actually, I think I might just skip the holiday."
"Huh?" Dipper and Mabel asked at once.
"Why?" Mabel continued to ask.
"I don't know." Kamala said with a frown on her face. "I guess I'm just… not feeling it."
"Well, you better start feeling it, Kamala." Soos said. "It's a night of ghouls and goblins. And in your case, you might be in danger of meeting…" He turned out the lights and shined a flashlight to his face for dramatic effect. "The Summerween Trickster!"
"The what?" Kamala asked.
"OOH! Sounds like I came at the right time!"
Everyone was startled when they saw a figure perched up at the open window. They jumped into the room causing everyone to scream. Soos turned the flashlight at the figure only to see that it was Doreen Green. She was wearing a black cape and a pair of fake vampire fangs. She also had her squirrel tail sticking out from her back.
"Doreen?" Kamala asked loudly. "You startled me!"
"That's the whole point of Summerween." Doreen said. "It's why I dressed up as a cleverly-created monster known as the saber-tooth vampire squirrel!"
"Uh, how is a saber-tooth squirrel any different from a vampire squirrel?" Dipper asked.
"The cape, genius." Doreen said slapping her black cape. "And for a dash of cuteness, here's… my saber-tooth vampire squirrel bat!"
Tippy-Toe climbed up Doreen's back wearing an identical cape similar to hers, but it's split down the middle so the cape looked like bat wings. He also had a pair of vampire teeth that fit into his mouth.
"Aww! How adorable!" Mabel said.
"Yeah, the perfect blend of scary and cute." Doreen said. "Anyway, back to the Summerween Trickster. Soos, if you don't mind…"
"Sure thing, dude." Soos said handing Doreen his flashlight which she shines on herself.
"Gather 'round so I can tell you the fearsome legend of the Summerween Trickster." Doreen said dramatically. "No one knows where the mysterious figure came from, but every year, he goes from door to door hunting down children who lack the Summerween spirit. According to legend, though, he offers children a chance to prove themselves by performing a task for him. If they succeed, they live to see another year. But if they fail, he'll swallow them whole."
"Is that true?" Kamala asked slightly freaked out.
"Honestly, it's one of those hard-to-answer questions, K." Doreen asked. "Kinda like 'Where did I find squirrel-sized fake vampire teeth?'" Tippy-Toe smiled to show off his teeth.
"Well, in that case, I may as well take my chances." Kamala said. "Besides, you said that Trickster guy goes after kids. Well, I'm a teen, so even if he was real, I'd say I'm pretty safe."
Doreen looked confused at Kamala while turning on the lights. "Um, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Kamala replied looking away to hide her glum expression.
"Well, you don't have to worry about us. We've got spirit to go around." Dipper said throwing a piece of candy into his mouth. Suddenly, he started hacking and coughing. Once he stopped, he looked at the candy in his bowl. "What is this stuff? I've never even heard of these brands. Sand Pop? Gummy Chairs? Mr. Adequate-Bar?"
"Yeah, Gravity Falls hosts the creators of some pretty cheap brand candy." Doreen said before eating on a candy that was shaped like red lips. "It's not that bad though. Me and the other squirrels love them."
"You let your squirrels eat sugar" Kamala asked.
"These candies are bad for humans," Doreen said, "But they're strangely good for squirrels. Seriously, though, Kam. You're not going to celebrate Summerween? I thought you of all people would want to."
"It's just… I've had a bad Halloween last year, and I guess I'm not over it." Kamala said softly.
"How bad could it have been?" Doreen asked.
Before Kamala could answer, the front door rang. Per her boss' request, she picked up the bowl of cheap candy and headed to the front door with it. She opened the door expecting trick-or-treaters, but she didn't expect to see who was standing there instead.
"Hey, Kamala." Dante said. He was wearing a zombie costume with torn clothes, green makeup all over his skin, messy hair, and fake bits of flesh in certain places over his body.
Wendy was also there standing next to Dante. She wasn't wearing a costume, though. She just wore a yellow sundress and a blue skirt.
"Oh. Hey, Dante. Hey, Wendy." Kamala greeted.
"Wendy?" Dipper asked loudly. He raced to the front door to see the redheaded teen. "Hi, guys."
"Hey, Dipper." Wendy said.
"What brings you here so late at night?" Kamala asked.
"I left my jacket here." Wendy said picking up her jacket from the coat rack. "What about you, Kamala? Why are you here?"
"I'm just here waiting for Mr. Pines to give me my paycheck." Kamala replied. "So what are your plans tonight?"
"I was actually coming to see what you guys were going to do." Dante said. "I'd certainly like to see how the Pines family will celebrate Summerween."
"You know, my friend, Tambry is hosting a party at her place while her parents are out of town." Wendy said. "You're welcome to come if you want."
"A party?" Kamala asked stepping back. "Uh… I don't think I'm up for it?"
"Why not?" Dante asked. "It's not that different from the party you guys threw here at the shack a few weeks ago."
"That's different because…" Kamala stopped herself before leaning to the wall. "S-Sorry. I just don't think I can do it right now."
Dante looked over at Kamala with a tilted head. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Kamala, but couldn't figure out what was on her mind.
"If you don't mind, Wendy," Dante said, "I think I should stay."
"Oh, boo." Wendy said. "What about you, Dipper? Can I see you there?"
"Huh?" Dipper asked with a sweaty smile. "Uh, sure. I'll see you at the party."
"Awesome." Wendy said pulling out an orange piece of paper. It was an advertisement for the party which she handed to Dipper. "Here are the party details. It's at 9:00. Don't forget."
Once Wendy left, Dipper looked at the flyer in one hand and the Halloween scrapbook in the other.
"Dipper, what about your trick-or-treating plans with Mabel?" Kamala asked.
"I… I'll figure something out." Dipper said.
"Here you go, Kamala." Stan said handing a paycheck to Kamala. She grabbed it, but it took a bit of effort for Stan to let go.
"One of these days, you gotta learn to let go more easily." Kamala said.
"I can't help it. It's my money I'm legally required to give you." Stan said. He was wearing a vampire costume similar to what Doreen was wearing.
"Grunkle Stan," Mabel called running into the room with her friends, Candy and Grenda behind her. Mabel was wearing a costume that makes her look like a walking jar of strawberry jam, Candy was dressed as a piece of candy with a spiral on it, and Grenda was wearing a witch costume. "These are my best friends, Candy and Grenda."
"I am so sweet, I could eat myself." Candy said.
Kamala chuckled. "Oh, cute. Because your name is Candy. That's pretty good."
"Yeah. I thought so too." Grenda said.
"You got a cold, honey?" Stan asked. "Something wrong with your voice there?"
"What do you mean?" Grenda asked. "Why would you say that?"
"You better finish up your costume-making in the next room, Mr. Pines." Kamala said urging Stan to move before the conversation could get awkward.
"All right." Stan said. "By the way, Kamala, I'd like you to chaperone the kids while they're trick-or-treating."
"What?" Kamala asked. "Why?"
"Because I'm gonna be busy scaring kids when they arrive, because Soos is too childish to be considered a chaperone, and because I'm your boss."
"But I…"
Stan turned around and left the room before Kamala could say anything. She hung her head in defeat.
"Hey, I know you don't exactly have the Summerween spirit," Mabel said, "But I promise, it'll be fun."
Kamala sighed. "Well, I suppose watching kids trick-or-treat won't be so bad."
"Is Waddles coming with us?" Candy asked.
"I wish he could," Mabel said trying not to laugh, "But he's got some very important meetings to attend."
Everyone turned and saw Mabel's pet pig. He was wearing a cute, brown business suit with a red tie and a white shirt. The sleeves were empty, but he was filling out the legs with his front hooves. He snorted as he walked over to Mabel.
"File these documents under 'I' for 'I have a curly tail!'" Mabel laughed with her friends. Kamala couldn't help but laugh too while Doreen and Dante entered the room.
"Is everyone ready?" Dante asked.
"Just waiting for Dipper." Mabel said. "Just wait until you see his costume! It's amazing! Here he comes now!"
Everyone turned to see Dipper walk down the stairs. But he wasn't wearing a costume. He was still wearing his normal, every day clothes.
"Um… Good… Dipper costume, I see?" Doreen guessed. "That is what you're going for, right?"
"What the hey-hey, bro-bro?" Mabel asked. "Where's your costume?"
"Look, I can't go trick-or-treating." Dipper said. "I'm, uh, really sick." He turned to fake a cough. Everyone else was fooled, but Kamala glared suspiciously at him. "Must have been that bad candy. You go on without me."
"Fight through it, man." Mabel ordered. "Where's your Summerween spirit?"
Just then, a couple of heavy knocks were heard at the door. Dipper left the group to check it out. When he opened the door, he found herself in front of a gigantic, shadowy figure.
"Trick or treat." the stranger said menacingly.
"Dude, really?" Dipper asked. "You're a little old for this, man. Sorry."
"But wait. I…" The stranger didn't have time to finish his sentence before Dipper slammed the door shut.
"Why'd you close the door?" Mabel asked.
"I told you, Mabel. I'm just not feeling it tonight." Dipper said with another fake cough.
"That's still no reason to be rude to a trick-or-treater." Kamala said.
"I think a little trick-or-treating will make you feel better." Mabel insisted.
"I'm not trick-or-treating." Dipper said.
KNOCK-KNOCK!
Dipper was getting annoyed by the pounding on the door. He knew the stranger hadn't left, so he opened the door to confront him again.
"Look, man. Just go to another house." He slammed the door shut again.
"Dipper! Where's your Summerween hospitality?" Mabel asked.
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"I'm not getting that." Dipper said.
"Yeesh. How hard is it to give candy to one guy?" Kamala asked opening the door in Dipper's stead. She looked up at the intimidating figure and chuckled nervously. "Uh, hi. Sorry about Dipper. Guess he…"
"SILENCE!" the figure yelled in a booming voice. "You have insulted me! And for this, you must pay, with your lives!"
The figure leaned in to reveal his form in the light of the jack-o-melons. It was a very large figure with skinny arms, a heavy jacket, and a scarecrow hat. In place of his head, there was a metal grate with a happy face sticker on it.
"Uh, nice costume, sir." Kamala chuckled feeling uneasy. "What, uh, What are you supposed to be?"
"You'll find out exactly who I am very soon!" the figure said.
"Twick or tweat." called a kid who stepped up to the porch wearing a pirate costume. "My name is Gorney."
All of a sudden, the figure grabbed Gorney by his head and picked him up from the ground. Everyone just watched in shock as the figure's odd head developed a mouth with fangs which he used to swallow Gorney whole. Everyone screamed at what they saw.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
"Is that the… the… the…" Kamala shuddered in fear.
"The Summerween Trickster!" Doreen realized shaking in fear. Tippy-Toe did the same.
"But how is that possible?" Dante asked. "I thought he was just a legend?"
"Yeah, we seem to have a habit of running into a lot of things that are supposed to be just legends." Kamala said.
"There's only one way for you to avoid Gorney's fate." The Trickster said. "I need a treat. If you can collect 500 pieces of candy and bring it to me before the last jack-o-melon goes out, I will let you live."
"500 treats in one night?" Dipper asked. "That's impossible!"
"The choice is yours, children." The Trickster said. "You must trick or treat… or die."
"But… But what about us?" Kamala asked extending her arms at herself, Dante, and Doreen. "We're not kids. We're teens."
"Anyone who lacks the Summerween spirit are mine to threaten, regardless of age." The Trickster informed stepping out of the Mystery Shack. "Tick-tock, everybody. Tick… tock." With that, he stepped back some more and disappeared into the darkness. Everyone followed him outside, but they lost sight of him.
"Oh, my gosh, Mabel." Dipper said worryingly. "Do you know what this means?"
"I do. It means you have to come trick-or-treating! Yay!"
Soos soon came outside to join the kids. "What's going on out here, dudes? I heard a ruckus. Hehe. That's a funny word. Ruckus."
"It's the Summerween Trickster." Kamala said. "He came to us and threatened to eat us."
"He said we have to trick-or-treat to live!" Dipper panicked.
"Oh, man, dude." Soos said shuddering for his life. "You guys are in crazy bonkers trouble."
"How are we gonna get that much candy in one night?" Dipper asked. "There's no way."
"Listen up, people." Mabel called out. "Now, some might say that being cursed by a bloodthirsty holiday monster is a bad thing."
"I wet myself." Grenda said.
"So did Tippy-Toe." Doreen said before getting smacked by her little animal friend. "OW! What? It's true."
"But that monster messed with the wrong crew." Mabel said. "With all our strengths, we'll get 500 pieces of candy and have fun doing it too, even if it takes all night!"
Everyone cheered in agreement except for Dipper, who sneakily looked at the party flyer Wendy gave him.
"All night? But… I'm sick, remember?" Dipper faked another cough.
"Dude, seriously?" Doreen asked. "Surely, you can power through a bad cough for a couple of hours."
"A monster threatened to kill us for crying out loud." Dante said. "We need every trick-or-treater we can get."
Kamala's eyes then widened. "Um… Every trick-or-treater? Even…"
"Kamala, I know you are troubled by something," Doreen said, "But ask yourself this: 'What would Captain Marvel do?'"
Kamala thought for a moment before sighing heavily. "All right. Just give me a minute to change."
She headed around the corner of the Mystery Shack and made sure no one was watching as she pulled her costume out of her bag.
A few minutes later, she emerged wearing her costume. Everyone stared in amazement commenting on the red-and-blue colors and the golden star displayed at her torso. She wore a pair of gloves that lit up like she was energizing her fists.
"Neato!" Mabel said. "Where'd you buy something like that?"
"I, uh… I made it myself." Kamala admitted.
"Whoa. For real?" Doreen asked. "That's pretty neat."
"Yeah, I guess." Kamala smiled for a little bit before going back to a frown. "Anyway, let's get going."
The streets of Gravity Falls were busy with trick-or-treaters while the Mystery Shack gang passed by with Dipper pushing a red wagon at the front. They saw Wendy's family dressed as Vikings acting like they were raiding a house for candy. They also saw Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland dressed as each other.
"I don't understand why we can't just buy our candy and be done with it." Dipper said.
"You heard the Trickster." Doreen said. "'Trick-or-treat or die'."
"Besides, I think the stores are out of candy at this point." Dante said.
"Let's just get our candy." Kamala said. "Look, there's our first house."
She pointed at Lazy Susan's house who was happily giving out candy to kids. She was dressed as a giant ball of yarn while her cats climbed on her. The gang walked up to her on her porch and exclaimed the famous motto.
"Trick or treat!"
"And is everyone in costume?" Lazy Susan asked as she looked over everyone one by one. "Chimney sweep, elephant man, squeegee, living grass, fuzzy woman, astro-nut, ant farm…" She stopped at Dipper. "And what are you supposed to be?"
"Actually, I'm not dressed up as anything." Dipper said. "We're kind of in a hurry here."
"Oh, I see." Lazy Susan said with a disappointed look. Instead of giving out a bunch of candy, she gifted everyone with a single piece each. "Enjoy." She closed the door to her house without anyone even saying anything.
"One piece of black licorice?" Grenda asked looking at what Lazy Susan gave her.
"Circus peanut?" Candy asked. "This is loser candy."
"Seven pieces of candy?" Dipper asked. "This is gonna take forever."
"We've gotta up our game, Dipper." Mabel said. "You gotta put on your costume."
"I told you, I'm not up to it, Mabel." Dipper said faking another cough.
"Oh, for goodness sake!" Kamala exclaimed. "Seriously, Dipper? Even when our lives are on a deadline, you're being this stupidly stubborn? Listen, if I'm having to celebrate Summerween, then you are too!"
"But I…"
"Put on the costume!"
Dipper was intimidated before surrendering. He left the group to go change. Mabel went with him to help.
"Kamala, you okay?" Dante asked.
"I'm fine." Kamala replied looking down.
"Really?" Doreen asked. "It looked like you were about to bite Dipper's head off. You haven't been acting like yourself all evening. What gives? I thought you'd love Summerween."
"I… Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Kamala frowned turning her head away.
A minute later, Mabel returned ready to present something. "Introducing, for the first time in public… TA-DA!" She gestured at Dipper, who was dressed like a walking jar of peanut butter. "Peanut butter and jelly!"
Everyone stared admiring how cute they looked.
"Let's just get this over with." Dipper said looking at his watch, which was at 7:01.
"Over with! Over with!" everyone chanted as they moved onto the next house.
At the next house, Dipper and Mabel did a little dance and let the man know that they were twins. He was so moved by how cute it was, he went ahead and gave them every bit of candy he had on him. They had never felt so proud.
Over the night, the gang split from house to house getting as much candy as they could find. Every piece they found, they brought over to the red wagon which was now piloted by Soos. They picked up the pace once they saw some of the townsfolk blow out their jack-o-melons.
As the time began to fly, they stopped to count their candy again.
"497. 498. 499." Mabel counted. "We did it! All we need is one more piece of candy."
"And it's only 8:30." Dipper said looking at his watch. "Perfect timing."
"Yeah, and your cough went away too." Mabel said.
"Along with his growing Pinocchio nose." Kamala added quietly.
"I'm gonna go and grab the truck." Soos said before leaving. "Soos away!"
"Last one to the final house is a pair of wax lips!" Mabel declared.
"That better not be you, Tippy-Toe!" Doreen said.
The kids (except for Dipper) raced to the next house. Kamala made it to the house first and rang the doorbell. She couldn't help but smile forgetting about her feeling of dread.
The door opened up with Kamala leading the chant. "Trick or… MOM! DAD!"
Muneeba and Yusuf were just as surprised to see Kamala as she was to see them.
"Kamala?" Muneeba asked. "You're trick-or-treating? I thought you weren't in the mood."
"Uh… Well…"
"So you must be Kamala's parents." Mabel said. "Hi. I'm Mabel. I don't think we've formally met."
"Well, it's good to see you back into the holiday spirit, Kamala." Yusuf said. "We wouldn't want you to be left damaged by what happened back at Jersey."
"Why?" Dante asked. "What happed at Jersey?"
"Not important." Kamala said quickly. "Look, sorry to be so quick, but we'll take any piece of candy at this point."
"Okay then. Don't worry." Muneeba said. She pulled out a single candy mint which she gave to Kamala. "Cherish this one, my dear."
"Thanks, Mom." Kamala said. "Thanks for everything."
As soon as she waved goodbye to her parents, Kamala and her friends moved away. She took a second to look at the mint she was given and sighed sadly.
"Kamala, what kind of story do you have back at Jersey?" Doreen asked. "You know we're here for you."
"It's… something painful." Kamala said.
"What? Did you get a stomach ache from expired candy or something?" Mabel asked.
"No. Not that kind of painful." Kamala said. "It's just… I did something stupid, and I really regret it."
"Sorry to hear that." Mabel said before they all stopped at a corner.
There, she listened in on a conversation with Dipper and Wendy, who was just passing by. He was out of his costume and he was talking to her about going to a party with her later. He turned around and was surprised to see Mabel looking at him with disappointment.
"You're going to a party?" Mabel asked before gritting her teeth. "That's why you were acting so weird and trying to hurry us! You're not sick at all! So if it wasn't for this crazy monster, you were going to ditch me! On our favorite holiday! What happened to the Dipper who used to love Halloween? And where's all the candy?"
"Relax, relax. I left it here, behind this bush." Dipper said walking toward the bushes.
Everyone looked through the bushes, but they all gasped when they saw a steep cliff right at the edge. The red wagon was on its side at the bottom spilling every bit of candy into the river.
"What did you do?" Mabel asked Dipper in seriousness.
"Uh, guys…" Doreen said looking around.
Everyone felt a warm summer breeze blow by and blow out the candles out of the jack-o-melons around the neighborhood. Their time was almost up. They looked around and saw only one jack-o-melon left that was lit. It was close to being blown out by its carver, Old Man McGucket.
"MCGUCKET, STOP!" Kamala shouted as she and the others ran over to intercept him.
"What?" McGucket asked.
"Just don't blow out that candle!" Dipper said.
"WHAT?!" McGucket asked loudly holding a hearing horn to his ear.
"DON'T BLOW OUT THAT CANDLE!"
"…I'm Old Man McGucket!" McGucket cackled as he started to inhale.
Suddenly, Doreen tackled McGucket making him drop the melon. Thankfully, Kamala was quick enough to catch it in her hands. McGucket recovered and headed back into the junkyard where he lived.
"Did you just tackle an old man?" Dante asked.
"I did what I had to." Doreen admitted. "How's the melon?"
"Still lit." Kamala said holding the melon for everyone to see.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but as they did so, they accidentally blew out the candle inside the melon. Realizing their mistake, they all started to get nervous feeling an ominous presence approach.
They looked down the street where a single lamp-post flickered a ray of light. The Summerween Trickster emerged from the darkness stepping into the light. He looked up at the kids who all looked frightened at him.
"So, children, where's my candy?"
"I swear, we had all 500 pieces!" Dipper begged. "Look! It's down there somewhere! We can still get it!"
"I'm afraid it's too late!" the Trickster said as he grew in size. "That was your last chance."
"Look, what about this?" Kamala asked holding up the mint her mother gave her. "This one is full of a mother's love. That's gotta be worth 500 pieces, right?"
The Trickster picked the mint out of Kamala's hand and examined it. He stared at it before looking back at her.
"You're getting desperate, aren't you?" he asked before crushing the piece of candy between his fingers. "Guess a parent's love isn't enough to save you."
Kamala watched the candy shatter to pieces. She didn't pay attention to the Trickster. She only watched the tiny bits of candy scatter on the ground. That's when she had enough.
"Guys, run." Kamala said coldly. "I'll catch up later."
"But Kamala…" Candy said.
"No. I think I know what she's up to." Dipper said. "Let's get out of here."
The rest of the gang ran out of the junkyard they were in. The Trickster turned to chase them, but something stopped him. He looked back and saw Kamala reaching out her hand to grab his leg. She then looked over at him with threatening eyes.
"Oh, you just made a big mistake, buddy." Kamala said before angrily throwing the Summerween Trickster across the junkyard making him hit hard against a stack of cars. The cars all then collapsed on top of him while Kamala hid herself deep in the junkyard to go change.
After a second, the Trickster powered out of the cars that once toppled over him. Once he emerged, he looked around to look for Kamala.
"So it looks like I'm not the only one with tricks." The Trickster hissed as he prowled around. "But if you think I'm the one who made a mistake, you have no idea how wrong you are, young lady. Show yourself!"
"Gladly!" Kamala answered from behind him.
The Trickster turned at the top of another stack of junk. Kamala stood on top wearing her Ms. Marvel uniform. Her two embiggened hands held onto heavy sets of junk which she chucked toward the Trickster, but he jumped and danced away to dodge them.
Knowing projectiles wouldn't work, Ms. Marvel jumped backwards and embiggened her feet so she can kick over the entire pile until it fell right on top of the Trickster.
"Oh, no!" The Trickster gasped before getting crushed.
Once everything was still and quiet, Ms. Marvel walked on top of the fallen junk and did a cocky hero pose. "Ha ha! How's that for Summerween spirit?!"
All of a sudden, the Trickster's arms popped out of the junk pile followed by two more pairs. They all quickly grabbed ahold of Kamala and their grips tightened keeping her from moving or growing anything. While she struggled in vain to escape, the Trickster emerged fully out of the junk without his hat and jacket and pushed Kamala to a broken car.
"You know, it would be so easy to eat you here and now," the Trickster hissed, "But for the trouble you just caused me, I'll save you last. That way, I'll get to see the look on your wretched face as I devour every last one of your friends before you."
"No! Leave them alone!" Ms. Marvel yelled.
The Trickster laughed as he ran out of the junkyard to the same direction the kids were headed.
The kids ran into Soos who agreed to pick them up and get them away. It wasn't long before the Trickster caught up to them and leaped onto the top of Soos' car. The car swerved until the Trickster got caught in a telephone pole and made him drop Ms. Marvel. He fell right on the windshield.
"Kam… I mean, Ms. Marvel!" Dipper yelled remembering that Candy and Grenda don't yet know about Kamala's superhero secret.
Ms. Marvel turned herself to see where the car was speeding towards. She gasped seeing the Summerween Superstore which they were on a collision course to.
"SOOS, HIT THE BRAKES BEFORE…"
It was too late. The car crashed right through the front of the store and knocked over a few shelves before finally stopping. The sudden stop caused Ms. Marvel to be launched off and roll over the floor. She groaned as she got back up. She was supported by Doreen and Dante, who got out of the car with the others and held her by her arms.
"You okay?" Doreen asked.
"I got womanhandled by a holiday monster, crashed into a store, and got thrown off by a crashing car." Kamala said. "Not exactly a banner night for me."
"Guys, we have to hide!" Dipper yelled out as he saw the Trickster crawl his way into the store.
Everyone scattered around to hide in undamaged places around the shop. They wanted to leave, but the Trickster blocked the only exit they had. They scurried around looking for places to hide. Doreen and Dante helped Kamala hide in an empty shelf which was right next to where Dipper and Mabel were hiding.
"Everyone, stay quiet." Dipper advised quietly.
"Oh. Now, you're worried about the monster." Mabel said coldly. "I thought all you cared about was Wendy."
"Mabel, you know that's not true." Dipper said. "I just… I felt like I was getting a little too old to go trick-or-treating."
"That's exactly why we need to go trick-or-treating, Dipper." Mabel said. "We're getting older. There's not that many Halloweens left." She hung her head down. "I guess I didn't realize it was already our last one."
Ms. Marvel pondered hard before looking more determined. She shook her head and turned to her friends. "You know what. This is my first Halloween, or Summerween, experience with my new friends in my new home. There's no way I'm letting anything ruin it. Not my personal issues, not my friends bummed about growing up, and especially not some monster. We're getting out of here."
"How?" Soos asked.
Kamala groaned as she shook her shoulders and freed herself from her friends' hands. "Tag me back in, coach. It's time for round two against that demon."
"Are you sure?" Dipper asked. "That thing beat you earlier, and now, that crash really messed you up."
"Hey, don't forget, guys." Doreen said with Tippy-Toe standing heroically on her shoulder. "She's not the only one with superpowers."
The Trickster traversed around the store hunting for its pray. It stopped when it heard a familiar voice from behind.
"Looking for me, smiley?" Kamala asked standing in the middle of the destroyed check-out area.
The Trickster laughed. "You really want to try this again on your own?"
"She ain't alone, freak!"
The Trickster was surprised by a sudden dropkick handed to him by Doreen who dug her boot into the side of his head. She then jumped off and landed next to Ms. Marvel, who exchanged a fistbump with her.
"AHH! YOU LITTLE MONSTERS!" the Trickster yelled out.
"It's Summerween, my dude." Ms. Marvel pronounced. "On nights like this, people become monsters to get rid of the real ones! Case in point…"
"Fly, my pretties! Fly, fly!" Doreen yelled calling in a swarm of flying squirrels from the open hole in the store's front entrance. They all landed on the Trickster covering his whole face.
The Trickster yelled as he raked his own body trying to drive the squirrels off. He backed up to a nearby shelf which Ms. Marvel reached out to grab. She pulled hard on it letting it fall on the Trickster.
"Now, everyone! Go!" Ms. Marvel advised. The others took her advise and ran toward the exit. The Trickster saw them try to leave and growled prying his way free.
"ENOUGH!" he yelled reaching out his hand and grabbing onto Kamala. Everyone stopped running to see her in the monster's tight grip.
Ms. Marvel's rescue came when Tippy-Toe crawled on up to the Trickster's arm. He sank his bucked teeth into the monster's arm making it yell and release Ms. Marvel.
After the bite, Tippy-Toe noticed something in the taste. He swam his tongue around his mouth and realized something. He then crawled up Doreen's shoulder and chittered to her.
"What was that?" Doreen asked in confusion. "There's salt water taffy in the monster?"
"Salt water taffy?" Kamala asked. "Wait, isn't that the loser candy?"
The Trickster hissed. "You really haven't figured it out yet? Don't you recognize me? Look at my face!"
The Trickster grabbed onto his smiling face place and removed it showing his real face. Everyone gasped and yelled at the horror of the Trickster's face, which was made up of candy. Mints for eyes, red licorice for lips, candy corn for teeth, rolls for eyebrows, and all bunch of other pieces of candy.
"Loser candy." Mabel realized.
"That's right." The Trickster confirmed. "Did you ever stop and think about the candy at the bottom of the bag that no one likes? Every year, the children of Gravity Falls throw away all of the 'rejected candy' into the dump. So I seek revenge. Revenge on the picky children who cast me aside. I am made of every tossed piece of black licorice, every discarded bar of old chocolate with, like, that white powder stuff on it. You know that stuff?"
"I hate that stuff." Mabel said.
"No one would eat me, but now, I'm going to eat you."
"Wait a minute." Ms. Marvel said. "Is that why you demanded 500 pieces of candy as a way of payment? You just wanted us to appreciate every piece of candy even more?"
"Well, I got news for you, Trickster! You messed with the wrong people!" Doreen said. She walked on up to the monster and sank her hand into its body.
"EW!" everyone yelled out.
With a smile, Doreen pulled her hand out holding a handful of candy. She then stuffed it all into her mouth and ate it. "Mmm-mmm! Delicious!"
"What?" the Trickster asked. "You actually think I taste good?"
"Sure. It may be bad for humans, but it's strangely good for squirrels. In fact…" She pressed her fingers to her lips and whistled through them.
Just then, even more squirrels entered the store. They all crawled up the body of the Trickster and began nibbling at him. This time, though, the Trickster didn't fight them off. He simply smiled seeing all the critters enjoy their meal as he slowly sank lower into the swarm.
"Ooh! Let me in on that!" Soos said joining the squirrels in their feast.
"All I've ever wanted is for someone to say I was good." The Trickster said weakly crying candy corn out of his eyes. "I'm so happy. Thank you."
The Trickster fell completely into the squirrel swarm and his voice fell forever. In his place, a familiar kid popped out of the squirrels.
"'Sup, Gorney?" Soos asked.
"I've been twaumatized." Gorney said as he left the store.
"Wait, what about Kamala?" Grenda asked.
"Yeah. Is she safe?" Candy asked.
"Uh, yep." Ms. Marvel said. "Yeah, I saw she was in trouble at the junkyard and went to her rescue. She should be waiting for you outside. Now that all that's settled, I must go. My… something needs me."
She stretched out her legs to step out of the store, but she didn't go very far. She hid herself in an alley and quickly changed back into her Captain Marvel costume. She finished putting it on just as the rest of her friends walked right out. She then got out as soon as she could without any more thinking.
"Hey, guys." Kamala said breathlessly. "How'd it go? Did you beat the Trickster?"
"Oh, yeah. It was pretty scary." Candy said.
"Turns out the monster was just a bunch of Summerween candy come to life, and Doreen somehow trained a bunch of squirrels to eat it." Grenda said.
"The important thing is, we're okay." Dipper said.
"And Summerween is saved." Mabel said.
"That's great, guys." Kamala said. Her smile faded just a little before deciding to come clean. "Guys, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier."
"You got nothing to apologize for." Dipper said. "I was the one who endangered all our lived just for a silly party."
"Trust me, Dipper, Halloween parties aren't that great, so I assume the same goes for Summerween." Kamala said.
Mabel looked at Kamala starting to understand. "Did something happen to you at a Halloween party back in Jersey City?"
Kamala nodded. "You were right. Halloween was always my favorite night of the year, especially after I discovered Captain Marvel. I would dress up as her every year, but last Halloween was special. It was where I was invited to my very first Halloween party. It was being hosted by the most popular girl in my school, Zoe Zimmer. My parents forbade me from going. They thought I was too young and impressionable for a Halloween party which they thought brings out the worst in teenagers. I thought they didn't know what they were talking about, so I did what any teenager would do: I snuck out. With my Captain Marvel costume, I made my way to the party. It might have been my way to be normal like every other kid.
"I had an overwhelming feeling when I entered the party. As the minutes passed, I started to get around to it. But then, I heard Zoe and her friends badmouthing my family. I told them to knock it off, but they thought I was in on the joke. It turns out that they thought that because I snuck out, it was okay for them to make fun of my family. Like, 'Kamala's finally seen the light and kicked the dumb, inferior family and their rules to the curb'. But that's not why I snuck out. It wasn't like I thought Ammi and Abu were dumb. I just wanted to be normal like them. But they weren't having it. They just kept laughing. I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran back home.
"My parents already figured out I sneaked out and were prepared to punish me, but before they could, I hugged them both and sobbed in their embrace. I apologized and put away my costume for the night. I wasn't punished after all, and we rarely brought it up since."
Kamala looked at all her friends, who all looked sad in her direction.
"Oh, man. I'm so sorry to hear that, Kamala." Doreen said.
"That's the worst Halloween story ever, dude." Soos said.
"Well, we still got a few hours left." Dipper said looking at his watch. "How about we spend our first Summerween together back at the Mystery Shack?"
Kamala smiled at all her friends. "I'd like that."
After putting his peanut butter costume back on, Dipper headed back to the Mystery Shack with his friends, where they all greeted Stan who was sitting in the living room. Dipper was especially surprised to see Wendy at the table at the side of the room. She was carving in her own jack-o-melon.
"Wendy!" Dipper gasped.
"I didn't see you at the party." Wendy said. "Where were you?"
"Uh… I…" Dipper stammered before deciding to proudly admit the truth. "I was trick-or-treating with my sister."
"Yeah." Mabel agreed.
"Mmm. Party was lame anyway." Wendy said. "Robbie was there begging me to take him back until he ate a lollipop stick first and had to go home sick."
"I guess Summerween parties are just as bad as Halloween parties, huh?" Kamala asked. "Why are they lame in the first place?"
"Well, some stuff sounds fun at first," Wendy said, "But I guess when you really experience them, they usually turn out to be really lame. Makes me wish I went trick-or-treating with you guys."
"Better luck next year, I guess." Dante said. "Or, at least, in four months."
"Aw, man." Mabel said sadly. "We went to every single house and we didn't even get to eat any candy."
"Candy?" Stan asked. He reached behind his chair and pulled out two large bags that were really full. "How's that for candy?"
"That'll do." Kamala said.
"Got enough candy for two more?"
Kamala gasped quietly as she turned around. She was surprised to see her parents walk into the living room behind them.
"Ammi. Abu. You're here."
"Well, when we saw you having fun trick-or-treating again, we figured we'd come to check on you." Muneeba said. "Glad to see you still got it."
Kamala smiled and went to hug her parents. "Thanks, guys. I'm glad I got to spend my first Summerween with my loved ones."
As the night passed, the entire friends and family group sat in the dark watching a scary movie marathon. They were watching "Fear Guy from Terror Town Street" with a large pile of candy for everyone to share.
"You know, kids, I've been thinking." Stan said. "At the end of the day, Summerween isn't about candy or costumes or even scaring people. It's a day when the whole family can get together in one place and celebrate what really matters… PURE EVIL!"
Stan started to let out a sinister laughter. Soon enough, everyone else laughed along with him. With the spooky music coming from the TV, they played along to cap of the most haunted night of the summer. All of a sudden then, they all stopped laughing and sat in silence. They continued to watch TV until Soos broke the silence with an awkward sentence.
"I ate a man alive tonight."