Chapter 18: The Monster Prom
FRIDAY
An hour before the start of the Monster Prom
CW: Violence
It was here, the day that everyone has been waiting for. The ghost committee had put together what they would deem the wildest prom experience possible by academy standards.
There was just one last thing missing… the paper ghosts. They were to be strung along in a canopy all around the gym where prom was being held. Polly was already in a blue dress that heavily accentuated her figure, as she waited for her boyfriend to bring them along like he promised.
Polly turned to the other ghosts, who were heavily displeased by her antics thus far already. She gave a nervous shrug and a smile.
"He'll be here guys. Oz has never let me down before!"
At the Oberlin house, there are many folded paper ghosts that litter the entirety of the living space. On the kitchen table there was a small dogpile, consisting of Tristo on the bottom, with Zoe and Vera gently dozing on top of him. The evening sun was pouring in through the shades of the home as the front door opened. Valerie and Oz entered, with all the ingredients for a Romanian Wilkinson being packed away quietly. Oz looked down at his watch.
"Oh shit! Valerie, the Monster Prom is starting in less than an hour!"
Valerie ran over to shake Vera and the rest awake, but not before snapping a picture of all of them sleeping cutely on the table together.
Vera was the first to come to, and quickly joined in waking up the others.
"We don't have much time, all of you go! Boys, you're using the downstairs bathroom! Girls, upstairs, get a fucking move on!"
Tristo and Oz bumped into each other repeatedly as they shared the small downstairs bathroom. After quickly putting on their suits, they turned each other, and began to straighten their collars, and touch each other up.
"You look great, Oz."
"You too, Tristo. How many of the ghosts did you get cut out last night?"
"My last count was over two hundred, Zoe was really tearing into them."
"Awesome. We can start packing them after we get ready. How are we getting to prom?"
"You're probably not gonna like it." Tristo said, with a grim expression. Oz helped Tristo tie up his hair, and they were out to prepare packing.
Upstairs, Vera was working on tying up all of Zoe's writhing tentacles. She'd had experience wrangling her snakes, so she was the best for the job.
"Sorry my hair is feeling really playful."
"Just shush, we have no time for idle chatter Zoe."
Zoe sucked her lips into her mouth with a cute expression of zipping her mouth shut. Valerie was tying the back of Vera's dress when Vicky arrived, already in the dress Vera stole for her.
Vera mouthed words of amazement as her face blushed. Valerie elbowed her side, and moved to take over preparing Zoe. Vera made her way over to Vicky who looked at her with a bright smile.
"I saw where you left it for me in my workshop. I love it." Vicky said, doing a small twirl for Vera. The dress was a soft blue in color, with pale white dots all along the sleeves, and a dotted bow wrapped around the waist.
"Anything for my Prom Queen." Vera said, pulling Vicky into a sweet embrace. Her snakes wrapped around and nuzzled into Vicky's cheek as well. As Valerie finished with Zoe's hair, the four began to make their way down. Oz and Tristo were frantically tossing the paper ghosts into boxes and gathering them.
They all looked around at each other, taking a brief moment to exchange compliments. Zoe walked over to hold Tristo's hand.
"Are you ready for your first real Monster Prom honey?"
"I think so. So long as I'm with you."
"So long as we're together." They spoke in unison.
Zoe and Tristo both held their hands up to the doorway of the Oberlin home. The frame began to fill with a bright green energy, opening a gateway between here and the prom. Tristo turned to the group with a nervous glance.
"Everyone hold your breath before you go through… just a forewarning." He advised, inspiring no confidence in his friends.
Oz was the first to dive in, carrying two boxes of the decorations with him. Valerie took a running start before jumping in after. Vicky and Vera hooked their arms together and stepped through. Zoe and Tristo stood at the opening, and turned to one another. He leaned down and they shared a small kiss, before walking across the void to join their friends.
Aaravi stepped out of her bedroom in her chainmail dress, her sword resting against her back, concealed as part of the dress. Trisha looks at her and claps as she steps out.
"Aaravi the dress is magnificent, and combat ready too! Did we have to make this stop though?"
"Yes. I can't go to prom without looking my most deadly. I have a feeling our quarry will find us there, and to slay one must… well slay." Aaravi explained, raising a finger in the air as she did so. Trisha seemed convinced, and nodded along happily. Aaravi's mom offered to take pictures, and congratulated her daughter on finding such a beautiful date.
There was an embarrassing agreement between the two to let Aaravi's mom think they were in fact going together.
Everyone tumbled out of the portal and onto the gym floor with a thud, all but Zoe and Tristo who floated down with grace as a mix of green and purple energy enveloped them.
"Show offs." Valerie grumbled, as the couple's feet touched the ground. Polly bounded over to Oz with a big smile.
"Boo! You made it!" Polly said, scooping up Oz and kissing him all over his face. Ghostly blue lipstick marks wisped around his face as he gathered his bearings.
"Of course. Anything for you Polly."
The rest of the ghosts were heavily unimpressed by the display, but thankful to finally have the last decorations to hang. Students of Spooky Academy were gathering outside, and in less than ten minutes the festivities would begin.
Tristo turned to Zoe, and she could feel the rush of glee and excitement from him.
"We should go find Scott and everybody else while they finish up here." Tristo suggested, with everyone else nodding along. They exited from the side of the gym and went around to greet their friends.
Everyone was here and dressed in absolutely stunning fits. Other than those who preferred to dress comfortably or rebelled against the norm of prom fits. It was a sight to behold.
As Aaravi and Trisha arrived, they were both overwhelmed by the sheer number of people here to party. Eyes found their way over to the couple, mostly because of Trisha's height. She towered over everyone else with her long cybernetic legs, and they certainly drew the eye with bright pink colors. Aaravi turned to her.
"Ok we can use this attention to our advantage. The first part of this plan, is spreading the rumor that there's going to be this huge battle that's part of prom. That will entice our more violent populace to gather their weapons in preparation… if they don't already have them stashed away. I know Damien probably has at least three knives on him."
Trisha tried paying close attention through all the glances around.
"Sounds like a great plan Aaravi. I'll try my best…"
Aaravi reached up and grabbed Trisha's hands with a bright blush that she powered through.
"You've got this Trisha. People think you're hot. Use that." Aaravi encouraged, with Trisha giving a more confident nod.
"Alright! Let's get to work!" Trisha said, darting back to weave her way between the crowd. Aaravi turned now for her primary objective, scanning the crowd for Tristo and Zoe.
Tristo and Zoe were currently chatting with his future employer and her date to the prom. Jacquelyn was definitely bringing the most farm girl charm to the whole Prom, and her date Milo was definitely drawing attention to them as well.
"So… Tristo you've taken to pairing with an eldritch entity fairly well. That is surprising for someone with as fragile a life thread as yours. I may be seeing you one day." Milo said, with a soft smile on their face as they examined Tristo. Jacquelyn wrapped her arms around Milo's.
"They're just joking around Tristo, don't let their little bit of reaper gallows humor get to ya." Jacquelyn said, laughing along. Milo was smiling… but not laughing.
"Right." Tristo said, small beads of sweat forming at his head.
It wouldn't be long before Polly and the Ghost Committee made their way out, flinging the doors open for all attendees of the Prom. Polly began belting into a mic for all to hear, to Aaravi's chagrin as the now moving crowd was making it difficult to find her friends. She eventually stumbled into the Coven, who were all looking amazing in their dresses.
Aaravi was even more impressed and slightly paused at the fact that their dresses were also combat efficient, some of them having potion vials and their spellbooks strapped on. Accessorizing with tools and weaponry was one of Aaravi's biggest green flags. But there was no time to start fantasizing about being at prom with one of them. If anyone could help prepare for what was about to happen, it was the Coven.
"Joy!" Aaravi yelled, squeezing past to get next to them. She turned alongside the rest of the witches to greet her.
"Looking good Slayer. The chainmail fit is always pristine on you." Faith spoke first, giving Aaravi a wink.
"Oh um… thanks Faith. You look, I mean, that's uh-" Aaravi mumbled, too flustered to find the right words.
"Grrr. On any other day this would be great! I need to tell them what's going on! Lock in Aaravi!" She thought to herself.
"Look, I need you guys to get ready. There's a threat to the world on its way, and to stop it I need your help. Start telling everyone that the prom involves a battle portion, and if you could get me a straight shot to Tristo and Zoe, that'd be great." Aaravi said, breathless as she struggled through her explanation. The Coven all looked to each other and nodded.
"We knew a world ending threat was bound to happen at the same time as Monster Prom at some point. Ladies, let's get to it. Hope, if you could, get Aaravi to her targets."
"You got it. Come along then Slayer."
Hope snatched Aaravi's arm and blinked them up into the air, levitating. The two searched the crowd for eldritch cutie and her lovestruck human. Hope eventually pointed up towards the front of the gym, where Zoe, Tristo, Jacquelyn, and Milo were already dancing. Aaravi nodded, and looked up to Hope.
"Toss me, I'll parkour my way over." Aaravi told her, to which Hope obliged. Aaravi leapt to one of the jungle gym-like pillars that helped hold up the lights in the gym. Her muscles tensed as she climbed from one end of the gym to another. She then performed a combat roll onto the floor next to the couples, with cat-like agility.
Zoe and Tristo turned to Aaravi with a look of surprise on both their faces, their eyes gleaming a bright green as they looked at her.
"Aaravi? So good to see you! Wanna dance?" The couple asked in unison. Aaravi wanted to tear her hair out.
"Why is everyone acting like this tonight?!" She thought. Aaravi shook her head at the two.
"Ye- I mean no damn it! I need you two to listen."
"We're listening." They both spoke in unison again, staring at Aaravi dreamily.
"Can you both stop whatever this is and get serious!" Aaravi replied with a flustered look. The two shook their heads, breaking their symbiosis once more.
"Sorry, what's going on Aaravi? And where's Hex?" Tristo asked thoughtfully, walking the three of them off the dancefloor. Aaravi grimaced at the thought of her friend.
"Hex was kidnapped, by the guy that's after you both. The fly guy. He's-"
Aaravi is cut off by a loud crash somewhere near the entrance to the Monster Prom. A crowd of attendees fly back, crashing into various pieces of equipment. The three-eyed figure walks in, with Hex floating around them. Instead of the normal green billowing cloud of smoke, Hex was instead blue in color.
"Damn it. I can only hope the plan works." Aaravi said, reaching into her dress to retrieve her sword. The voice of the Three-Eyed Stranger bellows over the gymnasium speakers, as Hex holds a microphone for them.
"I apologize for the rude intrusion. But I'm afraid the festivities are to be cut short."
Dahlia is the first to step forward, reaching under a nearby table for her battleaxe.
"That's our cue Spooky Academy! Let's show this asshole what for!"
The promise of violence now spread throughout the crowd was enough to whip the Monster Prom attendees into a frenzy. While most weren't specialists in combat by any means, the sheer volume of people ready to throw hands at a dance in a pinch was not to be understated.
The crowd moved to jump the Stranger, and he began to fend them off alongside Hex. Aaravi turned back to Tristo and Zoe.
"Fight that guy now, talk later!"
Chaos erupted on the gym floor. There were weapons, spells, and monsters being slung in all different directions. Aaravi ran in a mad dash, with Trisha joining her.
"Are you ready for this Slayer?"
"I was born ready."
Aaravi slid forward, aiming for the cane that Hex was trapped in, while Trisha leapt high. Her sword aimed at the Stranger's head. The Stranger saw the move coming and reached to block with his cane, only to discover that it was torn from his grasp. Aaravi looked back with a smirk, as she cracked the cane in half over her knee. Freeing Hex from their confines as they shook their mask and rejoined their friend.
As badass as it all looked, it was also extremely painful and it took everything in Aaravi's power not to yell. The Stranger did not falter however, reaching up to grab Trisha's sword by the blade. Sparks flew as the blade struck against the Stranger's hand, but did not pierce it.
"A good attempt but fruitless." He said, as he threw Trisha off to the side. More and more of the monsters began were quickly defeated at the hands and tendrils of this powerful eldritch creature.
Tristo stood just across from the Stranger now, and caught his attention.
"Well now this is a surprise… you look just like you did the first time. What exactly do you think that you can do?" The Stranger chuckled, looking at him with a smirk.
Tristo was confused by his statement, but focused on his goal. He held his arms outstretched. Zoe ran in screaming, and leapt into his open arms.
The move they'd been practicing for weeks now. She hooked herself around him, swinging off him into a flying kick. The twist and throw gave her the momentum she needed. Her shoes slammed into the Stranger's face and he flew back with a thud onto the gym floor.
Tristo ran over and crouched down next to Zoe, who clutched his hand with a huge grin.
"I can't believe that just worked. You okay?" Tristo asked, looking down at her with disbelief. Zoe booped his nose with her tentacle.
"I'm fighting alongside my boyfriend, of course I'm okay." Zoe said, her pointy teeth shining brilliantly in the reflection of the gym lights. The two turned to the downed Stranger just in time for the next strike.
Trisha and Aaravi leapt forward driving their swords in the form of an X through the Stranger's chest. To which the Stranger let out a primal and guttural screech. It sent shockwaves throughout the gym, sending everyone nearby back and off of their feet.
The Stranger stood, clutching the two swords in his chest.
"Enough silliness. I've had enough of these universes… and their tomfoolery!"
Dark blue magic pooled all around the Stranger as those around began to rally for another attack.
Zoe looked towards the gathering energy with recognition in her eyes. She turned to look towards Tristo.
"He's readying to make a portal like I can! Hold on!" Zoe yelled, reaching forward and clinging Tristo tight in her grasp. Tristo wrapped his arms around her as well, worried this may be the last time he'd get to do so.
The blast shredded across the gym, and everyone froze almost as if suspended in time. The Stranger then raised his arms and the blue energy washed down like a wave across the space.
In a blink the gym was shred away, the people having all but disappeared, leaving only Tristo, Zoe, and the Stranger.
They now floated in a familiar and endless void.