New chapter, new story, new journey awaits.

Disclaimer: All characters except for the OCs belongs to their original properties. The OCs belongs to it's respectful creators. Enjoy the fic.

Chapter 145: Welcome Back

August 31st, the end of summer.

Luz Noceda-Clawthorne, who had just stepped out of the portal from the Demon Realm, now found herself in her new home in the Human Realm. She looked around and saw that she was in Gravity Falls, with all her friends and family waiting for her.

She saw Dipper and Mabel talking with their friends and Grunkle Stan about their trip to the Demon Realm. Pacifica, Candy, and Grenda were intrigued as they listened to Dipper and Mabel describing the Demon Realm. She also saw Clara and Masha chatting up with Star and Vee about the trip, while Gus P, Gus G, Dana, and Rudo talked to Randy and Jake and his family mingled with the other adults like Camila, Nora, Abby, and Perry.

Seeing everyone gathered here, Luz smiled and walked towards them…

We've only just begun to live

Both Luz and Camila now stood in front of their new home. The two looked at each other and smiled while Luz held her mother's hand. The two then walked together into their new house.

Inside the new Noceda household, Luz began to look around. She went downstairs, finding the basement. Luz then dropped her things down and formed a smile. It was time to make this basement hers.

White lace and promises

A kiss for luck and we're on our way

After setting down her bags and boxes, Luz began decorating her room. She sets up some posters. A few were for classic horror and fantasy movies like 'The Thing', 'Horror Express', 'Legend', and 'Beetlejuice', others were for anime like 'Dragonball Z', 'One Piece', and 'Akira.' There were also posters of musicians like 'Fleetwood Mac', 'Ramones', 'Santana', 'Misfits', 'Genesis', and 'The Carpenters'. But her most prized poster, which she put in a place of honor in the center of the wall of her room… was Eda's wanted poster.

After that, she heard her mom calling for her. Luz went back upstairs, where a housewarming party was being thrown for her and Camila…

We've only begun

Over the next two months, Luz and Camila spent a lot more time together. One of the things they did together was watch animal documentaries, Luz holding up a tissue box for her mom, who nodded gratefully as she took some tissue and wiped her eyes with them. Animal documentaries always made Camila cry.

Before the rising sun, we fly

So many roads to choose

Luz held up a list of movies that came out over the last fourteen years, movies that her mom had missed. She was showing this list to Camila, who looked over the list and seemed interested in the selection of movies Luz had put together, including a few that she was surprised to learn had been adapted to the big screen like Scooby-Doo and The Simpsons.

We start out walking and learn to run

On one of their movie nights, Luz and Camila were watching the Shrek films. Camila's reaction was just as expected. She found herself grossed out by the movie's humor, but she did enjoy the characters and the moments of heart. Luz just liked watching her mother's reaction to the films as she tried to catch her up with over a decade of film history.

On another movie night, they also had the Pine Twins, Gus and Perry, and Stan and Ford over for when they watched the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Camila had a lot of questions for Luz to answer about the movies.

And yes, we've just begun

Another movie night had Clara and Abigail joining them while they were watching the Notebook. Luz just leaned back on the couch, noting that Camila and Clara were tearing up from the movie. Luz didn't exactly have the same reaction and she looked over to Abigail, seeing that the Gates woman wasn't getting nearly as emotional as her daughter was. Luz and Abigail looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to watching the movie while Camila and Clara cried.

Sharing horizons that are new to us

Sometime after that, the Nocedas and the Gates were both going on a hike through the forest, Luz pointing to the floating cliffs that surrounded Gravity Falls. Camila looked closely at the floating cliffs and Abigail held up a keychain of a UFO, which perfectly filled out the cracks in the cliffs. This surprised Camila, who stared at the cliffs in awe while Clara, who looked at them in disbelief, turned to Luz, who smiled and nodded in confirmation.

Watching the signs along the way

At home, Camila filled the role of Game Master as Luz, Gus P, Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Ford, Masha, Dana, and Rudo all gathered to play her Cosmic Frontier DD homebrew. Stan held up his dice while planning his next move while Ford just shook his head at his brother, knowing that Stan was going to try to cheat.

Talkin' it over, just the two of us

Later, Luz was out shopping with Gus, the Pine Twins, Anne, the disguised Sprig and Polly Plantar, and the Gatesfield teens. They were accompanied by Camila, Abby, Nora, Perry, Stan, and the Boonchuys. They explored the mall together as they went to shop for fall clothes.

Working together day to day, together

Luz stepped out of a changing room. She was now wearing a purple striped shirt with blue jeans, a green army jacket, and black jeans with brown boots. She also wore a red beanie hat with a skull button and the bi-flag button.

Next was Gus, who stepped out of the changing room rocking his new threads. He was wearing a blue jacket with a blue beanie, a light-blue button shirt with gray jeans, and red and black sneakers.

Anne stepped out next in her fall clothes, which consisted of a yellow jacket with a red and white shirt with a fire print, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Sprig came out wearing a green beanie, a green and yellow striped scarf that covered his face, a green and olive striped shirt with a brown jacket, green pants, and green sneakers, while Polly wore a blue bucket hat, a blonde wig, a beige button coat, and yellow boots.

Dipper and Mabel each stepped out with their new looks. Dipper wore a gray hoodie with a green tree print, jeans, and teal sneakers. Mabel was wearing an orange sweater with a pumpkin on it, a jean skirt, black leggings, and red mary-janes.

With the Gatesfield teens, Clara came out wearing an orange jacket with a red shirt that had a white leaf on it, blue high-water jeans, and white shoes. Masha came out wearing a green short-sleeve shirt with black straps, black cargo pants, and boots. Gus Gordon was wearing a red flannel jacket with a blue shirt, olive green pants, and blue boots. Dana was wearing long-pants overalls with a yellow striped shirt, black boots, and a brown coat. Lastly, Rudo was wearing a purple hoodie with black jeans and blue sneakers.

All of them started complimenting each other's outfits while their parents watched them.

And when the evening comes, we smile…

Throughout the fall season, Luz ended up going on some random adventure with different companions. One adventure involved her, Anne, Sprig and Polly entering into the Crawlspace. Luz gave them the Tour while Anne looked around in awe, Sprig compared it to the Bizarre Bazaar that he and Anne once snuck into, and Polly found herself being drawn to a nearby stash of weapons.

Another adventure involved Luz and the Gatesfield teens exploring the enchanted forest, where they ended up fighting killer mushrooms that were planning to spread their spores around town in order to turn Gravity Falls into a fungus forest, but fortunately Luz and the teens stopped these shroom savages. It was a very… trippy adventure.

So much of life ahead

At one point, Luz and Wendy ended up racing against one another at the annual Gravity Falls speed-walk competition. They were both being cheered by both of their friends and families while they raced around the town.

Another adventure had Luz and Gus flying on their staffs as they helped set up the string lights around the town. Dipper, Mabel, Paz, Candy, and Grenda were also helping out decorating the town for the fall.

We'll find a place where there's room to grow

As the portal door opened, Luz and Anne were greeted by their Boiling Isles friends. Amity, Phil, Willow, Skara, Boscha, Cat, Amelia, Bo, Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus came through the portal with Eda and King. Anne was thrilled to meet up with the Boiling Isles kids again and was also happy to meet Boscha for the first time, although she was a bit weirded out while meeting Phil. Sprig introduced Polly to Eda and King, Eda quickly taking a liking to Polly.

On another day, Luz was at Clara's place, her god-sister excitedly showing Luz her new pet rabbit. Luz smiled as she helped feed Clara's new pet with a piece of celery.

And yes, we've just begun

Outside of the Gravity Falls high school, Luz was leaning by the entrance with Atticus on her shoulder as she drew a sketchbook she had brought with her. She looked through the sketchbook, which had pages filled with drawings of Maya, both her crab form and what she had looked like the Mindscape. Luz sighed. She missed Maya and her loss still hurt her a lot. She was snapped out of it when she heard the bell ring and Luz turned to see the students walking out of the school building. Amongst those students were Clara, Masha, Gus G., Rudo, and Dana, who were all walking together.

The Gatesfield teens spotted her and went over to Luz, who waved at them. Once they were all together, they left the school grounds, deciding to go somewhere to hang out.

Sharing horizons that are new to us

Luz and Gus did occasionally visit the Boiling Isles. One of those occasions was for Amity's fifteenth birthday, with them going to Geist's bar to celebrate. Amity's entire family was there to celebrate her birthday: her parents, her siblings, her uncle, her father's siblings, and Phil. Also there were Acorn, Eda, King, Lilith, Hooty, Hunter, Willow, Skara, Boscha, Cat, Amelia, Bo, Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Matt, Steve, Wrath, Braxus, and others. During the party, Luz and Amity shared a dance on the floor together and then went out for a date afterward…

Watching the signs along the way

Eda and King also came to the Human Realm to visit once. As they came through the portal, Luz gave Eda and King a hug, glad to see them stop by for a visit. While King went with Luz to hang out with her friends, Eda stayed behind with Camila, Abby, and Nora, having brought them some apple blood to try…

Talkin' it over, just the two of us

When Amity and Phil came to visit Luz in Gravity Falls, they ended up having a picnic together on the shores of the lake, enjoying the scenery while Luz and Amity kept Phil entertained with their magic.

Working together day to day, together… together~!

At one point, Hunter visited the Human Realm, Luz and Gus helping to show him around Gravity Falls. Lilith was with them and she looked around as well, having previously not been given the chance to check out the town. Accompanying them was Hooty, who was being carried on Lilith's back and ended up scaring some of the townsfolk.

And when the evening comes, we smile

So much of life ahead

During another one of Amity's visits, it was raining. Luz held Amity's hand up as they reached out to touch the rain. Amity was scared at first, thinking that it'd be scalding. But when Luz held her hand up to let the rain touch her skin, Amity was surprised; realizing that it wasn't scalding. It was just rain. The two shared a laugh as Luz and Amity stepped outside to play in the rain.

We'll find a place where there's room to grow

The two flew up, the former in her Titan form and the latter in her Fae form. Camila, holding Phil, looked up and watched the two girlfriends flying over around in the rain, dancing in the sky. The two ended up pressing their foreheads together with their arms around their shoulders. Luz drew a light spell and so did Amity. The two levitated the light balls up and watched them float toward the clouds in the sky…

And yes, we've just begun…

Now it was October 31st.

Luz's room had changed a lot over the past two months since she moved into her new home. In the basement she had a new couch with a TV installed with some game consoles, followed by a desk and computer, and a crystal ball. There were also some more posters, new ones that showed off old classic Marvel and DC comics heroes and villains, and some new movies and tv posters like The Avengers, The Clone Wars, and Doctor Who. Longboxes and bookshelves of comics had been added into her room, along a shelf filled with dozens of movies and games. There were also more pictures of herself with her friends and family around the room and hanging on the wall was the Hexside cheer flag and the bi flag.

Luz was sitting at her desk, opening up one of her journals. She began to write.

The date: October 31st

My therapist recommended that I keep a journal as a way for me to organize my thoughts and decompress.

It has been two months since I've moved to the H.R. Honestly, I never thought I would actually live here in the long term. I thought that the Boiling Isles would always be my home. And it still is, but… there I have realized that there is a place for me here as well. It has still been a period of adjustment for me and my mom, but we are not the only ones who have had to adjust. I have a lot of friends who, due to circumstances, have also started living here in good old Gravity Falls, the weirdest town in Oregon.

In the Gravity Falls Middle School, Gus Porter was attending one of his classes. While some of his classmates were not really paying attention and were even doing other things, Gus was attentive and invested as he watched his teacher preparing his lesson.

The G-Man, Gus Porter, has taken to the Human Realm really well. If you told me a few months ago that he was going to start attending a school in the Human Realm, I would have been crazy worried. And yet… he actually seems to be fitting in just fine. He has been doing well in his classes and making friends. Both he and his dad have been doing better than I expected. It is kind of an open secret that he is a witch, but nobody really talks about it, just like how nobody talks about what happened at the end of the summer because of that new law that Mayor Tyler Cutebiker passed. I have no idea how many of his classmates and teachers know that he's an actual witch and how many think that he is just a kid with Stahl's ears who is good with magic tricks. But I am happy for him. He is living his dream.

"Alright, students," said the teacher. He was a slim, pale face man who had brown combed over hair, a ponytail, glasses, and a goatee. He wore a blue coat with a red ascot, gray pants and brown shoes. "As you all know, today is Halloween. A holiday that this town loves so much that we celebrate it twice a year. But how many of you actually know the history of Halloween?"

Nobody answered and the teacher didn't look surprised.

"Ah, I thought so," the teacher said, shaking his head. "These days, Halloween is all about free candy and dressing up as popular characters from fiction. But that wasn't always the case. No, the origins of Halloween are much different…" He paused for a moment before he held up his book. "Now, do you all have your textbooks ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Englund," the students all replied, Gus preparing to take notes about the subject Mr. Englund was about to teach.

"Very well then," Mr. Englund said as he started his lesson. "Now, the origins of Halloween can be traced back to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, where people lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off evil spirits. This evolved into the Hallow's Day that we know now, although I do think some of our traditions have lost their purpose and have become a lot more shallow, such as dressing up in costume. I very much doubt that dressing up as Iron Man would ward off evil spirits, don't you?"

A few of the students laughed at this while Gus took notes. He looked at his textbook, seeing an illustration of a bunch of people in masks gathered around a bonfire. He stared at it in awe, finding himself fascinated and drawn in by human culture.

After class, Gus left the classroom and walked down the hallway, looking through the notes he had taken during class.

"Hey, Gus!" someone shouted.

Gus turned to see one of his new friends since moving to Gravity Falls. He smiled. "Hey, Gus," he said to the red-haired boy in the red flannel shirt and jeans. This was Gus Corduroy, Wendy's youngest brother and youngest of the Corduroys. "How did your math class go?"

"I've been doing great!" Gus C. replied. "I'm telling you, your suggestions and tips have actually helped me a lot. My grades there have gone up from a D to a C! Thanks for the help, man."

"Well, always happy to be of help my fellow Gus," Gus P. responded proudly as the two talked in the hallway together.

At the Gravity Falls High School, Clara Gates left one of the classrooms and walked down the hallway, spotting her friends further down the hallway by the lockers.

"Hey guys!" Clara waved at them.

"Hey, Clara!" Masha shouted as they, along with Gus G., Dana, and Rudo, waited for Clara in front of the lockers. "How are the classes going for my favorite blondie in the world?"

Clara smiled at her partner as she walked over to them. "Oh, you know. Nothing that I couldn't handle."

Then there's the Gatesfield Teens. It is kinda funny. I've never actually been to Gatesfield, at least not since I was a baby, but I still think of them as the Gatesfield Teens. I guess it is just easier to group them as such, since they're escapees from Gatesfield. They consist of Clara, Masha, Gus, Dana, and Rudo. Clara is my godsister. In another life, we would have probably grown up together, but I do like the relationship we have now. She and her mom, Abigail, or Aunt Abby as I have taken to calling her, have decided to stay here after the Department A situation when Clara and the gang saved one of my best friends, Willow, from Department A's imprisonment. Gus Gordon and his mom Nora also have decided to stay here in Gravity Falls.

For a while, we were not sure if Masha, Rudo, and Dana were going to be able to stay as well, but since they also got involved with the Department A business, the agents believed that they'd be safer here at Gravity Falls under their watch. And that meant their parents eventually had to be relocated all the way to Oregon as part of witness protection. Better that then them staying in Gatesfield. To be honest, their parents don't seem to be thrilled by the relocation and I can't really blame them…

"So what are you guys' plans for Halloween?" Gus G. asked his friends as they walked down the hallway together.

"Well, do you guys remember the 'Haunted Hayride' we had back in Gatesfield?" Dana asked them. Her friends nodded and she continued. "As it turns out, this Farmer Sprott guy is doing something similar at his farm."

"Really? That sounds fun!" Clara replied.

"Yeah, I heard that there is going to be games, food, and a corn maze in addition to the hayride," Rudo explained. "And both the maze and the haunted hayride are going to have scare actors who pop up to scare the guests."

"Me and Rudo were thinking of trying to get Sprott to hire us to help with the event," Dana explained. "That way, we get to make some extra money."

"Oh, are you guys thinking of asking Sprott if you can be scare actors?" Masha asked them.

"Well, we already did… but then we learned that he already hired the actors," Rudo said, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, turns out he's already hiring some magical creatures from the forest for it," Dana said, sounding just as disappointed about it. "Apparently, hiring them is much cheaper since they don't take human cash…"

"He said that we might still be able to help out tonight, just not as scare actors," Rudo explained. "Which won't nearly be as fun…"

"Man, that is a bummer," Gus Gordon told them. "At least I'll still be seeing you guys there when I play some music there tonight."

"Wait, are you saying Sprott hired you?" Dana asked him. "You actually got a gig?"

"Yup," Gus G. confirmed, a bit of pride in his voice. "It may just be a local gig, but I gotta start small. Apparently, Sprott couldn't outsource his musical entertainment to the enchanted forest. He said that whatever the magical creatures are playing is not what today's youngsters listen to… or are even able to listen to in some cases. Plus I appealed to his love of Creedence."

"Well, congrats on the gig, Gus," Clara told him, smiling at his friend.

"Thanks, Clara," Gus G. said, smiling back. He gestured to Clara and Masha. "So what about you two? What are you doing tonight?"

Clara turned to Masha. "The event at the farm sounds like it would be fun."

Masha nodded in agreement. "How about a date night then? We party at the farm, do the maze and the hayride, and then afterward we can spend the rest of Halloween night watching scary movies together." They smiled mischievously. "If you're not too scared, that is."

Clara smirked at her partner. "Honestly, after everything we've been through, horror movies don't really phase me anymore," she bragged.

"That's what you said before Luz made you watch John Carpenter's The Thing," Masha teased, making Clara blush bright red. "So we can watch movies at your place tonight then, right Clara?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Clara replied with a nod, though in truth she was a bit conflicted. While she definitely loved the idea of going on a date night with Masha, there was a part of her that wanted to spend Halloween with Luz. But she knew that Luz had her own plans and would be busy tonight. "Although, we always do it at my house. Maybe this time we could watch them at your house…"

"No, I don't think so," Masha said, quickly shutting down the idea. "Honestly, I'd prefer that we'd spend tonight at your place, Clara."

Clara was a bit surprised by the reaction, but decided not to pry, knowing better than to press Masha on stuff like this. "Alright, my place it is," Clara said while Masha smiled.

"So it is agreed then?" Gus Gordon asked while looking at his friends. "We meet up with each other at Farmer Sprott's farm later tonight?"

Everyone nodded in agreement before they all went their separate ways, each of them looking forward to when they would see each other again later that Halloween night.

Later on, after school had ended, Gus P. and Gus C. came out of the building with the rest of their classmates. They spotted Gus Gordon waiting for them.

"Hey, Double-G!" Gus P. called out to him.

"What's up, G-Man, and G-Axe?" Gus G. asked while waving to them. After they walked over to him, he shared a fist bump with Gus P. "Just got out of my classes, you guys wanna head out to Yumberjacks?"

"Yeah, I could use an after school lunch," Gus P said with a nod while the three Guses walked together, all of them talking about their day.

But as they walked down the sidewalk, they passed by a handyman who was working on a sign with a screwdriver.

"Well, that'll do," he said as he was about to return the screwdriver to his toolbelt, only to suddenly be overcome with the urge to sneeze. "Ya-choo!" he sneezed, the screwdriver slipping out of his fingers… and falling toward Gus Porter, who was walking below him with the other two Guses.

It looked like the screwdriver was going to land directly on Gus Porter's head… until it suddenly stopped mid-air, moved to Gus's side, and landed on the ground next to him.

"Huh?" Gus Porter asked, hearing the sound of the screwdriver hitting the pavement. He looked down, saw the screwdriver, and then looked up at the handyman.

"Sorry about that!" the handyman shouted. "Are you alright, kid?"

"Yeah! I'm good!" Gus Porter replied, picking up the screwdriver and handing it back to the handyman, who nodded his thanks to Gus.

Gus Porter and the two other Guses then continued on their way like nothing had happened, completely oblivious to the fact that the screwdriver would have hit Gus Porter, if not for the intervention of an invisible force...

Meanwhile, the Pine Twins were two of the last students to leave their middle school. By the time they left, most of their classmates had either caught the bus or been picked up by their parents.

"Man, you just had to stay longer to do your homework in class," Mabel said while wearing a pumpkin sweater.

"Hey, that just means I won't have to worry about doing it tonight and can just focus on Halloween," Dipper responded with a slight smug grin. "You gotta think like that if you want to get ahead in life."

"Well you may think ahead, but I tend to think… a-plent!" Mabel shouted while pointing up.

"Don't you mean aplenty?" Dipper asked her.

"Well I got aplenty of knowledge…" Mabel claimed as Dipper snickered.

Mason, or Dipper as he is also called, is honestly in a really good place right now. I wish I had been there for him more near the end of the summer, after Mabel was taken from him and Stan was arrested. I should have been there for him, instead of trusting Ford to be there for him instead. Fortunately, Mabel and Stan are both in his life again and me and Ford both took steps to ensure that it is going to stay that way for a long time. He is also just as thrilled about having me around more, but him and Mabel are almost inseparable. I like to call them the 'Mystery Twins'. Although it still isn't perfect, since I should mention Mabel's parents…

"Mabel!" someone shouted.

The twins both paused and they turned to see a car waiting by the school. In their car, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Pines, their parents… or more specifically, Mabel's parents.

"Hey, we're here to pick you up, Mabel," her mom said.

"Oh, um… thanks, mom, dad," Mabel replied, glancing awkwardly at Dipper.

An awkward silence fell over them.

"Hey um, Mason," Mr. Pines said, trying to break the awkward silence. "We can offer you a ride home as well, if you want."

"Um, thanks… but I'm good," Dipper responded while he avoided looking at his dad. "Soos is already picking me up," he said as he pointed to Soos's truck, where Soos was waving to him.

"Yo, Dippy-Dawg!" Soos called out from the parking lot. "I got us some Yumjacks on the way. Don't worry, I saved you some fries!"

"Oh, um… well, maybe next time," Mrs. Pines said awkwardly.

"Yeah, um, sure…" Dipper muttered before turning to Mabel. "I'll see you around later tonight, Mabel."

"You too, bro," Mabel said as she and Dipper gave each other hugs before they parted ways, Mabel going with her parents and Dipper going with Soos, although the two couldn't help but look back at each other…

But forget about Mabel's shitty parents. There are others who have been living here since the end of the summer as well. First off, there's Star. A fellow Rebel Betty like myself. After helping take down the Emperor's Coven back in the Boiling Isles, she decided to spend some time in Gravity Falls and try to be a normal teen for perhaps the first time in her life now that she is once again a rebel with no cause. Of course, 'normal' is a very loose term in Gravity Falls. I admittedly haven't seen much of her over the last two months. I sometimes see her with her girlfriend Vee, but she has also been spending a lot of time with River, her long-lost dad, who was apparently traveling all around the country looking for her until he had the good fortune of running into some family friends who brought him here so she could meet him. Star was hesitant at first, apparently because of issues with her mother, but it seems like the two have found common ground with each other and have been making progress…

In the woods of Gravity Falls, River and Star were currently having their own version of father-daughter bonding time… by fighting one of the Manotaurs.

"YAAAAH!" the Manotaur roared while he slammed his fists to the ground, forcing Star and River to leap out of the way. The two Mewmans looked up at the Manotaur, who shot glares at the duo.

"Looks like he's not going down easily," Star said with a determined look.

"You know what to do, Star," River (who was shirtless) said as he pulled back his arm and jumped up, delivering a punch to the Manotaur while Star rushed over to deliver a second punch aimed at the stomach. The double-hitter at the Manotaur's head and gut made him stagger. Reevaluating the fight, the Manotaur lowered his head so that his horns were aimed at Star and River. He then charged, the two splitting off to avoid the horns, causing the Manotaur to crash into some trees instead.

The Manotaur shook his head and growled when he saw the two coming for him. He held up his palms to block their punches and kicks. However, River and Star were relentless, River throwing punches while Star delivered the kicks. The two managed to keep up with the Manotaur, attacking him from all sides. The sheer number of attacks ended up overwhelming the Manotaur until they both jumped onto the Manotaur, managing to land a punch and a kick to the Manotaur's face, making him fall to the ground with a loud thud, which shook that part of the forest and scared off some birds

For a moment, River and Star stood over the downed Manotaur in triumph, their opponent laying beneath them in defeat. However, then the Manotaur started to groan and River and Star got off of him as he began to pick himself up…

"Hmmmm…. Ack! You hit a lot harder than I thought you would," the Manotaur said while adjusting his jaw. "Still, that was a great spar. Even better than last week."

"Ha! You almost had us this time, Gutsotaur," River declared as he and Star smiled at their opponent.

"Yeah!" Star replied while adjusting her shoulders. "Like, that horn attack while you were charging us was a new move, plus you're getting better at blocking our punches and kicks."

"Please, you don't have to be so generous, you two are the best sparring partners I've ever had," Gutsotaur told them as he rubbed his muscles. "Well, I'll be going now. Wanna do this again next week at the same time?"

"You know it, friend!" River declared as he and Star fist bumped the Manotaur.

"Later, Gusto!" Star shouted, waving to Gustotaur, who waved back at them as he started heading back to the Man Cave.

"How are you feeling?" River asked Star after Gustotaur left.

"Hungry," Star admitted. "Sparring really worked up my appetite."

"Ha!" River laughed. "Then let's get back to camp, shall we?"

Star nodded and followed her father through the forest, toward where River's camp is.

"How are you feeling after that?" Star asked River. "I hope that sparring with Gusto isn't too taxing for you."

"Star, Star," River said, shaking his head. "Don't doubt your old man. I've never felt better!" He smiled at his daughter. "By the way, I noticed that you've improved. Especially with your kicks."

"Thanks," Star said, returning the smile. "I mean, I am used to fighting larger opponents, but it is good to keep practicing like this. Especially since I don't want to become rusty as a result of using the wand more."

"Right, the wand," River said while glancing at the glove Star was wearing on one of her hands. "How are… things going with that?"

Star sighed. "I am still looking for a way to get this thing out of me safely," she admitted. "Unfortunately, I don't know what would happen if I tried to remove it, like if it would kill me or not. And there's not really any experts on Mewni magic that I can turn to or Mewni texts that I can consult with. Eclipsa used to own the wand, but she's admitted that she has never seen anything like what has happened to me."

River nodded, sighing as well. "If only Glossaryck was still with us. He would know what to do…"

"Yeah," Star said while glancing away. "He would know…"

Soon, they could see the campsite up ahead. Fortunately, Star had insisted that if her father wanted to live in the woods, she would use store-bought tents and sleeping bags instead of makeshift tents made out of sticks and leaves and blankets made out of mud. There were several tents set up in this campsite, all of them around a campfire. There were also two other occupants of this campsite.

"Ah, looks like dinner's made," River said as they entered camp.

"Hey, River," said one of the occupants. Mary. She, along with her twin brother, Mosely, were seated on logs around the campfire, frying fish together. "We managed to get some fish for dinner tonight"

"And we got more firewood for the fire!" Mosely declared while covered in soot.

"Thank you," River said as he and Star joined them by the log. "Would you like some fish dinner, Star?"

"Sure, I have some time to kill before I have to go meet up with Vee," Star replied as Mary handed her some fried fish on a stick.

And then there's Anne Boonchuy-Plantar. She, along with her family, moved to Gravity Falls as part of her government protection from Department A. Her adopted frog siblings, who come from a world called Amphibia, Sprig and Polly Plantar, are also staying here. You'd think that two frog kids would easily stick out, but then again this is Gravity Falls. Moving here was a huge adjustment for Anne's parents, who had a business back in LA, but they just seem happy to have their daughter again for the first time in years.

The Boonchuy's Thai restaurant, Thai Go, was one of the new local businesses that could be found in Gravity Falls, thanks to a lot of old businesses moving out after Weirdmageddon, giving Oum the opportunity to buy out a place and turn it into a new restaurant.

"Anne, we got an order for table eleven!" Bee announced while passing the plate of food to Anne. "Plus, takeout for table nine!"

"On it!" Anne replied as she sped off while in her Thai Go uniform, which was a green apron white bandana around her tied up hair. She handed the orders to the different customers. "Here's your order of Som tam, grilled chicken and sticky rice, Mr. Strange."

"Why thank you, Tad Strange will enjoy this meal," Tad Strange replied as he got his food.

"And here's your takeout, Thompson," Anne said as she handed Thompson his order.

"You got the extra soy sauce?" he asked her as Anne nodded and handed him some packets.

"Here you go," Anne responded before she went back into the kitchen. There, her mom was preparing some more orders while Sprig just sat around with his boba tea, looking bored. "How's the fort?"

"Pretty good, and the orders?" Oum asked Anne.

"Delivered to their tables," Anne declared proudly.

"Hey, so is there anything you guys need that I can do to help?" Sprig asked them hopefully. "Like I can help mop any floors or-"

"That's nice of you to offer, Sprig, but we don't need your help," Oum told him, trying to be polite. "Just… enjoy your boba tea."

"Oh, okay…" Sprig said, sounding disappointed. This was noticed by Anne.

"Don't worry, Sprig. After this, I can take you and Polly out trick-or-treating," Anne told him before she went to help her mom. However, Sprig just looked down while drinking his boba.

Sprig and Polly have each found things to do here in Gravity Falls. Or are at least trying to. Sprig wants to help out the Boonchuys in their restaurant, which I think is a ploy to bond more with Anne's parents. As for Polly, well, she's found a new outlet since learning about robotics…

Over at the Gravity Falls junkyard that Fiddleford McGucket called home… his shack had actually gotten quite bigger over the past two months. It needed to be bigger to house all of the new inventions…

Of course, despite the larger size, it almost wasn't enough. Inside the shack, there was very little room that wasn't taken up by inventions and bits of machinery. It seemed like a disorganized mess… yet for the geniuses who worked here, everything was where it should be.

"Okay, ready…?" Steam Punk asked as he and Polly faced each other off while holding up their remotes.

"Get set…" Polly said as she tapped on her controller. She was wearing overalls, a light blue long-sleeved shirt, sneakers, and a backwards baseball cap.

"Fight!"

The two used their remote controls to activate two tiny robots that were only as tall as Polly was, one indigo and the other pink. The robots looked at each other, then rushed at each other and began to fight.

"Haha! Go get 'em, Pinky!" Polly declared as she controlled the pink robot.

"Go get 'em, Indy!" Steam shouted while controlling his indigo robot, managing to put the pink robot in a headlock.

While the two had the robots hitting and trying to pin each other down, McGucket popped up with an invention.

"Eureka! My latest invention is done!" McGucket declared as Steam Punk and Polly turned to see McGucket wearing a pair of gloves with magnetic caps on the fingertips. "I invented a magnet for wood! With the press of a button, these gloves can levitate anything wooden! I call it… the Tree-Lift-A-Finger-Ma-Jig! Or in short, The T.L.A.F.M.A.J!"

"Tlaf… maj?" Polly asked while setting her controller down. "You built a thing that controls trees?"

"Trees and anything made of wood material," McGucket explained. "I'd invent something that moves metal, but I think that's already been done."

"Well, it is certainly unique," Steam admitted while putting his controller down and walking over to examine the gloves. "And it could have some interesting applications. Have you tested them yet?"

"Not yet," McGucket said. "I was thinking of doing the test runs this evening."

"Before that, could we do some more work on my robot suit?" Polly asked as she pointed to the partially built robot suit that rested in the corner of the shack. Right now it was just a pair of legs covered in wires.

"Hmm, sure," McGucket said as he took his gloves off.

"Honestly, at this rate I think we are going to need a bigger shack," Steam Punk noted while looking around the shack, seeing all of their inventions hanging from the walls or the ceiling or lying on the tables or the floor. "Or something more like a warehouse…"

Everyone here in Gravity Falls is getting used to the new normal. So much has happened in such a short period of time, it is crazy to think that Weirdmageddon was only a little over two months ago. That the Day of Unity was only a little over two months ago. And since then, things have been… refreshingly quiet. I mean, sure, there's the usual chaos and the occasional misadventure, but I don't have to deal with the villain of the day or the villain of the week like I did over the summer. It is like the universe decided to give me a break. Things are, at least for now, calm.

"Luz!" Camila shouted from upstairs. "Are you ready? It's time to go!"

Luz gave a smile as she finished writing and set her journal aside. "Coming, mom!" she shouted as she rushed upstairs.

In the backyard of the Noceda household, Luz, Gus, and Camila were standing in front of the active portal door, waiting for the others to step through.

"Excited to see everyone?" Luz asked Gus, noticing his giddiness.

"Yeah! I can't wait for them to share the experience of Halloween with us!" Gus shouted before he noticed someone stepping through the portal. "Here they are now!"

Emerging from the portal door, were their friends. Amity came through first, holding Phil's hand as she led him through the portal, Ghost following closely behind. "Luz!" Amity shouted when she saw Luz.

"Amity! Phil!" Luz shouted back as she rushed over to hug them. She saw that Amity was in a purple blouse with a cat picture and the word 'Boo' under it with a visible black undershirt, high-waisted faded jeans with torn knees, and brown heeled boots with purple socks underneath. "So good to see you, how have you two been?"

"Pretty good, me and Phil have been really excited for our first Halloween, isn't that right, Phil?" Amity asked while looking down at her son.

"Yeah!" Phil confirmed while wearing a purple striped shirt, jeans, and black boots.

Luz noticed Amity's shadow moving beneath her and she smiled, waving at the shadow. "Hey, Sam," she greeted.

Sam waved back.

"Sam says hi," Amity translated while she and Gus exchanged hugs. She then walked over to Camila. "Hey, Camila," she said while hugging the older woman.

"Hey, Amity," Camila said with a smile while hugging Camila back. "So good to see you again."

"Hi!" Phil shouted while looking up at Camila.

The Noceda woman looked down at Phil. "You too, Phil," she said with a smile as she let go of Amity and knelt down. "Do you want a hug as well?"

Phil nodded and went to hug Camila, embracing his grandmother.

"I see Ghost," Luz said, gesturing to Ghost. "But I don't see Acorn… did Ghost eat her again?"

"Uh, no," Amity said, shaking her head. "She actually decided to stay behind in the Boiling Isles. When I told her about the free candy, she said she was more interested in some eye candy… whatever that means."

"Then it sounds like she is missing out," Willow said as she and Skara emerged from the portal. Willow was wearing a green jacket with a black collared shirt with yellow and blue triangles, khaki pants, and blue loafers. Skara was wearing a red button shirt and black shorts, gray leggings, and red boots. "Unlike us."

"Yeah! After hearing all about this Halloween, me and Willow are really excited to dress up in cute but frightening outfits," Skara happily declared while linking arms with Willow.

"Willow! Skara!" Gus shouted as he went up to hug them, the two girls hugging him back. "So glad that you two could make it."

"Yeah, me too," Willow replied. She then went to hug Luz. "I am really glad that you and your mom are doing so well here," she said as she went to hug Luz.

"Thanks," Luz said as she hugged Willow and then hugged Skara. Willow and Skara then went to greet Camila as two more witches emerged from the portal as well.

"Hey, Luz," Boscha said as she emerged from the portal with Hunter. She was wearing a red sports jersey with 'Bonesborough 01' on it and red shorts.

"Boscha, Hunter, glad to see you guys came as well," Luz said as she went over to hug them.

"We just thought it was better than being stuck in our houses during Somhaim," Hunter joked while wearing a brown turtleneck, gray pants, and brown boots. Flapjack chirped something while sitting on his shoulder, then flew off to chat with Atticus, who also flew over to greet his fellow Palisman.

"You can say that again," said another visitor, the last person who emerged from the portal door. Luz turned to the voice and was surprised to see who it was.

"Tres?" Luz asked, recognizing the disguised basilisk who was wearing a blue hoodie, gray trousers and blue boots.

"Hey, Luz," Tres said as the portal door closed behind him. He looked around him, taking in the sights. "When I heard about your friends planning on visiting you in the Human Realm, I asked if I could come with them. I… feel like it is long overdue for me to visit Vee, Megan, and Ivy. Plus, I am curious about the Human Realm and wanted to see it for myself."

"Well, we're glad to have you here too, Tres," Gus said with a nod.

"Yeah," Luz agreed. "Vee and her siblings are definitely going to love seeing you."

Over at the Mystery Shack, Dipper and Soos had finally made it back, ignoring the few government agents hiding in the bushes as they walked through the front door.

"Hey, I'm home," Dipper announced while looking around. He heard footsteps and saw his Grunkles coming out to see him. "Oh, I see you guys are in costume already."

"Yep," Stan replied. He was wearing a red tracksuit while Ford was dressed in a robot suit with a helmet under his arm. "Ford suggested we go out with the classics."

"So are you like some mafia gangster, Mr. Pines?" Soos asked him.

"Hehe, no, I'm actually The Six Million Dollar Man," Stan said. "Well, this is an old tracksuit I wore back when they used to have a gym in town… which I didn't go to, but this year I'm Stan-Lee Majors. Eh?" He tried to get a reaction from Dipper and Soos, who didn't laugh in response, making him frown. "What's a guy gotta do to get some laughs around here?"

"Well, I do recognize Ford's costume," Dipper said as he pointed to Ford. "You're supposed to be Klaatu from The Day The Earth Stood Still, right?"

"Of course," Ford replied with a smile. "And yes, I did hear about the remake. Everything gets a remake nowadays… but I thought I would shed some light on an old classic."

"So what are you doing tonight? Are you planning on scaring trick-or-treaters again, Grunkle Stan?" Dipper asked.

"Nah, not this year. Me and Pointdexter are going to be marathoning some old horror movies tonight," Stan said. "This is pretty much the first Halloween me and Ford have shared in decades, so I want us to do at least one of our old Halloween traditions."

"What were your Halloweens like?" Dipper asked, curious about his Grunkles' childhoods.

"Oh when we were kids, me and Stan used to hit every house for candy back in New Jersey." Ford explained. "Our older brother, Shermie, used to accompany us, but when we got older and could go alone, Stan took advantage of the lack of supervision to throw toilet paper and sometimes eggs at the houses that gave out healthy food instead of candy…"

"Hey, they deserved it for thinking that carrots were a good substitute for candy," Stan defended our actions. "Besides trick-or-treating, watching scary movies was also one of our favorite things to do around Halloween. That and pranking our neighbors when we were in our teens. Like, do you remember scaring Crampelter while dressed up as a ghost?"

"Yes, Stan, and I remember Crampelter ending up falling off of his bike in the junkyard, and we both ran before he realized it was us," Ford replied with a frown. "Thankfully he wasn't that hurt, but he could have been because of us."

Stan quickly decided to change the subject. "Oh, remember when we were trying to sell those pumpkins and we smashed them when nobody bought them?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ford chuckled. "Dad made us smash them since nobody wanted to buy his pumpkins-"

"-and we were pulling pumpkin seeds out of our hair for weeks afterward," Stan finished as the two brothers shared a laugh.

"Wow, sounds like you Pine-bros had some great Halloweens back then," Soos commented.

"We sure did, didn't we, Ford?" Stan asked him.

"Yeah," Ford replied before he got an idea and snapped his fingers. "Say, Dipper, why don't you join us for movie night?"

"Um, thanks Grunkle Ford, but… I think I'm going to have to pass on that, at least until later tonight," Dipper replied while setting his backpack down. "I mean, I have plans with Mabel and my friends for trick-or-treating."

"Oh, right. Well… I understand," Ford replied, both Soos and Stan noticing the awkward tension between Ford and Dipper. "You should do that. I hope you have fun."

"Thanks," Dipper said, not looking at his Grunkle. "I mean, maybe I can join you guys after I finish trick-or-treating, but… we'll have to see then."

"Right," Ford said with a nod. "So… see you then?"

"Yeah," Dipper responded before he turned and headed upstairs.

"Woah," Soos said, breaking the silence after Dipper left. "Talk about awkward."

Ford let out a sigh while Stan patted his shoulder. "Hey, cheer up, Pointdexter, at least he said that he'll think about joining us later."

"Yeah," Ford responded while looking down at his own costumed helmet. "At least we're both making progress… right?"

Meanwhile, the Gravity Falls Police Department was decorated for Halloween, with ghost stickers on the wall and a fake skull on the reception desk. Vee and her siblings were setting up some last-minute decorations while Blubs and Durland were in the meeting room with the other cops of Gravity Falls.

"Man, tonight is going to be awesome!" Vee declared.

"You're pretty excited for this Halloween, Vee," Megan commented while taping a paper pumpkin to the wall.

"Of course! Halloween is one of two nights of the year in Gravity Falls when people just give you free candy!" Vee exclaimed. "I spent Summerween in the woods, so I missed out then, but I am not making the same mistake this time!"

"And we aren't making the same mistakes either," Durland said as he came into the hallway to check on how the basilisks were doing. "Me and Blubby are working hard to make sure that tonight's a safe night for Halloween. We do not want a repeat of what happened at Summerween earlier this year…"

"What happened again?" Megan asked.

"Clowns," Durland said with a thousand yard stare. "That night we got so many reports about creepy clowns. I can still hear the clown horns…"

Vee peeked into the meeting room and saw Blubs standing in front of the seated police officers, giving them different assignments. "Alright, Steve, I want you patrolling your route through the neighborhoods, Dennis you're going to be watching the local businesses, Sharlene is at the west point…"

"You know, I'm still surprised that there are other cops who work here," Ivy admitted to Megan.

"Yeah, I've always thought this place was understaffed," Megan added. "Sometimes it feels like Gravity Falls only has two cops in the entire town."

"And as for you, Hopkins," Blubs said as he pointed to the brown bearded man in the janitor's outfit. "Make sure that all of the bathrooms in the department are clean and spotless by the end of the night."

"On it, sir," saluted Jacob Hopkins, who was also wearing an ankle bracelet with a tracking device on it.

As the cops were dismissed and they went off to perform their duties, Star came into the building and spotted her girlfriend, waving at her. "Hey, Vee!"

Vee turned to see Star, a huge smile on her face. "Star! You're here!" she shouted as she rushed over to give her girlfriend a hug. "Are you looking forward to hitting houses for candy?"

"Sure am," Star replied while hugging Vee back. She looked over Vee's shoulder to see the other basilisks and Vee's dads. She waved at them. "Hey Megan, Ivy, and Sheriff Blubs and Durland."

"Hey, Star," Megan responded.

"Star, always good to see you," Blubs said with a nod. "So are you kids ready for your first trick-or-treating experience?"

"Sure am, sir," Star replied as she and Vee let each other go.

"Of course, this whole holiday is still a strange concept to us," Megan admitted. "I am still not sure that I understand the correlation between dressing in costumes and giving away free candy."

"Yeah, we don't have something like that back at the Isles," Ivy commented. "At least, as far as I remember…"

"Who cares why humans do it?" Vee asked with a shrug. "Free candy is free candy."

"I think we did have something like this back in Mewni," Star recalled. "But instead of candy, they gave away corn."

"Why is it that your stories about Mewni almost always involve corn?" Ivy asked while looking at Star.

"Well, I don't know which is worse to consume, sugar or starch," Megan said before she noticed someone else coming into the police station, looking around to make sure that he was in the right place. Her eyes widened. "No way…"

"Uh, hey, guys," Tres said with a wave as he earned everyone's attention.

"Tres!" the basilisks all called out as Vee, Megan, and Ivy rushed over to give him a group hug, almost tackling him to the floor. "Ah! Guys, too tight…"

"Sorry, but it has just been so long and we had no idea that you were going to be here tonight, Tres," Megan said as she and her siblings let Tres go, giving him room to breathe. "How have you been? How are the Isles?"

"I've been good," Tres said as he brushed himself off after being let go. "And on the Isles, things have managed to calm down, so I was able to make some time to come over to the Human Realm to pay a visit." He noticed Star and he nodded at her. "Hey, Star."

"Hey, Tres," Star said to her old comrade, nodding at him. "How's Raine?"

"They're… busy," Tres said. "Nobody said that tearing down the old government and replacing it with a new one would be easy, right? But you're probably not too interested in politics."

"I am so glad that you are here… oh, let me introduce you to my dads," Vee said as she grabbed Tres's hand and pulled her over to her dads. "Tres, meet Blubs and Durland, they're the humans who took me in and adopted me. Dads, this is Tres, another one of my older siblings." She turned to look at Tres. "Don't worry, they know who we are."

"Hello, sirs," Tres said, waving to them. "Thank you for taking care of my sister."

"And it is good to finally meet you," Blubs told him while shaking Tres's hand. "Vee has told us a lot about you and what you've been doing over at the Boiling Isles. And don't worry, any family of Vee's is family to us."

"That's… good to hear, sir," Tres said while shaking Blubs's hand.

"How long are you going to be staying?" Vee asked, her tone hopeful.

"I'm… not sure," Tres admitted. "I guess it will depend on if things stay quiet in the Boiling Isles or not. But maybe a few days."

"Are you going to be trick-or-treating as well?" Durland asked him, causing Tres to stare at him in confusion.

"Trick-or-what?" Tres asked.

At the Halloween store, which used to be the Summerween store, Luz and her friends went around to pick out their costumes.

"So which would you like to be, Phil?" Amity asked him while holding up two costumes. "Dinosaur or a little bat?"

Phil took his time to decide before pointing to the dinosaur costume. "That one!"

"Alright, little raptor it is," Amity said as she held up the dinosaur costume.

"Aw, I was hoping for him to be our little bat," Luz said as she picked out a costume. "But I guess Azura and Hecate can have a dino companion."

"Yes, and he'll be the cutest dinosaur ever," Amity said while patting her son's head, causing Phil to giggle.

"Yeah, true," Luz admitted with a smile before turning to their other friends. "You guys find your costumes?"

"We sure did," Gus said as he and Hunter held up his. "Hunter managed to find one that he likes."

"Yeah, like I found this cool costume to wear," Hunter said as he held his up, showing a wolf character on the bag. "He's called Captain Wolf O'Donnell, captain of the Star Wolf. I never knew that wolves can be captains as well."

"Still the wolf guy?" Luz asked as Boscha walked over with her own costume.

"Yeah, that last trip here when he made eye contact with a wolf once changed him," Boscha admitted.

"I'm surprised that Tom didn't come with you, Boscha. Thought he'd join us," Luz pointed out.

"Yeah, he couldn't make it, on account of him still recovering from trying to get shredded at the Saltstar family gym," Boscha said with a heartfelt smile. "I know he's doing it for me, but he didn't have to explode his muscles for it."

"Ouch," Luz winced. "So… how are things back at the Isles?"

"Yeah, care to share an update?" Gus asked them.

"I think… stable is the right word," Willow said as she and Skara came out with their costumes. "I mean, so far there haven't been any rogue factions trying to seize power for themselves and throw the Boiling Isles into disarray, so that's nice."

Skara nodded. "Although my mom said that there are a lot of witches trying to get into the good graces of Raine and the others. They want a place in whatever the Boiling Isles becomes."

"And they're not… falling for it, are they?" Luz asked, a bit worried.

"My mom said that they are keeping these witches at a safe distance," Skara reassured Luz. "I think these witches assume that the new government will be just like the Emperor's Coven, but that's the last thing my mom, Raine, or the others want. There have been talks of major government changes. Even on a local level."

"Yeah," Amity said, joining into the conversation. "I heard there are calls to expel the current mayor of Bonesborough and elect a new mayor."

"That would be something," Luz said, nodding.

"Oh, Eda and King rented out Hexside," Willow remembered. "They are going to throw their own Somhaim party there for the orphans."

"Yeah, and some of our friends have volunteered to help," Skara added.

"Wait, Eda is throwing an organized party at Hexside during Somhaim?" Gus asked. "How would they be able to get back home?"

"Oh, don't worry, they plan to sleep over there," Boscha mentioned. "With Lilith and our parents' help, they are making sure the kids have fun and keep out of trouble."

"Well, that's great for Ma, King, and the kids," Luz said. "But what about you guys? How are you doing?"

"Me and my family are doing better," Amity said while holding Phil. "The family therapy has been going well and I think we have made some progress. Mom and dad are putting in the effort to improve things, even while my mom is still doing community service at the Oracle Institute. My dad's siblings are… also still in therapy, but I heard they have been doing well. Although… Emira isn't doing great…"

"Oh…" Luz said, immediately knowing what Amity was referring to. "How about Viney?"

"The same," Amity responded with a sigh.

"Viney has been keeping herself busy," Skara said while looking down. "Jerbo tried to get her to talk to his mom, but she wouldn't talk to anyone. At least, not really."

"We're all worried about them," Willow said. "They've just both been so miserable since the break up."

Everyone looked down when Willow mentioned the break-up. The sad truth was that Emira and Viney's relationship has been strained since the Torsa Villa fire. It was no surprise that they broke up, but it was still sad. Hunter eventually broke the silence.

"Look, I know this isn't what everyone likes to hear, but maybe their break-up could be good for them," Hunter said as everyone turned to him. "I mean, just speaking from my own experiences. Sometimes a break-up, even a bad one, is what someone needs." He paused. "I mean, I know my experiences definitely aren't like Emira and Viney's…" He looked over at Amity, a bit worried. "Am I… out of line?"

Amity just sighed. "I get what you are going for," she told him. "And… maybe they did need some time apart."

"I mean, we should still keep an eye on them for any warning signs," Boscha added. "And we should be ready to give them support when they need it. But they might also just need… time. Like Simon after his break up."

"Wait, what?" Gus asked in shock, turning to Boscha. "Cat and Simon… broke up?!"

"Yeah, that also happened," Skara replied. "Though, Cat admitted to me that the relationship was based more on physical attraction. Said that they didn't have much in common and that it didn't always feel like they were having the same conversation."

"Man, how did Simon take it?" Luz asked them.

"Their break up was apparently mutual," Boscha explained. "Simon's handling it well… at least, I think he is? I'm not sure." She sighed. "Honestly, these things happen all the time."

"Okay, is there any other relationship drama we should know about?" Luz asked them.

"Well, I did hear from Barcus and Edric that there is a girl that is eyeing Jerbo, and he hasn't noticed yet," Amity mentioned.

"Really? Which girl?" Luz asked in surprise.

"That Atos girl from LOWTH," Amity mentioned.

"Oh yeah, Sarah," Luz replied. "And I can see Jerbo being the oblivious type, though I think he's said that he is not the kind of guy to get roped into relationships until after graduation."

"Yeah… I feel bad for her already," Amity admitted.

"So how about Nina, Skara? How is she and her family doing?" Luz asked while turning to Skara.

"Well, she has been keeping herself busy with the camps at the Torsa Villa, along with other things," Skara admitted. "Sometimes I don't see her at all until the end of the day… and sometimes I don't see her until the start of the next day. And she has been spending a lot of time with that Boils guy…"

"The oracle private investigator?" Luz asked and Skara nodded. "I wonder what she wants with him…"

"As for her and Lambi, they have been doing good. And her family… well, her mom is still having trouble adjusting, even after the kittens were born. But West and Winter are doing great and have been getting along with my little sister."

"And what about your mom?" Luz asked Skara.

"She's… been busy," Skara admitted. "Honestly, sometimes it seems like she and Nina have almost the exact same schedule." She shrugged. "But I get it."

"As for my family, nothing has changed," Willow admitted. "My dads do try to pitch in and help where they can though."

"And what about you, Hunter?" Gus asked Hunter.

"Yeah, how are things with you, Lilith, and Hooty?" Luz asked him.

"Oh, things are pretty great for all three of us," Hunter admitted. "They actually wanted to come as well, but mom's been busy with helping out Raine and Hooty… is banned from coming to the Human Realm after last time."

Both Gus and Luz shuddered.

"Don't remind me…" Gus said.

"What about your dating life?" Luz asked Hunter. "Are you seeing anyone new?"

Hunter did not look amused. "I am not seeing anyone," he denied. "And even if I was, I would not tell you."

"Yeah, that's fair," Luz admitted. "Could you at least give me an update on Lilith's new boyfriend…"

And so, everyone went to the changing rooms to get changed into their costumes. Luz came out first along with Amity and Phil in their costumes.

"Prepare for the Rebel Witch Azura!" Luz declared while dressed as her own version of Azura. The costume consisted of the white witch's hat with a gold crown and blue gemstone, with Luz wearing black melted eye-liner. There was also a purple shoulder-collar with a yellow star and a white sweater with ripped sleeves, though the sleeves were intact with her forearms. She also wore a large green wig that was braided into dreadlocks, dark gray leggings and black steel-toed boots, and a large white coat she wore like a cape.

"And her ladyship, Hecate," Amity added while dressed in a off-shoulder blue tunic-dress with gold trim and a white crescent moon pattern near the hem, a similarly-colored tank top and black tights underneath, white handless gloves with black stitching and heeled boots with golden soles and cuffs and dark blue toes. She also wore a white cap and red wig with a golden tiara on it as part of her initial costume. "With little Phil, our magical raptor!"

"Raw!" Phil said while dressed in a green dinosaur costume with a large raptor head as a hood.

"And he's adorable at that," Willow declared as she came out, wearing a black devil costume with bat wings, a tail, a hood with horns, a patch with a 'W' on the left sleeve, green striped tights, and black heeled boots and orange laces.

"Yeah," Skara agreed as she came out while dressed in her angel costume. She wore a golden halo above her head, connected to a headband. She also wore a blue gown, white tennis shoes, and blue angel wings. "I love your costume, Willow. It brings out your mischievous side."

"Thanks, and I love yours as well, Skara," Willow replied with a smile.

"Alright!" Gus declared as he came out of the changing room while in his costume. He was dressed in a green suit with a purple cape, yellow matching gloves, belt and boots, and a plastic glove in his head. "Prepare yourself, Gravity Falls, to face the mystical illusions of Gusterio!"

"It suits you, Gus," Hunter said as he came out in his Wolf O'Donnell costume. He wore a wolf mask and ears, along with purple shoulder guards with white spikes, a black suit and blue vest, and black boots. He then turned to Boscha. "Who are you supposed to be, Boscha?"

"Luz knows," Boscha replied while dressed in a green toga shirt with baggy pants with a white top under, a red sash belt, red and green wristbands, black boots with yellow covers, and black boots.

"No way…" Luz said, gasping. "Are you… Tien Shenhan?"

"Yup, I finally found out who that is," Boscha said with a proud grin.

"So then we're all good in the costume department?" Luz asked while looking around. "Great," she said as she and the gang walked over to check-out. "We'd like to purchase the costumes we're wearing… say, do you look familiar?"

"I worked here when it was the Summerween Store," the female employee replied. The same one from when this store was the Summerween Superstore and she was sporting the same grouchy look towards Luz. "And I remember that you and the Pines owe this store…"

Everyone turned to look at Luz, who chuckled nervously. "Um… don't I owe from the Summerween Store? And this is the Halloween Store…"

It was now Halloween Night in Gravity Falls. Trick-or-treaters were already out knocking on doors, while in the Pines place, Mabel was finishing putting on her costume.

"Almost done, and… there!" she declared as she placed the fake mustache over her lip. Mabel looked at herself in her bedroom mirror. She was dressed as Mario with the red shirt, cap, and blue overalls with brown boots and white gloves. "Just call me… Super Mabel! Don't I look good, Waddles?"

Waddles just oinked in approval while wearing a Yoshi costume with a green sweater hoodie and white saddle.

Mabel came out of her room and went to the living room, where she saw her parents preparing to get trick-or-treaters, making sure they had the candy ready. "Hey mom, dad, are Dipper and my friends here yet?" she asked them.

"Not yet," her mom responded.

"So you're going out as a plumber?" her dad asked in confusion.

"I'm going as Mario, dad. Like, one of the Super Mario Brothers," Mabel corrected. "Me and my friends have decided that we're all going with a theme tonight."

"That sounds lovely," Mabel's mom replied with a nod of approval. "Just as long as you're out there having fun out there with your friends…"

"A-And your brother!" Mr. Pines added quickly. "Your friends and your brother… or your brother and your friends, whichever you'd prefer."

"I mean… my brother also counts as my friend," Mabel pointed out.

"Yeah! Yeah, family can be friends," Mr. Pines said, nodding. "Just like my friends back at Piedmont. You know, my old buddies, we're like brothers. My bro-friends as I like to call them."

"Honey, just… just stop," Mrs. Pines told her husband.

Thankfully, the secondhand embarrassment ended when there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Pines walked over to open the door and saw Mabel's friends all gathered on the front porch. "Mabel, they're here!"

Mabel rushed through the front door, seeing her friends. "Guys, you're here!" she shouted excitedly to Dipper, Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica.

"Hey, Mabel," Dipper greeted. He was dressed as Luigi, with the green hat, shirt, and blue overalls with brown boots and white gloves. "Ready to hit some houses?"

"You bet!" Mabel shouted before she saw Pacifica, her eyes widening in awe. "Oh my gosh, Paz, you look so good!"

"Thank you," Pacifica replied while dressed in a pink princess outfit with a golden crown and pink gloves. She was obviously dressed as Princess Peach. "I just hope that I am doing this trick-or-treating thing right."

"I still can't believe that you've never gone trick-or-treating before," Mabel said while hugging her girlfriend.

"Well, my parents saw me going trick-or-treating as me accepting 'handouts' from poor people and they usually wanted me at home during their parties," Pacifica said with a shrug. "But I am pretty excited to finally experience this trick-or-treating thing for myself."

"Oh, you are going to love it," Mabel promised while putting her arm around Pacifica. "Just let me show you the ropes."

"Aw, you guys look so great in your costumes," Mrs. Pines commented as everyone turned to her and Mr. Pines walking out.

"Yeah, I see you're also a Mario as well, Mason," Mr. Pines commented.

"I'm supposed to be Luigi, Mario's brother," Dipper corrected.

"And you two must be princesses," Mrs. Pines complimented Paz and Candy. The latter was dressed as Princess Daisy, with the yellow and orange dress with a gold crown. "And Grenda, you must be a… genie?"

"I'm Toad," Grenda replied simply. She was dressed as Toad, with the mushroom hat, blue vest, white shirt and baggy pants and red shoes.

"Oh, well… you all look so cute," Mrs. Pines said. "Would you like me to take your photos before you go out together?"

"Sure, mom," Mabel said as they all posed together for a group photo, Mrs. Pines pulling out a camera and snapping a photo of them.

"There, got it," Mrs. Pines said, checking the photo. "Now, just be careful out there at night. Stay together and don't stay out too long."

"Got it, mom," Mabel told her as she and her friends started to walk away from the house.

"See you later, hon!" Mr. Pines waved at her before he turned to his wife. "So… the thing about having bro-friends-"

"Hon, we've been over this, it's not going to be a thing," Mrs. Pines told him.

"I know…" he said with a sigh.

Once Mabel and her group was a good distance away from the house, their demeanor completely changed.

"Well… that didn't go too bad," Mabel said while looking at her friends.

"Yeah," Pacifica said with a sigh. "It took me everything I had to not glare at your folks, Mabel."

"And I had to restrain myself from going Grenda-Hulk on them," Grenda said. "And I'm not dressed as the Hulk this year."

"Come on, guys, let's not think about Mr. and Mrs. Pines for the rest of the night," Candy advised them. "Tonight isn't about them."

"Yeah, Candy's right," Dipper said, nodding in agreement. "Let's go over our plan tonight. We are going to meet up with Luz's group later, but we have plenty of time to spend before that."

"That's right!" Mabel declared, her smile returning. "And with that time, we are going to get as much candy as possible!"

"Yeah!" they all cheered.

They continued walking together, heading for the first house.

"I am glad that your mother allowed you to go trick-or-treating with us, Paz," Candy told Pacifica.

"Yeah, me too," Pacifica said, nodding. "Honestly, when I told her I wanted to go trick-or-treating, she put up no resistance. She actually seemed to be very on board with the idea, which was a nice surprise."

"Honestly, if I had known you had never gone trick-or-treating before, I would have shared more of my Summerween candy with you during the summer," Mabel confessed.

"Oh, it's fine," Pacifica told her girlfriend. "I still got candy, just from my butler, although I think he just got it all from the store."

"Yeah, that kinda defeats the purpose of trick-or-treating," Dipper pointed out.

"Well, good thing we can show you the wonders of what trick-or-treating is all about now, Paz!" Mabel declared, holding her girlfriend's hand as they went to get candy.

Back in the Gravity Falls police station, Star and the basilisks were getting ready to head out with their costumes… except for Tres, who didn't wear one.

"Alright, y'all, have a safe Halloween night!" Durland told them, he and Blubs waved to the kids as they left the police station.

"Don't stay out too long! Stick together! And stay safe!" Blubs advised them.

"Don't worry, dads, we will!" Vee shouted back as they joined the flow of other trick-or-treaters going around Gravity Falls.

"You know, I still don't understand the purpose of these costumes," Tres said while expressing his confusion at his siblings' costumes. "Like, what are you guys even supposed to be?"

"Well, I'm going as the main character of this old eighties sitcom called 'Hello, Megan'," Megan said while dressed in a white shirt with a velvet short jacket-shirt, a brown belt with a yellow buckle, velvet mid-length skirt, white kneesocks, and black shoes. "I have really gotten into sitcoms since moving here and found myself relating to the main character of this show especially. Cause you know, the character's name is Megan, and my name is Megan. It fits."

"Me and Star are going as Link and Zelda," Vee said while dressed as Princess Zelda. She was wearing a pink and white dress with a blue gemstone and a headdress crown. "They are characters from a video game series called the Legend of Zelda. I'm supposed to be Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"And I'm Link, the brave hero who goes on quests to solve puzzles in dungeons in order to save the kingdom and the princess from a terrible evil!" Star declared while dressed as Link. She was wearing a green hat, a green tunic, a skirt with gray leggings, and brown boots. She was holding a sword and shield.

"And what about you, Ivy?" Tres asked, seeing Ivy dressed like a Shakespearian character, with a black tunic and skirt with black trousers and boots. He was holding a skull.

"I'm supposed to be Hamlet, from the great human play with the title of the same name by William Shakespeare, who is one of the greatest playwrights in human history," Ivy declared while holding his skull as he began to quote the play. "'Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: A fellow of infinite jest.'"

"He's been hanging out with the Gravity Falls theater troupe," Megan told Tres.

"I see…" Tres responded, trying to understand. "Although, why did you actually have to put on the costumes? We can shapeshift."

"Yeah, but that kinda defeats the purpose of Halloween," Vee pointed out.

"I don't get it," Tres said, shaking his head.

"You don't have to get it," Megan told Tres with a smile. "It's just fun. And it isn't too late for you to choose a costume as well. Don't you want some free candy?"

"I'm good," Tres answered. "I'm not really interested in participating in human customs. I'm more than fine with just following you guys around and seeing more of this Human Realm you've chosen as your home."

"Hey, your loss, man," Star said with a shrug as she and the others headed for their first house. "But as for me, I'm not saying no to free candy."

By now, all of the trick-or-treaters were out. The neighborhoods of Gravity Falls were now filled with trick-or-treaters dressed as monsters, ghouls, celebrities, and every movie character you could imagine.

Lazy Susan heard a knock on the door and she went to answer it.

"Trick or tweat!" Phil shouted while holding his Halloween candy bucket. With him were Luz and Amity.

"Aw, ain't that adorable, here's some dino-bars for the little dinosaur," Lazy Susan said while placing the candy bars in Phil's bucket.

"Anymore for us, Susan?" Luz asked, the diner woman giving Luz a look.

"Luz…" Susan said in a deadpan tone before turning to Amity, her expression changing. "Amity! What a nice surprise! How've you been?"

"Good, Ms. Susan," Amity responded politely. "Now what do you say to Ms. Susan, Phil?"

"Thank you!" Phil replied kindly.

"Well, you're welcome, little dino-boy," Susan said. She looked up at Amity. "I haven't seen him before," she said. "Is he your little brother?"

"Um…" Amity said, not sure how Susan would react to the truth.

Luz came in to save Amity. "Hey, don't forget the rest of my friends, they'd like those dino-bars as well," Luz said, pointing to the rest of their group.

"Anything but chocolate, please. I don't like chocolate," Skara said.

After they finished receiving candy from Lazy Susan's house, Luz's group began to walk over to the next house, only to meet up with another group on the way.

"Hey, guys," Anne waved to them while dressed in a red vest with yellow bands and a traditional Thai red long skirt with flower patterns and sandals. She also wore a golden head dress. "Nice costumes."

"Thanks," Willow responded. "Who are you guys supposed to be?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be Nang Kwak, the Thai goddess of wealth," Anne explained. "Since I didn't know what kind of costumes I should wear since it's been years since I celebrated Halloween, mom suggested I go as the goddess who brings our Thai Go good luck."

Willow couldn't help but give a small smile, wondering how Anne's mother would react if she knew that Anne was friends with a demigoddess…

"And I'm an archaeologist," Sprig declared while dressed as Indiana Jones, with the brown hat, coat, and cargo pants.

"And I'm a mace!" Polly declared while dressed in a round costume that made her look like a mace with a handle on top. "Either give me candy, or fight me to the death!"

"You look like you have been enjoying yourselves," Amity said with a smile.

"Yeah, Halloween is great!" Sprig declared.

"So you don't have something like Halloween in Amphibia then?" Gus asked them.

"Well, not exactly," Anne said. "We do have a tradition where we travel around door to door to ask for supplies for the annual Shut-In, which I think is tonight actually."

"Shut-In?" Luz asked them.

"Yeah, because of the annual Blue Moon, legend says that if a frog gazes upon it, we'll turn into monsters!" Sprig declared.

"And… how often does that happen?" Hunter asked.

"We don't know, since nobody we ever knew tried it," Polly explained. "We mostly just tell stories to pass the time."

"Oh, so not so different from Somhaim," Boscha realized. "Well, except for the ghosts…"

Meanwhile, Dipper and Mabel's group were getting some candy from Mayor Tyler Cutebiker at Town Hall.

"Here ya go, you wonderful video game plumbers and princesses," Tyler Cutebiker said as he put the candy in their bags. "Now have a safe Halloween!"

"Thank you, Mayor Cutebiker!" they all told him as they left the Town Hall.

"So what did you guys get?" Mabel asked her friends.

"I got choco-rolls and a spider-shaped sugar cookie," Dipper said.

"Some Snickers, Reeses, and Gummis for me," Paz said.

"Me and Grenda even got Musketeer bars," Candy said as she showed hers and Grenda's own musketeer bars.

"Hey, so did I!" Mabel shouted as she held up hers. "That makes us the Musketeer Treaters!"

"Yeah!" Candy and Grenda declared while holding their bars up.

"Hello there, y'all!" said a familiar voice.

The group turned to see Gideon standing there, dressed as a pirate.

"Gideon," Dipper said in surprise. "So you're out here trick-or-treating as well."

"Yup! I'm going by as the Pirate King from 'The Pirates of Penzance,'" Gideon said while holding his plastic sword up. "And I see you all are dressed as Nintendo characters. How quaint."

"Yeah, it's pretty much a group thing for us," Mabel replied, trying to be polite, although there was clearly still some awkwardness between the group and Gideon.

"Hey, why aren't you with your friends from juvie?" Grenda asked.

"Oh, they… had other plans," Gideon said, a bit of sadness in his voice. "So I am trick-or-treating all by my lonesome."

"Oh, uh, sorry to hear that, Gideon," Mabel said.

An awkward silence followed.

"Hey, uh, maybe I could join you guys?" Gideon suggested while twiddling his fingers. "I mean, only if it's fine with you that I come along on your trick-or-treating venture."

"Uh…" Mabel and Dipper said as they turned to their friends, wondering if they should let Gideon into their group or not.

Back with the disguised basilisks and Star, the trick-or-treaters were at the Valentino Funeral Home, where they were receiving candy from the Valentinos.

"Here's your candy, kids," Greg Valentino said as he and Janice handed candy out while dressed up as grave robbers. "Now don't try to eat it all at once or you might choke to death." He had a huge smile on his face. "And that would just be awful."

"Yes, you don't want to end up in our caskets… at least not yet," Janice added as the two shared a laugh at their own macabre joke.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Valentino," Vee told them politely as she, her siblings, and Star walked away from the Funeral Home.

"Can you handle the candy for a few minutes, Janice?" Greg Valentino asked his wife once the trick-or-treaters were out of earshot. "I am going to do another round in the graveyard, make sure that the buried stay buried tonight."

"Yes, you should go do that," Janice said with a smile. "Can't be too careful, after all."

Tres was waiting by the sidewalk when the rest of the group rejoined him.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long, Tres," Vee apologized.

"Yeah, you should have been with us, you would have been creeped out by that family," Star added.

"Nah, it's fine. I've just been watching the other trick-or-treaters and seeing all the… different costumes that these human children wear," Tres replied before someone bumped into him, causing him to angrily turn to them. "Gah! Watch where you're going you little-"

He paused when he saw a skull face staring right back at him.

"Oh, sorry dude," said the teenager wearing a blue hoodie and a skull mask. "It is much harder to see through this thing then I thought and I was in a hurry to catch up with my friends, since we're doing this eighties villain theme and they need me to be a part of it."

Tres shivered at the sight of this guy's costume. "Who… who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Skeletor, man," he declared. "You know, He-Man's arch-enemy, evil sorcerer?" He got a better look at Tres. "Wait, what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Tres," Tres answered.

"Tres… never heard of it," the teen said. "Oh, there's my group now," he said as he spotted his group across the street and he started to run over to them. "Later, dude!"

Tres watched the Skeletor guy leave, looking rather uncomfortable about the entire interaction.

"Tres?" Vee spoke up, noticing his odd reaction to the teen. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah," Tres replied, shaking his head. "I was just… reminded of someone."

"Who?" Vee asked.

"Draco," Tres said, his eyes narrowing.

The basilisk siblings and Star all shared looks of concern with each other, all of them remembering their own experiences with Draco.

"I… think about him sometimes," Tres admitted. "About the things he wanted to do. About the things I was willing to do…"

"Hey, let's not think about that old weirdo," Star interrupted, causing everyone to look at her. "He's dead. He can't hurt you or Vee or anyone ever again."

"Star's right," Vee responded. "We shouldn't let the memory of Draco ruin our fun tonight."

"Yeah," Megan added. "Don't let Draco haunt you, Tres. Let him be just that: a memory."

"Honestly, this is the first time I've thought about him since leaving the Demon Realm," Ivy admitted.

Tres looked at Star and his siblings before nodding. "Right, right," he said quickly. "Let's not talk about Draco for the rest of the night. Sorry for bringing him up."

"It's okay," Vee reassured her brother. "Let's just enjoy the night."

And with that, the group continued on their way, not letting Draco bother them for the rest of Halloween night…

Outside the church, a group of costumed kids received candy from one of the volunteers.

"Here you go," said Rachel Jones, who was dressed as a pilgrim.

"Thank you!" the kids replied as they ran off with their candy.

"Have a safe and blessed Halloween," Rachel told them with a smile as she waved to them. However, her smile quickly changed into a frown when she spotted a certain group passing by.

"Hey, let's try that store over there," Luz said as she pointed to a store.

"Imma get more candy!" Phil cheered as Amity and Luz held his hands.

"You sure are, my little dino-boy," Amity told him as the group walked by.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at them, her hand instinctively grasping the crucifix she wore around her neck. She gave them cold glares until she noticed the next group of trick-or-treaters walking up to the church.

"Trick-or-treat!" they shouted.

"Oh, nice costumes!" Rachel shouted, her smile returning as she went back to giving out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Meanwhile, Toby Determined had just finished giving some candy to some kids.

"Happy Halloween!" Toby told them before he noticed some new kids coming up to him. "Oh, and I see that you're going as a witch and Oscar the Grouch."

"Actually… I'm a robot," said Mosely, who wore a garbage can with two holes in the bottom for his feet. His head, arms, and legs were covered with cardboard boxes. Mary was wearing a black robe, a witch's mask, and a hat. "I didn't have enough cardboard for the body…"

"You're the third person who called him Oscar," Mary mentioned.

Meanwhile, Camila was on her front porch, passing out candy to a group of kids.

"Enjoy your Halloween," Camila said, waving to the kids as they took off running for the next house. She then spotted Luz's group nearby. "Mija, how are you and your friends' Halloween going so far?"

"Pretty good, mom," Luz replied as they walked over. "Guess who got the most candy?"

"Me!" Phil shouted while holding up his bucket filled with candy.

"¡Oh, qué lindo!" Camila said enthusiastically, kneeling towards Phil. "You look super cute with your costume, Phil!"

"Thank you, abuela!" Phil replied as he and Camila hugged each other.

"You are getting extra treats for being such a cute little nino," Camila said as she reached for her candy.

"What do we say to that, Phil?" Amity asked him.

Phil smiled. "Thank you!" he said while receiving candy from Camila.

Meanwhile, at McGucket's junkyard, Wendy walked over to McGucket's shack and knocked on the door.

"Yo, Victor, you in there?" she asked, having to shout over the sounds of machinery and tinkering that she heard going on inside. After a few more knocks, she heard the sounds die down a bit and shortly afterward the door opened, revealing Steam Punk wearing a welder mask and a stained lab coat.

"Wendy?" he asked while flipping the mask up. He then noticed what Wendy was wearing. "Oh, um… hi."

"Yeah, hey yourself, Spunk," Wendy responded with a smile. She had on a yellow shoulderless long-sleeve dress with black straps around her shoulders, an orange waistband, and a purple skirt with dark leggings and black boots. She was holding a jacket. "Just wondering if you're ready for the Halloween party?"

"Um…" Victor was at a loss of words before he realized what she was referring to, causing his eyes to widen. "Oh, crap, I totally lost track of time." He looked down at what he was wearing and frowned. "Maybe if I should go change out-"

"Oh no, you're perfect the way you are," Wendy assured him. "I mean, this is a Halloween party. The mad scientist look is perfect."

"Really?" he asked her in surprise.

"Yeah, man," Wendy replied with a smile. "So you're ready to go? Or are you too busy with… whatever you have going on in there?"

Victor looked back inside the shack. "Oh no, I can work on that tomorrow." He turned to look back at Wendy. "I'm good to party."

"Great, come on," she said as she led Steam Punk toward the exit of the junkyard, where just outside her friends were waiting for her in a van.

In another part of Gravity Falls, Farmer Sprott was holding his annual Halloween event at his farm.

"Come one, come all, to Farmer Sprott's Annual Halloween Celebration!" Sprott declared while holding his cane up, welcoming a new group of visitors as they left the parking lot. "We got games! Food! Corn mazes and hayrides! Music and entertainment!"

The area was lit by hanging lanterns as costumed visitors explored the farm. There were many games set up, such as tossing bean bags into the mouths of large jack-o-lanterns or bobbing for apples.

"We have a winner," said D'Shawn, one of the farm hands. "Emmet, give this kid a prize."

"Here ya go," Emmet said while handing the kid a bag of candy apples.

"More apples?" the kid asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"What do you expect?" Emmet asked. "You were bobbing for apples, why wouldn't apples be the prize?"

But, of course, one of the main attractions of the farm besides the hayride was the cornfield scare maze. Currently, a couple of costumed kids were walking through the maze when they heard rustling sounds. "Uh, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" another asked before something in the cornfield rustled in front of them. "You… you think it could be a cat or a stray crow?"

"Or it could be one of the actors," another replied. "I mean, what could they scare us-"

"RAAAHHH!" the Multi-Bear roared as he rose from the cornfield.

"GAAH!" the kids screamed as they ran away from the Multi-Bear while also popping up around them were a group of disembodied hands and the laughing Hand-Witch. "YAAAAH!"

"Care to give an old woman a hand?!" the Hand-Witch asked while cackling in laughter, her hands crawling around the cornfield.

"YAAAAAH!" the kids screamed as they tried to find the exit before popping in front of them was Shmebulock.

"Shmebulock!" the gnome declared while holding a shovel, scaring the kids as they rushed out of the maze.

"AAAAH!" they screamed as they fled out of sight.

"Nice scare, Multi-Bear," the Hand-Witch complimented her fellow magical creature.

"Thanks, but don't forget to give yourself and Shmebulock credit," the Multi-Bear told her before they went to get ready for the next group.

Another part of the event was a jack-o'-lantern carving contest, where a mix of townsies and tourists were carving their own pumpkins. This included the Corduroy brothers, who were carving their own pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns as the middle brother, Kevin, went for something a bit more artistic, his jack-o'-lantern resembling the Mona Lisa.

"Woah, nice pumpkin, Kev," Marcus Corduroy complimented.

"Thanks, those art classes are really starting to pay off," Kevin Corduroy said proudly.

Also at the farm was a petting zoo, where April Jimendez was covering the Halloween event with her phone.

"This is April Jimenez, covering the annual Halloween event hosted by Farmer Sprott," April said while dressed as a 1940s news reporter with a hat, trenchcoat, and notepad. "Farmer Sprott, who for the rest of the year runs a local petting zoo and helps with local events, hosts this event for both locals and tourists. There is stuff for people of all ages here, with the petting zoo especially popular with young kids," she said before a goat started chewing on her trenchcoat. "Hey-hey! Knock it off!"

"Baah!" the goat said as he started tugging on her trenchcoat.

But while April was fighting against a goat, over at the refreshments table were some of the Gatesfield teens. Masha poured themselves some punch while dressed as a witch. Their witch's hat was black with a yellow tip on the top and a green band. They also wore a black long gown with a yellow shoulder-guard with zig-zag pattern, see-through purple puffy sleeves, green striped leggings, and black buckle heeled boots.

"I gotta say, I love the Lady Macbeth costume, Clara," Masha said, complimenting their girlfriend's costume.

"You recognized it?" Clara asked in surprise and relief. She was wearing a traditional green Scottish gown with a golden crown. "I… was worried that I was going for something too obscure and nobody outside of Ivy would recognize what I was going for."

"Come on, how could I not?" Masha asked her with a smile. "I mean, she is one of the most popular female Shakespeare characters for a reason. Manipulating her husband into killing King Duncan before succumbing to madness? She's awesome. Plus, I know how into Shakespeare you are."

"Heh, yeah," Clara replied. "Honestly, I always wanted to play Lady Macbeth. But we never performed it at Gatesfield. We only got to Romeo & Juliet."

"Yeah, that was a shame. Macbeth was always my favorite of his plays," Masha said. "What's not to love? Murder, madness, witches, prophecies…"

Clara chuckled. "Figures that would be your favorite," she said. "You know, I always thought that those three witches were manipulating everything to get the outcome they wanted…"

Masha nodded. "They inspired Macbeth to kill Duncan and Banquo, then set up his death at the hands of Macduff. I sometimes wonder if Macbeth and Macduff had any choice in the roles of tyrant and champion…"

"Man, the food here is good," Rudo said, enjoying some of the pumpkin-shaped cookies while dressed as… Dana.

"I know, especially the pumpkin pie," Dana replied while dressed as… Rudo. Apparently, the two had decided to go dressed as each other. She was helping herself to some pumpkin pie. "But I have to say, this place is pretty fun. Unlike the Halloweens we had back at Gatesfield."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Masha said, rolling their eyes. "Even their Hell House was lame."

"Tell me about it," said Gus Gordon as he joined them while dressed as Elvis, complete with the white, flashy suit, and hairdo. He was holding his guitar. "Even their recreation of the witch trials felt watered down."

"Honestly… I kinda liked it as a kid," Clara admitted. "My dad would take me and we had a lot of fun together. I guess it was kinda lame in hindsight, like how their hayride was just a circle around the graveyard at Old Gravesfield."

"What about the glorification of your family's ancestors?" Gus Gordon pointed out, making Clara cringe.

"Right…" Clara said as she looked down, remembering how Halloween was a celebration of the 'heroic' G.B. Gates, with his disappearance being treated as a great tragedy. She was silent for a moment until she felt Masha patting her shoulder.

"Hey, let's not think about Gatesfield," Masha suggested. "Instead, let's have some fun here. Wanna go check out the maze?"

Clara smiled. "Of course," she said as she grabbed their hand. "See you guys around," she told her friends as she and Masha headed for the corn maze.

"Later," Gus responded before he turned to Dana and Rudo. "Oh, by the way, Sprott said that he may need some more hands to help out around the event after all. You two want to pitch in?"

"Sure, man," Rudo replied with a nod.

"Do we get to scare anyone?" Dana asked as they followed Gus.

Back in the neighborhoods of Gravity Falls, Luz's group had just finished with another house.

"How do you like your first Halloween so far, Phil?" Amity asked her son.

"It's great!" Phil replied happily. "I get so much candy!"

Luz and Amity both smiled at their son's enthusiasm.

"I'm glad we're doing this with him," Luz told Amity, who nodded.

"Yeah, me too," she said. "And I'm… really glad you are here for this as well."

Luz was about to respond, but then she heard someone calling out to her.

"Heyo, Hexsquad!" Mabel shouted, drawing the attention of Luz's group, who turned to see Mabel and her group coming over to them. "I see some great witches in costume here and- OH MY GOSH!" Mabel squeed as she knelt towards Phil. "Philly, you look so adorable in your costume!"

"I know, Auntie Mabel!" Phil replied, making Mabel squee even more.

"Come give your Auntie Mabel a hug," Mabel said as Phil came over to embrace her.

"Hey, guys," Luz said as the two groups met up. "I was wondering when we would see each other."

"It's good to see you all again, especially you, Amity," Pacifica said as the two hugged each other while everyone else exchanged their greetings.

"You too, Pacifica," Amity replied while hugging Pacifica. "How have you been?"

"Good," Pacifica confirmed. "And my mom has been good as well."

Amity smiled. "That's great to hear," she said.

"I see you guys are going as the Mario Bros," Luz commented, looking at their costumes. "Great choice."

"Yeah, I'm Luigi, and Candy here is Daisy," Dipper said.

"Luigi may seem cowardly, but he's still a brave hero at heart," Candy said while hooking Dipper's arm, making him blush.

"Ooh, nice Star Wolf costume, Hunter," Grenda said, pointing to Hunter's costume.

"Thanks, and nice… genie costume?" Hunter guessed.

"I'm Toad," Grenda explained.

"Like the amphibian?" Boscha asked.

"Can you actually see through that?" Dipper asked while looking at Gus's Mysterio costume and the dome he was wearing over his head.

"Honestly… it is fifty-fifty," Gus admitted.

"Ooh, I do love your costumes," Mabel said while talking to Willow and Skara. "Devil and angel? That's a great idea for a couple!"

"Aw, thanks," Willow said.

"When me and Willow heard about this, we just knew that we had to dress up together as a couple," Skara said.

Luz smiled as she saw the two groups mingling with each other. "This is nice. I'm glad-" She then noticed Gideon standing nearby, making her do a double-take. "Gideon?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Um, hi, Luz and company," Gideon replied, sounding a bit awkward as he waved to them. "By the way, nice costumes, you all look pretty swell."

"Uh, thanks, Gideon…" Luz said while leaning over to whisper to Dipper. "Is he… with you guys?"

"Yeah," he whispered back. "We decided to let him tag along, since for what it's worth he did help us out during Weirdmageddon, so we gave him the benefit of doubt."

"Yeah, yeah that's fair." Luz replied with a nod before turning back to Gideon. "Alright, you're okay."

"Thank you, Luz," Gideon said with a smile. "Although I don't think I've really had the pleasure to formally meet your current company…"

"Yeah, I guess that's right," Luz said before she turned to the others. "Guys, this is Gideon Gleeful. Gideon, this is my girlfriend Amity and my friends Gus, Willow, Skara, Boscha, and Hunter."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Gideon said. "Although who is the younger kid that Mabel's fond of?" he asked while pointing to Phil.

"Oh, that's Luz and Amity's son," Grenda answered, which shocked the Gleeful boy.

"Say what now?!" Gideon exclaimed while turning to Dipper. "But… but how?!"

"It's a long story, Gideon," Dipper told him, patting him on the back as both groups started to walk together. "It's a long, complicated story…"

Back at Sprott's farm, Dana and Rudo had ended up with jobs helping at the event.

"Alright, hit the targets and win you a prize!" Dana told the guests, who were throwing tennis balls at cardboard cut-outs of Halloween objects like pumpkins and bats. "Rudo, how are you doing on refreshments?"

"Doing great," Rudo said while restocking some of the snacks.

Up on the outdoor stage, there was Gus Gordon, tapping on the mic. "Alright, trick-or-treaters, who's having fun on Hallow's night?" he asked as everyone, including Dana and Rudo, turned their attention to him. The crowd let out a cheer. "Alright, now enjoy the event while I play this song from a well known rock band from the Blue Oyster Cult."

He then started to play the guitar, while the rest of the volunteer band behind him played along. Gus then started to sing.

"All our times have come," he sang while following the flow of his music. "Here, but now they're gone… seasons don't fear the Reaper, nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain…"

Clara and Masha were going through the corn maze together when in front of them popped up Chuzpar, which spooked Clara into Masha's arms.

"Eep!" Clara shouted while drawing close to Masha.

"Hang on, I got'cha," Masha replied, holding onto Clara's arm as they kept moving forward. They turned around and gave Chuzpar a thumbs up, Chuzpar nodding and giving a thumbs up in return.

"(We can be like they are) Come on, baby, (Don't fear the Reaper) Baby, take my hand."

In another part of Gravity Falls, the teens of Gravity Falls were hanging out and dancing in Tambry's house. Robbie and Tambry, who are dressed as a skeleton and Ramona Flowers respectively, were talking with some of their classmates. Nate and Lee were both dressed up together as CatDog, with a tube connecting them to each other as they enjoyed some refreshments, while Thompson dressed as Shrek was competitively stacking cups against another party guest very quickly.

"(Don't fear the Reaper) We'll be able to fly, (Don't fear the Reaper), Baby, I'm your man."

Wendy cheered Thompson on. "Yo, go Thompson!" she shouted before turning to Steam Punk, who she saw was staring at his phone. "Hey, you alright, man? You have been looking at your phone more than Tambry tonight."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Steam Punk replied as he put his phone away, the screen showing a bunch of unread texts before he turned the phone off and placed it in his pocket, turning his attention to Thompson as he tried to enjoy the moment with Wendy.

"La, la, la, la, la~!"

Stan and Ford were sitting in the living room, watching horror movies together while eating popcorn and drinking beers.

"Oh, this is it," Stan said as he pointed to the screen. "He's gonna open it…"

"And when he does…" Ford said right before the character in the movie screamed when the alien demon popped up to attack him.

"Got 'em!" the Pines twins both declared as they shared a laugh while watching the b-movie.

"La, la, la, la, la~!"

As someone answered their door, they found Anne, Sprig, and Polly on their front porch.

"Stay inside, hide your eyes, give us practical supplies!" the trio said.

"A bit unusual way of saying 'trick-or-treat', but here you go," Tats said as he handed candy to the three, putting it in their bags.

"Thank you!" the trio shouted as they walked out.

"Man, we're still not used to not being shut-in for most of the night," Sprig commented.

"Yeah, but this is a good change of pace," Polly replied. "I do wonder how Hop-Pop and everyone else is doing."

"And I hope someone is keeping Wally company on his birthday," Anne said.

"And what about Sasha?" Sprig asked Anne. "Do you think she is doing alright?"

"I hope so," Anne said with a sigh as they went to the next house.

"Valentine is done, here, now they're gone~!"

"Thanks!" Vee and her siblings waved to the house they just left.

"You know, it just occurred to me that none of you guys thought of using your shape-shifting to hit a house more than once," Tres commented. "You could get more candy that way."

"But that would be wrong!" Vee exclaimed in shock. "We would be tricking people!"

"I thought that was in the name," Tres pointed out. "Isn't it called trick-or-treating?"

"Wait, I just realized something, Tres," Megan said while turning to her brother. "Are you… actually wearing any clothes right now?"

"Of course not," Tres answered. "We can just shape-shift clothes onto us. Putting on real clothes just seems impractical, especially since they get caught when I want to change into my regular basilisk form."

"So you're naked?" Star asked with a smirk.

"Hey, our species does not need clothes!" Tres insisted. "Don't judge me by your Mewman standards!"

"Hey, I like actually wearing clothes," Megan pointed out.

"Me too, and besides, there are downsides in shapeshifting clothes on," Ivy said. "Like getting a pin stuck to your skin…"

"Ugh, don't remind me of that experience," Vee said with a shiver while holding Star's hand. The two looked up at each other and shared a smile.

"Romeo and Juliet, are together in eternity(Romeo and Juliet)! 40,000 men and everyday (Like Romeo and Juliet), 40,000 men and women everyday (Redefine happiness), another 40,000 coming everyday!)"

Meanwhile, in the Demon Realm, Eda and King were throwing their own Halloween party in Hexside, watching over the kids as they enjoyed Halloween snacks and played Halloween games together. Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Matt, Bo, Amelia, Cat, and others could be seen at the party, either helping out the kids or enjoying themselves as well.

"Better than staying at home, isn't it?" Eda asked King while holding up some punch.

"Definitely," King responded while eating some snacks and sharing them with Maurice, who sat on his shoulder. "Do you… think that Luz and her friends are having fun right now?"

"I have no doubt about it," Eda replied as she drank her punch while seeing the kids under her care having fun. "Not as much fun as us though."

"Love of two is one. Here, but now they're gone, "Gus sang while strumming his instrument. "Came the last night of sadness, and it was clear she couldn't go on. The door was open and the wind appeared, the candles blew and then disappeared, the curtains flew and then he disappeared…"

The crowd cheered as Gus finished the song."(Saying 'don't be afraid) Come on, baby, (And she had no fear) And she ran to him, (Then she started to fly) They looked backward and said goodbye~!"

"(She had become like they are) She had taken his hand, (she had become like they are) Come on, baby, don't fear the Reaper!"

The crowd cheered and clapped after Gus finished his song. He gave a bow to the audience while raising his fist up. "Thank you! Taking five!" he declared as he stepped down from the stage, going to get some refreshments for himself. As he went to the refreshments table to grab a drink, he heard someone walking up to him.

"Nice song cover," said a girl that caught Gus's attention. She was a blonde, with slight-tanned skin and brown eyes. She was wearing a black cat costume with a mask and fake tail. "Very iconic song, and it was like hearing the actual Buck Dharma, any relations?"

"Nah, just a song I know for this occasion," Gus said "Wait, you know about Buck Dharma? Most would just know the band name and not the band members."

"Besides knowing who George, John, Paul and Ringo are?" she asked him with her arms crossed. "Oh, who's the last Bee Gee member?"

"Which one?" he asked.

"Barry Gibb," she declared as Gus opened the cooler and pulled out another drink.

"Want one?" he asked and she accepted it. "You know, I'm gonna play a few more songs and, well, if you stick around, we could talk about music some more."

The girl smiled. "I'd like that, Elvis."

"Call me Gus," he told her with a smile. "Gus Gordon."

Meanwhile, a group of witches consisting of Gus, Willow, Skara, Boscha, and Hunter walked through the neighborhoods of Gravity Falls together. The group had decided to split off from Luz, Amity, and Phil in order to give them some time with the Pines twins and their friends. So now the group decided to follow Gus, who was their tour guide around the town.

"And on your left, is the Houstons, who have the best house decorations on the block," Gus said as he pointed to one house with a yard that was filled with fake tombstones, a giant inflatable pumpkin, and fake bats tied from the tree. "And next to the Houstons, are the Wilburts, who have set up a projector to flash some Halloween bats flying around."

"Ooh," they said while looking at the Halloween decorations.

"I gotta say, Gus, human customs are a lot different from what I imagined," Hunter said while spotting a couple of kids dressed as Power Rangers. "Like, this is very different from Somhaim."

"Actually, it is interesting that you bring that up," Gus said to Hunter. "I learned earlier today that the origins of Halloween can be traced back to a human festival called Samhain."

"That… does sound very similar," Skara admitted.

"Well, whether that is just a coincidence or not, they sure do love this holiday," Boscha commented, noting how a lot of people went all out on the decorations and their costumes. "Though I can't blame them, since you get free candy out of it."

"Gravity Falls actually loves Halloween so much, they celebrate it twice a year," Gus revealed. "I was here for Summerween, which is the first time this town celebrates Halloween in a year."

"Oh yeah, you went with Luz, Eda, and King to the Human Realm for that," Willow remembered.

"Does anywhere else celebrate Halloween twice a year?" Skara asked him.

"I don't think so," Gus admitted. "I think it's just Gravity Falls that does it, since they just love Halloween that much. Although I think it might also be a way to attract tourists to the town. Gravity Falls has a lot of local events that are meant to bring tourists to the town and give local businesses a boost. These events are a huge source of revenue for the town, but they're also just fun. Summerween and Halloween are pretty similar, with the main difference being the seasons that the holidays are set in. Like, take these pumpkins for example," he said as he pointed to some of the nearby jack-o'-lanterns. "When I was here for Summerween, they used watermelons as jack-o'-lanterns instead of pumpkins."

"What even is the purpose of a jack-o'-lantern?" Hunter asked.

"According to my teacher, it has roots in a country called Ireland, where people carved scary faces into turnips and placed them near doors or windows in order to scare away evil spirits. Though like with a lot of Halloween traditions, my teacher said that the original meaning of the jack-o'-lantern has been lost. People now just do it because they think it's fun."

"Why are they called jack-o'-lanterns?" Skara asked, curious.

"My teacher told us about that as well…" Gus mentioned.

"The name jack-o'-lantern is a reference to the legend of the Pumpkin King, also known as Stingy Jack," Mr. Englund told his class, who were noticeably paying more attention to his lesson now. "It's an Irish legend, from the 19th century. It is about an evil man named Stingy Jack, who invited the Devil to have a drink with him. When it came time for him to pay, Stingy Jack, true to his name, didn't want to and he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin so that Jack could use the coin to pay for their drinks. However, once the Devil changed into a coin, Jack decided to pocket the coin instead, keeping it next to a silver cross that prevented the Devil from changing back to his original form."

Gus took some notes while Mr. Englund continued recounting the story.

"Now, Jack did eventually free the Devil, but he did it under two conditions," Mr. Englund said. "The first was that the Devil would not bother Jack for one year. The second was that when Jack died, the Devil could not claim his soul. The Devil agreed. Jack did eventually die, of course. But while the Devil could not claim his soul because of his promise, it turned out that God did not want Jack either, refusing to let such an unsavory figure into Heaven. So Jack could not get into Heaven and he could not get into Hell. Instead, Jack was sent into the dark night by the Devil, who provided Jack with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack placed this coal into a carved-out turnip and he has been wandering ever since, caught between the planes of good and evil. Jack became known as 'Jack of the Lantern' and then simply 'Jack O'Lantern'."

Gus raised his hand and was called upon by his teacher.

"Yes, Mr. Porter?" Mr. Englund asked.

"Is there any truth to this legend, Mr. Englund?" Gus asked. "Could there have really been a Stingy Jack once?"

"Well… I think this story was likely invented as a way to explain will-o-the-wisps, which are mysterious lights that are sometimes seen in wooded or swampy areas at night. Now, sometimes these lights have natural causes or are the result of mischievous children playing with lanterns. But that didn't stop people from coming up with other explanations, like fairies trying to lead strangers astray… or ghostly figures carrying their jack-o'-lantern through the night. So I think the story is just that. A story." He then paused. "But then again, you never do know…"

"Do you like your teacher?" Willow asked Gus. "You do seem to be learning a lot from him."

"Oh yeah," Gus said, nodding. "I mean, I like all the teachers, but our history teacher, Mr. Englund, is easily my favorite. I really enjoy his lessons."

"Hey, who's that?" Boscha asked, pointing to someone who was sitting on the sidewalk, a glass in her hands.

Willow looked at where Boscha was pointing and when she saw the woman, her eyes widened when she realized who she was. "Oh my Titan… Mrs. Gates!" she shouted as she rushed over to her.

Boscha and Hunter's eyes widened and they shared a look.

"Mrs. Gates…" Boscha noted. "Isn't she…?"

"The descendant of Gabriel Gates," Hunter confirmed as they, along with Skara and Gus, followed Willow over to Abigail.

"Mrs. Gates," Willow said as she stood in front of Abigail. "Are you okay?"

"W-Willow?" Abigail asked as she looked up at Willow. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just a little bit tippy."

Skara saw the empty glass in her hand and she shifted uncomfortably, this sight too familiar to her. "You were drinking, weren't you?"

Abigail looked at the glass in her hand, then she looked down at the pavement in shame. "I was…"

"Is there a reason you were drinking?" Skara asked, kneeling down with her.

"I… I promised myself that I would stop drinking for Clara's sake," Abigail admitted, tears staining her eyes. "But I keep seeing them… I keep seeing them…"

"Who?" Gus asked in concern.

"The… the twins," she said through her rambles. "Mary and Mosely… I keep seeing visions of them… god, I hate Halloween…" She tilted her head while rubbing the temple of her head. "I didn't always hate it, it used to be mine and my brother's favorite holiday, even more than Christmas. Angel also loved this holiday…"

"Come on, let's get you inside before some kids see you," Willow said as she helped Abbey up with Skara's help.

"Show us where you live and we can take you there," Skara said.

"My house is just behind me," Abigail told them as the group helped Abbey back into her house.

Once they entered inside her home, Willow and Skara helped Abbey to the couch, taking the glass away from her.

"You're going to be alright, Mrs. Gates," Willow told her.

"Thank you, Willow," Abigail said, her eyes still watery. "I just hope Clara doesn't see me like this…"

Back with Luz and Amity, they were still traveling with the Pines twins and their group.

"Well, it's been nice catching up with you guys," Amity said as she held Phil up. "But we should take Phil home and put him to bed."

"Yeah, it's about the little guy's bed time right now," Luz agreed.

"That's fair, we don't want to hold you two for too long," Dipper replied.

"Yeah, though we'll probably head home once they start putting the lanterns out," Mabel said as they saw Lumity start to walk off with Phil. "Goodnight, you two!"

"Night!" Luz, and Amity replied.

"Happy Halloween!" Phil shouted.

"Happy Halloween to you too, Philly!" Mabel waved as the group walked off.

"I still can't believe that is Luz's son," Gideon muttered as he walked beside Dipper.

"Yeah, it came as a shock for me as well," Dipper said, nodding. "But you get used to it."

As Luz and Amity headed home with their son, Phil tried to take some of his candy from his bucket but Amity stopped him.

"Phil, you can only have one piece of candy tonight," she told him.

"Aw, can't I have more?" Phil asked with a pout.

"It's late and I don't want all the sugar keeping you awake, not to mention I don't want you to get sick from eating too much candy, okay?" Amity told him.

"Okay, mommy," Phil replied.

"Eh I don't see the big deal, I mean, I eat all of my candy in one night usually," Luz admitted, causing Amity to give her the look.

"Luz, that's not the example we should set for our son," Amity scolded her, making Luz wince when she heard 'son'.

Luz quickly changed her expression into a smile. "You know, you've really embraced the role of mother, Ams," she told her.

"Yeah, I know," Amity replied with a smile while looking down at Phil. Noticing Phil getting tired, she bent down and picked him up, Sam picking up his bucket of candy and carrying it for him. "I've been really busy for the past two months. Not just with Phil, but also helping with my family and my training with Sly."

"So how's the whole 'Fae' thing been doing for you?" Luz asked.

"It's still a learning process for me," Amity admitted. "There's a whole lot more to learn about being a Fae, but Sly's a good teacher."

"Well, he does have a star student to teach," Luz complimented.

"Heh, yeah," Amity replied with a small smile.

"Um, by the way," Luz said. "I am sorry that I haven't been around much to help with Phil and-"

"Luz, don't apologize," Amity told her girlfriend. "You needed to spend more time with your mother and I needed to stay in the Boiling Isles for a while. We both understood that. And it isn't like I have been doing this alone. I've had a lot of help." She paused. "And on that subject… I would like to stay here with Phil in Gravity Falls, for a few days at least. I'm not needed back in the Isles at the moment and I'm sure that Sly will reach me if something that needs me comes up. So at the moment… I'm free."

Luz smiled. "That's terrific! Me and mom would love to have you two around," she said as they made it back home and began to walk up the front steps. "So… fun Halloween, huh?"

"Yeah, me and Phil really enjoyed the experience," Amity replied while looking at Phil, who yawned as he fell asleep in her arms and leaned onto her shoulder. Amity smiled, but then expressed a look of concern. "Say Luz…"

"Yeah?" Luz asked her.

"What do you think… the next big thing will be?" Amity asked her.

"Um… I don't know what you mean by that," Luz admitted.

"I mean, we've enjoyed a period of relative peace over the last two months, which is nice… but I don't expect it to last," she explained. "Not for us, or any of our homes. What do you think the next Day of Unity or Frogvasion will be?"

"Hmm… honestly, I don't know," Luz admitted. "But I also don't want to think about it, I just want to enjoy the moment."

"You're not worried?" Amity asked her.

"Look, I've got no doubt that there could be a new 'big thing' that is going to happen, given our track record," Luz noted. "It could be an alien invasion or an outbreak of Hell or whatever. But we'll deal with it when it comes. For now," she said as she reached over to hold Amity's hand. "I'm just grateful we were able to spend a perfectly drama-free Halloween with each other and with Phil."

Amity gave Luz a smile. "Yeah, me too," she said as the two girls entered the house, turning in for the night.

And so Halloween night ended without a hitch.

Or at least, it ended without a hitch for Lumity and friends.

In another part of Gravity Falls, a cop was patrolling the outskirts of town. There were no buildings around him, just trees on all sides.

"I can't wait for Halloween to end so I can just go to sleep," he commented while driving until he spotted something up ahead with his headlights. "What the…" he said when he saw a car that had been run off the road into a tree. "Jesus, first one on the night."

After he parked his car, he got up and walked over to investigate the crashed car. Using his flashlight, he surveyed the damage and tried to look for the driver. The door to the driver's seat was open, but there was no body in or around the car.

"No body?" he said to himself before he noticed something on the ground. He bent down to get a closer look, his flashlight revealing drag marks that indicated something being dragged away from the car… and horseshoe prints around the wrecked car. He stood up. "What the hell… this is strange even for this town, if that makes any sense," he said to himself as he pulled out his radio. "Alright, calling it in."

But just as he was about to… he heard someone whistling.

The cop stopped himself and looked up, seeing someone further down the road from where he was. The cop peered through the night and was able to make out a darkly dressed figure on horseback, slowly approaching the cop.

"H-hey! Identify yourself!" the cop nervously called out to the dark figure, who didn't respond. "I… I'm warning you! Stop where you are!" he shouted as the figure continued his approach, not intimidated by the cop's demands. "Um, please, stop right there or… or…"

The horseback figure then started galloping faster towards the cop, which sent him into a panic.

"Forget this!" he shouted as he rushed back to his car, not wanting to stick around. He went for the door and attempted to open it. "Come on! Open!" he shouted until he heard a blood-curdling laugh behind him.

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He turned around and saw the dark horsebacked figure right in front of him, the rider cackling in laughter as his horse rose up. The frightened and startled cop was able to get a better look at the rider and he realized that the rider appeared to have…no head.

"It… can't be…" the cop said, his eyes widening in fear.

The Headless Horseman kept laughing as he held up his sword and brought it down on the cop…

Whose screams echoed into the night.

Go on...

(Morning rises in Gravity Falls, and the shot transitions from the Mystery Shack, to the forest, and finally to the Noceda residence.)

Our dreams will guide us to new horizons...

(Luz is shown waking up, stretching, and throwing her jacket on as she finishes getting dressed and heads upstairs to find Camila made breakfast as the Gates women join them.)

We won't give up until we find... something to treasure!

(After a quick hug to her mother and godmother, Luz scarfs down her breakfast before grabbing Clara's hand and rushing toward the window still eating a piece of toast. Atticus opens the window allowing the girls to jump out and run off before their mothers can stop them while Atticus flies upward. Panning up the title, Luz Clawthorne: Book 3, appears in the sky in cerulean blue lettering and the O now resembling King's skull. The sky changes from blue with white clouds to green with yellow clouds as Owlbert, Edgar, and Flapjack fly across the screen.)

Run ahead without moving forward

(The Clawthornes are shown having breakfast on Lilith and Hunter's apartment balcony, Hooty scarfing down a mountain of food while King barely tries to keep pace, and Eda & Lilith split focus on talking and watching them in silent amusement, while Hunter simply smiles then gives the palismen some food.)

Aiming high while my sight is too blurred

(Hunter spots Willow flying overhead and they wave to each other. He waves his family off before following.)

Still, I hear the familiar call of adventure from inside

(Hunter and Willow set down at the grudgby field next to Skara (her and Willow sharing a brief kiss), who's waiting for them. All of them head inside to join their friends in watching the Banshees train, Boscha fired up to play grudgby again.)

Far beyond all the gems and stories

(Anne is shown holding the Calamity Box as the gems glow, with transparent profile images of Sasha and Marcy behind her. Each girl glows the color of their respective gems.)

Just behind every legend's glory

(Cut to Kim and Ron pulling up two rows of holographic screens showing Luz in her Titan form, Jake and Haley in their dragon forms, Randy in Ninja mode, Star, Anne, Sasha, Powerline, Incredi-Girl, Tuzi, Danny Phantom, Hamster & Gretel, and some silhouettes of yet to be determined hero recruits.)

Were the ones strong enough to reach for what others never tried

(The entire Blight family is displayed in a shot panning right; Alador being embraced by all of his siblings, Geist and Odalia looking at the quintet, Edric and Emira posing (though Em seems to look a bit less happy than her brother), Ghost, and Amity, who's holding Phil in her arms.)

Not gonna wait through empty days, made up my mind

(A black and white display of the majority of villains then appears; the Core crown, Andrias who's looking away in disgrace, Mary Gates, her allies, Maleficent's recruits, Prof. Cuddlebuns, Councilor Obron, Bill Cipher, Abel, and all of Department A's agents with Helga and Angel the most prominent.)

New world awaits, find our own way, glimmering bright

(Following the villain shot is one of fallen allies: Hikari, Larry, Ms. Traveler, Maya, and Beocrow. Luz is shown thinking of them before Clara, Gus, Dipper, and Mabel snap her out of her thoughts, the color being restored. The Pines family, the Gatesfield teens, Vee, and Mabel's friends are now suddenly surrounding her. Luz smiles in appreciation, runs ahead, and the kids follow.)

Go on

(Luz, now in her Titan form, is shown sparring against Star, in her Mewberty form, for a training exercise. The kids are seen cheering them on.)

The journey starts when we set our hearts

(Transition to Amity meditating as Sly watches over her. Her eyes snap open, glowing magenta, and she fires off a magic blast without a spell circle.)

As our wishes shine and crystallize

(Sprig, Polly, Oum, and Bee are seen fighting off against some Archangels who prepare to shoot them. A blue glow emerges behind them, and they turn around to see an angry Anne with her blue aura holding her gem before she charges and tackles them. The Plantar kids cheer and though the Boonchuys are surprised, they're impressed by their daughter's bravery.)

Don't stop

(Roo is shown looking at images of several worlds, including the Demon Realm, Earth, and Amphibia. Each one burns as she watches with a sickening smile.)

Our dreams will guide us to new horizons

(Another panoramic shot shows Puck, Tiger Lily, Ruff and the lost boys, Jack Sparrow, Jack the Genie, the Mc Gees, River, and Manny standing together.)

We won't give up until we find...

(Luz embraces Camila at the end of the day before the latter steps aside to reveal the Owl family, Luz's main friends, and Amity. Luz shares a kiss with her "wife" as Camila sets up a camera and rushes to stand behind her daughter with Eda.)

Something to treasure!

(The flash goes off, and the camera shows everyone smiling while the camera zooms back, revealing a wall of photos with all of Luz's other allies surrounding them.)

Created by JP-Ryder and Buck Johnson

Author's Notes:

Our intentions for this chapter is to reintroduce the characters and establish the expectations for this first arc. The first arc of Book Three is going to be set in Gravity Falls, exploring the consequences of Weirdmageddon and the new status quo of things. This first arc is meant to ease the readers into the new Book of the LCU, with the Headless Horseman being the first 'arc villain.'

In the opening sequences, you noticed Amity celebrating her 15th birthday there. Well, it's come to a realization that me and Buck have discovered that at some point, Amity had a birthday around in canon when she and the Hexsquad were stranded in the Human Realm. So we've decided to mention that here.

The mention of Shermie, well we've believed that it's pretty obvious that Stan and Ford would have more than one sibling, due to the timeline. It would make sense for them to have an older sibling when taken to an account on the timeline, it wouldn't make any sense if their younger sibling were Dipper and Mabel's siblings. So we've mentioned Shermie here.

For musical references, "We've Only Just Begun" is a song by The Carpenters. It took us a while to figure out what the title of Book 3 would be, since the second book's title was based off of a Phil Collins song from Tarzan. But that held meaning due to Book 2's theme. Book 3's title will hold a new theme and meaning, in exploring Luz's new life in the Human Realm with her birth mom and newfound god-family.

Another song choice is "Don't Fear the Reaper" by the Blue Oyster Cult. A classic song to listen on Halloween.

The new theme song used for the chapter is "Treasure" by Youtuber, Silver Storm

Oh, and be sure to stay tuned for the next LC 2024 chapter… which is coming up shortly to compliment this chapter.

Oh, and one more thing for this occasion... something Crash X Fusion made for us.

On the set of the "Luz Clawthorne" series, many of the cast and the characters had gathered, both to celebrate Halloween and to celebrate the launch of Book Three. The Owl House characters, the other Disney characters, and the OCs were mingling and talking with each other when Luz, at around midnight, got up on stage and got the attention of the crowd. While she was talking, Amity was backstage, about to join her girlfriend when bandages suddenly wrapped around her and pulled her away from the stage, where she found herself surrounded by villains including Mel, Zara, the Chimeras, Venoma, and Alburno, Bangles having been the one to snatch Amity. The Blight girl was about to shout out, but an Abomination tendril was slapped over her mouth, silencing her while Venoma mockingly put her finger to her lip, shushing her.

"Sorry, Amity," Mel very half-heartedly apologized. "But it's midnight and we don't want to be dull villains on Halloween."

Back on stage, Luz was still talking and about to introduce her girlfriend. "And now to celebrate this momentous occasion, I think it's time for a change of pace-"

The lights suddenly went out, shocking Luz and everyone in the crowd.

"Huh?" Luz asked before a spotlight appeared on her… revealing that Mel was standing right behind her.

"Right you are, Luz," Mel said as Luz turned around to face her. "It's Halloween, you know, and with just the right touch-"

Another light turned on and Mel began to sing.

"This could be quite the place."

"Full of wholesome, happy faces," Zara sang as she joined Mel, placing her arm around her shoulder as the two girls smiled at each other.

"Hanging out," Bangles sang while coming onstage, dragging a trapped Amity with her.

"Feeling fine," Zephyr sang as the other Chimeras followed Bangles.

"Where everyone's a friend of mine!" Horace sang.

"Inside this evil joint," Venoma sang as she and Alburno came onto the stage together.

"Every guest gets to the point," Alburno sang.

"This day will live in infamy!" Goregon and Weaselton both sang while Ruth just signed the lyrics, the sound of a clock chiming in the background.

"The Owl House is history!" the Grim Goblin laughed as he flew overhead.

At that, all of the villains in the crowd joined in on the singing.

"It's our house now!" the villains sang. "It's our house now!"

"It's the fact you can't ignore!" McScream, Cooker, Blanc, and Grease all sang together.

"Shut the windows!" Arthur and Destiny sang.

"Lock the doors," Blanc added.

"It's our house now!" all the villains sang.

"Raise your mugs, you thieves and thugs!" Captain Hook, Smee, Eustace, Serpentina, and Foxy Loxy all sang as they raised their mugs.

"Join the rabble-rousing crowd!" the Fates sang as they raised their mugs.

"It's our house now!" all the villains sang.

"All the coolest cats fit in so so perfectly," Bastilla and Lumasta sang. "Meow."

"Every evil queen gets due respect," Maleficent sang as she turned into a dragon. Next to her was Meteora, who was also in her dragon form.

"Love your work," Meteora added.

"You'll forget your troubles, put your trust in me…" Kaa sang as he wrapped up Penzi in his coils and used his eyes to hypnotize her.

"You've had your fun," the Queen of Hearts sang as she stormed in with Jackson, the King of Hearts, and a bunch of card soldiers.

"You've made your play!" the card soldiers sang.

"Now it's our turn to make them pay!" Mel, Zara, and Kelly sang.

"It's our house now!" all of the villains sang.

"Down and dirty!" Eustace and Serpentina sang.

"It's our house now!" all of the villains sang.

"Gonna party!" the Sirens sang.

"What a place for breaking bread!" Jafar, Captain Hook, and Ursula sang.

"Hate your neighbors…" the Fates sang before Kikimora popped up behind them.

"Off with their heads!" Kikimora screamed while knocking off two of their heads.

"It's our house now!" all of the villains sang.

"What a party," Lupe and Vitimir sang.

"Join the fun with no regrets," all of the villains sang. "Only greedy, dirty deeds are allowed!"

Luz, Amity, and all the heroes were now being forced off the set by all of the card soldiers.

"Get those puppies!" Cruella screamed.

"Game over, Luzy," Mel mocked.

"Hit the road, Mittens," Venoma said as she waved goodbye.

"Take a hike, Mily!" Zara declared

"It's our house now!" the villains sang. "Don't bother comin' back! It's our house now!"

Happy Halloween