-Chapter 209-

Trick or Treat

Knothole

Halloween had come to Mobius, and at Knothole, the Freedom Fighters were busy with preparations. In the kitchen, Sonic whistled casually as he carved a jack o'lantern, newspapers laid out everywhere. Rotor was using a laser to make precise cuts, while Antoine artfully used his rapier to carve his. As they were wrapping up, they saw Sticks walk by with bear traps and the like.

"Oh boy," Sonic sighed. "What are you up to now?"

"Hey, someone's gotta protect this place from all the spooks, witches, and hobgoblins while you're up on Angel Island." Sticks defended.

"And I suppose telling you we don't need to worry about those things would be pointless?"

"You'll thank me when the gremlins don't steal your shoes."

With that, she left, the door closing behind her.

"I'd say those things she mentioned aren't real…" Rotor began, "but considering all of the crazy crap we've been through, I'm honestly not sure anymore."

"Honestly, it's kept her busy and out of the garbage," Sally chimed in, "so I'll happily let her do whatever."

-X-

Some time later, the group was getting their costumes ready. The first thing everyone noticed was Sally's choice of costume, which consisted of a white and blue Yurashian sailor fuku (1) with a blue skirt, red and white evening gloves with matching boots, and a red bow on the chest.

"Sally... what the heck is that?" Tails asked, dressed as the Fairy King Oberon, while Cosmo was the Fairy Queen Titania.

"Remember Breezie's talk of Sally Moon?" Sally questioned. "A magical girl spin-off of Sonic Man that appeals to a younger demographic?"

Sonic blinked, putting the finishing touches on his werewolf costume. "She got you a costume based on it?"

"She asked me to help promote it, and I couldn't decide on a Halloween costume, so... yeah."

"Well, you look amazing in it," Sonic remarked, giving her a thumbs up.

"Thanks," Sally blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Sonic grinned. "I'm proud of it. Just call me Sonic the Werehog."

Porker exited the lab, dressed in a punk style with black leather, sunglasses, and a mohawk wig. He was followed by Rotor as a mad scientist and Johnny as a Franken-rabbit.

"So what's the plan?" the pig asked.

"Pick Team Thorndyke up at Chris' place, then we all go to Angel Island to check out the haunted house Vector's whipped up," Sally replied.

"Oh yeah," Johnny recalled. "They're setting that up for the grand re-opening of that park."

"You mean the former Eggman base?" Rotor asked.

"The Carnival Night Zone," Tails clarified. "It'll be nice to see it without death traps."

"And from what I've heard, this haunted house…" Sonic looked left and right, then leaned in, "It's Eggman themed."

"Really?" Tails questioned.

"That's what I heard. Using all the stuff he left behind to make a haunted house perfect for all ages."

"Is an Eggman theme really that scary?" Cosmo questioned.

"Well, it most likely will be to those who haven't made a career of stopping him every week," Sally answered.

"Personally, I cannot wait to see what those ruffians in the Chaotix have come up with," Antoine remarked, adjusting the hat of his Musketeer costume.

"You and me both, hun," Bunnie agreed, holstering the plastic revolver of her cowgirl outfit (2).

"Everybody ready?" Sonic asked.

One by one, the Freedom Fighters all stepped forward. Tekno was dressed in a brown aviator outfit and cap (3), Amy was in a pink princess costume, Shorty was donned in a fedora and black leather duster with a plastic crossbow in hand, and Mina was donned in a red qipao with gold trim and a green Chun-ese dragon on the front, her hair done up in a bun with chopsticks.

"Then let's do it to it!"

Station Square

Before the Thorndyke mansion, Chris and Keith were waiting out front with Helen, Sam, Cream, and Cheese when they arrived. Chris was a ghost with white facepaint and matching clothes, plastic chains wrapped around his body, Keith was donned in a red and white racing jumpsuit similar to his father's, Sam was dressed as a GUN agent, and Helen was a mermaid, a prosthetic green fish tail over her legs and her hair decorated with pearls and seashells. Last but not least was Cream and Cheese, who were donned in matching unicorn costumes.

"Happy Halloween!" Keith greeted.

"Same to you," Sonic replied. "I see you're going as your dad this year."

"Well, racecar driver in general. Seemed fitting."

Chris looked over Mina's outfit. "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh, just something I dusted off for this occasion." Mina replied, doing a quick spin.

"It's beautiful," Helen smiled.

Amy looked around. "Isn't Hope here?"

"She's coming with Team Dark," Cream replied. "Apparently, she was putting the finishing touches on Shard and Omega's costumes."

Amy blinked. "Wait, she got Omega to agree to a costume? How?"

"Insisted it would be the best way to increase trust in him," Sam answered. "As well as bribing him with a month's supply of bird seed for the Flickies."

"Ah, that makes sense."

As if on cue, footsteps sounded, and they turned to see Team Dark and Shard heading their way. Shadow was dressed as a vampire, Rouge as a witch, and Hope in black leather with the Robotnik Empire insignia sprayed onto her jacket in red, black aviator sunglasses over her eyes. Omega's body was concealed by a giant jack o'lantern, his arms and legs sticking out and painted purple, while Shard was spray-painted blue to match Metal Sonic. As they approached the steps, Hope banged her thigh against the fence.

"Ow!" she yelped before raising her shades. "Okay, that's better.

Shadow shook his head. "I told you to just use the red and black contacts."

"I tried, but they kept irritating my eyes," Hope defended.

"And running into walls is a better alternative?" Rouge asked.

Hope just shrugged.

"So what're you supposed to be, Hope?" Sonic asked.

Hope smirked, waving her arms dramatically.

"I'm not Hope Kintobor," she declared. "I am Despair Robotnik!"

She let out her attempt at Robotnik's laugh... which came out more goofy sounding than anything.

"Not bad," Sonic mused. "But to really nail the evil laugh, you need to-"

Tails slapped a hand over his mouth. "You look great, 'Despair'. Amazing costume."

Sonic gave Tails a dirty look. The fox merely shrugged.

"One evil laugh from you is more than enough, thank you very much."

"Sonic has an evil laugh?" Shadow snorted, crossing his arms. "I find that hard to believe."

Sonic pried Tails' hand away, holding him back before throwing his head back and letting it out. When he was done, everyone looked at him, disturbed.

"I got bored, so I decided to mimic Eggman's laugh and see if I could pull it off," he explained.

"You are one strange little hedgehog," Rouge deadpanned.

"Please…" Helen began nervously, "never do that again."

"Alright, alright," Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes.

Keith was in the middle of shooting a text to someone.

"Now, just one more for a full set…" Hope remarked.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Everyone spun around to see her and Metal Sonic approach. Eggatha was dressed as an angel, while Metal Sonic was wearing a hooded black cape, his feet painted black and his body bearing skeletal designs in blacklight paint.

"Um... what is she doing here?" Cosmo questioned.

"Aggie asked if I'd go trick or treating with her, and I invited her to the haunted house." Hope explained.

"Don't worry, though," Eggatha added. "I already signed a 'Good Behavior' contract, basically saying I'm not allowed to be part of any scheme, espionage attempt, or acts of sabotage. And Metal is to act as my babysitter only."

Hope displayed the contract, showing Eggatha's signature as Metal looked Shard over.

"So you decide to impersonate me for Halloween," he mused. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted."

"I'm part of the haunted house," Shard explained. "And as the only trustworthy robotic Sonic, they offered me the role for the night."

"Well, if everyone's here…" Sonic held up a Warp Ring, "shall we?"

Everyone nodded eagerly.

Angel Island

Up on Angel Island, Vector was supervising some final touches to the haunted house, dressed as a DJ. Charmy and Saffron buzzed around setting up feel boxes, putting in such things as peeled grapes, noodles, and wads of ground beef before covering them up. The former was dressed in armor to make him look like a knight, while the latter was wearing a sunflower dress that looked like it was made of actual sunflower petals, complete with a crown resting on her head. Ray and Mighty wrapped up the attractions inside, Mighty a strongman in a leopard-print leotard with a fake mustache, and Ray as a circus ringmaster. Espio appeared, dressed in a black ninja gi, as Julie-Su exited as well, donned in a black spy catsuit with a hi-tech eyepiece.

"All done on our end." Julie reported.

"Perfect!" Vector declared. "Now where are those Knuckleheads?"

"I believe Knuckles is dealing with the main exit," Espio replied. "As for Kat…"

Vector felt a tap on the back of his neck. He turned around, then shrieked to high heaven when he came face to face with an undead girl with long, inky black hair.

"I will devour you…" she hissed in Chun-ese.

Vector stumbled back, falling down. The girl advanced, reaching for him... only to offer a hand up. She pulled her hair back from her face to reveal a grinning Kat.

"Did I scare you?" she asked.

"I think you made him pee himself," Charmy remarked.

Vector took a deep breath, his heart slowing down. "What're you supposed to be, exactly?"

"An onryō, I believe," Espio mused. "A vengeance spirit in Yurashian folklore."

"Bingo," Kat smiled. "Besides…"

She held out her burnt arm. "The scars just add to the creepiness of the costume."

To prove it, she covered her face and shuffled forward zombie-like, burnt arm extended. At that moment, the Warp Ring opened, and out popped Keith. He froze at the sight, stammering for a moment, before falling back, a look of horror frozen on his face. Kat peeked through the hair.

"I take it you've seen Vendetta (4) then," she remarked.

The others popped out, seeing Keith. Looking between him and Kat, it wasn't hard to realize what happened.

"You alright there, hun?" Bunnie asked.

"At least he didn't pee himself like Vector did!" Charmy said.

"I didn't-!" Vector threw up his hands. "GYAH!"

Keith groaned, pulling himself up and rubbing his head. Kat pulled her hair back to avoid any repeats.

"You… are terrifying," he remarked. "Do you have a history of this?"

Kat chuckled. "Halloween may or may not have been this thing where my dad and I went all out much to the chagrin of my mom."

"See?" Hope shrugged. "Never normal."

"Anyway…" Vector cut in, "let's get down to business."

They headed for the main entrance, where Knuckles, donned in a treasure hunter costume, was in the midst of advertising.

"Step right up to experience the first annual Chaotix haunted house!" he announced. "The most fun you'll ever have being scared! Are you prepared to witness…"

Right on cue, lights shined on the house, displaying a rendition of Robotnik's insignia with devil horns, dummy Badniks with pitchforks and the like displayed on a neon sign.

"The Horrors of Robotropolis?!"

A high pitched scream ripped through the night, fake lightning cracked, and Sonic's evil laugh echoed through the entrance.

"Oh, so that's what she wanted the recording for," Keith remarked.

"You actually recorded Sonic's creepy evil laugh?" Tails asked.

Keith shrugged. "Knuckles told Kat, and Kat wanted it. It fits the aesthetic perfectly, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Kat agreed. "So, Shard, Bunnie, you ready?"

"Oh, big time," Shard declared.

Antoine turned to Bunnie in surprise. "You're part of the haunted house?"

"Yep," Bunnie nodded. "Trust me, it will be good."

They headed inside at that.

"I'm going first," Eggatha decided. "It'll be cool to see what you guys have in store."

"Right behind you, Aggie," Hope said.

The girls went, followed by Sam and Metal. Before they entered, Hope took Sam's hand.

"You scared?" Sam asked.

"Of course not," Hope replied. "It's just hard to see where I'm going. Yeah... sunglasses at night. I didn't think this through too well."

Sam chuckled. "Well then, I'll be your eyes."

As they headed in, they found themselves in a darkened corridor, everything ominously still and silent.

"Welcome to Dr. Robotnik's little city of horrors," Vector's voice came over the loudspeaker, distorted and near-demonic. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

A pipe suddenly burst. They spun to see nothing but escaping steam. As they turned back, Kat was suddenly standing stock still in their path, hair over her face and having appeared out of nowhere. Sam jumped, recoiling before sighing.

"Stinking jumpscares get me every time…" he muttered.

Lightning flashed, and Kat disappeared.

"Remember Metal, no night vision," Eggatha insisted. "After all, I want you to get the full experience."

"Just because I am capable of emotions doesn't mean I feel fear, Agatha," Metal insisted. "There is nothing here that will scare me."

"You realize the people in here are gonna take that as a challenge, right?" Sam asked.

Metal shrugged. "They can try, and they will fail."

They moved deeper into the haunted house, maneuvering through rough, metal walls while jumping at the occasional hiss of hydraulics. As they entered a room, a light flashed, revealing Bunnie in what appeared to be a Roboticizer. Her costume had been torn, and the area around her cybernetics had been covered in fake blood.

"Run…" she gasped. "Run while you..."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, revealed to be a Bride of Frankenstein-esque Eggatha, who cackled before pulling a large switch. Bunnie shrieked as the lights flickered, and everything went dead. After a few minutes, the lights slowly blinked back on. Bunnie stepped out of the Roboticizer, now wearing metal coverage that made her look like a fully Roboticized version of herself.

"I exist to serve Dr. Robotnik," she declared in a dull, robotic monotone.

She then lunged at them, just as the lights winked out. Hope had a death grip on Sam, shuddering in terror.

"Okay…" she let out. "That actually got me."

"So…" Eggatha mused, "they imagined me as a Bride of Frankenstein. It works."

"It was an interesting take," Metal agreed.

They went into the next room, but didn't get far before numerous chained Motobugs dropped down like spiders on webs. Both Eggatha and Hope actually yelped, ducking down. Thankfully, the chains weren't long enough for anyone to get hit. They slowly stood up as the chains rattled ominously, the Motobugs' blank optics staring at them.

"I will admit, this is rather... unsettling," Metal confessed.

"Oh yeah," Sam agreed. "Good thing I used the bathroom back at Chris' place."

They headed further into the room, stopping short to see Shard standing before a chair highly reminiscent of the Chaos Siphon, a realistic-looking Sonic mannequin strapped into it.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Shard declared dramatically. "At last, I, Metal Sonic, have you right where I want you!"

Shard pulled the lever and blue lightning ripped through the doll and parts of the "Siphon". Fake blood began pouring from the doll's mouth, eyes, and nose. An evil cackle filled the room. When it was done, the doll was a burned, bloody crisp. Shard turned to Hope and the others, grinning maliciously.

"Who's next?" he asked.

The lights flickered, and the kids took off.

"Okay... how the HELL did that make it in?!" Sam demanded.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Hope replied. "But now... I am officially freaked."

"I will concede, I too am... unsettled," Metal agreed.

"Let's just get to the end…" Eggatha sighed.

They headed into another room... and stopped short to find a burnt-out husk of a village of Yurashian design. What appeared to be Robotnik himself hovered overhead, laughing maniacally. Fake fires erupted everywhere, and several fake bodies were piled around. Then… one began to move. It slowly rose to its feet, limp and lurching like a marionette that had had its strings cut, before throwing its head back, glaring at Robotnik overhead.

"REVENGE!" It screamed in Chun-ese, revealing it to be Kat. Her head then turned, seemingly on an unnatural swivel, and locked onto Metal. A burnt arm raised, a charred finger pointed right at Metal.

"You…" she hissed before shrieking and lunging. Metal recoiled, stumbling back as she came at him.

"Stay back!" he yelled. "STAY BACK!"

"DIE!" Kat screamed.

"Time to go!" Eggatha yelled.

All of them bolted to the exit. Sam was the last one out, slamming the door behind him.

"Judging by the oil stains on Metal's leg, I'd say you had fun," came Vector's voice.

They all screamed and turned around to see him.

" Can you NOT pop out of nowhere like that, please?!" Hope shouted.

"I'll take that as a yes," Vector remarked.

"Come see the photos," Espio offered.

Eggatha blinked. "Photos?"

Espio led them to the side. The others were there, looking over screens displaying images from inside the house, capturing Hope and co.'s terrified reactions.

"Oh those came out great," Kat's voice came from right behind them.

They yelped, Hope unthinkingly jumping into Sam's arms.

"Can I have a copy of the one where Metal's cowering behind Eggatha?" she asked.

"Let me guess," Eggatha began. "Payback for the Overlord incident?"

"What can I say? I'm petty," Kat smirked. "I won't even deny it. And those oil stains on Metal's legs will keep nightmares at bay for weeks."

Metal turned to her, humiliated. "That was a long time ago. I wasn't myself."

"Hey, I am well within my rights to get revenge," Kat shot back. "After all, you did kill me."

Metal couldn't find a suitable retort.

"Okay, now that that's done, the rest of us will have a go," Sonic decided.

"Go do that," Hope replied. "I'm gonna go trick-or-treating with Aggie now."

"Agreed," said Eggatha. "I'm in the mood for some harmless tricks after... that."

"Glad you had fun!" Vector called as they walked off.

"Well, I better get back into position," Kat said. "So, what's the betting pool on the pant wetters?"

The last thing Hope and Eggatha heard before going through a Warp Ring were screams of terror from the haunted house, signifying a terrifying and memorable Halloween.

Author's Note:

(1): Japanese schoolgirl uniform.

(2): Think like Mario's cowboy costume in Super Mario Odyssey.

(3): Same as the above, but the aviator costume.

(4): Mobian The Grudge. Or The Ring, whichever you prefer.

Sonic's choice of costume should be an obvious reference, while a lot of the others were derived from Sonic Runners and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle. Sally's costume is a reference to one of the more... bizarre alternate universes in pre-reboot Archie, a Sailor Moon parody. Author of the Insane and I agreed that was too out there for an alternate universe, but not for a Breeze Media show.

Please R&R. Happy Halloween!