Chapter Text
'Twas the night of Halloween, and all through the house, all the people were stirring, along with even the mouse. The families had gathered to plan and prepare, for the trick-or-treaters who soon would be there.
Far away, in OTHERMART
A young girl in her blue hoodie along with her older brother sporting an orange checkered sweatshirt can be seen running around the store, clenching medium-sized bags of candy.
'Come back this instant, or I'll replace the scarecrows' heads with YOURS. Smiley, smiley!'
'Gah! *puff* How can one woman.. be this fast?!'
'Catch up Vance, damn it!'
'YOU STOP RUNNING IN MY SHOP! 惹麻烦的孩子们! HEY!'
Outside, closer to Hobbeez
A young boy with messy blonde 'hair', obscuring his eyes from a normal viewpoint is babbling carelessly. A group of girls stand nearby.
'And being the nice and generous gentleman I am, I told him, man you can't pull a woman wth fun-sized Skittles! You need to be more than fun size... share size Skittles!'
'He's right.. more guys should do more for girls like us..'
'Yeah! What a slag!'
'You're right, The Maverick! You're so cool!'
'Yes, The Maverick is always right! Then after I warned him, he came back to me a couple minutes later. Guess what, he didn't even get a thank you, just a 'Thanks!'. And he was happy with it! Some people nowadays just can't be saved!'
'Yep, for real!'
'Play stupid games, win stupid prizes...'
'Yeah! But you know better!'
'Alas, not everyone can be me, The Maverick. Not a single man in Faraway has the level of charismatic charm that I possess. I've learned that it's simply impractical to try and teach my ways to fellow associates. But if you'd like, I can show-
'Hey, I heard the bakers were giving out free slices of pumpkin pie at their house! We've gotta get some!'
'Ooh, my favorite! I bet it'll be even better than what Othermart sells!'
'Thanks for the queen-sized Sweetheart bars and stuff, Mikhael...'
The group starts to walk away.
'Wha- Ladies, wait up! If you stay a bit longer I promise I'll get you double! I must- ack! My totally real and beautiful blonde hair! Nobody look! And my name is The Maverick, hear me? The Maverick!'
And now farther away, SUNNY'S house
Festive decor partially illuminates the dusk that obscures the light of the sun. Orange, bright white lights, plastic spiders on the walkway, a creepily realistic skeleton from Hobbeez hanging from the tree. And of course, the classic home-carved Jack-o'-lanterns
His sister, Mari, goes and gathers some store-bought candy and puts it into a large spiderweb-styled bowl.
Sunny sits on the couch, peacefully petting the cat while watching TV. There's nothing much on that interests him today. Mewo however, dreams of tuna fish treat mountains on the couch shoulder, perfectly content with what the day holds.
Mari soon after settles onto the couch, accompanying him.
"Hey, little bro!" Mari greets him, shifting slightly to make herself more comfortable.
"Hey.." He extends his arm towards the bowl of candy, but Mari swiftly swats his hand away. "Ow..."
"Uh uh uh, you know this candy is for the trick-or-treaters, Sunny!"
"Yeah, yeah.."
Mari lips curve into a mischievous smile. "Well, maybe we could just take a few.." Mari grabs a piece out of the bowl and hands it to Sunny.
"Woohoo!" Sunny cheered as he unwrapped the candy.
Mari giggles to herself as she takes a small handful to eat.
"Don't eat all of those now, you two!" Sunny and Mari's mother called from upstairs. "I'll tally every piece!"
"Geez, now I know where Mari gets her hearing from..." Sunny whispered to himself.
"You got that right..." Mari whispers back. "We won't, mom!" Mari called back to her.
Suddenly, they both hear a loud bang on the front door.
"Hm? It's a bit too early in the evening for trick-or-treaters, is it not?" Mari says. "I'll get it."
A raspy voice comes from the door...
"Ooooooh, I'm a ghooost..!"
Sunny raised his eyebrow.
"Open up before I haaaunt yooou!!"
Mari scoffed sarcastically and walked closer to the door. "Eeek! We'd better not let this scary ghost inside of our home, Sunny!"
The voice then becomes much less croaky.
"Ha! I'm just joking, it's me, Kel! C'mon, let me in!"
Mari laughed and opened the door.
On the other side of the door lies the boy, a white tablecloth covering 99% of his body, leaving only his eyes visible.
"Boo! Sup guys, betcha I scared you back there!"
"Oh yes, we were very scared," Mari turns her head. "Especially Sunny!"
Sunny gets a bit flustered. "Mari! I wasn-"
"Bwahahahaha!" Kel bursts in laughter. "I can just imagine the look on your faces!"
"What are you waiting for, Kel, come in!" Mari said.
"Right!" Kel said, scurrying in.
The three sit down together on the couch. Kel reaches his blanket-covered arm towards the big bowl of candy. "Yeeouch!"
"Say, Sunny..why don't you put your costume on while we wait for the others?" Mari said.
"Yeah, I'll go right now." Sunny said, starting towards the stairs to put on his Halloween getup.
The two remaining on the couch wait patiently as they wait for the night to set in. Soon after, another lighter knock on the door can be heard.. following the very audible scream of horror coming from outside, disturbing Mewo from his slumber.
"I guess it wasn't the best idea to place those spiders right next to the door.."
A voice comes from the door...
"Haah.. Anybody home? It's Hero!"
"I'd better get him!" Mari excitedly got up and opened the door, giving Hero a big hug.
"Heya, sugarplums." Hero says, smiling. "And you too, Kel. I hope he wasn't scaring you to death before I got here." Hero rolls his eyes at Kel, sticking his tongue out back at him.
"I think I'll be okay.." Mari says with a joking smirk.
A loud creak comes from somewhere, startling the trio including Mewo once again.
"Eeeyaaah!" Mari exclaimed, flinching.
"Wh-what's with that noise!?" Hero shouted, standing upright.
"Guys, relax, it's probably just the-"
An unamused Sunny, adorned in furry cat ears and facepainted whiskers then enters the room.
"What are you guys being so loud about??"
"They've really got to do something about those creaky stairs.." Hero sighed.
"Oh my goodness, Sunny!" Mari calls. "You- You're so cuuute!"
"Heya, Sunny!" Hero waves to him.
Mari hurries over to him, squishing and squeezing his cheeks firmly.
"And these soft ears! Aweee!"
"So sore..." Sunny whispered as he rubbed his cheek, his face flustered.
Wait, another knock on the front door.
Double knocks, actually. This must be important.
"That must be the others!" Hero said.
"Oh! You're right!"
Mari pat Sunny's head and ran over to the door to greer their guests. Outside stood Basil and Aubrey, awaiting to be let in.
"H-Hello Mari!" Basil greeted her.
"Hi Mari!" Aubrey said, waving at her.
"How are you?" Mari said, standing to the side. "Come on in, guys!"
The three returned to the living room, meeting the rest of the group.
"Aubrey, Basil, glad seeing you guys here!" Hero said.
"HEYY GUYS!!" Kel said, dashing over to squeeze them both in an endearingly tight elbow lock.
"Gross! Let go of me, Kel!" Aubrey yelled, blushing.
"Hi everyone.." Basil smiled.
"Ack! Hi Hero.. and Sunny.. nice cat ears."
"Oh my, Aubrey is right!" Basil exclaimed, getting closer to Sunny. "You look just like Mewo!"
Being called, Mewo stirred, perking his head.
"I've gotta get a picture of you two together!"
"Sure, let's do it Basil.." Sunny said.
'Meow..?' Mewo meowed, probably in approval.
"Yay!" Basil exclaimed.
Sunny picked up Mewo and settled him on his shoulder.
Click.. SNAP!
This is a great one!" Basil said, smiling as he analyzed the photo.
"Oh, yeah," Kel said, disrupting the chatter between everyone. "Speaking of costumes, what are YOU, Basil?"
"Me?" Basil asked. "Oh, well, this is a sunflower suit.. it's my favorite type of flower. Polly got it for me!"
"Awesome!" Kel said.
"I really like it!" Aubrey said.
"That's cool, Basil!" Hero said to the sunflower-suited blonde.
"Ahaha, thanks guys, I didn't think it looks THAT nice on me.." Basil said with a hint of blush.
"Oh, and Aubs!" Kel called. "What did you bring to wear?"
"Oh.. my costume, I, uh.." Aubrey zoned out a bit.
"Hey, Aubrey," Kel inquired. "Speak up! Ooh, wait, is it a surprise??"
"No, uhm, I didn't- my mom didn't exactly get a costume for me.." Aubrey said.
"Whaaaat?" Kel said, shocked. "What happened? Did you guys forget and realized last minute you didn't get anything to dress up as?"
"Uh, yeah!" Aubrey said as she smiled with embarrassment. "We totally forgot about the Halloween stuff!"
"Oh, dear.." Mari whispered.
"That's terrible!" Kel exclaimed.
"If you want, you can borrow my costume,
"Wait, I got an idea!" Kel said with stars in his eyes. "If Mari's down for it, I'm sure you can be a beautiful ghost like me!"
"I am NOT going to wear a BLANKET all around town!" Aubrey exclaimed.
"Aw, don't be like that, Aubrey," Kel said with a frown. "Being a ghost is wicked cool!"
"I-I don't think so..."
"Pssst.." Mari says, creeping behind Aubrey.
"Wha- Mari?" Aubrey peered to her behind. "What is it?"
"There are some pink tablesheets we never use in the kitchen cabinet that we could do something with, but you don't want to.."
"P-Pink?" Aubrey replies, cutting her off. "You guys never said anything about being a PINK ghost.." Aubrey smiles.
"Hurray!" Mari cheered and hurried to bring back the allotted supplies. "Alright, arms out Aubrey!"
Aubrey forms a T, prompting Mari to map out the sheet around Aubrey's body. Instinctively, Hero starts helping out as well.
"It's okay, but I dunno about wearing this thing over my entire body." Aubrey turns to Mari.
"Still don't like the whole ghost idea, huh?" Mari asked.
"It's just not me.." Aubrey replied.
"It's alright, Aubrey." Hero says, turning to Aubrey. "Not everyone needs-"
"Ooh, wait, wait up!" Kel called to them, breaking up Hero's speech. "What about.. we turn it into a cape?
"That's actually a really good idea!" Basil agreed.
"You're on a roll, Kel." Hero said. "It could work!"
"What do you think, Aubrey?" Mari asked Aubrey.
"You could be like, a super awesome vampire!" Kel suggested. "And vampires are even cooler and scarier than a ghost!"
"A cape..?" Aubrey pondered. "I think I'd like that."
"Yippee!" Kel shouted. "Then it's settled!"
"But for the record, I'd rather die than suck a drop of your blood, Kel!"
The group laughs at Aubrey's bold remark.
"Hum, so let's see, this thing's just the perfect size to make a working cape.." Mari stated. "We'd just need to adjust a bit."
"It's doable." Hero shrugged. "I think we could get it done pretty quick too!"
"Right here, I gotcha!" Kel called, running in with scissors and superglue. "Airdrop comin' in!"
"Kel, don't run with sharp things!" Hero warned Kel.
"Sooorry!" Kel said, giggling to himself.
Mari and Hero got to work on measuring and cutting parts of the cloth. Soon, Kel was on the ground sketching hearts and stars on the sheet being joined by Basil, while Sunny worked alongside them making neat black stripes diagonally.
The finishing touches on the makeshift costume include carefully creasing and superglueing the uppermost part of the costume, a mini-blazer that circles around the back of her head.
Hero inspects it one last time and holds the costume up, a firm pink ghost-jacket-vampire costume hybrid. Everyone stands in silence for a moment, to analyze the final product of their hard work, until Aubrey speaks up.
"I think... this is absolutely perfect."
Mari laughs and pulls Aubrey into a hug, followed by Kel, and Hero, and everyone else in one big group hug.
"Silly me.." Mari says, pulling back. "Aubrey, you have to try it on!"
"Of course!"
Aubrey takes the costume and pops her arms in the armholes, wearing the costume similar to halfof Kel's ghost body.
"Sooo.." Kel asked Aubrey. "How is it..?"
"A little tight, but I'll live." Aubrey flashed a sincere smile "Thank you guys for everything, I mean it!"
"Awee.." Mari cooed.
"Don't mention it." Hero said.
"That's what friends are for!" Kel beamed.
"Anytime.." Basil smiled.
"Anything for you, Aubrey!"
"Ah, what time is it now?" Hero whispers to himself.
Hero checks the clock. Both hands are well past 8. "I didn't even notice it get this late! Reckon we should get going soon.."
Mari checks the time herself. "Oh, you're right! I guess time sure flies when you're having fun!" She giggles.
"Okay, are we ready to leave?" Hero asked the group.
'Meooow?' Mewo meowed, clawing at Sunny's leg.
"Not you, Mewo, you're staying here silly!" Mari says as she picks up Mewo and places him back on the couch shoulder.
'Meeow...' Mewo meowed sadly.
"Don't give me that look, we'll be back soon. Mom will keep you company!"
'Mrr...' Mewo meowed, as he fell asleep to once again return back to the land of tuna mountains.
"Let's go!" Kel exclaimed. "I'm gonna be the candy king!"
"Keep dreaming, Kel!" Aubrey smirked.
"Oh yeah?" Kel replied, his lips curving into a smirk as well. "Why don't we bet?"
Hero smiled as he watched the two harmlessly bicker as always. "Alright, everyone!"
Quickly grabbing 4 pillow cases from upstairs, Mari returns to everyone, following along before she stumbles and trips over herself.
"Whaa!" Mari calls as she narrowly avoids falling to the ground.
"Mari!" Hero says, everyone pausing as he hastes over to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just my leg.. it's usually not this sore, phew!" Mari says, clutching her knee.
"Oh, Mari.. don't overexert your bad leg too much. Want me to take over from here?" Hero says, concerned.
"No, no, it'll be good if I just sit down for a minute.. I'll catch up with you guys, promise!"
"Alright, if you say so.." Hero said. "We'll be right across the street. Come on, everyone!"
They make their way outside of the home, avoiding the terrors of the plastic spiders, to the blackness of night, lighted only by battery powered LEDs littering some houses around the area. More prominently the full moon, beaming its primal nightlight down on a chunk of the Earth. A pleasant breeze flows throughout the town.
"I-it sure is a bit cool tonight, isn't it?" Basil remarked.
"Certainly a little chillier than I expected." Hero said, letting out a chuckle.
"Should've been a ghost, Hero!" Kel called out to him. "We're totally immune to the cold! Right, Aubs?"
"Oh, be quiet Kel..." Aubrey giggled. "But I'll admit, these costume idea IS both stylish and great at trapping heat.."
"I think I'm a bit big to be a ghost.." Hero said. "But you both certainly got the right 'spirit'"!
Hero's quiet laughs were met with eye rolls and groans from those surrounding.
"Hero.." Sunny spoke up. "Could you please leave the corny jokes to MARI?"
The others giggled and nodded in agreement.
"Aww, whaat? That one wasn't even half bad!" Hero argued for himself.
"Hero.." Kel said.
"D'oh, I can't win!" Hero chuckled. "Maybe some free candy will get your funny bones working, let's get a move on!"
The 5 assembled into position again and resumed their pilgrimage, waving Kel and Hero's mother smiling and waving back from the window. Until soon they spotted a peculiar figure walking in their direction.
It was getting faster..
A few of them slowed down a little to observe, the pitch black paired with light fog making it harder to recognize anybody not just a couple of feet away.
"Oh my, is THAT.." A boy's voice can be heard from not far away.
The figure arrives.
"Why if it isn't my arch-nemesis Kel and his squad of loose jaw neanderthals!" A boy with messy blonde hair appears, walking in front of them. "Out past your bedtime on my street?"
"Hey, Mikhael, didn't expect to see you around here! What's going on?" Kel said, waving at him.
"You!" Aubrey steps forward, shouting at the newbie blonde. "We're trying to have some fun tonight! Get out of here, Mave-dick!"
"Aubrey!" Hero said sternly.
"My name is not Mikhael, it is The Maverick, fool!" 'The Maverick' says, adjusting his hair. "And if you must know, I for one was just passing by, trick-or-treating just as you are!"
"Oh, why are you even trick-or-treating in the first place?" Kel asked. "Don't you have like, an infinite supply of free candy?"
'I do, but-"
"And where's your Halloween costume? Half of the fun is dressing up. I don't get it, is the costume your wig or something?"
"W-w-w-w-WIG? OF COURSE NOT! The costume is I, you moron! My illustrious form and power alone as a supreme being outweighs a childish drape ten fold! I don't need candy, I'm just out here to prove that I can get more than you in a jiffy!"
"Whatever you say.."
Mikhael points at Basil.
"And YOU, flower boy, have been on my radar for too long as well! Have you no shame attempting to mimick my beautiful hairstyle, the hair of The Maverick?"
"I, er, uh.." Basil stutters quietly.
"You'd better dump a barrel of green dye over that pathetic mockery before I, The Maverick.."
"Hey, guys!" Mari says, now standing besides Hero. "Oh, is this your friend, Basil?"
"Mari!" Kel exclaims.
"Hey, Mari." Sunny greets her quietly.
Aubrey pouts to the side with her hands crossed. "Oh, hi Mari."
Mikhael pauses and looks up in Mari's direction, his speech trailing off entirely. He stands in silence for a few seconds before proceeding forward, quickly shoving Basil and Sunny out of the way.
"Ooh la la!" Mikhael exclaimed, looking up at Mari. "Now that's a pretty face if I've ever seen one!"
"Huh..?" Mari said awkwardly, looking down at the blushing boy. "Oh, th-thank you! What's your name, pal?"
"You may call me, THE MAVERICK!" Mikhael says. "But more importantly, I'm hoping that I may call you my sunshine!" He clicks his tongue provocatively.
"Ah ha ha..where are your parents, little gu-" Mari starts to speak.
"Oh!" Mikhael interrupts her. "You're SUNNY's sister, riiiight?" He yanks Sunny from where he was standing. "We're the best of friends, like peanut butter and jelly, two peas in a pod!" Mikhael says, ruffling up Sunny's hair as he speaks. "Very handsome fella too. It must run in the family!"
"Argh.." Sunny says, as he gets suddenly released from Mikhael's chokehold.
Having heard enough, Hero turns and walks on front of Mikhael.
"Alright, Mikhael, we've got to get going before it gets late. Are there not enough girls in your freshman year for you to torture?"
Hero's remark was met with snickering from the others.
"Ugh, fine, I'll spare you all for now, n-not because I'm intimidated by you, 'HERO', but JUST because I'm in a hurry. My parents want me home early to teach me how to make sugar cookies, can you believe it? The Maverick is just way too cool for cooking!"
'The Maverick' strikes a pose, before quickly adjusting his blonde hair.
"Anyway, farewell losers! See you on the flip! Mikhael looks up at Mari one last time. "Farewell, my sweet. Kiss kiss~" Mari smiles awkwardly and waves at him as he scurries down the street they plan to travel through.
"Kids nowadays are quite courageous, don't you think?" Mari said, turning to Hero.
"Psh, got that right." Hero said quietly.
"Much different from the sweet yet shy kid I used to know for years..." Mari giggled and playfully shouldered Hero.
"Aw, come on now Mari, cut me some slack! Not even the mighty Maverick could bear your charm."
The group laughs as they continue down the road, pillow bags in hand. How could things possibly get any scarier than enduring conversations with The Maverick?