Chapter Text
A pair of shiny black loafers clack against stone, a girl dressed in black and orange garb perches delicately in the center of a large fountain, chin resting in her hand. Her furred ears twitch idly.
After a moment of consideration, she grins, letting out a quiet giggle. Her eyes close and her tail swishes.
Three figures begin to take shape in the clearing before her.
Magolor pushes himself up first, expression tense as he rushes to take in his surroundings. Then Taranza, who sits up, looking around in confusion. And finally Marx, who grumbles and situates himself in a cross-legged sit, arching an unimpressed brow.
“Wh-where are we?” Taranza asks in a shaky voice.
“Why! I’m so glad you asked!” the girl calls out, startling the trio. She stands, and raises her arms in a flourish, “Welcome welcome! To Hallows Edge! A world of tricks and terrors!”
They blink with varying levels of widened eyes. Marx’s raised eyebrow hikes up even further, “Uh, who are you?”
She tilts her head up, “Oh me? Why I’m the Black Cat! You’d best show respect, ’cause I’m the boss around here!”
“Great…” Magolor mumbles.
The Black Cat continues as if she hadn’t heard, “And you three are quite the lucky bunch! For you have been chosen to participate in the annual Halloween Trials!”
Taranza scoots closer to the other two, brows furrowed in worry. Magolor taps his finger against the crook of his elbow. ”I see, I see, so what exactly are these trials?“ he asks, tilting his head down slightly as he looks up at her.
She returns to her original position, kneeling with her chin in her hand. “Think of it like a game. Traverse through Hallows Edge, and collect candy. I’ll be waiting for you at the old Church, where I will judge you. Collect enough candy, and I’ll let you go home!”
”Let?“ Taranza echoes.
The Black Cat giggles, “Of course! It’s not a proper game without stakes!”
Magolor scoffs, ”Oh, so we can’t leave?“ He uncrosses his arms, ”Really..?“ Magolor twirls his hands in an arc, and waits.
And nothing happens.
The Black Cat chuckles lowly, ”Oh, were you trying to do something there? Well then it’d be a good time to inform you that I’ve removed your ability to cast any spells.”
Magolor’s hands tremble in the air, and he slowly exchanges a look with the other two. He snaps his hands to his chest, and takes a step back.
“Y-you…”
“It’s such a shame, isn’t it?” she continues, “But I can’t have you escaping before the games done, or cheating either, it has to be fair right?” She stands up, hands on her hips, “Now, as I was saying… you’ll be provided costumes and matching candy baskets of course. You’re welcome for that by the way, last time we made them get their own, hehe!” She stretches her hand out into the air, ”Now, one at a time, let’s see… Taranza will go first!“ She snaps her fingers.
A cloud of smoke puffs over Taranza as he yelps, and as it clears, he stands in a dark waistcoat with a cherry red dress shirt, there’s some kind of red gloss painted over his horns, and a fake pointed tail attached to the back of his belt.
“You got the Demon! How snazzy! And hey we didn’t even have to give you horns! Hah! Have fun with that enhanced strength, by the way.”
Taranza picks at the lapel of his waistcoat, before folding his hands in front of him as he holds a plastic red candy basket.
”And now Marx, who was ever so gracious to me~”
She snaps her fingers once again, and Marx reappears in a big, long black coat with a skeleton embossed and painted across the front. And in his hand, a big skull shaped basket.
“You got the Skeleton! Now this one’s fun! It makes you super fast!”
Marx looks down at it, looks back up, and shrugs.
“And now finally, Magolor, who’s already jumped the gun on trying to escape. And failed, of course.” She waves her arm in a big arc, slowing as she reaches the peak of it, and snaps her fingers.
Magolor blinks with wide eyes, standing in a black, flowing cloak with a tall collar, fastened to his shoulders with a crimson brooch. Air brushes against his ears and rustles his hair. Taranza and Marx stare speechlessly. Magolor shrieks, arms slapping over his head.
“You got the Vampire! Very slick, I like it!”
“WHAT THE HELL! I WANT A DO OVER, NOW!”
The Black Cat crosses her ankles. “No can do, that’s your costume and that’s that!”
“PL- CAN IT HAVE A HOOD!? PLEASE!?”
“Nope!” She learns forward, “Well! Now that you’re all dressed and ready to go, I’ll be taking my leave. Start by trick or treating at Halloween Town, which is right ahead from this path.” She gestures behind her, then stands up straight with a bounce, “Oh, right! There are other residents of Hallows Edge, aside from me, and not all of them are friendly, so keep an eye out!” She waves her finger at them. “I’ll be waiting for you~! Good luck!” She mock salutes, leaning backwards until she tips over, and vanishes.
Magolor sits squatted on the ground, hands and arms still firmly covering his head.
Taranza approaches tentatively, kneeling beside him to Magolor’s right. Marx stays where he is, staring.
”Magolor-“ Taranza starts, reaching to put a hand on his shoulder, but before he can, Magolor shoots up and dashes into the nearby woods, ducking behind a tree. Taranza blinks, and exchanges a glance with Marx, who looks back at him with round eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Taranza tilts his head in question, but Marx looks away, saying nothing.
Taranza shakes his head, and gets up to approach the tree Magolor hid behind. ”Just give me a minute!“ Magolor says in a shrill voice as he nears. Taranza sighs, and folds his hands behind his back as he waits. After a moment, Marx comes up to stand beside him, looking uncharacteristically serious.
Magolor slowly steps out from behind the tree, the cloak of his costume wrapped rather awkwardly over his head and pinned into place under his neck, hand clenching his arm above the elbow.
”Ah, well… I’m glad you sorted that out?“ Taranza says tentatively.
Magolor nods stiffly.
“Come on, we gotta go get candy and save our butts.” Marx calls to him, already walking off down the path.
Magolor trails after him, and Taranza follows after a moment. The trio march off into the sparsely wooded path as gold and orange lights start to come into view, and then the distant view of heavily decorated houses, lit in jack-o-lantern light mark the entrance of Halloween Town.