Operation: SCARY, Part 4

This upcoming song is based off of "Robot Hell" from Futurama, so just imagine that soundtrack as you're listening to it.

Chapter 4: Wiccan and the Broommates

The Fright Side; Scary Godmother's House

"Make room, gang, we got a new witch in town!" Scary Godmother announced, pushing open the front doors and allowing Crystal inside.

"Oh, now I have to make an extra batch." A skeleton in a top-hat complained.

"Mr. Pettibone, this is my new friend, Crystal Wickens." Godmother introduced. "Crystal, this is Mr. Pettibone."

"Call me Skully!" the skeleton greeted, shaking Crystal's hand.

"It's, nice to, meet you?" Crystal greeted/questioned.

"Ah, so His Highness was toying with the magical goo again, ahh?" a baldheaded vampire with dark red eyes and a brown cloak questioned.

"Vell, it is nice that he still makes his creations look beautiful." A female vampire said, wearing a black cloak over a red dress, and had long, raven-black hair.

A younger vampire levitated over to Crystal and observed her form. He wore glasses around his glowing red eyes, wore a black T-shirt with a skull design, white shoes, and indigo jeans. "Wow, you're pretty! Are you single?"

"Ehh…" Crystal grinned nervously.

"Crystal, these are the Vampires." Scary Godmother introduced.

"Count Max." the male vampire bowed. "My wife, Ruby." He directed her attention to Ruby.

"And our son, Orson." Ruby introduced. "Orson, honey. Please do not sniff our guest's neck."

Crystal looked creeped as Orson was sniffing her neck. He stopped at his mom's request. "Oh, Mom…" he rolled his eyes and drifted back beside his parents.

"Oh, and uh, Crystal's not really a witch. She's a human!" Godmother mentioned.

"Vell, she certainly LOOKS like a witch." Count Max replied.

"There's some kind of misunderstanding. We'll work it out in a little bit, but there's still a little work to be done. Oh, where is that werewolf? Ahem… Har-RYYY!"

"What's going on?" Crystal asked.

"Well, every year, my broommates and I are in charge of planning the Halloween after-party for the Nightmares." Godmother explained. "It's never an easy job…" she said as she looked toward the stairs with an angered look, "but if SOMEONE would pull their weight…"

They heard someone panting and looked to see a white werewolf in blue pajamas hurrying in through the back. "Sorry I'm late. I had other 'BUSINESS' to attend to."

"Harry… this is Crystal." Godmother introduced. "A new friend."

"OH, 'tis truly a pleasure." Harry greeted, walking over to shake Crystal's hand with both of his. "It's about time we had another witch around here." He put his head closer to Crystal's and said in a smooth tone, "And I must say, you are looking FANCY this night! We don't have very many witches of your beauty and-"

"Ahem." Harry looked with fright at the angry Scary Godmother. "Harry, aren't there jack-o-lanterns you need to be carving?"

"OH, yes, yes, how rude of me. Erm, RIGHT AWAY, Your Frightfulness." Harry bowed as he left out the back door.

As he left, a blue, ghostly cat soared in from the window, releasing a ghostly, moaning meow. "Oh! And this is my cat, Boozle." Scary Godmother introduced.

"Hey, Boozle." Wiccan smiled and waved.

The cat released another meow before flying out through the back.

"So, what's your deal with that Harry guy?" Crystal asked as Scary Godmother led her to the couch.

"Oh, Harry's working off a little… debt. He's got this huge obsession with candy, and last year, he ate a giant chunk of it. There was hardly any left. So now he's busy doing extra work around the Fright Side."

"Hm-hm, better candy than flesh, wouldn't you say?" Crystal chuckled.

"Well, true that. Anyway, have yourself a seat, Crystal." Crystal did so and had a seat on the couch, resting her feet on the table. "Can I get you anything? Cookie Cobwebs, Spider Ice Cream, Bloody Sandwitch?"

"Umm… I'll just settle with some candy at the moment."

"Ooh, yes, nothing eases the troubles like some tasty candy!" Harry exclaimed as he stuck his head in the living room.

Scary Godmother smacked him away with her broom. "OH, and we should probably do something about that melted hand of yours, huh?" Crystal studied her hand, remembering its deformed appearance. "Thankfully, Darkrai gave me these to carry around in case I would need them." Scary Godmother pulled out a syringe with some red toxin. She stabbed it into Wiccan's hand and said, "'ere you go!" Wiccan winced as the potion absorbed into her skin. As Godmother pulled it out, Crystal watched as her hand slowly formed back to its normal, unmelted witch-like self. "There! You're just like one of the Nightmares now!"

"Hehe… sorry… this is still coming off as quite a shock to me." Crystal said as she waved her hand a little. "This whole thing with flying on broomsticks, witch magic, and… King of Nightmares… I never really believed any of this was real."

"Never believed it was real? You were dressing up as a witch earlier. You had the staff and everything."

"My staff usually worked with, well, high-tech stuff." Crystal explained as she held up her staff. "I had this little monitor thing on the end which I can change to make it shoot fire, ice… And it can also defy gravity and create holographic clones of myself. There was never any REAL magic to do with it. I may like this witch stuff, but I'm a woman of science."

"Well, Ms. Woman of Science," Godmother smirked, "you're a real witch, we're real monsters, we're all real creations of the Nightmare King, it's all real."

"Hm-hm. My friend, Nolan told me about them, but I never believed that the Nightmare King, or any of those gods existed."

Harry shot into the room with a surprised look. "'Never believed the gods EXISTED'?"

"Sounds like someone needs a song and dance number." Godmother suggested with a smirk.

"Hit it, boys." Mr. Pettibone instructed to a band of skeletons which appeared out of nowhere. The skeletons all began playing music as Godmother sang and danced.

"So ya don't believe magic, Or that other stuff—Well get ready, Wiccan, This witch's gonna prove you wrong!"

Scary Godmother grabbed Crystal's arm and pulled her to her feet, spinning her over between the vampires as they danced. "We're beings of Darkrai's heart and mind and soul, As well as many toxins, but that sounds quite too droll."

"I'll say, I never believed it a bit." Crystal said.

"Well, girl, prepare for your mind to be hit." Godmother said. She grabbed Crystal and spun her over to Skully, who pulled her in with his cane.

"Where do you think we go when we die, Down to the Underworld so that demons may decide our fate."

Skully released Crystal and spun her away. "Demons? That sounds fairly strange." Crystal said.

"Well, just look who's calling WHO deranged!" Godmother sang. "Solaris is sun, Polaris has snow, my dear—They had fights after fights, then decided their perfect time of year!"

"But I thought it was the sun and Earth's relation?" Crystal asked.

"It's merely coincidence, no correlation." Godmother replied.

The vampire family then moved their heads closer to Crystal, creeping the witch out. "My wife and I-" Max began.

"-To have eternal life, we must-" Ruby followed.

"-Remain in the dark-"

"-Or we'd turn to diamond dust." Orson finished.

Godmother put on a grin and exclaimed, "Come on, Wiccan! Don't be a chicken!"

The music silenced for a brief moment as Wiccan watched Ed limp by, bent over as two chickens rode on his back. "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck."

"It's as real, serial, and surreal as cereal gets!" Godmother exclaimed as the music started back up.

Wiccan watched as each of the broommates had a bite of some spider cereal. Before she knew it, Wiccan and Godmother were going down a roller coaster coffin.

Wiccan watched as each of the broommates had a bite of some spider cereal. Before she knew it, Wiccan and Godmother were going down a roller coaster coffin. "It's much too straaange-"

"There's not much more that I can say." Godmother said.

"Will we run into Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"'Far as I can tell, she's gone and hit the hay."

"I'd rather hang with Angelie Lemange."

"Come on, Wiccan, don't be scared. If anything, human lives are always spared. Just kick back, relax, enjoy the show."

"Just how far does this coffin go?"

Scary Godmother put on an excited expression, and Crystal had a horrified look as the coffin was coming to the end of the track, into an endless, orange, nightmarish abyss. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Her screams echoed as she dropped the long drop, but was caught by Godmother just a few inches from the bottom, where all the broommates continued to dance.

"The gods have blessed the mortals with a magic shower, You've seen it yourself with their elemental power!"

"Well, I at least believed Spider-Man and radioactivity." Crystal said.

"Well, you at least believe something, quite intricately."

"On Christmas, presents get delivered by Sandy Claws, I'd like a new broomstick, and Harry wants new claws."

Harry nodded excitedly at this, showing his claws. "But I heard Santa used a transportation device?" Crystal asked.

"It was magic once, and it's magic twice!" Godmother grinned. "Gods created continents and the oceans, How do you think land chunks move from place to place?"

"Convection currents and tectonic plates!" Crystal yelled.

"Thanks to Regigigas, and Groudon, his mate." Godmother corrected.

"But how do I know I'm not simply dreaming?"

"Sorry, dear, but all you're doin' is singing. And you're singing in the scariest place of all."

"Most exciting time in all of fall." Harry followed.

"Scaring little kiddies right down the halls!" Skully sang.

"Wanna go play some Vampire Ball?" Orson asked.

"So ya better get right here, in the game!" Godmother sang.

"'Long as you're down here in Scary Godmother's DOMAAAIIN!"

Once the song ended, Scary Godmother flipped a light switch, and the entire nightmare dimension switched back to the house's living room. "SO, do ya understand better, now, Crystal?"

"Hm, well thank you for disproving all reasonable logic." Crystal smirked, sitting back down on the couch. "Of course, the fact that I'm a witch must mean something."

"Mm, that's right. We need to figure out what caused you to turn into that."

"Before this happened, my friends and I were fighting this pumpkin-headed being. He was holding a magical scythe, and used it to transport me to the graveyard."

"Pumpkin-headed being? That sounds very familiar…"

"OH, it's probably nothing." Harry assured them. "Probably just a common thief getting into the holidays. Now… WHO wants some candy?" he asked with a hopeful expression, sticking his tongue out like a dog.

"Keep asking, and all you get is butterscotch." Scary Godmother told him. "Anyhow, Wiccan, because of your little 'situation,' I think I should help you train with some actual magic. Whatever caused this to happen to you, trouble can't be far behind. You'll need a way to defend yourself the old-fashioned witch way. Let's go outside and I'll show you!"

"Okay, sure!" With that, Crystal left with the witch through the front door.

As they left, Harry glared in Scary Godmother's direction with a furious look before leaving out the back.

Cleveland; Nugget River

Zach and Maddy Murphy kept running until they arrived at the river where supposedly gold nuggets are found. They stopped to catch their breath as Maddy said, "Well, that could've gone better."

Zach took this time to get a drink from the river, licking the water in with his tiger tongue. However, the tiger's eyes were drawn to the attention of a lone rabbit that had hopped its way through the bushes. Zach furrowed his eyes, his tiger instincts kicking in as he growled at the tasty-looking rabbit. The rabbit took notice of him and scampered away, and Zach immediately gave chase.

"Zach, where're you going?! ZAACH!" Maddy just stopped, realizing it was pointless. The dragon child looked down at her reflection in the river, frowning at the sight of her dragonified form. She sighed and held her head down in depression. "This is the worst night of my life. All I wanted to do was go trick-or-treating with my stupid brother. And now look at us! We're monsters… our parents kicked us out… now I'm just another freak like the rest of them."

"Sounds like someone's run into a little karma."

Maddy's ears perked, turning to see a lion come in through the bushes. Maddy jumped around and backed away in fear, but the lion said, "Maddy, relax, it's me."

"Chris?..." Maddy rose a brow, recognizing the voice.

"Yeah, I dressed up as Simba. Pretty neat, huh? So, where'd Zach go?"

Maddy sighed, "I don't know. He's always running off. 'Course, pretty soon, they'll have us taken to a savannah in Africa. He'll have plenty of room."

"On the bright side, now you know how it feels to be one of us."

"No! I am not one of you. I'm part of the race of normal humans. I have nothing to do with you metahuman freaks."

Chris only smirked, the lion jumping onto a rock. In the distance, some music started to play. "You don't have to be a metahuman freak. You're still not much different from us." Maddy watched as Chris pounced further down the river.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll get it, eventually. Anyway, let's go visit Dr. Facilier. I don't know if this comes close to voodoo, but it's worth a shot." With that, the three animals hurried into the city.

Downtown Cleveland

A lone man hid in the darkness of an alleyway, hiding with fright from all the monsters that roamed the streets. The man was caught by surprise when a being in green armor slammed a bear mask over his head. In a few seconds, the man was transformed into a bear. The bear roared and started aimlessly roaming the streets as more of Viridi's Royal Guards came out from the darkness of the alleyway.

Viridi's Lair

"AHH HA HA HA!" the Goddess of Nature laughed at what just happened. "This is too perfect! We can easily use the curse to our advantage! By dressing humans up as bears and other animals, we'll soon be rid of the menace of the earth! It'll be, good-bye disgusting humans, and HELLO creatures of nature! And as for the rest of the monsters, we'll just dispose of them afterward."

"Mmm, I see. There's just one problem, Mistress Viridi." Arlon spoke. "It seems that young Mister Nolan is looking for a way to resolve this matter. Should he succeed, what then?"

"He won't succeed. Not if my Forces of Nature have anything to say. This curse is staying in effect. And we are getting our Lunar Locket back from that Underworld outcast. No supernatural powers in the world can stop the powers of nature."

Downtown Cleveland

"I said he was this way!" Artie yelled, earning another smack from Harry.

"And I say you have no sense of direction." Harry retorted, earning an eye-poke from Artie.

The Three Stooges continued to battle as Chris, Zach, and Maddy found their way to Facilier's Voodoo Emporium (which was in the alley only a few feet from where the stooges were). Chris pounded on the door like the cat he was, calling, "Mr. Facilier, we need your help."

The witch doctor creaked the door open, gasping at the sight of the ferocious animals. "Dr. Facilier, it's us." Maddy told him.

"Oh, thank God…" Facilier sighed, pushing his door open. "Come in, kids. Already got a couple others."

The three operatives approached the candlelit table, and Chris stared closely at a couple of frogs standing on it. "Tiana and Naveen?"

"Nnot quite." Facilier said, shutting the door.

"Anyone of you seen our kids?" the Naveen frog asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gilligan?" Chris questioned.

"Yeah, Hoagie wanted us ta go as Princess and the Frog." Abby, the Tiana frog, stated.

"Methinks we should find Eva." Hoagie suggested. "She is a princess. And kissing her would be niice, yeees?" This earned a smack from Abby.

"And before you kids ask, I can't fix you right now." Facilier told them. "I was just down in the Underworld seein' Grim. Jack O'Lantern's escaped from prison."

"Jack O'Who?" Abby questioned.

"That's not important right now. But he's unleashed an irreversible transformation spell. He's created a replica of the Grim Reaper's scythe and unleashed the Curse of Monsters, an ancient spell which the original Nightmare King casted upon the people a long time ago. He was sick of people dressing up and making fun of his monsters, so he cast a spell that turned everybody into their costumes. And now it looks like Jack is repeating what he did."

"Irreversible? You mean we're stuck like this?" Zach asked.

"Not quite yet. But we're still trying to look up what it was that broke the curse. All I know is, we need to reverse it before midnight comes. If it ain't reversed in time, the spell becomes permanent. The humans lose all sense of who they were, and become whatever it is they have become."

Looks of worry appeared on everyone's faces.

The Fright Side; Scary Godmother's House

About an hour passed, and Crystal was still hanging with the broommates at the Fright Side, with Scary Godmother's theme playing on a record. Since her technical staff had been turned into a magical one, Scary Godmother's been helping her train with her new powers. At this moment, a rat was sitting on the table, and Crystal had her wand focused on the rodent as it slowly changed shape into a cup, but still had the fur and tail on it. "Well, still a few touches, but you're comin' close!" Godmother complimented.

"I bet I could make my real staff project the illusion that the rat really turned to a cup." Crystal smirked as she thought aloud.

"But regardless, it would still be a rat. It wouldn't have changed." Godmother corrected.

"I hardly believe it's changed now." she smirked, tapping the witch with her staff.

"Well, Little Miss Science, there's one particular magical spell that can't be projected by just a few nuts and bolts."

"And what might that be?"

"The Patronus Charm." she stated simply with a grin.

"Patronus Charm? The one that conjures light? My staff can do that easy."

"No, no. The Patronus Charm isn't just some light. It's a powerful light, a very special light created by your happiest of memories. You know how fire can be produced through a deep passion, or ice can be conjured by a cold feeling. Well, the Patronum is a feeling that comes from the heart, and is powered by your most wonderful memories. It produces a powerful light that banishes the power of evil."

"Mmm. Still, it sounds just the same as that spell that conjures sunlight."

"Oh, you'll get it eventually." They were interrupted when a loud knocking was heard at their door.

"SCARY GODMOTHER! There's something crazy goin' on that you need to hear about!"

"Is that you, Bug-a-boo? Runnin' late again?" Godmother asked.

"HEY, HEY, HEY!" A large monster, covered in grey fur with a blue head burst in. He had horns on his head, had many yellow-red eyes, had dozens of sharp teeth around his mouth, blue claw-hands and feet, and a blue devil tail.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Crystal jumped across the table in great surprise and fright of the monster.

"Oh, another witch. Is she your sister?" he asked Scary Godmother.

"N-No, no. This is my new friend, Crystal. She's a human. Crystal, this is Bug-a-boo. He's one of Darkrai's scariest monsters." she introduced with a grin.

"Oh, goody, you're just in time! I got my teeth sharpened! Check it out." The monster exposed his rows of steel-sharp teeth.

"AAAHHHHH!" Crystal decided to make like Scooby-Doo and run.

"Gee, if I'm scaring adults now, I'm asking for a promotion. Hey, wait!" Bug-a-boo charged after the woman.

"Bug-a-boo, don't! This is just like last time." Scary Godmother called, flying after them.

"Scary Godmother, I'm back with the-" Harry came in from the back door with some supplies, spinning around as the group charged past him. "Oh, Bug-a-boo! Have you got any candy?" He charged after them, still carrying the supplies.

"Not for you, Mister!" Mr. Pettibone yelled, going after Harry.

They ran past the Vampire Family, and Orson yelled, "Oh, boy, chase!", and ran after them. Ruby then charged after Orson, pulling Max along with her.

In the background, some classic Scooby-Doo music played as everyone ran down the halls of the house from their respective pursuers, with Crystal in the front. They all went up and down and all around the many entries into the living room before they suddenly split up and rammed into each other. They were knocked in a daze, but Crystal recovered and dashed up the stairs as the chase continued.

Crystal looked back as Bug-a-boo was hot on her tail, running as fast as she could to get away from the monster down the long, narrow hallway. As they zipped past a stand with three drawers, the bottom drawer slid open as Crystal peeked her head out. She looked up as Harry peeked out of the middle drawer, then widened her eyes when Bug-a-boo came out of the top drawer, and Crystal continued to run while Bug-a-boo chased, and Harry chased him. Crystal quickly dashed into a door and slammed it shut, then Bug-a-boo opened and dashed into it as well, slamming it shut. When Harry ran over and opened the door, he jumped in surprise as Skully angrily stood in the doorway, the skeleton raising his cane to whack him as the werewolf turned tail and ran.

Harry ran one way down the hall at the same time Crystal and Bug-a-boo were coming from the other way. Crystal and Harry skidded to a halt before ramming each other, the two of them looking back as their pursuers were coming close. Quickly, Harry leapt into Crystal's arms and held tight as Crystal zipped into a door, making Skully and Bug-a-boo ram each other. Crystal ran and carried Harry up a flight of long stairs, and as the others were giving chase, Crystal and Harry suddenly slid down the stair handles, slipping right past them.

They were hurrying across the halls again as Bug-a-boo, and everyone else gave chase. They made it to a chamber of many coffins, and Crystal jumped into one on the ground, followed by everyone else, then came out of one on the wall, slipping into another. Bug-a-boo stuck his head out one, looked around, and went back in. Count Max tried to grab his son as Orson slipped out of a coffin, but evaded his father and went into another one. The vampire slid back into his as Harry hurried to another coffin, jumping in surprise as he opened it to only find Skully, who chased Harry as he leapt into another coffin. Ruby became a bat as she flew out of one coffin, then into another, and Skully's bones were scattered and hopping around as they came out and hopped into another coffin. Bug-a-boo came out of a coffin in the front, becoming as large as the room as he crawled his way over to another coffin and squeezed in. Crystal came out of the very back coffin, having been shrunken to doll size as she hurried over to the floor coffin, shoving it open and kicking her tiny legs around to climb in.

In an instant, everybody began zipping around coffins as fast as lightning. At one point, they all peeked their heads out at the same time, looking around as they all switched clothes/looks with each other. Some more zooming around occurred, and Crystal was struggling to carry the very heavy Orson on her shoulders as she gave him a piggy back ride, the vampire raising his arm in victory as they went into another coffin. Some more zipping around as Scary Godmother ran into a double of herself, both of them shrugging. Harry then came out of one coffin and barred it shut tight, listening to see if Skully would try to break through. However, Boozle phased through the coffin instead. Harry cracked it open just a peek in curiosity, screaming in horror as a hideous monster shot out instead. It went back inside, and Harry looked back to see Skully, quickly running away from him. Pretty soon, everyone else dashed out of the coffin chamber as well.

They hurriedly dashed down the stairs as Crystal skidded to a halt in the kitchen, catching her breath. Bug-a-boo skidded to a stop beside her, catching his breath as he put his hand on Crystal's shoulder to hold himself up. When they were finished, he tapped Crystal's shoulder, gesturing for her to go. Crystal nodded in remembrance, and zipped away, the monster giving chase. The Fright Side gang was now running up the many stairs of the 5-story home, their shadows clearly visible in the windows. When Crystal reached the dead end at the end of the highest hall, she quickly climbed out the window as Bug-a-boo was close behind her. Crystal looked around with worry, seeing nowhere else to run up on the roof. Seeing Bug-a-boo desperately trying to crawl through the window after her, Crystal saw no other option.

"AAAHHH!" The woman leapt off the roof, dropping to the ground below.

"NOO!" Bug-a-boo leapt down after her, reaching his arms out. Scary Godmother flew down after him, Harry leapt after her, Skully leapt after him, Orson leapt after him, then Ruby, then Max, and Boozle remained at the top as her tail wrapped around the wind antenna at the top, her teeth grabbing Max's cloak as they all gripped hold of whoever was in front of them. It ended with Bug-a-boo gripping Crystal's legs, and the green-skinned woman was just inches away from the ground, the combined weight of all of them slowly making the house tilt down, until…until…

"…BWAAAAAHHHHHHH!" They were all sent flying high into the sky. "AaaaaaaaaAAAHH!" In a few moments, they all came crashing through the roof, falling through all the floors and straight into the living room.

"HAAHAHAHAHA!" the big-toothed monster laughed. "Boy, that was somethin'! I haven't had a good chase like that in years! You and I need to work out more often." As Crystal looked up, having been knocked on the floor, she found Bug-a-boo offering a hand down. "Put 'er there, pal!"

"Um… thanks?" With a baffled look, Crystal took his hand and allowed him to help her up.

"But could you keep it down with the scaring a little?" Godmother asked.

"Um, who is this, again?" Crystal asked.

"This is Bug-a-boo, the scariest monster in the Fright Side. He's a monster that crawls under children's beds and scares them."

"I don't eat them if that's what you're thinkin'." Bug-a-boo assured.

"Well, you could have said that a little earlier." Crystal replied.

"Um, Bug-a-boo, didn't you have something to tell me?" Godmother asked.

"Oh-OH! That's right! I was out scarin' kids, see, when suddenly, the CRAZIEST thing happened! All of the kids turned into monsters!"

Hearing this made Crystal gasp. "So I guess Crystal wasn't the only one." Godmother figured. "Any idea what happened?"

"Er, well, I was in Quahog, you know, where you were goin', and I saw this weird, pumpkin-headed guy cast some kind of spell with a scythe. I-I think it was JACK!"

Scary Godmother's eyes widened. "Of COURSE!" she snapped her fingers. "I THOUGHT he sounded familiar! Jack O'Lantern."

"Jack Who?" Crystal asked.

"Ever wonder why people started playing tricks on Halloween, Crystal? Legend tells of a man named Jack, who lived in a town called Endsville. The man was obsessed with pranks, laying a trap wherever he went. He was so obsessed, the Queen of Endsville ordered his execution. He was executed, but when the Grim Reaper came to take his soul, he played a trick and took the Reaper's scythe. He made a deal with Grim to grant him eternal life. Grim gave it to him, but at a price: he cut off Jack's head."

"And then Jack replaced it with a pumpkin." Skully followed. "And since then, he's been laying tricks and traps every night on Halloween."

"Last we heard," Godmother continued, "Jack was finally banished to the Underworld after he stole Grim's scythe again. That was a little over 20 years ago. But how could he get the scythe back?"

"Mmmaybe Grim got bored with it." Harry said.

"But if Jack transformed everybody into monsters, then…" Godmother looked frightened again, "we might not have much time. Quick, Boozle. Fly to the King. He needs to know what's happening."

"Mrroooww." The cat turned and soared out the door, into the starry nighttime heavens.

"Boozle?" Crystal questioned.

"Boozle serves as the perfect messenger cat. I'm hoping the King will be able to do something about this before it's too late. Otherwise, Wiccan, I don't think you'll be going swimming again…"

Virginia Seaside

The drunken Sheila/Conker the Squirrel/Raccoon wobbled her way unknowingly all the way down to Virginia's beach. She looked down as a fleet of ships gathered along the coast, with Commodore Francis Drilovsky standing before a troupe of military men. "Men… today is a very important day." He announced in a high British accent, his loyal Aurora Charmander standing beside him. "We will be going to war. We are at battle with a new enemy. An enemy, the likes of which we've never seen before. We don't know who they are… or where they come from… but we must prevail. Please know that you may not come out of this alive… but know that your children's children will know you have fought the great battle. Now, be prepared… for we will be going to war. With an enemy, the likes of which we… erm…" he realized he was repeating his previous words. "Ahh, sh**."

The commodore looked as Sheila Frantic was limping his/her way over. "And who are you?"

"M-My name's Conker… or somethin'." Sheila replied, sounding more like Conker.

"Mm. Well, Conker, it seems you've come at a perfect time. We are in need of your assistance. As you can see, our exit out of this coastside appears to have been blocked off by the opposing side." He directed her attention to a series of boulders blocking the ships' way out of the beach. "Your assignment is to find a way to clear these boulders, so that our ships may leave for battle. Ahem… anyway, Conker, it seems you've come at a perfect time. We are in need of your assistance. As you can see, our… er… ahh, sh**." The commodore decided to leave for his ship.

Sheila the Squirrel drunkily looked toward the boulders, then toward the packs of explosive powder on the ships. With one more drink of beer, the squirrel-raccoon limped her way aboard the ships.

The Q

The bookstore was awfully quiet this night, having only a few customers while everyone else was celebrating Halloween. Mario Ramsey was sitting bored at his front desk, looking up when he heard someone enter the door. "Heh. Sorry, dude, no costumes in the bookstore."

"Mario, it's me." The guy in the Batman suit said.

"…Nolan?" Mario raised a brow. "Nice costume! And hey, looks like your legs are working."

"We were fighting this jack-o-lantern guy and he unleashed this curse that turned everybody into their costumes. I turned into Batman, so my legs started working. Also, I'm… a lot more buff." He smiled, pumping his left arm muscle. He shook his head back to reality and said, "A-Anyway, there's something else, too: you'll never guess who I ran in to: Dracula!"

"Dracula? You mean the vampire?"

"Yeah, same one that Batman fought. He thought I was the real Batman, and he wasn't happy to see me. We were able to scare him off, but he'll be back, and I think he has something to do with what's happening. Do you have any books about vampires and their weaknesses?"

"Hold on, let's see…" The former operative rolled his way over to a bookshelf and began skimming along a row of V's. "Vampires, vampires, okay, here's something." He pulled off a book and began reading. "Well, for one thing, it says that vampires can't enter your home unless they're invited in."

"So we'd be safe if we just stayed at my house or something?"

"To some extent, probably. It also says they're weak against wooden steaks, crosses, sunlight, rushing water, garlic… but other than that, they're pretty much invincible. They have diamond-hard skin, and each of their senses are far more heightened than a regular human's."

"Well, sunlight's definitely out of the equation. Apparently, they've blocked out the sun."

"Actually, it says any light can weaken them, but sunlight's more efficient. Oh, but look at this: it says that, usually, whenever a vampire is awakened from its slumber, they seek out a bride to marry and be with for the rest of eternity. Obviously, they suck the bride's blood, making them a vampire."

"Hmm…" Nolan began to think. "When Danika saved us, Dracula did seem a bit… attracted to her."

"Well, that makes sense. She's goth… she shows little emotion… she's got shadow powers… yep, she and Drac are like a better-developed Bella and Edward."

"Well, he can't have her. 'nuff said."

"I think that's up to her." Mario remarked.

"Mario…" Nolan sighed.

"I'm just kidding. Ooh, but check this out: it says, whenever a vampire bites someone, and absorbs their blood, they get whatever possessions belonged to the person whose blood they drinked."

"So, theoretically, if he bit Rachel or something, he would gain possession of the Master Sword?"

"Possibly. Or if he bit-" Mario was interrupted at the sounds of screaming outside.

They hurried outside to find people running and screaming as another vampire ran about, grabbing and biting everyone he could catch. The vampire grabbed his latest victim and took a bite, hissing in the direction of Nolan York as blood drooled from his mouth. "Holiday?!"

Holiday tossed the victim away and crawled closer to his target. "Batman-ah… my master vill be pleased, vonce I have drank your blood."

"He's become a slave of Dracula. Watch out, Nolan!" Mario yelled, getting back into his bookstore.

Nolan jumped to the side as Holiday tried to grab him. The vampire leapt at him, but Nolan grabbed his arms and tried to keep him back. Holiday pushed Nolan away, and he slid against the wall of a building as Holiday leapt at him again. Nolan rolled to the side and back to his feet as Holiday was about to jump him again. Nolan readied his guard, but Holiday didn't have a chance as a series of bombs flew down and exploded between them. As the smoke cleared, Holiday's eyes widened at the smell. "Garlic?!"

Dillon York dropped to the ground on his feet with an excited expression. "That's right! Not so tough now, huh?"

"Dillon! I thought I told you to stay home!" Nolan yelled.

"I wasn't gonna give up, yet, Dad. I'm not letting these weirdoes mess up our Halloween."

Holiday recovered and hissed at the boy wonder. The villain was once again taken by surprise when a bull charged from behind and shoved him against the building. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" Leanne used her new shadow/psychicbending to grab the vampire and toss him far into another building.

"Woohoo!" Haruka cheered as she and Mason hurried onto the field. Lee turned back into his regular (Beast Boy) form and kept his cool look.

Holiday recovered from the throw and wiped any blood from his mouth, then licked it off his hand as he stood up. At that moment, all of the people he had bitten started to turn into vampires themselves. The operatives backed away with fear as all of the vampires crept closer. To their relief, however, a bunch of crosses dropped from the heavens and stuck into the ground. The vampires looked around with confusion, and all began to grow weary, holding their heads in pain.

The heroes watched as a flying saucer landed on the road, and a skeleton being with a jet-black tux stepped off. "Everyone, get in."

"Wh-Who-" Nolan was about to say.

"There will be time for questions later, but we must get to Nightmare Land. Come on, fellas, let's go."

With questioning glances, the group of operatives hurried onto the saucer, and Mario watched as it took off into the starry heavens.

"Well, looks like Nolan's off for another adventure." Mario figured. The crippled man looked to the weakened Vampire Holiday and calmly rolled over. He took one of the crosses and took Holiday by the sleeve, slowly leading him off. "Come on, Mr. Holiday… have I got some things for you."

Crystal Household

In the darkness of the home of Yuki Crystal, a young girl sat on her bed in her dark, lonely room. The girl had icy-white, spiky hair that went below her shoulders, and big eyes that were a pale orange-grey, free of any emotion. She wore a flowing dress that was greyish-black on the upper half, and the lower half, the skirt, was pinkish-orange. She wore a white bow on her chest, long, black socks, and black shoes. Her shirt had white cuffs around her hands, which were barely visible, except for her fingers.

The girl sat quietly in the dark of her room, a blank, emotionless stare upon her face. "It's Halloween… and no one wants to go trick-or-treating." She spoke in a dull and depressing tone. "Everybody is pretending to be monsters… while all I have is the darkness."

The vision of her room disappeared, and the child now sat in complete and total blackness as the silhouette of a gigantic woman with snakelike hair made itself known. "And now all the humans are cursed like the little monsters they are."

"But, if I have gone… could I have been there to save my friends?..."

"Hm, don't waste your time. Those people aren't your real friends. Humans are all alike, really. They're all just a fickle bunch. But you, you're different. You see them for what they truly are. Those eyes of yours, they're a gift. They see the truth. They see what pitiful scum humans truly are."

"And.. these ears…" the child looked up to face the entity, "they hear what they say. They hear… what you helped me to hear."

"Yes, dear, I did. It would've been sad to see another human fall victim to the age-long curse. I felt it high time I… helped a poor soul see the light for what it truly is. Darkness is the only power that drives these humans. But they blind themselves to what they truly are. And they refuse to befriend you because only you can see the TRUTH."

"Hmm…" the child looked down in sadness.

"Ohh, but don't worry!" the woman perked up, leaning her head closer with a comforting tone. "I know someone who would be your friend."

The girl looked up. "Who?"

"Go to the Happy Mask Shop that just opened in Virginia. You will know his face… when you see it."

The dark vision ended as the girl was back in her room. There was a knocking at her door as her mother, Olive Crystal-Pioji came in. "Miyuki, honey. Is everything okay? There's still plenty of time for trick-or-treating, if you want."

"Yes, Mother… I think I will go see if Sector V is available…" With that, Miyuki stood up from her bed and slowly walked past her mother, leaving down the hall.

"Okay. Be careful, Miyuki." As her daughter left for her treehouse, Olive could only stare with worry.