Word of the town celebrating their progress towards accomplishing the main quest went around; all the residents came together, planning for the grandest jamboree they could come up with before nightfall. Barry, having had no other choice but to allow himself to be snatched away from his precious sleep, was held captive by Sylvia and Puck to keep an eye on him in the event he had a change of mind to sneak away.
“Hold this end for me, Barry, while I stick this over-yonder.” Sylvia requested, handing him a couple of string lights to set the mood for later tonight. She blitzed in the opposite direction, her initial speed blowing a gust of wind in his face. The two evened out the spacing of the decorations, adjusting to Sylvia’s liking for each one. “More to the left…more…okay- wait, no! Bring it back some more!”
Barry was irked by the constant shifting of adjustments while they set up the decorations they were assigned. And as they were doing that, Puck worked alongside them by planting interesting baubles and trinkets on the places like the window frames of shops or the porch of houses. Too annoyed to notice before, Barry realized that the things Puck was plotting were Halloween themed. “Huh? What the hell? Puck, let me see one of those.”
“Hmm? Sure!” Puck turned around after placing a zombie figure on a porch. He then handed Barry an effigy of a cute ghost smiling. “Puck thinks these look cool! Nightwalkers made these while we were gone and handed them to Puck for decorating all around. They said it’s to raise spooky cheer or something, but Puck likes them!”
This surprised Barry, he remembered telling the Nightwalkers about how his world celebrated Halloween and what it was, but never would he have guessed they’d try to apply it now as tonight's theme. “Sylvia! What the hell is this. Were you honestly planning this all along!?”
The vampire heard him from afar, stuck her end of the decorations, and rushed back, wearing a cheeky grin on her face with her hands behind her back in a cutesy pose. “So you’ve noticed.” She tapped a finger on his nose playfully, making him eye her with disbelief. “Yes, you’re partially right. It was me aaaaand Bufford’s idea to try this out.”
Discovering the truth, Barry shook his head, finding it unbelievable this was happening. “But Sylvia, Halloween involves trick-or-treating, you can’t just-”
“Shush, shush!” Sylvia pressed a finger to his lips, making him more annoyed by her playful gestures. “We remember what you said, but we’re still going to go through with the theme for tonight's celebration. Think of it like a test run for when we officially celebrate the true spirit of Halloween. People like me, my brother and Bufford are literally the embodiment of what Halloween is, so I promise we’ll uphold to your expectations if not more!”
Hearing her speak so enthusiastically about Halloween made Barry shut up, he sighed and just accepted the matter of things going as planned. “Fuck it. You know what, fine. Why am I even trying to argue against this, when I’m being held captive against my will.”
Sylvia giggled in amusement at the sight of Barry coming to terms with her wishful plan and decided to let him in on a little secret for something spectacular in store for later. “Just you wait, Barry. I’ll have you grinning ear to ear when you see us summon the dancing pumpkin king during our darkest hour! Luna told me all about it before.”
“Wait, what!? You’re summoning what!?” Shocked by what she could possibly be insinuating this time. He had no clue what this pumpkin king was aside from perhaps being a classic pop culture reference back on Earth; but the thought of summoning this being made it sound like some dangerous ritual was going to take place later. ‘I have a feeling I’m not going to be ready for what they have prepared. Is there really no other way for me to get out of this?’
Barry, Puck, and Sylvia continued to work on the task assigned to them across the town diligently, their perspective now being shifted to Arcades, Ron, and Bufford wandering through the streets of the town assisting the other residents designing and preparing games and shop stands. Arcades was only present in the background to keep an eye on Ron while him and Bufford did everything.
“Yeah, this’ll be fun. Move those targets a bit farther, I don’t want to make this too easy.” Bufford asked of his group, consisting of werewolves and kobolds. “We’ll set up some arm wrestling tables over there as well. I plan on settling a dispute between me and Edward in the future; everyone will see how superior a werewolf’s strength is compared to a vampire.” Bufford was determined to make tonight unforgettable; because ever since the Nightwalkers had lost their previous homes multiple times, they needed a way to bring more life into their world and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
Busy and unaware of his surroundings, Ron’s focus on his work had blinded him to take notice of the one person he was unprepared to confront when he arrived back at home. A couple of delicate taps on his shoulder from behind had caught him off guard. “Ah! Wha- Who-”
Giggling from Ron’s astonished expression was Sherry trying to contain herself, Ron turned to realize that it was her. Anxiety replaced the surprise he had just experienced because he still wasn’t sure of what to tell her about the crystal butterfly she had given him. “S-Sherry! I-I didn’t notice you sneaking up on me.” His mind tried thinking of how to explain the shattered butterfly.
Sherry teased him some more by flicking his mage cap, making him recoil back a bit out of nervousness. “You looked so invested in giving a hand that it was too easy for me to get the jump on you. I would have figured you’d become more self aware after coming back from your wild trip.” Nerves were getting to him, her beautiful aqua hair and majestic appearance was not helping him construct his thoughts. “So Ron, how was it? I heard from Luna and Kat on my way here that you were pretty incredible, even telling me that you’ve even obtained a unique ability of some kind. Care to share what that is?”
Speechless and conscious of Arcades listening in on their conversation, Ron knew that Arcades wouldn’t like it if he just showed her about his new power. He tried to steer the conversation away from touching that topic. “U-Uh, not now, sorry. But I guess I was sort of helpful in recovering the fourth prism from the villainous dryad that tried stopping us. Hehe…”
It was disappointing for Sherry to hear him decline showing her a bit of his new magic, but it bothered her even more by the way he was downplaying himself. Feeling this way, Sherry snatched one of his hands, grasping it close to his chest, startling the mage. “Come on, Ron, quit being so modest. The whole time while you were away, I had faith that you’d do remarkable things and I’m sure you did but are too humble to admit it.” Ron’s heart was pounding, feeling like he was in heaven by just hearing those words. “Well, if you’re not going to show me your new talent. Will you at least show me how reliable you were about taking care of that gift I gave you? You didn’t forget, right?”
Doom, despair, and absolute terror quickly washed away the divine feeling he had inside. “G-Gift!? O-Oh, y-you mean the c-crystal butterfly!” Sherry felt something was off by the way he was stuttering and the faint appearance of cold sweat forming on his face. Ron looked back at Arcades to see his reaction since he was the one mainly responsible for breaking it into pieces. Arcades simply stared back through his cosmic mask, untelling of what his expression was. “U-Um, Sherry, I-I have to be honest about something very important that’s eating me up inside.”
“Hm? Something’s bothering you? Well, what is it?” Sherry listened intently, her eyes focused on his, giving him a clear indication that she was all ears for him and him alone. She could very well see now after his admission that Ron was struggling to spit whatever it was out of him. “It’s okay, Ron. You can tell me anything, but only if you feel it’s right. But your trust to confide in me is greatly appreciated. So thank you.”
Her beaming smile of support was not making Ron’s current emotion of pain any more relieving. “Sherry I….I…” The secret inside him was swelling up so badly that it got to the point of Ron spilling the truth out. “...I broke your-”
Stepping in unexpectedly was Arcades, the two were too caught up in the moment to realize that Arcades had snuck his way into the conversation. “Apologies for intruding.” Arcades chimed in before Ron could say anything else. Sherry and Ron turned their attention to the space-looking mage, his mysterious appearance making Sherry curious as to who he is. “You are, thee Sherry, I presume?” His question being directed at Sherry in a respectful but firm manner.
“Um, yeah? I am…” Sherry glanced at Ron, it seemed to her that Ron was familiar with who Arcades was based on the nervous expression he was still making. “Ron, who is this? Is he a friend that you made on the way back here? And is he from outer space?”
She wasn’t right about him being a friend, but Ron felt like he had to improvise on the spot to clear up Arcades introduction. “H-Haha, yeah, you can say that. His name is Arcades and-”
“I shattered the butterfly you gifted to him.” Arcades unveiled bluntly. Ron was not expecting Arcades to admit fault, the moment was so sudden Ron simply froze and glanced at Sherry to see her reaction, noticing that she was both confused and stunned at the same time. “I couldn’t control my temper at the time when it happened. So blame me if you must; but I will not go into further details of why I did it.” The space mage finished explaining to Sherry.
His response wasn’t enough for Sherry to be content with but she had a feeling pressing this mysterious mage about it some more wouldn’t do any good. “Ron…” Sherry spoke in a soft, but steady tone, drawing his attention to her. “...do you still happen to have any of the shattered pieces left? If you do, show them to me.”
Doing as she asked, Ron pulled out the bag of broken crystals, spilling the contents out on a table close by. Afraid of whether she was angry or not, Ron rubbed his neck out of stress. “I’m sorry, Sherry. I really am, I was so scared of showing you this that I-”
“Easy. Don’t say anything else.” Sherry demanded, silencing him. She then channeled her transmutation magic, projecting it around the broken pieces, warping and reshaping them back to its original construct. Presented in front of them was the same crystal iridescent butterfly from when it first left Sherry’s hands. Picking the figure up, Sherry handed it back to Ron gently. “There, good as new right?” Her calm voice startling him.
Ron always knew that Sherry was capable of mending the pieces back together, but that defeated the purpose of why she gave it to him in the first place. “Sherry…I still failed to keep it from breaking. I-I didn’t take good care of it, I wasn’t reliable in the end. Aren’t you even the slightest bit mad at me for neglecting it? It’s okay, Sherry, you can-”
Sherry yanked his hat off his head, revealing his curly orange hair for all to see. Ron was equally stunned and embarrassed at the same time as he heard Sherry laugh in amusement. “Haha, there, is that punishment enough for you to accept? I’ve got your hat now, so you can’t hide that luscious hair of yours.” Ron was speechless, but listened to her as she began taking his feelings into more consideration. “But seriously Ron, no, why in the blazes would I ever be mad at you? If anything, I am annoyed by the space guy over there who admitted to breaking it because of some fuss he won’t tell me about. But, Ron, even if you did, I wouldn’t care because I know you’d be thinking of my own feelings.”
Her tender words made Ron feel fuzzy inside, she was truly an angel just as he first saw her. “T-Thank you, Sherry…I really don’t deserve your kindness. But I still feel as though I wasn’t reliable enough to show that I truly care about you…”
It was the way that Ron spoke that made Sherry feel a sudden jolt inside, a good but nervous feeling inside. Still holding his hat, Sherry covered a part of her face with it before saying some heartwarming words that resonated in him. “Y-You’re still hung up on being reliable for taking care of the butterfly? Listen Ron, I don’t care about that anymore, but if you’re so adamant on showing how reliable you are to others. Then have you ever considered that coming back alive is a show of reliability in itself?” Ron was mind blown, he didn’t think of it that way, but it was what she said after that really astonished him. “I’m happy that you came back, I was worried about you because…because…I…care about you…”
Suspense, the atmosphere between them was intense, nerve-wracking even. Ron was stunned beyond all senses in his body, for he did not know how to respond to her honesty. Arcades watched in the background, appearing unphased but watching Ron act like a total buffoon. Desiring to break the ice, Sherry immediately tried shaking away her own personal nervousness and placed Ron’s hat on top of her head before taking his hand and pulling him away from the area. “C-Come on! You’re stuck with me for the rest of the day and I meant it when I said I’m taking your hat from you. No take back-sees until this party is all over.”
Ron’s brain was not computing what was happening right now as he was still trying to process the very words he had just heard. Arcades opted not to follow them, choosing to let Ron act unsupervised at least for the rest of today.
However, stepping into the scene was Oswald, Sherry’s grandfather, he had been currently searching for where his precious granddaughter had taken off to. “Where is she? Sherry!” He looked at Arcades, his cosmic appearance making Oswald curious who he was but not enough for him to shift focus from his search. “Say, have you seen a young elf lady around here? She’s my beloved granddaughter you see; I wouldn’t dare lose her to anything in this world.”
“Is that so?” Arcades commented, he then lifted a hand and pointed in the direction Sherry and Ron were walking. “Could that be her? Looks as if her heart's been snatched away from you already.”
Oswald gazed at where Arcades was referring to, and upon inspection, his heart began thumping, along with the anxiety of being a great grandfather watching his little girl strolling at the side of another man. “Wha- WHAT!?” This surprise was so sudden, he had to know the entire truth of the matter; and so he took it upon himself to spy on them incognito during the whole jamboree for today. “Good eye mate, pardon me.” Oswald then hurried off to catch up, shadowing them with overprotective thoughts of how he would dispose of Ron if he were to do any harm to Sherry.
Arcades believed that nothing bad was going to happen to Ron, as he didn’t take him to be the type of person to do any wrong to a woman. At least he knew now that someone else was willing to look out for Ron indirectly, even if it was more so for Sherry’s security.
Everyone around town kept on working persistently for the development of their home’s first ever celebration since their founding. And after hours of making the best party imaginable, the sunlight dimmed down, darkness now inviting itself on them all for a few moments before the town lights flicked on, commencing the official start of their ‘Halloween’ theme party.
Sylvia had taken the time to dress up a bit more, wearing black and red clothes, a pair of leggings and high-heels, along with some eye shadow. Despite looking and being a vampire herself, she wanted to take her appearance further. “Done in there, Barry? You’ve been taking an awfully long time in the dressing room. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” She teased, standing out in front of the booth Barry was in.
“Fuck this shit! I’m taking it all off!” Barry shouted back, he had already allowed her to apply make-up on him beforehand to look like a skeleton but now he had been shoved into a booth with a bundle of clothes to put on. “Sylvia, this is so damn stupid, why do I have to dress up? I’ve already agreed to join this wild ass party, but now you want me to dress up! What the hell!?”
Puck had finished dressing up on his end; exiting his own booth and looking like a miniature red dragon with his head sticking out of the maw of the beast. “Look, Sylvia! Puck’s a dragon now! Does it look good?” The Kobold wagged his tail and fanned a bit of fire from his mouth to look more convincing.
“It’s wonderful, Puck! You look very much like a mighty dragon now that we’ve got you all in costume.” Sylvia compliment, rubbing his head to his delight. “Barry, hon, Puck’s already finished. Don't make me go in there!”
Aggravated about the whole shit he was in, Barry gave himself a minute of silence to come to terms with sucking it up before slamming the booth door open and stepping out, hands stuffed in pockets, looking like a menacing skeleton indeed thanks to his frustration expression. He wore a black and white tuxedo and cap, holding a boney cane in one hand. Not a word was spoken from Barry, but Sylvia and Puck were clearly admiring his appearance. “Amazing! One would say you look rather dashing in that costume. But I still don’t understand why you’re being such a downer about all this?” Sylvia wondered, as she checked him for any adjustments that needed to be made.
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“You’re literally forcing me out of my comfort zone. What the hell did you expect?” Barry replied distastefully. “As soon as this party is done, this craps coming off and I mean that. I’m ripping this suit first and foremost, don’t doubt me.”
“You better not.” Sylvia urged, jabbing a finger to his chest and flicking it up at his nose. “The witches worked hard on crafting it, so I expect you to take great care in their efforts if you don’t want me ruining any of your sleep in the future.” Barry sighed, rolling his eyes and nodding in acknowledgement. He then felt her hands placed on his face, swiveling it to face hers. “I know you’re not very expressive when it comes to mushy stuff and socializing with others, but that’s why I’m making you become more involved. You may not have realized it, or likely didn’t care, but ever since you discovered our existence and helped us escape to find a new home; we’ve been a lot happier since then. I want you to participate because I WANT you to embrace the joyful experiences we’ll be having thanks to you and the others. To you it seems like I’m bullying and giving you a hard time, but truthfully it’s my way of showing appreciation and we all have a lot more to show to you guys. Tonight’s going to be fun, I promise. Believe me, okay?”
Barry looked at Sylvia, now comprehending that she wasn’t teasing him for no reason but wanted to have him celebrate because he contributed to her and the Nightwalkers path to restored happiness. He looked at Puck, who smiled back while wagging his tail. Barry knew that Puck was wishing for him to fully commit to the party. He then began to cool down, no longer being angry about his situation and gently took Sylvia’s hands off his face and nodded while looking away. “Fine. I get it, I do. I’ll stop being such a stuck-up prick and enjoy myself. I wouldn’t want to stomp on your way of thanks, so sorry about being an asshole. Honestly…”
Pleased to hear Barry speak so genuinely, Sylvia was content with his response, knowing that he held a soft spot in his heart beyond the tough demeanor he put forth. “You were never a bad guy. Just someone who hasn’t learned how to have a good time. Now let’s go! We can’t keep the others waiting.” Sylvia declared, gesturing Puck and Barry to move on.
Energetic music ran through the busy town that had been entirely tricked-out for the Halloween theme. Almost everyone adorned costumes of their own, some fashioned as a zombie, others as mummies, all of which taking on the persona of some type of creature or monster that adventurers in this world would slay. It was lively all around, lots of finger licking food was being passed out, Anna and Luna had helped prepare and organize the food stands. Puck, Barry, and Sylvia showed up at the center of the town, spotting Kat, Fae, Anna, and Luna.
Anna and Luna decided to dress up as vampires, which was a surprise but not unwelcome to Sylvia for she complimented their show of appreciation. Fae wasn’t sure what to be so she was told to go for a scarecrow aspect, something simple but kept it fashionable and cute. As for Kat, she always admired witches so her costume was to be expected: wearing black and purple, wielding a broom, but her hair seemed to be different as it was braided by Anna in a half-up style given that she had a lot of hair and covered most of her face. Her ghost familiar, Dusk, possessed a cut out white sheet as its costume and vessel for the night.
“A skeleton of all things, huh?” Anna said, deciding to poke fun towards Barry. “It’s kinda fitting really, when you think about all the enemies we’ll be facing, he’ll have a bone to pick with everyone.” There was a bit of laughter from the group but Barry was not one of them, as he found it to be the corniest joke he had ever heard.
“Haha, it’s so funny that my feelings have gone bone dry.” The way Barry spoke back was in a dull tone on purpose, yet even so, everyone found his blunt humor hilarious. “Where’s Ron, Sherry, and Shaco? I thought they’d be here with us?”
Fae chimed in to explain. “Ron and Sherry mentioned earlier that they’d be doing their own thing but would show up for later to see us. As for Shaco, he’s working with the witches on setting up a ritual show that’s supposed to occur sometime in the next couple hours. I’m really curious what that’ll be about.”
“Ritual show?” Barry recalled back on what Sylvia had mentioned before, about summoning the pumpkin king. “Wait, that’s gotta be- H-Hey!”
Sylvia had kicked Barry’s heel from the back to keep him quiet. “Oh I’m certain you’ll love what they have in store for us. But for now, how’s about we mosey on through the streets and eat something quick before indulging ourselves in the festive games that Bufford has arranged.”
Now realizing that he and Puck were the only ones who knew about the ritual summoning, Barry chose not to spill the beans and kept shut, though he hoped it wouldn’t be too chaotic as he imagined. “Sounds good.” Anna agreed, taking the opportunity to show them something she and Luna had made. “There’s a food vendor here that I want to take you all to, especially for Sylvia and Fae. I’m hoping you’ll all like what's there.”
Anna took the lead, guiding them to where they were to go. During their walk, Kat was hoping to thank Barry personally for saving her and Anna from becoming Shaco’s shadow friends before he turned a new leaf. But that wasn’t all, she was somewhat conscious during the entire time she was made a shadow and overheard some critical moments that she thought were pretty important. And one of those events was something that she couldn’t keep her mind off of. ‘Shaco requires the true name of the individual he wishes to convert to a shadow. And Shaco tried turning Barry into one of them, but it didn’t work on him. So when Shaco called him out for lying about who he was, Barry didn’t deny it…so if that’s the case…then…is he purposely trying to hide his real identity?’
Kat glanced at Barry, she really looked up to him as someone to rely on, a person who still did good despite having such a rough exterior. She shook her head, rejecting any thought of him having any bad motives. ‘Right, Barry likely has his own reasons for not wanting to tell any of us. Regardless, he’s done a lot for everyone, so it doesn’t matter what we call him. But I would like to show my appreciation to him if I can get the chance to…’
She then saw Fae casually approach Barry at his side, initiating a conversation with him, starting with what his likes and dislikes were. This made Kat feel a bit shaken up for a brief moment, she wasn’t sure why but didn’t try to think much about it. “You okay, Kat?” Puck wondered, seeing as how she was walking behind the others at a slow pace. “Puck didn’t want you to be lonely, so Puck wanted to keep you company.”
The little Kobold had always been about as bright and cheerful as he was compared to his fiery capabilities, Kat had enjoyed the times she had talking to him whenever it was just them. Kat always found the thought of conversing with Barry to be difficult, anxiety-inducing even because she feared that she’d bore him or say something stupid. Talking to Puck was easier, and in a way, it made her feel like she had an indirect connection to Barry since Puck was always with him. “Just feeling jittery inside, Puck, that’s all. I’m not used to high-energy events such as this. So don’t mind me if I hide in the corner sometimes. Hehe…”
“That’s okay, Puck will stick with you. Puck wants to make sure everyone has loads of fun because Puck cherishes all friends.” Kat appreciated Puck’s good-nature, feeling a bit better and remaining optimistic about finding an opportunity to tell Barry what she needed to say.
After a few minutes of strolling, they smelled a wonderful scent wafting through the air, Fae and Sylvia were the first to make a comment about it until they stopped in front of a vendor that was responsible for it. Anna made an order and was soon presented with a unique type of food the elf and vampire had never seen before. Carrying it onto a table, behold was a fresh oven baked pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, and mushrooms. “Take a slice, tell me what you guys think. I had to ask Sherry for some help in getting the right ingredients, as well as making the brick oven.” Everyone did as Anna told, though Barry was shocked to see that Anna was able to actually make a pizza.
Everyone loved it, the pizza wasn’t greasy and the thin-crust had structure with almost no flop. They all complimented Anna for her skills except for Barry who still couldn’t help but think about the time he had lied to her about what his favorite food was when he was incapable of remembering anything of his own past. “Well?” Anna urged Barry to give his input. “What’s your take on it? Don’t tell me you hate it now. You said pizza was your favorite, so I decided to do you a solid by trying to make one.”
“N-No, it’s good. Really…” Barry finished his bite and settled his thoughts to explain to Anna why he appeared troubled. “I’m just…honestly surprised you made this because I said I liked it, that’s all. I can’t believe you remembered when I said that…”
“Well, yeah. I mean, after all the shit we’ve been through since arriving here, this is kind of my way of saying thanks; though, it is kind of small.” Anna then held Luna close to her, thinking back to when they were separated from each other. “I wouldn’t have been reunited with my little sister had I not followed you, and you managed to convince Shaco from harboring mine and everyone else's souls sooooo yeah. I know you’re pretty avoidant of touching the whole friendship subject, but you should at least know that we think of you as a person who still does good for the sake of others, no matter how bothersome it seems to you.”
Barry struggled to come up with anything to say to her sense of judgement, all the times when he felt internal conflict towards doing something like saving the sailors, rescuing the tamafrogs, or even winning Fae’s freedom, he thought of those times as being a hassle at first but it all worked out in the end. Sure it put him in a tight spot on making a critical call, but he still went ahead and did it out of some unknown force inside urging him too. The people around that stuck near his presence didn’t need to hear Barry’s response to Anna’s remark but simply smiled, thinking he was still trying to understand himself how his acts of goodwill were impactful.
After finishing their food, they all moved on, searching for some games to participate in. They soon found Bufford hosting an arm wrestling tournament and was currently going against Edward like he had hoped. This was the most anticipated match the crowd around them were waiting to see. “I’ve been starving for this moment, Edward. You have no idea how badly I’ve been wanting to disprove the truth of a vampire outclassing a werewolf in terms of strength.” Bufford taunted, as he flexed his guns on the sturdy table. “Don’t feel too bad when I snap your delicate arm like a twig.”
Edward scoffed, unrolling a sleeve and placing an elbow on the table. “Very bold of you to assume I’ll go down that easy; but that’s okay, I’ll fix that cocky attitude of yours in a moment. So let’s go, little pup.”
The crowd chanted the countdown, bets were made and hearts were racing, favoring parties of the two were about split-even. And when the final number was reached, their match began. At first, Bufford appeared to have the lead without using his full strength, seeing as his arm hadn’t transformed into a werewolf’s yet. Though Bufford’s base strength was formidable, Edward had the leverage advantage and decided to increase his output; his eyes showing a slight glint of red. It was a turning point for Bufford, as he was struggling a bit to recover his lead, that was when he chose to amp up his raw strength and perform a partial transformation.
Arms were straining on both sides, the patches of fur on Bufford’s arm were stiff whereas Edward’s arm had visible veins on display. “You sweating over there, Mr. Nightlord!?” Bufford joked, trying to get him to screw up. “I can see the doubt forming in your mind already, so how’s about you throw in the towel before I really kick it up a notch!”
“Me? Sweating?” Edward found it hilarious how Bufford was trying to make him lose focus. “Self-reflecting much aren’t you? We can all see the goosebumps rising on that hairy arm of yours, so don’t give me that squabble. Everyone knows how this’ll end so let’s give it to them by going all out and putting you back in the dog shed!”
Roars and cheers from the crowd sounded off, urging them to not hold back. Hearing their applause, Bufford and Edward decided to fire all cylinders and unleash the true monster within them. Undergoing his transformation, Bufford grew to be larger, now embracing his bloodline lineage by becoming the beast that he was, completely covering Edward’s hand inside his beastly grip. Edward on the other hand, emitted his supernatural power inside, a blood-red aura projecting outward, his eyes turning sharper and his strength becoming enhanced even further. Things were getting so chaotic that no one was paying any attention to the poor table that had to endure all the abuse it was receiving.
Cracks formed and the surface started to warp yet no one noticed the signs until it could no longer hold, breaking the entire table completely. The victor was then ultimately decided. “AAAAAAHHHH!” Bufford howled in the night sky, pouring everything he had, catching Edward off guard and slamming him into the ground, crushing it before standing tall and glorious in the face of everyone. “THERE! IS THAT PROOF ENOUGH FOR Y’ALL! I WIN!”
Some applauded him, but Abe, who had been watching closely, made a comment that had most people agree yet irked Bufford. “Nuh-uh, the table broke. So that match doesn’t count, hate to say it, but I’m saying it. You won due to a faulty piece of furniture.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Edward acknowledged, dusting himself off the ground and comforting his used arm. “Either we get a sturdier table, or we try this another time. I lost complete leverage once there was no support for my elbow, thus the match became unfair.”
There was a bit of a dispute over this but in the end, Bufford reluctantly agreed to settle the matter at another point in the future so they could enjoy the rest of the town party. After the thrilling wrestling match, Ron and Sherry showed up and joined Barry and the group; they then participated in numerous competitions. It quickly became clear to everyone how competitive Barry could be when he decided to openly partake in these contests as he won almost every single one they did. Ranging from apple bobbing to musical chairs.
“Move!” Anna shouted from behind Barry, trying to push him because he was hovering over one specific chair out of a few for an incredibly long time at a snail's pace to the beat of the music. “Are you fucking serious right now!? You’ve got us all backed up because you want to take your sweat ass time!”
A smirk grew on Barry’s face, finding her annoyance entertaining. “Hey, I am moving, I don’t recall any rules about taking things slow so I’m not cheating. Quit complaining or you’re gonna get your seat stolen.”
His rude comment would come back to bite him in the ass when the music suddenly stopped and it was go time to claim his seat. However, what he wasn’t expecting was Anna to use her teleportation ability for this one time and snatch the seat he was hovering over. Barry was astonished by her tactic. Anna sneered at him. “What’s wrong? There’s nothing in the rules that says I can’t teleport. Too bad, so sad.” Barry didn’t argue against her, but rather respected her trick and admitted defeat.
The next game was in pairs, a three-legged race that required two people to be in sync in order to reach the other end while avoiding obstacles. Pairs were picked by Abe, dedicating himself to be the referee for all the festive games, making sure that everyone was evenly matched to make it interesting. Fae was thrilled when she was given Barry as her partner, promising to him that she’d do her best. Kat was paired with Anna, but upon looking at Barry and Fae, she felt a bit…off.
“We’ve got this Kat. Barry might seem like a tough opponent, but I believe we’ve got a chance to show him not to underestimate us. What do you say?” Anna tried encouraging her, though she noticed that her mind seemed to be elsewhere. “Kat?” She then realized that Kat kept glancing at Fae and Barry talking. An idea flicked in her head before snapping her fingers to get Kat’s attention.
“H-Huh!?” Kat woke up from her self-distraction and faced Anna. “I-I’m so sorry, I must be getting tired from all these games we’ve been doing…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Anna rubbed her shoulder to comfort her, assuming what the real issue she was having. “But don’t let me down in this race, because if we win, we can rub it in Barry’s face. And he might start thinking how much you’ve improved once you beat him. Don’t you think?”
The thought of Barry saying something about her made Kat feel motivated, she was pumped. “Y-Yeah! You’re right, I’ll do my best Anna! I won’t drag you down, so let’s work as one!” Anna was content now that Kat was revitalized; the two were eager to take Barry down.
Their race started at the sound of Abe’s two-finger whistle. Luna was paired alongside Puck, since they were about the closest in height compared to everyone else, they were able to easily out pace the rest of them for the first couple of minutes. Sherry andRon appeared to be the only ones truly struggling to coordinate so they lagged behind the rest. But Kat/Anna were locked-in, the two acting like a well-oiled machine, managing to pass Barry/Fae. Kat/Anna were sure to catch up to Luna/Puck eventually but then they encountered the obstacles that were planned. Shaco emerged from the sky, soaring over their heads on a balloon and used his weird powers to animate and construct barriers of building blocks to hinder their movements. This came as a surprise for them all, slowing Luna/Puck down to the point of them even tripping, resulting in their lead being taken away from them. However, despite the struggles they faced, Kat/Anna persevered, hopping, skipping, ducking, doing everything needed to not fall back. And in the end, the two conquered the final stretch, reaching the finish line near the town lake.
Kat and Anna high-fived each other, overjoyed that they were able to claim victory from Barry and Fae. “We were in sync, Kat! That was amazing, I knew you had it in you to get us the win. Well done!” Anna praised her, Kat blushed out of embarrassment, her shy side showing again.
Coming in second place was Edward/Bufford. The entire time they were still bickering about their previous arm wrestling match but it didn’t get to them to the point of throwing the race. In third place was Barry/Fae, arriving on scene but it was how they showed up that made Kat’s smile disappear. Fae was holding onto Barry tightly, her exhaustion showing but also her excitement from all the fun they were having. Despite coming in third, Barry appeared to be checking on Fae who told him she was fine and that they should sit and rest for a bit.
Anna looked at Kat, noticing and feeling her becoming a bit upset of the outcome even though they had won. “Kat, would you like to take a break? Here, let me untie us.” She undid the knots that bounded their legs together. “There, so how about we…”
“Sounds good, Anna.” Kat beamed a smile at her, though it didn’t feel genuine to her, more like she was putting up a facade to hide the melancholy surrounding her. “I am a bit tired from all the exercising, so I should rest a bit…” She was the first to walk away towards a bench a bit far from where Barry and Fae were sitting. This made Anna feel troubled herself, she wished she could do something to make Kat feel better.
The night party continued on, for Sylvia had promised to uphold the promised ritual to summon the pumpkin king; the very symbol of Halloween to which Luna spoke of from the world of Earth. A great surprise was in store for them all, but an even bigger event would occur later that night that was unforeseen by Barry. One that was a familiar experience, yet not quite the same.
