Chapter 1 - Halloween Frolic

Jameson came romping down the stairs on Halloween dressed as a witch. She turned over her shoulder, her mid-length brown hair falling down her back. "Rain! Come on!!"
Her little sister Freezing Rain came down the stairs dressed entirely in black. Her long blonde hair pulled up in a bun behind her head. "I’m here, let’s go."
"What are you gain?" Jameson asked, looking the 13-year-old over. "A Cat burglar?" Rain made an angry face, yanked off the black socks she was using as gloves, and started to whack her sister with them. Jameson shielded herself with her arms. "Stop! Stop!"
"I’m not a cat burglar!!!" Rain said. She returned the socks to her arms. "I’m a shadow." She jumped around behind her sister and kept in step with her every move. "See, I follow you."
Jameson whirled around. "Get away from me! You’re creeping me out!"
"Okay, okay," Rain grinned. "This is just another in my line of genius Holloween costumes!"
"Line? Last year you were a tree!" Jameson recalled. "What’s so great about a tree?"
"Hey! I had a bird nest on my head!" Rain defended. "You can’t beat that! I pride myself with my weirdness."
Jameson shrugged. "Whatever." She fixed her pointed hat and turned up the stairs. "Guys! Are you COMING!?!"
"Hold on, we’re coming." Mamoru Chiba answered. He came down the stairs first, dressed like a medieval knight in plastic armor with his Tuxedo Mask cape. He reached the foot of the stairs and Jameson nodded her approval. He reached down to fool with his plastic sword in its plastic sheath. "Miss Headmistress, you know, I have a real one of these upstairs in my Prince Endymion wardrobe, it’s much more intimidating looking than this dinky little thing."
"No, Mamoru." Jameson became stern. "No real weapons, that’s dangerous."
"But I’m twenty-two years old!" Mamoru begged. "I can take care of it!"
"I know that you are responsible, Mamoru, but you have to consider the group we are traveling with!" Jameson explained. "What if Ash gets on James’s nerves? All it would take would be one swipe! We don’t want blood here, only latex crud."
"Oh, come on!" Mamoru continued. "James wouldn’t hurt the kid if he tried, he’s such a wimp."
"True, but if we’re gonna pick up RA, then we’d better stick to plastic." Jameson stated.
Mamoru let his broad shoulders sag. "Alright, you win."
"Did someone say my name!?" James asked, coming down.
Jameson and Rain took one look and broke into hilarious laughter. Jameson slapped her knee. "James!!!"
"What?" James asked. "Aren’t I scary?"
"HARDLY!" Jameson crowed. James was dressed as a ghost, but his costume was one white sheet with two eyeholes cut into it. Jameson calmed herself down. "You would be cute if anything."
"Cute!?" James’s sheet bounced. "But we are supposed to be scary for Halloween! I’m not supposed to be cute!"
"Cute works." Jameson assured. "You can be cute for Halloween. I honestly think that being cute is better than being scary."
"Really?" James asked.
"Sure." Jameson nodded. Just then Vincent came down the stairs. He’d exchanged his scarlet wraps for the bandages of a mummy costume, and was completely covered from head to toe in white. The only thing visible where his scarlet eyes and the black hair that stuck wildly out of his head-wraps.
Rain laughed. "Check you out, Vincent!"
"For some reason, I knew you’d choose something along those lines." Jameson shook her head. "I think its very good."
"Thank you, Jameson." Vincent said, his voice a little muffled under the coverings.
"He looks like Shishio!" Rain cried. "Only with longer hair."
"He kinda does, Rain, your right." Jameson agreed. Vincent rolled his eyes and stood off as Irvine came down the stairs, fixing his tanned-leather coat. Jameson turned and stomped a foot. "Irvine!!! You forgot to change!!"
"I changed!" Irvine defended. "I’m a cowboy."
"But you are ALWAYS a cowboy!" Jameson cried
"But I’m a ZOMBIE cowboy! See!" He pointed to the pale face makeup and dark eye shadow he wore along with a sheriff’s badge and a pair of orange-tipped pistols instead of his shotgun.
"Okay, okay, you pass." Jameson waved, then called up the stairs again. "Tylor!!! Hurry up! You’re coming, too!"
"I am!?! Wow! Cool!" He came down the stairs dressed like a jack-o-lantern.
"Oh MY GOSH!!! Tylor!!! That’s the cutest thing!!!" She ran over and glomped him.
James whined from under his sheet. "Cuter than mine?"
"Yours would be cuter if I could see you." Jameson said, walking over and lifting up the sheet to look in on his face.
It was Rain’s turn to yell up the stairs. "Would Rain’s Elite please report to the First Floor!? I’m ready for candy!"
"Candy? Where?" Zell Dincht asked, coming down the stairs. He was dressed like Frankenstein’s monster and ready for trick-or-treating.
Irvine looked over. "Zell!!! Your hair’s black!"
Zell’s normally blonde hair had been dyed for the occasion. He’d also put on green body paint and glued bolts to his neck. "Yeah, and I’m nearly as tall as you with these big clunky boots on." He held up a boot for the others to see. It had an extra couple inches of soul on it.
Ash Ketchum came down next, dressed like a skeleton complete with mask. He still had on his red hat. Rain leaned down to him. "Ash! The ball cap ruins the look."
"But my hair won’t stay down without it!" Ash whined.
Rain snatched it off his head and his black hair sprang out. "Chill, its Halloween. You’re SUPPOSED to be scary."
"But he’ll give kids nightmares." Zell teased.
"That’s not funny!" Ash shot back.
Lastly Kenshin came down dressed as a Mexican wearing a sombrero and a colorful carpet wrap. Rain nearly flipped. "Kenshin! That is ADORABLE!!!"
"What’s adorable?" Jameson peaked out form where she’d decided to share James’s sheet and make a two-headed ghost. She took one look at Kenshin and clasped the cover tightly around her neck to make a hood. "CUTE!"
Rain ran to the next room to get her camera. She returned. "I have to take pictures of all of you! This is great!" The whole clan crowded in to snap a picture and then grabbed pillowcases and headed out the door. Rain dropped her camera in her bag on the way out. "This evening is going to be sooo much fun."
Outside, the night was clear, the full moon rising in the sky, and all the stars visible. The air was chilled, damp, and smelling of pumpkins and burning candles. Fog was floating up the street from the retention pond near the neighborhood’s mouth. More fog was gathered under the street lamp at the end of the culdesac. On either side of them the houses were disguised as if they were haunted, themselves, excusing the fact that the porch lights were lit, luring whatever form of ghost or goblin to their doors. These specters scurried up and down the street, collecting candy. The little ones had parents in tow. The older ones moved in packs much like our group was now.
"Where first?" Rain asked.
"We’re headed to Kai’s Costume Party, right?" Zell asked.
Jameson nodded. "Right, but I promised to stop by a couple places first."
"Can we got trick-or-treating?" James pleaded. "I want candy!"
"That sounds fun!" Tylor agreed, nodding so that the stem of his pumpkin wobbled about on his head. "Let’s hit a couple houses before we do anything else!"
"Alright, we’ll ring a couple doorbells on the way to Namida’s." Jameson consented. "We’re swinging by her place, first, to pick her up."
"Okay, to Nami’s." Kenshin announced, pointed onward from under his poncho. They all arched off though the pumpkin-scented night. Zell, James, Tylor, and Ash staked out the surrounding houses for the best pickings as they went.
Mamoru shook his head and said to Kenshin, "They are such kids."
"Well, it’s good to have fun while you can." Kenshin said. "This whole enterprise seems fun, that it does."
"Hey guys!" Irvine cried from back with Jameson and Rain. "That house is dishing out handfuls!!!"
"They’re what!?" Zell cried.
"Awesome!" Tylor agreed. The ten of them rushed up to the door of the targeted house past a pair of happy little kids. Zell beat everyone there and rang the bell. He was 17 years old, accompanied by 20 year old Tylor, 17 year old James, and 12 year old Ash. They stood on the doorstep and waited patiently for the occupants to open the door. The excitement built among the rest of the crew (20 year old Mamoru, 27 year old Vincent, 28 year old Kenshin, and 17 year old Irvine) Jameson and Rain looked over the guys and shook their heads.
"Aren’t they a little old for this?" Rain asked.
Jameson nodded. "You’re right, whoever owns this house is going to think there’s something wrong with them."
"There is." Rain replied.
"True," Jameson agreed, "but its nothing we can’t fix." She snapped her fingers. "Chibify! Now!" In a poof, all the grown men on the porch were transformed into SDs of their former selves. This happened just in time for the door to open.
"Oh, hello." A motherly looking woman smiled. "You all are certainly cute."
"Trick-or-Treat!" The chibi chorus called.
"Oh, with so many of you, I would be better off if I decided to treat instead of trick." She said. "I don’t know what I’d do if I was tricked by such scary monsters!"
"If you give us candy, we won’t scare you too bad!" ChibiJameson grinned, extending a bag.
"That’s right!" ChibiRain nodded. "And give us lots, ‘cause there’s lots of us!"
"Alright, line up!" The lady dropped fistfuls of Tootsie Rolls into each bag, then when all ten were served, waved goodbye. The team said ‘thank you’ in a cute little chibi way and left the house.
Tylor galloped down on his little chibi legs, his large chibi head completely within his goodie bag. Zell ran over. "Whadya get!? Whadya get!?"
Tylor’s head reappeared with chocolate smudges and Tootsie Roll wrappers stuck to it. "Mmmm!" ChibiRain snapped a picture with her now-oversized camera.
Jameson pulled Mamoru over and climbed up on his shoulders to address the chibi crowd. "Lissen up!" They all turned. "I know yer all really cute SD like this, but lets get back to normal and get to Nami’s!"
"Awww!" They moaned.
"We’re gonna be late for Kai’s party!" ChibiJameson insisted.
They all sighed, then chorused "okay". ChibiKenshin cocked his SD head to one side. "Can we still act cute, though?"
"Sure!" ChibiRain said, snapping a picture of him.
Everyone cheered. "Hurray!" and with a pop, returned back to normal, with Jameson still riding on Mamoru’s shoulders. "Hah! I’m taller than ALL of you!" She boasted. "I’m king of the world!!!"
"Stop squirming!" Mamoru said, uneasily. "I’m gonna fall over!"
"Oops, sorry Mamo-chan." Jameson patted him on the head. They headed down the street past another pumpkin-yellow street lamp and many laughing kids with bags of goodies. One little kid dressed like a devil stopped and prodded Zell Frankenstein with his pitchfork.
"Hey, kid, watch were you’re pointin’ that!" Zell said, grabbing it.
The kid tore it out of his hand. Looking worthy to wear his horns and pointed tail, he sneered. "You’re not scary!"
"Neither are you, kid." Zell challenged. "So why don’t you go point that at someone else?"
"I’m not scared of you!" The kid said, arrogantly, then broke into self-assured laughter. "HahHahHahHah! HeeHeeHeeHee! HoHoHoHo!"
"I’ll fix you!" Zell sneered, then turned a frightening, fang-bared, face on the kid, and roared. "AAARRRRRRGGGG!!!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" The kid’s hair, horns, and tail stood on end before he ran off screaming in pure terror to his mother.
Zell wiped his hands. "Heh, heh, kid shouldn’t mess with the Zell man! Hah!"
While her bishounen was busy gloating over his accomplishment, Freezing Rain was approaching him angrily, ready for a little discipline. Brandishing her socks, she began to whap him repeatedly with them.
Startled by the sudden reprimanding, Zell flinched. "R-Rain!!" He cringed with each impending blow. "W-What are you doing!? Stop!"
"Don’t ::whap:: scare ::whap:: the CHILDREN ::whap whap whap::" she said.
"Alright! All right! I’m sorry!" Zell cried.
Rain folded her arms and nodded. "Good, now don’t scare anyone else."
Irvine whistled and reached back to play with his long mahogany ponytail. "Whoo…Zell! Frankenstein brought down by a pair of socks!"
"Yeah," Vincent agreed, crossing his mummified arms, "it’s amazing, since he just scared off the devil."
"Come on, we have to go down this way." Jameson directed, pointing over Mamoru’s head at a long, dark, stretch of sidewalk that bordered the foggy drainage ditch. The fog from this depression hung over the standing water, and seeped out over the walk like steam from a witch’s cauldron. No lamplight reached this area of the road, and the white moonlight lit the clouds of fog, making them look like ghosts floating along. Their own ghost had a shiver run through him.
"That way!? But it’s dark!" James fretted. "And it’s Halloween!"
"Oh, come on," Irvine goaded. "Don’t be a wussyghost."
"I scare easy!" James insisted.
"We’ll be fine." Mamoru said. He marched along toward the dark, holding Jameson’s ankles.
"Yeah," Ash announced, feeling brave compared to his older counterpart. "If we have light, there’s nothing scary."
"A Flashlight! Doh!" Jameson cried. "THAT’S what I forgot!" She whacked herself in the head and knocked herself backward off Mamoru. "Wahh!"
"Dork." Rain spat as her sister twitched beside her like a sprayed bug. The former snapped a picture.
"We don’t have light!" James cried, his sheet trembling. "Then there’s no way I’m going in there!"
"Chill." Zell said.
Kenshin shrugged. "It’s a sidewalk. I’ll go first, let’s just get to the other side so we can meet up with Nami." He headed off down the walk, fog gathering around his feet. The rest of the group followed, some more hesitantly than others. Soon they’d reached the darkest part, where they were completely surrounded by the fog. James was whimpering, Ash was hesitant, everyone was feeling kind of creeped out; even Kenshin had lost a lot of his confidence. Strangely enough, they had also lost Irvine.
Jameson looked around. "Hey! Where’d my undead cowboy go?"
"Ahh! He’s been abducted!" James cried. He dashed up and hid behind Kenshin, who’d given him the impression of being in control. "There’s probably something living in this bog, ready to eat us alive!"
"That’s outrageous." Vincent assured. "That couldn’t be possible."
"I don’t know – " Zell looked particularly plotting and suspicious. "- If you believe the legend…"
"W-What legend?!?" James fretted.
"There’s no legend." Mamoru said.
"Oh, but there is – " Zell said, eerily. "The legend goes that one Halloween night long ago, a group of friends were out walking by this very bog…much like we are doing tonight…and a monster arose from the drink and ate them in one big, ferocious bite!"
"Oh! I’m scared!" James shivered.
"It can smell your fear…" Zell continued. "And it will catch you if you run."
"Stop it, Zell, we won’t be able to live with him, now." Mamoru warned.
Kenshin bit his lip, his eyes darted continually toward the bog.
Zell slid his eyes around the group. "But you know, the coincidence is that it’s the 13th anniversary of the night when those kids were eaten, so I bet the creature’s hungry and ready to find a nice, scared little person to sink his teeth into…"
Suddenly Irvine popped out of the fog just ahead of Kenshin and James, bearing down on them and raising his arms. "RROOOOAAARR!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Kenshin and James screamed. Kenshin threw a hand to his belt for the sword he didn’t have. James launched himself into Jameson’s arms. The rest of the group cried out, too, in fear. Irvine and Zell busted out into tear-streaked laughter.
Jameson was screaming, but screaming even more with James in her arms. "Ahh! James, honey, you’re sweet, but your HEAVY!" She toppled backward and hit the ground with a ghost across her front. She boosted herself up on an elbow and turned to her sister, who was taking off her sock gloves. "Get ‘em!"
Rain nodded, brandished her socks once again, and attacked. The two of them hunched over, trying to stop laughing while Rain beat them repeatedly with the socks. "Don’t ::whap:: scare ::whap:: your ::whap:: friends!" She turned particularly to Zell. "You are already on my bad side! So watch your back!" Then she turned to yell at both of them. "Stop scaring people! It’s not nice!!" When she finally let up, she turned to Kenshin and gave him a hug. "There there, you’re a strong samurai, you shouldn’t be scared of Irvine and Zell."
Irvine looked defeated. "But it’s Halloween! We’re supposed to scare people! What fun is it if you can’t scare anyone!?"
"Irvine, you can scare whoever you want, as long as its not innocent kids or James." Jameson informed him, petting poor James who had his head on her shoulder.
Ash was a little indignant, he spoke out of the corner of his mouth. "Why’s he so special?"
"James needs care." Jameson said, she moved him off her shoulder and they started walking again.
"But he’s a thief!" Ash insisted. "He doesn’t deserve it!"
"Stop trying to cut in on my cuddle time!" James thundered, balling his fists under his costume. "I get precious little of it, and I can’t afford to have you fouling it up!"
"If you weren’t so nasty, maybe people’d like you more!" Ash challenged.
"I’m just trying to make a dishonest living!" James rebounded.
Jameson shrugged. "I was afraid of this."
Rain jumped forward and whapped Ash and James on the head with her socks. "Stoppit! No fighting!"
Ash rubbed his head. "Aw, Rain."
She leveled a finger at him. "Did you promise you would be a good boy on this trip! You’re lucky that you get to hang out with all these big guys!"
"Okay, I’m sorry." Ash snapped his mask back on. Rain reached forward and patted him on the head.
"Hey, at least their little feud helped one thing," Tylor said. "We’re out of that foggy part." Sure enough, through their walking and talking, the then of them had cleared the dark section of road and entered into another, larger, utopia of laughing children, tricks and treats.
Jameson took the lead. "Nami’s house is over here!" Everyone followed her and soon they’d arrived at Nami’s front door. She and Rain rang the doorbell and soon Nami had appeared.
"Guys! Hi, where have you been?" Nami cried. She came out onto the porch dressed like a biker-chick. At the same time, however, she had on angel wings.
"Nice costume, uh, Nami." Rain said, unsure of what to make of her usually innocent, kind-looking friend.
"Thanks." Nami said, twirling. "It’s the rebirth of biker Nami!"
"So I see." Rain said, still unsure.
Nami opened the door. "You wanna come in for a minute? We’re almost ready."
"Okay, we’ll come in." Jameson agreed, then turned to the band of bishounen behind her. "Everybody in!"
The guys filed in. Most of them smiled and said ‘Hi’ or ‘Hey Nami’. She gave Kenshin a hug on his way in. Everyone plopped down on the floor or on the couches in front of the TV.
Namida turned down the hallway. "Hey! Jameson and Rain are here!!"
"Really!?" A girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail came in dressed like a gothic sorceress.
"Whoa! Nagi!" Jameson said, surprised. "I didn’t know you’d be over here."
"Why wouldn’t I be?" Nagi asked. "I’m going to this party, too, aren’t I?"
"Well, yeah, but – " Jameson tried to explain.
"Then why shouldn’t I be able to be at Nami’s and go with her? Huh? Why why why!?"
"I don’t know why!" Jameson cried. "Why not!?"
"See, there you go." Nagi said. Rain shook her head. Nagi walked over in front of the community of guys in the living room. "Hey, guys, what’s going on?"
"Nothing." They all said in various ways. Irvine spoke up. "I scared the crud out of James on the way here."
"But he’s the Mighty Moltres!" Nagi said.
James perked up, he made a muscle and posed.
Nami laughed. "There you go, James, pretend if you have to!" His posture drooped, then Nami called back to her bishounen, who were undoubtedly waiting in the wings. "Heero! Trowa! Ken! Yoji! Crawford! Come on! Everybody’s waiting for you!"
"No!" Heero called.
"Oh, come on, you look fine!" Nami insisted. "Come on out." Heero emerged, dressed in camouflage like an army soldier, and looking far less than amused. Nami clapped her hands and fixed his camouflaged helmet, complete with leaves. "There you are, you look great."
"I feel ridiculous." Heero said, bluntly. "I refuse to leave this house."
"No way! Come on!" Nagi insisted. "You’re fifteen! Act like it!"
"I am a professional soldier." Heero stated. "I’m supposed to be doing much more important things than running around in some stupid costume."
"You’re right," Nami said, "you ARE a soldier! Private Yea, of the US military in service to Vietnam! And I’m your general, so you have to follow my orders, and I say you are coming to Kai’s party and ENJOYING it!"
He rolled his eyes to the side. "Whatever you say, Namida."
Suddenly, Yoji Kudzu burst into the room, his hair teased wildly, wearing a bloody lab coat. "He LIVES!!!!" Everyone’s heads snapped around, startled. Yoji continued his announcement. "I have restored life to where there was none! Behold! My CREATION!!" He stepped aside and Trowa came into the room. He was dressed Aladdin-esc in Arabian garb. He had on big baggy pants, an embroidered vest, and a little fez. Nami pranced over. "Trowa! You are soooooo adorable! That’s so much better than your clown pants! I love the FEZ!" He didn’t say anything as she fooled with the little hat on his head. "Thank you, Dr. Yoji, for this scientific advancement."
"YES!!!" Yoji cried, still in his mad-scientist voice.
"I was amazed at Heero, but this - !" Jameson gawked. "Arabian Trowa! It’s a miracle!"
"And they laughed at me at the academy!" Yoji said, pridefully.
Nami left Trowa with Heero and went to Yoji to inspect his outfit. The assassin had gone all out. He had on quirky black glasses, a pocketful of medical instruments, and latex movie blood all over him. "Very creative, Dr. Yoji. I kind of like you better in tight leather pants, though."
"You would, Nami." Yoji replied, now himself again. "But I’m afraid I won’t model leather pants for you until you’re a little older."
"But you wear your leather pants all the time!" Nami pleaded.
"That’s ‘cause I want to wear them." Yoji insisted. "I’m not going to put them on on your command until you’re 18"
"Can’t you make an exception for ME!? Please!?"
"Hey, it’s for your good AND mine!" Yoji said, finally.
"Too bad." Nami moped. "Oh well."
Yoji walked past. Jameson jumped on him and hugged him when he came near. "Hello, my first ranker!!! How is it going!?"
"Fine, but you are too young, too." Yoji said.
Rain rolled her eyes, again. "Oh brother."
Ken came out with hair pasted all over his face. HE also had fake fangs in. He entered and growled. "Grr!"
"Hah!" Nami and Nagi grinned. "Ken the Werewolf!"
Jameson and Rain squealed, too. "Just like Tommy!"
"How’d it turn out?" Ken asked, modeling. "I tried as best I could"
"I think it turned out perfect!" Nami announced. "You’re the best werewolf I’ve ever seen."
"Hah, thanks a lot." Ken said, smiling and showing his fangs. The last one to come out was Crawford, who wore another suit, this one blue instead of tan.
"Nice suit, Crawford." Nami said. "Is it different from the one that you wore all day?"
"Yes it is." Crawford answered. "I’m a CEO/Business consultant."
Irvine turned around to look and folded his arms over the back of the couch. "Are you a ZOMBIE CEO/Business consultant?"
"No." Crawford answered.
"I think he’s scary enough a plain CEO." Jameson said.
"He’d be scarier if he was a lawyer." Zell said.
Nami nodded. "He would be." She turned to Crawford. "You’re a lawyer now." She took a double take on her way around the couch. "But not the kind who give people heart attacks."
"Of course not." Crawford said. "I’m clairvoyant, not deadly."
"Oh, I dunno," Nami said, dreamily, "sometimes you kill me, you killer thing, you."
He shook his head. "Not likely."
"Enough of this! Let’s get on the road! I want to have fun!" Nagi cried. She clip-clopped her way to the front door. "Wufei! Farfie!! Come on, we’re leaving!"
"Why do you hurry us?" Wufei asked, coming out in a skin-tight black uniform. "We were getting ready!"
"I’m tire of waiting!" Nagi insisted, then greedily, she flexed her fingers. "I want candy!"
"I’m ready, let’s go create mayhem." Farfarello, the masochist came around the corner dressed like a swash-buckling pirate. He had on a black and white horizontal-striped shirt and a red bandana. His black eye patch fit right in. He licked his knife and he sneered. "Let’s go massacre some trick-or-treaters."
"Ah, ah, ah!" Jameson snatched his knife away. "You can’t hurt little kids! That’s wrong!"
"Exactly why I want to do it!" Farfie replied. "Give me that knife back!"
"No way!" Nami said, as Jameson made off with it. "She’s right, we don’t need any blood on this trip besides the fake stuff on Yoji."
Wufei pulled on the mask that would complete his ninja outfit. "I’m not giving up my katana. I chose this costume just so I could carry it."
"Fork it over, Fei!" Nami demanded. "Don’t make me frisk you!"
"Okay, okay, don’t get touchy. I’ll leave it." He un-strapped the sword and left it on a table behind the couch. "Now I feel naked, thanks a lot."
Nami shook her head. "Those two are so creepy. Why’d I let them in my house?"
"You can have my plastic sword if you want." Mamoru offered.
Wufei blew him off. "What am I going to do with a plastic sword?"
"I dunno," Zell said, "Rain’s pretty effective with pair of socks."
Rain’s chest swelled with pride. She whipped out her camera. "Okay, everyone together for a picture! Show me your best stuff!" They all crowded in, and she snapped, then looked to Nami. "Go ahead."
"Well, okay, lets all get going!" Nami sighed. "Oooh! My bishi are so cute!"
Everyone got up and headed out, back into the pumpkin-lit night, their party increased by nine members. Jameson, Rain, Nami, and Nagi stuck together. The guys mingled. Yoji fell in with Irvine, James, Tylor, and Zell. Ken, Mamoru, Kenshin, and Ash grouped, Ash following them like a fan after an idol, hanging on every word they said. Crawford pulled aside to talk with Vincent. Heero, Trowa, and Wufei held a little stoic meeting of their own. One of which Vincent could join if he wanted. Farfie was left to darting around, scaring the begeebeez out of random people. He ducked down behind a bush ahead, waited for a pair of ten-year-olds to pass, then sprang at them with his battle cry of "Ayke Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye!!!!"
"AYEEEEEEE!!!" The kids lost all facial skin pigmentation and fainted dead away.
Farfarello nodded at the bodies, then turned to the girls. "This is the best holiday."
"Why does he get to scare kids and we don’t? Zell demanded of Rain.
"He shouldn’t either!" Rain said. "He even knocked them out cold!"
"That’s just mean, that shouldn’t be allowed." Nami agreed.
"You should get him with your socks." Jameson suggested.
Rain nodded. "Nagi? Can I hit him?"
Nagi, however, had a different opinion of what was acceptable than the others. "No way! Scaring people’s what Farfie does best! His total creepiness is what makes him so cool! He can terrorize kids as much as he wants." She turned. "And I can’t believe you took away his knife, Jame!" And you made Fei put up his sword! Where’s your sense of fun!? Where’s you creative, logical, total mayhem!?"
"You are loopy." Jameson cried.
"I’m not loopy! Who’s Loopy? I don’t know any Loopys! Bwahaha!" Nagi said. Rain rolled her eyes. Farfie spotted his next target, a girl and a dog. He crouched low, waiting.
Tylor shook his head. "Farfarello-san, don’t do it. The dog and the kid…they’re so innocent. The kid’s even dressed like a little fairy princess! You’ll scare the wings off her."
"He who delights in the innocence will feel pain when I do just that!" Farfarello sneered. The others bit their lips and walked past him as he lay in wait. The little girl and her pet were approaching from another direction. She skipped along, closer and closer, smiling merrily in the company of her little puffy dog, unaware that she was headed into the frightful arms of Dante’s ultimate demon. At the chosen instant, Farfarello lunged.
"Ayke Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye!!!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!" The fairy wailed, but the tables turned quickly. She went form scared to infuriated and turned to her dog, spitting. "Get him, Killer!"
The ball of white and brown fluff, apparently called Killer, turned out to be fittingly named. The creature lunged and clamped onto the pirate’s leg, growling and snarling like a pit bull. Farfarello was unable to feel pain, but he was taken by surprise by the ferocity of the attack. "Geeah!"
Everyone turned. Nagi’s jaw dropped. "Farfie! You’re getting beat up by THAT!? What happened to your dignity!?!"
"I dunno, Nagi." Wufei said, his arms crossed. "I’m starting to suspect that that thing has had government training."
"Gerrrofff me!" Farfarello cried, trying to kick the dog off. The fairy had, less than gracefully, flown through the air, up onto his back, and had begun to hit him repeatedly in the head with her star wand.
"Reminds me of Super Smash Brothers." Jameson observed.
"Reminds me of an episode of COPS." Ken said.
"Reminds me of the Bride of Chuckie." Yoji looked on, amazed.
"Well I like it!" Nami announced. "Go little girl!"
Crawford looked nearly dumbfounded, his mouth stretched across his face and a sweatdrop sliding down his head. He put his hands in his pockets and puffclouded. "Pitiful"
Nagi grabbed Wufei. "Come on, we’ve GOT to stop this. His reputation depends on it." She and Wufei joined the fray. Nagi went after the girl, and sicked Wufei on the dog. The others watched in wonder as Nagi pulled the fairy from her Bishounen, just to have the imp turn on her and begin to deliver repeated wandwhacks to her head. Wufei had pried the snap-iron jaws of the dog apart to free his fellow’s leg. He held it out at arm's length to protect himself.
"Nagi!? What do I do with it?"
"To heck if I know!" Nagi replied. "Get rid of it!"
"Whatever you say." He took a wide swing and threw the creature into the air. With a ‘Yeowl’ it sailed back into the fog.
The girl jumped of Nagi. "Killer! What did you do to my dog!?" She ran after it. "Killer, wait for me!"
"Wufei!" Nami cried. "You didn’t just kill that dog!?"
"She told me to get rid of it." Wufei answered, nonchalantly.
"I’m sure she didn’t mean like that." Nami said, looking to Nagi.
"It was a demon dog!" Nagi insisted. "The thing was possessed! We had to get rid of it SOMEHOW!"
"Whatever, we still have to pick up Rose Angel, let’s go." Jameson suggested.
"But the dog!" Rain cried, sympathetically.
"I’m sure it’s fine." Jameson assured. "Little dogs are durable, plus Fei’s kind of stringy. I don’t think its hurt too bad." Everyone shrugged and continued toward RA’s. The going was slow. Farfie’d stopped scaring people, held back by his humiliating dog/fairy incident. They entered into an area of rich houses, where every one was set on a large lot with big, tall trees surrounding them. Namida stopped in front of an elaborately decorated mansion that stretched across an acre lot. The mansion had a sloping roof and three stories of windows including an attic, each set with a jack-o-lantern. Even though it was decorated, it was apparent that there was no one home. The porch light was off, and the door was locked.. Two very large pear trees bordered a quaint little cobblestone walk leading to a covered porch.
Nami stopped and pointed. "I know whose house this is!"
Rain looked over at it. "Really? Who?"
"That’s Public Enemy Number ONE!" Nami roared.
Nagi gasped. "You don’t mean – "
But Nami was serious. "That’s the house of Relena Delorian-Peacecraft!!!"
From down the street, someone shrieked. Rain’s eyes darted from Nami to the house, to Nami, to the house again. "For Real!?! I didn’t know she lived down here."
Jameson smiled smugly. "Of course she does, at least she does now." The others stared at her, then shook it off.
"Well, what do we do now that we know where her house is?" Mamoru asked.
"Heero can leave her flowers and we can go on." Wufei said, simply. Nami blindly thrust her fist out sideways and socked him square in the side of the head. He flopped over.
"I still have to kill her." Heero observed.
"That’s PERFECT!" Nami cried.;
"It doesn’t look like anyone’s home." Ken said. Nami’s spirits fell.
"Well, I’ve got a good idea." Zell offered.
"What’s that?" Nami asked.
He had a wicked glint in his eye. "You know what you do whenever you are at the house of someone you don’t like and their not home." They all looked on as he magically produced several rolls of toilet paper and offered them to Nami.
Her eyes widened in delight. She took a roll and cried. "Let’s do it!"
There was a general cheer as people grabbed rolls and proceeded to attack Relena’s home. Rain called to her Bishi. "Come on, guys! We’ll get the trees in front!"
"Oooh! I’m gonna hit the side yard, there are a TON of trees over there; plus if I’m lucky, I can get her pink limousine!" Nagi cried. "Fei! Farf! Come on!"
"I’ve got the house!" Nami called. "We’ll get her at the heart!"
"I’ll help you, Nami." Jameson offered. Nami nodded and they and their bishi proceeded to attack the Delorian-Peacecraft mansion.
TP flew through the air. Rain tossed a roll up to Zell, who’d climbed up into the intricate branches of the pear tree. "Fun, eh Rain?" He called down.
"It’s great! I’ve got nothing against Relena, but she sure is fun to terrorize!"
"Go! Noctowl!" Ash cried, hurling his pokéball into the air. The flying-type owl pokémon appeared .
"Hoot!"
"Noctowl! Catch the roll when Kenshin throws it to you!" Ash called. The Noctowl nodded and Kenshin let loose, holding the free end of the roll. Noctowl caught it and tossed it back down to Ash on the other side of the tree.
Jameson and Nami were hard at work as well. "James! Mamoru! Get up on the roof!" Jameson called. The two of them ran and leapt. Mamoru made it in one bound, but James got hung up on the gutter and needed to be pulled the rest of the way up. Jameson was pleased with the effort. "Now, up to the next level!" Mamoru, this time, gave James a hand-up before bounding up himself. She turned to the three leftover. "Irvine, you get up to the first roof." Irvine went ahead and climbed up. "Vincent and Tylor, you do ground duty."
Nami called out similar instructions. "Trowa, Yoji, Ken, you guys get up there with Irvine! The rest of you stay down here." When all was in place, the six on the ground took up rolls and launched them up to the four at the first story, who, in turn, launched them up to the two on top. James and Mamoru secured the rolls up there, then sent them back down. Soon a veritable waterfall of streaming white paper had grown over the front of the house.
Nagi ran with her two around the corner and found what she wanted. "Oh, yes." Relena’s pink limo was sitting, venerable in front of the garage. "I guess she went out trick-or-treating on foot."
The three of them made merry stringing TP in the scraggly branches of the trees and nearly mummifying the car. Wufei looked up. "this is so trivial and childish." He said. "Don’t we have a party to get to?"
"Trivial and Childish!?" Farfie asked. "Why are you complaining? Defacing private property is fun."
"You have no life." Wufei snapped. "You live for nothing but cheap thrills."
"What exactly are you calling cheap?" Farfie demanded. "Romping through space in a big bad robot? Is that what you call cheap?"
"I don’t do that for thrills." Wufei replied. "Fighting against Oz is my duty."
"Well my duty is to wage war against God, and if I can get it done and have some fun at the same time, then even better."
"Neither of you have any right to boast." Nagi shot, wrapping the side mirror. "Wufei just got punched out by Nami, who I pushed off the table by tapping her on the back, and Farfie had to be saved from a little girl and a dog! I’m ashamed of you both, so stop fighting and help me deface this private property."
Around the front, Crawford turned to Vincent. "This is ridiculous."
Vincent nodded. "Indeed, but in the spirit of the season, we should participate."
"That is a poor excuse." Crawford answered, throwing a mostly empty roll up to Trowa, who caught it. "but what can you expect when we all get together?"
"You have a good point." Vincent agreed.
Next to him, Tylor was having a blast. "Hah! Jameson-sama! I’m loving this! I haven’t TP-ed since high school!"
"Really?" Jameson asked. "I’d expect that you’d have done this in college." She threw a new roll to Irvine.
He caught it and called back. "Are you kidding? He was too busy swallowing goldfish and stuffing himself into phone booths."
Yoji came over. "Nah, he looks more like the type who enjoyed mooning the dean and sitting on flagpoles."
"I’ve been on a flagpole before." Tylor answered. Just then he was socked in the head by an empty roll. "Whoa!"
"Sorry!" James called down.
"You are so clumsy!" Mamoru said to him.
"I normally have good aim." The ghost replied. "I can just barely se through these eyeholes."
"Why did you wear a costume you can’t see through?" Mamoru asked, securing the loop of a string of paper before dropping the roll down to Ken.
"Because I’m short on cash and I had to work with what I had." James answered.
"Hey Jimmy!" Irvine called. James looked over the shingles and the cowboy threw Jameson’s full roll up to him. "Heads up!"
James barely caught it, but did. He heard Nami’s voice from below. "Do something creative with that one, guys! It’s our last roll!"
"Hold it, James." Mamoru said. He called to the four below him. "Any ideas?"
"Spell something with it!" The mad-scientist suggested.
"Nah, there’s too much on this house already, they’d never read it." Ken said. "We need to make something really funny."
"We could make them like streamers and weave it up and down." Irvine suggested, drawing waves in the air with his finger. "I’d be like we were decorating for a party."
"Nah, bigger." Ken said, again.
Trowa had been silent, but now he spoke up. "I have an idea."
The other five were surprised to hear him speak, but soon gained interest. "You do?"
"What is it?" James asked.
Down on the ground, Rain’s team had finished up the trees. Kenshin had climbed into the other tree and he and Zell were creating a canopy with their last roll. "Hey Kenshin!" Zell called, letting the line loose again. A white, quilted trail rolled out behind it. Kenshin caught it in his sombrero.
He pulled the tail end of the roll off and tied it to a branch. He dropped the cardboard roll down to Ash, gave Zell the thumbs up, and clambered out of the tree. Zell did the same and they re-grouped to admire their work. Rain nodded. "Good work guys."
"It looks great!" The skeleton cried.
Kenshin nodded. "A thing of beauty."
Zell had his arms crossed, swelling with pride at the trees, which were so covered in white that it looked like the paper was growing from the branches. "I hope it rains!"
"Hey! FreezingRain!" Nagi came around the corner with Fei and Farfie. "How’s it going!? Done yet?"
"Just finished." Rain answered. "Isn’t it great?"
Nagi took a good look, then pointed to Zell’s tree. "You missed a spot over there."
"I WHAT!?" Frankenstein cried, challenging her.
"I just said you missed a spot over there!" Nagi repeated. "You need to fix it."
"I climbed that tree in these monster clogs and you tell me to fix it!?!?!"
Rain grabbed his arm. "Calm down, Zell, it looks fine! It’s perfect!"
"It was ‘til SHE came!" Zell said, pointing.
"You asked me what I thought and I told you." Nagi insisted.
"I didn’t ask you what you thought." Rain said.
"Yes you did." Nagi said again.
"No I didn’t." Rain insisted.
Just when things were looking bad, Ash let out a laugh and pointed between the two of them. "Haha! Look what they did to the house!" They all glanced over and began laughing hysterically. On Trowa’s prompting, he, Irvine, Ken, Yoji, James, and Mamoru had tied a huge TP bow on top of Relena’s house.
The guys up top climbed down and they all stood in a group on the sidewalk to admire their work. Nami was thrilled. "Well, guys, this is the BEST example of TP sculpture I’ve ever seen." There were several nods. "hose ides was it to make the bow?"
"It was Trowa." Ken answered. "He came up with it."
"Trowa!!!" Nami hugged him. "I knew you were creative deep down, and now I know you have a sense of humor, too!"
Heero looked indignant. "I’ve failed to see the humor or purpose in any of this. It was a waste of time and resources."
Yoji sniggered. "Yeah, think of all the butts you could wipe with this much toilet paper."
Rain put down her camera for a second and whacked him with her socks. "That was inappropriate."
Heero cast Yoji a steel glance and continued. "Plus I don’t see why Trowa gets praise for it."
"Oh, I understand," Jameson grinned, "you’re jealous."
Nami’s eyes sprang open and she let go of Trowa. "He-chan! I’m sorry!" She flung herself onto the other 15-year-old. "Don’t be jealous, I love you too!"
Heero’s eyes shifted.
Nami squeezed. "Thank you for helping me vent my anger through pranks and petty vandalism!"
Heero groaned. "You’re welcome, Namida."
Rain realized what Nami’s just said. "Guys! We can’t get caught here! We’ve gotta get out of here before Relena comes back!"
"You’re right." Nami nodded, letting He-chan go. "We’d better run for it."
"RUN!" Jameson and Nagi cried. Everyone broke into a sprint and the 19 of them ran and giggled their way to RA’s. They had entered a completely new neighborhood, this one looked more like Rain and Jameson’s neighborhood with less fog and more trees. They marched up to Rose Angel’s front step. RA appeared almost immediately, dressed as a black cat. "What took you guys so long!?"
"We…uh…stopped to wrap Relena’s house like a birthday present." Rain answered.
"You what?" RA asked.
"Never mind, we’ll tell you when we tell Kai." Jameson assured. "Oh, and RA, this is Nagi." The witch pulled the sorceress to the front. "You might know her as INJUSTICE8959, I hooked you up with her on AIM."
"Oh, hi." RA waved.
"Nagi, you’ll know her as AndromedaFF8."
Nagi waved back. "Hello."
"So," Nami interrupted. "You ready to go, RA?"
"I am, I don’t have a lot of costume to put on." The cat girl grinned. "A furry leotard and that’s it, I’m set. Now, my guys, we’ll have to see how far they are" She turned into the house and called. "Guys! Get your beautiful booties out here! We’re going to Kai’s party!"
Seifer entered. He had on a black cape with red lining, a white shirt, and black pants. He had fangs in and looked like a vampire. "RA? You called?"
"Ah, Seifer, punctual." RA purred. "How rare is that?"
"Only because I’ve got an easy costume." Seifer answered. "You don’t have to be complicated to be the best."
"Who says?" Rufus Shinra cam in in a black hooded robe, he carried the Grim Reaper’s scythe. "I went all out, and I am better than you."
"Too bad that hood is screwin’ up your hair." Seifer replied.
"It is not, I made sure to use extra gel." Rufus prodded him with his blade.
Trunks came in dressed like an alien with little boingy antennae. He had a shiny silver suit on in addition to them. "At it again are you?"
"What’s it to you?" Seifer asked.
"When are you going to grow up?" Trunks asked.
"Funny to hear you say that, Mr. Martian." Seifer scoffed, knocking the springing stalks on the semi-seiyan’s head so that they waved back and forth.
Trunks was unamused. "Let’s go, and I hope you won’t be at each other the whole time." He, Seifer, and Rufus headed out to join the ranks. There was only one missing.
"Aya!" RA called, then cleared her throat. "Ran, sweety, yours is the only beautiful booty that isn’t here!"
"I am not going to a party." Aya said, coming dressed in his normal garb.
"Aya! What happened to your costume?" RA gaped.
"I didn’t make one." He answered. "A costume party doesn’t appeal to me. I’d rather stay home."
"As if!" RA cried. "You are coming because I say you are!"
"That doesn’t matter. I don’t care what you want me to do." Aya answered
"Of course you do!"’ RA said, determined. "You care because you want me to be happy, don’t you?"
"Hmph," He leaned on the wall and stared at it.
She stormed over to him. "Listen, mister, I’m very special to you and you know it, now admit it!"
"Alright, I admit it." He answered. "But I still don’t want to go. And I still don’t have a costume."
"You are going because I’m gong to drag you there by your ear-tails." RA threatened. "And as for a costume…" She grabbed a hair ribbon from on a table nearby and tied if around his head. "There, now you have a costume."
Rain and Jameson each leaned their heads a different direction. "What is he?"
"He’s going as my pet." RA answered.
Jameson laughed out loud. Aya wasn’t pleased. "How humiliating."
"Okay, okay, let’s get going." RA said. She grabbed her pet by the collar. "Come on, Ran-chan."
"Wait! Picture time! Get close!" Rain whipped out her camera and snapped. "Thank you, we can continue."
"Okay," RA hopped off the porch, her bishi in tow. They all headed out into the dark and marched their way back to the street. RA twitched her tail and sighed as she walked. "Let’s do something fun on the way! Who’s for TPing?"
"Done it." Rain said, simply.
"Really!? Why didn’t you wait for me?" RA demanded. "You knew I’d want to!"
"It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing." Nami explained
"And it’s not everyday that you wander upon Relena’s house!" Nagi added.
"So that was what you meant by the birthday present crack." RA concluded. "Man! I want to see that!"
"We’ve got to get to Kai’s." Jameson said again. "We’re already late to the party!"
"I want to do SOMETHING!!" RA insisted. "Have you scared the crud out of innocent people yet?"
"Farfie was all over that." Rain assured.
"And if you count James and Kenshin as innocent, Irvine and Zell have had their share, too." Mamoru said.
"Hah, those two couldn’t scare the bun off an ol’lady." Seifer spat. "if I was there, Dracula could have done some REAL damage."
"Hey, we did a good job." Irvine defended. "Just ask James, he was scared a full five feet in the air."
James’s sheet blushed.
"in those costumes, I doubt it." Seifer scoffed. "I mean, all you are, Cowboy, is a bad makeup job."
"So maybe I’m not the most creative person out there." Irvine admitted. "But I think I did alright. There’ve been worse."
"Heh, maybe…" Seifer said, sarcastically, then leaned down to Zell. "What are you supposed to be, Chicken Wuss?"
"Only the greatest movie monster of all time!" Zell replied.
"No way, Dracula’s the best movie monster." Seifer said, aloofly.
"Frankenstein could whip Dracula’s butt!" Zell challenged.
"Yeah, right." Seifer grinned, his fangs showing. "Wasn’t Frankenstein’s problem that he didn’t have a brain?"
"Grr." Zell growled.
"Yo! Cut it out!" Rain called back.
"It’s not me!" Zell informed her. "Its HIM! All him!"
"I don’t care! I’m tired of you spitting at each other like that!" She replied.
"It’s certainly interesting to listen to, though." Kenshin said.
"Don’t think of me as some kind of sport, sombrero boy." Seifer warned.
"I wouldn’t mess with Kenshin." Ken warned.
Zell smacked Seifer in the chest. "Heck, yeah! Kenshin could pound you into the ground!"
"Don’t touch me again, ChickenWuss." Seifer growled. "He couldn’t touch me! No way, A scrawny little girl like that?"
"Whoa!" Ash dashed his eyes over to the "Mexican" and was relieved to see that he was taking the criticism well. Wiping his brow he said to Seifer, "I’d watch my back if I were you, Kenshin has taken out people five times your size."
"How old are you, kid? Eight?" Seifer asked.
"Twelve!" Ash corrected, defensively.
"Whatever, you have no mind to be bossing me around."
Tylor cocked an eyebrow. "Is there some arrogant club you could join?"
"Hey!" RA cried. "I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t we all egg cars!?"
"Isn’t that vandalism?" Tylor turned his cocked eyebrow to her.
"Sure it is, so is TPing." RA said.
"But don’t egg-whites take the paint off of cars?" Nami asked.
"I thought that was shaving cream." Jameson offered. "And plus, have you forgotten the fact that we are running late!?! We don’t have time to horse around if we plan to make the party at all!"
"What would be egg?" Nagi asked. "We’ve hit Relena’s, who next?"
"There is a shortcut to Kai’s that goes by a busy road." RA answered. "We could throw the eggs at the cars that go by."
"It sounds fun to me." Yoji called.
"It sounds too innocent to me." Farfie insisted.
Wufei rolled his eyes. Heero spoke with the same tone. "Haven’t we done enough private damage?"
"I agree." Crawford nodded.
"I’ve got an idea." Rufus offered. "Let’s just get to Kai’s with style. I’ve got my cell-phone, I can call some ShinRa company helicopters to pick us up."
"Dude!" Zell cried. "Honestly!?!"
"You mean it?" Ken asked. "We’re gonna get airlifted there!?"
"That’ll be some entrance!" Yoji cried.
"It sounds like a good plan." Mamoru confirmed. "Call up the copters, we’re ready to go."
"I don’t want to go!" James wailed. "I’m scared of heights!"
"Well that, figures." Seifer crossed his arms.
"You don’t matter." Rufus shot, pressing speed-dial. "We’re going anyway."
"Oh." James sighed.
Trunks shifted weight, his antennae bobbing. "This will be interesting."
RA nodded. Aya tried to get away but she yanked him back. "Yep, we’re gonna have a blast!"
Rufus turned to the girls. "How many of us are there?"
They surveyed the crowd. Jameson whistled. "That’s a good question."
"Let’s do some math." Nami said. "I brought five. Nagi brought two, that’s seven. Jameson, you’ve got four – "
"Five." Jameson corrected. "Tylor came."
"Oh, right, sorry Tylor." Nami corrected. "Five. That would make twelve. Rain’s got three, that’s fifteen. RA’s got four, so that’s nineteen. Then there are how many? Five of us? So that would bring us to twenty-four."
"Twenty-four?" Rufus asked. "Is that the final count?"
"Yep," Nagi answered. Rufus proceeded to give instructions to the phone.
RA turned. "Nice adding, Nami."
"Thank you very much." She said, poking a cheek.
Rufus hung up. "Okay, I’ve got five copters coming. We need to break up."
"I think the girls need to go in one!" Jameson suggested.
"I like that idea." Rain agreed. "Time for some girl talk." She turned to the sea of guys. "You all group up or something."
"Okay," They broke apart. Irvine, Zell, Yoji, and James hung together, with Farfie somehow weaseling his way in. Mamoru, Ken, Tylor, Kenshin, and Ash grouped. Wufei, Heero, Trowa, and Trunks clumped, Trunks feeling out of place. Seifer and Rufus clanned with Crawford, Aya, and Vincent. Soon the choppers had arrived.
The road was small, and only one helicopter could land at a time. The first one down was piloted by a bronzed young man. The girls stopped and gaped, then cried. "OURS!" and piled in. They fastened their seatbelts, Nami, Nagi, Rain, and RA in back, and Jameson in front. The driver smiled at them. "’Re ya ready?"
"Uh-huh." Jameson nodded, starstruck. The pilot had an Australian accent, and the poor girl had melted.
"Alroit, ‘ang in there! ‘Ere we go!" The helicopter rose into the air.
The second came down. Yoji headed in, "come on, guys! This one’s ours."
"I don’t want to go!" James cried. "Don’t make me!"
"Come on, you can sit in the middle." Irvine said, grabbing him.
"No! No! Please!"
"Come on, would you rather walk?" Zell asked, shoving him in the back.
Farfie licked his lips, mischievously. Seeing it, James shuddered. "Ahh! Okay, okay, I’ll go, just get me away from HIM!"
Yoji was in front. Zell grabbed on side and Farfie the other. James refused to sit by the masochist and sat between the two FF8 guys instead. The pilot was an old man and was a little shaky taking off.
The third copter landed and Tylor jumped in the front seat. "Hah! This is going to be fu-un!" He waved. "Hey, Mamoru-san! Hurry up! Let’s go!"
Mamoru turned to Kenshin. "I guess we should go."
Kenshin nodded and they headed into the back seat. Ash was on the outside, followed by Kenshin, then Ken, then Mamoru. Ash and Tylor were on the edge of their seats as the craft took off.
The forth aircraft settled down and allowed the group of Vincent, Aya, Seifer, Rufus and Crawford in. Rufus sat in front, it was his company after all, and Vincent sat in the middle of Crawford and Aya in back. Seifer sat on Crawford’s other side. He leaned up to Rufus. "So, what are the chances of crashing one of these?"
"If they crash this helicopter with me in it, they will regret it."
"What do you think you’ll do?" Crawford asked. "You’ll be dead."
"I have connections." Rufus answered.
Seifer tousled Rufus’s blonde mop as best he could through the black hood. "You know I can mess up your hair from back here."
"Cut it out." Rufus turned to glare. The copter took off.
The last helicopter was quiet. The G-boys filed in. Trunks took the front. "I’ve hooked up with a boring crowd. I bet there will be no conversation at all on the way there." Once the craft were reunited above the treetops, they took off in a flock toward Kai’s house and the Halloween party. They traveled as the crow flies on a quick route to Kai’s neighborhood. Soon they were crossing the highway. Zell leaned out. "Whoa! We’re a long way up!"
James was freaking out. "I don’t want to be up here! Why’d I ever get into this thing!? I want my mommy!"
"You are such a baby!" Yoji cried. "Stop going ballistic."
"I can’t help it!" James insisted.
Farfarello was leaning out his side. "It’s a long way down. If someone were to fall, they would splatter on the cement. That is, if God is kind enough to keep them from being hit by a car first."
James balled up under his sheet and shivered. "Ooooooh!"
Irvine cast Farfie a look. "You are so creepy. What are you doing here? I thought Tylor was hanging out with us."
"I felt like it was better here." Farfarello answered. "Away from Crawford’s discipline, closer to easy targets."
Irvine and Zell’s eyes shifted to James, who was a shivering white mound. Zell leaned in to Farfie. "You’re messed up."
"But we really are up here, look!" Yoji pointed. "I can see Nami’s house from here!"
"I see Rain and Jameson’s!" Zell said.
James came out of his ball. "Really?"
"Yeah, look." Zell pointed.
Irvine leaned in. "Oh, yeah, I can see it, too."
"I want to see." James said, trying to see around Zell. Farfie shifted his eyes and seized the opportunity. He reached out and shoved James completely out of his seat. The 17-year-old’s eyes widened as he was suddenly suspended over the highway. He screamed and flapped his arms to save himself. He was dangerously close to falling out when Zell caught an arm around him and threw him back into his seat.. There he turned immediately to Irvine and clamped on to him for dear life, tears streaming out of the eyeholes of his sheet.
Irvine blinked at him. "What are you doing!? Why are you on me?"
"I’m gong to fall!" James wailed.
"You are not!" Yoji called back. "Man, I’m ashamed to share a voice actor with you!"
"Yeah, chill, you won’t fall, we’ll catch you if Farfie tries anything else." Zell assured.
Farfie pouted. "Darn"
"Ahh!" James cowered. "Get him away from me! He’s dangerous! He tried to kill me!"
"Uh…" Irvine tried to detach himself from James, but gave up and patted him on the shoulder. "There there?"
"Yo, James, get off him." Zell pulled his neighbor off Irvine, only to have him ball up again.
"Is it over yet?"
In a more peaceful helicopter, Vincent, Aya, and Crawford were talking. Seifer and Rufus had their own conversation going, but the tension was really on the other three. Crawford straightened up to raise his head higher than Aya’s. "Vincent, I didn’t realize you socialized with him."
"We share the same interests." Vincent explained
"Hmm." Crawford crossed him arms. "I suppose one cannot pick who another speaks to."
"I agree." Aya said.
"I didn’t ask you." Crawford replied.
"I wasn’t talking to you." Aya said. "Takatori snob."
"I have no interest in Takatori." Crawford said, "I was employed."
Aya snarled and threatened him in Japanese. "Shine…"
"I’m not a fan of you either." Crawford responded.
"I suppose this is what I should have expected from a pair of characters out of the same show." Vincent sighed.
"Only when I’m Schwarz and he’s Weiss." Crawford said.
Aya stared daggers into Crawford from the other side of Vincent. Seifer was terrorizing Rufus. "I hope you learn never to let me sit behind you again, ShinRa." The vampire grinned.
"I am death!" the Grim Reaper reminded him. "If I were you, I’d watch myself."
"Ooooh, I’m so scared." Seifer yanked Rufus’s hood down. "Whoa! Look what all my teasing’s done to your hair!" He started laughing hysterically, for all of his rubbing had forced Rufus’s prized hair into strange shapes and directions. Rufus tried to fix it, but Seifer was laughing even harder when he said "You used so much gel! Now it’s STUCK like that!"
"Urg!" Rufus realized he was right and pulled his hood up again. He then hit Seifer in the head with his scythe. "Death will come for you!"
In the third vehicle, Tylor was having fun pretending he was flying and pestering the driver. "Hey, what does this button do!?" H asked pointing.
"It connects me to the airfield." The pilot said, already visibly annoyed.
"OH, what dies this one do?" The captain asked, innocently.
"It turns on the cabin light." He said.
"What does this one do?"
"It-"
"Ooo! Oooh! What about his one!?" Tylor asked, pointing at the ceiling.
"It-"
"Oh! Wait! That one’s huge! What’s it do!?" He asked.
"It sends us into a death-plummet that we could never pull out of and that will result undoubtedly in a crash that would leave us a smoldering spot on the ground." The pilot snapped.
Tylor withdrew his and. "Oh…" then his eyes lit up. "How about THAT one!?"
Mamoru looked to Ken. "He’s certainly curious."
"If that’s the word." Ken said. "He’s just excitable, I guess?"
"It would be more accurate to say that he delights in the simple things." Kenshin re-phrased.
"Boy, you guys know some big words." Ash said.
"Read and you will, too." Mamoru said.
"Okay! I will!" Ash agreed.
"I think someone’s got an idol." Ken whispered, eyeing Mamoru.
"What do you mean by that?" Mamoru asked.
"I mean…" Ken explained. "Ash thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread. Did you notice how he hangs on very word you say?"
"No, does he?" Mamoru asked.
"In the worst way." Ken nodded. "Try it out. Ask him what he wasn’t to be when he grows up."
"Alright, I’ll give it a shot." Mamoru agreed. "But you’ll see that you’re wrong." He leaned across Ken and Kenshin to see Ash. "Hey, uh, Ash,"
"Yeah!?!" Ash answered quickly.
"What are you planning for the future?" Mamoru asked.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked in response.
"What do you want to become?" Mamoru asked. "What do you want to be?"
"I want to be the world’s greatest Pokémon Master!" Ash cried. "That’s what I want to do! I want to learn and understand Pokémon. But I also want to help people, and be smart and brave, and a good role-model to other kids all over the world!"
Ken nudged Mamoru. "See?"
"That didn’t prove anything!" Mamoru cried. "What are you looking so content with yourself for!?"
Kenshin leaned to Ash, who was looking very confused. "Don’t mind them."
"Whatever you say." Ash said.
In the forth chopper, not much was being said with Wufei, Trowa, and Heero in back, they didn’t seem to want to converse much. Trunks was trying to make conversation with the pilot. "So," he started, "what’s it like to drive a helicopter?"
"It’s boring." He answered. "It’s a stupid job."
"Oh, okay," Trunks said. "Well, why did you take it?"
"Because I’m a stupid person." He answered, staring intently out the front window. "Only a stupid person like me would take a stupid job like this."
"Er, well," Trunks wasn’t liking the way it was going. "What about your family!? Do you have any kids?"
"My kids won’t talk to me," the man said, a vein starting to pop out of his neck, "and my wife hates me. I’m so depressed."
"I’m sorry – "
"I’m a stupid person that no one likes driving a stupid helicopter for a stupid boss who I hate and hates me back, which makes it even better!"
"Sir, I didn’t mean to start you off like this," Trunks insisted.
"I need to tell someone!" The driver said, growing ecstatic. "Sometimes it gets so bad that I think about crashing this thing and ending it all."
"Don’t do that!" Trunks snapped. "It’s not worth it!"
"good job, Brief," Wufei called up. "You’ve turned out pilot suicidal."
"I didn’t do anything!" Trunks insisted. Trowa and Heero exchanged glances. Trunks stared at the pilot. "Get us to our destination and land us, now!"
"He’s getting nervous." Trowa observed.
"That’s not how you calm a person down, Trunks." Heero said, somber.
"The last thing I need is to make him hysterical." Trunks said. "I just want to get us out of danger."
"Just leave him alone." Wufei said. "Geez!"
"Fine." Trunks concluded, then to the driver he said; "Just fly the thing and don’t crash, and when you get of duty, go get help for yourself."
The last chopper was full of girls. Jameson, in front, was fawning over the driver, whose name ended up being Jered. "So, Jered, have you done this long?"
"Ah’ve been fly’n for about a year." He answered. "Groit sorta job. Ah’ll say."
"Really?" Jameson asked. "Talk some more."
"It’s the accent that’s got her." Rain said.
"I’d prefer if he were French." RA said.
"I’d like him better Japanese!" Nami cried.
"I just like them hot." Rain added.
"Does anybody got rope?" Nagi asked.
"Rope? Why?" The others asked.
"I want to hang myself out the window and fly around by my waist." She answered.
"Nah rope, sorry mate." Jered shrugged.
Jameson sighed.
"Dangit! It sounded like so much fun, too!" Nagi moped.
"We wouldn’t let you, anyway." Nami said. "You could kill yourself."
"What’s with you guys and caution!? What does it matter if its dangerous as long as its fun. And what’s with your thing about blood? It’s Halloween, you’re supposed to have blood on Halloween."
"But we’ve got such a lighthearted feel going so far." Jameson explained. "If there was blood, it’d ruin the feel."
"I don’t care! I want blood! Give Farfie his knife back so that we can see blood!"
Rain snapped at her. "No!"
"Fine!" She crossed her arms and pouted.
"Weird," RA shook her head. "You guys are acting like a group of parents!"
"We kinda have to be." Rain answered. "When you have all these guys to look after."
"Yeah, let’s put this in perspective," Nami said, "I’ve gotta keep Yoji in check. Jameson’s got James AND Irvine. Rain’s got Ash AND Zell. Nagi has to deal with Farfie. You, RA, really have the tamest group here. The only thing you have to worry about is Seifer messing with Rufus’s hair."
"Alright, I get the point." RA agreed. "Perhaps we do have to be the discipliners sometimes."
"Yeah, Rain and her socks." Jameson shook her head.
Rain glanced out, taking pictures of her town from up high. "Yo! Look! I can see Kai’s house!"
"Oooo!" They all leaned around to see as the copter approached and landed, letting them all out onto Kai’s lawn. The hostess and all her guests had emptied onto the lawn or moved to the windows to see the spectacle. When the girls leapt out, (Jameson with one last glance at Jered), Kai rushed forward. She was a Zombie, but looked to be something of a vampire, too. She was amazed at their entrance.
"Oh my GOSH!" Kai’s eyes gaped. "Nami! Rain! Jameson! RA! Nagi! I was going to ask you what took you so long, but now I’m asking WHERE’D YOU GET THE HELICOPTERS!?!"
"Rufus called ‘em up." RA answered. "He comes in handy sometimes, doesn’t he?"
"And you brought all your bishounen!" She said, looking over the huge crowd. "Great! We’re gonna have fun! Come on in, we’ve got a house-full of anime guys, and girls, but the shounen are more important. I’ve got games and we’re showing the Blair Witch in the TV room. We’ve got food, candy cake…"
"CANDY!?!" James, Tylor, Irvine, Zell, Yoji, and Ash cried and ran past.
Farfie popped in. "You said cake! Is there a knife!?"
"Well, yeah." Kai said, unsure of what he meant.
"Ayke Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye Aye!!!" He cried, dashing past.
Jameson stared after him. "Wait! No!" But he was gone. "Darn, all my work."
Nagi ran in after him. "Go Farfie!"
The rest of the GundamWingandRandomAnime group came out, dressed in various costumes. Esthany ran to RA. "Why didn’t you call me!?! We could have come together, then I’d be on the helicopter ride, too!"
"Oops?" RA shrugged.
Esthany crossed her arms. "Some twin you are," then shrugged and waved RA inside. "Let’s go."
"Let’s get this stupid party started!" Thyme said. "Come on, Wufei, let’s go catch up with Farfie." She grabbed the Ninja and drug him off.
"Come on, people," Lillith waved to the masses. "Everybody mingle."
Kaori turned to Kai. "You’ve still got candles burning inside. Maybe we should check on Esth and RA."
"You go on, we’ll catch up." Kai said. Nami, Rain, and Jameson watched as the rest of their bishounen moved inside. Kai shifted weight. "So what did take you so long?"
"We started off and did a little trick-or-treating." Rain began.
"Scared some innocent people," Jameson added.
"Enforced a little discipline," Rain smacked her socks.
"Got the crud scared out of us by Zell and Irvine." Jameson recalled.
"We picked up Nami." Her sister continued.
"Nagi was at my place." Nami said. "She joined us on our way to RA’s."
"Farfie was attacked by a pixie and a pouf." Jameson laughed.
"We stopped off at Relena’s to TP her house." Rain grinned.
"You didn’t !!" Kai cried.
Nami nodded, proudly, "we suuuure did."
"She’s here, now, you know." Kai said. "It’ll be hard not to tell her."
"She’ll find out soon enough." Rain said.
"If only it was Azalyn’s." Kai sighed.
"After TPing the Delorian-Peacecraft mansion," Nami continued, "we went to RA’s and took helicopters here."
Jameson concluded. "THAT is what took us so long."
"Sounds like fun." Kai said. "And no one died. With your group, I was expecting someone to get stabbed."
"I worked as hard as I could to avoid that." Jameson said. "Overall, I think I did pretty well, besides Nagi’s nagging for blood."
Suddenly there was a scream. "Ahhh!!" The girls exchanged glances and rushed in. Usagi, otherwise known as Sailor Moon, who was dressed as a white bunny, had her jaw open and was pointing in terror.
Kai ran over to the rabbit. "What happened?"
"That weirdo was licking the cake knife!" Usagi cried. "Then he cut his tongue!"
Rain and Jameson exchanged glances then looked over to where Farfie had his bleeding tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Waht?’
Nami pointed and laughed. "I knew that would happen one day!"
Nagi took the knife from her bishi, completely embarrassed and ashamed of him.
Jameson grinned, "well, Nagi, you got the blood you wanted."
The blonde’s eyes narrowed.
Farfie, who couldn’t feel pain, snapped his head around, tongue blood flying. "Waht!?" Everyone was laughing. "Whah yuhall louffin a’ meh? Thop!" His threat just made them laugh more. Someone got him a towel. Rain snapped a picture.
~End~




*Post Note*
Happy Halloween, 2001 everybody! I wrote this all last week for you all to enjoy. If you weren’t in it, then that is either because I didn’t know you that well, or didn’t know which Bishi you’d want to bring. No, RA, Nami, and Kai do not live within walking distance of mine and Rain’s house. And Relena doesn’t either, so don’t come looking. Everybody have a fun and safe Halloween – don’t trick-or-treat with knives.
JAMESON ^_~

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