A Twisted Halloween: Terror is Trending

Chapter 4: An Exceedingly Delicate Situation

Going back to what Crowley says, "The Halloween party was scheduled to be held tomorrow, October 31st but... I'm afraid we may have to call it off."

"WHAAAT?!" The student body exclaims in shock at what they're hearing.

"B-b-but why?!" Grim asks in shock. "That was the thing I was lookin' forward to the most! Why ya gotta put the kibosh on it?!"

Then Vargas explains, "We've tried to reason with these troublemakers and resolve things peacefully. If they still refuse to play nice, then what else can we do?"

"They're already emboldened. What if next time, they hurt one of you instead of an inanimate object?" Crewel replies.

"I can think of no bait more tantalizing to Magicam Monsters than an elaborate party," Sam says.

"It's an unfortunate turn of events, but our students' safety must come first. Holding a party under these chaotic circumstances is out of the question. We adults have a responsibility to safeguard all children, regardless of how unpopular it might make us with them," Trein says.

Soon, everyone is full of sadness and disappointment.

Crowley says, "They're right, of course. Fortunately, we're mages - we can fix the Great Seven statues easily enough. But if any people were to get injured, we would have to report the matter to the police. If that were to happen..." Then screams, "Ooh, I don't even want to think about it!"

He clears his throat to calm himself, "Ahem! Anyway, we cannot allow the situation to go any further than it already has."

Vil says, "The professors sounded convincing enough. The headmage, on the other hand, is only raising more questions than answers."

Then Jade asks, "Is there some reason he wouldn't want the police sniffing around? A secret he doesn't want them to unearth, perhaps?"

Suddenly Deuce says, "We've worked so hard to prepare for this."

"Right. Everybody's really excited for the party on the 31st," Epel says.

"The Sage's Islanders come to the party every year. We'd be letting them down too," Jack says.

"Jack's right. Everyone on the island, and the students will be so disappointed," Briar says.

"YEAH! And it's, like, against my rights or whatever to miss out on fancy party food! Grim says.

"Grim, can you stop thinking with your stomach at a time like this?" Jasper asks, annoyed.

"I have to agree with Briar. All the students worked hard for the Halloween event, and we're all excited for the 31st. It would be a shame if it had to cancel," Tanzanite says.

"I hear you, students. Truly, I do. But..." Crewel says.

Then Sam turns to Crowley, "What's your call, Headmage?"

"I think we'd better have a grown-up group huddle," Crowley answers. "This is an exceedingly delicate situation. We must weigh all factors carefully and put the students' safety first."

"So what you're saying is that if we can get the problems solved and make the campus safe for everyone, the party will be able to go on?" Briar asks.

"Hm? Well, yes..." Crowley says.

Then Trein says, "Headmage, let's reconvene in the faculty office. We'll need to loop in the rest of the faculty as well."

Then Trein begins to take his leave.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" Crowley says.

Crowley soon leaves the scene as well, along with the rest of the faculty.

"There they go," Grim replies.

Then Sereia asks, "So what do you think we should do now?"

"Yeah. We gotta do somethin', right? Otherwise the party's off the table!" Grim says.

"But what can we do?" Tanzanite asks.

Suddenly, Azul chuckles, "Heh heh heh..." Then he says, "You know what, Briar? I like the way you think."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean?" Grim asks.

Then Jade explains, "You heard the conversation just now, yes? If we quash the safety issue, the party stays on. It's like Cater said earlier," Then crosses his arms, "The problem isn't Magicam itself or the ghosts."

"Yep! The real cause of all this trouble is -" Cater says.

Soon, Cater and Vil say, "The Magicam Monsters!"

"Right," Jade says.

Then Jade says, "Hence, the solution is to expel every single one of those deranged clout-chasers, without exception. If we do, the campus will be at peace, and we can hold the party as scheduled."

"Ah! That seems simple enough. I say we close off the campus right now! Eject everyone visiting here from off-campus!" Sebek says.

"Briar Valley really IS full of antisocial shut-ins. Your gloomy king rubs off on you, or what?" Leona comments.

"What did you say?!" Sebek questions in anger.

Then Lilia says, "Sebek, you deserve that. The attendees are guests of honor during Halloween Week. We are merely the hosts honoring them with a party. Why hold one at all if the guests of honor aren't allowed to attend?"

Then Deuce says, "I wouldn't feel right shooing guests that are abiding by the rules and just having a good time."

"But how do we tell the Magicam Monsters apart from regular visitors?" Epel asks, "There's no quick way to tell good-faith visitors from their bad-faith counterparts at a glance. I'm not sure it's possible to just mass-expel the Magicam Monsters alone."

"The Magicam Monster are, in essence, people who refuse to do anything we say. In which case, it's easy enough to identify them. Just issue some instructions," Vil says.

"Er... such as?" Deuce asks.

"What do you have in mind?" Briar asks.