A GIFT BEFORE HALLOWEEN - ST/MILEVEN AU

Chapter 1

"T'was a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story that you are about to be told, began with the holiday worlds of old. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from, if you haven't I'd say it's time you begun. For the holidays are the result of much fuss, and hard work for the worlds that create them for us. Well, you see now, quite simply that's all that they do, making one unique holiday especially for you. But once a calamity ever so great occurred when two holidays met by mistake."

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Usually, the winding paths of Halloween Town were dark, misty, and full of people who were generally up to no good. However, as the spooky season was upon them, the streets were brought back to life with the buzzing excitement of its residents. Jack-o-lanterns seemed to shine brighter than usual, witches cauldrons glowed with more luminescence and were no longer a murky green but instead a fluorescent lime; and those who were up to no good were readying themselves to be unleashed to the human world and wreak havoc.

The Trick-or-Treaters were racing through everyone's feet, their pumpkin buckets half empty as they run on sugary fuel. Amongst the energetic children were the young demons who had escaped from Hell to join the terrorizing festivities. Witches flew through the night, their wicked cackles adding to the atmosphere as they sprinkled the air with their dark magic. Mummies strolled at a snail pace, their wrappings whipping in the wind and dragging on the floor behind them - more often than not, getting stamped on by the children and revealing their revolting rotting bodies.

Mayor Kline was dashing around town like a madman, his scroll flying behind him as he ran, and the spider that was usually situated in the collar of his shirt was instead running wild over his body – though the crazed mayor didn't seem to notice or even flinch. He was finishing up his annual Halloween chores, ensuring everything was in place for the most important event of their lives – the only event of their lives. "Dr Wheeler!" He called as he mapped his way through the crowds waiting in front of the Wheeler Laboratory where Dr Ted Wheeler was adjusting his gruesome inventions. Many visited him as Halloween drew closer, hoping for something to aid in their terrorizing tendencies. "Make way! Make way!" Mayor Kline called once again, pushing waiting customers aside and not apologising when some ended up on the cold pavement.

"What is it, Mr Mayor?" Dr Wheeler's wife, Karen, asked in reply to his cries. Karen Wheeler was probably the kindest person in the whole of Halloween town, yet this wasn't by coincidence. Dr Wheeler had specifically designed her to be that way, he had designed her entire being from how she thought to how he had sewn her together – he did the same with his two daughters, Nancy and Holly. The three were his greatest creations, each with their own conscious and personality as if they were human beings and not the result of a mad scientist's late-night scribblings.

"I need to know the skeletons are ready," Kline answered through heavy breaths, his face switched from neutral to utterly drained before swivelling to overly paranoid. "They must be completed to his finest by the end of this week!"

"Relax, Mr Mayor," the woman cooed, "I assure you my husband is working on them as we speak, but he has a busy schedule, so they will be finished when they are finished."

"I hope you're right," Kline worried, aggressively rolling up his scroll, "we don't want a repeat of Halloween 1983!"

"Heavens, no," Karen chuckled before he began to usher the dishevelled man out of the entrance. "Now, we shall see you at tomorrow's town meeting. A pleasure to see you again, Mr Mayor."

His face hastily twisted to a jovial expression as he bid farewell to the doll-like woman.

Karen shut the door behind him before she headed to the laboratory. The room was not clean with pristine décor or sanitized beakers, instead, the furniture was coated in multiple layers of dust despite their frequent use. The wood of the tables was slowly rotting away, as were the cabinet doors. Every inch of metal in the room was rusted or marked and not a single utensil was clean.