A Twisted Halloween II: Spectral Soiree

Chapter 12: A Whole Lotta Steam

Soon enough, Lilia, Briar, Grim, and the others return with the other students, and they are amazed to see how elegant the place looks now.

"Gracious, were those students ever fired up. Talking them down was no mean feat," Lilia says.

"I have to agree. What a mess," Jasper says.

Then Kalim says, "I was pretty worried how things were gonna shake out. I didn't want to fight the rest of my dorm. I'm sure glad Briar and Grim came to help!"

"You were so quick to step into the center of the fray, I wondered if you weren't eager to join the ghosts in the afterlife," Jade says.

"I didn't step in! Lilia shoved me!" Grim says.

Then Briar says, "And it wasn't that easy to call off your fight."

"When I came to, the first thing I saw was my housewarden, his face alight with anger... He was so terrifyingly beautiful, I thought I was going to swoon!" A Pomefiore student says.

"Urgh, I'm gonna have nightmares about our housewarden stomping all over us. His cackling will haunt me forever," A Octavinelle student says.

"I was informed that was the only way to get you back to normal. It was far from my first choice," Azul says.

"Some of them recovered the hard way, but getting the sense beaten back into them... But it does seem all the students are back to normal now," Riddle says.

"What of the ghosts who possessed them?" Silver asks.

And right on cue, the ghosts enter the room.

One of them says, "Oooh, look! The disco ball's fixed!"

Another ghost says, "I never thought I'd see it sparkle again! Things feel more festive already!"

"Yeah! Now we can throw the best Halloween party ever!" Christopher says, excited.

However, all the students remain silent.

"Oh..." The ghosts reply.

Then Christopher says, "Let me guess. After all the trouble we've caused... The last thing you want to do is party with us?"

The students continue to remain silent.

"I suppose we can hardly blame them. Even if they did attack us without giving us a chance to explain. We certainly dragged MANY living people into this mess," Gregory says.

But then Silver says, "You aren't the only ones who should apologize. We owe you an apology for failing to treat you with kindness. I would like to attend your party as a gesture of goodwill. That, and we've spent the day overcoming many trials together. I wouldn't want it to end on a sour note. Halloween joins people together in merriment. That's what my father taught me."

"I had a feeling you would say just that, Silver. I second Monsieur Endormi's motion," Rook says.

Then happily says, "Now that the air has been cleared, a party would be the perfect chance to mend our fences.

"I'm in agreement as well. I believe that Rule 53 - 'When something is stolen from you, you must take it back' - has been honored already. Plus, I wouldn't want to be remembered as a tyrant who attacks ghosts unprovoked!" Riddle says.

"Are you okay with that?" Silver asks

"Frankly, I still have serious misgivings about being used as a stage prop," Vil says.

He calmly smiles and says, "But I suppose ghosts are the guests of honor on Halloween. There are worse things than helping to make their party a success."

"We're with you on that, Vil. I'm p. Drained from running around all these strange places and constantly fighting ghosts. But I'm never too tired to party! It'd be a crying shame if we didn't make the most of this, right?" Cater says.

"What do our Hallowenders say about the matter, after all the hard work you put in today?" Jade questions.

Then Ace says, "I mean, sure the prank got a little out of hand, but I still like Halloween. I get wanting to have a slammin' party." He smiles and says, "Plus, that sparkly dance floor's callin' my name! I wanna get down and let loose."

"I assume there'll be food at this party, right?" Ruggie replies.

Then a ghost says, "Indeed. We brought in famous chefs from all over the world, and they're ready to whip up anything - even 500-year-old royal cuisine!"

"All right, I'm sold!" Ruggie eagerly says, with a grin on his face, "A good spread of party food oughta make up for everything I just went through,

"You're a seriously unruly bunch of ghosts..." Trey replies.

He then says with a smile, "But since you came to the school before closing, you're technically our guests. It wouldn't be right to leave you high and dry."

"I ain't leavin' empty-handed after all the trouble we went through. I'm gonna make sure I have myself a real good time," Floyd says.

"For once, you make a sound point, Floyd. I was just thinking the same thing. I could afford to cut loose a little after all that stress," Jamil says.

"Yeah. I ain't gonna be satisfied if I go back to campus now. I gotta whole lotta steam to blow off," Leona says.

Then Ortho says, "I'm not a fan of ghosts in general, but we don't get to have huge parties every day. I'd like to make the most of it with my brother!"

"Right, India? Don't you want to join in?!" Ortho asks with a smile.

"Huh? Who, me?!" Idia asks, caught off guard.

Then says, "The bright, sparkly vibes really aren't my jam, but... Considering everything you did for me today, it's hard to say no... Mrph..."

As much as he doesn't want to be here, Idai says, "Argh, okay, fine. Do whatever you want with me! Boil me, roast me, bake me into a pumpkin pie!"

Then Sebek says, "I shall join in as well, of course!"

Riddle smiles and says, "How unusual for us - we actually reached a unanimous consensus!"

"Splendid. It IS still Halloween, after all. You would be missing out if you weren't enjoying the festivities," Malleus says.

Lilia smiles and says, "That's right! I believe it is time to 'raise the roof,' as they say?"

"YES! All's well that ends well! CASE CLOSED!" Sebek says, happily.

"I got some choice words for you guys, you know," Leona says.

Trey shakes his head with a calm smile and says, "Something tells me we'll have to hold a housewarden and vice housewarden postmortem after this."

"Come on. I assure you that you'll not have a single regret. Allow me to show you the fruits of my training," Malleus says.

"Training? What do you mean?" Sebek asks.

Malleus chuckles, "Heh heh heh... What do you think? We shall dance until daybreak."

And announces, "Let the Halloween party begin!"

Malleus then walks to the pipe organ, sits down and begins to play its music. As he plays the first verse of the song, the lights turn on and Lilia begins to play the guitar. The disco ball glows as the hall lights rainbow colors around. Soon, all the guests living and spirits dance across the dance floor and are starting to enjoy the Halloween Party. And sure enough, everyone is starting to have a good time, dancing, chatting, and having different food and drinks. It's proven to be a great party. One of the best Halloween Parties ever.