everbody scream, in this town of HALLOWEEN !

[[*DOC]]

The grand halls of Vertigo Heights had changed drastically in appearance in the small period of time between the grand ball that was somewhat gatecrashed by Peridot and Phineas and the present night, the marble floors and towering ceiling that seemed to fade into the distance now shadowed, cracked, and in places, drenched in blood. Tattered obsidian and crimson drapes hung from the windows and banisters, the walls strewn with cobwebs, with an eeire fog settled just above the floor, the room bathed in subtle scarlet light.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, tonight was Halloween, and the infamous political figure 'Indigo', lesser known as Malachy Isodore, was holding a Halloween ball for all the citizens of the town, human or not. The hall was already beginning to fill with people clothed in various costumes; vampires, ghosts, witches and zombies, creating rather the sight to behold as they shuffled into the blood hued light, the sickly pale makeup on their skin almost seeming to glow.

Amongst the crowd was Creia Tsumei, who was oddly relaxed in such an atmosphere. Not only did the occasion mean that she could dress as oddly as she liked and not be looked at strangely, she also wouldn't have to worry about her shadow - a giant Roman clock face - showing up in the dim light.

The young woman wore a short, faded crimson velvet blazer, a bold yellow waistcoat, a pale ivory skirt belted with magenta - as well as a matching cravat, sporting an Omega symbol brooch - as well as a crisp white shirt, her black gloves curving into claws at the fingertips, and her shoes replaced, oddly, by rabbit feet. The outfit was topped off by a top hat with rabbit ears protruding from either side, a gold pocket watch and an ivory, almost demonic looking hobby horse that she carried around with her, suspiciously spattered with oddly realistic looking blood.

Looking a bit irritable after several queries as to what she was, she decided to forgo the long explanation; 'I am wearing the Late But Lucky downloadable content dress from Alice the Madness Returns, thank you very much.' and simply told everyone she had come as the March Hare. A much more simple answer, obviously...

Also joining Creia in the crowd was Peridot Hastings, who had decided that the obvious route to take for this was to go as a 'sexy werewolf'. Now, what is a sexy werewolf, you ask? In Peri's opinion, it wore a very short, somewhat tight black strapless dress trimmed with fake fur, with a wolf tail protruding from the back, fur arm and leg warmers with claws on her hands and high heels on her feet, as well as wolf ears nestled amongst messy chestnut brown hair, and a thick black collar around her neck with a chain hanging down to her waist.

Ignoring the looks that she was getting - rather frequently - for her odd attire, she strode happily and confidently through the crowd, seeking out her 'date' for the evening, none other than Phineas McGowan.

Also seemingly to be waiting for someone was Lambda Reaper, sat almost nervously at one side of the hall, scanning the crowd almost constantly. She had come as what, in her mind, she imagined the grim reaper to look like, if it was a girl, of course. A black and silver corset with a black silk cape and hood, as well as a few layers of black and silver petticoats that only just reached down to her mid thighs, black stockings and lolita shoes, with black lace fingerless gloves running up to just below her shoulders, holding a large black wrought iron scythe, with a glistening silver blade, engraved with beautiful patterns and the Latin wording for 'Life is fleeting, Death is certain.'

No doubt made for her by Artisan, of course.

Not every guest had yet arrived, but the night was still young... And who knows what kind of mischief can happen on Hallow's eve?

[/blockquote]

[kiddie]

Transylvanian and Irish accents were never meant to mix, but Phineas was oblivious to the fact the combination made him sound like a lunatic.

"I vant ta suck yer blood!"

The young man tiptoed behind Peri and covered her eyes with his hands, only barely suppressing the sound of laughter that would give him away. "Can ya guess vho am I? I vill give ya a hint...I'm the creature o' the night, sworn enemy o' verevolves!"

Not wanting to put the dress clothes he and Peri had 'borrowed' to waste, Finny had managed to disguise himself as a classy Dracula - button down, tie, slacks, suspenders, dress shoes, and all! The only true additions he'd made to the outfit was the donning of a black cape, which swept by his ankles with every step, and a set of glow-in-the-dark fangs that clattered together when he laughed. Phineas' hair was combed back, the reddish-golden strands secured in place with leftover gel from the last party he and Peri had gone to.

Across the room and hiding near the punch bowls was no other than Remus Cavendish - a Damned in denial. The boy, who'd embellished one of his old outfits with a plastic crown to make him a prince, looked one hundred percent human. There was no way to tell he was any different than the rest of the party goers...well, besides the fact he was balancing a cookie atop his thumb and trying to hold a glass of punch between the tips of his index fingers.

"I must be careful!" he thought, "I wouldn't want to break anything! Especially if...if he arrives! Oh, I'd die of embarrassment if he saw me spill punch in my lap."

Remy shook his head and carefully maneuvered the glass towards his lips, keeping a watchful, yet nervous eye out for Lucas. Wait. Was that him? Could it be? Could it really be? The young man nearly bolted out of his seat and accidentally pressed his index fingers together too hard, shattering the punch glass by accident.

False alarm...It was just another face in the crowd.

A little teary eyed over having broken yet another glass, Remy stooped to the ground so he could collect the pieces.

Was Artisan seeing things or did that boy just shatter glass with his fingertips? Shaking his head, Artisan turned back so he could continue his lecture with Lambda.

"Don't spill anything on that dress! It took absolutely forever to make!" he ordered, "By spilling, I'm including blood stains too. So...No violence tonight, okay?"

Having been disappointed in looking too 'girly' in other costumes, Artisan had settled on a scrapped together, more 'manly' Sherlock Holmes outfit. The black rimmed glasses were his own, although he rarely used them, finding contacts less likely to slip down his nose while he worked. A magnifying glass stuck out of the brown plaid pocket of his coat, which jingled with scraps of screws and a small abundance of coins he'd forgotten to clean out. Heinz was perched on Artisan's shoulder as well and fiddled with the ribbon that held up his master's ponytail, occasionally loosening it or retying it into knots.

"Are you listening, Lambda?" he asked, "Oh, never mind. Do you want something to eat?"

[Thirteen]

Halloween was supposed to be the night for all the monsters to come out. But seeing as Thirteen was already a monster, she decided to dress up as a bunny. Two fluffy ears stuck up on her head and bounced from side to side when she moved. She wore white furry gloves and stuck a pom-pom onto the back of her white dress. For once in her life, Thirteen actually foraged for some footwear and found some fuzzy slippers. She also found a toy rabbit and decided to take it along as well.

Now she stood clutching that rabbit and stared at every person who walked past her. She licked her lips then walked over to get a drink. The refreshments table crowded so Thirteen abandoned her quest. She was standing on her toes to be able to see what was ahead that she didn't notice Creia. Thirteen stumbled back then looked at the woman.
"What are you dressed up as?"

[[*DOC]]

"Psshhh. Blood? Oh, my dear, trust me, if I were you I would have said something a little less PG-13." Peri winked as Phineas took his hands away from her eyes, spinning around and grinning to show that she too had chosen to sport a set of canine-like fangs, adding to her somewhat odd appearance. Taking in Finny's appearance, she chuckled and nodded appreciatively, seeming to approve the friendly Dracula before her.

"Just watch your back, leech, or I might jump on you when you least... expect it!" With this, she threw her arms around him with a flourish, giggling, hoping to at least get a squeal of surprise out of her date. "You're not the only one with fangs that would hurt, y'know~"

Tutting, Lambda shook the scythe at Artisan as he scolded her, raising one eyebrow almost teasingly. "Remember, I'm the Grim Reaper. I can kill you with a touch if you get on my bad side! ...yes, even you, Mr. Holmes." She shook her head slightly with a soft grin. Only Artisan would choose to attend a Halloween party dressed as Sherlock Holmes of all people.

Not to say that the odd getup didn't look rather dashing on him... Pursing her lips, Lambda hid a small blush, reaching over to the beverages table next to them and picking up a glass of blood red liquid, fancying for a moment that it might actually be blood, until it hit her lips. Nope... just some sort of red wine punch, from the taste of it. Shivering slightly as the decidedly strong beverage slid down her throat, she turned her attention back to Artisan, now composed enough for her skin to have returned to its normal ghostly pallor.

"Sure... just find something befitting of my status. I mean, how much more important can you get than Death herself?" Lambda smiled, preening slightly, rather liking the idea of her being such an all encompassing Queen.

Next to arrive was one Lucas Brookes, violet eyes gleaming devilishly, ever on form as the devious, flirtatious little manwhore that he prided himself on being. Lucas had decided to come as a zombie, already pale skin powered chalk white, his face hollowed by blues and greys, with deep dark black circles around his eyes, the whites bloodshot and his mouth smeared with dried blood. Little did the party goers know, the blood was actually real, and there was also a very real corpse rotting outside, missing a pint or so of blood.

Still dressed up in a full suit, the shirt was half untucked and unbuttoned to the waist, splattered with blood, with the blazer sleeves rolled up, and an untied tie hanging loose around his neck. His hair was strewn with a few more droplets of blood, giving him an all round... terrifying appearance. Terrifying, but sexy.

Grabbing a glass of punch, Lucas didn't spot Remus - due to the fact he was currently crouched on the floor picking up broken glass - despite the poor fellow being literally right in front of him.

Letting out a tiny yelp as Thirteen bumped right into her, she looked down at the strange looking girl, instantly aware that she was a Damned. Ah well, Halloween was a night for everyone, after all... Her brow knitted together at the girl's question, taking in her own costume, not too dissimilar to her own. Huh. Two bunny girls here tonight...

"I'm... the March Hare... from Alice in Wonderland? What about you? A bunny?" Creia chuckled awkwardly, holding the hobby horse close to her chest, almost for protection.

[/blockquote]

[kiddie]

Artisan’s glasses were sliding down his nose, so in the most geekish way possible, he pushed them back up with his index finger. Why the hell did he decide against contacts? Now if his glasses broke or somehow became lost, he’d be squinting at people like he was staring directly at the sun for the rest of the party! Were these even the correct prescription? Everything still seemed fuzzy to him. Or was it possible that hunching over a work desk twenty-four-seven had damaged his vision further then when he'd last used glasses? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't used glasses since the day Lambda rescued him from death's row.

With a shudder, he pushed the memories of his time with the radical townspeople aside. Artisan could remember their brutal insults, shouted to him in a language foreign to him at the time. Every morning brought upon a new horrors devised to "cure" him or "teach him a lesson" for having committed no crime other than existing. It was rare for Artisan to bring up those experiences, even with Lambda, but the memories struck him at the oddest of times.

“Heinz, shoot me now,” he mumbled, “I forgot this is the reason I wear contacts.”

But despite his distress, Artisan didn’t want to ruin the party for Lambda with his complaints. Although he'd never admit it, there was slight satisfaction in seeing her enjoy herself somewhere that didn't involve bloodshed. “Fitting for your status, huh?” he mused, “I’ll make sure your little cupcake has skull sprinkles on it.”

“Ah, but I cannot allow such vulgarities to taint my vampire tongue! My gentlemanly reputation vou...voh...Forget this!” said Finny, “I should’ve tried an American accent instead.”

In mock of his failed attempt, he stuck his tongue out and wrinkled his nose. Impressions had never been his strong suit. “Are ya tryin’ ta make me blush, Peri?” he laughed, face reddening, “If I get too embarrassed I might run off the way I came...Which reminds me! Sorry I’m late. Couldn’t find the right place for the life o’ me, which is silly ‘cause it’s the biggest buildin’ around. Ended up havin’ ta ask a couple of teenage girls, but they said they’d only tell me directions if I said ‘potato’. I ended up sayin’ it, ya know. Dunno why they insisted, but they giggled afterwards an’ gave me the right place. Does it sound odd ta you? I think they were just makin’ fun of me.”

With a boyish grin, he pressed his forehead against Peri’s and whispered, “Or maybe they found me handsome and charming and an utter dreamboat. Ya might have some competition, Peri! Girls seem ta think vampires are pretty suave these days.”

Remy had just about collected all the glass shards - lest some poor little soul need stitches on their toes because of his incompetence - when he noticed someone was standing...well, pretty much right in front of him.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry," squeaked Remy, "I didn't mean to get in your way."

He did a double take.

Now was the time Lucas chose to arrive at the party? When Remy was scooping up glass and had a Pompeii worthy punch stain on his shirt?

"Hello again," he said, "We keep bumping into each other, don't we?" Remy's blue eyes were bright and alert with nerves, which made him come dangerously close to crushing the glass shards into dust by accident.

[Thirteen]

Thirteen looked at Creia and frowned. There was something not quite right about her but she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she realised. She could not see the date of death floating above her. It was all fuzzy and blurred. Thirteen tugged at her dress to get her attention even though she was already focused on her.
"Why can't I see when you're going to die? Are you immortal?" Thirteen just came right out with it. Beating around the bush would not get her anywhere. Thirteen paused for a moment and stared at Creia. She stepped back and walked behind Creia. Her shadow was unclear but it looked vaguely like a clock. She had no idea what that meant. Perhaps it was a good thing. Then she remembered the rumors she heard when she was younger. Thirteen wasn't quite sure whether this lady was one of them. She stared at Creia with her white eyes. No, she couldn't be. Thirteen liked her but she was one of them. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. After several moments she turned and went to go see if the refreshments table was clearer. Luckily, it was.

Thirteen got a glass then looked at Creia. She decided to get another drink and ended up carrying two drinks back to the spot where Creia was standing. Thirteen held out the glass, hoping Creia would accept it.