A Very Late Halloween 2025: Tricks And Treats Pt. 1

A flurry of knocks rattled the front door at the stroke of midnight. The atrium of the Amalgam’s manor flashed white as lightning struck from outside the windows. The frames rattled, and the bones that held the house together groaned as though alive.

The light disappeared as quickly as it arrived, allowing the darkness to envelop the room. Blankets, furnishings, and the apparel of its inhabitants were scattered across the atrium.

Yet, there was no sign of them.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A footstep echoed deeper into the manor. The thumps were followed by the moans of the wooden floorboards as a figure draped in fluffy pajamas approached the door. Her golden eyes illuminated the hallways like a spotlight. Her eyes moved to a clock mounted along the wall of a long corridor as she suppressed a yawn.

“Hmm… Malgam… O’ Clock?”

The clock read 2:30 AM on the dot. The drowsy Joy scratched the back of her head with a claw as she searched for a reason why someone was knocking this late into the night, especially at a time so close to the dreaded Witching Hour.

“Gam…?”

Could it be Nav? Due to the way Isolation Spheres worked, it was difficult to tell what Relative Time another Isolation Sphere was, especially if they were not using the same time dilation settings. For instance, if one had to come from an Isolation Sphere with 3x RT, then they’d have to account for the time spent in Universal Time, then, into the Isolation Sphere of the Floor of Amalgam which ran at 10x RT.

Therefore, it was quite common for people to become confused about the time in the Nexus. However, the Moons and visitors of the Floor of Amalgamation were equipped with a special device called the Fractured Timepiece. The clock allowed one to view Universal Time alongside Relative Time, making it easy to keep track of time.

Because of this, Joy could not help but feel unnerved. Joy was strong enough to tear steel off the back of a knight as though she was peeling the skin of an orange. Yet, she was still a child at heart. She reflexively reached for a pillow at a nearby seat as she entered the manor’s atrium.

The pillow was supisciously human shaped, and upon contact, she felt something solid.

“Mmmm?”

“G-Gam!?”

The imprint of a face pressed against the pillow’s surface, and Joy’s hair stood on all ends like a cat. She hopped backwards, attempting to make some distance. Just then, another stroke of lightning caused the manor to shake.

Following it were another set of knocks.

“… Gam…”

*Cough* *Wheeze*

A horrific choking sound came from within the pillow. Joy instinctively raised her arm, ready to fight for her life. If the lighting had not woken her up, then this certainly did. Her blood ran cold as the wheezing became desperate, hungry even.

Then, she heard a voice croak.

“… Breathe…”

“Gam…?”

Breathe? Did it wish to breathe her blood in the form of a red mist? Joy’s mind speculated on what this specter within the pillow wanted.

“Can’t…”

“Malgam…?”

Was Joy unsuitable to be eaten? Was she going to be asked to bring a sacrifice worthy of this being tastes? Her mind was on the verge of collapsing. Everyone was still asleep. She could easily yell to get their attention, but her voice was lodged in her throat as if she had swallowed a rock.

The face pressed further into the expensive quilt, and a body formed around it. It was small, but the lack of facial features made it appear larger than it should have.

“… Please…”

“G-Gam…?”

The figure slowly sat onto the edge of the couch. Then, after another flash of lighting, the figure screeched.

“BREEEEEETHE!”

“Mal… gam…?” Joy blankly blinked.

The screech was too high-pitched to belong to a banshee. Suddenly curious, Joy used her status to check what exactly this being was. What returned was the description of the quilt rather than the entity.

Silk Dragon Quilt

<

An egregiously expensive quilt made from the fibers of a Silk Dragon. It has unmatched softness and is commonly used in high-end inns. While its quality matches the price, the breathability of this material leaves a lot to be desired. Its waterproof and stain resistance makes it an excellent choice for service houses in H9

>

A quizzical look appeared on her face. If one were watching Joy, they would see a loading screen floating above her head. She put her thoughts together, all the while leaving the entity to wheeze.

“Breatha... gam? Gam… GAM!”

Joy jolted again. She realized that this creature was suffocating! It was coming from someone that was stuck inside of the pillowcase! She reeled a hand back and was about to tear it off but froze mid-swing as she briefly calculated the cost of the quilt.

If it belonged to Frost, then she could always replace it. However, would Frost get angry at her? What if it belonged to Jury? Or Amalgam-forbid,

Ber

, who cherished beautiful materials. Silk Dragon Quilt was undoubtedly worthy of being stowed away in her wardrobe. If this was hers, then she’d have to endure twenty hours of dressing up as Ber’s experimental mannequin.

“Please…!” The voice croaked.

“A-Amalgam!”

There was no time to waste. She cut it open, revealing a familiar face that gasped for air. It was the Dreamer. Or Medium Frost, as most called her. She clasped at her throat and quietly deflated.

“You’re… a life saver… Joy… Ask me any three things, and I’ll grant them all.”

“Gam, gam, Malga?”

Joy asked if she was ok in her broken manner of speech. The Dreamer gave a languid nod before drifting back to sleep.

“… after I wake up… Hmmm… No…

She had already fallen into the REM state of sleep.

Such was the power of the Dreamer. It did not matter where she was. So long as she had oxygen, then, she could fall sleep in a matter of seconds.

She tossed around in the pillowcase, which had become a luxurious sleeping bag, and began drooling.

“I’m not an ice cream cone… Are Healers supposed to do that…? I’m gonna come to the Asclepien… Every day…. Hehehe.”

Joy had no idea what she meant by this. Just when she was about to ask Nav telepathically, the knocks returned.

“Gam…”

Joy shuddered. No one should be coming here at this time. If it was one of the Healers, then why hadn’t they announced themselves? Healers typically called out their names as they approached, or offered a simple greeting in their adorable voices.

Just as she was locked in this train of thought–

–The floorboards creaked behind her.

The startled Joy leaped into the air, only for a hand to catch the scruff of her pajamas.

“Ugh… that time already? Nope. Thirty minutes left. Who came this early?”

Frost’s voice came from behind her. She was holding Joy, like a mother cat holding a kitten in her mouth.

“G-Gam!” Joy warned, flailing her arms before stabbing her finger in the direction of the door.

Frost didn’t understand Joynglish. The language Joy spoke could only be read by masterfully pulling context cues into meaning. Frost, like Joy, was still groggy from recently waking up. In fact, Frost only woke up because she noticed that Joy was missing from their bed.

Furthermore, she was late to check up on Joy because a certain Angel’s tail wouldn’t leave her alone.

That said, she placed Joy back onto her feet and placed a hand onto her head.

“Nav isn’t saying a word. Let’s go say hi.” Frost smile.

Lighting struck again, and Joy shook her head with alarm.

“Malgam…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Frost reached for the doorhandle. Joy held her breath and shut her eyes. The door swung open, revealing an empty porch and a terribly dark night. Frost stuck her head out and scanned her surroundings. Darkvision was a trait she shared with Jury, so it did not matter that it was nighttime. She could see the world in the same clarity as though it was midday.

“Nothing. You can open your eyes.” Frost teased.

Joy’s eyes slowly parted open, and in that moment, something round rolled onto Frost’s feet.

“G-G-G-G-GAM!” She pointed, rushing behind Frost like a terrified child.

It was a head. A severed head had rolled by the entrance, leaving behind flakes of dried skin across the porch. The darkness conceiled where it had arrived from. While Joy was shaking like the leaves of a tree during winter, Frost remained stoic.

“Huh…?”

Slowly, she leaned down to pick up the severed head.

When her body was bent over, Joy was met face to face with a figure that stood right in front of Frost.

“Booo!” The figure grinned.

“GAAAAAAAM!”

Frost immediately straightened her spine like an elastic band, and she smacked the back of her head against the chin of the figure. It sent the figure reeling back, and the strange halo that floated above their head spinning. Frost imagined them to be like stars that appeared around the head of a confused cartoon figure after being struck on the head.

“Y-Yowch! Tch! OI! The hell is wrong with you, Frost!? I didn’t even ask ‘Trick or Treat’ yet!”

“Cer? What’s with this?”

Frost held out the severed head. Once it was painted by the light of her eyes, Joy suddenly realized that object she was holding was not a body part.

“My secret weapon against Ignis. What else? Got her good when I was making way here. Heh.” Cer recovered and assumed a dominant pose.

She reveled in the exploits she made whilst arriving at Frost’s manor. Ignis was but one victim.

“A head of lettuce?”

“Yeah, I was thinking ahead by using lettuce. Nothing Ignis fears more than this bad boy.”

“No, I mean… Haaah. You’re early. Come in.”

“Ain’t this my house too?”

“Yeah, but you scared my daughter. So, I’m gonna treat you like a stranger for a bit.”

Frost took a bite of the lettuce.

Her face lit up slightly at its unique flavor.

Fruit and vegetables that were grown on the fields of the Floor of Amalgamation were coveted across Elysia.

Firstly, they could not be blighted nor did they rot.

Furthermore, their flavor profile was greatly enhanced and said to contain various beneficial properties. This did not even take into account that the fruits here were twice the size of regular variants.

It was not uncommon to see Healers snack on fruit throughout the day. In fact, so decadent were the fruits that they preferred it to sugary sweets.

In the distance, Frost could already see the lights flicker on in their town. Held in the baskets of Healers were baked confectionaries and prized fruits, rather than the wrapped candy she was used to seeing on Earth.

Of course, with so much glucose one had to worry about a certain illness that weakened insulin reception. But the fact that Healers were the ones who indulged in this mitigated this concern.

Insulin reception weakened? Heal. Tooth hurting? Heal. Tummy hurt? Heal – and so forth.

“Wait, did I scare you~?” Cer needed confirmation, and she flashed Frost a toothy grin.

Frost gave her a blank stare. Then, her mouth parted as she uttered a pathetic, delayed cry.

“… Aaaah!”

“The hell is that Frost!? Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m way too tired. Blame yourself for coming too early. It won’t be long before the others start showing up. Plus, the Healers and the Moons will be awake and going trick or treating.”

“Some have already started. Got a few good chuckles out of them. Heh. What? They asked if they wanted a trick or a treat. Gotta show them what autonomy looks like.”

“What kind of tricks?”

“Not much. I gave out creampuffs filled with mayonnaise. Barely different than Ber giving out hyper realistic cake that resemble inanimate objects.”

“… Tomorrow, you’re going to apologize to them, alright?”

Though her words were soft, Cer would be a fool to interpret it as a joke. No lighting flashed, but both Cer and Joy sensed a rumbling in the air. A small smile then appeared on Frost’s face, cutting through the tension like a blade.

“But it’s kinda funny. Hey, you came in casual clothes too? Kinda rare.”

Cer tugged on her black tank top. She paired it with blue jeans as well. It fit her well, and Frost wondered why she preferred a stuffy suit until she remembered how comfortable Quality X Cloth was.

“Be glad I didn’t come in my birthday suit. Don’t wanna scare the Healers too much.”

“Gam?” Joy tilted her head, as if to ask: “What’s a birthday suit?”

“Tear ‘em down and you’ll be wearing–!”

An index finger and a thumb elegantly pinched Cer’s mouth shut.

“A birthday hat, sweetheart~” Frost sung before bringing her face close to Cer’s, her narrowed eyes stating: “Another word, and you’re dead.”

Cer’s ears nodded for her, since she could not pivot her head.

“Alright. Joy, can you wake up Jury? It’s almost time for the Halloween Party.”

“Malgam… Ween?”

“Mhm~ It’s a celebration we had in my old world. That’s why we have all the scary lights around the house. The lightning’s also her doing.”

Cer folded her arms with pride.

The tension in Joy’s body mellowed away. The lighting was done for dramatic effect, and it worked. Her eyes began dazzling as she looked up at Cer, awed by her ability to control the weather.

“Heh. Aunt Cer doesn’t have a bad ring to it. Try it. Say Aunty Cer.”

“Malgam!”

“… Close enough.”