//------------------------------// // Hollow-ween // Story: Wily's Wittle Wub // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Preparations for Halloween were nearly complete at the two Fortresses. Appropriate decorations were placed everywhere, from jack-o-lanterns to witches to skeletons, all robots built to entertain and playfully terrify. Wily and Cossack had worked together to prepare anything, as this was the first time Wily felt it was safe enough for Vinyl to actually go Trick-or-Treating, and he wanted to make her first real Halloween memorable. Everyone was done up in costumes to enhance the experience, even the Robot Masters. Wily himself had dressed up as Albert Einstein, though that mostly involved using tape to comb his sideburns over the top of his head. Mikhail had dressed up as a vampire, though his fangs kept falling out and his cape was red rather than the traditional black. Kalinka was dressed up as Dr. Frankenstein, complete with a robot monster she'd built herself. The Robot Masters glanced around at each other's costumes, Air Man's being the most confusing, as he was only holding a sign that read 'I want to have your babies!' "Umm..." Forte began. "Given the design of my body, I don't have many options as far as costumes," Air Man explained. "So I'm 'your biggest fan'." The other Robot Masters groaned, save Skull Man, who giggled like crazy. Skull Man himself was wearing a white eyepatch over one eye that blended with the white bone of his skull head, and a black trench-coat. "Not bad," he joked. "And...you are?" Air Man inquired. "My other self, sorta," Skull Man replied.(1) Everyone stared at him, not really getting it. Crash Man shrugged, fixing his own costume, which was a riot of plaid, polka dots, stripes, and tie dye. "And who are you supposed to be?" Skull Man asked him. "A fashion mistake?" "Close," Crash Man replied. "I'm Clash Man." That elicited a giggle from Skull Man and eye rolls from most of the others. Wood Man had dressed up as a giant caterpillar, and for some reason whenever he spoke, the smoke from his hookah took shape in the air coming out of his mouth in the shape of his words. No one was quite sure how he managed it, and weren't entirely sure they wanted to know. Shadow Man had dressed up as a red and black hedgehog, claiming he was, "Shadow, man." He seemed overly fond of the joke. Forte's own costume had been chosen carefully. He'd recently gotten into a sci-fi/western anime focused on the plight of two brothers. While he wanted to dress as the badass one, he was supposed to be a good big brother to Vinyl, and the one he'd thought of dressing as was anything but a good brother. As such, he'd taped a broom head to his hair and was wearing a red trench-coat and black gloves and boots. However, he was determined not to say the classic lines of the character he was dressed as...unless Vinyl begged him. He knew he was powerless against that. At that point, Vinyl raced out in her own costume. She was dressed in blue armor and helmet that made her costume obvious. She grinned up at everyone. "Mega Man?" Crash Man asked worriedly. "But...we don't want to beat you up..." "Not Mega Man!" Vinyl spat derisively. She then struck what she imagined was a dramatic - but was really adorable - pose. "I'm Mega Mare!" That brought chuckles from all the Robot Masters, and Wily who'd stepped in. Forte knelt down beside Vinyl. "So...are you ready for-" Vinyl gasped happily. "Say it!" she pleaded. Forte went pale. "Aw, come on!" Seeing Vinyl's begging expression, he groaned. "Fine...this world-" "With feeling!" Vinyl urged. Rolling his eyes, Forte struck a pose. "This world!" he barked out. "This world is made of..." Lifting his hand up with his fingers in a V, he thrust outward, crossing his fingers as he did so. "Love and Peace!" As Vinyl giggled and clapped, he groaned. "Why didn't I dress as the crazy one?" "Pretty sure you did," Shadow Man teased. "So, are you ready for Halloween, Vinyl?" Albert asked, kneeling down beside her. "Uh...no," Vinyl replied. "I mean, I dressed up like everyone...but what happens now?" "Now you go trick-or-treating," Crash Man explained. "You take your bag for candy, and then you go from house to house ringing doorbells, and-" "What houses?" Vinyl asked, gesturing outside. Glancing out the door, Forte took note that the only other residence for miles was Cossack Castle. "Huh. Hadn't thought about that." "I did," Mikhail spoke up, lifting out two modified busters. "This is how I do Halloween for Kalinka. All the robots in the Fortress have been redesigned to drop candy when shot. So Kalinka and Vinyl can race through the now Halloween decorated castle blasting robots and collecting the candy they drop."(2) Vinyl gasped happily as she took her buster, racing after Kalinka into Cossack Castle. Albert smiled. "Thanks, Mikhail. But isn't that...expensive?" "Not really," Mikhail replied. "The busters are designed only to cause the robots to enter a shut down mode that makes them eject candy. And the candy's all healthy, too-" There was a loud crash from Cossack Castle, and a large hole erupted in one outer wall as a massive blast of energy erupted with a Bzzzowwwnnnn! "In that case, we should have taken away the Mark 2 Wub Gun," Forte pointed out with a chuckle. Mikhail fainted dead away. (1) Rather meta and obscure, but Skull Man is dressed as W.D. Gaster, who - in Undertale - is speculated to have been Sans and Papyrus' father. (2) I think this would make an adorable ROM hack.