A Fright To Remember

The streets of Edge were filled with orange and black streamers as shop keepers set up their Halloween decorations. Tifa had taken Marlene and Denzel with her on a little shopping trip to restock her supplies for the bar. She had wanted to throw her own Halloween themed party, but stopped when she saw a flyer posted in front of the local produce stand.

"Halloween Scream. Grab your friends and come tonight, with our costume contest, fun and games, and Pumpkin carving contest you'll be in for a fright. Huh, that sounds like fun, what do you two think?"

The kids looked up at her before Denzel asked to see the flyer. Marlene looked unsure, she had barely gotten over the Halloween scare that Zack had told her a while ago. "Will there be any real monsters there?"

Tifa shook her head, "No sweetheart, the only monsters to worry about are those that you find outside of towns. They wouldn't come near a place so full of people."

"And if they did they wouldn't get very far. Not with the kind of friends Tifa has," added Denzel who remembered the last time monsters had attacked Edge. "I mean c'mon, how many people can say they know a real live vampire?"

Marlene giggled as she remembered the man with the flowing red cape. Tifa only shook her head, "You guys, Vincent's not a vampire, though it might be hard to convince anyone of that tonight." She looked at the bottom of the flyer and read some of the other events. "Hey, there's more. Face-painting for kids, a Pumpkin Pie-eating contest, the nearby shops are doing a store-to-store Trick or Treat, and there's a Halloween Dance in the city square."

"Oh! I wanna Trick or Treat," shouted Marlene who jumped up and down. "I wanna be the Frozen Princess!"

Tifa tried to picture her as the princess from the new movie and nodded in approval. She definitely could pull off the hair with her braid, she'd just have to wear it a bit differently. There wasn't enough time to dye it light blonde and Barret would probably throw a fit if she tried. Tifa could try putting some frost-effect makeup in her hair and it would look alright. But then Denzel shook his head.

"Why don't you be the Beauty from that movie Zack showed us the other night?"

"What movie?" asked Tifa who became defensive when Zack's name was mentioned.

"Beauty and the Beast," the boy replied. "He said it was kinda scary, but also had a pretty princess. Marlene really liked her and she also said how pretty her golden dress was when her and the Beast danced."

But Marlene was shaking her head. "No, I wanna be Elsa! Tifa should be Belle."

"Me? a princess? Don't be silly you two, I'm not going to dress up for Halloween. It's mainly for kids."

"What about Zack?" asked Denzel who had been there when he told everyone he was going to be a werewolf.

"Some people have a harder time growing up than others," she replied flatly.

"What about Cloud?" asked Marlene. "Do you think he's gonna dress up for Halloween?"

"I doubt it," Tifa replied. But Denzel could see that faraway look in Tifa's eyes and knew that she wasn't so sure. That gave Denzel an idea.

Later that Night as the sun was setting Tifa was trying her best to help Marlene work out something for her costume. They couldn't find anything light blue for her to wear so Tifa had taken an old white dress she had and tried to dye it blue. It wasn't going very well so she tried sewing blue snowflakes onto the fabric in the hopes that it would look as close to the dress on the movie as possible. Marlene already had her hair braided and thanks to some white glitter and a touch of white Spray-on hair dye (that would thankfully come out in one wash) she was just waiting for Tifa to finish.

"Ouch!" Tifa shook her hand before sucking on her finger where the needle had poked her. "Okay, Marlene. What do you think?"

The girl came in from the other room and almost squealed with delight. "It's so pretty!" Tifa had thrown in a few other touches to the dress other than blue snow flakes; adding glitter here, some frost there, but was an improvement from the plain dress it had been.

"I know it doesn't look like the dress from the movie," Tifa began, but Marlene shook her head. "No! It's better! I love it!" The little girl ran and gave Tifa a tight hug around the waist before the bar maiden handed the dress to her. "Better go get ready. We'll be leaving as soon as Cloud gets home."

Tifa started to head up the stairs to check on Denzel when she spotted a roll of medical gauze sitting on one of the stairs. Picking it up she followed the unrolled cloth upstairs to the upstairs bathroom. She was shocked by what she saw.

"Denzel! What in Shiva's name are you doing?"

The boy looked at her innocently as he tried tying one of the ends of gauze together on his arm. "I'm going as a mummy."

"Why didn't you ask me if I had anything you could use instead of pillaging through the First Aid Kit?"

Denzel looked down at his feet, "I'm sorry, you were busy with Marlene's dress and I didn't want to bother you. It turned out really nice."

Tifa's heart melted, she couldn't stay mad at him and he wasn't doing any real harm. It had been so long since they needed any First Aid that the kit was probably almost out-dated. "It's fine," she replied. "Just make sure you ask first next time."

The sound of a motorcycle engine approached the bar before cutting off sounding the arrival of the final member of their little family. Tifa inwardly smiled when she saw the light in Denzel's eyes as he hurried out of the bathroom and headed downstairs to greet the swordsman.

straightening up the mess he made to something manageable she headed downstairs to greet him herself. What she didn't expect was his attire.

Instead of his normal black clothes, (which Tifa found quite attractive) Cloud was wearing a fancy royal blue tux with golden buttons and a gold collar. Denzel was the first to comment.

"Whoa, you look like a prince!"

"That's Beast's outfit, isn't it?!" squeaked an excited Marlene who also liked it.

Cloud couldn't help but smile at their excitement as he held something in his arms that was covered by a thick bag which protected it during the ride home. "Yes, I thought I'd dress up for today as well. I heard there was a party in town."

"How'd you know about that? We only found out about it a few hours ago," Tifa replied.

"Denzel called me," Cloud replied. "He said Marlene wanted to be the Frozen princess, so I found this to go over her dress," he pulled out a frosted material that was a thin, transparent cloth decorated with silver snow flakes that would tie around the girl's waste. Marlene squealed with delight as she accepted the gift and hurried over to a nearby mirror to tie it on. Denzel followed to help her. It went perfectly with the dress Tifa had made and helped to bring out the blue.

Tifa smiled back at the swordsman, "That was thoughtful of both of you."

"That's not all I got." Cloud opened the bag and pulled out a flowing golden gown. "The place where I got the snow material had a matching set of costumes and I thought you'd look good in this."

Tifa blinked in surprise at him. Now his costume made perfect sense. Tifa didn't want to show it so openly, but he was seriously sweeping her off her feet, but like the fighter that she was, she wasn't about let him win without a fight. "Good, huh? You're saying I don't look good enough now, is that it?"

"What?!" he replied. "That's not what I meant at all, I meant you'd look better! No, that sounds worse. I mean, You'd-"

He stopped when she kissed him on the cheek. "I'm only teasing Cloud. I love it, thank you."

The blonde tried not to blush, but failed as she headed upstairs to change into the costume. He turned to see both kids looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing," they both replied with a giggle and headed upstairs to help Marlene find a tiara that would go with her dress.

Cloud shook his head before looking upwards at something. "Just one last thing to make it complete."

Heading into the downstairs bathroom, Cloud pulled out some hair-gel and a comb and began trying to tame the only thing about him that was beast-like - his hair.

Fifteen minutes later Marlene and Denzel were downstairs at the kitchen table, making sure they had everything. They each had an empty bucket ready for Halloween goodies and treats and talking about whether they wanted their faces painted or not when they heard the sound of footsteps heading towards them. They smiled at the woman in the golden dress that flowed with every step she took. Tifa never claimed to be an expert on fairytale movies, but she had no trouble making her hair look exactly like Belle's did.

"Wow," Marlene breathed. you're so pretty!"

"Yeah, is that really you Tifa?" asked Denzel, unable to believe his eyes.

Tifa just giggled, "Of course it's me. I don't look that good, do I?"

"Wait until Cloud sees you," Marlene replied. "I bet he falls over!"

As if on cue the bathroom door opened and Cloud emerged, having achieved something that rarely happened. his famously spiky hair was now straight and well-groomed. It had been tamed back so well that he was even able to get it back into a small ponytail, which was pretty close to how the Beast had it in the movie, but even more to Tifa's liking, it reminded her of how it used to look when they were kids.

Tifa couldn't take her eyes off him and he was equally stunned by her. When he first bought the dress he tried to picture what she would have looked like wearing it, but reality blew whatever he had imagined out of the water!

With an elegant bow he reached out for her hand, "My lady."

Tifa didn't know whether to giggle or blush, in the end she did both as she let him take her hand. "Oh my, a delivery boy, a hero, a brilliant actor and now a gentleman? Tell me Mr. Strife, is there anything you can't do?"

"Master motion sickness?" he replied with a smirk.

"Fair enough," she replied before looking over at the kids. "Is everyone ready to go?"

Marlene and Denzel nodded and followed the two adults outside. The square was so close they could all walk and that was just fine by Tifa.

Once in the town square the kids ran off when they saw the stores giving out candy and Tifa was about to call them back when Cloud shook his head. "They'll be fine. There's enough bodyguards here to watch out for them."

Tifa tilted her head in confusion at him before looking around. It didn't take long for her to see what he meant. All of their friends were there as well. Cid and Barret were already half way through the pie-eating contest, leaving the other contestants in their dust while Nanaki was telling some of the younger children and their parents some stories. Yuffie was dragging an unhappy Vincent towards the costume contest. She was dressed as a Wutain Dragon Empress while Vincent was dressed as...Vincent. He really didn't need a costume to fit in. Reeve was putting a puppet show with a Cait Sithe, but there were two that Cloud couldn't spot.

"Hmm, no werewolf. They must be running late."

"What'd you say?" asked Tifa.

"Nothing," he replied. "What would you like to do first?"

The hours flew by as the gang enjoyed the festivities. The kids had gotten their faces painted. Marlene wearing glittering blue snowflakes on each cheek while Denzel's face was painted to look like an evil mummy with angry red eyes each time he closed his eyelids. Next the kids participated in a Pumpkin Carving contest. Marlene drew the design while Denzel did the yucky part and got all of the seeds and slimy stuff out.

"So squishy!" the boy commented while Marlene twisted her face in disgust. "Grose!" Denzel only laughed as he waved his slimy orange hands at her.

"Denzel, don't you dare get that on my dress or I'll tell Tifa!" Marlene threatened.

The kids were pretty happy with their finished work. It was a simple traditional Halloween Pumpkin face, with an evil jagged grin and triangle eyes, but with one difference. Marlene and Denzel agreed to carve in spiky hair. Needless to say Cloud wasn't amused, but Tifa found it hilarious.

It was Vincent who won the contest in the end with his carving of Nanaki howling at a moon in the background. The fiery-lioncat was impressed as was Yuffie. The prize was a gift cirtificate to a local store which he carelessly gave to Yuffie and a basket full of candy that he gave to Marlene and Denzel.

"Now don't go eatin' in all in one night, ya hear?" asked Barret.

"Like we'd let them do that," Cloud replied while Tifa shook her head, "You're one to talk Barret, how many pies did you eat?"

The bulky man held his stomach with his good hand while trying to control a burp that tasted like pie. "I lost count after the fifteenth one, but I still beat that second rate pilot!"

"Second rate what?!" Bellowed a voice from farther off. Cid came storming up and jabbed a finger into Barret's stomach which didn't help matters. "Where I come from them's fightin' words!"

"Poke me again and I'll show you fightin'!" Barret growled back.

Tifa was about to step in when two large brown paws pushed the two apart. "Now hold on, this is supposed to be a Halloween party, not Wrestle Mania!"

Cloud blinked at the man in surprise as did Cid and Barret who looked back at the swordsman. "You two planned this, didn't ya Spike?" asked Barret.

Cloud only sighed in defeat. "No, I didn't. I thought he was going as a werewolf."

Zack couldn't help but chuckle. Both he and his best friend were dressed up like the Beast, though Cloud looked more like the Prince after the spell had been broken while Zack looked like the character while he was still cursed. Aerith came up to the group wearing a blue and white maiden's dress like Belle had in the movie. "Hi everyone, sorry we're late."

Aerith gasped as she saw Tifa's costume. "You look beautiful!"

"Thanks," Tifa replied. "Cloud picked it out."

Zack chuckled, "D'aww Spiky's such a gentleman." He reached his hand up to instinctively rubbed his friend's hair out of habit, but the quick-thinking Cloud grabbed Zack's wrist and twisted his arm back. "It took a lot to tame these spikes and you're not about to mess it up."

"Yeow, okay, I get the hint, paws off the hair," the pup replied before Cloud let go. "I hope we didn't miss the Trick or Treat," Zack added while rubbing his wrist.

"You better hurry," Marlene told him. "The candy's going fast."

"Yipes!" Zack yelped before taking Aerith's hand in his paw. "Come on, Beauty, let's get to the candy before it's gone!"

"Whatever you say, Beast." she replied as they headed off and vanished into the thinning crowd.

Tifa looked around for the time before turning to Cloud. "What time is it?"

He pulled out his phone and flipped it open.

"Oh, so he does know how it works," jeered Barret. "Have you figured out how to answer it yet?"

Cloud shot him a cold glare before turning to Tifa. "It's almost Ten O'clock."

"The dance is about to start!" Taking him by the hand she half pulled, half dragged Cloud off towards the dance area.

Barret huffed as he watched them go. "Oh sure, saddle me with the kids."

"Oh daddy, you know you don't mind," Marlene replied.

Barret smiled as he picked her up in her arms. "No ma little princess, I sure don't."

As the two made their way into the center of the dance floor the man on stage picked up the mike. "Alright, lords and ladies, ghouls and gals, zombies, creepy-crawlies and any other phantom that goes bump in the night, I welcome you to Edge's first Halloween Scream dance off! It's time to forget what the mortals call cool and let your inner ghoul out! The title of Halloween Royalty is at stake. Only the most stand-out pair will be crowned the winners! So let the fright fest begin!"

One of the band members on stage with the electric keyboard hit a note that sounded like howling wolves before the musing began to play.

It took a while for Cloud to not step on Tifa's foot every third step, but he eventually got the hang of it. It helped when she started whispering fighting stances to him. It never ceased to amaze the swordsman how much like a dance battle really was. At least here no one was risking their life, though Tifa might have to deal with a few bruised toes for the next few days.

"You don't have to keep apologizing," she told him with a smile.

"Ghost pair, you're out!" called the announcer who saw that one ghost had stepped on and ripped the bottom of her boyfriend's costume. Cloud was thankful he hadn't ripped Tifa's dress. It was way too pretty.

A flashback came to him of when he was a kid in Nibelheim. Cloud and his mother were standing in the living room of their home.

"But, mom! I don't wanna learn how to dance. Dancing is for girls!"

"Oh come on Cloud. Do you expect girls to dance by themselves?"

"No girl would want to dance with me, they all hate me," replied the young boy with a pout.

"What about Tifa? I'm sure she wouldn't mind dancing with you."

Mrs. Strife laughed when she saw her son blush at the mention of the young girl who lived next door. "Okay," he replied quietly, "but just one trick."

Taking Tifa's hand and raising it up, Cloud spun her slowly, her dress flowing out at the base and wrapped around her as she came to a stop. He then wrapped one arm around the back of her waist while taking her hand in his other one.

"Where did you learn that?" asked Tifa.

"I know a few tricks," he replied smoothly.

"Whoa, Beast and Belle got some impressive moves, looks like they'll be tough to beat." The man on stage announced.

The dance continued on and as some of the other contestants were counted out Cloud noticed their friends had gathered on the edge of the dance floor and were cheering them on.

Cid looked over at Zack. "How come you ain't takin' Aerith in there?"

"And ruin my best friend's moment? No way," he replied. "Besides, I'd probably trip over my tail. It slowed me down while trying to get the last of the candy."

Aerith held up a bag for him, "Don't worry, you can have some of mine."

"D'aww thanks, you're the best," he replied as he hugged her. Marlene and Denzel were cheering the dancing couple on along with Cait Sithe. "Oh, that a boy Cloud, sweep 'er off her feet!"

There were only three couples left. a pair dressed as Frankenstein and his wife, Count Dracula and Mistress Maleficent, and Beast and Belle.

Cloud and Tifa were dancing a little closer to their friends and Barret grunted when he saw how happy Tifa seemed. "Hmph, he better dance this good on their wedding day, or else."

"On our what?!" Cloud's enhanced hearing picked up what Barret had said and he missed the step, tripping over Tifa's dress and both of them tumbled to the floor. Cloud had reacted quickly enough to save Tifa from falling onto the ground and landed on top of him instead.

"Oh, and that's it for Beast and Belle, but you gave everyone a run for their money. Better luck next year you two," declared the announcer as the two remaining couples continued on with the competition.

"Are you alright?" Cloud asked Tifa as she sat up, only to realize she was on top of him and jumped to her feet. "I'm fine," she replied with a blush. "Are you?"

"I will be once I deal with Barret." With that he stormed over to his friends and glared at the bear of a man. "That was your fault!"

"You was gonna trip up eventually, it was luck you lasted that long," he replied.

Cloud glared daggers at him until Aerith stepped forward, "You were really great and Tifa was having a good time. I don't think it matters if you won or lost to her."

Cloud turned to walk back over to Tifa. Zack nudged Barret. "Aren't you gonna thank her for saving you?"

"From what? Spike's a wuss."

Zack only shrugged, "Fine, next time we'll hold the wuss back and you can fight Sephiroth one on one."

Barret turned towards the flower girl. "Thank you Aerith."

She only giggled.

After the events died down and people started going home the group of four waved farewell to their friends. "Don't forget guys, we're having Thanksgiving at my mom's house. She insisted!" called Zack as the party went their separate ways.

"Sure, just make sure you get a bird big enough. Barret eats a lot," called Cloud who had to duck to avoid the rock Barret threw at him.

Tifa watched their retreating friends for a moment. Vincent ignoring a pouting Yuffie who was holding her stomach after eating too much candy while Reeve, Cait Sithe and Nanaki headed off in another direction following Cid who had offered them a ride home. Barret left in his truck and Tifa turned to see Cloud picking up a very sleepy Frozen princess to carry home. Denzel wasn't far behind the swordsman and Tifa hurried to catch up.

"So, did you have fun?" she heard Cloud ask the little girl. "Mhm," she replied, barely awake.

Denzel smiled up at his hero as they walked. "Tonight was the best!"

"Good, we'll have to make plans to do this again next year," he replied.

Tifa walked alongside him and taking a glance at him she giggled. "What?" he asked.

"Your spikes came back when we fell," she replied.

Cloud tried brushing them back with his free hand, but Tifa stopped him by taking his hand in hers. "I like it spiked. It's part of who you are."

"You're not just saying that?" he asked.

"No way," she replied. "You without spiky hair is like Zack without puppy eyes, or Yuffie without her attitude."

"I think we could all benefit from that," Cloud stated.

Tifa giggled, "Okay then Mr. smart guy, let's see what you come up with."

"It'd be like you without your smile. The one that makes you feel warm inside and lets you know that everything is going to be okay."

Now it was Tifa's turn to blush. She leaned into him as they walked. "You win."

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I know I had already written a Halloween story a few weeks ago, but I wasn't too happy with it. Sure it was cute and sweet, but it didn't seem to really fit the season. You can blame this story entirely on an episode of Gargoyles. When Goliath and Elisa went to a Halloween street party as Beast and Belle. That and what's going on downtown tonight at the nearby lake where I live also has something to do with it. I love pumpkin carving! Maybe not the gooey gutting part, but I always carve the most evil-looking pumpkin and I love it! And though I'm not a huge candy person except for the occasional Three Musketeers Bar or the odd bag of Skittles I love to pig out on Halloween.

Do I still go Trick or Treating? With my Niece and Nephew, yes. Do I dress up? Sometimes. Most of the time I wear a light up Halloween shirt or one that glows in the dark along with with my baggy black pants that look very close to Cloud's. (part of my cosplay outfit when I manage to complete it xD)

I don't know what it is, but I LOVE this time of year! Halloween is the best! hope everyone has a great Halloween. Enjoy your parties and your trick-or-treating ventures and I hope you get lots of candy! ^_^