PROLOGUE: October 30

Disclaimer: I do not own Generator Rex.

"Wait, what?"

César resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation at his brother's blank face.

"I thought October 31 was Halloween?"

"It is, mijo," César patiently explained. "But it's also the beginning of El Día de los Muertos. The holiday lasts until November 2, when the spirits of the deceased return to the netherworld."

"Day of the Dead? But if it's only a day, how come it lasts for three?" This time César did sigh.

"It's tradition, mijo. Don't question it."

"'Don't question it'? Are you kidding me?! You're a scientist, you're supposed to question everything!" César took a deep breath.

"It doesn't matter, that's just the way it is. Anyway, we set up ofrendas -"

"Ofrendas?"

"Altars," César continued like he was never interrupted. "They are to honor the deceased and we put out offerings of food, drinks, marigolds, and other gifts for when the spirits of the dead visit for the holiday."

"Woah, wait, hold up! Is this some sort of weird necromancy thing? Like, are we trying to summon the spirits of the dead and communicate with them or something? No offense, bro, but I'm strictly against that stuff, even if it'd be kinda cool to have an undead army." César pinched the bridge of his nose. No matter what he did in the past, Six was a saint for keeping up with this kid. And not slicing him into ribbons.

"It's about remembering the dead and praying for their good fortune in the afterlife. We used to celebrate it for our grandparents, but now I think it's more appropriate that we do it for our parents. I think they would like that." Rex still looked doubtful but seemed more open to the suggestion.

"Alright. Soooo, how are we going to do this then?" César tapped his chin in thought.

"We won't have the time or resources to pull off a full scale ofrenda… ours will have to be small and probably as inconspicuous as possible so White Knight won't order us to take it down… Perhaps we can set it up in my lab?"

"You mean the lab you blow up on a regular basis?" Rex asked dryly. César smiled sheepishly.

"Ehehehe, you may have a point there. I do have an experiment going on concerning cheaper alternatives to the armor we use in the tanks… or at least a more durable material considering how often they blow up. It's quite fascinating, really, the changes you can make when -"

"César," Rex interrupted flatly. The older Salazar cleared his throat.

"Right. Anyway, perhaps we can set up the altar in your room?" Rex made a face.

"No thanks. My roommate's a chimp, remember? Any food you put there will be gone before the ghosts can say 'boo!'"

"They're not ghosts, Rex, they're - oh, never mind." César rubbed his temples, thinking.

"We could put it in the tiny dining room," Rex suggested. "You know, where we have meatloaf night? I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who use it anyway." César nodded.

"Yes, that will work. Alright, then we need to get started right away if we want to have everything set up by tomorrow."

"Cool. So what are we getting?" César pulled up some pictures on his phone and passed it to Rex, whose eyes bugged out.

"A-are you kidding me? César, there's no way we can make something that elaborate in a few hours!"

"Ours will not be that big, but it will look similar," César said unconcernedly. "Come, mijo, we need to get to the stores before they close." He strode off down the hall towards the hangar.

"Fine, fine," Rex sighed, chasing after his big brother. The two walked in silence for a few minutes until -

"Hey César?"

"Sí?"

"Can I offer candy I get while trick or treating, or does it have to be something I made? 'Cause I kind of promised Noah I'd go with him since he's babysitting his cousin for Halloween and they're going trick or treating and I don't want to stand him up at the last minute…"

César groaned. This was going to be a long three days.

Author's Ramblings: First off, I apologize in advance if I got anything wrong about the holiday. I personally don't celebrate it, so I researched what I wanted to incorporate and the Internet is a very big, not always accurate place. Second, I meant to do this in time with Día de los Muertos (as in actually follow the proper days for posting) but college has been nuts so that just didn't happen. Sorry.