Chapter 1: Prologue

"Location: Richmond, Virginia, October 28th 2020"

As Kimi had requested, Zack and Jesse were tasked with finding a pumpkin from a local pumpkin patch. The pumpkin these two were looking for would be used as a jack-o-lantern for the gang's annual Halloween Celebration.

But like several others out there, Peter didn't like Halloween. He was miffed by the fact that "inconsiderate" parents would allow their children to knock on strangers doors and "beg" the person at the front door for candy, while wearing a fitting costume. What was the point of going to strangers houses to get candy for free, when you could just buy candy from the store anytime you wanted? He had asked several people that question, though some refused to answer.

Zack and Jesse were rather indifferent on the subject of Halloween, compared to other holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's Day. They just enjoyed the camaraderie that happened around this time of year. However, getting a pumpkin to do a jack-of-lantern was the most crucial thing that needed to be done, as Kimi stressed the importance of decorations from time to time.

"Do you know the story about that British kid named James that enters a giant pumpkin and meets giant insects inside?" Jesse asked.

"Correction: it was a giant peach. Insects like grasshoppers and spiders don't live inside pumpkins." Zack replied.

Jesse went over, lifted up a medium-sized pumpkin, and held it up for Zack to see.

"How does this pumpkin look to you? Kimi never really specified if the pumpkin is supposed to be in good condition or not." Jesse asked.

It was a little beat-up, but the black haired man saw nothing wrong with it.

"No, Kimi wants a pumpkin in good condition." Zack replied.

He looked around him for a good pumpkin to use and found a large pumpkin.

"This one doesn't look so bad! It would like great as a jack-o-lantern!" Zack said.

He mustered all his strength to pick it up.

"A little too big, but I suppose it will do. But I think we should get another pumpkin, just in case." Jesse said.

"Yeah, your right. Avina might want to make some pumpkin pie." Zack said.

Speaking of whom, Avina (a former bandit that Peter had recruited and now was a servant in the castle, and a soldier during wartime) was in the dining room, dusting off the table. She had pale skin, a slim figure, dark hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, and dark eyes. As she dusted, she spotted Dil furiously writing on a piece of paper.

"Already getting a head start on your Christmas list? Or are you writing a letter to Santa Claus?" Avina asked, dusting off the rag she was cleaning with.

"Close enough. I'm writing a letter to The Great Pumpkin!" Dil replied.

Avina wanted to laugh at the ginger, but she thought it wouldn't be nice to do so.

"Every Halloween, he's supposed to show up at pumpkin patches throughout the world, but he never appears at any of the pumpkin patches in Modesto. However, that won't stop me from seeing him in person for the first time, and I won't stop until I see him!" Dil explained.

"They were so right about this man." Avina muttered.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, walking away with her cleaning rag. Dil looked questionably at the woman, wondering who "they" was, but he decided against questioning her and continued to write his letter to the obviously nonexistent Great Pumpkin. Bitter that Avina refused to be believe in The Great Pumpkin, Dil eventually set out to find out others who might have some belief in the holiday figure's existence. The first person he asked was another servant named Lucy. She had olive colored skin and long dark brown hair, and wore a red gown. Lucy just laughed heartily in the red haired man's face.

"Dil you ignoramus, there is no such thing as a 'Great Pumpkin'. It's all in your head! And if he were to exist, he would only exist in the Peanuts comic strip, which is where you probably got this Great Pumpkin mess from!" Lucy said.

Dil opened his mouth to say something, but Lucy was right on cue to stop the ginger from spewing anymore nonsense.

"And no, we're not warping you inside the comic strip. We already tried that before with Timon and Garfield. The poor meerkat suffered from severe vertigo for an entire week." Lucy said.

An embattled Dil then went over to Angelica and Harold's house, to see if Harold, Angelica, or even Susie believed in the existence of The Great Pumpkin. Harold had a very firm belief in the supernatural, so he would probably believe in the The Great Pumpkin's existence... or, so Dil thought.

"Location: Modesto, California, October 28th 2020"

"Hate to break it to you, Dil, but the Great Pumpkin is fake. Only you think that he's real." Harold said, as he did some aerobic exercises in front of his TV.

Dil sighed and went upstairs to see Susie, who was busy doing Angelica's hair. The blonde haired woman's stomach was noticeably getting bigger.

"Hey, Susie? You think that The Great Pumpkin is real, right?" Dil asked.

"I would say yes to your silly question, but I'm not really that much of a liar. But go ahead, keep believing in your own fabricated fallacies. See where it gets you." Susie replied.

Dil refused to stop, not until he found someone other then him that believed in The Great Pumpkin.

"What about you Angelica? Certainly you have seen The Great Pumpkin once before!" Dil asked.

Angelica flashed a disgusted look to Dil.

"Yeah, because I know exactly what The Great Pumpkin looks like, and how he sounds and what he does. Please get out of my house, Dil. We can't tolerate your foolishness any longer."Angelica replied in a very sarcastic manner.

Dil sighed and did so. After he left, Harold thought about Dil's strange fascination.

"Dil's fascination with The Great Pumpkin is a long storied one. Last Halloween, Dil had begged Tommy to drive him to a downtown pumpkin patch, so he could see The Great Pumpkin in person for the first time. If I recall correctly, Lil called Tommy and told him to leave Dil behind, just to teach him a lesson, but he decided against it and willingly waited with Dil to see The Great Pumpkin. It was arguably the biggest waste of time in human history, and something Tommy now looks back on with regret." Harold thought.

With Avina, Lucy, Harold, Angelica, and Susie refusing to believe in The Great Pumpkin, there was one person left that Dil had to ask.

"Inform me, Dil. You claim that the so-called 'Great Pumpkin' pops up at every pumpkin patch in the world, is that correct?" Chuckie, who was building a mechanical wrench before Dil interrupted him, asked.

The ginger eagerly nodded his head.

"So he's supposed to appear at every single pumpkin patch, ON JUST ONE DAY?" Chuckie asked.

"Duh. He's not called The Great Pumpkin for a reason. He's better then Santa Claus, better then the Easter Bunny... heck, he's even better then the tooth fairy!" Dil replied.

Not wanting to deal with Dil any longer, Chuckie quietly resumed his work on his mechanical wrench.

"The tooth fairy is the only one that has credible evidence of existence! How else do you think I got money under my pillow every time I woke up after losing my teeth?" Dil asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was Stu and Didi who was leaving behind those meaningless monetary gifts under your pillow." Chuckie replied.

That "shocking" revelation alarmed Dil, who gasped in shock with his hands on his face.

"Say it isn't so! I knew it! I knew mom and dad were the tooth fairy this whole time! I just didn't want to out them in front of everyone else!" Dil said.

Rather then questioning his parents about them being the tooth fairy, Dil decided to stick to his Great Pumpkin quest.

"I shall interrogate my parents later. Right now I must continue my search for Great Pumpkin believers!" Dil said.

He ran out of the Finster house. Once he was gone, Chuckie let out a heavy sigh, extremely thankful that the other man had departed. He resumed working on the wrench in peace and without interruption... until his cell phone rang on the workshop desk.