I know it's been a month since I last updated, so here's a special (And long) Halloween chapter! It doesn't follow any storyline, but takes place in the Act I areas. Just think of it between Diablo's defeat and the Reaper of Souls quests. It was a lot of fun making this, and you'll probably find it funnier than previous chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: A Night to Remember (Halloween Special)

The gates of New Tristram swung open as Thora entered the town. She looked around, searching for the stand out black and silver attire of her friend William. Failing to spot him, Thora walks up to a merchant and says,

"I've lost my idiot, have you seen him? Pointy black hat, black hair, name's Villiam..."

"Oh yeah, you mean that wizard? In the Slaughtered Calf Inn I think." The short, stubby man answers. Thora nods and heads further into town.

Meanwhile, Haedrig was at his anvil repairing Kormac's spear. He felt something... Fuzzy rub against him. Looking down he spots a black cat, and scowls. He's heard those superstitions, but never believed them, so he continued to work. But after one hit with his hammer, both the spear and hammer broke. Haedrig suddenly tripped, his face slamming against his anvil.

The cat sneered and ran off into the Inn. It sprang onto someones lap, who just happened to be Eirena. The Enchantress seemed fascinated with this feline, stopping her talk with William to caress and pet it.

"Yes, that is a black cat. Some say they bring good luck to witches and wizards, and bad luck to nearly anyone else, or so I'm told..." William said.

"Oh, how intriguing! I've only caught mere glimpses of them even back in my time. I had not a clue they were so soft, fuzzy and cuutte!" Replies Eirena, earning a small chuckle from the wizard.

Thora walks into the Inn. Spotting William sitting at a table with Enchantress, the barbarian walks up to them. Grasping William on the shoulder with a firm hand makes the wizard jump in surprise, or in pain rather.

"Villiam my vee friend! How the hell are ya?! I haven't seen you in days, how'd ya make it here so fast? Last time you actually did run faster than me vas in Caldeum I believe, yah that's right, because Eirena vas our guide and you kept looking at her like a rabid volf yah?" Thora laughs heartily to her own amusement of William. Searching for a retort William shrugs and says,

"Well what can I say. I just... Felt like running." He gives Eirena a quick wink, the woman blushing in return. William looks back to Thora, "Now, what say you to a pint so we may discuss the evening festivities my friend?" He offers and motions toward an open chair.

"I say yes my short fair-weathered friend." Thora chuckles as she takes off her pack and sits with the pair. As she watches the bar maid bring her drink, the barbarian notices something different about the townsfolk. The fact that they all seemed to be dressed up in an odd fashion that they really wouldn't be; kings, queens, warriors. Some even looked like demons and ghosts! Thora leans towards William, "Vhat are all the townsfolk doing? Vhy are they dressed in such a way?"

"Though it's rather odd to me too, it seems as though the townsfolk are celebrating the annual holiday of Halloween. An all-day spectacle of horror and scares surely to make you shiver... Or so I'm told." William said.

"I can't really imagine vhy they vould vant to celebrate such carnage and death after living it for so long already... But they seem happy."

"Halloween is a true night of power for those adept with magic." A mysterious woman in purple walks up to the trio, her armor plated high heel boots clicking across the old floor. She had a mask that was shaped like a bird's face, and a coat much like William's except dyed with purple. The woman sits elegantly next to them.

Slightly stunned at this woman's remark and figure, shooting both Thora and Eirena a quick look William turns to the lady,

"Quite so. Halloween or Samhain if you will, are very sacred holidays for practitioners of the craft, which I assume that you are as skilled as my, er, associate Eirena and I, judging by your looks."

"Oh, I am practiced my friend. I've been traversing these lands for years honing my skills to perfection. I arrived here to enjoy and take part in the Tristram festivities."

"Oh?" Eirena begins, peaked with fascination about this woman. "And what might you be doing here in Tristram? Are you by chance an entertainer?"

"Entertainer?!" William pipes up in interest before feeling a light cuff upside the head by Thora.

"Not that kind idiot boy!"

"Well, one can never tell! How am I to know hmm?" The wizard says, adjusting his hat to proper position.

The mystery woman scoffs and flips her hair to the side, "I can assure you all that I am no dancing harlot girl! I for one am a lady."

"You sure you don't have a sister Villiam?" Thora quietly asks. William simply shrugs.

Eirena casually sipped her drink as she noticed something strange about the man sitting at a dark corner of the bar, something she has noticed all evening. This man was staring at the group all while intently smoking his pipe.

Seeing the purple-clad woman was somewhat annoyed by Thora and William's bickering that had started moments ago, Enchantress thought to ask her if she too noticed the man in the corner.

"Pardon me, but I have something to ask you if you have a moment?" Eirena engaged the witch. Smiling the woman leans in toward Eirena,

"Ask away darling, anything is better than their drabble."

"You see that man over there in the darker part of the tavern?"

"Yes, I've noticed him as well." Somewhat giggling the witch begins. "He's one of those Demon Hunter fellows, like a ranger but worse. They have an extreme hatred for those nasty demons. But he has the most pure hatred of all. He's a legend among men." She glances at the man as if thinking a fond thought.

Eirena looks at the man and notices a halo of smoke hanging around his head. "Oh? So it must be means of luck that we see him tonight! Intriguing."

"Luck perhaps, or maybe he is following someone." As she says that the hunter walks towards the group. This quiets William and Thora.

The air grew colder, and lights began to dim, as the man sits at a lone chair. He takes a drag from his pipe. As he blows the smoke out the tavern door flies open and the lanterns and candles blow out, causing the townsfolk to shrill in terror. The screams fall silent when a cold voices says,

"Happy Halloween! Muahaha! Haa!"

Light slowly re-illuminates the room, revealing many patrons hiding under tables and hugging one another. Not only was the patrons' utter terror revealed, but so was the hooded mystery man.

He had a mane of black hair with a golden crown atop his head, rather charming really. He had holsters which many small crossbows were held, two quivers on each hip, knives attached to his spike encrusted boots, and a larger crossbow slung to his back with an additional quiver. You could tell why this man was such the legend.

Drying his eyes from laughter, watching all resume their business, he speaks to the witch,

"Why hello Gene my dear, how are we today? Long time no see."

"Hello Snoo Ginz, I've been fine as of late. I was just acquainting myself with these fine people. Eirena, the blond girl on the right, William the esteemed wizard, Thora the... Well Thora to be short." Gene said.

"Cheers! Pleasure to meet you all. Thora." Snoo Ginz takes Thora's hand, kissing it, "Charmed." Then firmly shaking William's hand, "Nice to meet ya chum."

"Likewise." The wizard says.

The hunter turns to Eirena. "And Eirena," He pulls out a blue rose from his sleeve, "For you my dear, a rare flower for a rare beauty." Handing her the flower.

"Oh, why thank you Snoo Ginz." Eirena sniffs the rose.

Steamed, William loudly interrupts, "SO Gene my lady, you wouldn't happen to be the great witch Gene Vieve would you? Rumor be told that her skills in magic make her one of the greatest of all time."

"Those rumors must be true then, yes I am Gene Vieve the great witch of Sanctuary. But the way I hear is that I'm the single greatest user of magic ever." Smugly Gene replies.

"Well then the people from which those stories came must have never heard of muah." William calmly states, gesturing to himself with a flourish of the hands.

Gene raises her eyebrows. "Well well well... It is about goddamn time I've met someone as bold as I in admitting their skill in magic. Seems that it is fate that drew our paths together. Not even my tarot could've foreseen this." She smiles.

"Now that we are all acquainted, let's fancy ourselves a drink and have us a jolly good Halloween." Snoo Ginz drops a large sack of gold on the table. "Drinks on me."

"I'll drink to that!" Thora exclaims.

Meanwhile...

"Here's your spear, Kormac. Broke in two earlier but I managed to repair it." Haedrig said, handing Kormac his spear. The blacksmith's head still throbbed from it slamming onto the anvil, and there was now a big bump on his forehead.

The Templar took his spear. "Glorious! This is a fine spear."

"All in a day's work." Haedrig then walked off, grumbling something about 'kicking a cat for giving him a headache' and holding the bump on his head. Kormac thought to question why the blacksmith seemed sour. Then again, he's often a grump...

Suddenly, a spider hung in front of Kormac! He screamed like a little girl that had seen Diablo himself, dropping his spear and tripping over himself to get away. He bumped into Lyndon, who was laughing.

"Ha ha, HA HAHA! Oh, that was priceless. Truly priceless! I think you may have woke the dead with that scream, Kormac."

"Scoundrel! Was that necessary? Out of all the creatures in this land, it had to be a spider?" The Templar glared, but one could tell he was still shaken up.

Lyndon smirked, looking at his contraption; a stick with a small rope tied at the end, which also hung a fake spider made of twigs, cotton and other junk. "Of course it was necessary! Someone had to scare the oh-so FEARLESS holy warrior out of is boots sooner or later. Besides, what's Halloween without a little trickery?"

"Quite, but god's sake man spiders?" Kormac says, trying to rebuild his ego. "I'll get you back Lyndon, I promise you this."

"If you say so." Mockingly Lyndon replies, clearly not taking him seriously.

"It's true! I'll prove it." Now walking with Lyndon through town, which is now in full uproar with Halloween spirit as dusk set in. They came across a game that the locals have set up. "I'll prove it here."

"Here? Of all games?" Chuckling slightly before devilishly grinning. "You're on my friend." They both make way into the crowd surrounding the event.

William leads the group out of the tavern, commenting on the locals;

"Isn't it remarkable how they quickly celebrate a holiday worshiping death so merrily after experiencing it for so long?" Stopping to hold the door as the group flies out.

"Relax my dwarven friend, this holiday is merely about sweets and having a good time to them." Thora said.

"For yet another time Thora, I am not a dwarf! I'm just a slightly shorter stature than some men." William barks back.

"That remains to be seen little man, till then I won't disagree that you are a dwarf." Though Thora was patting the wizard on the back, it felt more like a slap.

William, Thora, Eirena, Gene Vieve and Snoo Ginz were walking through town, glancing at the costumed kids running around and older folks participating in various games set up.

A warrior was turning away from his throw at the pumpkin chucking camp. He walked into Thora, spilling his mug of ale all over him.

"Stupid woman! Watch where you're steppin'!" The warrior growled at Thora, earning a glare from the barbarian. William and Gene exchanged glances, grinning.

"Oh no, did he?"

"He did."

"I beat the mighty warrior Kormac at this pumpkin chucking contest, so I'm sure I could beat a woman like you!" The burly man announces, nodding his head at the area with pumpkins piled onto a wagon, and where Kormac and Lyndon were exiting from.

Templar was about to protest his defeat when Scoundrel stopped him.

"Stop and watch this, it might get exciting!" He said. The two plus the others watched as Thora and the warrior entered the contest. "Hmm, want to reverse your luck tonight?"

"What's your action, Scoundrel?"

"Five-to-one Thora out-throws him."

Kormac nods, smiling, "Five-hundred gold on the warrior whom bested me."

"Five-hundred on Thora." Scoundrel said. That's when Snoo Ginz walked up to take part.

"I'll take that bet! Five-hundred on the curvy redhead. Oh, and the name's Snoo. Snoo Ginz."

Lyndon was taken aback by the hunter's name, but accepted his offer. "You're on."

Everyone watched as the warrior took a pumpkin, soon heaving it about thirty yards away. "Reckon you could beat that, lass? Don't want you breaking a nail." He laughs.

"I reckon I can." Thora says. Grasping her pumpkin, she drops back three steps. She then heaves the pumpkin, her throw great enough to land her pumpkin twenty yards father than the warriors. Fifty yards in all.

"Impressive. Reckon you could kill a man at that distance sweetheart?" Asked the warrior, respecting that this 'stupid' woman could actually throw.

"Ha! I could kill you vithout even lifting a hand."

The warrior walked over to where Thora's pumpkin lay, half broken with it's insides spilling out from the impact. "Oh yeah? Prove it lass!"

"Okay, you asked for it." The barbarian said, crossing her arms. At that exact moment, a potato flies over her right shoulder, hitting the warrior's face and creaming itself all over him. He just stood idle as the crowd around Thora roared.

"Excellent display young Thora." A gentleman in the crowd raises his mug to her. So does a towns woman,

"Yeah. Finally shut his ramblin' up, that bloody bastard!"

Scoundrel and Snoo Ginz celebrate together as Kormac sulks. Snoo Ginz trots up to him, and in a merry way says, "Fifteen-hundred little man, put that shit in my hand!" Reluctantly the Templar hands the two their winnings.

"Well my friend, it seems as though luck is not in your favor today!" Lyndon smirks, counting his spoils. Him and Kormac soon go to join the rest of the group.

Yet Snoo Ginz stays behind. He plans on tormenting the warrior more. Heisting himself a sweet treat from a vendor, he takes a bite and walks over to the humiliated man. "Trick or treat muscle head." A low, nigh abnormal growl erupts from the hunter, his eyes blaze red. He then takes a suddenly happy turn, "Snoochie boochies! Hehehe!" He kisses the man on the cheek then slaps the top of his head. Happily munching on his candy he catches up to the others.

It was now night, and the full moon was just visible over the houses and trees of New Tristram. William was buying everyone each a mug of strong cider, handing them out as the group laughed about the humiliation of the local 'warrior'. Soon left with only his mug, the wizard goes and stands beside Eirena.

"You couldn't have timed that any better Villiam, though I didn't expect a potato!" Thora laughs heartily before taking a drink.

"Well, given the thought, a tomato wouldn't quite pass the message. A potato however, now that's just the perfect weapon... And the perfect food." William smiles quickly before concentrating on his drink. Before anyone could ask about a possible potato fascination, the town mayor comes running up,

"Nephalem help! Oh, help!"

"Yes?" Gene, Snoo Ginz, William and Thora say at once, giving each other a quick glance.

"Some farmers in the fields just came to me saying they saw lights and heard strange music coming from the cemetery of the forsaken. One even claimed to see... H-he saw... S-saw..."

"OUT VITH IT MAN!" Thora burst out causing the mayor to flinch. Finally building the voice, he whispers,

"Z-zombies..."

Gene stands up from her place on a bench. "Fear no more, mayor. We will rid you of these zombies." She assures the trembling man.

"Oh, t-t-thank you!"

"I'm up for killing some zombies! If I get a reward, of course." Lyndon stands as well.

"I will as well. I wonder how more powerful my magic shall be tonight!" Eirena nods. Soon everyone agrees to investigate, and set off through the gates to the Weeping Hollow.

The group of seven spot and hear nothing as they follow the road through the Weeping Hollow. You know, nothing but the occasional crow or cat. When they get to the Cemetery of the Forsaken, though, they start hearing something strange. Music. But... No one was there! The most strange was when a voice started to... Sing?

"It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark..."

That's when they stop, and so does the music.

"Did you hear that? It sounded like singing, with odd music I've never heard before."Kormac said.

"I heard it too." Thora replied. The others replied with a simple 'Yeah' or 'Me too'.

"Well, it seems to have stopped. Maybe we should continue walking." Stated Enchantress, and they continue what they were doing. But yet, the song started playing again, and getting louder.

The group halt again, but this time the music is still playing. They certainly freeze when they see arms and hands popping out of the dozens of graves around them.

"Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart..."

Zombies were crawling out their graves! The group huddled together, back-to-back, preparing for battle.

"You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it."

Then, a more stand-out zombie appeared. It had a tattered red and black jacket with red pants. It also had black hair, and a brownish skin. The music was at it's loudest, and suddenly the zombies start... Dancing?

"Wait, they're dancing?! Tell me that isn't just me!" Scoundrel exclaimed, quite confused at this.

"It isn't just you, and I don't think it's the cider we drank..." Gene said, starting to feel an overwhelming urge to... Dance along with the zombies.

"You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed."

Soon that urge was felt in everybody. And then, they danced, not aware that the zombies started to surround them.

"'Cause this is thriller! Thriller night! And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike. You know it's thriller, thriller night! You're fighting for your life inside a, killer, thriller, toniiight!"

After a good minute or so, the group stopped dancing - all except Snoo Ginz- and start to realized they've been surrounded. "Thriller! Thriller night, dun dun hm hum dundun dun... Wait, why did we-" Snoo Ginz finally saw the situation "Oh." He pulled out his hand crossbows. Everyone unsheathed their weapons, and the battle started.

Gene Vieve started off by slicing a few zombies with spectral blades. She then summoned an arcane hydra that shot purple-silver orbs at the zombies.

"Ha! So you know that spell too?" William commented, rising up his own lightning hydra.

"Of course! But do you know this one?" The witch engulfs herself with purple flames, turning her skin a glowing purple. She fires energy beams and releases overpowering energy blasts, cleaning out hordes of undead! William shot her a competitive glare, thinking of a way to best the great witch.

Meanwhile, Snoo Ginz and Scoundrel are also competing, mostly on who could fire the most arrows. Snoo Ginz wins that by a longshot with his rapid fire crossbows. Then there was Thora, Eirena and Kormac, who were facing the brown zombie.

The zombie was creeping towards Kormac, and no matter how many times the Templar stabbed the zombie with his spear it wouldn't stop. Even when Thora slammed it into the ground like a hammer to a nail many times, it kept crawling up!

Eirena thought for a moment. She gathered all the power she could muster, focusing on wiping out a good number of zombies. What she didn't expect was that she would release a big blast of energy that kicked her back yards away by it's power. But all in all it killed the rest of the zombies and what seemed to be their leader.

Kormac smiled, relishing his first victory tonight, "A glorious victory! A little bit strange, as well." Everyone agreed.

"Yes, truly." Mutters William, who was now helping Eirena up. "You alright dear? Your, hair is a little astray. You used a lot of energy back there."

The Enchantress grinned. "Eeeeeeee..." She fell down again.

"It was either that spell, or she bumped her head on a tombstone..." William thought. He picked Eirena up, walked over to Thora, and put Eirena into the barbarian's treasure pack. "She'll be fine in here. Comfortable place, if I do say so myself!"

After discussing what in the burning hells had just happened and why that brown zombie and music seemed so foreign – as if it came from a different time – the group travel back to Tristram. They met the mayor, who only thanked them greatly with no added rewards, much to Lyndon's disappointment.

The rest of the night the group scattered about and did various things, from the games to pranking the occasional passerby. Eirena also awoke from her daze during that time. Everyone passed out eventually, whether it be on a bed or in a hay bale. Halloween also passed by, and wouldn't be celebrated again for a full year. But, one thing is for sure; it was truly a night to remember.

That was the extremely long Halloween special! I wanted to put Tyreal and Covetous Shen in here somehow and put in more time with Haedrig, but I decided it was good enough. Next chapter, perhaps. I also feel bad for Kormac. :(

But anyway, did you like Gene Vieve (Gee-Nee Vee-Vee is how I pronounce it :P) and Snoo Ginz? They won't join William and Thora, but they might make an appearance every now and then.

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pause for a Twix. HA HA.