The Last Halloween?

by Lodylodylody

*****'*****

"Come on!" Connie urged excitedly. "The party is going to start soon!"

Emma Tutweiller shook her head at her partner's over the top enthusiasm. Even after years of living together, she still found Connie's trademark exuberance amusing.

"Just let me make sure my hat's on straight," the former school teacher replied as she took a final look in the mirror. The attractively cut witch costume she'd chosen for the occasion looked quite satisfactory in Emma's opinion…but she was less sure about the large witch's hat.

"Oh you look fantastic!" Connie insisted. "I wish I looked half as good."

Emma shot her a mischievous look. "Why would you want to look less attractive? You're stunning."

Connie blushed. As a lark, she'd decided to try to emulate one of Emma's most successful costumes from past Halloweens. And though she felt somewhat glamorous in the sexy gown and with her hair perfectly coiffed, she still thought her version of Jessica Rabbit was a pale imitation of Emma's.

After a few more moments of Emma adjusting her hat, the two women left their hotel room at the Boston Tipton and made their way to the party.

*****'*****

"This is an awesome party," Bailey told Cody. "I'm glad so many people could make it."

"I know," he responded to his former girlfriend. "London was pretty generous in flying in all our old friends."

"Speaking of old friends," Bailey went on. "Look who's here."

Cody looked over and saw the former hotel manager Marion Moseby, along with his wife Samantha, dressed as Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty. He and Bailey made their way over to say hello.

"You two look patriotic," Bailey said.

"I thought it was appropriate," Samantha answered. "Seeing as how Marion will soon be the newest member of the U.S. Senate."

"Sam please," Marion laughed. "The votes aren't counted yet. Though the polls look promising."

"I still am surprised sometimes to think about you going into politics," Cody said.

"Well, after spending years dealing with immature and childish lunatics who were always hatching ludicrous schemes, I feel quite qualified to deal with politicians," Moseby laughed.

Samantha began to talk more about the upcoming election, but Moseby reminded her that tonight she was here as his wife, not his campaign manager. And so the topic shifted to the other guests. They spotted London and Zack at the other side of the room, the two of them utterly engaged in one another. They also saw Carey and her husband Nick talking with Esteban and Maddie (who were still celebrating their recent engagement) and Connie and Emma.

"You know it's somewhat odd," Bailey observed. "Look at all the romances that started at Halloween."

"I do believe you're right," Moseby replied. "How peculiar. Especially considering some of the pairings. Did any of us ever envision London with Zack? And I still recall the looks on all our faces when Emma and Connie announced their relationship."

Cody laughed at the memory. "That was quite the topic of conversation for a while."

The party continued and Cody and Bailey mingled more with past friends. Bailey was delighted to see Jessica, as well as her twin sister Janice. Though Bailey and Jess were in almost constant contact, Jessica's busy schedule as a successful model meant that she and Bailey couldn't get together in person as often as they wished to.

Old class mates from the Semester at Sea program were there…Woody, Addison, Becky and Holden. And all of Zack and Cody's old Boston friends were there…Max, Barbara, Bob and the rest of the gang. The party was going wonderfully.

And then all Hell broke loose.

Literally.

In a sudden terrifying explosion of smoke and brimstone, an unearthly spectral form appeared in the middle of the room. At the exact same moment, the doors to the ballroom slammed shut…magically sealed.

"Finally!" The spectral figure screamed. "I vill have mein revenge!"

Though all the party goers gasped in fear, many of them also gasped in recognition. Maddie was the first to say the dreaded name aloud.

"Ilsa!"

"Yes," the ghost of Ilsa hissed as she bore down on Maddie and Esteban. "I've come back to destroy you all! Und I'm saving you two for last! But now…who vill be first?"

Not everyone at the party was aware of the past...where Ilsa had been revealed to be a demon worshipping witch who'd intended to sacrifice Esteban and Maddie to some ungodly creature, only to end up devoured by the beast herself thanks to Maddie's quick thinking…but such knowledge was not necessary to understand that everyone at the part was now in serious danger.

"Uh, wait one second," Zack spoke up, trying to buy some time. "You're just going to kill us all? Just like that? Seems inappropriate…especially for Halloween."

Ilsa's rage was replaced by confusion. "Inappropriate? How? This seems like the perfect night for a bloodbath."

"Well, sure," Zack responded. "As a finale for the night…but first you need a lot of proper Halloween activities to lead up to it. Like…um…like…"

"Scary stories!" Bailey interjected. "We need a lot of nice Halloween related stories first!"

Ilsa looked incredulous. "That's silly!"

"No, no," Cody added. "It's classic. Don't you see? We're all gathered here…we tell a bunch of stories…each trying to outdo the other in how 'Halloween-y" it can be...and then…"

"Und then…I outdo all the stories by slaughtering you all," Ilsa concluded as a smile came to her ghostly face. "I LOVE IT!"

Zack, Bailey and Cody felt a sense of relief, seeing that their spur of the moment plan was working. The more stories they could come up with…the more time they'd have to figure out a way to escape. But their relief faded a bit when Ilsa spoke next.

"Vell?" she asked. "Who has the first story?"

"Um…give me a second," Zack said. "Just one second…"

To be continued?

*****'*****

Author's note: Alright people. Zack and Cody and the gang need some stories or they're all going to be slaughtered HORRIBLY! Can you save them? Please (for their sake) send in your Halloween stories. Scary stories…funny stories…romances…anything! Otherwise, everyone will DIE!

BTW, if you're wondering in this introduction why Connie is with Emma, Maddie with Esteban etc. (not to mention why Ilsa is a dead witch), it all goes back to the very first Halloween collection. I wrote a number of stories then that were all stand alone tales…but designed so that they could all take place in the same 'reality'. I had fun with it so I later wrote a Christmas story with Moseby and Samantha (from Cory in the House) also set in the same reality. And then my last Halloween story (which got Zack and London together with some help from Connie) also took place in the same reality.

But that's all just for fun. Remember that all your own stories have nothing to do with this particular 'reality' of mine…EXCEPT…that if you don't send stories in…Ilsa will KILL EVERYONE! Save our heroes!