Halloween Night

It’s Halloween! The best day of the year. Forget Christmas and what the rest of your friends at Ray Bradbury Elementary say, any day you can dress up and get candy is better than waiting for presents under a tree. Your costume is in the closet, waiting for you. You saved up all of your allowances, birthday money from grandma, even the money you talked out of mom and dad in exchange for mowing lawns to make your own vintage Captain Starburst costume. You have every issue, every episode, every movie poster. And while there have been a number of men and women who have taken the Cosmic Oath, the helmet, and raygun, you prefer the original Captain Starburst when the comic first started way back a million years ago in 1942. Something about Captain Starburst punching out Space Emperor Belrug on the cover of the first issue grabbed you and never let go. The 1940s style, the art deco raygun, the angled helmet. Classic. And just after dinner, you'll be the envy of your friends as you meet with them for trick or treating. You just have to eat dinner first. With mom and dad. It's okay. Dad said he'd be making his famous spook-ghetti, and mom should be home after getting the call to investigate a mysterious light that fell from the sky last night. It's weird. Nothing ever happens in your town, but when your mom is the sheriff, she has to look into it. You're still mad you couldn't go with. You smell something coming from downstairs. It's not Dad's spook-ghetti. Or spaghetti. It smells like wet grass, feet, and burning tires. [[Stay in Room]] [[Go To Dinner]] [[Open Closet]]

The longer you stay in your room, the longer it'll take to get your candy. Plus, you are getting hungry. And it's spook-ghetti night! [[Open Closet]] [[Go To Dinner]]

There it is, in all its glory. Your vintage Captain Starburst costume, based on your favorite superhero. You handcrafted each piece of the outfit, the angled helmet to the rocket boots. Too bad they aren't real. You don't want to wear it during dinner because you would get spook-ghetti sauce all over it. [[Stay in Room]] [[Go To Dinner]]

You leave your bedroom and walk downstairs to the dining room. Mom is at the table already. There's something off about mom. She's not smiling like she usually does. There is nothing on her plate. Come to think of it, there's nothing on dad's. He glops a big heaping of... that's not spook-ghetti... on your plate. [[Look at Mom]] [[Look at Dad]] [[Look at Plate]]

She has her sheriff's uniform on. She's sitting rigid. She's not smiling. It's like she's not herself. She is looking straight ahead. This isn’t right at all. [[Look at Dad]] [[Look at Plate]]

He is more serious than you ever seen. He’s not telling any of his Halloween jokes, like how spook-ghetti is actually worms covered in monster blood. You wonder if you did something wrong. [[Look at Mom]] [[Look at Plate]]

This is the grossest stuff you’ve ever seen. It’s also the source of the stink you smelled earlier. It’s worse up close because now you can see it. You don’t want to eat it. You don’t even want to be in the same room as it. “Eat,” say your mom and dad at the same time in a flat tone. You take a bite. It’s like eating warm cottage cheese wrapped in rotting spinach. You manage to not gag, but after it goes down, you have this weird, warm, drowsy feeling in the pit of your stomach. You put down your fork in disgust. “You will eat,” they both say. “You cannot leave the table until you finish your serving.” [[Eat Goop]] [[Stall for Time]]

You dutifully do as you are told. Part of you thinks the faster you eat, the faster you can be excused and go out for trick or treating. But the more you eat, the more you feel weak and pliable. You want nothing more to sleep and give in to the growing chorus of voices that rise up in your mind, blotting out everything that you were and would be. As you drift off to sleep, you fade away into a sinister alien hive mind that will soon rise up and take over the world on this last Halloween. END [[Start]]

You know you aren’t eating any more of this stuff. After a minute, dad stops staring and puts the pot of yuck back on the stove. There’s a buzz coming from the basement. Without a word, he disappears down the steps, shutting the door behind him. “Consume your portion,” mom says. She won’t take her eyes off you. Just then the doorbell rings. Yes, trick or treaters! The doorbell rings again. Mom gets up and walks to the front door, catching a bowl filled with weird-smelling but brightly-colored candy. Okay, you got your distraction. Now what? [[Put it down disposal]] [[Stuff up Sleeve]] [[Eat Goop]]

You hustle to the sink and slide it down the disposal. You leave enough traces on your plate to make it look like you ate it. You’re no rookie as this, what with having to endure your aunt’s green bean surprise. Your mom shuts the door and walks back into the kitchen. She notices your plate. “You must rest now. You will go to your room and engage in nocturnal downtime. You will not engage in the trick or treat activity. She escorts you to your bedroom. She shuts the door behind you. No kiss, no bedtime story. [[Go to Bed]] [[Leave Bedroom]]

Okay, thinking outside the box on this one. You spoon the slop up your sleeves and shuffle your arms to hide the sagging goo as your mom comes back. She notices your plate. “You must rest now. You will go to your room and engage in nocturnal downtime. You will not engage in the trick or treat activity.” She escorts you to your bedroom. She shuts the door behind you. No kiss, no bedtime story. [[Go to Bed]] [[Leave Bedroom]]

You run straight into your mom, who is standing with her arms crossed. She's blocking your way while looming over you, looking more serious than she’s ever been. Even after that one time you tried to make a bunch of turkey sandwiches by throwing a turkey and a loaf of bread into a lawnmower. She turns you around and pushes you back into your room, saying you need to go to sleep. [[Go to Bed]] [[Escape Out Window]]

Defeated, you change into your pajamas (based on the Captain Starburst TV series, season two) and climb into bed. As you drift off to sleep, you feel a little funny, as if you aren’t yourself. Different thoughts and voices enter you mind and begin take over as you close your eyes. Before you know it, you aren’t you anymore, but part of a terrible plot to take over the world. END [[Start]]

You will go trick or treating, no matter what mom and dad say. You need candy to get that awful green stuff out of your mouth. You are inspired to make an escape, just like has Captain Starburst done on countless occasions. You put on your costume and grab your trusty candy bag. You open the window and look down. Oh, right. You are at least 10 feet from the ground. You need a plan to get down. There's an oak tree just outside your window. If only you could fly... [[Jump to Tree]] [[Make Rope from Sheets]]

You strip your bed and spend a few minutes tying sheet ends together and then tying one end to the bed as an anchor. With great care, you shimmy down the makeshift rope to the ground. Your feet touch the ground just as a pillow case comes unknotted and free in your hand. Well, no climbing back up for you. The cool night air smells sweet with rotting leaves and burning wood in fireplaces. You hear your friends a few houses over. It’s almost time to trick or treat. Something catches your eye. It’s the basement window. Light is streaming out of it. [[Go Trick or Treating]] [[Look in Basement Window]]

You rub your hands together after standing on the windowsill. You crouch and push off, momentarily flying like Captain Starburst. Your fingers brush the thick branch you aimed toward, but you fail to grab it. Or any of the others you bang off of on the way down. You thump to the ground. Everything goes black since you’ve knocked yourself out. Different thoughts and voices enter you mind and begin take over as you close your eyes. Before you know it, you aren’t you anymore, but part of a terrible plot to take over the world. END [[Start]]

You crouch down and peer through the window. You see mom and dad moving around a bunch of weird equipment next to the boxes and exercise equipment and dad’s workshop that make up the basement. You’ve never seen anything like that new stuff before, what with the glowing lights and hovering trays and pulsating tubes that trail from the machines into vats filled with that green, yucky goo. There’s something on dad’s pool table that’s draped with a drop cloth. The answer to whatever is happening is down there. [[Go Trick or Treating]] [[Open Window]] [[Go to Cellar Door]]

Yeah, candy! That’s the spirit. Mom and dad can’t stop you from the best day of the year. You meet your friends at Miss Mahoney’s house down the block. She’s giving out king-sized bars! The houses up and down the street are busy with kids in costumes going back and forth between the houses, asking for and taking away precious candy loot. This is the best night in your young life. After a block, you run into Andi (dressed as Cosmic Cowgirl. You never got into the comics, but her recent film was awesome). She shows you the candy she got from your house. It’s a melting green stink pile of slime that reminds you of the slop that dad made for dinner. Andi wants your candy and an apology for your family’s candy ruining hers. [[Keep Your Candy]] [[Give Her Your Candy]]

Thinking about it, you do what Captain Starburst would do: take responsibility and make amends. You hand over your candy and tell Andi you’ll see why your mom and dad are handing out weird “candy.” You arrive home alone. Mom and dad likely don’t know you snuck out. Hmm. How are you going to play this? [[Enter the Front Door]] [[Pretend You Are Neighbor Kid]] [[Open Window]]

Heck no! This is your candy. Besides, no one is going to take away your haul. She’s probably making up the whole thing anyway to get more candy. Your mom and dad wouldn’t hand out weird sludge as candy. Even though it does remind you of what dad made for dinner. Eh, you’ll sort it out tomorrow. Tonight is about candy. Too bad it’s the last night. By morning, a hostile alien force will capture the town, then the Earth. There will be no more candy. No more Captain Starburst. No more cool fall nights. No more school. Or friends. Just a terrible voice that will fill all of your heads, forever. END [[Start]]

It’s locked, and you don’t have a key. You peer in the window and see no one in the living room or kitchen. [[Pretend You Are Neighbor Kid]] [[Look in Basement Window]]

Yeah, mom and dad won’t know it’s you under the helmet. New plan: pretend to be a neighbor kid and ask if you can play with you in your room. You ring the doorbell and see mom coming upstairs from the basement. She opens the door and stares down at you. While she was emotionaless coming to the door, she looks frightened of you. “Terrible costume. Go away.” She throws some candy from a bowl at you. The candy blorps on the porch as mom slams the door and locks it. You look at the candy. Yep. Andi was telling the truth. It’s a small, bite-sized version of what dad made for dinner, but covered in a brightly colored wrapper. [[Enter the Front Door]] [[Look in Basement Window]]

You try to shake the basement window. It’s locked shut. Even worse, you are drawing the attention of mom and dad. They are looking over at the window. [[Keep Trying the Window]] [[Go to Cellar Door]]

You end up drawing the attention of mom and dad. Within seconds, they are out of the basement and have found you in the back yard. You are powerless to escape their clutches as your mom sprays you with a sickly green gas. You fall into a dreamless sleep. Different thoughts and voices enter you mind and begin take over as you close your eyes. Before you know it, you aren’t you anymore, but part of a terrible plot to take over the world. END [[Start]]

You head to the far side of the house to the cellar door that leads to the basement. From here you can see the front porch, the front windows, and the sidewalk. Other kids are dressed up and going from house to house. When they ring the doorbell, you can see dad peer out the front window from between drawn curtains. He watches the children as mom gives out the “candy.” [[Open Cellar Door]] [[Open Window]]

Clunk. You remember the rusty padlock on the door. You need to pry it off. And hurry before mom and dad go back downstairs. [[Use Helmet's Fin]] [[Use Chunky Boots]] [[Use Prop Gun]]

You use the fin as a prying tool, but it snaps off. Your helmet doesn’t have its cool fin, but you notice the lock is coming loose. Man, dad should have bought a better lock. [[Use Chunky Boots]] [[Use Prop Gun]]

Bang, bang, bang. Uh oh, that’s getting mom and dad’s attention. They aren’t looking at the trick or treaters anymore. Maybe you need a subtler solution. [[Use Helmet's Fin]] [[Use Chunky Boots Again]] [[Use Prop Gun]]

You end up drawing the attention of mom and dad. Within seconds, they have found you in the back yard. You are powerless to escape their clutches as your mom sprays you with a sickly green gas. You fall into a dreamless sleep. Different thoughts and voices enter you mind and begin take over as you close your eyes. Before you know it, you aren’t you anymore, but part of a terrible plot to take over the world. END [[Start]]

Yeah! The prop gun is die-cast metal. It’s heavy, but between the grip and the barrel, you can pry off the lock with one long pull. Snap. There goes the lock… and your gun. Crap. You spent so much of your allowance getting the gun built. It’s broken, but you get into the basement now. You climb down into the basement and the cellar doors shut behind you. Mom and dad haven’t made it downstairs yet. [[Pool Table]]

There’s a body on the table! No, wait. Two bodies are under the drop cloth. You carefully lift the fabric and see mom and dad. Their eyes are closed, but they are alive. They have a bunch of wires connected to their heads. Following the wires, you find they lead to the weird machines. [[Weird Machines]]

The wires from the pool table lead over to the weird, glowing machines. They have a bunch of weird levers and buttons, levitating screens, and a tall, locked cabinet. At the center of the weird machines is a humming box that is connected to everything. It reminds you of a generator as it seems to powering everything. [[Vats]]

They are filled with the horrid green sludge being given out as candy and what you were served at dinner. You swear you can see it slowly grow as you watch it. Tubes coming from the vats drip the vile goo into bunch of candy wrappers before a nearby machine wraps them, ready to be handed out. On a nearby table, there’s a gun just like the prop gun you broke getting in the basement. Upstairs, you hear the front door being shut, followed by two sets of footsteps from what you thought were mom and dad. The basement door opens. They are coming down the stairs! [[Take Gun and Confront Parents]]

You take the gun as the things you thought your parents arrive in the basement. The weapon hums in your hand. It has an energy to it that almost feels... holy crow, is this an actual Mark 4 disruptor? You step out from behind the equipment and raise your gun. They look over to the table where you grabbed the gun from and then look back at you. “Impossible,” they both say. “We incapacitated you. Plus you are smaller. You must be a puny Starburst cadet.” They look over at you, waiting for you to say something. [[Who Are You?]] [[What Have You Done With My Parents?]] [[What is this Goop?]] [[What Are You Talking About?]]

"Your feeble rescue operation will not save your champion, who we captured last night, along with the adult humans who dwell in this dwelling. Some we will have you, all of you on this world. You will all be convereted to the Xeroni empire." They stop in unison and seem to stare right through you. "We sense you have begun the transformation to be part of the Xeroni empire. You will join the others who will consumed our offerings." They point to the vat and the brightly colored candy wrappers coming out of it, matching mom's candy bowl upstairs. She's been giving that candy to everyone in the neighborhood. "You consumed our biomass, as the young humans in this neighborhood. Soon, all of you will feel the need to surrender your will. It is inevitable." They step forward, reaching out to you with grasping arms. "We offer you a bargain. Surrender now and give this world to the Xeroni. In return, we will give you a high honor as the overmind for this world." [[Who Are You?]] [[What is this Goop?]] [[What Have You Done With My Parents?]] [[Surrender]] [[Fire At Generator]]

“This ‘goop’,” says “mom”, “is a highly concentrated biomass that makes up the building blocks of all Xeroni life. It allows any Xeroni to grow from the nutrient fluid into an appropriate life form necessary to infiltrate and take over a world. Once members of the native populace consume the nutrients, they fall under our sway, eventually becoming the fuel for the next generation of Xeroni warriors. You remember the goop you ate earlier and feel a little funny, almost if your mind is not your own. Could the Xeroni have a point? Your "parents" step forward and gesture in unison to the vat producing the goop in shiny candy wrappers. "Many tonight will consume, and in turn be consumed. Your champion is powerless to stop this inevitability. In fact, we sense the conversion is already happening within you." They step forward. "We offer you a bargain. Surrender now and give this world to the Xeroni. In return, we will give you a high honor as the overmind for this world." [[What Are You Talking About?]] [[Who Are You?]] [[What Have You Done With My Parents?]] [[Surrender]] [[Fire At Generator]]

Your "parents" look at you, tilting their heads in unison. "Strange you would ask this. We expected a member of the Starburst Service would know of the Xeroni Empire." (Holy crow! Do they not know this is a costume? Do they think you're really a member of the Starburst Service? Also, the Xeroni? You remember reading something about them in a Starburst Service fan wiki. They sneak onto worlds and biologically infect and duplicate other civilizations until everyone on the planet is a Xeroni.) "We have conquered dozens of worlds, and tonight we will add this world to our imperial order. The process has already begun." They gesture in unison to the vat producing the goop in shiny candy wrappers. "Many tonight will consume, and in turn be consumed. Your champion is powerless to stop this inevitability. In fact, we sense the conversion is already happening within you." They step forward. "We offer you a bargain. Surrender now and give this world to the Xeroni. In return, we will give you a high honor as the overmind for this world." [[What Are You Talking About?]] [[What is this Goop?]] [[What Have You Done With My Parents?]] [[Surrender]] [[Fire At Generator]]

They look confused. After a moment of wordless looking at each other, they turn back to you and speak in unison. "Your parents? You are child of the humans? How did you escape your confines? Never mind. It is irrelevant. "Your parents serve the Xeroni, as you will soon. They served as the first foot soldiers, giving us the memories and abilities to blend into society. They allowed us to don the disguises necessary to spread the biomass on this night. "In time, they will lose their will and lifeforce, and we will add their biomass to our farms, where they will feed our young, just as all who will eat partake in our nutrient “treats.” Soon they will be drawn here, where we will copy them and assume their form. Soon, we will spread and take over this world, turning it into another farm-swamp for the grand Xeroni Empire. "Admit it, child. You can feel the nutrients you consumed start to work through you. You will submit to the Xeroni. It is pointless to resist what is inevitable." [[Who Are You?]] [[What is this Goop?]] [[What Are You Talking About?]] [[Surrender]] [[Fire At Generator]]

You believe the Xeroni. There’s no way you can beat them. Mom and dad have already become part of the hive mind. What chance do you have? You let the Xeroni take you and sink you into the main vat where the goop oozes around you, soaking into your skin. You become more than a piece of the alien invasion that’s taking place. You become the root of a greater mind that will carry out a far more efficient invasion and conquest of Earth. END [[Start]]

Before your "parents" can grab you, you pull the trigger on the gun in your hand. You have the presence of mind to not try to shoot the imposters posing as your parents. You go for where you think it will hurt most: the generator-looking thing that seems to be powering the whole operation. The gun roars and emits a red crackling beam of energy that hits the generator square, which explodes in a flurry of sparks, making the basement go white for a moment. A shockwave knocks you off your feet and you regain your vision just in time to see your "parents" start to convulse where they stand. They begin to shake harder and harder until -- splat! They explode in a black sludge all over the basement's walls, furniture, weird machinery, and even you. You get to your feet and wave your hand to clear the smoke away. There's still a ringing in your ears from the explosion, but that too starts to clear. The remnants of the Xeroni are everywhere and their vat producing the goop has stopped. You even notice the goop starting to break down into a white foam, sizzling and popping away into nothing. The goop in the candy wrappers follows suit. You even feel a little better. The weirdness from eating the goop has faded. You feel like... you. Just as breathe a sigh of relief, you feel a hand on your shoulder! You whip around, ready to fire again when you see the figure before you emerging from what you've seen in comics as a statis pod. The figure leans on you for support as it stands upright. You can't believe your eyes! It can't be. You must have gotten bonked on the head in the blast. But no, it's really Captain Starburst, hero of the galaxy, getting free from a Xeroni jailbox. The generator explosion must have unlocked the box. "Not bad, cadet," Captain Starburst says, gaining strength. "You got here just in time. They jumped me before I could send a warning back to Starburst Central, but you figured out what the Xeroni were up to and stopped them. And I see you found my Mark 4 Disruptor. Fantastic work, and thank you. Now, I'll take that if you don't mind." The Captain holds out a hand. [[Hand Over Gun]] [[Ask For Something]]

You hand over the raygun without a second thought. Captain Starburst nods and holsters the weapon. “Wise thinking, cadet. A fully charged Mark 4 Vanquisher isn’t a toy. And you did turned it over without expecting anything in result. That shows a certain selflessness you only find in members of the Starburst Service. You’re a little too young to start training, but I think you have it in you to be a fine Captain one day.” After you help mom and dad come to, you explain what happened in every detail. Slowly, mom and dad remember everything that happened to them up until they got captured. Quickly rebounding from the effects of Xeroni control, dad makes some tea while mom and Captain Starburst discuss the alien threat, and how it needs to be kept quiet for now. You look a little confused. Captain Starburst nods to your mom. "Of course she knows, cadet. Why, your mother was a member of the Starburst Service since before you were born. After she retired, she trained me to take her place. Turns out, she traded the service for something more important. And a fine choice, too, judging by your actions tonight, cadet." Mom was once Captain Starburst? "Oh yes, honey," she says, shaking off the last of the Xeroni mind-control effects. "A long time ago, long before I met your father. In fact, I trained the Captain Starburst you see before you. Of course I thought I trained this Captain better than being captured by a Xeroni infiltration squad." The Captain looks down and shifts awkwardly. "Now, as for you being in the Service one day, well, you're my child. You're the child of a Captain. And when your father and I think you are ready, we'll talk about enrolling you in the Service." You're so excited you can barely think straight. You're so hyper you have a hard time helping mom and dad clean the basement. After saying good night to Captain Starburst and going to bed, you stay awake all night thinking about the events of tonight, how you saved the world, and how one day you might save the galaxy. It makes it worth missing out on all that candy. The End.

Captain Starburst pauses. You can see the features slump a little on the Captain's heroic face. "Oh...well, I suppose that's... acceptable. You did save my life and your parents, after all. What are you thinking, cadet?" [[Be A Sidekick]] [[Keep the Gun]] [[Trick or Treating]]

Captain Starburst thinks for a moment. “Hmmm. You can handle yourself in a tight corner. Now, it’s against Cosmic Law to take a child away from their homeworld for risky missions, but I do come to Earth on a number of occasions. When I come back, I could see my way to repaying you with a small side mission. How does that sound, cadet?” After you help mom and dad come to, you explain what happened in every detail. Slowly, mom and dad remember everything that happened to them up until they got captured. Quickly rebounding from the effects of Xeroni control, dad makes some tea while mom and Captain Starburst discuss the alien threat, and how it needs to be kept quiet for now. You look a little confused. Captain Starburst nods to your mom. "Of course she knows, cadet. Why, your mother was a member of the Starburst Service since before you were born. After she retired, she trained me to take her place. Turns out, she traded the service for something more important. And a fine choice, too, judging by your actions tonight, cadet." Mom was once Captain Starburst? "Yes, dear," she says, shaking off the last of the Xeroni mind effects. "It was a long time ago, long before I met your father. And I was definitely older than you when I joined the service." She turns to Captain Starburst. "Only ride-alongs and Class I interventions. Our child is far too young to deal with anything like a Black Envelope situation such as this again." She turns a glance to you. "And if our little cadet here does all chores and homework ahead of time." You excitedly nod. You hand over the gun and dream about what tomorrow will bring. The End

“That’s a fully functional Mark 4 Vanquisher! It’s way too powerful and dangerous to be kept as a memento. Perhaps we can make a trade.” Captain Starburst unzips a jacket pocket and produces a glowing fragment of light encased in a small cube. It’s a Cosmic Caller! Captain Starburst only hands these out to planetary leaders and true friends. “If you ever need me, use this and I’ll be here. But you can only use it once.” You gladly trade the gun for the caller! After you help mom and dad come to, you explain what happened in every detail. Slowly, mom and dad remember everything that happened to them up until they got captured. Quickly rebounding from the effects of Xeroni control, dad makes some tea while mom and Captain Starburst discuss the alien threat, and how it needs to be kept quiet for now. Mom smiles. "A Cosmic Caller. I have seen one of those in a long time, Captain." You look a little confused. Captain Starburst nods to your mom. "Of course she knows, cadet. Why, your mother was a member of the Starburst Service since before you were born. After she retired, she trained me to take her place. Turns out, she traded the service for something more important. And a fine choice, too, judging by your actions tonight, cadet." Mom was once Captain Starburst? As you try to wrap your head around this, the current Captain Starburst heads off to patrol the night sky. You make it outside just in time to see the glowing arcs from the captain's rocket boots burn twin lines across the night sky. You stand in the back yard, your hands gripping the Cosmic Caller. You are full of questions, so many questions. Your mom comes outside, cup of tea in her hand. You both watch the night sky with wonder a sense of being part of something bigger. It wasn't what you expected this Halloween night, but somehow saving the world from an alien invasion wouldn't feel right on any other night. The End

After you help mom and dad come to, you explain what happened in every detail. Slowly, mom and dad remember everything that happened to them up until they got captured. Quickly rebounding from the effects of Xeroni control, dad makes some tea while mom and Captain Starburst discuss the alien threat, and how it needs to be kept quiet for now. You look a little confused. Captain Starburst nods to your mom. "Of course she knows, cadet. Why, your mother was a member of the Starburst Service since before you were born. After she retired, she trained me to take her place. Turns out, she traded the service for something more important. And a fine choice, too, judging by your actions tonight, cadet." Mom was once Captain Starburst? As you wrap your head around this revelation, Captain Starburst gets permission from your mom to escort you around the neighbor for some trick or treating. She says yes, saying you earned it. “There’s nothing in the Cosmic Code that says a member of the Starburst Service can’t enjoy some candy while patrolling," she jokes. "Also, you both should check if the Xeroni has infiltrated any other houses. Oh, and dibs on any Choco Spocko bars. You just can’t find them outside of this solar system.” Captain Starburst makes good on your bargain. You hand over the gun and then you and Captain Starburst hit the neighborhood, sharing a bounty of candy and the secret of how you saved the planet on this Halloween night. The End