A FROWN FOUND its way onto Death's expression as he observed the surprisingly silent lounge. His eyes drifted over to the calendar that was poised above the fireplace, confirming the date today.

It was Halloween, October 31st. He hadn't remembered it wrongly.

However, the funny thing was that the entire castle was awfully quiet. Things had never been that way before, not on this hallowed night, at least. Halloween always had the entire castle alive and bustling. The souls loved the holiday season, and so did Death's brothers. It was a day for them to celebrate, more so than any other holiday out of all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.

It was their night.

And yet, for some unfathomable reason, Death found himself very much alone in a very empty castle, not a single soul around, much less any decorations to hint at the day.

"What is going on?" he mumbled to himself under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck.

Even when he had gone to the world of the living to spend time with little Addison, the others had never skimped on the festivities. What made this year so different?

Shrugging, he decided that he had already wasted too much time lingering around in the castle, looking for people that obviously didn't want to be found. Hence, Death grabbed the cloak that he had previously strewn over the couch, placing it on before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

He arrived near Addison's house in Riverside Creek just as the sun went down. Slowly, the houses along the street lit up one by one, each family ready to show off their decorations and begin the fun. Children began to flock the streets, all of them dressed in costumes— some brilliantly made while others cheaply put together. However, no matter what they wore, the smiles on their faces were undeniable.

The living loved this dreadful day as much as the dead, and that was always something that put a smile onto Death's face.

The horseman began to walk down the street, not bothering to conceal himself this time. After all, everyone was dressed up. He wouldn't even stand out in the least bit, and he was sure that everyone would just assume he was out to do some trick-or-treating of his own. However, just as a precautionary measure, he still toned down his age, appearing as an eight-year-old.

Death knew this place by heart. He had visited so often that each and every building here had already long imprinted into his memory. He remembered every house, every park, and even every street lamp that lit the roads. And when he finally stood in front of the driveway that led to Addison's home, Death smiled.

It had been a while since he had last seen the girl, and truly, he missed her sunshine personality and broad smile.

However, right as he was about to walk to the door and knock, something chilled Death's blood. He stood rooted to the ground, his eyes wide and jaw agape. Immediately, a rush of fury blazed through his blood as he furrowed his eyebrows and raced forward. He didn't even bother to conceal his identity, soaring ahead in a cloud of green smoke as if no one could see him.

There was an ominous cloud that hung over the Pilediah family home, and — ironically enough — it reeked of death and doom. It was the same sensation that would fill him whenever he was near someone who was about to pass on, or had already passed.

That was what sent the shiver down his spine and his heart into a mess.

'Has he found her?' the question flew across his mind. It wasn't impossible— he knew that fate would eventually catch up sooner or later. He had only hoped that it would be later, not this soon.

Not when he finally had the time to spend with Addison.

Slipping in through the gap under the door, Death appeared inside Addison's home. The entire house, similar to Hell's Castle, had been empty, void of life. He couldn't see anyone anywhere and the lights were switched on.

All except one.

Gritting his teeth, Death raced up the steps of the bedroom, now in his usual appearance once more. He wished he could go faster even when it took him only a second or two to arrive at Addison's door, the only room with the lights turned on. Bracing himself for the worst, Death slammed the door open, his scythe materializing in his hands.

However, the sight that greeted him caused his jaw to drop even further, a sharp breath of disbelief escaping his lungs in a huff.

There, sat on the floor, were four cloaked 'grim reapers'. Their respective scythes were laid all over the room; one leaning against the closet door, one on the floor by the door, one resting against the window sill, and the last, most plastic-looking one, laid on the bed.

In the center of the room, the four 'grim reapers' all spun around to look at the sound that had intruded on their game of snakes and ladders. Death's eyes narrowed in irritation when he recognized the irises of the owners. Three of them bore his face but their eye colors were still as per their original appearances.

"Brother!" one of them — the one with red eyes — called out gleefully, beckoning Death over. "How good of you to join! The game just started."

"What," Death seethed, "in the blazing fires of Hell are the three of you doing here?"

"Such hostile energy," said the grim reaper with strikingly blue eyes. "We were just having a little bit of fun with dear Addison."

"Shh!" the little girl hushed. She was the only one that didn't have Death's face. Her golden hair was hidden in the hood of the coat, and whenever the hood slipped a little, she would tug it back, as if afraid her identity would be exposed. "You can't say my name! Dee cannot know!"

"Right," the blue-eyed grim reaper said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"This is ridiculous," huffed the grim reaper that sat furthest away from the group. His dark eyes met Death's before flitting back to the rest of the grim reapers. "They wanted to prank you."

"Yes," Death spat out through gritted teeth. He stormed his way over to Addison before standing in front of her protectively. "I can tell."

"It's all in good fun!" said the one with red eyes— War. "Don't tell me you're afraid that we'll hurt her?"

"That's just mean," Conquest, Death's blue-eyed brother, added. "Who do you take us for?"

"The harbingers of doom? The four horsemen of the apocalypse?" the last brother, Famine, deadpanned.

"Exactly," Death snapped. "How did you get in? Where are her parents?"

"Asleep," Conquest answered, waving a nonchalant hand. "We cast a quick spell. They're fine, stop worrying."

Death's eyelid twitched. He was about to launch into a fit of profanities when he felt a tug on his sleeves, returning his attention to the girl that kneeled slightly behind him.

"Dee," she murmured, her voice tinted with a bit of caution. Immediately, Death's heart squeezed painfully. He had forgotten, just for a brief second, that she was with them. The last thing he wanted was to scare her. "They said they are your brothers," she spoke, "and are here to play."

Death cast his brothers a look of doubt, to which he received innocent expressions in return. After a moment, he sighed, his shoulders finally relaxing.

"As long as you're fine," he muttered, tucking a strand of golden hair back into the cloak behind young Addison's ear.

"Mhm!" Addison nodded enthusiastically. Seeing her best friend relax, she, too, grew a little lighter, a little bubblier.

"We're about to go trick-or-treating," piped up War. "Wanna come with?"

"Candy!"

"I think between the four of us, little Addison here will be alright without parental supervision," Conquest added, smiling at the elated little girl.

"That's the worrying part," said Famine.

"You know you want to," War sang. Standing up, he stepped towards the window. "The night is young and the ghouls have come out to play."

"Can we, Dee?" Addison pleaded, pulling again on Death's cloak. "Can we?"

In the end, the puppy dog eyes that little Addison had was too much for the spirit of death to bear. He sighed, shaking his head in defeat before nodding once. A tired smile twisted his lips.

"If that's what you want."

"Yay!" the little girl squealed in delight.

In the end, Death had a hand around Addison, holding her close to him as the four brothers leapt out from the window and onto the patch of grass outside. He set her down onto the floor the second they were safely on the ground, and the little grim reaper rushed forward a little, eager to start on her candy-collection.

"Let's go! Let's go!" she urged.

"Alright!" chuckled Death.

His heart was now light, all the tension and worries from moments prior finally seeping away from his body. He finally understood why the castle had been so empty, why his brothers hadn't been pestering him to carve pumpkins or prepare sweets to give the servants. It was because they had been on Earth all along, babysitting.

"Let's go!" the voice of a little boy called from behind, and Death swiveled around to see his three brothers — now with their own faces — in the form of children. War looked as equally excited as Addison did, and for some reason, it didn't surprise Death one bit.

His brother had always been easily excitable.

War dashed forward, his previously very-real scythe now nothing more than a plastic toy that could be found in department stores. The rest of the horsemen followed after him, running out onto the streets with their own bags and plastic weapons, occasionally turning back to hurry Death and Addison along.

With a scoff, Death shrunk back down to the size of a child as well in a puff of smoke. His weapon had, too, turned into one made of harmless plastic just in case any adult questioned him. However, if needed, it would still heed his call and transform back into its original form.

And needless to say, so would he.

"Ready?" he turned to ask Addison, stretching out a hand for the little girl to take.

She, in turn, had a face full of smiles, her expression brighter than the silvery moon that hung in the night sky above the heads.

With a nod and a sound of affirmation, she slotted her hand in his and allowed herself to be pulled along. The two dashed after the other three boys, and soon enough, the five children could be seen running from house to house.

Many adults questioned their matching gloomy costumes. However, every time they did, it was Addison who spoke up.

"We're dressed like my best friend," she would always say, "the spirit of death."

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