Marnie and Maisie found a corner to not be seen and peeked around the corner to listen.

"If Marnie and Maisie's training doesn't at least begin tonight, their powers will be lost forever," Aggie said.

Gwen said, "Yes! And they'll finally be human! They'll finally be normal, like their brother, like their father, and like Sophie will be after!"

That hurt a lot because apparently Gwen thought she was a freak. Maisie crossed her arms at the thought of being 'normal'. What was so fun about normal?

"Wedding a human father," Aggie said. "Why, you're lucky that you have three children that are showing powers at all." She paused before saying, "Do you really want them going through life doing things the hard way?" Gwen was looking for a lid. "I mean, look at you, with your plastic bowls when you know leftover chicken keeps better when it's back on the bone." 

She pointed and then there was a chicken standing right in the bowl. Maisie jerked back in shock and Marnie covered Maisie's mouth with her hand because Maisie said some words that Gwen disapproved of them saying.

Gwen gasped and sternly stated, "Mother, get that thing out of here right now." 

Aggie did a movement with her arms, like a chicken and the real chicken squawked, turning back into leftovers. 

Gwen sighed and explained, "For years, you have been coming here. You've been dropping hints to Marnie and Maisie and badgering me to start their training. I know that's why you came here tonight, Mother. But the fight is over. The clock has finally run out and you can go home." Maisie can tell that Gwen was proud of herself for it.

Aggie said, "Gwen, as much as I think you're making a terrible mistake with Marnie and Maisie, you're wrong about why I came here tonight. Fact is, I came to ask for your help."

Maisie can tell Gwen seemed a bit curious, "My help? With what?"

Aggie seemed a little anxious again, "Something is wrong at home. Something's happening. Every day, I find another neighbor has changed. Turned hateful, it's frightening. And soon after that, they disappear altogether."

Just like that, Gwen's curiosity went away and was replaced with exasperation. "Oh, please, Mother. My neighbors disappear sometimes too. It's called moving."

Aggie hit the kitchen island, "Oh, Gwendolyn, I'm quite serious about this. It's as though something or someone is trying to return us to the Dark Times. And I fear my powers alone may not be enough to stop it. I need another Cromwell witch. I need you."

Gwen said, "Mother, there are plenty of other witches and warlocks in Halloweentown. Why don't you recruit one of them?"

The fact that Gwen had lied to them for years with no remorse, made Maisie feel disgusted. What if she and Marnie actually wanted to be witches? And why did Gwen lie about being a witch herself?

"Oh, I've tried," Aggie replied. "You know how it is today. No one pulled wants to get involved."

Gwen retorted, "Mother, I'm sure that you believe that there's some kind of problem, but I can't just leave my kids to go fight some nameless force in another world that I have nothing to do with."

"Nothing to do with? Well, fine, bury your head in the sand of the precious Mortal World of yours," Aggie said. "Perhaps the Cromwell line will end with you. But let's just hope that Halloweentown doesn't come to an end along with it!"

Marnie took Maisie's arm and dragged her upstairs so they can discuss what they heard. However, Marnie led her to Dylan's room and opened the door. 

Marnie recounted the story to Dylan, "And then she talked about all this weird stuff that's happening in Halloweentown, like it's a real place." 

"She also turned our leftovers into a real, live chicken. It was standing in the bowl and everything," Maisie added. 

"And that's when we knew that she was a witch, so is Mom, and so am I and Mai," Marnie finished.

"And Sophie," Maisie added. 

"Because they both said so," Marnie added. "What do you think?"

Dylan gaped at them, "I think it proves insanity is hereditary. I just hope boys are immune."

Maisie rolled her eyes at him. The front door closed and they ran for the window to peer outside.

Aggie was walking across the street, with her cloak's hood on, and her bag was following after her, like it was walking by itself.

Maisie gaped at the strange sight.

"It must be, um, one of those radio-controlled models," Dylan stated. 

"She's going back home to Halloweentown," Maisie stated.

"We gotta go after her," Marnie said and Maisie nodded in agreement.

"Go after her?" Dylan asked, "Are you both crazy?"

They both went to their shared room and Marnie explained to Dylan in a whisper, "We have to go. If she doesn't start training us tonight, we could lose our powers forever."

Maisie grabbed some clothes and went into the other bathroom to change while Marnie changed in the shared bathroom.

After changing into some denim jean shorts over black and white polka-dotted tights (like Clarissa Explains It All), a plain black shirt, and some converse high-tops, she was ready to go. 

Marnie handed Maisie her cloak and started putting her hair in a pony-tail while she spoke to Dylan, "And now  that we've found out the truth, we're not gonna stay here and turn all boring and human like you." 

Maisie was content to leave her hair down, since pulling her hair back felt like her hair was being pulled. She only put her hair back for soccer.

They went downstairs and stopped when they spotted their mother raking the candy into a large paper bag.

"No, it doesn't," Gwen told the TV.

While she was distracted with the candy, Marnie opened the door and they crept outside, trying to be silent.

They managed to get across the street.

"Marnie, Mai, wait up."

That was Dylan.

They turned to him. He handed changed his clothes.

Marnie asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the man of the house," Dylan explained. "I gotta keep an eye on you two. Plus, I'm gonna have a hard time getting back to sleep 'til I found out if you're both crazy or not." 

"Then helps us find her," Marnie said. "She's gotta be around her somewhere."

Maisie was well aware of 'tricky people' thanks to Yello Dyno. Ironically enough, she was more afraid of Yello Dino than 'tricky people' and then she was paranoid about her soccer coach until she noticed that he seemed far more into a man in the stands than anything else. 

Once, at a gas station, she saw Coach and the man together, buying beer together. Maisie asked Gwen about the strangeness of the situation and Gwen told her that it was none of her business to get involved in her coach's life and to focus on soccer.

Then Maisie could've sworn she saw the man grab her coach's butt and she told Gwen about it, because that was weird. Gwen had grabbed her by the shoulders, looked her in the eye, and told her to not dwell on it and not to say a word to her team-mates because, again, it was none of her business or theirs, and that the only thing she should focus on was beating their rival school.

So, Maisie never brought it up again and never breathed a word to Marnie about what she had seen. 

She spotted Aggie at a bus stop that had Bus Stop on it, but the background of the sign was a spider's web. She pointed, "She's right there."

Marnie and Maisie crouched down.

"Get down," Marnie told Dylan, grabbing his arm. "Where did that bus stop come from?"

"I don't know," Dylan replied. "Can I put my shoe on now?"

"I'm having that déjà vu feeling again," Marnie said. 

Dylan asked, "You knew that I was going to put on my shoe?"

"No," Marnie replied. "This whole thing – the bus stop, Grandma." 

Maisie asked, "What if it's not déjà vu? What if you're seeing the future, like Sophie?"

"Right," Dylan said, in disbelief. "Now Marnie can see the future. Tell me, what am I going to have for breakfast?"

Maisie rolled her eyes.

Marnie asked him, "Why are you such a downer?"

"Why are you such a nutcase?" retorted Dylan.

"Downer," Marnie replied.

"Nutcase," Dylan said.

"Downer," Marnie snapped back.

"Shut up, before she hears you two and gets us in trouble with Mom," Maisie hissed at them. She wasn't the oldest – that went to Marnie. She heard bells ringing. She pointed as a bus appeared. 

Dylan asked, "Where'd that bus come from?"

"I don't know, but we're not missing it," Marnie said, grabbing Maisie's arm and running for the back of the bus as Aggie got on.

Marnie opened the back door and got on, helping Maisie up. They got onto a back seat together. At least it had a good view of their grandmother.

"Why don't we go sit up front with Grandma?" asked Dylan.

"She might stop the bus and make us go home," Maisie told him and Marnie nodded in agreement.

There was a loud rumbling sound and somehow the colors changed. The bus shook.

"What?" asked Marnine.

 Maisie looked out the window to see fog and changing colors as she gripped the back of the seat in front of her.

Dylan asked, "Stopping the bus where?"

There was a man talking to someone, "So anywhere, there I was, trying to spook this fellow. He was buying nachos at the minimart when this smart-aleck child with a dreadful little monster mask runs up to me and yells, 'Daddy!' Ooh, I ask you, where is the respect?"

"It's not like the old days," a different person said. "People are jaded, I raise a demon from the Underworld and they say, 'Big deal, I saw the same thing on Jerry Springer.'"

What were they talking about? Maisie looked at her siblings, confused. 

There was laughter and she looked towards the sound. 

A woman said, "I've always loved a good scare for old time's sake." They laughed again.

"Must be, you know, one of those charter buses coming back from a costume party at the Moose Lodge," Dylan explained. "Or maybe – whoa!"

The bus seemed to point downward and they grabbed onto the seat and screamed as the bus flew downwards.