Rick and The Loud House

It was Halloween as the Loud house was completely covered in Halloween decorations. Along with the decorations, there was also a corn maze sitting next to the house. Lynn Sr. opened the fridge door, only to let out a high-pitched scream upon seeing a decapitated head inside the fridge. "I hate Halloween!" He shouted as he ran off.

Lucy then walked up to fridge before picking up the fake head. She smiled. "I love Halloween."

"Bleh!" The fake head then said.

Lucy walked into the dining room, which was also covered in Halloween decorations as most of the siblings were busy carving blood-covered pumpkins. The floor was covered in news papers as Lisa was busy making the fake blood.

"Excellent fake blood, Lisa." Lucy complimented. "Add some molasses for better consistency."

"Hey Lucy, what do you think of these?" Lincoln asked as he and the other siblings turned their pumpkins around to show her the gruesome faces that each of them had carved out.

"Hmm." Lucy then went to each of the pumpkins to offer some critique. "More blood here, few more gashes on this one, knock out a tooth,add some more mousse to those scabs, dampen the head wounds."

"Halloween's kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you!" Luna remarked.

Leni smiled. "Totes! I'm so glad Mom finally let you do your haunted corn maze!"

"As am I. I've been waiting my whole life to do this. Not to mention my past lives." Lucy then walked over to Luan, who was fashioning a big sign made up of blood-stained corn cobs that read 'HAUNTED CORN MAZE'. "Fantastic sign work, Luan. Just the right mixture of corn and gore."

"Thanks." Luan said, seeming somewhat distracted.

"You sure you won't be able to help out tonight?"

Luan gave Lucy an apologetic smile. "Sorry Lucy, but I've got a Halloween party to go to tonight. You didn't need me desperately did you?"

"Sigh. It's fine, don't worry about it." Lucy then spoke up as she addressed everyone. "Thanks for all your hard work, guys. This is gonna be the best Halloween ever. I'm so excited." She then showed barely any reaction though the siblings still knew that she meant it.

...

At the Chang's apartment, Sid was humming a song to herself from her favourite K-Pop band, Twelve is Midnight as she put the finishing touches on her lobster costume. "And done!" She said to herself as she put the costume on and left her room to go show it off to the rest of her family. However, she paused as she noticed her sister, Adelaide, watching a documentary on her tablet.

Adelaide was a young girl around Lana and Lola's age. She had brunette hair tied into pigtails with red bands, and buck wore a sleeveless red shirt with a white collar and a yellow button on the center, along with a purple skirt, and black sneakers. Sid heard the documentary narrator's voice come from the tablet. "It's Frog Week on the National Frogographic Channel, like it is every week."

Adelaide then started to sob. Seeing this, Sid went over to her and put an arm around her, giving her a sympathetic look. "Are you okay?"

Adelaide sniffled. "I miss Froggy!" She then wrapped her arms around Sid as she continued to cry.

Sid sighed as she patted her sister's back. "There, there."

Both of them then heard someone knocking on the door. Adelaide let go of Sid to let her go answer it. Sid opened the door to see Ronnie Anne, dressed up as a gum ball machine. "What do you think?" Ronnie Anne asked, feeling proud of the work she'd done. "Pretty great, right?"

Sid gave Ronnie Anne an apologetic smile. "Yeah, um, sorry Ronnie Anne, this isn't really a good time."

Ronnie Anne's smile dropped. "What's up?"

Sid sighed. "My sister Adelaide lost her pet Froggy a few weeks ago and she's been a mess since! She can't stop thinking about Froggy."

Ronnie Anne then thought for a moment before remembering something that her grandma had told her about. "I think I might have an idea." She then entered Sid'd apartment and approached Adelaide with Sid following behind. "Hey Adelaide, did you know that the Day of the Dead is coming up in a couple days?"

Adelaide sniffled. "Day of the what?" She asked.

"Day of the Dead; it's a special holiday where Froggy can come visit you."

Adelaide started to cheer up. "Really? How?"

"First you'll need to build an altar and put all the stuff Froggy likes on it. What was he into?"

"Oh, so many things." Adelaide said as she began listing them off. "His favorite food, bacon bits, his favourite movie, The Hoppit, his shoelace jumprope, flies and his favourite lily pad that had a big flower on it!"

Ronnie Anne nodded. "My Abuela told me that if you set up an ofrenda," Ronnie Anne noticed Adelaide giving her a confused look. "I mean an alter, and place all of those things on it along with a picture of Froggy, then on the Day of the Dead, he'll come back!"

Adelaide gasped in excitement, suddenly looking forward to the Day of the Dead. Sid then whispered to Ronnie Anne. "Um, what do we do when the day comes up and Froggy doesn't come back?"

Ronnie Anne's eyes widened. She hadn't exactly thought that far ahead. She gave Sid a nervous grin. "Uh, I'm sure we'll think of something when the day comes up."

...

Lisa squealed as she looked out of her window. "Seven minutes till sunset!" She got into her kangaroo costume before hopping out of her room. "Siblings, assemble! It's almost time for the annual ritual of deception versus confection; street name, trick or treating!"

Lana and Lola then left their room. "Four score and seven pieces of candy ago." Lana said, dressed as Abraham Lincoln.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your delicious treats yearning to be in my tummy!" Lola said, dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

Lisa folded her arms. "Hmm...patriotic, but unlikely to generate maximum candy confection."

"Oh yeah?" Lola asked as the twins the both took of their costumes, revealing more costumes underneath them. "We're also a mermaid and a pirate." Lola was dressed as a mermaid while Lana was dressed as a pirate.

"And salt and pepper shakers." Lana added as they took their costumes off again to reveal Lana's pepper shaker costume and Lola's salt shaker costume.

"This way we can hit each house three times."

"That means three times the candy."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yes. I am familiar with basic multiplication. Your strategy is cute, but mine is far superior."

"Going as a kangaroo?" Lana scoffed. "I doubt it."

"Kangaroo plus baby roo." Lisa then revealed a cooing Lily from her pouch who was dressed as her joey. The twins couldn't help but gasp over the adorable sight. "Precisely. That aw factor will increase my candy revenue exponentially. And the best part is, she only has one tooth, so I don't have to share."

Lola shook her head out of her trance before going over to Lincoln's door and knocking on it. "Lincoln! Clyde! Get your butts out here!"

The door then opened as Lincoln and Clyde stepped out. To the sisters' confusion, they were both dressed as British masters. "I thought you guys were going as Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack." Lola asked.

"Uh, we are." Lincoln explained. "We're Ace and Jack undercover, trying to crack the case of the missing crumpets."

"Boy, you guys really don't want candy, do you?" Lisa remarked.

Lincoln smiled. "Yeah, you're right. We probably won't get much this year." Both he and Clyde then snickered to themselves.

"Alright, let's get some candy." Lana announced. "Has anyone seen Dad?"

Everyone then heard whimpering coming from the bathroom. Lola groaned before walking over to it and barging in with the others following behind. She then pulled away the shower curtain, revealing Lynn Sr. curled up in the bathtub. "Let's go, Father! Chop chop!" Lisa said. "These candy bags won't fill themselves. Though, I am working on a prototype which will do exactly that."

"Uh, sorry, kids. I can't go. I think I have the flu. Or the plague. Or a Charley Horse." Lynn Sr. nervously bluffed.

Lola groaned in exasperation. "Ugh. We go through this every year! Fine! We'll just go without you then." The kids then walked off while Lynn Sr. made no effort to stop them.

The kids left the house, chanting for "Candy!" However, they stopped upon noticing Lincoln and Clyde heading off into the opposite direction. "Hey, where are you two going?" Lola asked, giving them suspicious looks.

"Nowhere. We, uh, just decided to go through the neighborhood counterclockwise this year." Lincoln explained as he and Clyde gave the group nervous grins.

Lisa held her chin in thought. "Seems like an odd, pointless choice. Much like your costumes." She then shrugged as she and the twins continued on while Lincoln and Clyde ran off into the opposite direction.

...

Lucy stepped out of the house, dressed as the grin reaper, before getting out a remote and pressing the button on it, turning on the lights for her corn maze. She walked over to the maze, carrying a bucket of fake blood and a megaphone before speaking into it. "Okay, everyone, places."

Rita moaned and groaned as she slowly stepped out of the house, looking like a zombie. She then chuckled. "How's that?"

Lucy held her chin in thought. "Hmm...not quite there. I think we need to lose a limb."

Rita's eyes widened. "Um. Just one second, sweetie." Rita then walked over to the open garage to see Rick inside, working on something. "Rick, are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"Yep." Rick replied curtly.

Rita rolled her eyes in annoyance before going back over to Lucy, who then pulled her shirt sleeve up to cover her arm. "A little homemade blood, and you're good to go." Lucy said as she rubbed some blood on her hands before rubbing it on Rita's armless sleeve.

Rita smiled, impressed. "You're a real pro, honey. I should have let you do this years ago."

"That's okay, Mom. I'm just glad to finally get my chance. I'm so thrilled, I can barely contain myself." Lucy's face showed very little emotion.

"I know, honey. I can see it all over your face." Rita then went into the maze, ready to scare whoever may come in.

Lori then left the house, now dressed as a vampire. She put on a Transylvanian accent. "I literally vant to suck your blood-hey!"

Luan then suddenly pushed past her. She wasn't wearing any costume. "Sorry! I gotta get to the party right now!"

"You're not wearing a costume?" Lucy asked as Luan ran past her.

"It's not that kind of party!" Luan shouted as she kept running.

Lori shrugged before walking over to Lucy, who she noticed was frowning at her. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with the costume?"

"Sigh. You're good. Vampires just bring back bad memories for me is all." Lucy explained.

After Lori entered the maze, Leni then stumbled out of the house, dressed as Marie Antoinette with her head missing. Since she had her head tucked under her dress, she couldn't see where she was going as she tripped over the stairs, landing in front of Lucy. "Looks great, Leni. But don't forget this." She got out the fake head that was in the fridge earlier.

Leni popped her head out, gasping due to a lack of air, before looking at the head. "Why do I have to look so pale?"

"You've just been decapitated." Lucy explained.

Leni folded her arms. "Well, I'd still put on some blush." Geo then rolled by as Lucy put the fake head over his ball. Leni took a deep breath before hiding her head again and going into the maze with Geo following behind.

A pipe organ the slid out of the house along with Luna, dressed as a skeleton. "Ready to rock, oh, mistress of the dark." She said as she started playing.

"Drop down an octave and try it in D minor. That's the spookiest key." Lucy ordered. Once Luna started playing as such, Lucy spoke into her megaphone again. "Okay, guys, the Loud Family haunted corn maze is officially open. Let's bring on the screams, people." Lucy then pulled her hood up before picking up her scythe and her bucket of blood before creeping into the maze.

...

Ronnie Anne knocked on the door that she and Sid were trick or treating. Once it was answered, they both shouted. "Trick or treat!"

"Ooh wee, those are some nice costumes you got there!" Mr. Poopybutthole complimented as he got out some candy from his bowl and put it into both their bags. "Here you go, have a happy Halloweeeeeeeen!"

"Thanks, Mr. Poopybutthole!" Ronnie Anne thanked as Mr. Poopybutthole waved them off. As she and Sid made their way to the next house, Ronnie Anne then said. "So every Halloween, we put on a haunted house. We even do this vampire boogie dance thing, it's sort of a tradition. This year, we're supposed to do it at the mercado. I can't wait until Bobby has it all set up."

"Cool..." Sid said, looking somewhat distracted.

"What's up?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"I'm just thinking...do you think there's really a land of the dead?"

Ronnie Anne paused as she thought about it. "I don't know. I'd like to think there's one but I guess there's no real way to prove if there really is one."

Sid held her chin in thought for a moment before gasping. "I just had the craziest idea!"

"What?"

"Ok, hear me out, what if Lincoln's grandpa could take us to the land of the dead? We could even find Froggy there and take him back with us!"

Ronnie Anne stared at Sid in surprise for a moment before frowning in thought. "You really think he could do something like that?"

Sid shrugged. "Why not? You said he could do literally anything. We should ask Lincoln about it."

Ronnie Anne then noticed two boys walking down the same path. "Speaking of Lincoln."

Lincoln and Clyde were strutting down the street. "Fancy visiting a few flats and loading up on some proper sweets?" Clyde asked with a fake British accent. Upon seeing Lincoln look confused, he gave him an annoyed look. "Didn't you read the British study guide I sent you?"

"Sorry. I only got through the first ten pages." Lincoln admitted.

"Lincoln! Clyde!" Both of them then noticed Ronnie Anne and Sid running up to them.

"Oh, hey guys." Lincoln greeted, smiling.

Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow at Lincoln and Clyde. "Those are your Halloween costumes?"

"Oh, these aren't our real costumes." Lincoln explained. "See, there's this neighbourhood where people hand out full sized candy bars, instead of tiny bite sized ones. It's a pretty rich area so this is just what Clyde and I are wearing to get in."

Ronnie Anne folded her arms. "Huh. So how come you didn't tell us about it?"

Lincoln smiled nervously. "Uh, guess it just...slipped my mind. Heh."

Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes in amusement. "Sure it did, Lame-O."

Lincoln put his hands on his hips. "Really? You're gonna call me a lame-o, looking like that?"

Ronnie Anne glanced down at her gum ball machine costume. "Um, excuse me." Ronnie Anne said, pretending to be offended. "Have you seen these costumes? We look like the coolest kids in Royal Woods in these."

"Yeah, we're way cooler than you lame-os." Sid added. At this, the four kids couldn't help but share a giggle. "Oh, I just remembered, Lincoln, can your grandpa make something to get us to the land of the dead?"

Lincoln blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"We wanna see if there's actually a land of the dead so we can bring back Adelaide's pet Froggy." Ronnie Anne explained.

"Are you guys sure that's a good idea?" Clyde asked before staring into space. "I still get nightmares from the last time I went on an adventure with Rick."

Lincoln frowned in thought. It's not as if he'd never been curious about the afterlife. Sure, Rick always said that there wasn't one but considering some of their past adventures, there seemed to be some evidence to the contrary. "I guess it can't hurt to ask."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sid than jogged off in the direction of Lincoln's house with Ronnie Anne then following after her.

Clyde groaned. "This isn't gonna be like last time, right?"

Lincoln gave Clyde a pat on the back. "Don't worry, Clyde. Lori told me that Rick was actually gonna try and make adventures easier for us.

Clyde sighed. "I hope so."

"Looks like it's another Clincoln McLoud adventure then, huh?"

Clyde tapped his chin. "Isn't it more like a Clidcolnnie McLoudiango adventure?"

"That kinda seems like a mouthful."

...

Sid waved at Rick as she and the others entered Rick's garage. "Hi, Mr. Sanchez!"

Rick raised an eyebrow at Sid. "Do I know you?"

"Rick, is there anyway you could take us to the land of the dead?" Lincoln asked.

"We wanna see if we can find my sister's pet, Froggy, and bring him back." Sid added.

Rick stared at the group for a moment before groaning. "Ugh. Should have known one of you would ask about this at some point. Look, hate to break it to you, kids, but there is no afterlife. It's just something that people have made up to cope with the fact that one day, they're going to die." He then pointed at Lincoln and Clyde. "Also, what are you two meant to be? British stereotypes?"

While Clyde, Ronnie Anne and Sid looked disappointed to hear this, Lincoln narrowed his eyes at Rick. "If there's no afterlife, then how do you explain the ghosts from a while back?"

The other three kids stared at Lincoln in shock. "Wait, ghosts are real?!" Ronnie Anne asked.

"The existence of ghosts isn't definitive proof that there's any thing beyond that." Rick argued.

"Well, what about that demon guy?" Lincoln argued back.

"A demon isn't proof that there's an afterlife either. It may be proof that there could be some kind of underworld but that doesn't necessarily mean the underworld is the afterlife."

Lincoln frowned. "So you're not even gonna try and see if there really is one?"

Rick then went silent. He frowned in thought for a moment before eventually sighing. "All right, fine, I'll see if I can find a land of the dead."

Lincoln blinked in surprise at how quickly Rick changed his mind. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, but take those dumb costumes off. I'm not going on an adventure with you all looking like that."

...

Luan sighed upon reaching her destination. After knocking on the door, it was soon answered by Maggie. "You made it." She said, frowning as usual.

Luan smiled. "Haven't missed a meet-up yet, have I?"

Maggie then stepped aside to let Luan come in. "Come in."

Upon entering, Luan looked around the usually quaint looking house at all of the Halloween decorations that had been set up. Ever since Maggie had initially invited Luan for a meet-up back in April, she had found herself coming over regularly. At first she had her doubts about hanging around a bunch of emos but to her surprise, she had found the visits rather enjoyable and therapeutic for her as they gave her the opportunity to just vent about her issues with life. Particularly anything to do with Rick. The people there weren't so bad either. They were rather accepting of her and they were definitely not the judgemental types. Not all of them were as anti-humour as Maggie was either as none of them really minded her telling jokes. She even managed to get a laugh out of them every now and then and considering how stone faced some of them could be, making them laugh felt like quite an achievement for her.

As Luan stared at the snack table, lost in her own thoughts, she then accidentally bumped into another guest. "Oh. Sorry, Lincler."

Lincler shook his head. "N-No, no. My fault, entirely." After the party, Maggie had apparently invited Lincler to come over for their meet-ups as well. Though, considering the issues that Lincler had, Luan could see why. Strange as it was, if Luan were honest, Lincler fit in with the group better than she did considering how much she stuck out among them.

Maggie then approached both of them. "You two good? Everyone's in the back garden. We'll be starting soon so, like, come join us whenever you're ready." Luan flashed Maggie an ok sign as she picked up a couple snacks. Maggie gave Luan a slight smile before going off to join everyone else.

...

Upon exiting the portal along with Rick, Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne and Sid, now out of their Halloween costumes, all gaped in shock at where they were. The 'land of the dead' actually looked quite similar to Royal Woods though something was definitely off. Almost all of the houses there were abandoned, the streets were empty and the sky was covered in smoggy, polluted, yellow clouds that casted an unearthly glow onto the world that made the kids almost feel like this really was the afterlife. Lincoln, however, wasn't buying it. "This is really the land of the dead?"

Rick gave Lincoln an annoyed look. "What, were you hoping for something like out of Coco? This is the afterlife, kids. Take it allll in."

Lincoln narrowed his eyes at Rick. "How do we know this is really the land of the dead?"

Rick rolled his eyes before looking around for a moment. Eventually he noticed a frail old man slowly walking down the street. "You kids see that old guy?"

"Yeah. I think I've seen that guy before." Clyde admitted.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that guy died a few months ago so...there you have it. Why don't you kids go exploring or something?"

Ronnie Anne coughed as she, Clyde and Sid started walking off to look around. "Didn't know the land of the dead would stink this much!"

As soon as they were out of earshot, Lincoln turned to Rick. "Ok, where actually are we?"

Rick groaned. "Ugh, fine. This is actually an alternate universe. I thought that the closest thing to a 'land of the dead' would be a universe where everyone alive in ours was dead but everyone that died over the past year was still alive."

"Wait, so literally everyone that's alive is dead here?"

"Eh, give or take. It's a big universe so I made sure that it was at least the case for Earth. Also to avoid confusion, the versions of us and your siblings are dead in this universe too, in case you were wondering."

Lincoln glared at Rick. "So, why exactly did you take us here?"

Rick put his hands on his hips. "Uh, to be nice? Didn't we have this conversation back in January? Why do you always assume I only ever do things for my benefit?"

Lincoln pinched the bride of his nose in annoyance. "So why not just try and find the actual land of the dead?"

"Because it isn't real Lincoln. But hey, at least your friends think it is now. That'll bring them some comfort."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow at Rick as a thought occurred to him. "Is the reason you don't want to try and find proof of the afterlife because you're scared of what'll happen to you if it's real?"

Rick got angry at this accusation. "Alright, listen you...what the hell?" Rick then noticed something strange down the street, where the Loud house would usually be. Instead of their house, there was what looked like a Galactic Federation facility. What was more strange was that it wasn't being guarded by gromflomites. It was being guarded by zigerions. "What the hell are zigerions doing here?"

"Zigerions?"

"Forget it, Lincoln. Look, just stay out here for a moment, I'm just gonna check this out." Rick then got out his portal gun and used it to get to where his garage would usually be. Upon exiting the portal, it appeared to Rick that the garage had been turned into some kind of laboratory. Upon noticing the cruiser, Rick started to approach it. Unfortunately, the alarms then got triggered as turrets came out of the walls and ceiling, aiming at Rick, who raised his hands in surrender. Two zigerion guards ran in, only to gasp upon seeing Rick.

"What's going on? How did someone get in here?" Prince Nebulon asked in annoyance as he ran in. He then gasped in shock upon noticing Rick. "Rick?! Y-You're alive?!"

"No, I'm a ghost. What do you think, jackass?" Rick snarked.

After getting over the shock of seeing Rick alive, Prince Nebulon put on a confident face. "Aheh, well you've certainly missed a lot while you've been gone. I bet you're curious about what's been happening, huh?"

"Uh sir?" Cynthia said as she came in. "Your doctor's appointment for your erectile dysfunction was-"

"Now is REALLY not the time, Cynthia!" Prince Nebulon snapped at her. He turned back to Rick, putting on a confident face again. "As I was saying, you're probably wondering what's been happening while you've been gone."

"Not really." Rick said plainly.

"Well, I'll tell you anyway. After you had apparently 'died' the world came down with a particularly nasty case of what you humans called the 'black plague'. It almost brought you humans to the brink of extinction. Luckily for this planet, the Galactic Federation came in and fixed everything for you. They provided a cure and they took over all your poorly run governments. As for us, we've been uncovering all your valuable little secrets. Sure, we had to pledge allegiance to the Galactic Federation to get access to all of this but I think it was worth it. So if your plan here was to stop us, well I'm afraid you're too late."

"Yeah, thanks for the exposition. I'll be taking my ship, now." Rick then quickly activated something on his watch that created a shockwave that caused all the turrets to malfunction.

Prince Nebulon looked around in shock before noticing that Rick was getting into his cruiser. "Stop him!"

To Rick's relief, the cruiser still worked as he started it up. The zigerion guards attempted to fire at him though they were too late as the cruiser floated up before blasting forward out of the lab, creating a hole in the wall. Rick then flew over to where the kids were, landing in front of them and opening the door. "Get in!"

"What's going on?" Clyde asked nervously.

"Just get in already!" Rick snapped. The kids all quickly got in with Lincoln sitting at the front before Rick set off again.

"So, this isn't actually the afterlife then, huh?" Sid then asked.

Rick gave Lincoln an annoyed look. "Really? You told them?"

Lincoln folded his arms. "You really thought they wouldn't figure it out? You didn't exactly think this one through that well."

Rick groaned. "All right, fine, whatever. You kids really only wanted to come here for a frog, right?"

Sid sighed. "Well, yeah, but-"

"Then let's just go get it already!" There was a moment of silence before Rick decided to ask. "You uh...you kids wanna listen to some tunes on the way?"

"Oh! Can you play any songs from Twelve is Midnight?" Sid asked.

"K-Pop? Oh, fuck that!"

...

Luan was sat in a circle with everyone else, cross-legged in the back garden. Next to her, Maggie was currently venting about her life problems, getting more and more heated. "So, like, my mom still won't let me dye my hair or get any piercings. She is, like, so controlling! It's my body! Not hers! I don't get why she cares so much about what I look like!" Everyone nodded at her. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Ok. I'm done. Luan, do you wanna go next?"

Luan sighed as she thought about what she wanted to vent about. "Ok...well..." She sighed again. "I'm just sick of my grandpa. Every other week there's always something weird or messed up happening because of him and he never apologises for it. My sister, Lori, said to me recently that he was trying to change but I don't buy it. He is way too full of himself. He's not the kind of person that can just change like that."

Everyone nodded. "Old people are pretty stubborn." Someone remarked.

"I'm just so sick of how messed up my life is." Luan confessed. "Like recently, because of Rick, I found out I was bi in the worst way possible!"

"You're bi?" A guy with a pierced nose and a black hoodie asked.

"Yeah." Luan started to get nervous. "T-That's not a problem, is it?"

The guy quickly waved his hands. "No, no, of course not! We're cool with that. M-Maggie likes girls too."

"Greg!" Maggie snapped.

"Wait, you really like girls too?" Luan asked, surprised to hear that.

Maggie turned to Luan, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Y-Yeah..."

"Oh..."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before it was eventually broken by Lincler clearing his throat. "Is it...my turn now?"

"Oh, yeah, go ahead Lincler." Luan said rather quickly.

Lincler sighed. "As you all know, I was created by Rick, using the DNA of Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler. I was intended to be a morally neutral superleader but instead, I find myself torn between two different ideals. Now, I don't know what to do with myself. Neutrality is something that I have found difficult."

Everyone nodded. "Dude, you shouldn't be what your dad wants you to be. You should just be yourself." Someone remarked.

"Yeah, instead of being like Lincoln or Hitler, you should just do what feels right to you." A blonde girl wearing a black beanie added.

Lincler held his chin in thought. "Well...I have always had a unexplainable fear of cancer. Maybe I should work for charity!"

"That's a great idea!" Luan said as everyone clapped for Lincler. She had to admit, some of these meet-ups could be pretty inspirational.

...

Sid shook her head as she left her old, abandoned house. "No sign of Froggy in there."

"Got any others ideas about where he could be?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Sid thought for a moment. "Do you think my family, well this version of my family, died after we moved out.

"It's entirely possible." Rick stated.

"So, does that mean Froggy's back in Royal Woods?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Sid shook her head. "Royal Woods wasn't our first choice, remember? Our first choice was..."

"Great Lakes..." Ronnie Anne said in realisation as she and Sid shared unsure looks.

...

Upon arriving in Great Lakes City, the kids saw that the city was in much better shape than Royal Woods was and looked much more populated. Though it also looked like the Galactic Federation had a large influence here as Rick's cruiser wasn't the only space ship flying around the city. Rick eventually landed next to a seemingly abandoned apartment building. The same one that the Casagrandes used to live at. Upon getting out the cruiser, Ronnie Anne stared up at the building with a look of melancholy on her face. "So, this was where your family used to live, huh?" Lincoln asked.

Ronnie Anne sighed as she remembered the times she used to visit Great Lakes. "It was but...it looked a lot better than this."

The inside of the building was barren with little sign that anyone else lived here. As they looked around, Ronnie Anne and Sid couldn't help but wonder what their lives would have been like if the Galactic Federation didn't invade. What it would've been like if they did end up moving to Great Lakes. Would they have been happy here? Would they have preferred living here over Royal Woods? "Doesn't really seem like there's anyone living here." Clyde remarked.

Sid then shouted. "Froggy!" There didn't seem to be any response at first until Sid heard a faint ribbit coming from upstairs. She gasped. "Froggy?" Sid then ran upstairs to the next floor before shouting again. "Froggy!" She heard another ribbit coming from one of the rooms. She entered one and looked around. "Froggy?" Eventually, she gasped again upon noticing Froggy sat on an old sofa. "Froggy! There you are!"

The rest of the group eventually caught up with Sid. "Oh good, you found the frog." Rick said as he went over to pick up the frog. "Ok, well, we've got the frog. This universe sucks. So what do you say we head home?" He asked as he got out his portal gun.

Unbeknownst to the group, they were currently being spied on from the roof of a nearby building. Poncho, now wearing Galactic Federation uniform, was spying at the group through his sniper rifle. "Impossible! How can he still be alive? I killed him myself!"

"I told you." Prince Nebulon said smugly through Poncho's earpiece. "Remember what the President said. He wants Rick back alive. We may have most of his secrets but we still don't know how he makes those portal guns."

"Understood." Poncho said as he took aim at Rick's neck before firing.

"Gack!" Rick choked out upon getting hit with the tranquilliser dart before falling unconscious. As he fell, he dropped his portal gun next to Ronnie Anne's feet. The four kids gasped before the wall was suddenly blown up.

Winged gromflomites then flew in along with Poncho, using a jetpack. "Get them." He ordered.

"Run!" Lincoln then shouted.

Ronnie Anne quickly picked up Rick's portal gun before the four kids attempted to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Lincoln and Clyde weren't quick enough as they yelped upon getting caught by the gromflomites before making it out of the room.

"We're dead! We're dead! We are so dead!" Sid panicked as she Ronnie Anne ran down the stairs. As they ran, a part of the wall opened up as two hands suddenly grabbed Ronnie Anne and Sid before pulling them in with the wall closing behind them.

...

Upon hearing someone knocking on his door, Mr. Goldenfold answered it to see Lana dressed as Abraham Lincoln and Lola dressed as the Statue of Liberty. "Trick or treat!" They both said, holding up their bags.

"Aw, well ain't you two adorable!" Mr. Goldenfold gushed before giving each of them two pieces of candy.

After closing the door, someone else immediately knocked on it. Mr. Goldenfold answered it to see Lana dressed as a pirate and Lola dressed as a mermaid. "Trick or treat!"

"Aw, well ain't you two just precious!" Mr. Goldenfold gushed before giving each of them two pieces of candy.

After closing the door again, there was another knock. He opened it to see the twins dressed as salt and pepper shakers. "Trick or treat!"

"Aw-hey, wait, ain't I seen you two before?" Mr. Goldenfold asked, giving them a suspicious look.

"No." They both replied.

Mr. Goldenfold stared at them for a moment before shrugging. "Alright then." He then gave each of them two pieces of candy again before closing the door.

Lana and Lola went back over to Lisa, giving her smug looks. "And that is how it's done. One house, six pieces of candy." Lana bragged, sharing a high five with Lola.

Lisa then hopped over to the door to trick or treat. "Trick or treat!" She said once Mr. Goldenfold answered the door.

Mr. Goldenfold chuckled as he got out a piece of candy. "Well, ain't you a funny kangaroo?"

"And a baby roo." Lisa said before a giggling Lily popped up from Lisa's pouch.

Mr. Goldenfold stared at Lily in amazement over how adorable she was. "Oh mah gawd..." He then gave Lisa every piece of candy from his bowl.

"Thank you!" Lisa said before hopping back over to the twins. She gave them both a smug look while their mouths gaped open in shock at Lisa. "Ha. One house, eighty-seven pieces of candy."

The three then made their way to the next house. However, upon turning a corner, they stared in horror as the next street was a complete mess. Jack-o-lanterns were smashed, toilet paper covered the trees and houses and candy wrappers were all over the ground. "What the heck happened here?" Lola asked.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" The three quickly turned around to see two thuggish looking, overweight middle schoolers. One of them had black hair that covered his eyes and wore a burgundy jacket. The other had spiky brown hair, missed a front tooth and wore a dark khaki t-shirt. "Looks like these twerps have got something for us, eh Hank?" The spiky haired boy taunted. Hank chuckled in response.

Lana glanced down at her bag full of candy before scowling at the two boys. "Hey, this is our candy!"

"Not anymore it's not!" Hank taunted before snatching the bag from Lana.

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!" Lana shouted before attempting to take back her bag. "Ah!" Hank then socked her in the eye in response.

"LANA!" Lola cried out.

The other boy then approached both Lola and Lisa. He had a sinister grin on his face as he punched his palm threateningly. "You better hand those bags over nice and easy."

Lola and Lisa exchanged nervous glances before handing their candy bags over to the boy. "Nice one, Hawk!" Hank complimented. The two then laughed as they left the sisters. Once they were gone, Lola and Lisa went over to try and comfort a crying Lana.

...

Once again, Rick found himself floating through the hallways of the Galactic Federation President's residency, strapped to a floating, black panel. He entered the President's office, only this time, both Poncho and Prince Nebulon were at each of his sides. "Rick." The President greeted. "Wasn't expecting to see you ever again."

"Yeah and I was hoping I'd never see you again." Rick snarked.

Poncho then got out a glass container with Froggy inside of it. "We found him with this, Mr. President."

The President looked at the frog in disgust. "Ergh! What is that thing?"

"It's a frog, sir."

"Is it deadly?"

"No, sir. It used to be a rather common pet before it became endangered."

"Aren't most of the animals on this planet endangered?" Prince Nebulon asked.

"We're going off topic." The President turned back to Rick. "Now, what about this creature is so important to you?"

"I was getting it for my grandson's girlfriend's friend's sister." Rick replied.

The President stared at Rick for a moment before chuckling. "Y-You can't seriously expect us to believe a ridiculous story like that, right?"

"Yeah well, believe this. I'm actually an alternate version of this world's Rick from a universe where everyone that's alive now is actually dead. This universe's Rick must have been an idiot because in my universe, you, those two idiots and the rest of your Galactic Federation are all dead."

Everyone in the room seemed disturbed to hear about this. "W-What?" The President stammered.

"Yeah, it wasn't so hard either, considering your only access to the Federation's financial system was in your prison. All I had to do was make your currency worthless and the Federation was history!"

"That's ridiculous! What kind of idiot would have only one place where we could access our financial system? And in a prison no less?"

Rick raised an eyebrow. "Uh...you."

The President scowled at Rick. "I've heard enough. Cornvelius Daniel." Cornvelius Daniel stepped forward. "Do whatever you can to get his portal gun formula. Also, you'll be working with Rick here now."

Cornvelius Daniel gave the President a confused look. "Sir?"

"I don't trust him in our prison." The President explained.

"This shit again? Ugh!" Rick groaned as he floated out of the office along with Cornvelius Daniel.

The President then glanced back at Froggy. "Poncho, you can hold onto this for now."

Poncho picked up the container. "Sir, I should also inform you that Rick had four other children with them. We captured two of them but the other two escaped."

The President's eyes widened. "What? This isn't good. Those children may be part of some kind of plan that Rick has. We may need to call the Vindicators for this one."

"Um, I wouldn't really bother with that." Prince Nebulon said.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear? The Vindicators broke up after Supernova, Crocubot and Noob-Noob all died in battle."

The President groaned. "Wonderful. Well, I know at least one of the Vindicators will still listen to me." He then picked up his phone.

...

Luan went back inside to grab a couple snacks and also because she felt like having a little bit of a break. "Hey."

Luan turned to see Maggie had followed her inside. "Hey."

There was another awkward silence before Maggie sighed. "Do you, like, wanna go for a walk."

This caught Luan off guard. "Huh?"

Maggie looked away, folding her arms. "You don't have to if you don't want. I was just asking."

Luan raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well, I guess I could use a walk."

...

The two walked down the street, simply staring at all the decorated houses. Maggie let out a melancholic sigh. "Sometimes I miss going out trick or treating."

Luan chuckled. "Yeah, me too." Luan then frowned. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Maggie shrugged. "Shoot."

"Why do you like having me around? Not that I don't mind. It's just that I kinda stick out like a sore thumb around you guys."

Maggie was silent for a moment before speaking. "I could ask the same to you. Why do you like hanging around us? We're just a bunch of outcasts that banded together because the world seems to be against us. None of us really have anyone else."

Luan sighed as she thought about her own poor social life. "I guess we're not that different then."

"I like having you around because...well..." Maggie started to look uncomfortable. "Ok, don't tell any of my friends this but you know that most of them can be pretty mopey, right? I just think it's nice to hang around someone who's more positive for once."

Luan was surprised to hear that from Maggie. She then smirked at her. "So, what you're saying is that you secretly like my jokes."

Maggie frowned. "I wouldn't go that far."

Luan gave her a nudge. "Ah, come on. Admit it. You LOVE them!"

Maggie rolled her eyes in amusement. "I don't hate them if that, like, makes you feel any better."

Luan chuckled in response. Secretly, Luan had made it a personal mission of hers to try and get any kind of laugh out of Maggie. With how much of a hard shell she was to crack, making her laugh would be quite an achievement for her. Both of them paused as they realised something was wrong. "What the heck?" Luan exclaimed upon noticing how messy her street was. She looked over at her house to see Lucy closing up the maze along with the others while Leni was trying to comfort a crying Lana along with Lola. After running up to the house, along with Maggie following behind, she also noticed that Lana had a black eye. "What happened here?" She asked Lucy.

"Nobody showed up. All my work for nothing. Not a single scream. Sigh." Lucy explained.

"And that's because two big stinkers came along and ruined everything!" Lola ranted. "They TP'd all the trees, smashed all the Jack-O-Lanterns and stole everybody's candy!"

Lisa then opened the front door. "And with the amount of candy I had, we're talking grand larceny."

"And the worst part is, they attacked Lana!" Lola finished.

Maggie frowned as she had a suspicion of who those two guys could be. "What exactly did they look like?"

"Uh, they were both really big and fat!" Lola explained. "One of them had hair like Lucy's and the other guy was missing a tooth."

Maggie scowled. "Ugh, that's got to be Hank and Hawk."

"You know them?" Lori asked.

"They're only two of the biggest jerks I've ever had the displeasure of knowing." Maggie explained.

Lori frowned. "Well do you have any idea where they are now? Because I'd like to give them a piece of my mind!" Luan then put a hand on Lori's shoulder. "Luan?"

Her eyes then widened once she saw the sinister grin on Luan's face. It was one that made even Maggie flinch upon noticing it. "I have a better idea." Luan turned to Maggie. "Do you know if these guys are afraid of anything?"

"Um...I remember them being afraid of blood once." Maggie said, somewhat worried.

"Excellent. Also, do you have Lincler's number?"

...

"What the?!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed after getting pulled behind the wall into complete darkness.

"Shh!" Ronnie Anne and Sid heard from their rescuers. They stayed silent as they heard wings flapping by outside.

Once it was silent, one of the rescuers turned on their phone to light up the area a bit. The phone belonged to a tall girl who had blonde hair that covered part of her right eye. She wore a blue hoodie with the hood up. There were two boys with her as well. One was an African-American boy wearing a black and white checked backwards baseball cap and a red hoodie. The other was a short boy, with rugged brown hair and thick black eyebrows. He wore a blue and white striped sleeveless shirt. "Who are you guys?" Sid asked.

"I'm Nikki." The tall girl said. "This is Casey" she gestured to the boy with the red hoodie "and Sameer." She gestured to the short boy. "Follow us."

Ronnie Anne and Sid turned their phones on so they could see where they were going as they followed the trio down what appeared to be a long flight of stairs. Eventually, they reached what appeared to be a dead end before Nikki pushed aside a part of the wall. After the five went through it, Ronnie Anne and Sid gaped as they looked at what seemed to be an underground society. It didn't look like the most appealing place to live as there was rubble everywhere though there appeared to be quite a few people there, including an overweight, elderly man with a very thin black moustache, an asian man wearing a black vest who was currently trying to comfort his dog and a plus-sized Hispanic teenage girl with fluffy brown hair.

Nikki then turned to Ronnie Anne and Sid. "So, who are you guys?"

"Oh! I'm Ronnie Anne. This is Sid." Ronnie Anne said, gesturing to Sid.

Nikki smiled, putting her hands in her front hoodie pocket. "Cool. You guys new around here? I don't think I've seen you guys around Great Lakes before?"

"We're uh...we're from uptown." Ronnie Anne lied.

Sid raised an eyebrow at Ronnie Anne. "What are you talking about? We're from Royal Woods."

"Siiiiid!" Ronnie Anne whined, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Royal Woods? Dang, didn't think there was anyone that still lived there." Casey remarked.

"What's everyone doing down here anyway?" Sid asked.

"Oh, this is just where we live." Nikki replied. "We all kinda thought the Galactic Federation was terrible so we all moved down here."

Ronnie Anne folded her arms. "Yeah, I know what that's like."

Sid looked around. "This doesn't look like the easiest place to live in."

Sameer shrugged. "Everyone's been having a hard time ever since the black plague hit." He then sighed, looking downcast. "Poor Laird."

"How do you guys get food down here?" Sid asked.

"We get a little help from someone on the outside." Nikki explained.

"Hey guys! I'm back." The group then heard someone say. Ronnie Anne and Sid looked over to where, to their surprise, an armoured gromflomite had come in from somewhere, carrying a sack full of food.

Krombopulos Michael put down the sack. "I've brought more of that human food you guys seem to like! Who here wants a piece of dead cow?" He then noticed Ronnie Anne and Sid, who had then come up to him. "Oh hey, you guys new around here?"

Nikki waved at him. "Hey, Krombopulos Michael. This is Ronnie Anne and Sid."

"Oh, well nice to meet ya!" Krombopulos Michael greeted pleasantly.

Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow at Krombopulos Michael. "Aren't you one of the aliens that work for the Galactic Federation?"

Krombopulos Michael shook his head. "Oh heck no! I can't stand the Federation! Here, let me explain. See, I used to be an assassin." Ronnie Anne and Sid couldn't help but be worried upon hearing this. "I used to have no code of ethics whatsoever. I would kill literally anything I was paid to. That was until..." He sniffled. "My wife passed away." He cheered back up. "That taught me an important lesson about valuing life. Course, I love killing way too much to give that up so I decided to have a new code of ethics. I only kill people that deserve it. Like the Galactic Federation. That's why I moved to Earth since this is where the President of Galactic Federation lives now. Nowadays, I spend my time helping the community here in Great Lakes and killing any Galactic Federation soldier I can find."

"Wait, the President of the Galactic Federation lives on Earth?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Krombopulos Michael nodded. "Yep. Didn't you know? He moved to Earth to send a message to the rest of the galaxy that not even Rick Sanchez could stop him." He then noticed what Ronnie Anne was holding. "Speaking of Rick, isn't that one of his portal guns?"

"Huh?" Ronnie Anne's eyes then widened. "Oh crud! I forgot! Lincoln, Clyde and Rick are in trouble!"

This caught Krombopulos Michael off guard. "Rick's alive?!"

"They were captured by the Galactic Federation!" Ronnie Anne explained.

Krombopulos Michael put a claw to his chin. "Hmm. I doubt that Rick would have been sent to prison yet. The President would probably want to see Rick himself. Trying to get to the President has always been risky but with that portal gun, it should be a cinch!"

Suddenly, the roof was then blown up as Vance Maximus floated down into the underground. "Nobody panic. I'm not here for all of you." He assured everyone as they cowered in fear from him. "See, I've received word from the Federation that there's a couple kids here that Rick Sanchez brainwashed into being his slaves. They're considered extremely dangerous so if anyone knows where they are or could bring them forward, we'd really appreciate it."

Ronnie Anne, Sid, Nikki, Casey, Sameer and Krombopulos Michael were all hiding from Vance behind some rubble. "Give me the portal gun." Krombopulos Michael ordered. "We need to get out of here now."

As Ronnie Anne handed the portal gun to Krombopulos Michael, Nikki said. "I guess this is goodbye then."

"It was cool meeting you guys." Sameer added. "We don't get to see new people very often."

As Krombopulos Michael fired a portal, Ronnie Anne looked back at the trio one final time. "I guess we'll see you guys then." As they watched the trio wave them off, both Ronnie Anne and Sid couldn't hell but be filled with a sense of melancholy again.

...

Thanks to Maggie's directions, Luan eventually found Hank and Hawk's secret treehouse in the middle of the woods. She grinned as got out a stink bomb from one of her pockets and threw it into the treehouse. It exploded, creating a green gas cloud. Both Hank and Hawk could be heard coughing before they both stuck their heads out of their open window. "Hey jerks!" Luan taunted. "Thought that might make you smell a little better!"

Hank and Hawk growled in anger at Luan before Hawk turned to Hank. "Let's get her!"

The two then leaped out of their treehouse before giving chase to Luan, who giggled as she ran away from them. They chased her out of the woods and into the streets before Hawk suddenly stopped, clenching his stomach. "Ugh, stomach cramps!"

Hank paused as well. "Aw, man! If you get a cramp, I'll get a cramp."

"Aw, can't keep up?" Luan taunted. "That's what happens when you eat too much candy!"

Hank and Hawk growled in anger before chasing after Luan again. She eventually led them all the way to the corn maze as they followed her inside it. "She's ours now!" Hank stated. Little did they know that they had already passed Luan, who giggled to herself as she hid behind some corn plants.

As the two looked around the maze, Hawk started to get a little nervous. "It's really dark in here."

"Man up, bro!" Hank snapped. Suddenly, the lights went out. "What's that?"

Outside of the maze, Luna had started playing the organ while Hank and Hawk looked around nervously. She then began to sing.

When darkness falls on the house of Loud

Around every turn, new terror abounds

You don't want to lose your head! Ha ha ha!

Hank and Hawk yelped as they started running.

You can run, but you can't hide

They know that you taste better alive

As they ran, Lincler, now dressed up as Frankenstein's monster, jumped out from the maze, roaring at them, causing them to scream in fear and run in the opposite direction.

I don't think that they've been fed

In a long, long time

They then came across Lisa and Lily, now acting rabid as they hissed at them.

Every corner, every floor

Watch out, they ain't herbivores

Ghastly ghouls out for blood

Sorry, bud

You got tricked

You got tricked

You got punked and pranked with a spooky twist

Before you wet your pants, better get out quick

Tricked, tricked, tricked

You got...tricked

Hank and Hawk then came across Lori, who appeared to be feeding on Rita before she hissed at them while Rita moaned like a zombie.

Beware of fangs and bloody fur

Maggie then came out, dressed as a serial killer with a hockey mask as she revved up her chainsaw. Hank and Hawk once again ran away in fear.

A Loud House chainsaw massacre

There's no chance that you'll get out

Hank and Hawk then came across Lana and Lola. Lola was lying in a coffin while Lana was hanging from a noose. Lana appeared to be dead until she suddenly screamed at them, causing them to scream again and run off.

Ghosts writing your eulogy

They then saw a headless Leni stumble towards them as her apparently missing head was rolling across the floor. Hank and Hawk hugged each other before letting out a loud scream. One that almost all of the neighbourhood heard.

Heads are rolling literally

So, who needs their mommy now?

Spilling guts on the floor

Clean up on aisle four

Why you running off so soon?

Sorry dude

You got tricked

You got tricked

You got punked and pranked with a spooky twist

Before you wet your pants, better get out quick

Tricked, tricked, tricked

You got...tricked

Eventually, the two ran into Lucy next to the exit, who was now holding a scythe. "The crimes you have committed this night shan't go unpunished." Lucy's voice echoed out. "You reap what you sow." Hank and Hawk then yelped as Lucy swung her scythe at them.

Instead of taking off their heads though, she slashed a rope which caused a bucket of fake blood to fall onto them. "Blood!" Hank screamed.

"I'm gonna puke!" Hawk groaned.

"If you're gonna puke, I'm gonna puke!" The two then screamed as they ran out of the maze and past Luan, who had a satisfied smirk on her face.

You got...tricked

Luan then noticed Maggie leave the maze after taking her mask off. To Luan's surprise, she was actually laughing. "Ok! That...was wicked!"

Luan laughed along with her, feeling a sense of pride upon finally getting a laugh out of Maggie. "You're cute when you laugh." She then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. Where did that come from, she asked herself. She looked over at Maggie, who's face had gone red.

There was an awkward silence before it was once again broken up by Lincler, who had also just left the maze. "Um...is this a bad time?"

Maggie turned to Lincler and quickly shook her head. "No, no! I just remembered. Everyone at home is, like, probably wondering where I went. Sorry, but I need to go."

Luan, who couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed, watched as Maggie suddenly ran off. She then noticed Luna smirking at her. "What?"

"Nothing." Luna replied in a teasing tone.

The rest of the family then left the maze, all cheering. Lucy approached Luan. "Thank you for bringing them here, Luan. You totally made my Halloween. I've never been happier." Lucy showed no emotion whatsoever.

Luan put an arm around her sister. "Ah, don't mention it. Hey, maybe next year, your maze will have more than two customers."

Rita then noticed something. "Looks like we won't have to wait till next year."

Lucy looked to see a queue of kids had lined up for her maze. A small smile appeared on Lucy's face as she put her hood up and picked up her megaphone. "Places, everyone."

...

Ronnie Anne, Sid and Krombopulos Michael were a distance away from the Galactic Federation President's residency. "So, that's where the Galactic Federation President lives?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Dang! It's like an edgier version of the white house." Sid quipped.

Next to them, Krombopulos Michael was kneeling down, doing some kind of ritual. He then got out a heart shaped locket with a picture of his wife in it before sighing. He put the locket away as he got up. "Welp. Time to go killing again." He handed both Ronnie Anne and Sid laser guns. "If you see any guards, don't hesitate to fire at them." Ronnie Anne and Sid suddenly got very worried as Krombopulos Michael fired a portal. They apprehensively followed him into the portal which led into a hallway inside the building.

The hallway was almost empty apart from one lone guard, who fortunately, had their back to them. Krombopulos Michael quickly went up to him before putting his arms around the guard and snapping his neck, shocking Ronnie Anne and Sid. "You kids stay close to me, alright?" Krombopulos Michael whispered to them. Ronnie Anne and Sid exchanged nervous glances.

...

Lincoln and Clyde were in some kind of cell with bars made from lasers. While Clyde was pacing back and forth, Lincoln was lying in a relaxed position on the bed. "This is it. We are so dead!" Clyde muttered to himself. He then turned to Lincoln, giving him an annoyed look. "Why aren't you more worried. Who knows what these guys might do to us. We could die here!"

Lincoln shrugged. "I doubt it. Usually Rick has some kind of plan to get us out of these situations. He'll probably be here to rescue us soon."

"You think so?" Clyde asked. "What's happening to Rick now anyway?"

...

Cornvelius Daniel had an uncomfortable look on his face. Both he and Rick were at Jean Juan's French-Mex Buffet though the entire restaurant was full of Fenton the Feel-Better Fox toys who were all singing and dancing.

Cheer up, baby, don't you cry

No more tears, it's cheer up time

Laugh with me and we will be

Happy happy happy

"Well, this is concerning." Cornvelius Daniel remarked. Rick gave no response as he simply sat there, folding his arms in silence.

...

As Lincoln and Clyde wondered what Rick was doing, the lights in the room suddenly went out. The two could hear grunting and what sounded like a struggle before the lights went back on. They then saw that the guards were dead while Ronnie Anne, Sid and Krombopulos Michael were in the room.

"Ronnie Anne! Sid!" Clyde cried out, happy to see them.

"Krombopulos Michael?" Lincoln asked in confusion.

"You know me?" Krombopulos Michael asked as he turned off the lasers, freeing them from the cell

"I uh...heard about you from Grandpa Rick." Lincoln lied.

Krombopulos Michael then handed both Lincoln and Clyde laser guns. "Well stick with me, kids, I'm about to rescue your grandpa."

...

The group followed Krombopulos Michael before he eventually stopped in front of one of the rooms. "This must be where they're keeping Rick."

"Hey!"

Krombopulos Michael turned to see a group of gromflomites heading towards them. He then gave the portal gun over to Lincoln. "You guys go in and save Rick. I'll deal with the guards."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Sid asked.

"I'll be fine. Just go!" Krombopulos Michael said before shoving the four into the brainalyzer room.

Luckily for them, there seemed to be only one guard in the room. "Hey, what are you doing in here? Gack!"

Lincoln quickly shot the gromflomite in the head, causing Clyde, Ronnie Anne and Sid to stare at Lincoln in shock. "What?"

"You just killed that guy!" Clyde exclaimed.

"He was going to kill us first!" Lincoln argued. "Come on, let's help Rick." He then went over to the computer to turn off the brainalyzer.

Once Lincoln turned it off, the other three went over to Rick to unstrap him from the table. He slowly regained consciousness. "Ugh. Huh? Kids? Oh wow, this is embarrassing."

Cornvelius Daniel also groaned as he regained consciousness. He then stood up upon realising what was happening. "Hey, what are you-" He paused upon seeing Lincoln aim his gun at him. He put his hands up to surrender. "Ok, well, I'll just leave then." He slowly backed away from Lincoln before leaving the room.

Rick got up from the table before doing some stretches. "Hoo boy, this adventure really turned into a shit show, huh?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Guess it's just business as usual." He said somewhat bitterly. "So much for wanting to change."

Before Rick could make a retort, they then heard another voice. "That's enough." They looked to see that Poncho had entered the room and was now aiming his gun at them. "If I were any of you, I wouldn't move."

He then slowly approached the person closest to him, Ronnie Anne. She wasn't sure if it was on instinct but once he got close enough, she threw a punch at the large man. To her surprise, she had punched him with enough force to send him flying towards the wall. He dropped down to the floor, groaning while Ronnie Anne stared at her fist in shock. "What the..."

Something then dropped out of Poncho's backpack. Sid gasped upon seeing that it was the container with Froggy in it. "Froggy!" Sid went over to pick it up.

"Huh. Well ain't that lucky." Rick remarked after taking the portal gun back from Lincoln and firing a portal. "Now, come on, let's get the fuck out of here! I'm sick of this universe!

...

Upon exiting the portal into Rick's garage, everyone let out a sigh of relief, thankful that their ordeal was over with. "Finally. Home, sweet home!" Clyde remarked.

Lincoln looked over to see Ronnie Anne looking downcast. "What's wrong, Ronnie Anne?"

Ronnie Anne sighed. "I was just wondering. What if the Galactic Federation never came to Earth. If me and Sid had ended up living in Great Lakes, would it have been so bad? Maybe we could've been friends with those guys we met."

"Kid, if you want my advice, it's don't think about it." Rick said as he took the container from Sid to let out Froggy. "There's no point of thinking of what ifs because every what if already exists. Sure, you could have moved there and lived a happy life. You could've also been stabbed on your first day there. There's a reality for every possibility. There's even realities out there where we've done horrible, sick, depraved things we couldn't ever imagine ourselves doing." The four kids couldn't help but shudder at this. "So like I said, don't think about it. Focus on the reality you have because, you know, it could always be worse."

Sid sighed as she took back Froggy. "He does have a point."

"Yeah..." Ronnie Anne's eyes then widened as she looked at the time on her phone. "Oh crud! Bobby's probably set up the haunted mercado by now." She turned to Lincoln and Clyde. "You guys wanna join us?"

Lincoln smiled. "Sure. That sounds fun." Clyde nodded in agreement.

...

Upon reaching the apartment, the four noticed a crowd was gathered around the bodega and could hear some Halloween themed dance music playing from it. The four squeezed through the crowd until they saw Bobby, Carl, both dressed up as vampires, and CJ, dressed as a pirate vampire, doing the vampire boogie for the crowd. While Lincoln and Clyde were content to watch, Ronnie Anne and Sid soon spotted Adelaide in the crowd, dressed as a fairy. Ronnie Anne and Sid went over to her. "Hey, Adelaide!" Sid called out. Adelaide turned to them once they reached her. "Look what I've got."

Froggy then hopped out of Sid's hands and into Adelaide's, who gave the frog a confused look. "Huh?"

"It's-" Ronnie Anne started before being interrupted by Sid.

"A new frog!"

"Huh? But what about Froggy? Isn't he going to come back?" Adelaide asked.

"When Ronnie Anne said that, she didn't mean literally." Sid then gave Ronnie Anne a slight nudge to continue.

"Uh, I may have given you the wrong idea about what Día le los Muertos was actually about. See, it's actually about honouring our loved ones. We think about the people we've lost and try and keep their memories alive so that even if we don't see them, it'd still feel like they're with us. At least in our hearts." Ronnie Anne explained.

"We knew you'd be upset once you found out so that's why we went out and bought a new frog for you." Sid explained, giving Adelaide an apologetic smile.

Adelaide then looked at her new frog. Once it croaked at her, she started smiling. She then gave her sister a hug. "Thanks, sis!"

After Adelaide let Sid go, she and Ronnie Anne made their way back over to Lincoln and Clyde. "How come you didn't tell her the truth?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"I didn't want to give her the idea that dead people could come back to life." Sid explained. "After what we just went through, I think stuff like that could really mess her up."

Ronnie Anne nodded. "Yeah. Good point."