Rainbow Brite was beating the devil over the head with her star wand. Rover seemed to be enjoying the confrontation immensely, but it was hard to say for sure since he'd been barking nearly nonstop all evening. Tigger seemed to have lost his bounce, though, and Carlos gave him a worried look.

"Ricki?" He tugged on one of Tigger's ears gently as the fur-clad child trudged along next to him. "You tired?"

Tigger nodded, his head drooping and his tail dragging behind him on the sidewalk.

Carlos exchanged glances with Aura. They were almost back to the dojo, but Ricki didn't look like he was going to make it. "Hey Rick," Carlos said, tugging on Tigger's ear again. "Want to be carried?"

Tigger stopped where he was and dropped his plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin on the ground. His eyes peeked out from under a furry orange and black hood as he held his arms up hopefully.

Carlos shook his head in amusement. "Sorry, kiddo; you're too big for that. You're going to have to ride piggyback." He knelt down, letting Ricki wrap short arms around his neck before sliding his hands under the kid's legs and standing up again. "Aura, can you grab his pumpkin? Don't want to lose your candy," he added over his shoulder, and he felt Tigger shake his head vehemently.

"Perhaps I should take everyone's candy," Aura suggested as she picked up Tigger's abandoned pumpkin. She gave Rainbow Brite a pointed look, and the girl immediately protested.

"But Aura! He took my snickers!"

"Did not!" the devil retorted. "It was mine! That lady gave it to me, not you!"

"She would have given it to me if you hadn't been such a candy hog," Rainbow Brite said primly. "I don't see why boys get to be mean and rude and I don't get any candy just because I'm a *girl*."

"You seem to have quite a lot of candy," Aura said reasonably, giving the girl's trick-or-treating pumpkin a token glance.

"But I wanted another snickers!" Rainbow Brite complained. She put on an exaggerated pout, peering at Aura sideways to gauge the effectiveness of her expression.

"I'll trade you my snickers for one of your dum-dums," the devil offered unexpectedly.

Rainbow Brite frowned. She didn't look convinced that this was a fair deal, but finally she asked, "Which one?"

"What kinds do you have?" The devil tried to peer into her pumpkin and she hit him with her wand again.

"*I'll* look," she insisted, putting a hand over the top of her pumpkin to shield it from his view.

"Woof!" Rover shouted, trotting back down the street to bark loudly at them before turning back the way he'd come. "Woof woof!"

"Don't get too far ahead of us," Carlos called after him, bouncing Ricki a little higher on his back.

"Woof!" Rover answered, pausing to butt his head against a fire hydrant.

Carlos exchanged amused glances with Aura. The entire team--with the exception of Saryn and Kerone, who lately seemed to be off on League business more than they were home--had volunteered to help out with the dojo's Halloween party. He and Aura had signed up as trick-or-treat supervisors, and they had each been assigned two kids from the dojo's regular attendance roll to escort around the neighborhood.

"I shall have to see one of these 'dogs' some time," Aura remarked, as they turned into the dojo parking lot. "I would be interested to know whether Kevin's portrayal is an accurate one."

"Well, Rainbow Brite doesn't usually hit people," Carlos said wryly, and the girl in blue paused midswing to shoot a guilty look in their direction. "If that tells you anything."

"Mama has a dog," Ricki mumbled.

"That's right," Carlos agreed, shrugging his burden higher again. "Rick could bring his dog to the dojo and you could play with him while Rick has his lesson." He grinned at her to show he was joking, but Ricki made a sound of solemn agreement.

"Woof!" Rover yelled from underneath the portico. "Rrr, woof!"

"I'm guessing that means 'hurry up'." Carlos lengthened his stride while simultaneously giving Rainbow Brite and the devil what he hoped was a stern look. "You two need to behave at the party, remember."

"I behave," the devil muttered around a dum-dum stick. "She's the one who gets us into trouble."

"Do not!" his twin contested hotly.

"Do so!"

Carlos just shook his head, stopping a few steps back from the door so that Aura could open it. Rover scrambled through as soon as the door was open, and the twins weren't far behind. Aura held the door patiently, and he smiled at her as he headed inside with Ricki.

"Thanks," he said over his shoulder. Anything else he might have added was overwhelmed by the barely restrained chaos of clamoring, sugar-happy kids and their harried--and, in many cases, caffeinated--parents.

Ashley must have been watching for them, for she rescued them almost as soon as they stepped through the door. "Hey guys, you're just in time for the costume parade! Natasha, Natan, Kevin--do you see that giant pumpkin over there? Run over to her and ask for a number, okay?"

"Woof!" Kevin shouted as he took off after the twins.

Ashley rolled her eyes at Carlos. "You're not supposed to let them eat their candy until later, you know."

"We didn't," he protested. "They're not on a sugar high, I swear; they're just naturally like that!"

Ashley laughed at his indignation. "I'm just giving you a hard time. Believe me, everyone else is at least as wired, so they'll blend right in. Hi, Ricki," she added, waving at the boy still clinging to Carlos. "Are you going to be in the parade?"

"Not with me he isn't," Carlos teased, making a grand show of effort as he set Ricki down. "I'm exhausted!"

Ricki giggled a little at that, ducking his head. But he looked considerably more bouncy than he had out on the street, and Carlos couldn't help wondering if he'd been had. The tired kid who had dragged along behind them had practically vanished, replaced by a wriggling and suddenly energetic four-year-old.

"I will go with him," Aura offered. She held out her hand to Ricki in invitation. "Shall we go get your number?"

He nodded immediately, taking her hand and towing her toward the pumpkin on the other side of the room. Aura had no choice but to follow, and Carlos waved after her as she let the boy lead her away.

"How's she doing?" Ashley asked quietly, watching the two of them maneuver around parents and children alike as they wound through the activity areas.

"Great," Carlos said, flashing her a grin. "I think she's having a good time. And the kids love her."

Ashley shook her head, though whether in amusement or wonder he couldn't tell. "I have to admit, when you first suggested this I thought you were crazy. But it's working... she's just another person in a costume."

"So to speak," Carlos agreed, still grinning. "And while we're on the subject of costumes..." He gave her an appraising look that bordered on a leer and whistled. He wouldn't have done it to anyone except his best friend, but sure enough Ashley just laughed.

"You think this is bad," she said with a grin, indicating to her midriff-baring flower child costume. "You should see Cassie."

"Do I want to?" He scanned the crowd anyway, looking for the flamboyant Asian girl.

"Saryn would," Ashley said smugly. "I hope someone's taking pictures, because he's going to be sorry he missed tonight. She's over by the Haunted Closet with Zhane; see, next to the streamers?"

Carlos caught one look at his teammate and laughed. "That's a bodysuit, not a cat costume!"

"But you knew what she was," Ashley said with a giggle. "Zhane's her bodyguard. Rocky told her she'd need one--if one of the parents doesn't complain and get her kicked out first."

"Zhane's--the Silver Ranger?" Carlos didn't know whether to laugh or shake his head as Cassie's "bodyguard" emerged from the Haunted Closet with a couple of kids in tow. "That's creative."

"He's doing it to freak the rest of us out," Ashley said, looking torn between amusement and exasperation. "I'm sure of it. Speaking of which," she added, lowering her voice. "Did you *have* to be a vampire? Every time I look at you, I jump."

He grinned, deliberately baring his glow-in-the-dark fangs. "I'm just exorcising some demons from our past. It's good for you."

Ashley snorted, clearly not convinced. "I don't suppose you've seen Tessa and TJ?" she asked, not deigning to reply.

"I saw TJ when we came to pick up our kids," Carlos said, his gaze roving across the crowd again. The costume parade was just starting, and Aura wasn't the only adult holding a kid's hand. "I still don't know where he got that wookie costume. But I haven't seen Tessa yet."

"She's a jedi," Ashley told him. "But ever since she got here, she's been telling people she's a jedi wookie trainer."

Carlos snickered. "Did she bring a leash?"

"No." Ashley paused for a moment, then added, "She borrowed one."

Several of the parents glanced their way at the sound of Carlos' laughter, but none of the kids so much as slowed down.

The costume parade was making its way around the edge of the dojo floor now, and he grinned as he caught Aura's eye. She waved back, then gestured over her shoulder. He grin widened as he got a closer look at TJ, following her with his "leash" held by a little girl who looked even younger than Ricki.

"Hey guys," Andros' voice said from behind him, and he turned around. His lips twitched at the sight of Andros in tie-dye and ripped jeans, with a headband restraining his blonde-streaked hair and a peace necklace hanging over his shirt.

"Hi," Carlos replied, wondering if he could pass off another bout of laughter as the result of too much Halloween candy. "Nice costume."

"It was Ashley's idea," Andros said, in all innocence.

Carlos was hard-pressed to keep a straight face. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"Take a ballot," Andros suggested, offering him a piece of orange paper. "I'm collecting costume votes."

Carlos couldn't suppress his grin as he looked away, pretending to study the kids still marching past. Aura and Ricki were too far away by now for him to catch the number pinned to the Tigger costume, but he stared after them anyway. *Aura,* he thought carefully.

*Yes?* He saw her glance back over her shoulder.

*What's Rick's number?*

*Thirty-three,* she answered with a smile, glancing down at the child beside her.

*Thanks.*

"You're cheating," Ashley accused, peering at his faraway expression.

"I am not," he responded automatically, not questioning how she knew. "I can't see Ricki's number from here. Is that okay with you, Ms. Twenty-twenty?"

She grinned unrepentantly. "Well, I guess so. But only if I can borrow your pen."

He handed it to her, and she scribbled a number on the "ballot" before handing it back to Andros. "Thanks," Andros said, holding out what looked like a fishbowl so Carlos could put his vote in too. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

He headed off, and Carlos raised an eyebrow at Ashley.

She caught his eye and shrugged. "What?"

He just looked at her, and finally she smiled. "Well, you have to admit... he does look awfully cute."

"Right," Carlos said dryly. "I hope you're right about someone taking pictures."

"Heads up," a familiar voice said from directly behind them. "Mom and Dad just got here."

"Thanks, bro." Carlos' younger brother moved into his line of vision, and he raised an eyebrow at the black-clad ninja. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the demo?"

"No way, man," his brother protested with a grin. "Nice try, but I want to meet your girl as much as they do. Is she here?"

Carlos sighed, but Ashley pointed for him. "Over there by Rocky--she's with the little Tigger."

"Boys!" As usual, their father's boisterous greeting completely overwhelmed their mother's more reserved countenance. "Happy Halloween, as they say! What a terrific fiesta--this is the biggest turnout I've seen at the dojo all year!"

"That's sort of the point, Dad," Carlos' brother said, chuckling as their dad wrapped him in a giant bear hug. "I'm glad you guys could come."

"We're glad to be here!" their father assured him. "Carlos, my boy! We haven't seen you all weekend!"

"It's only Saturday, Dad," Carlos reminded him, his protest somewhat muffled as he was given an equally fierce hug. "And I'm here now."

"That you are, that you are." He looked around as though to make sure everyone else was sharing in his enthusiasm. "Kel, aren't you glad to see the boys? And here's Ashley; it's good to see you again! How have you been, Ashley?"

"Good, thank you," Ashley answered, giving him a charming smile.

"Wonderful; glad to hear it! How's school going?"

Ashley shrugged eloquently, and her eyes flickered toward Carlos. Just yesterday at breakfast he had heard her announce cheerfully, "Only a hundred thirty-seven days until graduation!"

Tonight, though, she must have been on her best behavior, for all she said was, "School's all right. It's been a little crazy lately with college deadlines coming up, but at least there weren't any major emergencies this week."

"Ah, yes," Carlos' father said knowingly, just as Carlos saw his brother wave out of the corner of his eye. He followed his brother's gaze and saw Aura lingering by the refreshment table, clearly not certain whether she should join them or not.

"Well, I'm glad circumstances have been favorable," Carlos' father continued, as Carlos added his encouragement to his brother's. His father peered in the direction they were staring. "Who *are* you waving at? Oh! Is this the girl you mentioned yesterday, Carlos?"

Carlos ignored that as best he could, smiling at Aura as she finally joined them. "Did Ricki find his parents?"

She nodded, her eyes flickering past him to his family, and he saw Ashley flash them a covert thumbs-up. He tried not to be too obvious about taking a deep breath. "Aura, I'd like you to meet my mom and my dad--" He indicated each of them in turn before adding, "And this is my brother, Gabriel."

"Gabe," his brother corrected firmly, pushing his ninja hood back to flash Aura a grin. "It's nice to finally meet you, Aura."

"I am honored to meet you as well," Aura replied. She held out her hand, a little awkwardly, and Carlos glanced at his brother.

The lanky teenager didn't look at all surprised, just took her hand and shook it once. Then he surprised both of them by putting his own hands together in the traditional Aquitian greeting and bowing slightly to Aura. She returned the gesture solemnly, and Carlos opened his mouth to ask where his brother had learned that.

His father cut him off, though, with a loud laugh. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Excellent; what a wonderful costume! You even have the mannerisms down!"

Carlos stared at his father in horror, and for a brief moment no one said anything. He could feel Aura's gaze on him, and he forced himself to speak. "Dad--it's not a costume. This is Aura, from Aquitar. I've told you about her, remember? She's the Red Aquitian Ranger."

In that moment he wasn't even thinking about people overhearing, but in retrospect he would realize that anyone who did had probably written it off as play-acting. Unfortunately for all of them, so had his father.

"Of course she is," he said heartily, clapping Aura on the shoulder. She flinched visibly, but he didn't seem to notice. "Terrific job, Aura, absolutely terrific! Oh look, that's Joe Hammond over there--you will excuse me for a moment, won't you?" And he was gone, an avalanche of unimpeded and incorrigible energy.

An uncomfortable silence proceeded his departure, and Carlos was left floundering for words. To his surprise, it was his mother who filled the breach by saying quietly, "You'll have to forgive him. Once he gets an idea into his head, he's a bit difficult to reason with." She smiled a little, imitating her son's hand gesture. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Aura. I hear that you and Carlos have become good friends."

Aura inclined her head in return, then offered her hand tentatively. His mother shook her hand gently but without hesitation, and he hoped Aura would remember that over his father's oblivious rudeness.

"Yes," Aura agreed at last, looking over at him. "I hope we are at least good friends."

He tried not to wince as he realized guiltily that she had reason to be upset about that, too--he hadn't told his parents about her until yesterday, and the story had of necessity been brief. He hadn't exactly gone into the details of their relationship.

"More than good friends," he said firmly, determined to correct some small part of his mistake. "I love Aura, Mom. It's just that--well, you saw how Dad reacted. I didn't want to dump everything on him at once."

His very blonde and distinctly non-Hispanic mother smiled again. "From the way you talked about her, I thought it might be something like that. I'm happy for both of you, and I hope that you give us a chance to get to know you better, Aura."

"I would like that," Aura murmured, clearly surprised. "Thank you for your... approval."

"You don't need our approval," his mother said gently. "I know that. But you have it, for whatever it's worth. You're welcome in our home anytime, Aura."

"Sempei!" One of the older kids came shooting out of the crowd, and Carlos' brother glanced up in surprise.

"Sempei Gabe!" Toby skidded to a halt in front of them, breathless. "The demo's about to start and Marissa can't find her nunchakus and the glowsticks in mine keep falling out and Sensei and Sempei Justin are trying to get the CD player to work so could you please come help us instead?"

"I'm coming," Carlos' brother promised, putting one hand on Toby's shoulder. "It was nice to meet you Aura--I hope I see you again soon. Have a good night, everyone." And he was gone, without even waiting for them to wish him luck.

"Is he not coming home tonight?" Carlos asked, surprised by his brother's farewell.

"He's staying overnight with Justin." His mother paused, then asked mildly, "Will we see you tonight, Carlos?"

He cleared his throat, realizing he would have been better off not to have said anything. "Well..." He traded glances with Aura, wondering if there was any safe way to mention Cassie's plan to set off a late night Halloween lightshow over the city. "I wasn't actually thinking of it, no. But I'll definitely be home tomorrow..."

His mother must have decided that his dad's slip had caused enough trouble for one evening, because she didn't guilt-trip him over his choice. Instead she only nodded, then looked across the room to where the Great Pumpkin was holding court with the costume ballots. "We'll expect you tomorrow, then--it looks like they're going to announce the winner of the costume contest."

As though she had overheard, the Great Pumpkin clambered up onto one of the activity tables--no mean feat in her costume--and shouted for everyone's attention. When most of the adults were at least pretending to listen, and most of the kids were being kept quiet by the adults, the pumpkin continued loudly, "It gives me great pleasure to declare the winner of this evening's costume contest. Number eighteen, please come forward and receive your prize."

"Natasha," Aura murmured, and sure enough, Rainbow Brite was making a beeline for the Great Pumpkin.

In the meantime, the pumpkin added, "The demo will be starting in just a moment, and Sensei has asked me to thank you all for making this event a wonderful, fun, and safe way to spend Halloween. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves, and now I'm going to turn it over to the demo team. Let's give them a big hand!"

Carlos lifted his hands to clap automatically, and he saw Aura give him an odd look as the crowd joined in. Tentatively, she copied his movement, and he smiled encouragingly at her. Then, near the pumpkin's impromptu stage, Rocky stepped out onto the demo mats and waited for them to quiet down.

"Good evening," he said at last. His gaze swept across the room, taking in and including everyone. "As Sempei Marie has already done, I'd like to thank you all for coming. In a moment the demo team will be out to show off its skills, and I feel I should warn you that when the demonstration begins the lights will go down. If you have anyone who's afraid of the dark, now would be a good time to make sure they're nearby.

"In addition, I ask you not to crowd the mats during the demo. As terrific as our team is, they do need room to move. Please don't throw candy, streamers, or small children on the mats during the demonstration. Please do not shine flashlights on the demo team, as some of them came as vampires and I won't be held responsible for the consequences. Lastly, in case of an emergency... grab your candy and run. Thank you, and enjoy the demonstration."

Rocky turned and disappeared into the dojo's back room to scattered applause, and, as promised, the lights started to dim. There were a few seconds of darkness, and then twin strobe lights were lit, sweeping across the crowd before coming to rest on the demo team's mats. Carlos' eyes couldn't adjust fast enough to see who was operating the lights, but he was distracted almost immediately by Aura's sudden inhalation.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, leaning closer.

She didn't answer right away, but she was stiffer than she had been before. "Will those lights be on for long?" she asked, so softly he almost couldn't hear her. It took him a moment to realize that she had closed her eyes.

"Are they bothering you?" he murmured, looking for the nearest door. "We can go outside."

She looked for a moment as though she would argue, but then the dojo's theme music came on and the demo team started to emerge. Their kiais as they ran out onto the mats were barely loud enough to be heard over the music, and Aura just closed her mouth and nodded tightly.

"Here," he said, putting his hand on her arm to guide her. "Mom, we're going to leave," he said loudly, speaking almost directly into her ear. He kissed her cheek quickly, adding, "Aura doesn't like the lights. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

His mother, too, looked as though she wanted to say something. But she must have seen Aura's distressed expression through the bright flashes of darkness, and she just smiled up at him. "Good night, Carlos," he read on her lips.

"Good night," he echoed, smiling back over his shoulder as he led Aura toward the exit.

The air was warm and fresh as they stepped out into the night, and the silence was impressive as the door closed behind them. The dojo was suddenly a world removed, and he turned to Aura in concern. "Are you okay? I didn't even think to warn you about the strobe..."

"Is that what you call it?" she asked ruefully, touching her fingers to her temples in a surprisingly human gesture. "I have never seen lights like that. You do not need to stay with me; I have no wish to make you miss your brother's demonstration."

"I'd rather be with you," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Besides," he added wryly, seeing her doubtful look, "Do you know how many times I've seen that demo this month?"

She smiled a little at that, and he smiled back. That was when he remembered his fangs, and she giggled as he pulled them out of his mouth. "You must tell me what a vampire is," she said, reminding him of his earlier promise. "Why does it have such odd looking teeth? And why did you tell Ashley you were exorcising demons by dressing as one?"

He cleared his throat, wondering how she had heard about that so quickly. "That's kind of a long story, actually."

She gave him an expectant look, and he sighed. "I dare you not to laugh," he began. "Last year, Divatox had this plan..."