|
|
Post by sevenna92 on Nov 21, 2024 0:20:09 GMT -5
Hey, guys. I know that it's been a very long time since I've posted a story on here, but I decided to write a one-shot earlier this week and I figured it would be appropriate to post it here. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, some years ago before the pandemic I decided to do a complete reboot of my main headcanon fanfic series and I have been making constant updates to my outline ever since. Speaking of which, I actually have some more revisions to add to my outline but since I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, it will have to wait until I come back. I haven't exactly been in the best mental headspace for the last couple of weeks so it's amazing that I was able to write anything at all at this point. Since I'm actually taking a laptop with me for the trip, I might write something for Thanksgiving if I'm really bored and I have a really good idea but I doubt it. We'll see.
I will say that this story takes place in an alternate universe and my series typically features a good mix of characters from other shows and movies. However, this story mainly features DOOL characters, which is pretty much why I posted it here. Hope you guys enjoy!
Also if you have any questions about this story, please let me know. I'll do my best to answer them.
A Very Wacky, Spooktacular Halloween!
OCTOBER 31ST, 2024
PORTLAND, OREGON
THE PETRIE-DUMONDE RESIDENCE
It was a dark and chilly autumn evening as Rhonda was standing in front of her vanity mirror in her bedroom, putting on some finishing touches on her costume. She was wearing a white blouse with dark brown horizontal stripes, a medium-sized brown skirt and a pair of dark brown boots; she also had on a small, narrow and frizzy orange hair piece sticking out of her head. As she was busy adjusting her hair piece, she couldn’t help but get lost in her melancholic thoughts.
It had been a little over two years since she, Lee and the twins had relocated to the Pacific Northwest after the American Liberation Front had lost much of the country to the United Christian Nation of America during the Second American Civil War. As part of the Ottawa Peace Accords, the ALF got to keep the entire East Coast region and the Pacific Northwest, (which included California, Oregon, Washington State and even British Columbia), as well as a couple of other states such as Colorado and Hawaii, as long as they promised to never set foot in any of the surrounding red states and to live out the rest of their lives in permanent exile in the blue states as well as the Citadel, the Babylon 5 space station and the human colony of Prometheus on Mars.
And with the United Commonwealth of America maintaining complete control of California, Hollywood was forced to contend with a great reckoning as hundreds of thousands of actors and writers decided to enact a months-long strike in favor of secure and guaranteed protections from the growing threat of A.I. as well as financial compensation for their work on streaming services. However, the entertainment industry continued to descend into a massive free fall as many people were struggling to find meaningful work after the strike and the cost of living continued to rise further, making it nearly impossible to find affordable housing or even earn enough money to make a decent enough living.
Things have become so especially dire that in the last 9 months alone there had been a sharp increase in violent crime, especially in Los Angeles, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to either relocate to other nearby cities like San Diego or flee the state altogether for the neighboring states of Oregon and Washington State. As much as Rhonda wanted to return to L.A. and live in her grandparents’ beloved house again, she knew that the city wasn’t really what it once was and she had to move to a safer and much more affordable place for her family to grow and thrive in.
“Are you ready, Rhonda?” a female voice interjected as Rhonda snapped out of her thoughts and turned around just in time to see Lee emerging out of the bathroom while wearing a very unusual costume – she was wearing a simple gothic-style black dress with her face completely covered in pasty white makeup and her hair was hanging over her shoulders in loose, long, straight waves. She was also wearing a pair of black high heel shoes and she even had on dark maroon lipstick.
“And who are you supposed to be?” Rhonda snorted with a barely veiled smirk on her lips upon eyeing Lee intently.
“I’m that crazy psycho undead bitch that wanted to get revenge on Beetlejuice for betraying her and abandoning her and was also going around sucking out people’s souls in that movie we saw a while ago,” Lee explained.
“Oh… Right,” Rhonda nodded while fidgeting with her hands absentmindedly.
To be fair, she barely remembered Delores at all in the movie, which wasn’t exactly surprising considering that she had fairly less screen time in the movie compared to other characters like Lydia or Astrid.
“And I suppose that you’re a silly cartoon character?” Lee retorted with a smirk of her own as she also took a good look at Rhonda’s costume.
“Yeah; I’m the new Pixar character Anxiety from Inside Out 2,” Rhonda replied with an enthusiastic grin.
“I should’ve known; I just don’t quite understand your fascination with that character,” Lee retorted with a scoff and a slight eye roll.
“Well I like her and I wanted to dress up as her for Halloween,” Rhonda retorted with narrowed eyes and a slight hard edge in her voice.
“All right, darling; you don’t need to get so defensive. It’s perfectly all right, you know,” Lee tried to reassure her calmly while putting up her hands in surrender. “I sometimes forget that you’re not like other people.”
“You know, I honestly thought that you were going to dress up as someone like Elvira or something,” Rhonda interjected sardonically.
“Well, I was, but since we’re all dressing up as characters that are currently popular right now, I felt like I would be sticking out like quite the sore thumb if I went out as her,” Lee acquiesced with a reluctant shrug. “And speaking of which…”
“Are you guys ready yet?!” a little girl bellowed as the door suddenly swung open and Ramona and Douglas burst right into the room excitedly, fully decked out in their costumes – with Ramona dressed as Marionette from Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir and Douglas dressed as Wolverine from the X-Men franchise.
“Let’s go! We’re gonna be late for trick or treating!” Douglas pouted impatiently.
“Looks like someone’s ready for Halloween,” Rhonda declared with a bright smile on her lips.
“Yeah; I wish that I got to dress as someone cooler though, like Lady Deadpool,” Ramona frowned sadly with her arms crossed.
“You know that Lady Deadpool is not an appropriate character for a girl your age to dress up as,” Lee chided her daughter sternly.
“But why does Douglas get to dress up as Wolverine then if I can’t be Lady Deadpool?!” Ramona protested angrily with a sullen glare while pointing at her twin brother.
“Because Wolverine is for kids and Deadpool is more geared towards adults,” Rhonda explained pithily.
“Ah, boo,” Ramona jeered with an even bigger pout.
“Cheer up, love; I’m sure that in a few years you’ll be more than old enough to dress up as Lady Deadpool if you want,” Rhonda reassured her gently.
“More like when she’s 9 or 10,” Lee leaned in to whisper in Rhonda’s ear discreetly, at which she nodded.
“Well, we better get moving, gang; let’s go,” Rhonda announced as she and Lee led the twins out of the room and they headed downstairs before leaving the house.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A short time later, Rhonda and her family were strolling through the neighborhood together as they were going from door to door in search of candy. It wasn’t long before they came upon another door as Ramona and Douglas rushed over to it and eagerly rang on the doorbell repeatedly.
Moments later, the door opened and Theresa appeared with an enormous and swollen belly practically obscuring their view.
“Auntie Theresa!” Ramona cheered, jumping for joy.
“Hey there, you little rascals,” Theresa greeted the twins with a friendly and playful smirk as she looked over at them. “Okay, so I know that Douglas is Wolverine, but who exactly is Ramona supposed to be?”
“Well, she’s Marionette from that cartoon named Miraculous Ladybug; it’s all the rage right now,” Rhonda answered.
“Really? I thought that kids her age would be more into Bluey, you know, that cartoon featuring those cute little dogs with the funny British accent?” Theresa retorted with a questioning eyebrow.
“Australian, actually,” Rhonda quickly corrected her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah; I know that I’m not as smart as you, Rhonda,” Theresa growled with a petulant eye roll and a pointed, narrow glare. “Anyways, I’ve only started paying attention recently because Josie Faye is a huge fan of that show and she watches it all the time on Disney Plus, and I mean all the time. So much so that it drives Tate up the wall.”
“I can only imagine,” Rhonda chuckled sardonically.
“And just who are you two supposed to be?” Theresa asked with a curious akimbo.
“Oh, well, I’m Anxiety from Inside Out 2 and Lee is Beetlejuice’s ex-wife Delores from that new Beetlejuice movie that just came out recently,” Rhonda explained while glancing over at Lee.
“Oh really? Heard that movie was pretty good. I’ve been meaning to go see it, but you know… been busy with work and kids and well… I’ve also been looking forward to this little one’s arrival,” Theresa replied while rubbing her pregnant belly slightly and giving a short, nervous laugh.
“Speaking of which, how are you doing, Theresa?” Rhonda asked.
“As well as I possibly can at the moment,” Theresa answered with a shrug and a sigh. “I mean, it’s not easy being a single mom, but then again I’ve been going at it alone without Brady for a long while now… At least J.J. is present in Riley’s life and I’m thankful for that. Yeah, I’m still pissed at him for basically cheating on me with my own niece but well… I’m trying to be the better person and not let it affect our ability to co-parent our daughter… Which is more than I can say for Joe Junior, and God knows where the hell he even is right now… I’m rambling too much, am I?”
“Yes, you are,” Lee retorted curtly with a dirty, pointed glare.
“Anyways, I don’t want to keep you… I’m sure that you got plenty of more trick or treating to get to,” Theresa added with a nervous, awkward smile as she stepped away from the door and began to close it. “Bye.”
“Yay! Let’s go get more candy!” Ramona cheered as she raced ahead with Douglas running after her.
“Wait up, darlings! Don’t run too far ahead where we can’t see you!” Lee bellowed in an admonishing voice as she and Rhonda went after their children.
A short time later, Ramona and Douglas came upon yet another house as they ran up to the doorbell and rang on it incessantly.
“Who is it?” a female voice hollered as the door quickly opened and Doug and Julie appeared in the doorway.
“Daddy! Aunt Julie!” Ramona cheered.
“Are you going to give us some candy, Aunt Julie?” Douglas pleaded while bugging out his eyes innocently.
“Of course, sweetheart; here’s some candy,” Julie smiled tenderly as she dropped a fistful of candy into their pumpkin-themed tote bags.
She then looked up to see Rhonda and Lee in their costumes as she examined them curiously with a quizzical look in her eyes.
“And just who are you supposed to be?” Julie demanded sternly while staring daggers right at Lee.
“I’m Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, if you must know,” Lee retorted with a coy smirk.
“I hope you’re not planning on sucking out my soul tonight,” Julie retorted in an admonishing tone.
“You can best believe that I’ll be on my very best behavior, darling,” Lee retorted back defiantly with a haughty grin, her intense gaze never wavering.
“Ladies, ladies, let’s not get into any petty disagreement tonight,” Doug suddenly interjected as he stepped in between the women and tried his best to diffuse the tension between them. “It is Halloween after all. We want this to be a wonderful, fun night for the kids.”
“I suppose you’re right, Doug,” Lee sighed as she turned around and prepared to leave. “Come on, children; let’s get moving.”
“Goodbye, Daddy and Aunt Julie,” Ramona said as she and Douglas waved goodbye to Doug and Julie before following Rhonda and Lee back onto the street.
Then as the night wore on, Ramona and Douglas’s bags continued to fill up with endless amounts of candy until they were practically spilling over to the brim, prompting Lee and Rhonda to carry some of the extra candy in their own bags. It was then that they approached yet another door ahead of them as Ramona ran ahead of Douglas and arrived at the door before ramming her index finger deeply and incessantly into the doorbell.
Moments later, the door opened and a young exotic looking woman appearing to be in her early 30s with dark mahogany skin, long, silky and straight black raven hair, dark brown eyes, and soft, delicate and attractive facial features. She was also wearing a bright red blouse with large yellow floral patterns, a long, flowing blue skirt with small pink floral patterns, a pair of light brown sandals, a dark red headscarf covering her head and she also had large and round golden hooped earrings on.
“Cher! How are you?” Rhonda greeted her with an enthusiastic smile.
“Oh wow! Nice to see you too, Rhonda,” Cher replied with a warm and friendly smile of her own.
She then looked down to see Ramona and Douglas with her smile widening and brightening even more.
“Wow, I can’t believe how much these kids have grown! Last time I saw them, they were itty bitty little babies,” Cher gushed.
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Rhonda laughed sardonically with a nervous smile, not sure what else to say. “So how are you?”
“Oh we’re doing fine; Oregon is much better place than London, that’s for sure,” Cher answered. “I still get to see my folks and the rest of my family every now and then. Everyone’s doing well.”
“Who is that, Mommy?” Ramona asked while pointing at Cher.
“Well, Ramona, that’s Mommy’s friend Cher. You might not remember, but Cher came over to see you and your brother when you two were still little babies. That’s probably why you don’t really remember her all that well,” Rhonda explained.
“Oh, okay,” Ramona nodded.
“So what are you doing these days?” Rhonda asked.
“Well, Tai and I are running an antique and jewelry shop and it’s doing pretty well. My father’s agricultural farm is still going strong, believe it or not, and my brothers have pretty much taken the reigns over from him. So as far as I’m concerned, life is going pretty good right now,” Cher answered.
“Honey, who’s that at the door?” a male voice bellowed as Cher turned around to see a similarly aged man walk up to her and kiss her on the right side of the head. Like Cher, he also had dark mahogany skin, dark brown eyes, a mustache, a tall, skinny and lanky build and long, curly and shaggy black hair. He was also wearing a white ruffle shirt with a light brown waist coat, a pair of pinstriped jeans and a pair of dark brown sandals with a single large golden hooped earring hanging from his right ear.
“Hey, Tai,” Cher replied with a smile as she motioned over to her visitors. “You remember Rhonda, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Tai replied as he gave Rhonda an affirmative nod in acknowledgment. “Hey, Rhonda.”
“Hey, Tai,” Rhonda nodded back.
“So you guys going around trick or treating?” Tai asked curiously.
“Yeah, we are,” Rhonda replied.
“He looks really funny,” Douglas snickered while pointing right at Tai.
“Darling, that’s very rude,” Lee scolded him firmly.
“Sorry, Mama,” Douglas hung his head sadly while recoiling from his mother’s sharp and withering glare.
“What are they, Mama?” Ramona asked quizzically.
“They’re called Romani,” Rhonda explained. “Also known as Gypsies.”
“Like Esmeralda?” Ramona marveled in awe as she stared at Cher and Tai with wide amazement.
“Yeah, like Esmeralda,” Rhonda replied with a nod while looking back at Cher.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Rhonda; hope to see you again real soon. Don’t be a stranger, you hear?” Cher replied with a soft laugh as she got ready to make her leave and retreat back into her home.
“All right, see you around, mate,” Rhonda replied with a smile of her own as she, Lee and the twins soon turned around and made their leave.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A short time later, Rhonda, Lee and the twins made it safely back home just as a huge gust of wind began to pick up with many of the trees swaying and moving uncontrollably. Rhonda and Lee set their purses down as Rhonda grabbed Ramona and Douglas’s hands and began to lead them away.
“I’m going to give the twins a bath and then I’m going to get them ready for bed,” Rhonda hollered as she led the twins up the stairs.
“I’ll be right up, darling,” Lee bellowed as she sat down on the sofa and picked up the Fire Stick remote from the table before she turned on the T.V. and clicked on the YouTube app. Then once she got into the app, she started to scroll through several videos as she tried to figure out what to watch.
“Dear God almighty,” Lee sighed tersely as she noticed that there were several videos in the news section with a smiling and beaming middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a goofy, charming smile in many of the thumbnails.
Lee then exhaled sharply before she clicked on a video from ABC News and then it started playing a brief clip of that same middle-aged man smiling and laughing with an elderly top star general before shaking hands with him.
“Breaking news tonight… we begin with a story right out of Texas where Illinois Governor and now prospective presidential candidate Ernie Cavanaugh is promising to spearhead an aggressive military campaign that will target some of the most powerful and notorious drug cartels in Mexico. Reports indicate that he has been conducting a secret meeting in Dallas with Vice President William Shepherd, Supreme Commander Franklin Moore and Colonel Samuel Flagg in order to discuss how to proceed with the mission.”
“However, rumors of a possible power struggle between Supreme Commander Franklin Moore, Vice President William Shepherd and Governor Cavanaugh have been swirling since the shocking assassination of President Richard Davenport this past summer, with Supreme Commander Moore expressing his desire to not pass down the torch to someone he views as a ‘usurper’ and a ‘threat to his position of power’…”
“Ugh, enough of this crap already,” Lee muttered underneath her breath as she switched off the video and started scrolling through several more feeds in order to find another video to watch.
“Hey, the kids are settled and tucked into bed already,” Rhonda announced as she came downstairs and walked over to where Lee was. “Hey, you okay?”
“How could I have given birth to such a vile and evil monster?” Lee groaned as she sank deeply into the sofa while running her hands through her face slowly. “How could I have brought a man like Ernie into the world? It’s all my fault.”
“No, Lee; it’s not your fault,” Rhonda tried to reassure her as she sat down right next to her wife and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “For God’s sake you gave him up for adoption. You had nothing to do with his upbringing.”
“I know but some part of me still feels responsible for letting him down and allowing him to grow up to be the kind of person who uses power as a tool to exact revenge on innocent people,” Lee sighed dejectedly, averting her gaze.
“He made his choices, Lee; he chose to be an awful person and that has nothing to do with you,” Rhonda asserted firmly with a tender, supportive smile. “You really shouldn’t waste any more time dwelling on him.”
“He’s still my son, Rhonda; he’s still my baby boy. Every time that I look at him, that’s all I see,” Lee insisted stubbornly.
“Renee is your child; Meryl, Malcolm, Vincent and Natalie are your children… Hell, Ramona and Douglas are your kids too, and mine. They’re your family,” Rhonda shot back sternly with a pointed glare. “Besides, don’t you remember how Ernie threatened you at St. Luke’s when he first came to Salem all of those years ago? And how he became mayor and practically ran Salem into the ground? If it weren’t for Abe, Victor, John and so many others, it would’ve been completely in ruins by now.”
“Yes, I remember,” Lee sighed deeply with an eye roll, not wanting to remember the incident. “You don’t need to remind me.”
“And he still somehow managed to be elected governor of Illinois after all of that rubbish,” Rhonda groaned sharply with a disgusted scowl. “At least Abe became mayor again after he left town, thank God.”
“Yeah, but then we all had to flee town and relocate to Oregon after that,” Lee protested.
“Yeah, and so did the citizens of Genoa City,” Rhonda retorted back.
“Well, isn’t it something to have Sharon Newman as your neighbor?” Lee laughed sardonically.
“Actually, I do see her daughter Mariah and her wife Tessa around town a lot. They seem to be doing just fine with their daughter,” Rhonda quipped.
“Too bad we don’t have a child Aria’s age,” Lee sighed while hanging her head sadly.
“Well, we can always adopt or hire a surrogate,” Rhonda proposed.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Lee smirked demurely as she cupped Rhonda’s face and leaned in to kiss her.
The two women then shared a brief but tender kiss for a moment before they broke apart and got up from their sofa.
“I think we better get ready for bed; it’s getting really late,” Rhonda announced as she and Lee turned around and headed for the stairs.
“Why don’t we shower first? Then we can end the evening with strawberries and cream,” Lee suggested as she and Rhonda continued up the steps.
“Hey, isn’t that John and Marlena’s thing?” Rhonda objected with a withering glare.
“I was just kidding, darling!” Lee laughed raucously while embracing Rhonda and giving her a playful squeeze. “God, you take everything so seriously.”
“A shower sounds nice though; I could use a nice, long, soaking bath,” Rhonda replied.
Lee said nothing more as the two women reached the top landing of the stairs and headed straight for the bathroom.
The End.
|
