Halloween day.
The kids are all at school, eagerly waiting for it to be done with so they can go trick-or-treating and eat loads of candy over the weekend. Hannah-Marie is even more excited about going with her cousin, Jimmy, and his friends, Daryl, Katie, and Bert, along with Jimmy and Hannah's Aunt, Maria. Who had only been in town for a week maybe, but still formed stronger bonds with the children. Jimmy's friends even starting to form family like bonds with the woman. However, all of the children could sense that she was keeping something from the family.
At the moment, there are only a few minutes till school lets out, when Jimmy, his three friends, and Hannah will be picked up by Maria, who will drop each of them off at their homes so they can get ready and meet up at the cemetery that is near all of their houses. Jimmy and his friends are giddy for the candy and spooky talk Jimmy will coax his aunt into like every year when she would visit before Hannah was born. Hannah, however, was excited for the candy, but terrified of the spooky talk and the monsters. The bell rang as Hannah started to fiddle with her fingers.
"Hannah-Marie!" The young girl hears her cousin shout from outside the school. "Cmon! Aunt Maria is here!" His friends stand beside him.
"Coming!" She shouts as she pulls her small backpack on and almost trips.
"Careful, dear! No rush!" Maria yells to her niece as she herds the four older kids to the car, all while watching out for Hannah. "Ready?"
"Yup!" Hannah takes her backpack off before hopping into the back of the middle seat in the front of the car while Jimmy's friends are in the back three seats and him in the passenger. Maria gets into the drivers seat before helping Hannah buckle up. She turns and makes sure the rest are buckled.
"Alright." She nods, starting the car up and joining the line to exit school grounds. "Okay, so I do have some news. I won't be the only adult with you five, tonight. An old friend has come to town and wants to join."
"Is it Xiba–" Jimmy starts to say a name but Maria cuts him off.
"Yes, it is Joaquin." Maria says tensely as the children look at one another, Jimmy sending his aunt a look as he huffs.
"I was going to say Xibalb–" he's cut off again, but this time by the car.
"Oh. We've come to a stop. Bert, Daryl, Katie, isn't this your stop?" Maria asks with a forced smile. They nod, gather things and say goodbye to the two cousins and aunt. "Hannah, Jimmy, would you both please sit in the back? I'll be picking up Joaquin and then dropping you off, Jimmy."
"Alright, Auntie Maria." Hannah says as she gets out after her older cousin. They both hop in the back and buckle up, watching the passing houses and occasional tree as they head to the airport. They pick up a tall, handsome man with an outfit that has many medals on it.
"Joaquin." Maria greets as the man gets in the car beside the woman.
"Maria, dear, it's so nice to see you." His smile is forced as he glances at the children in the back. "Is that...?" He trails off, staring at Hannah-Marie.
"Yes. Now sit right and buckle up. Jimmy, we'll drop you off in a minute." Maria looks at her nephew through the review mirror before focusing on the road and driving as Joaquin steals glances at the little girl in the back. He smirks darkly after they drop Jimmy off.
"So..." the man starts as Maria starts to drive the short distance from Jimmy's home to Hannah-Marie's. "You are the infamous Hannah-Marie?"
"Auntie Maria? What does 'infamous' mean?" Hannah asks softly.
"Nothing dear, he's joking." Maria glares at the man next to her.
Not too long after, the three arrive at the house Hannah lives at. Joaquin, Maria and Hannah all make their way inside the house, finding that her parents aren't home yet. Maria shoos Joaquin to her room so he can 'get ready' in his costume as she helps Hannah with her costume and dashes of glitter on her face. The two have fun as they dress up, Maria dresses up in a long, red and yellow dress and when Hannah is finishing her outfit, she sneaks away to go help Joaquin with his 'makeup' and do her own.
"Shall we, my dear?" Joaquin, now dressed as Xibalba, offers his hand.
"Yes. Hannah must be wondering where we are." She fixes her flowers for a split second before taking his hand and walking to the living room where Hannah-Marie spins for her parents. Maria drops Joaquin's hand quickly as she sees the girl. "My dear fairy princess." She smiles.
"Auntie Maria! You look so pretty! Who are you dressed as?"
"La Muerte. Protector of remembered souls. He's Xibalba." Rico scoffs slightly, crossing his arms. "Ruler of the forgotten souls."
"Well, you look like a very cute couple." Jillian winks.
"We aren't a couple, Jillian, I assure you of that." Maria says as she heads to Hannah and grabs her hand. "Ready, my dearest fairy?"
"Yes, Auntie Maria. Jimmy's been knocking on the door!"
"Let's hope we didn't keep the little devil waiting." Joaquin scoffs as he opens the door. "Oh look. It's true, you speak of him, and the devil shows."
"Joaquin." Maria scolds as she walks out with her niece. "Best behavior."
"Right. Right." He shrugs her off and walks ahead as Jimmy walks only a few feet between the two adults and Hannah beside the woman.
"Long night ahead of us, huh, Hannah?" Maria giggles, the young girl joining in shortly after.
Maria is soon called away with Joaquin to go talk with some adults about open houses. She leaves Hannah in the care of Jimmy for maybe 10 minutes. Not realizing the mistake within that act of trust towards the dressed devil. When they return, Joaquin notices the little fairy girls disappearance first. He places a hand on Maria to keep her under some control. As soon as Maria realizes the disappearance of her beloved niece, she screams at her young nephew. His eyes start to tear as his friends try to defend him, but the words anger her more.
"You let her go into a haunted house just to scare her off?! If you wanted her gone from your evening out, you should have told me! Joaquin could have taken you wherever while I took Hannah! You foolish children! I can't believe you'd do this to her, Jimmy! And you three! What kind of friends are you three if you can't even stop him from doing this to his familia!" Maria scolds loudly on the front porch of the haunted house.
"Maria, leave them be. Let's search the house for the girl, let the children dwell on their choices while waiting for our return." Joaquin offers.
"Fine." She angrily enters the house before hearing the front door close behind Joaquin, she sighs and tears up as she whimpers Hannah's name. "Hannah? Hannah, dear, please, please talk to me. I need to know you are alright." She sobs out. "Xibalba..." she whimpers the true name of Joaquin. "Xibalba, what if we don't find our dear hija?" She sobs again.
"Maria, she is your hija, she has your spirit, your feistiness, she will be fine. I'm sure she's cowering in a corner or closet–" he starts softly.
"Don't. She is terrified and alone. Xibalba, what if something happened to her? We aren't the only monsters in town for Halloween." Maria whimpers.
"You're right. Why don't we go to the Fright Side and see if any of your old friends know where Hannah may be?" Xibalba offers softly.
"Yes, that would be the best option. Let's hurry." She says as they both disappear, Maria into a flurry of yellow petals and Xibalba in a burst of green flames. They travel through the sky, going through the monster-like cloud and landing in the large patch of pumpkins, facing a large house before them that holds their friends. "Please. Please hold on, Hannah, we will make haste..."
"Come, Maria." Xibalba grabs the woman's hand and pulls her to the door before they both knock on the door, hearing the Halloween party that was going on inside, stop and the room is suspended into silence as a red haired which opens the door with her cat spirit on one of her sides, and just slightly behind her, hiding behind her legs is little Hannah-Marie. "Oh."
"Hannah!" Maria exclaims as she falls to her knees before the which and child.
The other monster guests hear her and make their way to find the cause of the sobs they hear. They find their old friend, La Muerte on the front porch, on her knees, with the little human girl in her tight, sobbing embrace as Xibalba, a monster they've met only a few times, stands beside her, wrapping the two in his right wing as he looks at them sadly.
"L-La M-Muerte?" The six other monsters of the house ask softly.