The sounds of celebration and victory echoed through the backstage of the auditorium

The big bad challenge was finally over, and more than that, it had been beaten

Scott lifted Zoe and made her sit on his shoulders while Dahlia made you sit on hers. They paraded you as the two minds behind this glorious victory

Rounds of applause, cheering from your friends and even a bit of confetti coated the scene in nothing but joy

The girl and you looked at each other and couldn't help but smile, reaching for the other's hand and lifting them before joining the celebration

But that's when the doors swung open and everyone turned to find none other than Miranda Vanderbilt herself, hunched over, breathing heavily, and absolutely covered in blood

Zoe: Miranda...?

You: The fuck happened to you?

The gang stopped the minute they laid their eyes on her. The princess's uncharacteristically grim scowl as well as her breathing put everyone on edge

At least until she stood straight and beamed

Miranda: Yes! I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time!

The mermaid dashed across the room and looked up at Zoe

Miranda: How did it go? Were you successful?

Zoe: Yes we were!

DAHLIA: And these two made out!

The other students cheered at this, much to your embarrassment. Miranda, however, clapped at the news

Miranda: Fantastic! I knew you would conquer this challenge

Scott then put the eldritch girl down so they could speak to eye(s) level

Miranda: I'm so sorry for not being able to be a part of it

DAHLIA put you down just in time for you to put a hand on the mermaid's shoulder and offer a sad smile

You: Don't be so harsh on yourself, Miri. How could you know there would be an uprising?

Whispers and murmurs of agreement could be heard from the crowd

Miranda: I appreciate the sympathy, my friends, but I still feel like I should do something to compensate for my absence

Then, she turned to Zoe

Miranda: I imagine it must've been quite the conundrum

Brian: Nah

Vicky: Just a little spook!

You: Don't worry about it

Zoe: Nope! Not at all

Oh you know how much everyone was freaking the FUCK out

Still, Miranda hummed as she rubbed her chin. Just a few seconds later, something crossed her mind and she snapped her fingers

Miranda: I know! I shall host a celebration of your victory!

Scott: A party? For us?!

Miranda: Absolutely!

With colossal anticipation, everyone turned to Zoe as if asking for permission

Zoe: Hmm...sure!

As soon as the green light was given, the fan-favorite ghost threw her hands in the air as she floated up

Polly: YAAAAAAASS! PARTY TIME!!

A collective "WHOOOO!!!" could be heard, and Zoe herself rubbed her chin for a moment before she finally decided to just go with it

Zoe: PARTY!!

__________

Buuut it had to be tomorrow. There were a few things Miranda had to coordinate first, mainly, get everything

The wait was worth it though, for this was not your run-of-the-mill party. The princess had repurposed the nicest dungeon they had available

There were plenty of tables, a bar, a stage with instruments, and even a few waiters and waitresses. This dungeon didn't even look like one, and there were only a few blood stains on the walls!

Oh, Miranda, that's so thoughtful of you

Everyone in the crew got an invitation to this event, be it part of the cast, production, some guests from the audience, and even a few of the cultists made it to the party

At your table were Polly, Brian, Zoe, and Vicky. Wanna know how many tables there were?

That's right!

Nineteen

Anyway, just a few minutes later, once everyone had gathered, the sound of silverware tapping against the glass caught everyone's attention

Miranda: Ahem. Your attention, please

See?

Miranda commanded the room from her table, being the only one standing up reinforced that feeling

Miranda: I appreciate each and every one of you who answered the call for celebration

She looked around the room until she finally spotted Zoe. Her smile grew wider when she did

Miranda: However, a reminder of what we are celebrating is in order

As if a spotlight had shone on Zoe, everyone in the room turned to her, even you. Of course, this immediately got her nervous

Zoe: Uhh...

Miranda raised her glass with a charming grin

Miranda: To Zoe, who, even though I could not attend, I'm confident led our team to glorious victory!

The rest of you raised your drinks with a great smile

Everyone: To Zoe!

The girl raised her hands and flailed them around in an attempt to intervene 

Zoe: W-W-Wait! Hold on a little

Confused, everyone turned to the eldritch cutie, even Miranda herself

Miranda: Is something the matter?

Zoe: I-I mean...

A deep breath left her lips before she turned to the other monsters in the dungeon

Zoe: What about the rest of you? This was a team effort after all. I...

Then, she looked at her friends sitting at that very table, those who she came to for help when this whole thing started. Inevitably, her eyes stayed on you the longest

I mean, you not only helped to prepare the actors, but got her creativity back when she accidentally barfed it up, and also dealt with the cult that had been pestering her for ages

Against all odds, this play was a success, and it was made all the more apparent by Zoe's heartfelt smile

Zoe:...I couldn't have done it without you, without any of you. I mean it

So she stood up and proudly raised her glass as she made a toast

Zoe: To all of us! Who made a play all by ourselves!

Damien: We kicked ass out there!

Vicky: Whooo!! Hell yeah!

Brian: Yeah

Scott: I was a tree!

And so, everyone joined Zoe for the toast, allowing themselves to take pride in their efforts in making this play a reality unless they were members of the audience, in which case they were just happy to drink something 

Once it was done, the princess smiled once again

Miranda: Onwards with the celebration, then!

Polly got on the table and roared with excitement, symbolizing the beginning of the party as the law decreed

"No celebration is allowed to begin until fan-favorite Polly has gotten on top of a table and screamed the official party roar"

If you're surprised this is a thing, you don't know how many parties has Polly been it, invited or otherwise 

Music took quickly took over the ambiance of the place, as did the cheers and laughs that followed, and as the law also decreed, the first song to play was none other than the Monster Mash

"During a celebration, no song is allowed to go before "Monster Mash". Disobedience of this rule is punishable by death or vanishment"

Everyone got up from their table and rushed to the dance floor to partake in this iconic dance, even you 

You: Come on, Zoe, the Monster Mash is calling!

You got up and were about to charge into the dance floor when you noticed the girl was not following. You stopped and raised a brow at her

You: Is...is everything okay?

She looked down as she rubbed her hand with her tentacle, not a single one of her eyes dared to look at you

Zoe: But I-I don't know how to dance the Monster Mash...

A warm feeling took over your heart as you got a hold of her shoulders and made her look at your friends

You: Don't let that stop you

Then, you gestured to Scott, who jumped around, and then to Damien, who was just punching the air. They didn't know how to dance, but they didn't care

So with a smile, you offered a hand to Zoe

You: Come on, you're gonna love it. Just let yourself go

Zoe looked at your hand with wide eyes and pink cheeks, and then at you, and then back at your hand!

And then, of course, she took it

Your smile grew even wider at this gesture and without further due, you made it to the dance floor together, where  you immediately let loose and busted some sick dance moves without a care in the world

Hell, the dance move you were doing didn't even exist, but you had a name for it in case someone asked about it

The Groovy Moussaka, in case you were wondering

Zoe was in absolute awe of this and inspired by it, she decided to give it a try herself. Her unique physiology allowed her to move much more smoothly,  it was almost unreal how much she could twist and bend

But when she did a little jump and somehow landed in your arms, Zoe couldn't help but laugh

Zoe: You were right, I love it!

The dorky smile of hers made its way to your heart, earning a dorky smile of your own

You: Atta girl

...

The party raged on even after the Monster Mash was over, as the music blasted through the room with contagious energy. Eventually, Polly invited Zoe over to dance with Scott, Vera, Damien, and some others in an unholy dance circle

While this happened, DAHLIA, Hope, Vicky, Brian, and you talked over a drink, making the most of the bar now that most of the guests were dancing. Your stepsister looked around before she talked

Hope: I gotta say, Miranda almost made me forget this is a dungeon

Brian: Easily on my top 3 dungeon parties

Vicky: Oh for sure

All of you made some sort of noise in agreement

DAHLIA chugged her drink and ate the glass with joy, but she stopped when she noticed something

DAHLIA: I know how we can make it even better

Everyone turned to the blue demon, only to find her looking at the instruments on the stage, unused, and aching for someone to change that

You: Nah

DAHLIA then turned to you and grinned

DAHLIA: Yeah

You: Are you sure about that? After last time?

Hope: What happened last time?

The zombie took a sip of his drink and placed a hand on her shoulder, then he shook his head. Some things are better left forgotten 

DAHLIA: Oh come on!

Then, she placed her hands on her hips, her teeth showing even more though her grin

DAHLIA: Don't tell me you're that much of a coward

Vicky and Hope went "Oooooh" while you just rolled your eyes with a smile

You: Really? It's gonna take more than that to--

THREE MINUTES LATER

(Play from 1:36!)

https://youtu.be/raQGZjp-98A

The undead: Dᵢg ᵤₚ ₛₒₘₑ fₗₑₛₕ wᵢₜₕ ₚₗₑₙₜy ₒf ₘₒₗd. Dᵢₛₑₐₛₑ ᵢₛ ₐₚₚₑₐₛᵢₙ' fₒᵣ ᵣᵢcₖₑₜy bₒₙₑₛ

A group of reanimated corpses served as the choir for your impromptu band

Brian: And make it saucy with a hot incantation

Vicky: Dominion is served with a bubblin'

Hope: Spirited

DAHLIA: VIBRANT

Everyone: SUBJUGATION!!

Across the room, one of the cultists threw her hands in the air with a short cry

You: YEAAHH!! 

The undead: Wₐₗₜzᵢₙg fₒᵣₜₕ, ₕₑᵣₑ ₜₕₑy cₒₘₑ

You: I'm raisin' the dead

The undead: ₑᵥₑᵣyₒₙₑ ₜᵤᵣₙ ₐₙd ᵣᵤₙ

You: I'm lovin' the dread

The undead: ₖᵢₗₗₑᵣ ₘₒᵥₑₛ ₜₕₐₜ wᵢₗₗ ₛₜᵤₙ

You: Let's make some evil!

-

You: Yeeeah!!

The undead: Bᵤₛₜ ₐ ₘₒᵥₑ ₒᵣ yₒᵤ'ₗₗ ₗₒₛₑ

You: The dance of the dead!

The undead: ₜₕₑy'ₗₗ ₛwₐᵣₘ ₐₗₗ ₒᵥₑᵣ yₒᵤ

You: Get out there and shred! 

The undead: ᵢₜ'ₛ ₐ zₒₘbᵢₑ fₒₒₜₗₒₒₛₑ

You: And make some evil!

You then pointed at Brian on the synth and grinned

You: Take it away, man!

He nodded and immediately began his solo like an absolute maniac while Dahlia played the drums, and Hope and you took care of the guitars and Vicky rocked the bass to the best of her ability

The solo continued to escalate more and more, even when Brian's hands separated they kept at it

Suddenly, the lights went dimmer as did the tone of the song, with Hope and you leading

You/Hope: Cities laid waste, and they celebrate. Freed now from their graves

The undead: We love it so. More, more, more, more

You/Hope: So mince and prowl. It's over now, the necromance ballet...You're all the same

Hope and you looked at each other and grinned, leading the song into a glorious solo from your guitars, with hers supporting yours as you shredded it

The crowd watched in amazement as the two of you played back to back and shredded the solo to its conclusion when you hit a powerful distorted note

You: YEAAHH!! 

The undead: Wₐₗₜzᵢₙg fₒᵣₜₕ, ₕₑᵣₑ ₜₕₑy cₒₘₑ

You: I'm raisin' the dead

The undead: ₑᵥₑᵣyₒₙₑ ₜᵤᵣₙ ₐₙd ᵣᵤₙ

You: I'm lovin' the dread

The undead: ₖᵢₗₗₑᵣ ₘₒᵥₑₛ ₜₕₐₜ wᵢₗₗ ₛₜᵤₙ

You: Let's make some evil!

-

You then threw your fists into the air

-

You: Yeeeah!!

The undead: Bᵤₛₜ ₐ ₘₒᵥₑ ₒᵣ yₒᵤ'ₗₗ ₗₒₛₑ

You: The dance of the dead!

The undead: ₜₕₑy'ₗₗ ₛwₐᵣₘ ₐₗₗ ₒᵥₑᵣ yₒᵤ

You: Get out there and shred! 

The undead: ᵢₜ'ₛ ₐ zₒₘbᵢₑ fₒₒₜₗₒₒₛₑ

You: And make some evil!

Together, you played the final notes to the song, effectively bringing the melody to its end just as the undead Hope and you summoned together effectively vanished 

So much for not wanting to play, huh?

The minute the song ended, you heard the crowd roar in approval. DAHLIA got up from her drums and without a warning grabbed everyone into a big hug

DAHLIA: THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!

You all laughed as the crowd kept at it, and your smile only went wider when you locked eyes with a starstruck Zoe

...

"I didn't know you could play like that"

Zoe and you shared a drink over on the balcony. How was a balcony available when the dungeon was at the lowest levels of this place was beyond you, but you couldn't complain since the view was actually amazing

You: We do, but it's not often that we do it

Zoe: Why not? You were amazing!

You smiled at her, but that smile faded as you looked at the horizon. The sound of gunfire, the screaming of children, and the honking nose of a clown could still be heard to this day

Zoe:...Y/N?

Her voice made you snap out of it. You just shook your head at her

You: Don't worry about it

Zoe: Well, I'm happy that you chose to play this time, I loved it so much

You: Of course!

She gave you a hug that you were quick to return. As this happened, DAHLIA walked by. You gave her a thumbs up, which she returned before walking away

The hug was over shortly after and the girl let out a heavy sigh, making you raise a brow at her

You: Everything okay?

Zoe: yeah, it's just...I would've never expected this

You: Really? A dungeon is not that weird of a place for a party

The girl couldn't help but chuckle at the bad joke, but she shook her head

Zoe: Not that, I mean...

She walked over to the finely-crafted marble railing 

Zoe: The transition from a ruler of the Dark Realms to a normal schoolgirl hasn't been an easy one

You approached the girl as her gaze remained fixed on the horizon. The music from the party even seemed to die down as you focused more on her

Zoe: But every day I am reminded that it was the right choice for me

She used her tentacle arm to rest her head while she continued

Zoe: Sure, being a schoolgirl has no shortage of problems, namely, Leonard...but I think I have been very lucky

You: How so?

She turned to find you by her side on the railing. Without hesitation, she reached for your hand, trying her best to fight through the nervousness

Zoe: Well, I've had the best people supporting me. I'm not exaggerating when I say I couldn't have done it without you, any of it. Not just the play

You: Well, you are pretty special

Zoe: Special?

You tensed up the moment you realized you said that out loud, and when you saw her looking at you with child-like curiosity, your heart skipped a beat. Guess there was no point in denying it now

You: I-I mean, you quickly became one of my favorite people to talk to about, well, anything

The girl scooted closer with bright pink cheeks

Zoe: Even about the smut I write?

You: Especially about the smut you write

You cleared your throat before you went on

You: But besides that, you're just such a nice and caring monster, I think anyone (besides Leonard) can agree that you deserve the world. If I can help to bring you one step closer to happiness, I...

You looked away, rubbing the back of your neck and finally pushing yourself to talk

You: ...well, I'll do it. You're just that important to me

Suddenly, you felt a hand cupping your cheek. When you looked at the source, you found Zoe closer to you, with a tender smile

Zoe: You are the love interest I didn't know I needed, but I can't imagine myself without

Ignoring the fact that both of you were blushing like idiots, you took her hand into yours

You: And you're the "O" in my "OTP"

The eldritch girl laughed at this cheesy line, knowing well that she was the one to teach you those terms

Zoe: Come here already

With that, she brought you close as she closed her eyes, and so did you, allowing your lips to meet with hers. Acting out of instinct, you pulled her close to you by grabbing her waist, while she wrapped her arms around you

This time, there was no audience or sudden excitement that led to an unexpected kiss, but rather, two hearts spelling their truths 

The only thing that separated you was the eventual need for air, but you could still very much taste Zoe on your lips, and when you both opened your eyes, one last smile was inevitable

But then, something else crossed her mind

Zoe:...hey, I was thinking...you know how we got the cult to ourselves now?

You: Ourselves?

Zoe: Yes, "Oh, noble prophet"

You groaned at the term, much to her amusement

Zoe: Anyway...I wanted to thank you for everything you've done, and I got just the thing~

You raised a brow at this shift, but she leaned over to you and whispered her idea. Immediately, you perked up with a grin 

You: Let's do it

She threw her hands in the air and cheered

Zoe: WHOO!!!

See?

With newfound energy, she grabbed your arm and led you away. It was about time she decided how she wanted to celebrate

So she called upon her cult to aid you both. Together, you engaged in restless rituals and flavorful activities that--

...yeah, it was an orgy

But even then, you always made your way into the arms of the other, wanting to express the most out of this love you shared, in your own way, of course, but love nonetheless

Zoe had found the perfect partner for her new life, and there was no room for doubt, that you felt the same

ALL HAIL THE CULT OF ZOE!

The end. For real this time

------------------

I hope you liked this second ride into the Monster Prom universe, now featuring the adorable Zoe! You have @Morning_Blankets to thank for this one. If you want more of  Monster Prom, I have (Literal) Partners in Crime featuring the deadly and gorgeous Vera, and if not, you can always support the games yourselves, they're pretty good!

Seeya!