Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arthur had opposed the idea from the very beginning, and would have opposed it even earlier if it were possible. He stared down at the half-filled suitcase wistfully as the steady tick of his desk clock counted down the seconds to his hour of reckoning. Vivi had, for over a month now, been pressing the idea that Arthur should move in with her and had been getting more insistent of late. Last week she finally issued it as what amounted to an ultimatum saying that she had “everything worked out and you’ll love it!” Apparently she even had all the furniture for his room already and he just needed to pack clothes, tools, and Galaham. That was at least the only point that Vivi and Arthur agreed on, if he was moving he was going to take his hamster with him.

Arthur tried to get Lance to take his side in the matter and that he should stay where he was but his Uncle was almost uncharacteristically enthusiastic about the idea. “Arthur,” he said flatly, “it’s time you spread your wings. Get some space between home and work, it’ll be good for you. Make you less stressed.” Well that last point couldn’t be further from the truth Arthur thought as he trudged dejectedly into the kitchen. If Arthur wanted to know why his uncle was suddenly in favour of his moving out then he needn’t look further that the crumb-covered plate by the sink. Giving it a cursory glance was enough of a give it away, Vivi must have buttered up Uncle Lance with some cake before broaching the idea.

Arthur sighed as he picked up his favourite mugs to pack away and went through a mental checklist. He’d packed his bathroom stuff, he’d packed everything for Galahad, all the tools he needed were in the hall ready. Vivi said they had everything in the kitchen, which Arthur kind of expected, and that he’d only need some mugs or similar for coffee and Arthur knew he was going to need a lot of coffee for what he was about to be dragged into.

As he placed the last of his shirts into the suitcase he heard the doorbell ring, and no sooner had he opened the door than a barrage of irrepressible optimism all dressed up in vibrant blues engulfed him. As much as Arthur dreaded the idea of moving, he always enjoyed just how cheerful and warm Vivi was about things. “Hey Arthur! You ready to get this show on the road?” she chimed, beaming at Arthur and dragging him towards his room.

“I’m, uh, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be… I guess….” Arthur mumbled trying to hide his nerves, or to at least pass them off as more about the move itself rather than about where he was moving to. “I’ve just finished packing up my stuff, you sure I don’t need to bring much?”

“Oh, yeah, we’ve got almost everything as it is anyway” Vivi went on, not noticing Arthur taking a sharp breath at the mention of “we”, but Vivi continued the upbeat torrent of information “There’s pots, pans, I’ve sorted you a bed and a desk all ready. The garage has PLENTY of space for the van and for you to work on things.” She looked around at the shelves of textbooks and project folders that lined Arthur’s room. Despite the rigorous organisation there was still an overflow of papers and schematics across the desk, the bedside table, and even the windowsill. There were a lot more documents than the last time she saw the inside of the room, and that wasn’t all too long ago. “And I’m sure your new room’s going to be bigger as well! So you’ll have more space for all your files and stuff!”

Arthur hated to admit it but he could do with more space, his room was starting to feel a little on the cramped side but it was a pretty minor concern compared to the elephant in the room. He was almost hoping that Vivi would bring it up so that he didn’t have to. He certainly didn’t want to bring it up, it was painful enough to think about it let alone talk about it. Defeated, Arthur hoisted his suitcase off the bed with a muted sigh and put on a brave face; “So, should we get going now? I’ve loaded everything else into the van already” Arthur said, feigning cheer. The sooner he was in and unpacked, the sooner he could disappear into a new work project or hide away in the garage to tune up the van. The journey passed quietly enough, Vivi rattled off features of the house she had managed to wrangle; how big it was, the garage and the small garden, how many rooms there were and where they were. Apparently Arthur’s prospective room was right next to the garage, anyone would have thought she had been planning this since before she even got it. Arthur on the other hand kept quiet and focused on the drive, at least it was a justifiable excuse for not paying attention to his impending fate.

As he pulled up on the driveway Arthur took a good long look at his new home. It was about the same size as Uncle Lance’s place, two floors with a single tiered garage to one side. A side gate suggested a garden round back, and a small hatch at the bottom was no doubt added for Mystery’s benefit but at the moment there was a padlock holding it shut. Vivi’s four legged friend must be in no small trouble for that to be done, a prisoner in his own home like how Arthur was about to be. Parking the van in the garage Arthur could see it was a good size, roomy even. Vivi wasn’t kidding when she said it would be good for him to work in, there was an impressive workbench and a tool rack all set up and waiting for him. She had really gone the extra mile for him and now Arthur felt bad for his reticence. Yet another guilty twang, yet another a reason he should have just kept his head down. Yet another mess he’s about to create and ruin things for everyone else.

Arthur kept his worries to himself as he always did, better to only worry himself than burden anyone else he reasoned, whilst Vivi led him through the garage into the house and into his new room. “Ta-da!” she beamed at him “And this is your room! We might need to put up some more shelves, but for now there’s all this space to work with. I’m sure you’ll make it your own in no time at all. See, there’s even space for Galaham here, and I found these old drainpipes you could use to make a sort of tunnel network for him!”

Arthur just let the verbal avalanche sweep over him, he couldn’t find the energy to do anything else. It was only a short drive, not even across town but it was just so draining. “Yeah, that uh... that sounds like an idea. Hey, I’m feeling kinda beat so I think I should just get everything unpacked and just get settled, y’know?” he said giving a tired smile and gave a vague gesture in the direction of the bed, not that he had any intention of sleeping. If he was lucky he’d get left alone for the rest of the day and he could just retreat into his work before anything went down.

“Oh, yeah, sure! I should probably check in at work” Vivi replied, suddenly feeling awkward. She was so swept up in the excitement she had forgotten that Arthur probably hadn’t slept much, he never did. Not to mention she realised, this was probably quite a lot for Arthur to take in at the best of times. She decided it was better to leave him be for now, there’d be time to talk later. Vivi smiled warmly, “I’ll have my phone if you need me, but I’m sure you can figure things out. Mystery’s about somewhere, but he’s been a bit sulky of late so I’ll tell him to give you some space.” With that she left Arthur in the silent house to unpack his life, in more ways than one.

Arthur started by setting up Galaham’s cage in his room so that he could have someone to talk to honestly about things, the little hamster having slept through most of the journey. “Well, little buddy, I guess this is it now. Can’t say I’ve been looking forward to it but you know Vivi can’t be stopped when she gets an idea” Arthur confessed. It felt good to have someone that he didn’t have to worry about judging him and Galaham was always his go-to confidant. Letting the hamster out onto the floor so he could roam around brought a smile to Arthur’s face, it was good to see the little hamster excited about things because it meant at least one of them was. As Arthur was putting his clothes into the dresser he heard a slight creaking of the door, turning around to see the bespectacled snout of Mystery poking into the room. Arthur gulped nervously and slowly clutched his prosthetic arm, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself as he regretted asking to be left alone, however Mystery only let out a sympathetic whine and laid down at the threshold, nose just poking into the room.

“Y-you can, err, you can come in you know, Mystery” Arthur stammered, trying his best to reach out in spite of anxieties. If he was going to live under the same roof, he was going to have to make efforts to get along with Mystery no matter how much he feared the disguised Kitsune. Mystery in turn took a few small steps into the room and sat silently some distance away from Arthur, letting him make the next move. Vivi was right, the canine was very sullen as he avoided the mechanic’s eyes. It was as if Mystery was ashamed of something, and Arthur could only begin to guess at what the deceptive spirit was hiding but he got the vague impression that Mystery was regretful about something.

Arthur took a deep breath and sat down next to Mystery with a strained smile. “So, uh, I- I- I- guess we’re g-g-gonna be seeing a lot more o-o-o-of each other now” Arthur mumbled hesitantly, offering a shaky palm to the canine who offered up a paw sombrely. Arthur let out a relieved sigh as he shook hands with Mystery. Even though they weren’t going to talk, it was at least a start and Arthur would take anything he could get at this point. Especially when it came to the one he hadn’t seen all day. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried about the fact they hadn’t even showed up for a cursory glance, or glare even. At least, Arthur supposed, the absence gave him time to mentally ready himself. Or more accurately, more time to tie himself in knots over the problem. “Well Mystery, I got a fair bit more to unpack so feel free to get comfy in the meanwhile” Arthur suggested as he stood up “the more the merrier, I guess.” Mystery slinked off and curled up under the desk, burying his nose in his tail, trying to take up as little space as possible whilst melancholy eyes watched Arthur go about his business. I guess we’re both hiding from something Arthur mused. He could sympathise with the little dog over this, he knew the feeling all too well.

After unpacking the last of his belongings, Arthur surveyed the room. It was still a little bare, but it was beginning to feel a bit more like his own now. Vivi was right about needing more shelf space but for now he could leave most of his schematics and project files at his Uncle’s place. Unsure of what to do next Arthur sat down next to Mystery, who hadn’t moved out from under the desk, and began to scratch the little dog behind his ear. “I hate to admit it, but Vivi really did a good job with this place. It’s… great. Good light, nice space, it’s like she’d been planning this for a while” Arthur remarked, “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you? Or did she spring this on you as well?”

Mystery cocked his head as he considered the question but kept quiet. The dog rested his head on Arthurs lap and heaved a sigh. Mystery always enjoyed Arthur’s company, the mechanic’s quiet nature was always relaxing, a nice change of pace from Vivi’s exuberant energy. Arthur also gave the best behind-the-ear scratches, which was pretty great right now. He wanted to tell Arthur everything, but the mechanic had too much on his plate right now with the move. He might have put away all his belongings but that was only a small part of it. Mystery decided it could all wait for now, besides he was enjoying himself at present and Arthur could do with a calm afternoon, it would be good for him. Good for his confidence. Arthur didn’t press the question any further, he just smiled and leaned back against the wall. The two just sat quietly in near total silence, with only the ticking of Arthur’s desk clock and the soft whump-whump-whump of Mystery’s wagging tail to mark the passage of time. For the first time in too long Arthur felt like things were going right. 

The pair must have dozed off at some point because when the sound of Vivi’s cheery voice roused them the last rays of a setting sun painted the walls a warm orange colour. Mystery shook himself awake and trotted off to find Vivi pausing only to look back at Arthur, giving him a warm smile as he did so. Arthur got up and stretched, he didn’t know the last time he got a good nap like that and was actually feeling pretty energised for once! Following after Mystery he found Vivi brandishing a take-out menu with a grin. “I thought that maybe we’d order in tonight? And using my exceptional powers of deduction” Vivi pinched the bridge of her nose with a theatrical flourish, “You’ll be wanting the ‘Surf’s Up Surprise’. As usual. I will never understand how you could like oysters. Let alone on a pizza!” she chuckled.

“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it!” Arthur cheerfully retorted, “but on your own pizza. I ain’t sharing, I’m famished! I’ve been hauling tools around all day!”

“Oh don’t give me that, I peaked in before I called you. You,” she pointed at Arthur and Mystery, “and you were slacking off with a little afternoon nap!” The mechanic and dog shared a sheepish grin with each other. “Well, I’ll go ahead and order it, I’ll let you know when it arrives.”

Arthur casually strolled back to his room whistling to himself, all sense of worry was far from his mind. He sat down at his desk, pulled out new sheet of paper and donned his headphones. He bobbed his head in time with the music as lines began to form into parts, and parts turned into projects in his mind and on the page. He was so swept up in his work he almost didn’t notice it when it happened. The lamp flickered, the temperature dropped before steadily climbing to warmer than before. A shiver ran down Arthur’s spine as the moment he was dreading creeped back to the forefront of his mind. He hoped that if he just stayed focused on the work that he’d be left alone until Vivi came to get him for dinner. Gingerly he reached for his phone and turned the volume up, and tried humming along to the music to settle him but he couldn’t help but have his voice quaver.

Unfortunately he could have set the volume to deafening for all the good it didn’t do as Arthur almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the spectre speak.

“AHEM. ARTHUR.” The spectre’s voice was clearly audible over the sound of the music, as if it bypassed the ears and went straight to the brain. It was terrifying. Arthur froze up entirely, he dared not turn around. Out the corner of his eye he saw a colossal shadowy hand reach past him, his mind raced with all manner of grisly possibilities. Was he going to finish what he tried in the back of the truck? Did Vivi know this was going to happen? Did she set him up? Arthur fought to maintain composure as his pulse quickened and anxiety took root. His train of thought was interrupted when the ghostly hand tapped firmly on the desk. “ARTHUR, ARE YOU IN THERE? THE PIZZAS ARE HERE NOW.” Arthur couldn’t shake himself from the paralysis, he was too busy trying to subdue the rising panic.

“ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? DID YOU FALL ASLEEP AT YOUR DESK AGAIN?” The shadowy hand waved in front of his face, and was that worry in the ghost’s voice? What did he have to worry about? Why would he be worried about ME? Arthur thought. The questions just wouldn’t stop coming, a barrage of intrusive thoughts eclipsing everything else from the day. The drive here, napping with Mystery, exchanging quips with Vivi in the kitchen, they all fell away as Arthur felt the burning gaze on the back of his head. As a hand grasped his shoulder Arthur jumped out of his chair, sending it crashing to the ground. “L-L-L-Lewis,” he stuttered out through panicked breaths, “I- I didn- I wasn- I di-“ the words kept getting caught in his throat “I- I- I- I-…” he gulped “V-Vi-V-Vivi asked m-m-me to m-move in a-a-and… and I c-couldn’t say n-no to h-h-her an-“ as Arthur blurted out his plea for clemency Lewis stepped back and held up his hands.

“HEY, HEY, HEY TAKE IT EASY NOW ARTHUR. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. I’M NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO YOU” Lewis stated calmly “I’M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU.” The spectre kept a respectful distance and his hands raised. Even with the skull’s visage Lewis’ eyes were genuine, pleading even. Arthur, with exhausting effort, managed to wrestle his breathing under control though he was still shaking as he clutched at his prosthetic arm, the cold feel of the metal was little comfort but it was better than nothing right now. His voice wavered slightly but at least he could find the words now, “I’m sorry, Lewis I d-didn’t know what to say.” Arthur did everything to avoid looking at the black-suited wraith that loomed in front of him “It’s just that when Vivi said she wanted me to move in I couldn’t say no, but… but I guess you already know that I can’t say no to anything.” Arthur righted the chair and sat down again before continuing “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he swept his arm around the room, “I didn’t mean to barge back into your lif-  I mean, your world and remind you of… of… of all this…” Arthur buried his face in his hands “I… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I’m sorry.”

“IT’S ALL RIGHT, ARTHUR. I DON’T BLAME YO-“

“How can you not blame me?! I pushed you! I ruined everything for you! You and Vivi!”  Arthur snapped, “How can you do anything but hate me for what I did?!”

“THERE’S MORE TO WHAT HAPPENED THAN YOU REMEMBER, ARTHUR. A LOT MORE” said Lewis, trying his best to sound comforting in spite of the otherworldly nature of his voice.

“Oh is this your idea of a joke? Is this how you want to torment me now?!” Arthur scoffed bitterly “What difference does it make if there’s more to what happened?! You’re still dead and I’m still the one who killed you! How can it be anything other than that?!”  

“BECAUSE IT WASN’T YOU ARTHUR. IT WASN’T YOU WHO ACTUALLY PUSHED ME.” Lewis’ tone was flat. Impassive. This wasn’t a point he was going to budge on.

“How… how can that be the case? I was there! I saw it happen!” Arthur insisted, before adding with a muted whimper “I… still see it happening…”

“I KNOW YOU DO, AND I’M SORRY…” the towering spectre went to console the mechanic, placing a tender hand on a quivering shoulder, “BUT THE TRUTH IS YOU’RE AS MUCH A VICTIM AS I AM. AND IT ISN’T RIGHT THAT YOU TORMENT YOURSELF OVER SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN’T DO YOURSELF”

Arthur was shaking, none of this made any sense to him. How could he be a victim? Did Lewis really think that his own life was equal Arthur’s arm? That Arthur’s self-torture was fair recompense for murder? Arthur needed answers, “What are you talking about, Lewis? I don’t understand!” he demanded.

“IT’S COMPLICATED, ARTHUR. EVEN I DON’T KNOW THE FULL STORY BUT…. FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD… IT WAS SOMETHING IN THE CAVE, IT…. SORT OF TOOK OVER AND… YEAH…” Lewis began to twist his hands together nervously, it sounded like a weak explanation now that he said it aloud but it was the truth. At least, it was as much of the truth that he knew, and that’s what Arthur deserved right now. Lewis had been so angry, so furious at Arthur for what seemed like so long. He had almost done something terrible as a result but thankfully it didn’t come to pass, Lewis didn’t think he could forgive himself if it had. This at least helped him understand what Arthur was going through, how he had been feeling since it happened. “THAT’S… THAT’S REALLY ALL I’VE BEEN TOLD. I’M AFRAID I DON’T KNOW ANY MORE THAN THAT.”

Arthur was still incredulous, whilst he couldn’t remember much of what happened he had run through the events in his head time and time again and it was always the same. He followed Lewis down the left tunnel, he saw him look down over a ledge to a mass of spear-like stalagmites. And then it all goes wrong. A single shove. A crunching sound. Ripping, tearing. Agony, and then darkness. It was a familiar nightmare for Arthur, a constant companion in the lonely nights. He didn’t dare talk to anyone about the events for fear of opening old wounds, instead hoping for everything to fade away. To just disappear. “What… what do you mean ‘been told’? Who told you? And… and why didn’t they tell me?!” he begged, he had worked himself to pieces trying to find Lewis, to find answers even though it nearly killed him.

“IT WAS… IT WAS MYSTERY” Lewis sighed, “BUT HE WASN’T REALLY OPEN ABOUT IT. HE DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO TELL ME” he added, looking sheepish. “I HAD TO, UH, PERSUADE HIM. JUST A LITTLE BIT, Y’KNOW? A TEENSY BIT. NO… NO BIG DEAL.”

Arthur gulped, Mystery had been very subdued and he himself had been on the receiving end of Lewis’ ire in the past and was worried for what Mystery had to suffer through.  “W-wh-what did you d-”

“I THREATENED TO GIVE HIM A BATH.” Lewis said flatly, cutting Arthur off but still looking embarrassed. “I FILLED THE TUB AND HELD HIM OVER IT. VIVI WAS AT WORK WHEN IT HAPPENED SO SHE DOESN’T KNOW. AT LEAST I DON’T THINK SHE DOES, AND I’D KINDA LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.” The towering spectre looked furtively back to the doorway before adding quietly “I DON’T THINK SHE’D BE HAPPY WITH ME IF SHE FOUND OUT…”

Arthur didn’t know if it was the way the imposing, terrifying ghost was cowering at the mere thought of Vivi’s disapproval, the entirely mundane nature of the interrogation, or simply the stress of the last few minutes getting to him, but he couldn’t help but find the situation comical. The person he was terrified of was in turn mortified at the idea that Vivi might find out that they threatened their canid companion with shampoo and warm water!

“AND THEN, WHEN HE TOLD ME… I… MIGHT HAVE… DROPPED HIM IN THE TUB…” Lewis continued abashed, “SO IF WE COULD JUST KEEP THIS… UH... KEEP THIS BETWEEN US, ARTHUR?”

“You… you threatened Mystery with a bath?! You actually threatened him with a bath and it worked?!” whispered Arthur, doing his best to keep Lewis’ secret but still in utter disbelief that the ancient being could be menaced by the idea of being washed.

“HE DIDN’T TAKE IT VERY WELL…”

“I can’t imagine he did! But when did this happen? Why… why didn’t anyone tell me sooner?”

“WELL… I NEEDED SOME TIME TO PROCESS IT, AND MYSTERY DIDN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT AT ALL. I GUESS HE FEELS ASHAMED AND DIDN’T WANT TO STIR THINGS UP ANY MORE. HE’S BEEN SULKING FOR A WHILE NOW…”

“So… So Vivi doesn’t know any of this?”

“NOT AT ALL. BUT SHE WAS OVERJOYED WHEN I SUGGESTED THAT WE HAVE YOU MOVE I-”

“Wait wait wait… it was your idea?! Vivi said nothing about it! Said it was her idea!”

“WELL, THAT WAS THE PLAN. I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D MOVE IN IF YOU KNEW IT WAS MY IDEA”

Arthur felt bad. It was true that if he knew it was Lewis’ idea he’d have put up even more of a fight against moving in. He thought that if it was Vivi’s idea he could at least rely on her to quell the bitter Lewis he had expected. Arthur tried to gloss over this fact, “But… I don’t get why you’d want me to move in in the first place…”

“WE CAN’T PRETEND THINGS DIDN’T HAPPEN” Lewis waved his hands vaguely, gesturing at himself and Arthur, “WE CAN’T SWEEP ANY OF THIS UNDER THE RUG. WE’VE BOTH GOT TO FACE UP TO IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. BEST WAY IS ALWAYS THROUGH” the ghost cocked his skull to one side, “SO WHAT DO YA SAY, ARTIE? THINK YOU CAN STICK THIS OUT FOR ME? FOR OLD TIME’S SAKE?”

“I… I thought you’d always hate me, Lewis. I thought you’d never want anything to do with me again…” Arthur mumbled, still feeling rattled but relieved at this olive branch being offered. “All I wanted was for things to go back to how they were, Lewis. Or…” he grimaced slightly, “or as close as we can get…”

“I’D LIKE THAT, ARTHUR” Lewis said, his expression was naturally unreadable but the smile was evident. There was a genuine warmth to his voice that made the tension melt away from the room. Arthur’s shoulders went slack, and he let out a relieved sigh and then a laugh. Not a nervous chuckle, but an honest full-on laugh. He hadn’t laughed like this in so long. It was infectious, soon Lewis was laughing too. Arthur wiped away a tear “Sorry,” he said trying to get a hold of himself, “Sorry but I just can’t shake the image of you interrogating Mystery over a bath!”

“WELL DON’T LET HIM HEAR YOU LAUGHING, HE STILL LIKES YOU!” Lewis said back, pointing a joking finger at the mechanic.

“Oh I know, he’s been in here all day! Probably because it meant he wouldn’t have to run into you!” Arthur quipped, before smirking “you must really be in the doghouse”

“THAT WAS TERRIBLE AND YOU KNOW IT.” Lewis grimaced.

“Oh, totally. But it’s true though” Arthur shrugged smugly “But don’t worry, I’ll keep it a mystery from Vivi”

“UGH, OKAY NOW I MIGHT START REGRETTING THIS.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop. I think the joke’s been done to death anyway”

Lewis’ hand flew to his face as he groaned, “OH FOR THE LOVE OF…. LET’S JUST GO. BEFORE THE PIZZAS GET COLD.”

“Oh crap! I completely forgot! You don’t think she’d have started eating without us, would she?”

“WITH OYSETERS ON YOURS? NOT A CHANCE!” Lewis scoffed “WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT OYSTERS ON A PIZZA!”

“The pair of you just never learned to appreciate the delicate flavour of a good oyster” quipped Arthur as he straightened out his stationary on the desk to help calm himself, “Phew. Well. Let’s uh, let’s go eat then? We can… we can talk about things more in the morning. I think I just want to enjoy things for the night, y’know? Take it easy.”

“YEAH, YEAH THAT SOUNDS GOOD. YOU GOT TOMORROW OFF RIGHT? WE CAN TALK AS WE MOVE THE REST OF YOUR STUFF IN, IF THAT’S ALL RIGHT WITH YOU?” Lewis ventured optimistically.

“Well, I do have a few projects I’m still working on that I haven’t got packed up, and there’s some space for a few files already we can get brought over so that sounds like a good idea” Arthur smiled back at the spectre. There was a lot of baggage, but they had made a good start to reconcile.

Lewis and Arthur joked together as they entered the kitchen to find Vivi sitting nonchalantly at the table next to a stack of pizza boxes. Mystery was sitting under Vivi’s chair. Whilst the dog perked up at the sight of Arthur he glowered at Lewis as the ghost entered the room, clearly he still hadn’t forgiven the bath incident. The friends sat round the table together like they used to and they talked. They joked. Arthur explained in detail his latest projects, though nobody fully understood him. Vivi passionately divulged the latest unexplained mystery she had found out about and that they should totally go investigate, though Lewis and Arthur shared a look. Mystery begged for a slice and Arthur happily obliged, though he picked off some of the seafood first. Lewis was just glad to have his friends sat around the same table again

For the first time in far too long the Mystery Skulls were all together, and happy.

Chapter Text

Lewis was fuming, in both senses of the word. Faint wisps of smoke emanated from the spectre as he stalked sullenly up and down the darkened hallway of his and Vivi’s tiny apartment. He had a lot to be angry about these days, chief among them was being dead. He couldn’t eat any more, he couldn’t dream. Everything felt distant and wrong. He just couldn’t seem to enjoy much of anything these days. Sure he still loved Vivi, enjoying every moment he could spend with her but he couldn’t exactly leave the apartment nowadays without causing a stir and he wanted to avoid that if at all possible. So whenever Vivi left for work or had to walk Mystery or needed to go out for whatever other reasons then Lewis was left to stew in the cramped quarters of their home. At present, Vivi was restfully sleeping whilst he was too agitated to simply lay beside her.

As he drifted over to the window Lewis looked out up at the midnight sky as he tried to get his thoughts in order again. It always came back to the same point, the same source. It always came back to Arthur. Every time he thought about the mechanic, it made his blood boil (figuratively speaking). Arthur had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, and yet in one single moment he had taken everything from him. In each and every second the betrayal stung impossibly. It was a seething, burning pain that haunted him constantly like a burning dagger through his heart. His fists clenched on the windowsill as he recalled his first encounter with Arthur since his treachery, the pursuit and finally how he almost got his revenge on the cowardly traitor. And yet throughout the entire ordeal a faint nagging at the corner of his mind never stopped. At the moment of his triumph as he looked down to Arthur plummeting from the cliff as he had once done so this niggling uncertainty became an overwhelming surge of doubt. He looked on as Arthur fell, and all he could think of was all the good times they had. Arthur’s face was the picture of shock, an empathetic mixture of surprise, terror and disbelief.

And just like that, he couldn’t help but intercede. For his aggressive pursuit of retribution he couldn’t see anything other than his best friend in Arthur’s pained expression and in one brief instant vengeance gave way to fleeting compassion. Something deep in him was screaming at him to save Arthur, something that overwhelmed his burning rage and in a single moment all chance of vengeance was swept away; never to return. In the intervening time since then Lewis could hardly leave the apartment and Arthur had never left Kingsmen Mechanics, whether out of guilt or fear Lewis didn’t care. Even if he could somehow have gotten to Arthur, it was known between all of the Mystery Skulls that Lewis still held a grudge. There was no way that Vivi or Mystery would let anything happen to Arthur, not believing that the nervous mechanic could have willingly killed their friend. And as furious as Lewis was he still prized Vivi above vindication. So that was it, Lewis had to continue knowing that his murder would live on cowering behind his friends whilst Lewis himself had to exist in some cruel and restless torment.

Lewis heaved a sigh and cast a dejected gaze around the room, in these twilight hours there was nothing to do. Vivi was fast asleep and Lewis didn’t want to wake her, the rooms were spotlessly clean, and he had read everything on the bookshelf already including Vivi’s extensive collection of supernatural lore (and something claiming to be a book on supernatural law, though Lewis had his doubts). The wraith turned his eyes solemnly down towards the street and longed to go out for a change, but whilst there wasn’t anyone about he didn’t want to risk being seen in his current state. Whilst he could create a façade of his living self, it still looked wrong and unnatural in addition to being difficult to achieve. He didn’t even know how he managed it the last time he pulled it off, only that he was very, very angry at the time.

With nothing left to do but think, Lewis’ mind once again inevitably returned to the cave where it all went wrong. The events were still burned into his memory, the gang had split up to explore the cave with Lewis and Arthur taking the left path, whilst Vivi took the right. He was stood at a cliff edge looking at the precarious drop when he heard it, a vicious, hissing chuckle as the shove came before he could react, only able to pivot on his heels as he went over the edge, staring at Arthur’s venomous grin. As he lay on the cavern floor breathing his last he heard a furious, guttural snarl, and then darkness. And yet... and yet the more he thought about it now, the more he couldn’t shake the feeling he was missing something. He had to have had a reason for saving Arthur, something more than just good memories. Lewis decided that he couldn’t continue like this, he needed answers and whilst Vivi was still recovering her memories and talking to Arthur was definitely out of the question right now, there was only one left who might be able tell him what he wanted to know. And they weren’t exactly the most forthcoming of individuals so Lewis was going to have to go about things with tact and diplomacy. It was about time to see a dog about a man.

Vivi brushed the sleep from her eyes as the morning light eventually poked through the curtains, rolling over to see the empty space beside her in the bed. Well, Lewis wasn’t exactly one for sleeping these days anyway so it wasn’t a surprise to find that he’d be up and about already. After throwing on an elegant silk dressing gown she ambled into the kitchen to find Lewis glumly tracing circles on the table with his finger. “Oh, what’s up Grumpus? Something on your mind that you wanna talk about?” she chimed brightly as she stood behind the spectre and looped her arms around his shoulders in soft embrace. She hated seeing him down like this but unless Lewis opened up about what was bothering him she didn’t know what to do aside from cheerily support him. She still had her suspicions though, but found them hard to believe. Arthur couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone his best friend. There had to be a misunderstanding but nobody was willing to talk to her about it. Arthur would go silent and avoid all eye contact, Lewis would try to change the subject every time and Mystery had made it clear that they weren’t going to talk about the subject.

“OH, IT’S NOTHING. JUST THINKING THROUGH SOME STUFF.” Lewis sighed, giving a non-committal wave of the hand “BUT I’M ALL THE BETTER FOR YOU BEING HERE” he continued with a more cheerful tone. So it was the same thing that usually bothered him then, but there was more going on this time around. Lewis was trying to sound nonchalant but Vivi didn’t take up paranormal investigation in her spare time on a whim. She had a knack for knowing when people were hiding something from her and was especially good at this when it came to her two closest friends, a fact that they both often forgot. If Lewis wasn’t going to tell her, then she’d have to tease the truth out of him

“Well,” Vivi said as she started making a coffee in her travel mug, “were you able to draw a conclusion of some kind then?”

“ER, NOT EXACTLY. BUT… BUT I THINK I HAVE SOME IDEAS OF WHAT TO DO.” Lewis spoke hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure himself of his own thoughts.

“Oh? Like what?” Vivi had an opening, but she couldn’t press too aggressively otherwise Lewis would start getting overly secretive.

“JUST A FEW QUESTIONS TO ANSWER. Y’KNOW, LIKE SOME THEORIES AND STUFF?”

Yeah, you and me both, Vivi thought, but none of you are telling me anything and I can’t remember much of it myself.

“Just don’t strain your brain too hard, Lew” Vivi teased as she went to get dressed for work “Wouldn’t want you to get a headache from overthinking things!”

Lewis had definitely resolved to do something but Vivi wasn’t sure as yet. She considered sending a text to Arthur to keep him informed but decided against it. It would only pile more worry on the poor man to know that Lewis was planning something. At least she knew that Lewis wasn’t going to do anything drastic just yet so Vivi reasoned she could press for more information later this evening. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she finished getting her things together for work and was about to head out the door when she whispered to Lewis “I don’t know what’s bothering you, but I wasn’t born yesterday either. Whatever you’re planning just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“AS IF I’D DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT WITHOUT YOU! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT YOU’RE THE IDEAS PERSON. ANYWAY I’LL CALL YOU IF THERE’S ANYTHING, I’LL BE FINE” Lewis quipped back as Vivi went on her way to Tome Tomb. She’d have a long shift at work, and wouldn’t be back until late giving Lewis all the time he needed to make a dinner ready, keep the place clean and tidy and have his little chat with Mystery. First things first Lewis decided that making dinner would be the best thing to start with, he could get that task out of the way and it would help him prepare himself for confronting Mystery. Lewis had always loved to cook and being dead did little to dampen his enthusiasm for the task, he might not be able to eat but cooking was a form of artistry in itself.

Lewis had decided to go for something slow cooked, something he could get on the go now and not have to worry about later. He had a lot on his mind and the sooner he could get things in order the better. He called forth three Deadbeats to help with the preparation, cutting the vegetables and such. Lewis had decided on making a goulash, it was simple enough and could be just left in the oven whilst he tended to the other matter. As Lewis went about making the dinner with the Deadbeats, he turned to thinking about how he’d deal with Mystery. The dog had been pacing around the flat nonchalantly, going from one place to nap to the other throughout the day whilst waiting for Vivi to come home to take him for walkies. Lewis had wanted to ask Mystery about everything each time he saw them, but didn’t know how to broach the subject, so he just kept on with making dinner hoping to think of how to start talking later on.

The oven was getting up to temperature ready for the goulash and Lewis was still foundering for a way forwards. Mystery hadn’t responded to direct questions in the past, instead refusing to give any answer saying vague things such as “it’s something better left forgotten” and “it’s in the past, think more about the future”. It was aggravating, how could Lewis move forwards if he didn’t know how he got where he was? Mystery was so aloof and dismissive about things, they didn’t seem to understand how Lewis was struggling with anger issues stemming from all that happened. With so much unresolved and only the prospect of stony silence, Lewis’ rage began to build again. If Mystery wouldn’t answer the questions when asked, then Lewis would simply have to force the answers out of him. Lewis had a plan now.

With dinner slowly stewing away in the oven Lewis went to hunt down Mystery, finding the enigmatic canid dozing peacefully in the lounge this time. Slowly, gently, Lewis scooped up the sleeping dog who stirred lightly. “Hmm, oh hello Lewis. Say, is that dinner in the oven? It smells good” Mystery yawned as he stretched, adjusted his glasses and sniffed at the air, “Goulash? Why, I haven’t had that in centuries!” Lewis said nothing for a moment as he drifted towards the bathroom, moving quickly to take advantage of Mystery’s stupor.

“MYSTERY, WE NEED TO TALK.” Lewis said flatly, ignoring Mystery’s attempts at conversation “AND BEFORE YOU START WITH THE NOT-THIS-AGAIN ROUTINE, THAT’S NOT AN OPTION. WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED.”

All geniality dropped from Mystery’s voice as he turned away from Lewis, “Oh. I see. Well, unfortunately I don’t know what you expect me to say about that because I don’t have anything else to tell you that I haven’t already told you” he grumbled. Mystery could guess that Lewis had something planned, there’d be no other reason for him to sound so forceful if he didn’t have something lined up. As Mystery squirmed to get away Lewis tightened his grip and stepped into the bathroom.

“OH I’M NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT, MYSTERY. IN FACT I THINK THERE’S QUITE A LOT YOU AREN’T TELLING US” Lewis glowered as he twisted the faucet on with one hand and grasping the nape of Mystery’s neck with the other, holding his prisoner above the tub as ice cold water crashed into it. “SO INSTEAD OF DOING THINGS VIVI’S WAY, WE’RE GOING TO DO THINGS MY WAY.” Mystery might really be a kitsune in disguise but that didn’t change the fact that he really didn’t like getting wet, especially when the water was cold.

“Oh how very original of you, Lewis Pepper” Mystery snapped back, writhing above the water “Say, haven’t we seen you do this before? Remind me again how well it went down that time would you?”

Lewis tensed at the rebuke but he wasn’t about to let up now. “I DON’T THINK YOU’RE IN A POSITION TO TALK BACK, MYSTERY. BUT IF YOU’RE SO KEEN TO TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS HAPPENED, HOW ABOUT WE START WITH THE CAVE? WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVE?”

“I’ve already told you everything, Pepper, I don’t know what else you expect me to even say!” Mystery barked as he continued to writhe in Lewis’ grasp “I was with Vivi at the time!”

“OH? THEN HOW ABOUT YOU TELL ME ABOUT A FEW OTHER THINGS, SUCH AS HOW ARTHUR LOST HIS ARM?” Lewis snarled.

“I’m… sorry?” Mystery immediately stopped squirming “I don’t follow. How does Arthur’s arm have any bearing on your situation, precisely?”

“WELL IT’S JUST THAT YOU KEEP SAYING THAT YOU WENT WITH VIVI IN THE CAVE BUT WE ONLY HAVE YOUR WORD FOR THAT. SHE CAN’T REMEMBER, AND ARTHUR DOESN’T TALK ABOUT IT SO I THOUGHT “WELL MAYBE HE’S LYING ABOUT SOMETHING!” AND THEN,” Lewis growled accusingly “THEN I REMEMBERED THAT AS I LAY THERE DYING ON THE FLOOR, BLEEDING OUT, I HEARD SOMETHING. I THOUGHT I HAD IMAGINED IT BUT ON THE OTHER HAND WHAT IF I DIDN’T IMAGINE IT? WHAT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING BIG, SOMETHING DANGEROUS UP THERE? SOMETHING THAT COULD TEAR OFF AN ARM?” Lewis stopped filling the bath and dipped a finger into the water. It hissed slightly from unnatural heat that Lewis gave out. “CHILLING” Lewis noted aloud, as much about the temperature of the water as about the menacing interrogation. “SO, HOW ABOUT YOU EXPLAIN THAT? BECAUSE THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF THAT COULD MAKE THAT SOUND AND CAUSE THAT SORT OF HURT WOULD HAVE TO BE VERY LARGE. MONSTEROUS, EVEN…”

Mystery slowly gulped, “Well, you see that whilst I had meant to go with Vivi but I must have taken the other tunnel and followed you and Arthur. Must have, ah, slipped my mind I suppose!”

“AND YOU REMEMBERING THIS IS TOTALLY A SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT THING AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT?” Lewis suggested sarcastically, gesturing to the bathtub below.

“I assure you, it was nothing more than an innocent mistake!” Mystery whined, drawing himself up into a ball.

“AND OF COURSE IT’S NOT BECAUSE YOU’RE LYING?!” Lewis roared, both temper and ghostfire flaring wildly. The silence afterwards was deafening. The seconds stretched out as Lewis glared at Mystery. Eventually, Mystery let out a guilty sigh and slackened.

“You have to understand that I had to keep this secret in order to keep everyone sheltered, Lewis. I didn’t do this out of malice, but because I wanted to protect everyone from this happening again.” Mystery confessed, turning his head away from Lewis too ashamed to look the ghost in the eye. “You see, if the truth had become known then I was afraid that one of you would have taken matters into your own hands and endangered you all in the process. I had hoped that if the truth was kept secret that things would have settled down eventually, that everything would return to some semblance of normality” Mystery turned back to face Lewis with a pleading expression, “I had never meant to harm you.”

“GET TO THE POINT, MYSTERY.” Lewis growled. He had been wanting answers for so long, he wasn’t about to be swayed by pleas when he was so close to the truth. “START TALKING, OR DO I HAVE TO REMIND YOU OR HOW THINGS WENT THE LAST TIME I DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS?”

“Patience, Lewis, have patience. I’m getting there” Mystery cautioned, not forgetting the threat of a sudden undignified swim below him. “So as you correctly surmised, I did indeed follow you and Arthur instead of going with Vivi as I had initially intended. You see, I had an uneasy feeling about the cave but did not have sufficient understanding of it at the time. Additionally, as I was trying to, ahem, maintain somewhat of a low profile at the time I did not feel I could voice my concerns without losing my anonymity.”

The kitsune had for some time been passing himself of as Vivi’s pet dog primarily in an attempt to avoid being detected by a malevolent tree-demon that had stalked him relentlessly. Lewis had encountered them briefly but was too focused on his own vendetta at the time to pay them much attention. This spirit, Shinomori as Mystery had called them, had a far longer and far darker history with the kitsune than Mystery was willing to explain. There was a genuine fear here which at least explained why Mystery had always wanted to keep them all safe, as he was afraid of what might happen to them if he failed them.

“I had hoped that if I could find the source of the malaise that I could contend with the problem discretely before anything came of it” Mystery explained, “Unfortunately I had underestimated the nature of the threat and by the time I had realised the severity of my mistake it was too late…” There was palpable regret in his voice as Mystery trailed off. The small dog heaved another empathetic sigh before continuing, “I’m so sorry Lewis. I’m sorry I was too late to stop things.”

As touching as the sorrowful tale was Lewis found himself with more questions than answers, and Mystery’s long-winded explanations were beginning to wear on his patience. “WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT ARTHUR DID TO ME?!” he seethed, slowly lowering Mystery closer to the frigid waters.

“I’m getting to that! I’m getting to that!” Mystery implored, frantically waving his legs in a futile attempt to put distance between himself and the bathtub “It is not as simple a question as what Arthur did to you, as it was not Arthur who did anything to you!”

Lewis snapped his arm back up drawing Mystery’s eyes level with his, the ghost’s pupils shrank to laser-focused pinpricks of rage. “WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?!” he demanded, his anger heating the room to an almost uncomfortable degree, “DID YOU FORGET THAT I WAS THERE? I SAW EXACTLY HE DID. AND HE KNOWS IT TOO! THAT’S WHY HE’S HIDING FROM ME, HE’S AS GUILTY AS SIN AND YOU’RE TRYING TO COVER FOR HIM AREN’T YOU?!”

Mystery bristled at the accusation, his lips curling into a snarl and his shadow seemed to flicker and grow. Were Lewis not so blinded by rage he might have noticed the shadow on the wall had more tails than usual. Mystery’s unassuming frame stiffened with sheer indignation, it took a considerable amount effort to maintain his composure as best he could. “I beg your pardon?!” he snapped, “Do you wish to know what happened or are you merely looking for excuses to confirm your wildly incomplete conclusion?” Mystery took a deep breath before resuming, “It transpired that the malignance within the cave was a jealous entity, a fiendish and vile formless being. This enigmatic presence wanted what it lacked, a physical form. And… well, it found one...”

The implications dawned on Lewis and his arm began to quiver “YOU… YOU MEAN THAT WHEN I WAS PUSHED, IT WAS...”

“Arthur was vulnerable, he felt unwanted. Vestigial. This made him an almost perfect host for the spirit, which wasted no time in exploiting its host. In order to enforce the grasp over Arthur’s body it set about breaking his will by taking away the last hope he had, his friends” Mystery explained, “If it succeeded, then Arthur would have been lost entirely.” Mystery went slack, hanging from Lewis’ grasp with a resigned melancholy. “By the time I could do anything it was too late to save you, but… but Arthur could still be saved. The possession had not fully taken hold and Arthur’s strength of will was commendable, he had fought hard to try and regain control but the suddenness of everything meant he wasn’t able to resist enough.”

Mystery hesitated, this was the part he was dreading but he had no choice. He couldn’t tell the story without going over this part as well, no matter how painful the memory was. “I… had no other choice, it was either lose Arthur as well or take desperate measures. I had only one option, I had to remove the infection.”

Lewis felt his anger rise again, but this time it was aimed at Mystery. His arm stiffened again raising Mystery higher above the bathtub. “YOU… YOU TORE OFF HIS ARM?!”

“There was no other way! I couldn’t leave Vivi without both of her closest friends. Especially when it transpired that her memories were erased. I couldn’t let any more be taken from her. I could save Arthur but at a high cost to him, if I could have paid the price instead of him I would have.”

“DOES… DOES ARTHUR KNOW ANY OF THIS?”

Mystery hesitated for a concerning moment. “No…” he said, “Nobody knows of this aside from us now. Arthur remains unaware of the effect of the spirit. He remembers only scant fragments of what happened, from what I heard him say in his sleep…”

The revelations hit Lewis like a blow from a sledgehammer, all this time he had hated Arthur for murdering him yet now he was overcome with guilt. He had pursued and tormented his old friend with every intent of exacting revenge but now he felt sickened by his actions. The mechanic had been torturing himself for Lewis’ murder, hating himself as much as Lewis had done before now. And Arthur was still wrestling with the burden now. Everything began to fall into place; why Arthur was isolating himself, why he wasn’t sleeping and why he had tried so hard to find Lewis. Arthur had sought forgiveness but had nearly been killed for his trouble, and worse yet Arthur mistakenly believed he was deserving of such punishement.

“ALL THIS TIME. ALL THE TIME HE WAS LOOKING FOR ME, HE ONLY WANTED TO MAKE AMENDS” Lewis stammered “HE JUST WANTED TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT AND I… I NEARLY KILLED HIM FOR IT…”

“None of us were aware that you had returned, Lewis. I could scarcely believe it was possible but Arthur was adamant on finding you, he had no intention of ever giving up. He said he was going to find what happened to you, no matter what” Mystery concluded sombrely. It was a tragic matter, a dark chapter that he had hoped was past and done with but no matter how hard he tried to get everyone to move forwards the past had its talons deep in their minds.

Lewis was shaken by everything he had heard. All this time Arthur had been putting himself through hell trying to make up for something he was forced to do against his will, whilst Lewis had thought it was a cold-blooded attempt to get rid of him. The guilt and regret he felt was overwhelming, both his hands flew to cover his face as the hatred he felt turned inwards. He had also forgotten that he was holding Mystery, however.

“Wait Lewis, don’t! The wate-” Mystery blurted out as he plunged into cold water with an undignified splash. If Vivi was watching, she would have tutted and held up a low score. Mystery’s head rose up out of the water grumbling, blowing bubbles as he did so. “Nicely done, Mr Pepper. Truly, you keep a cool head in the face of troubling times” he muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm as much as his fur dripped with water, “A strength of character we should all aspire to!”

Lewis snapped back to reality and reached down to the bathtub, “OH… OH! I’M SO SORRY, HERE LET ME HELP YOU-” but Mystery swatted him away with a soaking paw.

“Yes because that would certainly work out wonderfully,” Mystery snapped bitterly, “you’ve been so very helpful to us all so far.” The sodden dog scrabbled out of the bathtub, cursing under his breath as he did so. “Well now you know that your closest friend never wanted to hurt you at, was forced to watch you die, and for all the trouble of trying to make things right you nearly killed him!” Mystery continued whilst shaking himself off, making sure that Lewis took the brunt of it though the spray vaporised instantly upon contact. It was more about the gesture than the effect. “And to top it all off, I’m going to smell of *Wet Dog* for weeks now! Wonderful!” as he continued to curse quietly Mystery stalked out of the bathroom to find somewhere to dry off and calm down leaving Lewis alone in the bathroom to wrestle with his conscience and clean up the remains of the event.

It was much later that evening when Vivi returned home from work finding Lewis sat glum and motionless at the kitchen table, exactly where she had left him. “Well hello there Smiles! You didn’t give yourself a head ache did you?” she beamed, before sniffing the air “And does something smell like Wet Dog to you?”

“ERR, NO, I CAN’T SMELL ANYTHING OF THE SORT” Lewis murmured half-heartedly before trying to change the subject away from his earlier actions, “LOOK, VIVI. I’VE BEEN THINKING A LOT” he waved his hands in a wide, sweeping gesture “THINKING ABOUT ALL THIS, AND… AND I THINK IT’S TIME WE MOVED TO SOMEWHERE A BIT… A BIT BIGGER.”

Vivi took the opening with gusto, she had been waiting for the opportunity and already circled a few places in the local newspaper. Lewis had hardly finished as she pulled out clippings, notes and a heavily annotated map. “So!” she exclaimed, frantically gesturing “I’ve found a couple of good properties already! There’s this one here, that’s closer to Tome Tomb so I can stay in with you in the mornings a bit more, or there’s this one that’s further out but it’s quieter in that neighbourhood so we can have a bit more privacy. But then there’s this thir-”

“VIVI, VIVI WAIT A SECOND,” Lewis interrupted the stream of words, “BEFORE WE CHOSE A PLACE THERE’S ONE THING, AND I’M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS… THERE’S GOT TO BE… ENOUGH ROOM… ENOUGH ROOM FOR ARTHUR AS WELL. HE WON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS IF HE KNOWS IT’S MY IDEA. I JUST KNOW HE WON’T…” he mumbled.

Vivi gasped, her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes grew wide with excitement “I knew you’d come around, that it was just some misunderstanding all along! Arthur doesn’t have it in him to hurt anyone!” she cheered, “I know exactly the place! It’s got a huge garage! He’ll love it! And there’s a nice garden, and it backs onto the woods so at night you can head out there to get some time outside without being seen! And don’t you worry I’ll make sure Arthur is on board with this. I’m so excited!”

Vivi rattled off all the other features of the house and how she planned to talk Arthur round to moving in, although to Lewis her plan sounded more like “pester him until he says yes” he would do anything if it meant he had the chance to fix things between them, to make things right. For now he could only hope Vivi’s relentless cheer would be enough but Lewis wouldn’t have wanted anyone else on his side. If anyone could convince Arthur to take the risk, it was Vivi. For the first time since he died Lewis felt no shred of anger. For the first time after he died he felt that things were going to be all right. 

Chapter Text

Arthur jolted awake with a start, his one arm rapidly untangling itself from the covers to cover his mouth instinctively to muffle any scream as a cold sweat ran down his back causing his clothes to cling uncomfortably to his skin. Night-terrors were nothing new to him and Arthur had long since trained himself to hide the signs of them from others. He didn’t dare tell anyone about them, not his Uncle Lance, not his friends, not anyone. As terrifying as his nightmares were, Arthur was more afraid of being branded a coward by the people closest to him and besides who could he even talk to about them? Who could understand what he was going through? As he struggled to get his panicked breathing under control he cast panicked eyes around the room to try and find anything that could give him a sense of stability. In the darkness everything looked strange, alien even, which only added to his anxiety. It took a few minutes before Arthur could make out enough details to realise where he was. This was his room, but not his old room that he was used to. It was his new room in Vivi and Lewis’ home, or rather, their home now. As the fog lifted from his mind Arthur was finally able to settle himself, he remembered the night before and how Lewis had revealed to him the truth of what had happened in the cave.  Arthur had always been plagued with fragmented memories of that night, of how he seemed to have pushed his closest friend to their death and how a monstrous beast had ripped off his arm.

Shakily Arthur rolled out of bed and crept towards his work desk and clasped his fingers around the cool metal of his prosthetic arm as it sat charging amongst his latest project sketches. Taking a deep breath, Arthur gently plugged his arm into his shoulder socket where the arm gave a satisfying click and the faintest hum as the motors and processors whirred into life. Arthur’s arm was his proudest triumph. Entirely designed and built himself, it was a technical masterpiece boasting a mindboggling number of improvements and modifications. Arthur relaxed as he flexed the mechanical fingers, he always found mechanics and robotic soothing for as long as he could remember. Recently it was his only way of escaping the constant anxiety that clung to him.

Slumping back in his chair, Arthur tried to clear his head by going over the events of last night. He had been invited to move in with his friends and whilst he dreaded the idea at first he was glad he caved in the end when on the first night Lewis revealed that this was his idea to try and mend things between them. Lewis had explained that he didn’t blame Arthur for what had happened, and that there was something in the cave that had forced Arthur to be its puppet. This news didn’t stop the nightmares from denying him peace it turned out, as in spite of last night’s revelations and feeling like he belonged again Arthur still felt to blame for his friend’s misfortune. Worse yet tonight’s nightmare felt different and worse than before, like it had been warped by everything he had recently learned. He shivered and looked at the clock he kept on his desk. It was a few minutes before 5AM. Arthur let out a muted sigh, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep after the nightmare so there would be no point in trying to go back to bed at this point. So instead he retreated back into his work like he always did in times like this, slipping on his headphones, flicking on the desk lamp and began drawing up new blueprints.

Arthur had been working for almost an hour when he felt it, a shiver that crawled up his left arm as tiny sparks jumped erratically from the circuitry. When he had returned to Tempo in the wake of finding Lewis, Arthur had attempted to design safeguards and preventative measures to stop his mechanical arm from becoming useless or breaking from ghostly interference but he never had the chance to test it, he was too scared. Arthur gulped and nervously took his headphones off, turning around expecting to see Lewis looming over him but was surprised to find that he was still alone in his bedroom. “Er, hello?” Arthur said quietly to the world in general hoping that it was just all his imagination, he still felt too rattled to face Lewis right now. His friend might seem to have forgiven him, but Arthur was still wrestling with his own feelings of guilt unsure of what to make of them.

He was about to turn back to his work when he heard a knocking at his door. It was a heavy sounding knock of large hands, but with restraint like the person was hoping Arthur was still asleep. Taking a moment to collect himself before sidling up to the door, Arthur slowly opened it just a crack. On the other side was Lewis, anxiously wringing his hands expecting Arthur to panic at the sight of him. To his credit, Arthur held his nerve better than expected. The mechanic gave a nervous smile and opened the door wider, “Hey, I uh, I thought it would be you…” he mumbled, “I uh, I didn’t wake anybody up did I?”

“HUH?” Lewis said, visible confused “ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, ARTHUR?”

Lewis’ voice still sent shivers down Arthur’s spine. It was the way it occurred inside his own head, no matter how loud or how quiet the world was around him, Lewis’ voice still made itself heard over it all as if it was the only noise around. At the moment it was quiet, like Lewis was trying to whisper.

“Oh, um, er, yeah... yeah I’m fine. Just thought I was loud… when I… never mind…” Arthur said “I mean, I know Vivi can sleep through anything but I didn’t know if I disturbed you”

“I DIDN’T HEAR A THING, I ONLY CAME TO CHECK BECAUSE I SAW THE LIGHT UNDER THE DOOR” replied Lewis worriedly, “THE SUN ISN’T EVEN UP YET. YOU DIDN’T STAY UP ALL NIGHT DID YOU?”

“Oh, no, no. Just woke up early is all.” Arthur lied “Nothing to worry about. I’m fine, honest.” He didn’t want to admit he woke up having to stifle a scream, it would make him seem pathetic. “So, er, d-do you wanna come in? I can show you what I’ve been working on” he continued, sounding a little brighter than before.

“NO, NO, THAT’S ALL RIGHT. THIS ROOM IS YOUR SPACE, IT SHOULD STAY LIKE THAT, Y’KNOW? SOMEWHERE YOU HAVE THAT’S… THAT’S…” Lewis fumbled for the right word, he didn’t want to make Arthur feel like he was a prisoner in his own room but Vivi had made it clear that until Arthur was more used to living in the same place as the two people who most terrified him his room should stay a safe place where he could retreat to. In the end he settled on “YOUR SANCTUARY” before trying to change the subject before Arthur overthought the matter. “TELL YOU WHAT, IT’S NEARLY MORNING SO HOW ABOUT I GO MAKE SOME BREAKFAST. THAT’LL DEFINITELY GET VIVI AND MYSTERY TO WAKE UP AND THEN WE CAN SEE ABOUT GETTING THE REST OF YOUR STUFF MOVED IN?” Lewis ventured, on firmer ground with the concept of cooking. At least with cooking he knew what he was doing, he didn’t have the slightest clue about how to help Arthur not least because Lewis felt he was entirely to blame for his friend’s misery.

“Oh, er yeah… yeah that sounds good. I’ll just have a coffee though, I’m not feeling hungry…” Arthur said, turning his eyes downwards. He didn’t have much of an appetite, he didn’t know how he had managed to eat as much as he did last night.

Lewis however was having none of it, after he had been told of how Arthur had been forced against his will to murder his best friend and then worked himself to near-death trying to make things right Lewis felt a duty of care to Arthur. “OH NO, YOU NEED TO EAT SOMETHING” said Lewis firmly, “I’M NOT HAVING YOU GO HUNGRY ON MY WATCH, NUH-UH. COOKED BREAKFAST, OR DO I HAVE TO GET VIVI INVOLVED?”

The threat of Vivi was enough to get any of them to do anything, and as usual it worked. Arthur begrudgingly relented, there would be no way of getting out of this. “Okay, fine” he huffed, “Just something small then.” Arthur grabbed a towel and a set of clothes, asking tentatively “Is it all right if I take a shower first?”

“ARTHUR YOU LIVE HERE. YOU DON’T NEED TO ASK PERMISSION FOR A SHOWER IN YOUR OWN HOME” said Lewis, doing best to sound kindly, “IT’S UPSTAIRS, ON THE LEFT. TAKE YOUR TIME.”

Arthur smiled weakly as he gathered up his things and trudged upstairs. Having locked the bathroom door behind him, he turned on the shower to warm up and slumped down on the floor. Arthur wanted to scream, wanted to cry. He wanted to let out all the pent up frustration but he didn’t dare risk anything that might draw attention to him. Arthur screwed up his face and bit down on the towel, letting out as much of a muted howl he thought he could get away with hoping the muffling towel combined with the sound of the shower would cover it up.

Arthur sat there for a brief moment waiting to see if anyone had caught his outburst, and when he was satisfied that he was safe he removed his mechanical arm from its socket and replacing it with a waterproof cap, got undressed, and went for his shower. The cascading hot water felt refreshing, helping him decompress after a stressful waking, like it could wash away his anxieties for a while. It gave him time to collect himself, to let his worries wash away and put the troubles of the night behind him. Or at least try to. The night-terror had left him heavily shaken, he just wanted to disappear for the day like he always did at times like these but he had promised Lewis that he’d take today to start rebuilding the bridge between them. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be friends with him again as Arthur desperately wanted his best friend back, it was just that Arthur worried he’d ruin everything again.

After he finished showering and drying off, Arthur replaced his arm and donned his typical white shirt and yellow trousers. They had a comforting familiarity to them, in addition to also being physically comfortable to wear. Turning to the bathroom mirror, Arthur looked his reflection in the eyes and thought to himself It’s in the past. It’s done. It’s over. You can move on now. It wasn’t much of an affirmation, but it’s the only thing Arthur could come up with that he didn’t undermine. At least, not immediately. This time however Arthur found the faintest smile had crept onto his lips, he was finally starting to move on. He had a long way to go, but he was finally starting to move on. Maybe he had some hope after all. He definitely felt that breakfast was a good idea now.

Meanwhile down in the kitchen, Lewis was starting to worry that he had pushed Arthur too hard in demanding he have a breakfast. He couldn’t watch his friend run himself to ruin but at the same time if he tried to boss him around, tried to rule Arthur’s life then they’d never get anywhere. Wringing his hands anxiously, Lewis turned to the cupboards and fridge to see what he could cook up. Preoccupied, Lewis began arraying things on the kitchen worktop without thinking. Eggs, bacon, milk, cheese, peppers, mushrooms. Pots and pans clattered about as Lewis running on automatic began to cook, his subconscious having decided that omelettes were the best course of action whilst the rest of his mind was in turmoil.

The Deadbeats at least made the cooking a lot easier, Lewis had found, as they could manage some of the less demanding tasks such as cutting vegetables and clearing up. Lewis still wasn’t quite sure what they were, but they felt like they were a part of him. At least, they seemed be in sync with him about everything which freed Lewis up for more involved things like the rest of the meal. Or as was presently the case; mild panic. Had he been too forceful? Was he right to put his foot down? The tangle of questions was interrupted by a thwump-thwump-thwump noise as Vivi descended the stairs and poked her head round the kitchen door. She had the quilt wrapped around her still. “Yer… yer up early” she yawned “why are you up so early…”

“OH, JUST… JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD MAKE BREAKFAST FOR EVERYONE Y’KNOW?” Lewis responded, suddenly feeling grounded now that he wasn’t alone. “I WAS GOING TO HELP ARTHUR MOVE THE LAST OF HIS STUFF OVER FROM HIS UNCLE’S PLACE, OR AT LEAST… HOPEFULLY.” He dismissed the Deadbeats away now that most of the preparation was done, and so that Arthur wouldn’t get spooked by them when he came downstairs.

“Why? Is something the matter? Is Arthur not feeling well?” Vivi exclaimed, immediately alarmed at the risk of her friend not being well.

“HE WAS UP EARLY AND I MEAN REALLY EARLY. I THINK THERE’S SOMETHING REALLY BOTHERING HIM, BUT HE’S NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT, BEFORE YOU ASK.” Lewis explained sullenly, “THIS IS ARTHUR, HE DOESN’T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING…”

“But we can’t do nothing!” Vivi moaned, “Arthur’s one of us!”

“I KNOW, BUT WE CAN’T FORCE HIM TO TELL US, EITHER…”

There was an awkward pause as they each considered the other’s point. Lewis agreed with Vivi that they couldn’t just leave Arthur to suffer. Vivi had to admit that Lewis was right and that if they tried to push their friend to open up it would only make things worse.

“Well, well what can we do?” Vivi huffed, “I can’t stand not doing something.” Vivi shuffled into the kitchen still swaddled in the quilt and sat down at the table expectantly. The sound of the shower upstairs continued and Vivi, still in the process of waking up, put two and two together. “You… you did give him his space didn’t you? I don’t want a repeat of you sneaking up on him like on his first night. That was pretty rude of you” she said disapprovingly, accusingly even.

“NO NO, NOTHING LIKE THAT. I JUST SAW LIGHT UNDER HIS DOOR AS I WAS DOING A FEW ERRANDS, SO I WENT TO CHECK. HE MUST HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SOMETHING BECAUSE I SAW HIS DESK LAMP WAS ON BUT THAT WAS IT.” Lewis explained, “IN FACT HE INVITED ME IN, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE HE HAD SOME SPACE LIKE YOU SAID. YOU DON’T THINK THAT MADE THING WORSE? MADE HIM FEEL KINDA…” Lewis searched for the right word, remembering his interrogation of Mystery a month prior, “FEEL KINDA UNWANTED…?”

There was another awkward pause as Lewis and Vivi considered this, interrupted by the sound of Mystery padding down the stairs to join them in the kitchen sitting discreetly under Vivi’s chair and giving Lewis the cold shoulder. “You know,” Mystery began, “it’s a good thing that Arthur’s in the shower right now because I do not think that he would appreciate being talked about behind his back.” He stretched in a leisurely manner before continuing, “Now I know that you’re worried about him, and do believe me I worry about him too, but Arthur is more resilient than you give him credit for. Give him time, and he’ll be all right. He knows he can talk to any of us if he needs too.”

“I guess so but I still don’t like not doing anything. It doesn’t feel right” Vivi muttered, unwilling to concede to Mystery.

“EVEN SO, I STILL THINK WE SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON HIM. JUST IN CASE” Lewis agreed. He also didn’t agree with Mystery but was in even less of a position to disagree. Lewis was all too aware of how imposing he could be, especially to Arthur. Even when he was alive Lewis towered head and shoulders over everyone around him, making them nervous. Now with everything that had happened he was a constant reminder of a nightmare for Arthur. He wanted to make things right and help his friend but helping Arthur move on from the tragedy was still a difficult task even if Lewis was still around, if not quite among the living.

As Lewis began to plate up Vivi’s omelette (fully loaded with all the toppings, as always) the sound of the shower came to a stop. Everyone’s eyes slowly turned upwards to the stairs. Lewis stood motionless still holding Vivi’s breakfast. The silence was broken by the sound of light footsteps creaking down the stairs. Arthur gingerly made his way into the kitchen, still feeling a little apprehensive. This might be his new home and he might be with his friends but he still felt awkward living with them and this was his first morning here. He felt like he had just walked into the middle of something, and judging by the silence it was about him.

Vivi, however, brightened instantly on seeing him, Mystery gave a polite nod and Lewis noticeably relaxed when he saw that his friend was looking better than he did earlier. “Well morning sleepy head!” Vivi exclaimed cheerfully, taking the initiative, “How’s the new bed? It’s not too firm is it? Or too soft?”

“Uh, nah. Nah, it’s fine. I… I think it’s actually more comfy than my old bed” Arthur babbled sheepishly. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being talked about before he came downstairs but seeing his friends smiling faces helped him feel more at ease. “Say, uh, Lewis? I uh, I think I could probably manage a proper breakfast now.”

“OH, REALLY? EXCELLENT!” beamed Lewis, “AND A GOOD THING TOO, ITS GONNA BE A BUSY DAY. THAT IS, IF YOU’RE STILL UP FOR GETTING THE REST OF YOUR THINGS THAT IS.”

“Yeah, breakfast is the most important meal of the day” agreed Vivi in between mouthfuls of food.

“Vivi, with you every meal is the most important meal” Mystery quipped in response.

“Says you! I’ve seen how much you can put away, mister!” Vivi retorted, bending down to jab an accusing finger at Mystery who scoffed and tucked into his own equally sizable breakfast, albeit with ever so slightly more dignity than Vivi. Arthur gave a slight chuckled as he made his way over to the worktop by the cooker and began to plate up a selection of omelette toppings for Lewis to use, going for something that looked closer to a full fry-up breakfast than the “something light” he had asked for earlier much to Lewis’ relief. If Arthur had his appetite back that had to be a good sign, after all.

“So anyway,” Vivi continued, not slowing down the pace of her eating, “what’s the plan for today? How long are you fellas are gonna be out? Got a lotta stuff to bring back or nah, Artie?”

“Err, I have… a few things I’d like to get done today, yeah. Not… not too sure how long it’ll all take, though” Arthur said as he sat down at the table, “I don’t think it’ll be anything too big, just gonna be a long day.”

“OH, IN THAT CASE I CAN MAKE A SLOWCOOKED DINNER THEN. MAYBE A GOULASH?” Lewis suggested, nobody noticing Mystery’s slightest wincing at the proposed dinner option.

“Well, I’m the only one at work today, I’ll be taking His Lordship with me to work so don’t feel you need to rush anything” Vivi said gesturing to Mystery who was far too busy stuffing his face to take notice, “And I’ll have my phone on me if anything does happen. Otherwise drop in if you can, should be a quiet day.”

After breakfast Vivi begrudgingly gave up on her quilt cocoon and got dressed for work whilst Mystery paced impatiently up and down the hall with a leash in his mouth.

“Anyone would think you’re eager to get out of here, Mystery” joked Arthur as he cleared out some of the clutter from the van.

“Hmm, I could sit in this house all day ooorrrr I could go outside and stretch my legs for bit!” replied Mystery wryly and raising an eyebrow, “And let us be honest here, you are as eager to get on with the day as I am.”

“I… I guess you’re right there, Mystery” said Arthur, somewhat dejectedly. It was true that he wanted to get everything done, but that was because he wanted to get past it all. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid of spending most of the day with Lewis, but Arthur still felt nervous about it. He couldn’t put his finger on why, though. Mystery picked up on the undercurrent of apprehension and quickly regretted what he said.

“Hey, keep your chin up, Arthur” the small dog said as he sidled up to stand beside the mechanic’s legs. They weren’t shaking, but Arthur was seeming tense all the same. “Lewis might still look as scary back then but he’s got the same heart of gold he always had.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just not used to it yet” Arthur sighed.

“I can’t imagine most people would be used to living with Lewis” Mystery joked, trying to cheer his friend up, “And that’s the spectral nature of him notwithstanding! Equal parts “mother hen” and “big brother”, that man!”

Arthur sighed in a half-hearted agreement. Lewis had always been the coddling, protective sort. At least Arthur wanted to remember his friend like that but it was proving difficult to forget the sight. The furious glare was burned into his mind still. Then again that was why he was doing all this, to overcome his fears and move on. Arthur had to admit it was getting off to a shaky start, but it was a start and that was what mattered he told himself. “I got used to him before, I can do it again” Arthur admitted, “Just… this time he can just sneak up on me. And looks terrifying. And can make spectral fire. And…” he trailed off.

“And cares very much for you, Arthur” said Mystery kindly, cutting off Arthur’s train of thought before it could go any further, “Perhaps tomorrow we could go for a walk, you and I? It would do you well to get some fresh air, and the woods have some nice, quiet paths that I have always found good for the nerves. How does that sound?”

“Uh, if nobody has any problem with it then sure. I guess. I- I- mean if Vivi or Lewis have something planned I don’t want to mess anything up”

“Arthur, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it, you just leave things to me. Besides, shouldn’t you be going to pick the last of your things up with Lewis about now?” Mystery interrupted again, “But I think I hear Vivi coming down the stairs at last so I’ll probably have to talk to you later.”

“Erm, yeah, I’ll see you this evening, probably” Arthur murmured.

“Certainly” Mystery assured as Vivi sprang down the stairs and took up the waiting leash, clipping it to Mystery’s collar. Mystery didn’t enjoy being on a leash whilst out in public, but he put up with it in order to avoid attracting attention. Vivi dashed into the kitchen to give Lewis a goodbye peck on the cheek, or rather the cheekbone, and then back to give Arthur a hug.

“See you this evening, Artie! Drive safe!” she beamed, before darting out the door with Mystery following at speed.

Lewis slowly walked out of the kitchen into the hallway, taking care to make sure that Arthur could see him approach “SHE’S RUNNING LATE FOR WORK AGAIN. SHE ALWAYS IS” he explained.

“You don’t think me being here made her late? I was using the shower, after all…”

Lewis looked up at the wall clock that hung in the hall, “ACTUALLY, I THINK SHE GOT READY FASTER THAN USUAL” he said with a hint of surprise, “STILL LATE, BUT NOT AS LATE AS USUAL. YOU MUST HAVE GIVEN HER SOME GET-UP-AND-GO”

“Oh, um... I guess if it’s all working out then…” said Arthur bemused before pointing to the door into the garage, “So, erm, should we get going as well? I mean, before traffic picks up.”

“PROBABLY SHOULD, DON’T EXACTLY WANT TO GET SPOTTED, Y’KNOW. IT MIGHT BE A BIT… A BIT AWKWARD.”

Arthur gave a warm smile, “You know, I’ve actually already thought of that. Come on, let me show you.” Leading the way to the garage, Arthur cast a grand sweeping gesture at the Mystery Van. “Behold!” he said with a genuine grin, proud of all his handiwork with the van, “She’s been through a lot but I’ve had plenty of time to fix her up. Improve her, even!” Arthur ran his right hand over the cool surface of the van’s side wall letting out a satisfied sigh, “She’s got an all new engine, better and more efficient. She’s like a whole new machine now!”

Lewis saw how Arthur cared after the Van, it comforted his friend better than anything he had seen for as long as he could remember. Arthur had always retreated into his mechanical and robotics work when he was anxious but he was almost a different person around the van, more confident and self-assured. It gave him a knot in his stomach when he remembered that he caused the van to crash dangerously, no doubt the root cause why Arthur had given it so many upgrades to replace the ruined parts.

Arthur gripped the driver’s side door handle and turned to face Lewis. He was smiling, a genuinely warm ear-to-ear grin. “Let’s get this show on the road then!” he cheered as he deftly hopped in and started the engine. As Lewis went to open the handle to the doors at the back Arthur immediately looked over his shoulder with a gleam of mischief, “Oh no no, you’re riding up front mate. Trust me on this one.”

Lewis tentatively closed the doors and drifted round to passenger door where he found Arthur looking right at him with a very knowing smile. Awkwardly, Lewis climbed onto the van’s seat and shut the door. “ERM, WON’T I BE A LITTLE CONSPICUOUS LIKE THIS?” Lewis asked as he tried to make himself look as small as possible.

“Well there’s not gonna be many people on the road, and also there’s this” Arthur said, flicking one of a myriad of switches on the van’s dashboard. There was an almost inaudible fzzt noise as passenger and driver’s side windows darkened ever so slightly. “So how about you take a look through the other side now.”

Lewis opened the passenger door and poked his head around to look at the window, only to find that where there was clear glass was now a smooth, shiny black pane. He stared in disbelief at the window as he clambered back into the van. “WAIT, SO… YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT…”

“Yup, its electrochromic tinted glass” Arthur interrupted with the excited tones of someone who has been waiting for the opportunity to show all his hard work to someone. He saw the blank look on Lewis’ skeletal face, and added “So, basically if you pass an electric charge through the glass, this material inside the glass reacts and it becomes a tinted window so we can see out, but no-one can see in!”

Lewis was astounded, when Arthur had said he made improvements to the van he was expecting things like tuning up the engine, a new gearbox and maybe just possibly heated seats. But he had never expected Arthur to have done anything so complex. Lewis began to wonder what else Arthur had changed about the van, and then wondered what could have inspired him to make such changes. He had a sinking feeling that any other surprise would have been added to the van to deal with him. Maybe some sort of ejector seat to launch Lewis out of the van if Arthur felt threatened by him.

The drive to Kingsmen Mechanics was uneventful, if a little longer than usual, Arthur keeping to the quieter roads so that Lewis didn’t have to worry about being spotted through the windscreen. Arthur was noticeably more relaxed whilst Lewis, with slight anxiety, fidgeted in his seat unsure of what to expect when they finally arrived at Arthur’s old home. Would Arthur’s Uncle Lance be in? And if he was, would he even tolerate seeing Lewis around Arthur after what had happened. Lance had to have known that Arthur now lived with Lewis, but what if Vivi had glossed over that detail to get Arthur’s protective uncle to sign off on the whole arrangement.

As the van pulled in to the private parking at the rear of the mechanics Lewis was at least felt some light relief when he saw that Lance’s own truck, a large and heavy duty tow-truck, wasn’t present. Parking near the back door, Arthur hopped out and took a deep breath. The air was heavy with the smell of cars, motor oil, and gas. To Arthur it smelled like home. Lewis drifted out of the van and rounded the front to join his friend, “SO, DOES YOUR UNCLE KNOW YOU’RE DROPPING BY?” he asked.

“Yeah I sent him a text last night to say I’d be picking up the last of my stuff and that moving in went better than I thought” Arthur said casually “and guess what he said in response” Arthur held up his phone to show the simple text message;

Told you so. Will be out all day tomorrow. You still have your keys, right? Uncle L.

“THAT’S A LITTLE CURT DON’T YOU THINK?” Lewis pointed out, not wanting to seem rude about Arthur’s closest family.

“Oh that’s just how Uncle Lance is, he seems gruff but he’s not really” Arthur joked back, brushing the concerns aside “Come on in, it’ll just be us so you can get to stretch your legs for a bit!” he said as he unlocked the back door and gestured inside. Much like the van the inside of Kingsmen Mechanics had a noticeable effect on Arthur, making him more at ease, and it wasn’t hard to see why. This place was about the most “Arthur” place there was on the face of the planet that Lewis could think of. Even with most of his stuff removed, Arthur’s old room was unmistakably his. It might have been ages since Lewis had last seen inside it but it was almost exactly as he would have imagined it as project folders bursting with blueprints and designs lined the shelves with subjects ranging from modifications to his arm and the van, to entirely new devices to help around the workshop.

 A few pin-boards were hanging on the walls with what Lewis could only assume were active projects as the notes and annotations were crammed so tightly together that he couldn’t tell where one word ended and the other began. Frantic yet meticulous handwriting filled every available space as equations, part lists and explanations of systems all ran into one another. Lewis was as impressed at the detail as he was concerned at the almost excessive nature of it. Turning to the shelves Lewis started to notice similar signs. Arthur’s rigorous organisation of his work was well known, files were cross-referenced and marked to such a degree that even someone with no experience could still navigate his projects but now even Arthur’s filing systems were struggling to keep pace with the rate of designs. The folders were overflowing with papers, here and there were lone blueprints scattered about with half-finished designs and abandoned ideas.

Arthur was already taking down folders from the shelves and putting them in a boxes he brought in from the van, already knowing which projects he wanted to bring with him and where they were sat. Lewis stood awkwardly before clearing his throat “SO, UM, WHICH… WHICH ONES DO YOU WANT BROUGHT DOWN” he inquired gesturing vaguely around the room at the wealth of projects.

“Oh, right! Err, if you could grab those pin-boards and put them in the van. Don’t worry about the stuff that’s pinned on them, you can leave those in place.” Arthur answered, casually tossing the door and van keys to Lewis whose colossal arm span could easily grasp the pin-boards and carry them through the hall. The two continued with things for a brief while with Arthur giving brief descriptions of the projects such as the improvements to his prosthetic arm as he packed them away and gave them to Lewis to carry to the van, thought Lewis had difficulty wrapping his head around a lot of the terminology. It felt like the good old days, before everything went wrong.

It was a good few hours by the time they had finished. Arthur had managed to somehow cram half of the files into most the crates that he had brought saying that the rest were old designs that he didn’t need to bring over.

“YOU SURE THAT’S EVERYTHING? WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK BUT THERE’S STILL A FEW EMPTY CRATES IN THE BACK” Lewis asked confused by fact there were spares in the van. It wasn’t like Arthur to leave designs behind, especially when he had space to store them. Not to mention that Arthur had suggested that this would be an all day job, but it wasn’t even midday yet.

“That’s everything, yup” said Arthur before hesitating. “Well, that’s everything from here at any rate. There’s some other things but they’re not here.”

“YOU MEAN THEY’RE MISSING? BUT, BUT YOU’VE NEVER LOST A PROJECT BEFORE!”  Lewis exclaimed, almost shocked at the idea of Arthur misplacing entire files. Having seen the overflowing papers that scattered the room Lewis could see parts of project files maybe being mislaid but entire folders of designs not being in his own old home was too much to believe.

“No, I know exactly where they are, but they aren’t here. They’re… I keep them in a difference place” Arthur sighed, “It’s probably easier to show you what I mean. Come on, it’s a bit of a drive to get there.” Arthur’s voice was sounding heavy, like a confession but Lewis didn’t know what his friend was getting at and could only follow Arthur back to the van in a stunned silence.

Arthur was quiet as he locked the back door and drove the van away from Kingsmen Mechanics, taking the highway out into the desert. The sun was high in the sky and there were no clouds to be seen but there was an overall feeling of apprehension that cast a pall over Lewis. Arthur seemed to be less upbeat than he was a moment ago as well, he didn’t talk about where he was driving or what was so different about these files that they weren’t kept at his Uncle’s place. At least Arthur didn’t seem to be too worried about the situation but that was little comfort for Lewis, he had never seen his friend so determined. Arthur had always been quiet and reserved in the past only really enthusiastic when talking about something he was working on but this was different, Arthur had never been so focused on something that wasn’t mechanical work in some way.

It was almost an hour and a half and many empty miles down the highway before Arthur broke the silence, his voice was firm like he had been preparing for this for a while. “So, you know how from time to time I used to just sort of disappear for a few days, right?”

It wasn’t unusual for Arthur to suddenly go radio silent for days at a time with no reason or explanation. Lance wouldn’t tell anyone and Arthur wouldn’t answer his phone. Then he’d turn up again a few days later, saying nothing about what had happened but seeming better than before he had vanished. He’d do this occasionally before everything went wrong in the cave and according to Vivi, a lot more frequently afterwards. Lewis could only guess that recently Arthur had spent even more time off the grid than he used to, and for longer.

“ERM, YEAH. I- I REMEMBER. WE USED TO GET PRETTY WORRIED WHEN IT HAPPENED. VIVI WOULD PESTER YOUR UNCLE CONSTANTLY UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP AGAIN, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE COULDN’T EVEN GET THROUGH TO YOUR CELL PHONE.” Lewis remarked worriedly, the genuine tone catching Arthur by surprise for a brief moment before the mechanic paused to turn off the highway and down an innocuous dirt track. Arthur must have also improved the suspension on the van because the ride was a lot smoother than Lewis remembered it being.

“Well, this is where I would go” Arthur declared as they pulled up to a shack formed of sheet metal. It was a medium-sized, well-made and solid structure, the metal was painted orange and there was a large yellow star emblazoned on what appeared to be a front door. The branding was unmistakable. Arthur parked the van in the shade of the shack’s walls and gave a heavy, resigned sigh. “You see, I’ve had this place for a while, years I think. It was Uncle Lance’s idea that I have a space somewhere to go, so I took the idea and kinda ran with it.” Arthur paused, remembering the early hours of the morning and said with a wry smile “So this is my sanctuary.”

Lewis climbed out of the van as his eye constantly flicked between Arthur and the shack. He had always wondered what happened to Arthur when he disappeared but he had always thought that his friend had just shut himself in his room and turned off his phone, not vanished out into the wilderness! If Lewis still had his lower jaw, it would have dropped.

“YOU-YOU’VE BEEN COMING HERE EACH TIME? OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?” Lewis stammered after a while, trying to wrap his head around the extent of Arthur’s hidden base not to mention what other things he might have hidden from Lewis and Vivi.

Arthur looked embarrassed, he hadn’t been sure how Lewis was going to react when he found out but he didn’t expect dumbfounded surprise. “Er, yeah” Arthur mumbled sheepishly, nervously fiddling with a small key separate from everything else on his keychain. He felt ashamed of himself for keeping this place so secret but he couldn’t have told them could he? It would have defeat the point of having this place if anyone had known about it, and yet here he was showing Lewis, who had once tried to kill him, the place he would go to hide from his problems. Arthur heaved another sigh, if he was going to make things right then he’d have to trust Lewis with this place. “Yeah…” Arthur confessed, “This is where I’d hide. I’m not proud of it, the hiding I mean, but this is it. I just… just needed to get away sometimes… just get away from… things…” he trailed off, trying to avoid looking at Lewis for fear of a disapproving glare. Instead Lewis placed a gentle, if sizable, hand on his friend’s shoulder consolingly. Arthur flinched for a moment but quickly relaxed.

“I UNDERSTAND, WE ALL NEED PLACES TO GO TO GET AWAY FROM EVERYTHING NOW AND THEN” Lewis did his best to sound comforting, “I MEAN, I DON’T THINK VIVI OR I EVER WENT THIS FAR OUT OF TOWN OR THIS…” Lewis waved his other hand at the shack, “THIS DRAMATICALLY.” Lewis lightly knocked on the side wall of the shack, which gave a satisfying and solid tunk noise. The structure was certainly well made, if the bright paint job wasn’t enough of a giveaway then the workmanship was. It might not be the most elaborate construction but it was built to last. “SO, AREN’T YOU GOING TO INVITE ME IN” Lewis joked, though mostly to fill the space.

“Oh, er, sure!” Arthur gave a nervous laugh and unlocked the front door as he remembered himself, well-oiled hinges swinging open soundlessly. Lewis realised that Arthur must have been here recently to keep it so well maintained given that it’s out in the middle of nowhere. The inside of the shack looked like the sort of place Arthur would keep as a retreat, but immediately Lewis could see this wasn’t quite right. Unlike in Arthur’s own room at either Kingsmen Mechanics or his new home this was not an organised place. There wasn’t even a pretence of Arthur’s typical fastidiousness as papers were scattered across almost every surface in haphazard piles. Annotations around designs would run from one piece of paper onto other unrelated diagrams. The handwriting was always Arthur’s but it would vary from his usual meticulous yet small notetaking to shaky, slanted lettering to frantic meandering script. A few of the document seemed to trail on only to be cut off frustrated scribbles and angry scrawled remarks. A few of them were disparaging, abusive even. Lewis shuffled some of the papers on the homemade desk about with wide-eyed shock, it was like watching his friend break down on paper. Lewis wanted to say something about the scrawls in front of him, but the words escaped him. He could only let out a muted gasp as he tried to take in the scene that covered the desk. When he could understand the designs they ranged from wildly eccentric ideas like an inbuilt computer for his prosthetic to troubling schematics of what Lewis could only make out as some sort of “Arm Cannon” and shuddered to think what was going through Arthur’s mind as he worked on this project, and thankful that Arthur had terminated this project.

“Like I said, I’m not proud of hiding out in this place but I needed to get away” Arthur confessed, “But before you start panicking I always told Uncle Lance how long I’d be out here, and how to find me if he ever got worried.” Arthur turned to open a large trunk that occupied one corner of the room, pulling double duties as storage and seating, and took out a small camping stove, a camping kettle, a small plastic mug, one of several large canteens and an unmarked tin box, “Besides, I always kept this place well stocked. I’d, um, I’d offer you a coffee but er…”

“NO WORRIES, ARTIE” Lewis sighed, glad that Arthur had taken precautions with this place to make it liveable. If Arthur had gone and made sure this place had food and water then it couldn’t have been that bad, but even so it still concerning and he couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of the blueprints that scattered the makeshift desk. Arthur meanwhile placed the stove on the lid of the trunk, filled the small kettle with water and then twisted the tip of the thumb of his mechanical hand, tucked it under the crook of his forefinger, and flicked it upwards. A small flame danced on the tip of his thumb. Lewis blinked and went to rub his eyes before remembering that he no longer had any.

 “Well, some of the things that I came up with here were good ideas” Arthur shrugged as he gave a thin smile as he went to light the stove. Arthur stared silently at the kettle waiting for it to boil whilst Lewis tried to process all he just found out. Arthur had a secret hideaway where he would camp out when he felt overwhelmed by things, which was a surprise, and where he had designed all manner of strange and disturbing projects, which made Lewis shudder. Lewis fumbled for something to say, but it was Arthur who broke the silence, still gazing sullenly at the slowly boiling kettle and fiddling with the lighter in his thumb. “I would usually come here and work on things when I was having… Nightmares. About the cave, and the mansion and the truck... when they’d get really bad I’d want to go somewhere to be alone and could just pour everything out onto the paper” Arthur flicked a glance to the desk and the disturbing works scattered across it, “That way… that way nobody would… hear me when they happened…” Arthur scooped a handful of coffee granules from the unmarked tin into the mug. “They’d usually come for episodes that last a few nights, then everything would go back to normal and I’d come back. I never told anyone about them, but I think Uncle Lance had his suspicions…”

“ARTHUR… ARTHUR YOU COULD HAVE TOLD US” Lewis insisted emphatically, placing his hands on Arthur’s shoulders and looking his friend right in the eye, “EVEN IF YOU WERE AFRAID OF ME YOU STILL HAD VIVI AND MYSTERY TO TALK TO”

“But I couldn’t have told them!” Arthur wailed, “I couldn’t have told them because-”

“BECAUSE YOU’RE AFRAID OF WHAT THEY’D THINK OF YOU” Lewis interrupted, doing his best to maintain eye contact with Arthur in spite of his friend’s anxious shifting, “AND YOU THINK THEY’D CALL YOU A COWARD, DON’T YOU?” Arthur was silent, equal parts stunned and shammed at being called out but Lewis didn’t relent, he put his arms around the quivering mechanic and pulled him into a tight hug, “AND THEY WOULD NEVER THINK THAT. NONE OF US WOULD” Lewis said firmly.

Arthur just stood there limply in the spectre’s embrace, it was a moment before he spoke again in hushed, shaky tones. “T-t-they got worse…. O-o-over time…” he stammered, as if trying to force the words out, “I-I- I tried my best to get over them, b-but they would just keep coming back…”

“AND YOU HAD ONE OF THEM LAST NIGHT WHICH IS WHY YOU WERE UP SO EARLY RIGHT?” Lewis whispered as soothingly as his ghostly voice could manage. Arthur went quiet once again turning his head away from his friend but Lewis wasn’t about to relent, gently guiding his shivering friend into the chair and taking the kettle of the stove, pouring its contents into the mug. Lewis opened up the trunk again to look around for some sugar to go with the coffee, and looked around for something else to help settle his friend. Among the canteens of water and tins of long life food Lewis found a well-kept sleeping bag, a spare set of tools and a small book that looked to have been very well worn. Lewis was conflicted, on the one hand he didn’t want to pry too hard into Arthur’s business but on the other hand any insight into what was going on in Arthur’s head could make it easier to help him. Lewis set the coffee down on the desk next to Arthur and returned to the trunk and fished out the book, discreetly opening the cover.

Inside was a scrapbook of sorts, page after page of photographs, journal entries and little mementos each lovingly secured and recorded, the pages were dog-eared with extreme use. Lewis skimmed over page after page of happy memory, from their first “investigation” to the time they painted and decaled the van. It was all here, every adventure Arthur had as part of The Mystery Skulls. And then Lewis came to the missing page, the tiny scraps of paper still clinging to spine remaining as the only evidence of the pages ever being there in the first place. It was clear what had been there, it must have been the time they went to the cave as the numerous blank pages that followed suggested that the escapades came to an abrupt and unpleasant end.

Solemnly and silently Lewis closed the book to put it back in the trunk where he found it and turned back to Arthur who was still sat at the desk staring into the mug of coffee. The scrawny mechanic looked so much worse for wear than when they had arrived at the desert shack, the bags under his eyes so much more prominent than before. He was almost shivering. Lewis turned back to the trunk to try and find something for Arthur to eat, hoping that it might help perk him back up. The stash of supplies was hardly short of food though it was all long-life goods, either tins of premade meals or dehydrated things like tinned soup or instant noodles. It was hardly what Lewis would have normally considered “food”, but right now it was better than nothing. He refilled the kettle and lit the stove with a faint spark of ghostly flame, glancing over his shoulder to see if Arthur had shifted in anyway especially in reaction to Lewis ghostly powers. When the kettle came to the boil again Lewis poured the contents into a cup of instant noodles and gently placed it next to Arthur, saying “HARDLY GOURMET BUT IT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING. HERE, IT’S PAST LUNCHTIME ANYWAY.”

It seemed to work as Arthur snapped out of his malaise and grabbed the offered food with a shaky hand. “Th-thanks” he mumbled, “I, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to go so quiet. I just-”

“THAT’S ALL RIGHT, YOU’VE A LOT ON YOUR MIND AND WE’VE GOT ALL DAY SO TAKE YOUR TIME” Lewis insisted, before adding hastily “BUT EAT UP BEFORE IT GETS COLD.”

“Heh… guess you’re right…” Arthur chuckled but the nervousness was evident. There was something heavy on his mind, something that weighed on him and dragged him down. Arthur slowly picked at the noodles, but at least he was eating them. Lewis put away all stove and kettle back in the trunk and sat on it, or more accurately hovered about an inch above it pensively. The sky began to cloud over and after a while the sound of rain pattered on the sloped, sheet metal roof of the shack though the solid building kept the weather firmly outside. Arthur drained the last of the noodles and slammed the empty cup down with sudden determination before taking a deep breath. “Yes… I had another nightmare last night” he admitted, “but it wasn’t like the other ones. It was… different. And I mean weirdly different. Like, I’ve never had a dream like it ever!” Arthur’s voice picked up as he spoke, starting subdued and becoming more urgent.

Lewis instantly matched his friend’s pace, leaning forward intently. “DIFFERENT HOW? WAIT, LET ME GET SOMETHING TO TAKE NOTE” Lewis exclaimed, scrabbling for some scrap paper and a pen. He settled on writing on the back of what appeared to be a map, there were several X’s drawn on the map but Lewis was too focused to pay them more than a quick glance. “SO, YOU SAY THIS ONE WAS DIFFERENT BUT DIFFERENT HOW? WHAT ARE THESE NIGHTMARES USUALLY LIKE?”

“Huh, wha- what’s with the inquisition?” Arthur anxiously joked, taken aback by Lewis’ sudden directness.

“ARTHUR, YOU’RE A MYSTERY SKULL. YOU’RE ONE OF US” Lewis declared resolutely “YOU ARE AS CLOSE TO A BROTHER AS I HAVE EVER HAD AND IF SOMETHING IS TROUBLING YOU, THEN IT’S TROUBLING ME. AND IF IT’S TROUBLING BOTH OF US THEN WHAT EVER IT IS, IT’S IN TROUBLE!”

Arthur was humbled, he would never have thought that anyone would think of him so highly, and especially not Lewis. “That’s uh, that’s a nice impression of Vivi you did there. You been practicing?” Arthur joked, half out of embarrassment and half out of a genuine feeling of camaraderie.

“I’M SERIOUS, ARTIE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S HARMING YOU, SO OF COURSE WE’RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP!” Lewis said pleadingly, his ghostly voice was filled with concern. The sound of rain picked up outside, a heavy and constant patter on the shack’s roof. Lewis raised his eyes upward and added “BESIDES, I’M NOT LETTING YOU DRIVE IN THIS RAIN SO WE MIGHT AS WELL TALK IT OUT.”

Arthur slumped back into the desk chair, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re not going to let up until I tell you, are you?” he asked, his voice laden with sarcasm.

“NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST” Lewis replied, ignoring Arthur’s tone.

“Well, it’s like this,” Arthur began, albeit reticently, “I’ve… always had them, the nightmares I mean, for as long as I could remember but they never were the same. Not until, well, the cave but I guess I don’t need to tell you why. After that they nightmares were the all pretty similar, like remembering what happened but… worse.” Arthur drummed his metallic fingers on the desk, searching for a way to explain. “So… they’d change a bit each time. Sometimes… sometimes Mystery doesn’t just take my arm off… or the screaming doesn’t stop… or Vivi watches me p- push you…” Arthur began to choke up as he spoke, especially so on the last point. Lewis was about to say something when Arthur shook his head and held up a hand.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself Arthur continued; “Like I said, they were worse than remembering how they actually happened. But the last one… it was another in the cave but… but I wasn’t seeing out of my own eyes. They’ve never been like that before, I’ve always had to watch everything play out around me.” Arthur began to turn a pen over in his hands absentmindedly, “This was the first time I saw myself in my own dream, I mean saw everything from the outside last night.”

“I saw the pair of us enter the cave and take the left. I saw… I saw me pushing you t-to yo- to-…” the words caught in his throat. Arthur gulped. “I saw me push you off the cliff.”

Again Lewis went to console his friend but Arthur motioned for him to wait as he took another deep breath. “It was what happened next that was the worst part. A-after I pu- after the push, I- I- saw myself turn… and… and I… I looked at me, Lewis. I looked myself in the eye and I… it wasn’t me that I saw looking back, that wasn’t me” Arthur whispered hoarsely as the colour drained from his face as he remembered the terror, “it was just… wrong…”

“WELL I KNOW IT WASN’T REALLY YOU SO- WAIT,” Lewis began, picking up the trailing narrative before the penny dropped, “YOU SAID AT YOU? LIKE, ACTUALLY AT YOU? AT DREAM-YOU?”

“Yeah, like… like I know- I mean, it knew I was there or something but that can’t be possible, right?”

“WELL, IT WAS A DREAM SO THINGS THAT SHOULDN’T MAKE SENSE CAN HAPPEN. SO IF YOUR MIND IS CREATING THIS THEN IT KINDA MAKES SENSE THAT THIS THING LOOKS AT YOU? OR AT LEAST, WHERE YOU’RE VIEWING IT FROM?” replied Lewis, turning the pen over in his hands.

“I guess so, but… but it still felt wrong. Like… like being watched, kind of?” Arthur sighed, “You’re right, I’m probably over reacting…”

“I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT” Lewis blurted out quickly, “I MEANT THAT IT’S PROBABLY YOUR MIND TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. YOU HAD THIS AFTER WE TALKED LAST NIGHT SO IT’S PROBABLY YOUR WAY OF GOING OVER IT, Y’KNOW?  IT MIGHT BE YOUR WAY OF SEEING WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVE NOW YOU KNOW THAT IT WASN’T REALLY YOU WHO PUSHED ME!”

“You think so?” Arthur sounded almost hopeful “it does make sense when you put it like that. It wouldn’t be the first time my brain told me things this way. I just wish it could do it a way that wasn’t like watching a horror movie in my head, y’know?” he joked, “Maybe it could give me something in, I dunno, a musical number? I think I’d like a song over a scare for once!”

“YEAH, SOMETHING THAT WOULD LET YOU GET A DECENT NIGHT’S SLEEP! YOU KNOW, FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING!”

“Hey! I’ve had plenty of sleep!” Arthur quipped back, pointing an accusing finger at his friend with a faint smirk.

“OH REALLY? SO IN THE LAST, SAY, MONTH YOU HAVEN’T BEEN UP ALL NIGHT DOING WORK?” Lewis folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, “YOU HAVEN’T BEEN BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL AT ALL? AND IF I GO AND ASK YOUR UNCLE HE’LL BACK YOU UP ON THIS?”

“Hey, I never said that I slept at night” Arthur conceded with a grin, knowing full-well he had lost this one but determined to get a final jab in. The sound of the rain died down outside and the sun began to poke back out from behind the clouds. Arthur leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, his metal fingers interlocking with those of his skin-and-bone right arm. He felt a lot better for having talked about the nightmares and even more so for Lewis being so understanding about them. He didn’t have to be afraid of his friends, he didn’t need to hide anymore. He glanced at the desk clock and realised that they had been out for hours and it was starting to get late. “We… should probably be getting back for dinner, before Vivi and Mystery eat the lot.” Arthur reached for a crate and began to pack away a number of files.

“GOOD IDEA, I’LL CALL AHEAD AND LET THEM KNOW” Lewis said, grabbing his phone only to find he had no signal.

“Don’t bother, you won’t get signal out here” Arthur mentioned offhandedly, “’s why I chose to head out here in the middle of nowhere to get away, totally cut-off.” Arthur then tilted his head towards a second crate of files “These are the only files I want from here right now, so we can get these put away and hit the road! Should be back home in no time at all.”

“NO TIME AT ALL? BUT WE’RE MILES AWAY!” Lewis exclaimed, surprised at Arthur’s confident wager “YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR ME, DON’T YOU?” Arthur said nothing, but grinned from ear to ear with a wicked glint in his eye and backed out of the shack maintaining eye contact. “COME ON, ARTHUR, WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?” Lewis asked, sounding almost plaintive which only encouraged Arthur to keep it a surprise.

“Oh you’ll find out, Lewis, cos it’s either that or a looong walk home” Arthur chimed happily, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to hold the secret over his friend. “It’s a surprise!” he quipped before slipping out the door with a wink.

Lewis apprehensively picked up the second box and, very cautiously, walked out the shack to be greeted by Arthur’s Cheshire Cat-like grin as he shoved his crate into the back of the van. “YOU’RE ENJOYING THIS WAY TOO MUCH, ARTIE” Lewis joked.

“Yup” Arthur chuckled, still keeping his cards close to his chest. He leaned nonchalantly against the van and gestured for Lewis to put his own crate next to it before he went back to the shack to close and lock up, humming as he did so. Lewis put his crate in the back and looked around to see if he could spot anything that might give away Arthur’s latest surprise. The van was crammed with storage crates and corkboards, but Lewis had always remembered the back of the van carrying everything and the kitchen sink, although usually it was just a few of Arthur’s tools and a lot of Vivi’s miscellaneous mysterious stuff that she insisted would be critical for their latest adventure, only to be left in the van regardless. With no clues to work with Lewis drifted round and climbed into the van as Arthur, having finished closing up the shack, sprang into the driver’s seat and revved the engine. “Just you wait until we’re on the road, you’re gonna love it” he grinned with the sort of excited expression that Lewis normally saw on Vivi when she had found out about some strange new goings on nearby.

The dirt track leading back to the highway was quiet and the brief downpour had left the trail muddy enough that Arthur had to take the drive slowly but in the hot Texan sun the highway had dried out by the time they reached it. Arthur turned to Lewis and looking his friend in the eye asked simply, “You ready?”

“ERM, YES” Lewis said tentatively, boldly lying in the face of reality and slowly gripping the armrest on the passenger door tighter and tighter.

Arthur simply smirked and reached over to the dashboard. This is when Lewis saw it, there was an almost imperceptible square panel on the dashboard only identified by the tiny lip of the panel marking it out against the shiny orange surface of the dash. Arthur flicked the panel open to reveal the contents and Lewis’ eyes grew wide at what he saw. There are few things that can be so clearly understood at first glance, but a hidden panel in the dashboard of a skilled mechanic’s pride and joy could only contain one thing and Lewis was not disappointed. There, hidden in the van’s dashboard, was a Big Red Button. It had a little flame decal on it.

“IS… IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?” Lewis stammered in disbelief? Arthur simply nodded, a smile plastered across his face from ear to ear. When they were young, Lewis and Arthur both had always wanted fast and flashy cars thanks in no small part to Lance Kingsmen’s collection of car magazines that Arthur would frequently “borrow” to read with his friend. And now Arthur had gone and done it, the van had always been a surprisingly speedy machine for its size as a result of Arthur’s constant labours of love to his precious van but this was as far as Lewis was concerned the very pinnacle of upgrades. Lewis could hardly contain his excitement and nodded vigorously.

“Up top, Lew” Arthur declared, holding up a hand which Lewis enthusiastically hi-fived before Arthur brought his hand down on the Big Red Button. The van’s engine which had previously been purring like a kitten suddenly roared like a tiger as the nitrous kicked in. The only thing that was even close to the noise of the engine was the sound of cheering from the two friends inside. Raucous, bellowing laughter and whooping cheers filled the air as the van hurtled along the empty highway, gouts of flame shooting out the exhaust as Arthur’s supercharged hard work did what it did best. Arthur wasn’t kidding when he said it would take no time to get home, where it had taken a couple of hours to get out to Arthur’s Shack in the middle of nowhere the lights of town were already growing on the horizon after a brief few minutes on the road.

As they got closer to civilisation Arthur, as much as he wanted to keep the drive going, hit the button again to turn the nitrous off and slowed the van to something approaching a reasonable speed although the happy laughter continued for a good long while. Lewis was so swept up in the ride that he completely forgot that he might be seen, though thankfully Arthur still kept to the backroads and with it being the evening was there was nobody around to see them anyway. The good cheer continued all the way back to the house as Lewis and Arthur exchanged jokes, astounded reactions and enthusiastic references.

True to his boast Arthur had got them home before Vivi and Mystery as he pulled the van into the driveway and gave a half sigh-half laugh. It was the most relieving sound that Lewis had heard all day, and that included the roar of the engine, the woosh of the air and the wildly energetic “Woo-hoo-hoo!” that burst from Arthur when he hit the nitrous. Lewis opened up the garage and the pair began to unload the crates, suggesting to each other places to hang the project boards in the garage or Arthur’s room. Lewis even floated the idea that one could go in the lounge, but when Arthur pointed out the inevitable graffiti and “helpful annotations” that Vivi would stick on any project there, the notion was quickly dismissed.

With a few corkboards that focused on the Mystery Van hanging in the garage next to the tool rack and the rest stacked in Arthur’s room waiting for hooks to hang them on. The rest of the boxes were stored according to the traditional solution of “just put it somewhere out the way for now” with in this case “out the way” being a corner of Arthur’s room to be sorted away at a later date, though at least they were dumped in the corner in an organised fashion.

With the last of the crates stacked away Arthur collapsed onto the sofa, cheerfully exhausted. Lewis, no longer able to feel physically tired in the conventional sense, lightly settling down next to his friend and checked the wall clock. “VIVI SHOULD BE BACK SOON, DINNER’LL BE READY ABOUT THEN” said Lewis.

“Great! I’m famished after all that!” Arthur yawned, stretching as he did. “Tired too, gonna sleep well tonight” he added with a satisfied sigh.

“I SHOULD THINK SO!” Lewis agreed before taking a more concerned tone, “BUT… IF YOU DO HAVE, Y’KNOW, NIGHTMARES AGAIN YOU’LL TELL US RIGHT?”

“Sure! Sure!” Arthur said holding his hands up in a gesture of sincerity, “if there’s anything I’ll be upfront about it now, no more hiding things any more. Promise”

Lewis brandished his pinkie finger at Arthur and raised an eyebrow, his gaze locked squarely on Arthur. “PROMISE?” he intoned with the utmost severity, even though Arthur couldn’t help but laugh a little as he hooked his own little finger around Lewis’.

“Promise. But let’s keep the stuff with the van and all secret, I wanna surprise Vivi with it all as well” Arthur smirked.

“HEH, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE LOOK ON HER FACE” Lewis replied as they shook on it.

There was a jangle of keys in the front door as Vivi returned home with Mystery in tow, the small dog shaking his paws dry from the puddles outside as Vivi put her umbrella in a stand by the door. “Oh look at you two” she mused sarcastically “lounging around whilst some of us had to trudge through the wet to get home!” She waggled a finger at the two boys who both at least pretended to look ashamed of leaving Vivi at the mercy of the weather.

“Hey Vivi, sorry but we didn’t get back that long ago either! And there wouldn’t have been room either, I might have brought a few project boards back with me along with the files, sooo…. Van was pretty crammed….” Arthur chuckled sheepishly.

“AND BESIDES, YOU LIKE WALKING THOUGH PUDDLES!” Lewis pointed out

“Ah, but I don’t” Mystery interjected with a note of bitterness at the prospect of missing out on a car ride.

“Well, next time I’ll try to remember to call if you want a lift” Arthur joked back as Mystery rolled his eyes.

Vivi and Mystery parked themselves by the radiator to dry off and warm up as Lewis got up to head to the kitchen “DINNER SHOULD BE READY BY NOW, YOU COULD ALL DO WITH SOMETHING TO WARM YOU UP!”

“Too right! I’m starved and Mystery’s been begging for snacks all day!” Vivi declared as Mystery shot her a dirty look.

“I have not!” Mystery scoffed, but Vivi simply folded her arms and looked at Mystery over the top of her glasses. “Okay, so maaaaybe I tried to procure one or two little morsels of food from the odd patron” Mystery conceded, waving a paw in a circle as he looked away almost as if he was embarrassed, “but that was hardly me begging “all day” by any stretch!”

“Oh come off it, you were absolutely drooling over those pretzel bites that one girl had! You went full on Puppy-Eyes to get some!”

“Can you blame me? They were freshly baked” Mystery whined, wagging his tail at the memory of   the delicious snacks. Vivi just laughed and turned to face Arthur, smiling warmly.

“So, you get all the things you need?” she beamed “You got enough space for them all?”

“We got some of the boards up in the garage, mainly the ones with some stuff about the van but could probably do with some more shelves” Arthur remarked as a homely aroma wafted in from the kitchen. The warm, spicy notes were a hallmark of Lewis’ cooking, and really all of the Pepper family. Even though Arthur wasn’t keen on most spicy food, Lewis had known him long enough to get the balance of flavours right. The smell of a home-cooked dinner was a welcome sensation, it spoke of comfort and camaraderie.  It lifted Arthur eagerly out of his seat.

“And, um, how’d it go with Lewis?” Vivi asked tentatively, almost afraid of the answer. She knew that Arthur was starting to feel more at ease with Lewis now but that still didn’t stop her feeling a little uneasy about Arthur being by himself with the towering spectre, especially considering what Lewis had said about how their friend seemed in the morning. Arthur’s soft smile, however, put her at ease.

“It all went fine, brilliantly even!” Arthur exclaimed, “I really think it was for the best, we talked through some stuff and… and it really helped.”

“Good!” Vivi sighed. She was sure nothing would have happened but was relieved nonetheless. “Good to hear!”

Lewis was already plating up by the time they got to the kitchen, or rather he was having the Deadbeats set the table whilst he ladled dinner into the awaiting bowls. Arthur slowed down as he walked into the room, unsure of what to make of the Deadbeats for a brief moment before becoming more confident. The little spirits were a part of Lewis after all, and so they would be supportive of Arthur as well. It had been a long and exhausting day, so much had happened and Arthur felt good to finally put his feet up at last. The rich flavours of the stew were a great comfort, but it felt even better to be sitting down with his friends again, sat round the same table sharing jokes and stories late into the night like they used to. Arthur smiled, he hadn’t felt this good about his life in a while and it all looked to be getting better.

That night Arthur slept restfully, neither afflicted by nightmares nor painful memories. Outside the wind gently blew through the moonlight treeline, it sounded almost like laughter.

Chapter Text

Vivi slouched over the counter at Tome Tomb, propping herself up on her elbows as she stared with glum vacancy out of the front window. An unexpected and sudden afternoon downpour had driven most of the people out on the streets indoors and not, unfortunately, specifically into Tome Tomb. This left Vivi alone in the shop as her co-workers had both taken the day off, not that Vivi minded too much as at least she had more time to think about things this way and she had a lot of things on her mind right now. Mainly she was worried right now as she knew something was bothering her friend Arthur but she didn’t know what was going on. She had heard from Lewis that their friend had been awake unusually early and pretty jumpy at that. She wasn’t that surprised by Arthur was on edge as he was always a pretty nervous person, not to mention that matters certainly wasn’t helped by Lewis being, well, a ghost. Vivi also knew that there was some sort of sordid history between Lewis and Arthur but she refused to believe that Arthur had it in him to even so much as harm anyone, let alone kill his closest friend.

Whether there was any truth to what Lewis had said or not the spectre had held a grudge against Arthur ever since they were reunited but a month ago Lewis had a sudden change of heart. Whilst Vivi didn’t want to question the sudden change of heart having been hoping for it for so long but she had no idea why Lewis would go from furiously hating Arthur to repentant regret. Lewis wasn’t a mercurial person, he never just changed his mind all of a sudden but he didn’t explain his dramatic reversal either. Vivi knew that everyone was hiding the facts from her, she even thought she had a pretty good idea of the sorts of things they were keeping from her and why.

The sound of soft padding footsteps behind Vivi reminded her that she wasn’t actually alone in the shop, as Mystery strolled up and down the length of the store. Vivi’s canid companion was just as annoyed at the turn in the weather as he was by the lack of customers to ply for snacks and attention. As she had to run the shop alone for a day Vivi was glad she could bring Mystery with her for company, not to mention it helped find the time for him to get some exercise in walking to and from work. Although with the rain it would be guaranteed that Mystery would complain later this evening when they got home.

The two sighed in unison as the droplets collided against the window in a rapid patter. Mystery continued to pace about the store in the hope of some rain-soaked customer stumbling in to lavish him with attention whilst Vivi counted the hours until close of the day. She definitely thought that the two boys had the better job for the day, with Lewis helping Arthur move projects over from his old place living with his Uncle Lance to their new home together. She thought it would be a good way for the two friends to mend bridges with each other, and it wasn’t like they’d be driving out into the middle of nowhere anyway. To try and pass the time Vivi went over her theories of what she was missing.

First; there was the question of why Lewis went from hating Arthur to wanting to make amends with him. Second was a matter of what was going on with Arthur, the nervous mechanic had been doing his best to avoid seeing Lewis ever since they returned to Tempo and even tried to hold off on moving in until Vivi had to pull the dirtiest trick she could think of and convince Arthur’s Uncle Lance that it was a good idea. Thankfully Lewis’ culinary skill helped get Vivi’s somewhat eloquent and incredibly persistent arguments in favour off on the right foot by taking a literal approach to the term “sweeten the deal”. After eventually getting Lance to sign off on the idea, Arthur’s resigned capitulation did make Vivi worry if she had done the right thing though so far things at least seemed to be working out well enough though she did make sure to lay down some ground rules with Lewis and Mystery about making sure Arthur had his space, just to be on the safe side.

The final question, however, was the most concerning. Vivi still didn’t know what had happened to put them all in this situation in the first place. There was a gaping hole in her memory that refused to be filled in. Whilst she eventually regained her memories of Lewis, they only extended to what she could remember of him whilst he was alive. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t seem to remember how or when he had died. When she had asked about it she was only told that there was an accident in a cave when on one of their adventures but Vivi couldn’t recall any such cave let alone find one that fit the description on any map she looked at. She considered “borrowing” Arthur’s laptop to see if there was any record on that but decided against it, she’d much rather keep the trust of her friend than risk it for only a chance at the truth.

Next, Vivi started to line up what she at least did know and how it matched up to her questions. For the first problem, whatever had changed Lewis’ mind would have to have happened when Vivi was busy at work because otherwise she would have been with him at the time, so that narrowed it down. It also would also have to have been a pretty dramatic revelation to cause such a change, and it would have to be something severe otherwise Vivi reasoned that Lewis would have told her what it was. So, Vivi’s train of thought ran, whatever changed Lewis’ mind must have happened when Vivi was out and was something he wanted to keep quiet about, which narrowed it down even further because the only sort of thing that Lewis didn’t want to talk about involved his death. Vivi sighed as she concluded that this only made the finding out more difficult, anything that related to Lewis’ death meant that her memory issues were going to be a problem. Vivi also reasoned that if what Lewis had learned related to his death then it was probable that the other problems all tied back to it as well.

The rain showed no sign of letting up and with the continued lack of customers Vivi opted to pull one of the many notebooks from her bag that she kept for her deductions and a set of coloured pens for annotations. She flipped to the section marked “Mysterious cave” and stared at it hoping for a sudden epiphany that, as usual, never actually arrived. Instead the pages merely stared back with assorted remarks and a lot of unanswered questions. Vivi circled the points she thought most relevant and re listed them on a fresh page, specifically “Cave”, “Monster”, “Lewis Died”, “Arthur’s Arm” and “Memory Loss”. Then she wrote down headings for the new mysteries, being “Change of mind”, “Arthur’s fear”, “Secret” and “Truth?”, though she did hesitate about the question mark. Finally came the list of “Persons of Interest” which was completed almost immediately by writing down all their names. It wasn’t the most detailed plan but it was a start and Vivi had always taken her interest in mysteries very seriously so any plan was a required start.

Vivi began drawing in dotted lines between the different headings and names where she thought there would be a link worth investigating, with little notes to help things along. “Arthur” and “Lewis Died” were joined by a line marked “Blame?” which in turn connected to “Change of Mind”, “Secret” and “Truth?”, whilst “Memory Loss” was joined up with her own name. Lines were drawn and connections made as Vivi hoped to find something to work with but once again she only resulted in questions with impossible answers. Lewis had always blamed Arthur for his death but Vivi refused to believe it, she couldn’t believe it. Arthur didn’t have it in him to hurt someone’s feelings let alone physically harm anyone! She gave a bitter huff and snapped the notebook shut with a lot more force than she thought going by Mystery suddenly whipping his head round with a concerned frown.

“Is something the matter?” he inquired. Despite his appearance as a small dog he spoke with a refined and fluent received pronunciation that only gave hints to a long and mysterious past he seldom spoke of in detail. It was a good thing that the two were alone in the store because otherwise explaining why the dog was talking would take some serious doing, especially as “Oh he’s not a dog he’s actually an ancient Japanese Fox-Spirit that’s disguised as my dog which is why he can talk” is not something that tends to be received well. Especially not in a comic book shop.

“Oh just… frustrated by things” Vivi replied, waving one hand in a vaguely circular motion whilst she leaned on the other, “Frustrated by the boring lack of people, the fact that Lewis and Arthur get to go and do something whilst I’m stuck in here with nothing to do” before adding “also I’m hungry, which isn’t being helped by someone having been given snacks all morning!” as a joke. She wasn’t lying about any of these points as she did want to be with her friends more than being in an empty store and she was feeling hungry but she kept the notepad to herself. She didn’t like the idea of saying that she had no answers and no leads. It would be like admitting defeat and Vivi wasn’t about to give up on figuring things out yet, she’d sooner eat one of those oyster-pizzas that Arthur loved than give up.

“Ah, I see. Well I sympathise with you there, it is rather dreary in here and I would very much prefer to catch up with Arthur as I haven’t had the chance to since the last escapade” Mystery agreed, either not suspecting Vivi of hiding something or a desire to not press the issue. At last the sound of the rain started to die down from a heavy downpour to more of a persistent drizzle with small sunbeams poking through the clouds. Vivi took it to be a good omen, because at least Mystery would be less grumpy after walking home if the weather kept improving.

And then something clicked in the back of Vivi’s mind. She waited for Mystery to settle back down on the cushion that Vivi kept under the desk for the days before opening her notebook again and quickly flipped back to the earlier pages and there it was, right in the middle of the page. There was only one word that Vivi hadn’t connected to anything else, one that as it happened was the best way to describe the situation. Mystery. Vivi had refused to think badly of any of her friends, she wouldn’t accept that Arthur could have killed anyone and she never would have believed that Mystery could have done anything more hurtful than a scathing rebuke, but then Mystery was never quite what he seemed after all. Vivi hated to think someone she cared about could ever do something dangerous, but it would start to join the dots.

Vivi had already connected “Arthur’s Arm” and “Monster”, after all what else could have happened to Arthur that left him missing his left arm, and apprehensively connected Mystery’s name to “Monster”. In hindsight it was an obvious connection to make, whilst none of them at the time really knew that Mystery was a Kitsune in disguise it was the only thing that could have removed Arthur’s arm because if it had been something more savage, then why would it have let Arthur live after attacking him? It would also explain why Arthur was so nervous around Mystery, realising now that Arthur was more than just afraid of the dog, but utterly terrified at times for reasons that he wouldn’t explain neither before nor after returning to Tempo. Tapping the page with a pen Vivi considered the hypothesis and, regretfully, couldn’t find a fault with it. She had her first glimpse of what had happened and she didn’t like what it suggested.

With the first point established, Mystery must have had a very good reason to attack Arthur and the only possible reason that Mystery could possibly have had to turn on their friend like that was something she had always refused to even consider. Vivi took a deep breath and closed the notebook. She didn’t want to think about it, at least not until she was out of work and could press Mystery for answers. If the weather kept improving and it dried up a little outside then she could detour through the woods and get some time for some questions before getting home.

The last few hours of work passed by unremarkably, a few customers did show up after the rain finally died down but neither had any interesting rumours, and to Mystery’s disappointment no snacks to share. As Vivi was closing up the shop, Mystery did the few things he could to help like drag some of the lighter displays off to the sides of the shop out of the way, anything to get things done sooner. Vivi was glad for the help because she felt preoccupied with her recent realisations. It followed that if Mystery had attacked Arthur then there must have been some truth to Lewis’ accusations, and if there was truth to the accusations then why did he change his mind? Not to mention why Mystery no longer seemed to have a problem with Arthur, even going so far as to doze with the mechanic on the day he moved in. This suggested that not only was Mystery more likely the assailing monster but also regretful about it, which only added more questions. To rip off Arthur’s arm like that couldn’t possibly be a result of an accident as that just made no sense, but then what motive could there be? There had to be more, something that Vivi hadn’t accounted for yet because now she kept getting stuck on the question of motive.

Vivi kept turning the question over in her mind in the hope of finding an explanation. She couldn’t think of a possible reason for Arthur to want to kill his friend, so perhaps Arthur was acting in self-defence? But if that was the case then why would Mystery have attacked Arthur? That also didn’t make any sense, so Vivi tried asking the question in different ways, anything that might help prompt an answer. What could drive Arthur to do such a thing? Why would he want to kill his best friend? What on earth could possess someone as meek as Arthur to kill their best friend? On that last question, Vivi’s mind caught on a single word. Possess. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility, she lived with a ghost and a kitsune after all, so Arthur being possessed must be the only explanation! The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed to be the right answer.

Vivi felt like she was finally making headway, things were starting to line up in a way that not only made sense but also avoided blaming Arthur. Yes, it had to be like that. Mystery didn’t want to kill Arthur because it wasn’t Arthur’s fault, but Lewis wouldn’t have known what was going on which explains why he held such a vendetta against their friend. It also explained why Lewis would have changed his mind so suddenly, though Vivi was left to wonder why Lewis hadn’t told her. Did he think that she’d take it badly? And for that matter why had Mystery kept it so secret, Vivi was adamant to find out what was going on. A quick glance out the window was enough to show that she’d get her chance, as warm sunbeams breached the clouds and puddles began to dry up outside. A small detour through the woods was in order.

Mystery picked up his leash and trotted over to Vivi who was just finishing with locking up the shop, wagging his tail. Vivi clipped the lead onto Mystery’s collar and the pair left Tome Tomb to walk home, with Mystery only weaving to avoid a few small puddles that persisted through the streets. Vivi hummed in a sing-song manner, which Mystery recognised as a sign of her being up to something but as they were in public he wasn’t able to ask why so instead he looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Vivi was expecting this and simply smiled at the bemused look on Mystery’s face, saying “Oh, I just think we should take a little walk through the woods on the way back. You know, give you a chance to stretch your legs. I know Arthur’s getting better with things but I don’t want to rush things so better to do it somewhere out the way.”

Mystery gave a little whine at first, followed by a cheerful yip and led the way down a side street towards the woods. There was small gravel path leading from a park on the outskirts of town into the woods which in turn lead to a series dirt tracks through a number of clearings that they could follow back to get back to the house. Along the way there were some clearings deeper into the woods where Mystery could stretch his legs and run around, run on his actual legs and not his small dog disguise whilst Vivi usually sat on a fallen tree or a rock and read one of her many books. This time, however, Vivi have other ideas. When they made it to one such clearing deep enough Mystery took the opportunity to stretch as Vivi unclipped the leash. “Oooof, that feels better,” Mystery yawned as he took a few slow steps, shaking out each leg before asking “Right, nobody looking?” When Vivi nodded, Mystery ducked behind a rock for some privacy. There was a sound of rushing wind before numerous tails unfurled from behind cover and a large, vulpine silhouette emerged into view. It then rolled over and stretched its four legs into the air before standing back up on all fours. “Theeeeeere we go” Mystery sighed, “much better. Haven’t been able to do this in too long!”

Crouching low to the ground Mystery took off in a sprint, deftly moving between the trees that stood at the edge of the clearing, flowing around obstacles as gracefully as water. After a few laps he came to a stop next to Vivi, panting slightly. “Ah, I have been needing that for a long time” Mystery confessed as Vivi leaned back against a tree at the edge of the clearing with her notebook, saying nothing but quietly humming in agreement. Mystery knew that there was something bothering Vivi, realising that the real reason she called for a detour wasn’t to give him a chance to run but to talk about something. He rolled his eyes and decided to get this over and done with. “So, what’s on your mind?” he asked, sighing with resignation.

“The same thing as always,” Vivi muttered, “I still don’t remember what was going on in that cave but I need to know,” She looked at her companion pleadingly “I just… I need to understand what happened Mystery.”

“It’s probably for the best that you don’t know the details, my friend. There is a reason the memories are locked away from you” Mystery consoled, sitting down next to Vivi and tilting his head. “Focus more on the good present than the sordid past” he advised putting a paw on the cover of the notebook.

“I… I guess you’re right” Vivi admitted with note of melancholy, “but… can I at least ask one question?”

Mystery considered this for a moment before deciding that what could be the harm, “Certainly,” the kitsune conceded, “I suppose it would only be fair to do so.” Mystery didn’t see the corner of Vivi’s mouth twist into a smirk, she had her chance.

Vivi picked up a fallen branch and tossed it lazily up in the air, catching it over and over. She arched her arm back, ready to throw it as Mystery got ready to sprint after it and looking for an excuse to get more exercise. “What I want to know most of all,” Vivi began, leaning back further for the throw before launching the branch forcefully across the clearing. “Is if whatever possessed Arthur is still a danger to him?”

The branch scythed through the air as Mystery dashed after it before coming to a sudden panicky halt, kicking up chunks of earth as he attempted to turn around. The reaction was exactly what Vivi had hoped for, she was right and now she might be able to coax more information out of Mystery who stammered awkwardly before sullenly plodding back over to Vivi. “H-how could you possibly know about that?” he gasped, “I had thought you had no recollection of what transpired!”

“Elementary,” Vivi declared folding her arms triumphantly, “There is no way that Mister Arthur “I-once-built-a-wheelchair-for-my-hamster-because-I-love-him” Kingsmen could possibly have wanted to kill our friend, and it couldn’t have been an accident because of what you-” she pointed an admonishing finger at Mystery, who despite his noble stature cowered before the scolding gesture, “- went and did to him!” before adding “And you better have a good explanation for that as well young man!” Mystery looked dejected and let out a little apologetic whine and muttering something about being centuries old, prompting Vivi to take a much softer tone. “Look, what happened has happened Mystery, so just tell me. Tell me if Arthur is still in danger.”

Mystery half-heartedly cleared his throat before explaining, “As far as I am aware, Arthur is free of any influence from what tried to claim him in the cave. In, ahem, severing his arm the spirit that was trying to possess him was locked in the limited vessel.”

Vivi shuddered. “Please… please don’t call it a vessel, we’re talking about a part of Arthur here” she asked.

“My apologies. Arthur had tried his best to resist the spirit, enough so that he could be saved but tragically he was not strong enough to resist completely” Mystery continued as he tried to avoid looking at Vivi, knowing that this would be difficult to hear for her.

“Which… which is when Lewis got pushed…” Vivi murmured going pale.

“Precisely, despite his best efforts Arthur did inadvert-”

Vivi immediately cut him off, holding up a firm hand. “No. No, don’t say that. Don’t ever say it like that!” she snapped, “it wasn’t Arthur that did it! He’s innocent!”

Mystery flinched under the force of Vivi’s furore, holding up a placating paw to try and continue his explanation. “Yes, yes, Vivi. Arthur’s innocence is not in question here, but to continue answering your question; the spirit remains in the cave and Arthur is free of it, though he still struggles with his own feelings of guilt” and here Mystery held a paw up again to cut off Vivi’s impending interruption, “and he considers himself to be guilty of what happened.”

Silence filled the air between the two, not even so much as a breeze rustling the leaves. It was Vivi who spoke first, with most of her questions answered except one. “So, you told Lewis about this but not me?” she asked, sounding just slightly hurt “Why did you keep this hidden? Did you not trust me?”

“Not in the slightest!” Mystery assured her, “In fact I was rather reticent about telling Lewis as I had hoped the matter was past.” Vivi simply raised an eyebrow at Mystery, he mouth drawn into a thin line. She didn’t buy a word of this excuse and Mystery knew it.

“I’ll give you a free mulligan on that one, Lewis might have bought it but I don’t” she declared resolutely, folding her arms.

Mystery gave an embarrassed smile, seemingly shrugging. “Aha, well, erm, the thing is… the thing is…”

“You felt ashamed, didn’t you?” Vivi finished the sentence for Mystery who looked relieved at his ignominy being outed for him.

“Ye-e-e-s…” Mystery dragged the word out to try and put off explaining himself. “After… severing the spirit from Arthur and getting the pair of you to safety I tried to lay low, I did not want to draw attention to myself. Especially not from them...” Vivi knew that Mystery was referring to the demonic Shinomori, an enigmatic spirit that stalked him ferociously but now that she know where he was hiding there was little point in putting so much effort into being hidden these days. At least Mystery knew that in the event of Shinomori coming to attack again he would not be alone. “This is why I didn’t tell anyone about it, for fear of generating attention and invoking repercussions. Additionally, I had no idea that Lewis returned to this world as a ghost; everything that followed our encounter in the mansion had spiralled out of control before I could do anything.” Mystery sighed with a heavy regret, but Vivi put a forgiving hand on the kitsune’s head and tilting it to face her.

“Hey, what’s done is done” she cooed, “it might not have been a good idea in hindsight but you did what you thought was right at the time. We just need to work with what we’ve got.” The assurances immediately raised Mystery’s spirits, as a plethora of tails swaying at an increasing speed and his head continued to angle up as Vivi scratched at his chin. “But this means no more secrets, okay? If something happens we need to know about it” Vivi continued, maintaining eye contact but her eyes were kindly and her tone was warm.

With everything now out in the open, Mystery felt a lot more relaxed as he paced about the clearing, stretching his legs and shaking himself to loosen up. Vivi pulled out her phone to check it, but there were still no messages from either of the boys which was starting to seem a little odd, but then Arthur wasn’t exactly the sort to message frequently and Lewis had a tendency to make electronics glitch out when he was excited so Vivi wasn’t exactly worried. There was still enough light to read by so she sat on a rock towards the centre of the clearing and pulled out a book again, but this time instead of her notebook she was reading a novel about a police officer in modern New York City who stumbled upon the magical world that existed lurking in secret all round and the specialised police department that tried to keep the peace. It was surprisingly light-hearted for crime book, at least as far as Vivi’s definition of “light-hearted” was concerned.

After a while, Mystery slinked over to Vivi and took cover behind the rock. There was another rushing sound, this time with a slight popping noise as air filled the space where a much larger creature was suddenly replaced with a much smaller one. With a slight “Hup” Mystery sprang up to join Vivi on the rocky outcrop, laying down with his front paw crossed and casting his eyes across the sky to watch the sunset. After a while he broke the silence with a question he feared he already knew the answer to. “So,” he began, “when do we tell Arthur? And more importantly, which of us should tell him?”

“Ah…” Vivi had been worried about that too. Arthur definitely deserved to know, probably even needed to know but she didn’t know how to even begin telling him. She closed her book and grimaced slightly. “I guess… I guess we shouldn’t tell him today at least. Don’t want to overload him, especially after spending the day with Lewis, I’ve not heard from either of them so best to just let the two of them work things out and hope for the best. Given what you’ve told me I can’t see anything bad happening, but Arthur’s gonna have enough on his plate for the day.”

“I suppose that’s reasonable enough,” Mystery nodded in agreement, “I did offer to take a jaunt with him tomorrow so I suppose… I suppose that as this is my fault I should take that opportunity to confess the truth to him.”

“Okay, less of the pity party, Mystery” Vivi demanded, “I am not going to let the two of you mopey boys wander around the woods unless I can follow with a boombox playing sad music at full volume!”

Mystery rolled his eyes, it would be entirely in keeping with Vivi to carry through with her threat no matter how tacky is might sound. If anything, that only made it more likely to happen. “Fine, I do solemnly swear that I will not make things overly melancholic and absolutely will not require an emo-rock soundtrack whatsoever.”

“Spoilsport…” Vivi muttered with a jokey smirk.

“And in fairness,” Mystery continued unabated, “I’ll only tell him if he asks to know, and he’ll ask when he’s ready I’m sure.”

“That’s fair enough” Vivi agreed, “but I fully expect that he’s going to ask you anyway so you better be prepared.”

Mystery cocked his head to the side quizzically. “Why, do you think he’ll react badly?”

“No, I think you underestimate him Mystery.” Vivi stared off into the middle distance and whispered something, which sent a shiver down Mystery’s spine. “But while we have the chance, if you didn’t want to tell Lewis about what happened what made you blab in the end?”

 “I was, ah, I was put under certain duress…” coughed Mystery nervously. Vivi whipped her head round to face Mystery sternly causing him to add “Nothing serious, nothing serious! I wasn’t in any real danger!” shaking his head rapidly which seemed to placate Vivi enough. After a pause Mystery felt a pang of guilt over dropping Lewis in hot water with Vivi so tired to smooth things over on his behalf. “You, erm, you aren’t going to hold it against him, are you? Lewis couldn’t help himself and even I can’t blame him.”

“Hmph, maybe. I’ll think about it.” Vivi grumbled, entirely planning on forgiving Lewis after milking the inevitable guilt-trip for all it might be worth. “But… we should probably head back now. Either the boys’ phones have shorted out, they’ll be back soon, or…” Vivi stood up and waved her hand in a vague circular motion, “Maybe werewolves happened? Hey you think werewolves may have happened!?” Vivi sounding way too excited at the possibility of lycanthrope attacks.

Rolling his eyes, Mystery hopped off the rock and picked up his leash ready to trek home. “You know, I would very much like at least a week of things not going wildly awry. A holiday would be wonderful” Mystery scoffed, “And I know I’m not the only one!”

“Bah” Vivi chuckled, “you’re no fun sometimes!”

“Perhaps, or perhaps I just would prefer just a little peace and quiet once in a while” Mystery replied with a wry smirk as he lead the way back out of the woods. Before they came close to the edge of town, running the risk of coming across people that might Mystery paused and turned to Vivi. “If Lewis and Arthur got home before us, they might be suspicious of us being so late won’t they?”

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve thought of that already” Vivi said, pointing at a moderately sized puddle and taking her umbrella out of her bag, “We’ll say we got slowed down by the wet weather!” Mystery looked mortified, however.

“Oh no. Absolutely not. Not a chance whatsoever, I’d sooner go under the thumbscrews at the hands of Lewis and Arthur tha-” his protests in vain and interrupted as Vivi was already taking a running jump at the tempting watery spill. Thankfully it was a shallow puddle as otherwise Vivi might have regretted either the forceful stomp or the less than suitable footwear. Instead it gave her the desired “slightly damp” she was looking for to complete her disguise, whilst Mystery yelped and jumped away from the splash as best he could but still ending up damp nonetheless. Shaking himself off Mystery muttered under his breath in a variety of languages hoping to find one that Vivi wouldn’t recognise him swearing in, though Vivi frequently boasted that she could (as she put it) swear fluently in eight languages, and insult people in an additional three.

“There! Now we’ve got enough of an alibi in case they ask why we’re late!” Vivi declared triumphantly.

“Wonderful, and now they won’t ask and this would all be for naught” grumbled Mystery bitterly.

“I wouldn’t say that! At least it was fun!” Vivi giggled, and Mystery glared at her for it. Vivi rested her umbrella on her shoulder and twirled it. “Shall we be getting along then? Dinner should be ready and I’m sure Lewis can sort you out with a nice warm towel if you’re still soggy, hmm?”

“I should hope so, the amount of trouble you lot put me through!” Mystery jeered back, but there was still a playful note to his voice as he trotted ahead.

By the time they made it back home the sun had gone down and the street lights were the only source of light but Vivi didn’t worry, confident that the streets didn’t hold anything more dangerous than her. The welcome sight of the Mystery Van parked on the drive showed that Lewis and Arthur had made it home, but they could have at least sent her a message or something. Still, as long as they made it home safe that was all that really mattered to Vivi. She paused for a moment at the front door, and hearing what sounded like laughter and cheerful conversation she gave a nostalgic sigh. Everything seemed to be coming back to the way it used to be.

Vivi made a big show of grabbing her keys to open the door, all the more to try and exploit the “Poor, poor Vivi who had to walk through the miserable wet weather” angle for all it would be worth (she was expect about 30 seconds of mild sympathy, 35 seconds tops, before the jokes would start). The boys were lounging on the sofa as casually as could be, a smile evident on Arthur’s face. “Oh look at you two” Vivi mused sarcastically but her heart wasn’t in it, she was just glad to see her two friends being happy.

Chapter Text

Arthur had a long day at Kingsmen Mechanics, mostly to make up for the recent time off he had taken even though his uncle would have given him the holiday anyway but it was nice to spend time with family even if it was spent working long hours. Although he moved out only a few days ago and even though he had still dropped by often between now and then, Arthur was beginning to feel more than just a little distant from his own uncle but Lance disagreed. “Ya might be livin’ elsewhere now,” he had said, “But yer still my nephew and ya still know yer way around an engine like a Kingsmen should. I might not understand yer hobbies or yer friends but family is family and that’s the end of it.”

Some might have found this show of almost tenderness uncharacteristic for the gruff and abrasive senior mechanic but for Arthur it was a warm exchange. Not many were used to dealing with Lance outside of business transactions, but those few who really knew him could tell when he was being sincere through his curt manners and matter-of-fact speech. And Arthur could even pick out the deeper nuances in his uncle’s words this time finding a glowing pride from Lance Kingsmen not that he’d openly admit it, though the unspoken praise still showed clear as day. It was something about the gleam in Lance’s eyes that gave it way, a parental joy even. Arthur even felt a little embarrassed by this, as far as he could tell he hadn’t done anything impressive. Wasn’t it Uncle Lance who gave him that final nudge to move out in the end, even if Arthur hadn’t worked out just who had “helped” Uncle Lance make up his mind, he could make a good guess as to who it was and how.

Regardless of the whys and wherefores of who greased the wheels Arthur no longer lived at work which meant that after working long hours, no matter how voluntary, he still had get home afterwards. After parking the van back in the garage Arthur liked to give it a quick check over, despite having replaced most of the parts some time ago he still felt compelled to be sure. Having the van break down a couple of times whilst looking for, and critically when trying to escape from, Lewis left Arthur with a “better safe than sorry” mentality regarding his pride and joy. He lifted the hood to let the engine cool and went to check the tires and get his tools ready. The muffled, distant sounds of the TV echoed down the hall as Vivi poked her head round the door to the rest of the house.

“You’re back late, Artie. You okay?” she asked, her face drawn into a concerned smile. She held a coffee in one hand which she set on the nearby workbench. It steamed gently as a strong, homely aroma wafted through the garage, almost but not quite overpowering the smell of motor oil and gasoline. Exactly how Arthur liked it.

Arthur returned the smile, but with a genuine warm that made Vivi relax instantly. “Yeah, I just worked a few more hours than usual. Felt that I should make it up to Uncle Lance after taking time off, besides it was nice to just see him, y’know? Guess I didn’t expect to miss him after only a few nights away!” Arthur walked over to the workbench and picked up the mug, the coffee was strong and bitter, it had a kick like a mule and woke Arthur up in an instant. “Needed that” he toasted before gesturing over to the Mystery Van “I’m just gonna look her over and I’ll be through shortly. Shouldn’t be too long.”

Vivi smiled back and nodded “All righty, Lew and I are just watching movies so drop in when you’re done.”

Arthur had almost finished up with his checks and was under the van lying on a creeper board when he felt something long and coiled dropped onto his lap, startling him. An eloquent, if somewhat urgent, voice rang out from a few inches above the ground. “At last, your back! Now I don’t mean to impose but I need you to get me out of this place for a while, it’s unbearable!”

Arthur didn’t even have time to put his tools down before the creeper board was forcibly dragged out from under the van. Blinking in the sudden brightness he saw, staring down at him was the grimacing canine face of Mystery. “Wait, what’s wrong? What’s the problem?” Arthur stammered urgently.

“I’ll say there’s something wrong, Vivi and Lewis are watching Rom-Coms and I cannot stand it a moment longer!” Mystery whined “They’re absolutely dreadful!”

Arthur pushed himself up and stared down in at what turned out to be Mystery’s red leash sprawled in his lap. He blinked again, looking back and forth between the doorway to the hall and Mystery who was anxiously pacing back and forth across the floor. “So let me get this straight… you want me to take you for a walk… because you don’t like Vi and Lew’s choice of film?”

“You make it sound so petty… but… that is the long and short of it, yes” Mystery responded, tapping a paw on the hard concrete of the garage more out of a desire to get away than from excitement “The so-called plots are all just so pithy and the acting is unbearable!” he continued to whine.

It was difficult for Arthur to hold back the laughter but he just about managed it, only cracking a wide grin that he hoped looked more agreeable than mocking. Either way, Mystery didn’t take it the wrong way so it probably wasn’t too condescending. “All right, you’ve twisted my ar- You’ve swayed me, I just can’t ignore your dreadful plight” he joked, “I’ll just go let Vi and Lew know where we’ll be, otherwise they’ll start to worry.”

“Well hurry” Mystery moaned, putting his head to the ground and covering his ears, “My hearing is better than yours and there’s only so much of this dialogue I can take!”

Arthur shook his head and chuckled as he picked up the leash, heading into the house and towards the lounge. Mystery wasn’t kidding about the films that Vivi and Lewis were watching, a pile of romantic comedy films were strewn across the coffee table and from a quick glance the theme was “so bad it’s good” or as Mystery would put it “cruel and unusual punishment”.

“His Nibs is requesting that I extricate him from this most unpleasant duress” Arthur intoned with mock severity before lifting the leash and adding “So I’m just gonna take him for walkies for a bit otherwise he’ll be whining all night about your choice of movies. I mean, he’s already doing that but still.”

Lewis and Vivi poked their heads up over the back of the sofa, Vivi seizing the initiative. “Oh? Well, all right but be careful won’t you?”

“YEAH, IT’S GETTING LATE AND YOU HAVE WORKED A LONG DAY” added Lewis, a note of concern in his ethereal voice.

“Oh I’ll be fine. I’ve had coffee, I ate with Uncle Lance and besides I’ll have Mystery with me the entire time!” Arthur said brightly, “Don’t wait up for us, I bet Mystery’s going to want to really stretch his legs and if we get back  too early you might still be in the middle of the movie marathon.”

“JUST GO CAREFUL, OKAY? GIVE US A SHOUT IF ANYTHING HAPPENS” Lewis insisted, with Vivi nodding in agreement.

“Sure, sure, I’ll let you know is suddenly the trees come alive and start attacking, or aliens happen or... whatever else” quipped Arthur, heading back to the garage.

He hadn’t even fully entered the room when Mystery, who had previously been sulking under the van, sprang up impatiently and began to circle around Arthur very much like the dog he disguised himself as, though still more out of desperation than excitement. “Well?” he asked expectantly, “Are we going to get out of here now or not?”

“Cool your jets, Mystery! We’re going out all right but let me get my things first” laughed Arthur as he grabbed his keys, phone and his trusty vest from the chair by the workbench.

Mystery tilted his head to one side, momentarily puzzled as Arthur knelt down to affix the leash to the dog collar. “I am aware that the sun is still up for the moment, but if we head out into the woods, which I very much prefer than walking around the city, wouldn’t it be prudent for you to bring along a torch? I might be quite fine with the twilight but won’t you find it difficult to see where you’re going as the night progresses?”

Arthur waved his left hand in a vague circular motion whilst he unlocked the garage door with his right, “Oh it’ll be fine, trust me. Don’t worry about it.”

Mystery had overheard Lewis talking about Arthur’s inventive modifications, although the specifics remained secret. For now, Mystery decided to take Arthur’s word at face value and lead the way to the door. Before they left Mystery angled his head over a shoulder to face Arthur, “As you can no doubt surmise, I cannot talk when close to civilisation so I would prefer if we could head into the woodlands so we might talk for a time.”

Arthur gave a small smile. “I had expected as much, I know there’s stuff you want to talk about. I had feeling as much after you dropped in the day I moved in.”

“Yes I had wanted to talk with you but Vivi had insisted I let you be that day, though after Lewis made the truth known to you I felt that he would have told you as much as I would have at the time. This time I wish to belay any fears you have, personally.” He gave a warm smile “I know you’ll be bound to have some questions that would do best for some answering.”

Arthur opened the door and step out into the cool evening air, as the sun began to sink in the sky and spread reddish gold beams between the treetops. A light breeze swayed leaves, playing an inviting melody. Taking a deep breath before turning to Mystery and, confident that someone talking to a dog would not look out of place, asking “Lead the way, you know where we’re going.”

Setting off at an eager trot, Mystery led the way around the block to the woodland paths that he and Vivi often chose for walks. It was a favourite of his, as it was easy to get deep into the woods for some privacy but it was just as easy to find one’s way back in short order, making it highly convenient as well. Arthur enjoyed the seclusion as well, beginning to hum as they walked through the shade of the boughs.

It was a short an uneventful walk to the deeper reaches of the woods, Mystery’s keen memory knew the way like the back of his paw. When they reached the clearing, Mystery looked around and sniffed the air to make sure they were alone. Content they didn’t have to worry about anyone intruding, he motioned for Arthur to unhook the leash saying “This is one of our favourite places to visit, Vivi and I, it’s secluded, shaded and spacious. The rock is smooth enough to make a fairly comfortable seat for a time.”

Placing himself on the rock and leaned back and himself on his elbows Arthur sighed whilst Mystery leapt up beside him crossing his front legs and resting his chin on them. “I suppose,” Mystery continued “that you have a number of concerns about what Lewis told you, yes?”

Arthur drew his mouth into a thin, pensive line. There was something that worried him, but he tried not to think about it. Now at least he had the opportunity to confront the problem. He gulped, a creeping sense of dread building in his gut. “Lewis said that it happened because…” Arthur began, stumbling over the words nervously but Mystery kept a polite silence. Better that Arthur finish in his own time than Mystery interrupt and overrule him. “He said it’s because I got possessed, but I’m afraid it’ll happen again…” Arthur’s breathing became shallow but now Mystery made his move and a direct one at that, clambering up onto Arthur’s lap and sitting up straight.

“In short, Arthur, it will not happen again” said Mystery bluntly, “Not least because if it did it’ll be forced to deal with all of us look for an opportunity to pay them back for what they did to us all, no doubt with interest as well!” Mystery slumped down somewhat, taking on a rather less proud and noble bearing to instead look somewhat sombre and ashamed. “Furthermore, after the entity’s last attempt it is now trapped in… ahem…”

Arthur took the charitable option and finished the sentence for Mystery who seemed to be stuck wrestling with the sensitivity of the situation. “The thing is trapped in what’s left of my arm...” he said grimly clutching his prosthetic. It was almost as if a shudder crept up the machinery, a symptom that Arthur usually attributed to Lewis and his spectral powers but this time it was bound to be his mind playing tricks on him instead as it often did when he thought back to that wretched night.

“Precisely, thank you” Mystery continued, picking up the thread of conversation with a sympathetic tone. “With it bound like that it is of severely limited influence, only able to act within a limited range of its prison. As such, it is far weakened from what it was before.” Mystery gave a warm smile, aided by his shapeshifting nature. There was a very genuine sympathy in Mystery’s tone and manner, it was clear he was making an effort to put Arthur at ease and despite the mechanic’s anxious nature he did find a degree of solace in the kitsune’s words though something did make the hairs on the back of his neck prickle all the same.

Arthur sighed. It wasn’t a sad, wistful sigh but it wasn’t a satisfied sigh either. He was, at least, less worried about the past now. He was feeling more confident in himself and returned into the lives of his friends. Lewis was no longer a looming threat, although he could still loom menacingly but in a more “eat your vegetables and go to bed early” way than a “terrifying spectre of death” way. Sure, Lewis would still startle Arthur but he couldn’t help being nervous around him. Even though it wasn’t Arthur’s fault that Lewis died, he still felt awful over it and as much as the guilt was fading some things were still fresh in the mind. But whilst he was coming to terms with Lewis, there was still one river he had to cross. One with a lot of sharp teeth. Awkwardly clearing his throat he tapped Mystery on his shoulder asking “Hey, there is... um… there is this one favour I’d like to ask of you… If that’s all right I mean…”

Mystery raised his head, looking quizzically at Arthur. “Go ahead, how can I help” he said brightly and when he noticed Arthur’s hesitation he added “Now now, no need to worry, I’m not going to bite you!”

And then he realised just what he had said.

“Oh… Oh I’m sorry. I should have been more careful with my words” Mystery whined ashamedly, his head hung low and avoiding Arthur’s gaze. It was impossible for Arthur to look at the small, penitent shape on his lap and not feel a surge of guilt. Not just because of Arthur’s own guilty conscience and soft heart, but Mystery radiated an almost palpable shame.

Arthur did what he always did when saw Mystery dejected like this, placing his finger-tips behind Mystery’s ears and started to move them in a slow, circular motion. The effect was almost immediate, and despite Mystery’s attempts at restraint his tail began to wag ever so slightly. Arthur picked up the pace of the circles and leaned in close. He did feel bad about what Mystery had done, it wasn’t as if the kitsune had much of a choice in the matter. They had both been living with their burdens but whilst Arthur didn’t have much in a say in how things turned out, Mystery was entirely aware of what was going on that night. Neither of them liked to think about what happened but here they were, walking on eggshells and avoiding the past.

“Now don’t you get all mopey on me now, Mystery” Arthur whispered, “That’s my schtick and you know it.” The self-deprecating jokes never went over well whilst Vivi or Lewis were in earshot in the past and nowadays he’d probably be wrapped up in a blanket like some sort of Arthur-Burrito or imprisoned in a pillowfort if even a whisper of one was heard, but at least Mystery saw the humour in it even though he still somehow found the self-control to give Arthur a stern look through the lavish petting he was receiving.

“If I hear one more turn like that, I’ll have no choice but to inform Vivi!” Mystery muttered but Arthur just moved a hand under Mystery’s chin to scratch there as well, tilting the dog’s head almost upright.

“You do that,” Arthur said “and I’ll make sure that Vivi knows you were so very sad about everything and that you’d hate to be left out of the party…” Never before had Arthur sounded so, well not threatening but it was as close to threatening as he could probably get. “If I’m going down I’m gonna take you with me!”

“Et tu, Arthur…?” Mystery whined before relenting with a sigh.

“Good,” Arthur declared satisfied and letting up on Mystery who shook himself and adjusted his glasses. “Now that’s out of the way,” continued Arthur more sombrely, “you were kinda on the right track… I need to deal with… with the real you, Mystery.”

Mystery tilted his head, a pensive expression settling on his face as he considered what was asked of him. “Are you sure, Arthur?” he asked “Not that I doubt you, but this is quite the drastic measure you’re taking. I’d hate for you to subject yourself to suffering needlessly.”

“Gotta face the music sooner or later, Mystery” Arthur replied with a half-hearted smile, “but thanks for asking.” Even so, Arthur was still shaking ever so slightly and despite his best efforts and practice there was no hiding it from Mystery now he was being properly scrutinised. Still, Mystery could see that Arthur was right and, with a pensive sigh he hopped down off the rock and into the middle of the clearing.

“Usually I prefer to do this out of sight you understand, but given the circumstances I think waiving the privacy in favour of a more transparent process would be preferable. I warn you its rather sudden, Arthur, so when you’re ready just say the word.” Mystery padded out a circle in the grass and sat expectantly with a considerate look in his eyes.

“The quicker you’re in, the quicker you’re out…” Arthur whispered to himself as he took a deep breath, “Okay, Mystery, l-let’s do this.”

Mystery nodded and took up a ready stance, his feet spread apart and his head bowed low. Legs began to stretch out as long, sleek tails split out from the dog-form’s singular one. Fur extended out becoming a more luxuriant coat and Mystery’s body shifted from canine to vulpine, far larger and more lithe. Right in front of Arthur, the small dog was all of a sudden towering over him, vastly different yet still instantly recognisable. Despite the increase in size, Mystery kept his distinct collar, tag and glasses. Arthur looked upwards as even though Mystery was trying to look small and keep low to the ground he was still of an imposing stature, especially in the eyes of the nervous mechanic.

Arthur watched the transformation unfold with a rising sense of panic as half-remembered nightmares began to surface. He did his best to hold his nerve but soon he found himself closing his eyes and shivering even it wasn’t that cold. All it took was one brief glance at the kitsune’s muzzle and the image of sharp teeth filled Arthur’s mind. He knew he had to keep pushing past the fear but it welled up inside him like a flood. Taking a deep breath he began to raise his right arm, trembling though it was. If he could make contact, that would be the first thing. Arthur stumble forwards in nervous, shaky steps made all the more difficult by his instinct to keep his eyes tightly shut. Shuffling closer, Arthur’s feet caught on something sending him tumbling forwards, his breath catching in his throat and his face screwing up tightly.

The plunge forward was suddenly cut short when Arthur’s outstretch hand found something solid and soft, immediately grasping it to steady himself before he realised what it was. He was about to lunch away when Mystery called out to him.

“It’s okay, Arthur, it’s fine.” There was a soft, consoling tone to Mystery’s voice, the soft object in Arthur’s hand moving closer. Opening a one eye, Arthur saw that he had been holding himself up on Mystery’s own head, his hand firmly planted between the kitsune’s ears. “Easy now, Arthur. I know this is a lot for you to take in but you’re doing well so far.”

Arthur stood still for what seemed like an eternity before a thin smile cracked through the tense expression. “H-hey…” he managed weakly, “You er… you really… really…”

“I really am.” Mystery interjected, finishing Arthur’s sentence to save him from feeling embarrassed. It would be an entirely justifiable reason to be caught speechless, especially for Arthur but Mystery couldn’t stand to watch him fumble helplessly. Arthur withdrew his shaking hand slowly, not taking his eyes off Mystery’s head as he did so. Mystery sat upright, taller than Arthur; taller than Lewis even, and remained in the middle of the clearing where Arthur could clearly see him.

It was still nerve-wracking to see the beast before him, like a nightmare made manifest. Arthur had to keep telling himself in his head that it was still Mystery and that he wasn’t in any danger but he still shuddered as he remembered how easily his arm was torn off. It was a miracle he survived, the doctors had said when he woke up in the hospital, that the blood loss was far less than expected and the wound was so clean. Thinking about it, Arthur could guess he had Mystery to thank for keeping him alive as much as fear him for the injury in the first place.

Taking a few steps back Arthur sat himself back down on the rock, gripping the edges of it tightly and taking deep, slow breaths. Mystery padded forwards slowly, his head low as to be as unthreatening as he could manage. “Are you all right?” Mystery inquired, “Should I change back?”

“N-no” stammered Arthur “no i-it’s all right. I- I just need a moment…” He tried to look at Mystery but his gaze kept drifting downwards to avoid the beast. It was evident that he was trying his best but Mystery decided that whilst the direct approach might have worked with Lewis, it wasn’t best suited here. Lewis had a better bedside manner and knew Arthur more personally than Mystery did, much to his own shame. He let out a sombre whine, which was all the louder given the size of him. It was like listening to a lion mewing like a kitten and Arthur had to stifle a little chuckle.

“I heard that, you know” Mystery grinned, edging forwards ever so slightly.

“Sorry, sorry I didn’t mean to-”Arthur began, sounding ashamed of himself but Mystery interrupted him.

“No no, it’s quite all right” he said warmly, cutting Arthur off again, “I get it from Vivi all the time!” Mystery rolled onto his back and sighed theatrically “You know she threatened to paint my nails once?” This got another chuckle, slightly less restrained than the last. “And did I tell about the time she tried to make me where these special dog boots? Me? In “bootsies” she called them!” Mystery waggled his feet in the air for emphasis and Arthur couldn’t help but laugh, loud and clear through the evening air.

Arthur was still too apprehensive to look directly at Mystery but at least he was less nervous now. Mystery rolled back front, stood up and tilted his head to one side, smiling. “I’m well aware you’re not having an easy time with this, Arthur, but you can’t expect to overcome everything in one day” he said consolingly, “You’re doing well so far however, so be proud of yourself.” Arthur managed to look at Mystery and smile, it was thin and it wavered a little but it was there and it warmed Mystery’s heart instantly.

“Th-thanks” Arthur mumbled sheepishly before looking up towards the fading sunset, “W-we should probably start heading back, it’s getting chilly and all…”

“Very sensible, Arthur. Shall I lead or do you want to let me in on your little trick, I know you have something planned”

“Oh um, yeah I’ll be okay, you don’t need to worry” Arthur smirked albeit slightly awkwardly and Mystery nodded, shifting fluidly back to his smaller dog form.

“Very well I’ll get us back to the path and you can take from there, shall we say?” Mystery remarked and started off out of the clearing the way they came.

“Wait, before we do” Arthur held up his left hand and poked at something on his mechanical arm. A small portion of the top of the wrist flipped up and with tiny click a bright light poured forth. “There!” Arthur beamed, almost as bright as his in-built torch “LEDs, so it’s nice and bright.”

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises Arthur Kingsmen!” Mystery exclaimed with eyebrows raised, “I wonder what else you have hidden in that arm of yours.”

“Don’t get too excited, Mystery, it’s this, a lighter in the thumb and a small screwdriver in the index finger,” Arthur chuckled, more at ease with Mystery’s dog form than his kitsune form, “I had some other ideas for things but they weren’t practical.”

“I dare say you could have pulled them off given time” replied Mystery as he trotted off into the woods.

The pair had been walking for a while and Arthur was starting to feel agitated. The trees were all starting to look a little too wrong in the growing dusk, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and prickle. Mystery too seemed to be a little on edge, frowning. Arthur thought he heard a few mutters in archaic Japanese but was too distracted to pay them much attention. A faint mist seemed to be rolling in and Arthur’s rising dread boiled over.

“H-hey I d-don’t mean to be ru- I don’t want to be a problem b-but are we nearly out of here? T-these woods are g-giving me the creeps” Arthur stammered, trying in vain to seem braver than he was and that it was only the chill that made him stutter his words. “I-it’s just I could have sworn we passed those exact trees already…”

Mystery didn’t respond immediately, frowning and sniffing at the air instead as he investigated the area. Whatever he had found out didn’t seem to be good news. “We’ve followed a linear path from the clearing, and we left by the same way we entered” he mused, as much to himself as to Arthur, “And yet… we appear to have wandered off the beaten path…”

“Y-you’re k-kidding right?” Arthur gasped, “T-that can’t be right!” He tried to keep his mechanical arm steady as the only source of light but between the growing chill and creeping apprehension the beam of light began to waver. It cut through the incoming mist creating leering shadows out of tree-branches and roots, tracing out hazy, uneven loops as Arthur’s shivers became more erratic. “W-we must have taken a wrong turn by mistake, r-right Mystery?”

“Assuredly not, Arthur. My sense of direction is not so easily fooled” Mystery responded flatly, making Arthur back away fearing rebuke. Taking a softer tone, Mystery padded over to Arthur and circled around him protectively. “No, no we didn’t take a wrong turn. Something’s going on here and I don’t like it. Stay close to me, Arthur…”

“Y-you don’t need to t-tell me twice!” Arthur gasped, drawing his arms close into a huddle. He gripped his prosthetic arm to try and steady the beam of light, finding only a small comfort in the cool metal and faint hum of the robotics. “S-so what’s your plan? Wait it out or try and find the path?”

“All things considered it would be that better we move on soon, we were never so deep into the forest that we can’t be out soon in spite of whatever’s going on” Mystery replied, “So when you’re ready we’ll proceed.”

“R-right, l-let’s just g-get on. I-I’m sorry, it’s just this m-mist. It’s creepy, k-kinda wrong you know?”

“It’s certainly… unusual, I would suggest being cautious until we return home” counselled Mystery as he resumed leading Arthur through the trees.

The ominous mist began to thicken as it coiled about the ground, tendrils of fog writhing like serpents around Arthur’s ankles as if to ensnare him. Wind hissed through the branches creating an almost whisper-like noise. The cloying darkness made the forest feel a lot closer and denser, creating a claustrophobic tension that made Arthur’s breathing become short and shaky, and his throat feel tight as though he was caught in a crushing grip. Every step made the world feel as though it was closing in, trapping him. Arthur began to jump at even the slightest sound, the crack of fallen branches underfoot or small pebbles getting kicked away. Worse yet was that there was no sound of any other living creature around, aggravating the feeling of isolation.

Shakily, he reached for his phone thinking that if he could call Lewis or Vivi they could come and find him, come and protect him. Fumbling to unlock his phone Arthur stared in disbelief at the glowing screen. No signal, no wi-fi, and no internet connection. A chill ran down Arthur’s spine, they were alone in the tenebrous night and he felt like a thousand eyes were glaring at him. A voice in the back of his mind told Arthur to run, to get away from here. The voice screamed that he was being stalked, being hunted and that his only hope was to put as much distance between him and whatever was following him. As much as Arthur wanted to just run he kept his nerve enough to know that if he did run, he’d only just end up lost in the woods and easy prey for whatever silently followed the pair.

The voice in Arthur’s head kept yelling at Arthur, becoming harsher and aggressive. It screamed in his mind so violently that Arthur doubled over, gripping his head. “Sssshut up” Arthur hissed to himself under his breath “shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” Arthur screwed his eyes tightly shut and the voice reached an abusive crescendo filling the silence surrounding him, pushing him down to his knees with eyes stinging with tears. The screams seemed endless and everywhere, calling Arthur weak, unable to even do anything his own. Arthur felt a hot, wet breath on close his face and heard the sound of the creature’s breath through all the noise when a sudden shout silenced the clamour all around.

“Hey” called the voice, clear as a bell and followed by a ringing silence. “Hey, Arthur” it called again and the world very slowly began to swim back into focus. Here was Arthur in a dark forest, the clear path was lost. Here was Arthur, short of breath and shivering on the ground. And here also was Mystery, his face the picture of concern. “Talk to me, Arthur! Please say something!”

The words didn’t come but Arthur wrapped his arms around Mystery’s body and pulled him close. Arthur managed to catch his breath after a few seconds and managed to say a few words. “Th-thank you…” he whispered weakly. More details became clear as Arthur’s mind was able to focus, the silence that was previously worrying was a welcome return from the voices in his mind. With Arthur’s arms so firmly around Mystery’s body that the light from his arm was mostly covered up, but he could just about make out the surroundings. The mist seemed to have receded, the thick layer of fog had thinned greatly and the ground was now visible. More of the world clear as Arthur’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and his vision cleared, without the fog Arthur could see that the ground around them had been churned up by frantic movement.

Looking around it seemed that a circle had been drawn around the pair, clumps of mud torn from the ground around them. Faint traces of the mist bordered the ring but not a single tendril of it probed within its border. Arthur took a deep breath and sighed, there was one last fact to face. He knew it instantly when he snapped out of his spiralling anxiety but in his panic he put off admitting what he was doing for as long as he could.

With a gulp, Arthur closed his eyes and moved his right arm to confirm what he was afraid he knew. Yes it was Mystery that he had latched on to, but it was the little dog he was walking with. During Arthur’s sudden collapse, Mystery had shifted to his true form and had dug out the ring before coiling himself around Arthur protectively. While Arthur was trying to calm himself Mystery had wrapped his tails around the quivering mechanic like a warding cloak looking out into the mist with lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth, daring whatever was lurking in the darkness to even try and come closer.

Closing his eyes again, Arthur tried to focus on his breathing instead of the world around him. The seconds stretched out as Arthur brought his body back under control with slow, deep breaths. His hands clenching and unclenching in a steady rhythm, gripping tufts of fur for a semblance of safety for as much as he feared Mystery he feared whatever was out there a whole lot more. At the same time, Mystery was slowly moving his gaze from left to right, searching for any trace of their stalker in the night but there was no sign of anyone or even anything out of the ordinary. Mystery might have sworn there was a sickening green tinge in the mist but that just as likely a trick of the mind, the atmosphere was getting under his skin as well as Arthur’s.

As the last vestiges of mist faded away, Mystery’s muscles relaxed slightly though he remained coiled tightly around Arthur and giving a soft whine. “You’re safe now,” he whispered, “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” Arthur didn’t say anything, continuing to try and take slow controlled breaths but the tense grasping of his hands slackened off somewhat. “We can continue when you’re ready, but you’re safe now Arthur. It’s over now” Mystery continued in soft, gentle tones.

Arthur took a deep breath and, unsteadily, pushed himself to his feet. “I-I- I think I-I’ll be okay now” Arthur stuttered, his voice barely more than a whisper. He still hadn’t quite let go of Mystery but at least he was able to stand up. Looking around, Arthur found that the world seemed far less harsh and ominous now. It was still dark and moonless but fog was gone and the trees seemed less twisted, their shadows less leering. Even Mystery looming tall over him was a welcome sight for Arthur right now after what he had just been through, a marked shift from before. He flexed his prosthetic and cast the light of the torch around. The movements felt a little stiff at first, like there was some fading interference from somewhere but Arthur just put it down to the stress playing tricks on him.

“Would you prefer I stay like this, Arthur? I know it troubles you but in the interests of safety I think it would be best if I remain as I am. I fear this is no time for disguises” said Mystery softly.

“B-but what if someone sees you?” Arthur gasped before he could stop himself. Mystery was putting his precious anonymity on the line to protect Arthur and was throwing the offer away. He must sound so ungrateful right now. But Mystery didn’t take offense, instead just smiled and tilted his head.

“I’m touched by your concern, but I would rather gamble my secrecy than risk your safety. Besides, it’s dark and if I do get spotted then we’ll just pass it off as some sort of cryptid in the woods, Vivi would jump at the chance to investigate and we will actually know what’s going on so we can take it easy!”

“Oh… well, if you’re sure you’ll be okay with it” Arthur mumbled dejectedly “I- I don’t want to be a problem for you…”

“Arthur Kingsmen, in no way do I consider you a “problem” or a “burden”. I consider you a friend and I consider you worth protecting” Mystery responded with encouraging tones as he stood up to lead the way. “Now, let’s get you home. It’s not too far from here, this place looks much more familiar now.”

Arthur walked even closer to Mystery than before, keeping one hand on Mystery’s shoulder even if it made his outstretch robotic arm and the torch waver and tremble but Mystery kept the pace slow and soon the dim, yellow glow of streetlamps could be seen through the branches. Arthur gave a small, relieved laugh when the lights came into view. To Mystery’s surprise the mechanic didn’t make a mad dash for the streets like he expected he would after the terror Arthur experienced in the darkness. Instead, Arthur hooked his arm around Mystery’s neck and pulled him close whispering “W-we did it… We did it…” though it was as much to himself as to Mystery.

“That we did, Arthur. We should be safe as houses now” Mystery replied “and we weren’t spotted along the way either!”

“O-oh, um, y-yeah you should p-probably ch-change back, j-just in case someone sees us…” said Arthur, stepping back slightly embarrassed and fumbling to pull the tangled leash from his pocket as Mystery returned to his smaller canine form ready for the charade of a late-night dog walk back to the house.

As Arthur knelt down to clip the leash to Mystery’s collar, his companion stood on his back legs, resting his front paws on Arthur’s lap to speak discreetly in his ear. “When we get back, I can make sure Vivi and Lewis give you space and smooth things over, however we really should discuss the matter tomorrow after you rest.”

“Y-yeah, s-sure” Arthur mumbled half-heartedly. He was feeling so exhausted and just wanted to be left alone for the rest of the night, but at the same time he didn’t dare sleep knowing that if he did then he would be plagued by nightmares. Having to deal with either Lewis or Vivi wouldn’t help matters as it would just result in everyone worrying about Arthur just overreacting to nothing. “Let’s just get back and deal with what happens.”

It was, mercifully, an uneventful walk back to the front door. There weren’t many people out this late and those that were kept to themselves, though Arthur still felt like they were staring at him. He always felt like that. When they got back to the house, most of the lights were out. There was a golden glow from the upstairs window and the lamp above the front door was on but aside from that everything looked quiet. Peaceful even.

Arthur fumbled a bit with his door key, hands still shuddering slightly but when he opened the door he felt a wave of relief rush over him. Lewis and Vivi weren’t in the lounge anymore, but a lone Deadbeat was wandering the hallway. It stopped to look at the pair as they entered, and gave a sort of upbeat chiming sound. Arthur hadn’t quite worked out how to interpret the sounds they made but Mystery seemed to understand them well enough.

“No no, nothing happened. We just lost track of time is all” Mystery bluffed to the floating purple ghost, “Got caught out in some chilly wind, he’ll be fine.” Arthur was glad that Mystery was such a convincing liar, covering all the bases with reasonable excuses about why they were out so late and why Arthur was shivering with a confident bravado. If not for the fact that Arthur had been through it he’d be inclined to believe every word of it. He wanted to believe it.

The little ghost cooed happily and proceeded to resume floating about the house aimlessly. Arthur sighed as he took his shows off and put the leash away. His whole body ached. “I’m… I’m just gonna go grab a glass of water and go to bed” he mumbled, trying to excuse himself.

“Very sensible, Arthur. I’ll go ensure that Lewis and Vivi know we’re back and then I’ll return to check in on you” Mystery replied brightly. It wasn’t an offer, Arthur noticed, mystery was going to be back to see him whether he wanted it or not. With a thin smile Arthur went to the kitchen whilst Mystery trotted up the stairs. His hand shook as he filled the glass from the tap, tremors raising and lowering the water level against the edge like storm swells. Arthur grimaced as he set the water down on the table and tried to eavesdrop on Mystery, creeping over to the stairs and craning his neck to try and pick up whispers of conversation. It was difficult to make out what was being said, but it sounded like Mystery was saying the same thing he had told the Deadbeat in the hallway, keeping his promise.

Arthur shuffled down the hallway to his own room and got changed for the night, opting for some lightweight sweatpants and a t-shirt. It meant he could quickly get up and do things if he couldn’t sleep, or he needed to run. Perching on the edge of the bed, Arthur was staring out of the window when Mystery crept into the room. Arthur was too preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn’t hear him enter and only returned to reality when he heard a sudden sound coming from the ground beside him, startling him.

Squeak.

It wasn’t the cheerful chittering of Galaham who was happily trundling along a series of tubes made from old drainpipe running across the desk and the shelves that lined the room, entirely at peace with the otherwise tense atmosphere surrounding Arthur.

Squeak.

There it was again. High pitched, and a kind of rubbery noise. The suddenness made Arthur sit bolt upright, gripping the edge of the mattress with whitened knuckles.

Squee-eeeaak.

The long, drawn out noise dragged Arthur’s gaze downwards. Mystery was sat on the floor in front of Arthur and holding something in his mouth, tail wagging as he made eye contact with Arthur. He squeaked the object he was holding for emphasis. Arthur recognised it immediately, a small stuffed object made of a hardwearing yellow fabric. He reached down and Mystery dropped the object into his waiting hand. “I… I made this for you… years ago!” Arthur gasped as he looked closely at the chew toy. It was still intact, a small stuffed toy shaped like a bone and made out of an old set of his mechanic’s overalls, the Kingsmen Mechanics logo still clearly visible in the centre. “You kept it all this time…?”

“It’s special to me,” Mystery replied, looking slightly abashed, “You made it for me… it’s precious to me…” The plush bone had clearly been well loved and looked after with only a few small chew marks, otherwise it was surprisingly intact. The only real damage was the stitching having come a little undone with time. Arthur had expected it to have been destroyed almost immediately, and that was back when he thought Mystery was just a dog! Originally he made the toy as a gift when he first made friends with Vivi as a sort of peace-offering to Mystery, as he always felt a bit nervous around the dog and wanted to make a good impression. Looking back, he now realised just why Mystery made him feel just a bit apprehensive when they first met.

Tugging at a loose thread, Arthur saw a few gaps that could have done with patching up where small tufts of stuffing were poking through. Pushing himself off the bed, Arthur began to walk towards his work desk saying “I’m pretty sure I’ve got some thread here I can repair it wi-” when, with a familiar feel of hot breath on his neck, something grabbed him from behind and pulled him downwards. Arthur didn’t have time to shout before he landed with a soft whump against Mystery’s flank which slowly lowered until the two of them were sat on the floor of the room. A sway of tails curled round to cover Arthur as, from the opposing direction, Mystery’s head coiled round to rest on the impromptu blanket looking regretful, whining. Only Arthur’s head poked out from the coiled form of Mystery.

“You er, you okay boy? You kinda made me jump there” Arthur whispered nervously, trying to convince himself that this was fine. He knew that Mystery didn’t mean to hurt him but after the events of the night so far and the history between them the fear was still rooted in his mind. Mystery only made another sombre deferential whining sound as he poked around through the tails for Arthur’s hand, plucking the much loved plush bone and giving it a mournful squeak. Arthur wrestled an arm free and hooked it around Mystery’s neck. “I think I get it,” said Arthur, “You’re worried about me aren’t you?”

“I know what you were planning,” Mystery remarked, dropping his chew toy and tilting his head to face Arthur, “After what has just transpired you need to rest and I will not let you stay up all night working yourself to pieces to avoid sleeping!”

“Like I’d be able to sleep tonight anyway!” Arthur snapped angrily, Mystery jerking his head back at the sudden rebuke. “I’m… I’m sorry Mystery I- I shouldn’t have said that…” Arthur added apologetically “I… I should go to bed, and you should too. Vivi is probably waiting for you…” He tried to get up and push his way out of Mystery’s grasp but the kitsune held firm, refusing to budge.

“Arthur, you don’t need apologise.” Mystery intoned softly, “I do not know precisely what you are going through, but I do at least understand what it is like to feel hunted and isolated.” Mystery stared off into space, his hunter was still out there somewhere but Arthur was threatened by something more immediate. Turning back to Arthur he rested his head back on the blanket of tails. “I know what it’s like, I have made the mistakes before and I don’t want you make them.”

“But that doesn’t make what I said to you oka-” Arthur began before a tail tip flicked up and landed squarely in his face with a soft whap.

“I said you have nothing to be sorry about. And if you think that’s being rude, you do realise how old I am, yes?” interrupted Mystery with eyebrows raised. “So I suggest you give up now because I have heard much worse in my years!”

“Even so I-” Arthur began before the array of tails flexed in a friendly menace, warning him of the futility of his self-pity. A few more attempted protests were stifled this way before Arthur seemed to get the message. “Okay, fine. We’ll… talk about it tomorrow” Arthur huffed.

“Good, this is the best course of action. Rest now, and the four of us can formulate a plan in the morning” yawned Mystery in reply as he settled down around Arthur.

“But… there is one thing… I kinda need to charge my arm, you know? I plug it in overnight…” mumbled Arthur, starting to feel sleepy. He wasn’t sure what to make of Mystery’s attempt at being a bed, but he had to admit it was cozy.

With a somewhat begrudging shuffle, Mystery unwrapped his tails from around Arthur and let him stand up. “My apologies, I hadn’t realised” said Mystery apologetically.

Before Arthur picked himself of the ground, he made sure to give Mystery a friendly scratch behind the ear. “Thanks for everything you’ve done, though. I wouldn’t have been able to make it out without ya” he whispered, pulling the kitsune’s head in close to him and then trudging over to the desk, disengaging the mechanical arm from its shoulder socket and plugging it into the charging dock. Arthur turned back to face Mystery who lounged solemnly on the floor, then Arthur looked over to the bed. “You know, the floor probably isn’t the most comfy place here. I mean, the bed is here for a reason after all.”

Mystery’s expression softened and, after taking cover behind the bed to shift form out of Arthur’s sight, sprang up onto the mattress carrying his precious toy bone. He padded out a space near the foot bed and settled down, head resting on crossed paws. “Much obliged, Arthur. The floor isn’t the best place to sleep but at least one isn’t at risk of being kicked off by Vivi there! You know Lewis has to float above the bed or he gets shoved out as well?”

“Seriously?” Arthur laughed, climbing under the covers, “She seemed to sleep pretty still when we were on the road. I mean, she would sleep through almost anything but still!”

“Indeed, it seems she subconsciously claims the entire space of the bed and refuses to share. She’s very protective of what’s hers, and being unconscious doesn’t seem to stop her!”

“Too right there” Arthur replied with a grin. Vivi had been known to defend even a portion of fries with surprising and on occasion frankly terrifying level of ferocity. “Heavens help anyone who tries to take something of hers by force”

“I think anyone that tried that would be beyond help short of a funeral service” scoffed Mystery, “though if she finds out you’ve not been sleeping you’ll be in just as much trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to sleep now” said Arthur, rolling his eyes and lying down. He didn’t expect to fall asleep so soon, but for the moment the presence of Mystery snoring at the foot of his bed was a great comfort. Quicker than he thought Arthur drifted off, but the sleep wasn’t entirely peaceful.  His mind kept returning to the forest, the voices and the darkness. Arthur kept waking up through the night, each time his eyes snapping wide open with a gasp to scour the room for whatever was stalking him in his dreams but all he could find with either Galaham scurrying around his cage or Mystery dozing at the end of the bed.

After a few sudden starts Arthur propped himself up and glanced over at the desk clock, glowing numerals declaring that it was almost three in the morning. Arthur still felt tired, but he couldn’t sleep either. His mind was a noisy tangle of thoughts and voices that made it impossible to relax. Mystery was still happily asleep and Arthur couldn’t bring himself to wake the dog, he needed his rest too. Instead Arthur dragged himself out of bed and over to the window, it was dark and silent outside. The sun wouldn’t be due to rise for a long while yet and there was nobody about, it was almost peaceful on the streets. More peaceful than inside Arthur’s mind at any rate, he needed something to clear his head, something to help him unwind before he confronted his friends.

Looking up and down the street from the window it was a clear night outside, a light breeze played through the branches. It seemed like a good night for a drive thought Arthur with a thin smile, just the thing to help him destress. Silently, Arthur got dressed and scribbled a note for Mystery on the desk in case they woke up before he got back or in case any of the deadbeats checked in.

Just gone for a drive, will be back before breakfast.

-Artie

With that, Arthur crept into the garage and started up the van, the low purr of the engine helped settle him slightly but he still felt on edge. Arthur just drove, he didn’t know where he would end up going and he didn’t particularly care. Maybe round the neighbourhood or maybe over to Uncle Lance’s place, just so long as he got out and got some fresh air was all that really mattered. Besides, he planned to be back before anyone else would be about. Arthur cruised down the empty roads with only the sound of the radio to fill the air, the electronica music occasionally interrupted by brief blips of static as an early morning mist began to roll in. There was no-one around on the roads, but Arthur still couldn’t quite shake the feeling of being watched.

Chapter Text

Mystery rolled over in his sleep and landed on his other side. This was strange as he was almost certain there should have been a lump or something there to rest against. Blearily he opened a single eye and scanned the darkened room but finding that he was all alone in the room, he drifted back to sleep. And then he snapped awake, scrambling onto all fours, his head whipping left and right searchingly. He was alone in the room, Arthur’s room. There was no sign of the mechanic anywhere, his sleepwear was hanging somewhat haphazardly off the back of the desk chair as opposed to their usual neat folding. The desk lamp wasn’t on but it had been moved from earlier in the night.

Hopping up to the chair and then to the desk, Mystery found a note scribbled on a scrap of notepaper. It wasn’t exactly Arthur’s typical neatness but it wasn’t exactly a panicked scrawl either, showing a slight shakiness of the hand and drifting up and down the page ever so slightly. It could have just been Arthur being tired but that wasn’t a risk Mystery was willing to take. He had already gambled enough in putting things off until the morning, he should have discussed things with Lewis and Vivi or pushed Arthur to do so but at the same time Arthur needed to rest and he wasn’t all too sure what had happened either and wanted to think on things before making any nonsensical accusations. “Oh… oh this is not what I had in mind at all” he grimaced, snatching up a corner of the note in his jaw and making a break for the stairs.

“Vivi! Lewis! We have a situation at hand!” Mystery barked as he bounded up onto the double bed. Lewis was hovering slightly over the mattress reading a book whilst Vivi was curled up in hoarded blankets.

“We wuh? Wussamutter?” the heap of blankets yawned as Lewis reached down to fish Vivi out of the bedding.

“MYSTERY SAYS THERE’S A PROBLEM GOING ON, AND BY THE LOOK ON HIS FACE IT’S SERIOUS” Lewis explained, frowning with as much concern as with annoyance. “YOU SAID EARLIER THAT EVERYTHING WAS ALL RIGHT, WHAT CHANGED?”

“Ah, well. You see… the thing is… erm…” stammered Mystery, trying to avoid eye contact with the glowering spectre.

“Out with it, Mystery” Vivi snapped, rubbing her eyes with one hand and fishing for her glasses on the nightstand with the other. Waking her up early was dangerous at the best of times, but waking her with bad news was a sure-fire way to end up in the doghouse for a long while.

“Ah, when I had said earlier that everything had been fine, that wasn’t strictly the whole truth…” Mystery began, before the forceful glares from both Lewis and Vivi sent a shudder down his spine. There had been several conversations about “honesty” and “keeping too many secrets from each other” ever since what happened with the cave and the mansion, so this sudden turn of events was being as well received as one could expect. It was starting to feel a little too warm right now.

“I’m sorry what?!”

“I BEG YOUR PARDON?”

“I can explain! I can explain!” Mystery implored, “There seemed to be no immediate threat so I had reasoned there was no need to do anything at present and it could be discussed in the morning!”

“And…?” Vivi glowered, her untidy bed-hair doing nothing to take away from her furious expression.

“And… I think I made a mistake…” Mystery trailed off guiltily, looking down with ears flattened. Vivi breathed out a low sigh and put her hand on Mystery’s head.

“Look,” she whispered softly, “what’s done is done. There’s no point fretting on what has happened when we can be working on what’s happening now, so you best start telling us what’s going on. And Lewis? You better make me some coffee. I’m gonna need it.”

Arthur had been driving for a while now, just slow casual circuits around the neighbourhood and he was, at least slightly, feeling less scattered as a result. But now he had the troubling feeling of being followed, he kept checking the mirrors but there wasn’t anyone or even anything strange in sight. Just the same silent streets, and the mist. It was oddly pervasive, coiling through alleyways and sitting thickly on the ground making it nearly impossible to see the road even with the high-beams on, making the whole world feel claustrophobic. At least there wasn’t anybody else on the road at this hour otherwise there was bound to be an accident. He was nearly at the turning to get back to the house, and the delicious siren song of a hot coffee was calling to him but the creepy atmosphere was getting to him. Another lap, maybe go a little further out to somewhere where the mist was thinner so he could get some space he thought to himself, it would probably be clearer at the outskirts or if not then a little further out. Checking his mirrors again Arthur drove out towards the desert. The coffee could wait, it’s not as if he was in danger, Mystery had said as much hadn’t he? It was probably all just in his head. He’ll be fine.

Vivi paced up and down the kitchen, holding a steaming mug in her hands. It was her second, the first one barely touched the sides. The news was that bad.

“So… that thing is back?” she spat the word venomously, neither Mystery nor Lewis could remember the last time she was this angry. They would probably have found it scary if they weren’t just as tense themselves. Lewis was stood silently by the door with his fists clenched, his hair crackling like a low blaze being the only sign of a seething, barely contained rage. If Lewis wasn’t indoors right now he would likely be unleashing a violent inferno but as it was he held his temper, if only just.

“It would seem to be so, but regardless Arthur’s in a danger he doesn’t comprehend. And now he’s gone off into the perilous night, with the van, and we have no way to find him” Mystery whined.

“He didn’t say anything about where he’d be going? Just left the note?” Vivi asked, searching for the slightest hint of where to start, “Is there anything to go on?”

Mystery heaved a sigh, “No, he said nothing else. Just that he would go for a drive to clear his head. He seemed perturbed but not panicky when we returned though I suppose he is worryingly good at hiding how he feels.”

“I KNOW WHERE HE IS…” Lewis said, his voice was tinged with the most tentative note of hope. “THERE’S A SHACK A LITTLE OUT OF TOWN, HE MIGHT NOT HAVE PLANNED TO GO THERE BUT HE’LL END UP THERE, I JUST KNOW HE WILL.”

Vivi and Mystery glanced at each other and then back at Lewis. “How do you know that?” Vivi asked incredulously “I mean, are you sure he’ll be there? Wherever this place is?”

“ABSOLUTELY. ARTHUR, UH, HE SHOWED ME IT. YOU KNOW WHEN HE USED TO DISAPPEAR FOR A FEW DAYS THEN COME BACK LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED? THIS IS THE PALCE HE’D GO.”

“So that’s where he went to! Oh he has got some explaining to do when we get him back here!” Vivi declared, slamming her mug down triumphantly, “Now we’re gonna need some wheels, Lewis I know you still have that truck of yours hidden somewhere, no don’t try and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Lewis found his gaze drifting to the floor in slight embarrassment. “Look just bring it round the front, we haven’t any time to lose,” Vivi continued, “I’m gonna get dressed and grab my bat, then we’re gonna find Arthur and beat the crap out of whatever the hell is after him!”

With Vivi deciding the matter settled, she charged upstairs to get dressed leaving Lewis and Mystery in an awkward silence. “You… kept the damnable truck? Really? After all this?” Mystery began as he trotted towards the hallway. “I know I’m hardly in the best position to judge but I would have thought you’d be rid of it now.”

Lewis rolled his eyes dismissively, Mystery was right to say he was in no position to judge and Lewis really wasn’t in mood to be lectured. “YEAH I KNOW. VIVI TOLD ME TO GET RID OF IT AND I JUST… NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT” he grumbled. He was meaning to get rid of it, but it was hardly something discrete in the first place and it was easier to just hide it in a back alley under a sheet. That was the good thing about Tempo, it was quiet and safe. At least, it was safe as far as crime was concerned. Supernatural problems seemed to be the bigger issue but as far as Lewis was concerned it was better to have a neon-death-truck in those situations, and so it just sat there in secret. “I’M JUST GLAD ARTHUR NEVER FOUND IT…”

“Indeed. I can’t imagine he’ll be happy to see this again though I have to know, how did you keep this a secret from him?” Mystery inquired as the pair made their way out the back door and over to the garden fence. Mystery squeezed deftly through a gap in the fence whilst Lewis simply phased through the planks.

“WELL, HE’S ONLY LIVED HERE A FEW DAYS. HARDLY HAD ENOUGH TIME TO SNOOP AROUND, ESPECIALLY BACK HERE. ALSO IT IS JUST A REGULAR TRUCK WHEN IT’S PARKED SO MAYBE IT JUST DOESN’T FEEL OFF TO HIM” Lewis replied, climbing into the cabin whilst Mystery scrambled up onto the seat after him. “I GUESS THAT IF I’M NOT DRIVING IT THEN IT’S LIKE NORMAL. NOT INCLUDING THE PAINTJOB, I THINK IT’S STUCK LIKE THAT…”

“Hard to think of this as being discrete” Mystery quipped, attempting to lighten the mood but Lewis remained resolute.

“OF COURSE YOU’D BE AN EXPERT IN BEING DISCREET” he grumbled in response as the truck’s colossal engine roared to life. “YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE TOLD US, MYSTERY. FOR ARTHUR’S SAKE.”

“It wasn’t my place to say anything, for Arthur’s sake” Mystery replied solemnly, “There’s no benefit to assigning blame now, let’s just make sure Arthur is safe…”

By way of silent agreement Lewis put the truck into gear and drove as quietly as he could manage out to the end of the alleyway and then round onto the streets to the front of the house. Vivi was already dressed and waiting on the sidewalk with a hefty bag slung over one shoulder, the tip of her bat glinting in the streetlights. Lewis had barely brought the truck to a stop before Vivi was hurriedly climbing into the cabin and dropping her bag into the footwell with a muted, if slightly foreboding thud. “You certain you know where he is?” Vivi asked, trying to hide the concern in her voice.

“NO DOUBT IN MY MIND, HE’LL BE THERE. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS GET THERE IN TIME…” Lewis did his best to sound determined, but even he was worried. As soon as Vivi clicked the seatbelt and nodded to say she was ready, Lewis stomped down on the gas and the truck launched down the road as gouts of purple flame bellowed from the exhausts.

Arthur parked the van in the shadow of the shack and unlocked the door, the hinges creaking slightly but Arthur didn’t pay the sound any notice. Arthur fished out the small camping stove and kettle out of the trunk, turning on a small lamp on the desk and started to make himself some coffee. It took a few tries to get the stove lit however, Arthur’s hands trembling ever so slightly. “Oh come on…” he muttered to himself, “Everything’s fine. I’m just gonna have quick drink and then drive back to Vivi and Lewi- back home…”

He gave a little cheer when the flames finally caught, before feeling embarrassed at getting so relieved at something so irrelevant. Here he was in his little shack, his safe haven, and he was feeling wildly anxious for no good reason! The entire point of this place was that he would feel safe here, and even if something was after him Mystery had scared it off earlier hadn’t he, so surely he had nothing to worry about. But no, despite having every indication of being safe Arthur couldn’t help but be a nervous wreck for no good reason. Filling the kettle from one of the water bottles and putting on the stove, Arthur slumped down on the lid of the trunk and pulled out his phone – still no signal. Sometimes he wished that it wasn’t so isolated out here, Vivi would surely have been asleep but maybe he could have called Lewis? But then again what would he say, “Hi, sorry but I’ve ran off to the shack in the middle of nowhere because I’m a coward who can’t face up to anything?” It would be better to get the coffee finished with and get home before anyone got too worked up about his disappearance, he could just say he went for a drive and that was it. There was a creeping thought in the back of Arthur’s mind pleading with him to go straight home and to be honest with his friends but the sharp whistle of the kettle cut it short. Arthur poured the water into a fairly clean mug with some instant coffee and stared down at the murky brown liquid solemnly. Everything seemed to be getting better and then all of a sudden it was all slipping away, leaving Arthur feeling wretched all over again.

Vivi fidgeted in her seat, she didn’t like any of this but she especially didn’t like how quiet both Lewis and Mystery were being. The two were both heavily focused on the road in front of them even though it was empty though that at least was a small mercy, Vivi wasn’t sure how to handle rumours of ghostly trucks racing around the neighbourhood late at night. Lewis certainly would have wanted to keep a lower profile but right now he was entirely resolute, it was unnerving. Vivi began idling tapping the handle of her bat for comfort, finding it only a minor comfort. It had been a trusty weapon in the past having fended off the monstrous Shiromori before, even if wasn’t really much of a fight but it was better than having nothing. She coughed to try and break the tension but Lewis and Mystery remained grimly silent.

Eventually Vivi spoke up, unable to stand the quiet any more. “You know, this is kinda like how things went with Arthur, when we were- I mean, when he was looking for you…” she trailed off, immediately regretting what she said.

Lewis gave her a quick glance before turning back to the road, but there was almost something of a faint smile in the way that he did so. “I GUESS SO…” he replied, “DID HE TALK MUCH ABOUT ME? OR ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING?”

Vivi returned the smile. “He was pretty cagey about it, but that’s probably because I couldn’t remember you…” Vivi replied quietly, looking down at her feet, “Apparently I would black out when people brought it up. But he was always really adamant about him ‘working on something important’, staying up late and hardly ever sleeping. Nearly ended up in the hospital on more than one occasion and I’m pretty sure Lance tried banning him from going on any more ‘road trips’ until he took some time off to recover!”

“AND DID HE?” Lewis asked, fearing the answer.

“Arthur had snuck out within 15 minutes and I had to demand he pick me up so I could keep an eye on him or I’d rat him out to his Uncle…” Vivi mumbled, “I really should have taken better care of him, I shouldn’t have let him push himself so hard but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Mystery gave a muted whine from his seat.

“IF HE STILL WENT OUT AFTER LANCE TOLD HIM NOT TO, DO YOU REALLY THINK ANYONE COULD HAVE STOPPED HIM? YOU DID THE BEST YOU COULD, VI, HE MIGHT NOT HAVE EVEN LASTED AS LONG AS HE DID WITHOUT YOU” Lewis consoled, pulling Vivi in for a quick hug with one hand before gripping the wheel again.

“I guess… At least we didn’t get very far that time. Lance called the moment he found the van wasn’t parked round the back and he sounded furious! I could almost hear him through Arthur’s phone! Artie just dropped me home and drove back to Lance in a sulk, they must have argued about it because we were back on the road a few days later but he wouldn’t talk about what happened…”

“WELL WE CAN MAKE SURE HE TALKS ABOUT THINGS WHEN WE FIND HIM-” Lewis began before Vivi cut him off.

“We can ask him and let him know that he can talk to us, but we aren’t going to force Arthur to talk” she said flatly, “But we aren’t going to go and interrogate him.”

“YEAH, YEAH. I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT” Lewis added quickly, slightly embarrassed, “I JUST GOT A LITTLE-”

“It’s okay, I know what you meant, Lew” Vivi said softly, “But let’s focus on making sure Artie is safe right now.”

“YEAH… YEAH ONE THING AT A TIME. WE’RE GETTING CLOSE NOW ANYWAY…” Lewis pointed to tracks turning off the road into the desert, picked out by the truck’s spectral purple headlights. “IT’S A SMALL SHACK JUST A SHORT WAY DOWN THIS DIRT ROAD, THE SORT OF THING YOU WOULDN’T NOTICE IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS THERE.”

“That sounds like a very Arthur thing to do” mused Mystery sombrely, “He always ended up drifting into the background…”

“Not this time he won’t!” Vivi declared and Lewis nodded his agreement as he turned the truck onto the dirt road and hurtling towards the location of Arthur’s Shack.

Arthur drained the last of his coffee and slammed the mug down on the desk, he was eager to get going. It was still pitch black outside and even here in the middle of nowhere the fog was rolling in thick on the ground. The whole situation was just unnerving and even after his drive and his drink Arthur was feeling as anxious as when he left, the creeping doubt in the back of his mind he was trying to shake hadn’t left him and the combination of dark night and heavy fog wasn’t helping. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Arthur pushed on the door only to be met by stiff resistance. At first he just brushed it off as him being tired, but a memory from the past few days drifted to the front of his mind and sent a chill down his spine.

He was here not long ago and the hinges swung open as smooth as anything but now it was like they had been rusted for years. It didn’t make any sense, there was no way they could have degraded so fast and certainly not anything he made! Arthur suddenly felt his right arm grow heavy and his left began to twitch and shudder as a few small sparks spewed from the joints. There was a shape there in the mist silhouetted by the moonlight, shambling closer. It looked human but gaunt and lop-sided, like a twisted caricature of a man. Arthur tried to turn away, and to shut the door but his body just wouldn’t move, his joints seizing up as a gnawing dread crept through him. All he could do was shudder at the approaching spectre.

The shambling figure approached with a grim inevitability through the coiling mists and long shadows, details ever obscured in the low moonlight but as the figure grew closer Arthur could swear there was an uncanny familiarity to the stranger’s build though it obscured. Straining against his own body Arthur scrabbled for the wrist of his mechanical arm, and after a panicked fumble managed to turn on his in-built torch to look upon the ominous visitor only to find a silent scream get stuck in his throat.

Now illuminated, Arthur could see the grotesque mockery of himself standing before him. Dishevelled and ragged clothing garbed sickly greenish flesh whilst a twitching left arm mirrored his own mechanical counterpart. A sinister grin split across the figures mouth, twisting with derision at Arthur’s dumbfounded panic.

“Oh what’s the matter, Artie?” the figure spoke with a cruel mockery of Arthur’s own voice, “don’t you remember me?”

Chapter Text

The fog rolled thick across the ground, clinging to the world oppressively even out in the Texan desert. The truck’s high beams, spectral as they were, did little to pierce the murky atmosphere. “It’s never been this bad” Vivi whispered, “I know it rained pretty heavily but it’s not humid enough outside of Tempo for it to be like this. It’s even pretty thick in town as well…”

“It must be an effect of this stalking fiend, to help cover its pursuit in such a way that won’t arouse suspicions. This obfuscating fog would not be thought out of place by most people, considering the wet weather” replied Mystery, staring fixedly ahead of them, “And it would certainly make it harder for us to find Arthur as well. Are you certain this is the right track?”

“ABSOLUTELY. IT’S A STRAIGHT DRIVE FROM HERE” Lewis answered, “SHOULD BE SEEING IT SHOW UP SOON EVEN WITH THE FOG.” Sure enough a faint, blocky shape was picked out on the horizon, though still difficult to make out through the dismal fog. It was some distance away, but the path was clear and Lewis accelerated hard. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

Arthur tried to scramble for the shack door, but he found his legs unwilling to move and his mechanical arm seized up and sparking. Even if he wasn’t gripped by fear the door itself also refused to budge, the hinges locked up by unknown means. The whole world seemed to be paralysed with him, an oppressive stillness and quiet covering the surroundings like a shroud brought in with the mists. Even the moon was beginning to hide from this stranger, a bank of clouds drifting in and closing of the last of the light.

“Oh what’s the matter little Artie? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost!” a crooked, callous smile crept across the stranger’s face, peaking higher on the left than on the right, “Aw, don’t tell me you don’t remember me!” it continued as it approached. Arthur kept his shuddering torchlight on the figure as best he could as if it could dispel the horror but all it did was pick out more disturbing features; the jagged teeth on one side of the face, the corpse-like nature of the flesh. Worst of all was the way it looked at him, the way its glare pinned him in place with mix of contempt and hunger. Despite being the same height, the figure seemed to tower over Arthur with its shadow distending backwards in the torchlight, writhing and twitching with a life of its own as the silhouette’s hands flexed as if about to grab at him.

A panicked gasp choked in Arthur’s throat, but he forced his way through to the cloying dread. “I-I- I don’t know who you are, but I-I- I’m not afraid of you!” he lied, “I’m not afraid!”

“Oh you wound me, Artie!” the figure hissed, voice dripping with sarcasm as the crooked grin spread wider, “But who are you trying convince with all that bravado? Me, or yourself?” a gnarled hand pressed against the shack wall, fingers ending in talons that punctured the wall as flecks of rust formed on the surface.

A nauseous feeling began to roll over Arthur, a creeping light-headedness that had been brushed off as tiredness swelled into a disorienting dizziness. The horizon started to sway and twist, straight lines at the corner of his vision began to warp whilst the look-alike in front of him remained menacingly and resolutely in focus. No matter how much Arthur tried to look away he could not shift his gaze, some dread compulsion forced him to face his antagonist. They were a hideous fixture, the world seemed to revolve around them with a malignant gravity.

“I d-don’t care if you’re not convinced” stammered Arthur, trying to muster himself. To his credit, Arthur managed to keep himself upright in spite of the roiling discomfort. The dark familiarity of the creature in front of him went far beyond mere appearance and voice, cruel caricatures though they were. There was a deeper link at work, faint memories that had been buried away began to rise to the surface with a troubling realisation. The realisation must have shown in Arthur’s face because the foul facsimile gave a menacing snicker.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t care if you aren’t afraid” the corpse-like creature snarled before lunging at Arthur with an uncanny speed far unlike its shambling gait, its clawed hands locking around his throat, the doppelgänger driving him to the ground. “It won’t make a difference when I’m through with you anyway!” the twisted figure roared clamping down on Arthur’s neck, choking him.

The world began to blur the very moment the creature touched Arthur’s skin even before any pressure was applied, limbs becoming heavy and numb in an instant. Every sound became muted and distant, the dull thud of him landing on the ground, the dark hiss of his attacker. The small lamp in the shack faded to a pin-prick of light, wavering in the distance of Arthur’s vision. His body began to feel heavier, his mind by contrast became light as he lost all sense of direction; the world spinning away as paralysis set in. Senses became muted and closed off, Arthur becoming more closed off from himself and everything around him behind the sickening malaise that emanated from his assailant. In spite of the occluding mental fog that smothered all else there was a low rumble accompanied by a deep purple light that danced like a small flame, and it was approaching.

As Arthur grew weaker all he could hear was the low, guttural laugh of his attacker echoing away in his head as a roiling cacophony, a new sound cut through the fugue; a brief unintelligible melodic noise that cut through the barrage in his head. Two brief chiming syllables rang through bright and musical above the darkness all around him. Then came the clang. An almighty, earth-shaking clang that made Arthur’s teeth rattle and his head spin. A clang so loud that even without being struck Arthur felt like he’d been hit himself. Whatever it was, the overbearing oppressiveness began to lift in the wake of the unknown hammer-blow. As the world began to drift back into focus, Arthur was able to better distinguish the sounds going on; they were voices, familiar voices at that.

“Did you really have to yell that beforehand?” came first voice, mature, exasperated and fully known what the answer would be but compelled to ask out of strained habit.

The second voice was almost sing-song in response, and entirely pleased with itself; “Yes, yes I did!” It must have been the same voice that Arthur heard just before, it was certainly musical enough.

Something then grabbed Arthur scooping him up under his arms, something warm and familiar, accompanied by a third voice that cut through Arthur’s ringing ears like it bypassed them and went directly into his mind. “GUYS, I THINK WE HAVE A BIGGER PROBLEMS TO DEAL WITH RIGHT NOW” the sound of Lewis’ spectral speech was unmistakable and swiftly brought Arthur back firmly to the waking world.

Arthur immediately took in the welcome sight of Vivi’s smug, beaming face and dented, well-used aluminium bat, of Mystery’s proud stature and then behind him, propping up his dizzy self, Lewis’ broad shouldered, besuited silhouette. It was hard to imagine a situation when Arthur would be happy to see either the kitsune or the wraith in front of him so suddenly but in the wake of the past few days, the past few hours alone even, nothing was more heartening to see than his friends.

Lewis finished hefting the exhausted mechanic to his feet and immediately clapped him firmly on the shoulder. “ARTIE, I’D LOVE TO TALK THIS OUT RIGHT NOW BUT YOU’RE IN DANGER AND YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE” Lewis said gravely, pushing Arthur towards the van as gently as he could given the difference in build between them. “YOU NEED TO GET HOME AS QUICK AS YOU CAN, WHATEVER THAT THING IS” he added, pointing to the sprawled heap of the doppelgänger slowly rising out of the fog, “THAT THING WON’T BE ABLE TO GET YOU IN THERE. VIVI’S MADE SURE OF IT.”

“But I can’t-” Arthur began but he was already being shooed into the cabin of the van by Lewis and Vivi.

“Artie, please. You have to trust us on this” Vivi interrupted with clear concern, “this is a serious deal and we don’t want you to get hurt.”

Before Arthur could even protest again the van door was closed on him, and a sudden spark of purple energy jumping around the ignition as the van came to life on its own was signal enough that he had no say in this anymore. All Arthur could do was drive, otherwise Lewis would no doubt send his deadbeats to drive the van themselves until he was somewhere out of danger. At least this way he could still have a shred of agency in the matter, what little that might be worth to him. All he could do now was drive, and hope that his friends could handle themselves. So that’s what he did.

With the rear lights of the Mystery Van rapidly shrinking into the distance, Vivi and Lewis turned back to where Mystery was glowering at the grotesque fake Arthur leering back at them. “You can’t keep him from me forever you know” it hissed, “You can’t keep protecting him.”

“That so…?” murmured Vivi bemusedly, seemingly more interested in checking her bat for damage than in the creature she had just sent sprawling with it. “I guess we’ll just have to beat some sense into you then, right Lew?”

“OH DEFINITELY” growled Lewis, cracking his knuckles loudly as purple flames began to dance about his fists, “AFTER WE WORK OVER A FEW OTHER THINGS FROM A WHILE BACK.”

“Oh? You again?” growled the creature tilting its head to one side, faint moonlight glinting off sharp, vicious fangs. “I remember you, how nice of you to drop by! I’ll have to make sure you stay down this time!”

“DIDN’T WORK LAST TIME, WON’T HAPPEN THIS TIME!” Lewis snapped before launching himself at the fake Arthur, Vivi and Mystery hot on his heels. The fake Arthur didn’t even flinch, flexing clawed hands and practically salivating with a malicious excitement. The twisted figure ducked a blazing haymaker at head height, countering with a swipe at Lewis’ gut that ripped the front of his blazer open, sending a couple of the buttons scattering to the ground.

Mystery had prowled around to flank the creature, opting for a more cautious approach but making sure to keep the pressure up on his prey. The last time he had encountered this entity he had let it have the advantage of surprise, this time the kitsune would not let them have the opportunity for any such tricks again if he could. Keeping low to the ground, Mystery was ready when an opening presented itself. Whilst the demon was going to strike at Lewis, Mystery lunged for the legs in an attempt knock them prone though the demon managed to wrench its leg away.

“Aww, did you miss your chew toy, little dog?” the creature hissed, twisting its head round with a sickening crack before the rest of its body to face Mystery directly, “or are you just craving another bite?” Mystery tried to keep quiet and not let himself be goaded but he could not hold back the low growl rising in his throat which only served to widen the demon’s grin. “I haven’t forgotten what you did the last time,” the creature snarled, flexing its clawed hand, “it’s only fair I pay you back for that, you know!”

 “Well, whilst you’re talking payback!” came a sudden, self-satisfied reply as Vivi swung her bat square into the base of the creature’s spine with a meaty thud throwing it off balance “gotta return the favour for all you’ve made us go through!”

The doppelgänger contorted round to face Vivi and scowled, unused to being mocked themselves. “Bold words for a meagre human” it began before Vivi seized her chance with both hands and a cunning grin.

“A meagre human who knocked you down twice now” she quipped back before the creature had a chance to respond. “Really now, you think you’re in a position to gloat? You’re about as far removed from Arthur as it’s possible to be!”

This seemed to strike a nerve in the creature as a snarl of rage swiftly warped into a guttural, hateful roar before suddenly lurched forwards and began to shudder violently. The creature’s limbs contorted and twisted in unnatural ways with sickening cracks as they distended and stretched. Its flesh began to bubble like a seething mass of tar, oozing into swollen muscles and thick, gnarled skin. The creature now towered over them, a hulking stature above even Lewis, as a grotesque parody of their friend to the point that it was almost unrecognisable. The hideous demonic creature fixed a malignant glare on the three, a low growl escaping from between sharpened fangs.

Mystery turned an exasperated head to Vivi and asked “Did you really have to taunt him?”

Vivi shrugged and readied her bat, replying “Eh, kinda had to, yeah”

Arthur was silent through the entire drive, who was there to talk to? What would there be to say? He was told to drive home and so he drove. No radio, no music. Just the sound of the engine and tyres on the road. It was oppressively quiet, there were no stars in the sky, no cars on the road. Just Arthur and the van and the long, lonely highway home. He was alone.

The drive seemed to pass by quickly but at the same time everything seemed so long ago and far away. One moment he had been staring down a demonic doppelgänger, and the next he was driving into Tempo with the moon still glinting through the clouds and he couldn’t even begin to explain how he had got from one place to the other. He parked the van, switched off the engine and slumped back in his seat with a weary, miserable sigh. Lewis and Vivi had told him to go home and be safe, and turning his head Arthur saw he had done that. The glowing neon sign of Kingsmen Mechanics illuminated the inside of the van, and Arthur couldn’t even look at it. It was clear his friends had meant their home and entirely on instinct he had driven instead to his uncle’s place. He didn’t even think about it, like he was running on automatic.

 Arthur didn’t notice his uncle approaching and nearly jumped out of his skin when Lance knocked on the van door, suddenly sitting bolt upright with shock. Pulling all-nighters ran in the family, Lance was still fully dressed at this late hour. “Now you don’t have to tell me right this second, but I can tell something’s up and you need a coffee” his Uncle said as affectionately as his gravelly voice could sound.

Arthur managed a weak chuckle before answering. “Thanks, but I had one recently. I’m just here to pick up a few things” he lied, but Lance didn’t buy it for a second.

“Coffee. Now.” Lance declared flatly, pointing towards the house and leaving no room for negotiation.

The coffee was a far higher quality than the instant stuff that Arthur kept in his shack, and better than the kind that Lewis and Vivi kept in their cupboards even. It was the good stuff, Lance ordered it in especially and usually only opened it for special occasions, or whenever he was working because as he always told Arthur; if we’re going to spend all day fixing other people’s car problems, we’re going to at least have something decent while doing so. It was rich, dark, and Lance ground the beans himself. There was nothing quite like it.

“So, you having trouble with your friends, Artie?” Lance asked after drinks were poured and Arthur had been seated, in spite of a half-hearted protest, in the larger of the two office chairs.

“Eeehhh... Kind of. It’s… complicated…” Arthur stammered awkwardly but Lance could already see just how his nephew was struggling to explain things. Lance didn’t become as good a mechanic as he was without knowing how to read signs.

“Some of that Weird Stuff?” Lance surmised, nodding slowly. He didn’t fully understand his nephew’s and friends’ interest in the paranormal and made no pretence about it. Some people might think it callous, but Lance had held it was better to be honest that he didn’t get it than fake understanding. Besides, he didn’t “get” Arthur’s robotics work either but that didn’t stop him supporting his nephew. And this way Arthur didn’t have to worry about sounding weird if he had to explain anything, which made it easier to be forthcoming when all the hard-to-believe or paranormal happenings gets filled under “Weird Stuff”.

“Uh, yeah. It involves the Weird Stuff, and, uh, I think it’s pretty dangerous this time around…” Arthur trailed off, staring down into his mug. He had drained it so quickly that the dregs were still billowing steam, he had just downed it without noticing how hot it was.

“Right, right. So then yer friends tell you to get somewhere else whilst they handle it?” Lance continued in the same level tone he used to tell a customer their car had broken down in an expensive way. “Then you do as they ask, get out of danger and ended up here. Am I right so far?”

Arthur didn’t look up, he felt ashamed. It was all he could manage to squeak out a quiet “yep…”

“And now yer feeling sorry fer yerself because you think yer a burden on them?”

Another barely audible murmur of agreement was all that Lance got as a reply.

“So sorry fer yerself in fact, and so overthinkin’ it that you completely miss that it means they care for you” Lance concluded matter-of-factly. He put down his own mug, still half-full, and leaned forward intently. “Yer been thinking that you’ve only been a problem for them, but yer been so fixated on that idea that yer missing the bigger picture.”

“I-I- don’t-” Arthur stammered, but Lance held up a hand to quiet him.

“You overthink things too often, Artie” Lance interrupted flatly, “You always have. It’s all well and good to think about what might happen but you get too caught up in your head with the worst case scenarios that you miss the simple solutions.”

Arthur wanted to object, but his uncle had him dead to rights. “Then what can I do to fix things? Where do I even start?”

“Well yer friends sent you away to keep you safe, right? So you need to decide if you want to go back to them and deal with what’s happening or if you want to find some other way to help” answered Lance, “then we can work on how to do it.”

“I’m tired of running. I’m tired of needing to be protected, I want to keep them safe for a change!” Arthur declared as he pushed himself off the chair to a defiant stand. It was the first time all night that he felt sure of himself; though Lance tactfully decided not to mention the innumerable times Arthur had burned himself out trying to find Lewis, the amount of strain he put on himself for his friends or the near-fatal dangers he went through to make things right. Better to let Arthur have this moment for his confidence and then point his track record out after the fact.

“I had a feelin’ you’d say that, Artie” Lance grinned as he reached under the desk for a long, heavy lockbox, “and I got just the tool fer the job…”

Arthur’s eyes went wide when he saw the box, he knew exactly what was inside it. The Kingsmen family had a reputation for innovation and whilst Arthur was known for his skill in robotics, his uncle took a far more direct route to his work. Lance’s shotgun was not the most elaborate, most complex, or most elegant piece of mechanical work but it was certainly the most dangerous. It usually was kept mounted to the wall in Lance’s office where it was not-so-discreetly visible as a warning and easily accessible in case of trouble. Then when things came to a head between Arthur and Lewis, and Lance actually used the damnable thing, he was politely asked to keep it locked away.

“Are… are you sure I should take it?” Arthur whispered, even though it was just the two of them. He was idly turning over an old worn out broom in his hands, the spray of straw-coloured bristles had seen much better days and so had he.

“Better to take it and not need it than need it and not ‘ave it” Lance resolutely replied, pressing the case and key into Arthur’s arms with almost parental authority. “Now that’s more than enough on the weapon front, but what you really need is a plan!”

“Well… I think I might actually have an idea for one…” Arthur mumbled half-embarrassed, “But I’m gonna need a few things first…” He was almost starting to sound like Vivi now that he thought about it. “I’ll need some of my old clothes, the kind I used for messy work, as well as a pillow, a spare bucket, something heavy, and the heavy-duty tarp.”

For all his apparent simplicity, Uncle Lance was not slow on the uptake. His brow furrowed as Arthur was rattling off the list of supplies and quickly figured out the plan. “Are ye sure this is gonna work?” he asked incredulously.

“For what it needs to? Yes, anything beyond that is just a bonus. I can get the last few other things myself but if you could put the rest by the van I can sort it from there!” Arthur said as he made a move towards the kitchen, eyes bright as his mind whirred. He had gone from subdued and miserable at the start of the conversation to energetic and upbeat, and it wasn’t because of the coffee even if it was high quality. Lance just shrugged and went about getting his nephew’s list of items, if he had a plan he wasn’t going to change from it now.

It didn’t take long to assemble all the things that Arthur needed, and not much more to set things up. Before long Arthur was ready to hit the road back to his friends, and filled with a quiet confidence that Lance hadn’t seen in his nephew for a long time. “You just… You just make it back okay?” Lance said, trying to sound as stern as he could and failing utterly.

“I’ll be fine, Uncle-” Arthur began before being cut off by a vice-like hug from Uncle Lance.

“You had better be, or you’ll have hell to pay!” Lance mumbled, doing his best to keep up what remained of his stoic façade. “I know this is something yer gonna hafta do on yer own, so you better make it back in one piece, ya hear me?”

Arthur hugged his uncle back. “I’ll make it back” he whispered, “I promise. And thank you, for everything.” With that, Arthur prised himself free and climbed into the cabin of the van. The engine purred into life, lights flicking on and piercing the night. “I’ll call you when it’s all over, okay” Arthur said before pulling the van out of the parking lot. Lance only nodded solemnly to reply, and waved his nephew off into the night.

“But there ain’t no phone signal out there…” Lance grumbled to himself. That fact wouldn’t have changed Arthur’s mind anyway, nothing would have changed it.

The hulking fiend let out a staggering roar, fetid breath spewing from its jagged-toothed maw as it brought its fists down against Lewis’s raised arms. Although Lewis was at least able to keep himself upright, he still staggered backwards under the force of the assault.

“UH, A LITTLE HELP HERE SOMEONE?!” the wraith bellowed as he tried to push back.

“I’m working on it!” Vivi snapped back as she charged towards the creature with her bat raised only to be swatted away. Before Lewis could panic, however, Vivi immediately propped herself up with a slight grin. “You’ll have to do better than that, bucko!” she quipped as she scrabbled to her feet. It was at least enough of an opening for Lewis to sink a blazing punch into the creatures gut, giving himself a reprieve whilst Mystery lunged in from the side for a follow up attack with hackles raised.

“YOU SHOULDN’T BE SO RECKLESS” Lewis said as hushed as he could manage whilst drifting over to Vivi to dust her off, still doting in the middle of a fight.

“Oh please, I’ve been through WAY worse than that. And besides, you said you needed a hand!” Vivi joked back. Evidently her sense of humour wasn’t bruised yet. “We’re still three versus one and Mystery’s doing well enough for me to catch my breath for a second” she added, pointing at the snarling whirlwind of tooth and claw viciously harrying the hulking brute.

“I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE THINGS TO CHANCE, WE’VE BEEN TAKING A BIT OF A BEATING ALREADY AND WE SHOULDN’T BE TAKING RISKS” Lewis replied, still concerned. “THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD CLEAR UP QUICKLY BEFORE IT GOES WRONG”

There was a faint rumble in the distance, almost imperceptible.

“You’re starting to sound like Arthur when you get all pessimistic like that” Vivi teased, brushing off the concern like nothing, “But we can’t leave this all to Mystery either, so you ready to dive back in?”

Lewis nodded his agreement and together they jumped into the fray; Vivi swinging low with the bat to knock the creature off balance and Lewis aiming high to push them down. Caught between Mystery’s frenzied assault and Vivi & Lewis’ co-ordination the fiend was brought to its knees.

The rumble seemed to be getting closer.

Though surrounded and forced to the ground, the monstrous doppelgänger of Arthur showed no signs of giving up, rasping breaths turning to a vicious snarl. Battered, torn and misshapen, the hulking mass smashed the ground, throwing up a spray of dust and gravel before sweeping its arms round in a wild haymaker not caring for who got struck. Mystery yet out a yelp of pain as he was knocked to the side, though Lewis managed to swiftly drift backwards and Vivi managed to hit the deck and duck the swing. It was then that she noticed the vibrations in the ground, which made no sense to her.

Vivi furrowed her brow then looked up towards the dirt track towards the road, there was only one way to get here. There was only one person who would know there was anything here to come to. “Oh no. Oh no he isn’t seriously doing this is he?!” Vivi grimaced as two bright pinpricks of light glimmered in the fog, rapidly approaching.

The creature saw it next and smiled, a rasping chuckle escaping twisted lips before Mystery and then Lewis saw the incoming beams of light. It was undoubtedly the Mystery Van, the bright orange paintwork gave it away instantly even through the thick fog and blinding lights. The van slowed to a stop, seeming to take aim squarely at the creature before it began to rev threateningly. It was hard to see into the cabin through the van’s high beams and but the silhouette of Arthur’s tell-tale sweep of hair was visible enough. With its arms spread wide in a mocking gesture of triumph.

“Oh so the little runaway shows some spine at last!” it hissed, a forked tongue flicking with anticipation.

“Oi!” Vivi protested picking herself off the ground, “I’ll have you know he’s got more guts than you!”

“Perhaps, but I shall soon change that” sneered the creature before returning its attention to the van. Suddenly, however the van lurched into motion and hurtled towards the ensemble with reckless speed. Lewis already knew just how fast it could go and was ready, springing forward to grab Vivi and get her out the way whilst Mystery was nimble enough to move aside with ease. The monstrous bulk, however, was not swift enough to evade the vehicular assault. The van crashed into the demonic being like a blazing hammer blow.

The sound of the crash tore through the air, throwing up vast clouds of dust and smoke that made it impossible to see what damage had been done. For the moment Vivi was hopeful, there should be no way that the creature could have survived an impact like that but as the debris began to clear her face fell. Though hard to see the creature still stood, slick with a sickly black ichor and breathing is short, rasping gasps but it still stood.

The van itself was in bad shape as well, despite being well maintained in true Kingsmen fashion, it wasn’t in a condition to be driven anymore as plumes of smoke billowed from the hood. The rear doors of the van dangled open forlornly and the headlights flickered before giving out. “You gambled and LOST, weakling!” the wheezed the creature as it staggered around to the driver’s door, “and now you pay the price!”

Slamming a clawed hand into the door the fiend wrenched it off the hinges with a roar, the sudden movement rocked the van sending a bundle of dislodged an assortment of parts and a bundle of tarpaulin from the back of the van thudding to the ground. The creature reached inside the cabin of the van and gripped the dazed driver. It was still hard to see what the creature was up to but the bright orange of Arthur’s vest could just about be made out. It was stained red. The creature scowled at the limp tangle in its gnarled hands before hurling the ground with a furious roar, but worse was the sound of snapping that came from the impact.

In an instant Lewis burst into a raging inferno, a searing blast of heat forcing everyone to seek cover; the creature bracing against the van, Mystery lunging behind the shack and Vivi making a dive for the tarpaulin. Even after the wave of flames had passed, the heat didn’t die down as Lewis launched into a relentless beating upon the creature with burning fists. The assault was so savage and unrestrained that it was impossible to get close leaving Mystery and Vivi to only wait it out for things to settle enough to support Lewis.

Vivi was glad for the tarpaulin, providing valuable cover and protection from the withering heat and muffling the sound enough to collect her thoughts. Or at least, she would have if not for something strange suddenly catching her attention. Under the quiet of the heavy canvas was a second, shallow breathing there with her. It didn’t take much for Vivi to guess who the nervous gasps belonged to.

“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing Arthur?!” Vivi hissed, trying not to sound angry. The sudden muffled choke confirmed her suspicions.

“I jus- I couldn- I just had to, Vi” came the response. There was pleading in Arthur’s voice.

“Look… it’s okay Artie. I get it, I really do, I’m just worried for you” Vivi consoled, “Are you sure it was wise for you to come here?”

The quip was immediate; “Absolutely not, but since when has that stopped any of us before?”

“Touché…” Vivi grumbled, forced to acknowledge the point against her, “But do you have plan? I mean a plan aside from the decoy and vehicular homicide attempt?”

“Yes, but you’re not gonna like it” Arthur whispered.

“Bold of you to assume I like any of what’s going on right now. Although, that was pretty good work with the decoy, Lewis definitely bought it!”

“Ugh, that was not what I had in mind!” Arthur groaned, “I am gonna be in so much trouble for this”

This time it was Vivi’s turn to get the quick jab in; “You got that right, boyo!”

“Look, it was only meant to make it seem like I was in the driver’s seat long enough for me to sneak out the back!” continued Arthur, his voice heavy with regret.

“Well, it worked didn’t it? I mean, probably more than it really should have, but it worked!” Vivi replied, “not bad for a crude dummy!”

“Hey! I did the best with what I had and no time to work with it!”

“You managed to dupe Lewis with, what, a broom, a bucket for the head and your old clothes?” Vivi said flatly.

“And some tins of tomatoes to stuff the pillowcase…” Arthur murmured, almost guilty-sounding

“You can be so melodramatic sometimes. Lewis must be rubbing off on you!”

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response” snapped Arthur, “Shouldn’t we be focused on the big ugly green problem at hand?”

“Yeah, sure, but you are so not getting out of this easily Kingsmen!” Vivi jibed, poking a tongue out briefly before getting back on track. “So, you said I won’t like what you’ve got planned. I hope you don’t mean what I think you mean…”

“It is exactly what you think it is.”

Now it was Vivi’s turn to groan. “That thing should have been melted down for scrap long ago!”

“Well I’m glad it wasn’t! If it survived a direct collision from the van and Lewis’ losing his temper then there’s nothing else I’d rather have right now!”

Vivi paused a moment to weigh up the options. On the one hand Lance’s shotgun was a terrifying and dangerous weapon capable of causing significant damage and quickly, throwing out shot after shot faster than it by rights should do but on the other hand that sort of firepower wasn’t anything to turn away at a time like this and Vivi wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Okay, fine, so you’re going to be using that shotgun. We have an idea of what that can do, and Lewis is definitely keeping it occupied going by the sounds outside.”

“Any idea what Mystery’s doing in all this?”

“Last I saw he ducked behind the shack when Lewis blew his lid” Vivi answered.

“Can’t say I blame him, I’m not looking forwards to being out there whilst Lewis is angry” Arthur muttered. Vivi, after scrabbling about in the dark for a brief moment, put a hand on Arthur’s back which caused him to give a quiet yelp before he remembered who was there with him.

“You’ll be fine, Artie. Lewis isn’t angry with you anymore. He’s absolutely furious with that thing that’s after you and I understand why you’re nervous, but you can do this” Vivi whispered softly.

Arthur sighed and counted under his breath for a moment before readying himself “Okay, I can do this. I can do this… So, I’m going to need to get close to that thing without it noticing and without getting caught out by Lewis either. Any ideas?”

“I got one or two. Okay, more like six or seven but most of them involve luring that monster over here anyway so as far as you need to know that’s the plan” Vivi beamed, clearly enjoying the turn of events more than Arthur would consider reasonable, “I can get you lined up for a shot easy as pie!”

“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously, Vi.”

“Arthur, we’re fighting a monster as a team with a plan! What’s not to love?” Vivi chattered excitedly as she scrabbled towards the edge of the tarpaulin.

“The fact that one of us could die? Or the permanent equivalent of it for Lewis?” Arthur groaned but Vivi was already out of the shelter of the tarp leaving Arthur a brief moment of almost quiet as the sound of fighting outside remained distant for the moment. Trying to steady his breath, Arthur gripped the case that Lance had given him and began to unlock it. The contents were exactly as he expected; a well maintained, modified shotgun and several 12 gauge shells stored neatly in a row beneath the barrel. Gently, he lifted the shotgun out of the case and began loading shells in one by one. Lance had made sure that Arthur knew how to handle firearms properly even if he had hoped his nephew never needed to use one, better to be safe than be sorry.

Vivi kept low to the ground once she was out of cover, Lewis and the creature may be fully occupied with one another but she did want to risk getting caught out by accident or otherwise. Creeping around the shack, she found Mystery lurking by one corner and keeping a close eye on the unfolding brawl. “I am quite sure I know what you are about to suggest, Vivi” Mystery said wryly without even turning around.

“Oh good, that saves on the explaining then! Long story short we just need to break those two up and herd them over to the van! You can do that, right?” Vivi joked.

“Do I look like a sheepdog?” Mystery turned to look at Vivi with an exasperated expression.

“Well, you can if you want I’m sure. But you get the idea, this is our best shot and it’s gonna take all of us to pull this off,” Vivi sighed.

Mystery turned a weary gaze towards the brawling chaos and then back to Vivi. “Of course, whatever it takes to sort this all out. How do you plan to separate those two?”

“Well it’s gonna be tricky, they’re both kinda fixated on each other. I was thinking if we go in quick we can smack that thing and put the focus on us, then it’s just a matter of running into position. Trouble is, that means getting close to them when they’re going at it.”

“Psh, I can easily manage that” scoffed Mystery, “They’ll only know what hit them if I want them to!”

“Just don’t get too cocky with it, Mystery. We only need to get that thing into position so no need for anything fancy” Vivi warned.

“I know how to take care of myself” Mystery replied as he crouched low, ready to sprint, “You just make sure everything’s ready on your end.”

“Already sorted. Ready when you are,” Vivi nodded, poking her head round the corner to watch the unfolding carnage alongside Mystery. “The moment you go in, I’ll dash round and meet you by the back of the van.”

Mystery glanced up and gave Vivi an incredulous look muttering “I hope this works…” before readying himself. “Now, we go on the count of three…”

“THREE!” Vivi yelled as she made a mad scramble back towards the van leaving Mystery to just roll his eyes before lunging towards the creature.

With a flash of sharp fangs, Mystery tore into the exposed calf of the creature causing it to yowl in agony. The rage-filled snarl was so loud and so piercing that even brought Lewis to a halt, the sudden stillness being swiftly capitalised on as Mystery savaged the other leg before interposing himself between Lewis and the creature mockingly before making a cackling retreat back towards the planned rendezvous by the van.

“You wretched cur” the monstrosity snarled so filled with rage that it fixated immediately upon the kitsune and gave chase, paying no heed to the bewildered Lewis who could only pursue behind as soon as he processed the bizarre turn of events. As the creature thundered along towards the van; shaking the ground as it did so; the heavy, lumbering gait only served to forewarn Vivi of its arrival giving her time to first gently tap the tarp inquisitively before turning around a readying her bat.

As Mystery sped past the van with his pursuer not far behind, he whipped his head to the side to make eye contact with Vivi and nodded before continuing past. Vivi nodded back before winding up and swinging forcefully into the creature’s face with a highly satisfying clang before dashing past to split the creature’s attention between herself, the retreating Mystery and the swiftly approaching Lewis.

Caught between the three enemies, the creature almost didn’t notice the gentle rustle of the tarpaulin behind it but a familiar sensation alerted it to the movement. Twisting round, the creature was met with a flourish of canvas and found itself staring dumbfounded down the barrels of a shotgun and behind it, a resolute Arthur with his eyes trained squarely on its face. It tried to process this sudden turn of events, but could only manage to hiss a confused yet hateful “You…”

Arthur looked his nightmare square in the eyes, and for the first time his nerves gave way to a quiet calm as the moment seized him. The seconds seemed to stretch out forever, his breath slowed and a quiet descended around them. Lewis, Vivi and Mystery all came to respective skidding halts and could only watch the unfolding stand-off with wide eyes. Arthur’s finger gently gripped the twin triggers as he looked down the sights at the snarling monstrosity, its face a mix of contempt and confusion. “What’s the matter?” Arthur asked wryly, “You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”

The creature gave a half-growl, half-scream as it lunged forward but Arthur was quicker on the draw, squeezing the triggers firmly. There was a deafening roar and a glare of muzzle flash, the stench of cordite filled the air. Buckshot tore through the creature as it yowled in pain, yet it continued to struggle onward with malignant intent. Arthur held his ground and pumped the shotgun twice to reload both barrels before squeezing the triggers again. Despite Arthur’s narrow frame he handled the recoil well, bracing against the shock and steadying his aim before firing the next salvo. Again the shotgun rang out with the same mighty roar and again Arthur hit his mark.

 Under the unrelenting barrage, having already taken a beating from Lewis and a direct, high-speed collision from the van the assault proved too much to withstand. The brutish doppelgänger collapsed into a heap with a mixture of pained gasps and hateful snarls, still trying to drag itself towards Arthur even as its unnatural body began to break apart as thick gouts of green-black smoke billowed from the dissolving form.

“You’ll never change what happened,” the dying fiend hissed, “you’ll always have blood on your hands…”

“It was never me that killed Lewis,” Arthur said stoically, “You might have used my arm, you might have twisted my mind but I could never hurt my friends.” Arthur pumped two more slugs into their respective chambers, and took aim once more. “On the other hand I can certainly slay my own demons.”

The shots rang out one final time before the silence of night descended as the remains of the demonic beast crumbled to dust and smoke, scattering away. The weight and strain finally began to hit Arthur, every muscle and bone began to ache and fatigue set in. The shotgun slipped out of his grasp and clattered to the ground as Arthur began to sway gently from side to side. Before he could collapse however, he was suddenly gripped tightly.

“I THOUGHT YOU HAD DIIIIIIIIIED” wailed Lewis, crushing Arthur tightly in a hug that left him gasping for air and his legs frantically kicking to find the ground.

“Happy… to… see… you… too!” Arthur struggled to say, unable to wriggle free.

“YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!” Lewis continued, his ethereal voice still warbling, “HOW DID YOU SURVIIIIIIVE?”

“Oh put him down before you crush the air out of him, Lewis,” Vivi scoffed, “and I can’t believe you fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book!” She reached down the crumpled heap by the side of the van and stood up holding a half of a snapped broom with a bucket on the end and torn pillow with one of Arthur’s vests around it. The bucket had a crude face drawn on it, and a few leaking cans of chopped tomatoes fell out of the pillow. “See? It’s just a simple decoy!”

Mystery padded over alongside and cocked an eyebrow at Lewis; “Really Lewis, you are disappointingly easy to fool sometimes…”

Lewis loosened his grip slightly, not enough to let go of Arthur but enough for a wheezing breath at least. “I WAS… JUST CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT IS ALL” Lewis blustered.

“Mhmm, you have quite the habit of doing that, don’t you…” Mystery replied, before turning his attention to the blackened patch of ground where the creature fell. After some investigation he turned Arthur with a relieved expression. “It’s gone,” Mystery sighed, “It’s gone for good and you’re free of it Arthur.” Having finally be able to catch his breath, Arthur tried to give a relieved cheer but given his exhaustion it was more like a weary hurrah.

Vivi was busy checking over the van and the decoy as well as locking the shotgun away back in its case, making cheery hums as she looked over Arthur’s impromptu dummy and more concerned noises when it came to the van. “Well that’s some good news,” Vivi mused, turning back around to face the rest of the gang, “and I’ve gotta say I’m impressed with the dummy, Arthur, you really captured your own panicked scream a treat! But then that brings us to the bad news…” Vivi jerked a thumb towards the front of the van, “Unfortunately your best work took the worst hit. The van’s totalled. Again…”

This got more of an agonised wail from Arthur. “Ooooooh crap! Uncle Lance is gonna kill me!” Arthur moaned, going limp in Lewis’ grip, “It took so much work to fix it up after the last time, all the new bits of kit and all!”

“I think he’ll be happier to know you’re still alive” Mystery corrected sardonically, “probably in a less painful way than Lewis is about it too…”

“Are you boys forgetting something though?” Vivi interrupted, “We’re in the middle of nowhere, with no phone signal and the only way we’ve got to get us back to civilisation is, y’know…” Vivi made a series of vague gestures with her hands, miming out large wheels before subtly gesturing towards Lewis who coughed nervously, or as close to it as a ghost could manage.

Vivi, Lewis and Mystery all shared a look but it was Arthur that spoke first. “Yeah, I figured that was how you got here” Arthur sighed, “I knew you didn’t have a car, Vi, and this place is too far out to get to without a set of wheels.”

“YOU, UH, YOU GONNA BE OKAY WITH TAKING IT TO GET BACK, BUDDY?” Lewis asked nervously, as he at last set Arthur back down on the ground.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine. At this point I just want to get some rest” said Arthur. He tried rubbing some sense of feeling back into his legs, still swaying lightly from side-to-side but at least he didn’t feel like he was going to collapse any time soon. “And I still need to call Lance, so the sooner we get close to Tempo the better.”

“Nuh-uh, you are going to be sleeping on the journey back. Let me handle your uncle!” Vivi declared, marching Arthur towards the outcrop that Lewis had parked behind.

Lewis’ truck had been out of sight in the dark and mist but the rocks weren’t much of a hiding place now that the spectral fog was lifting. The gleaming black bodywork of the truck would have sent chills down Arthur’s spine at the best of times, but after the night he had just had been through he was just too tired. Vivi lifted him up into the cabin, then followed in behind whilst Lewis entered the driver’s seat from the other side. Bringing up the rear Mystery padded over behind the truck, excusing himself with a polite “ahem”. From the back of the truck came a sudden sound rushing air before Mystery, now in his canine disguise, trotted back to the passenger-side door hopping into the cabin where Vivi picked him up, closed the door and promptly sat Mystery down on Arthur’s lap.

“There!” Vivi beamed at Arthur, “now you’ve got no choice but to get some rest, mister!”

 Arthur gave an exaggerated “Tch” and sarcastically rolled his eyes, but he had to admit that the seats were surprisingly soft, the weight of Mystery was comforting, and he really could do with the shut-eye right now. Lewis gripped the wheel and the engine loudly roared to life all of his own, which caused Vivi to shoot a dirty look over to him as Arthur jolted awake. Sheepishly, Lewis quieted the engine as he took began to drive back towards the highway. In the cosy warmth of the cabin, Arthur felt his head tip back gently against the headrest and with the gentle rumble of the road he drifted off to sleep.

By the time Arthur woke up the outskirts of Tempo were just coming into view, and he could hear Vivi on the phone. Or at least, she was trying to talk but kept getting cut off by a gruff sounding voice.

 “Hey Mr Kingsmen, it’s Vivi he- Arthur’s fine he’s just resting up at the momen- No he’s not been knocked unconscious he’s aslee- Yes I’m sure Arthur is asleep. I know, I know that doesn’t sound normal but tonight hasn’t been normal” Vivi was clearly starting to get wound up by Lance’s constant interrupting questions, so Arthur blearily snatched the phone from her.

“Hey uncle” he croaked, “It’s me, I’m definitely not dead. The van’s wrecked again but I’m fine, if a bit exhausted.” There wasn’t an immediate reply but Arthur could just about make out a muffled, relieved sigh. He was about to reply before Vivi took her phone back, not that Arthur was gripping it particularly tightly.

“We’re just going to get Arthur home to look him over, don’t worry I’ve got first-aid training, and get him settled in bed for a day or two to be safe. I can give you a call around noon after we’ve all had a chance to get some sleep to sort out recovering the van and anything else. Okay talk to you later then, take care, and get some rest!” she exclaimed hurriedly before rapidly closing out the conversation and hanging up. “Well, that’s the most talkative I’ve ever heard him! Almost couldn’t get a word in edgewise” Vivi exclaimed.

“I kept telling you all he’s only putting on a front. Uncle Lance is real soft hearted man at heart,” Arthur yawned, “He just doesn’t like showing it in front of people that aren’t me.”

“WELL I’M JUST GLAD HE ISN’T HOLDING A GRUDGE…” Lewis murmured but when Arthur didn’t respond, he twisted his head round to see that Arthur had fallen back asleep with his head lolled back against the headrest with Mystery dozing peacefully on his lap. Vivi was holding a single finger up to her lips whist quietly rummaging around in her backpack in the footwell before fishing out a lightweight blanket, it was blue and had a sea turtle pattern sewn into it.

“What?” she whispered when Lewis raised a confused eyebrow, “I had a feeling we’d need one so I decided to be prepared!”

“DARE I ASK WHAT ELSE YOU PACKED?” Lewis asked incredulously as he turned back to the road.

“Well since you asked I also grabbed a few snacks and water in case Artie needed some, a first-aid kit just in case, a flashlight and a radio in case I got separated from you guys, and some lockpicks.” Vivi answered smugly

“WHY DO YOU HAVE LOCKPICKS?!”

“Better question; why do you not have lockpicks?” came the retort, “You never know when you’ll need to get in somewhere you shouldn’t!”

“RIGHT… OF COURSE… HOW SILLY OF ME…”

“Exactly, now keep it down. I’d like to get Arthur home without him waking up again.”

Thankfully the rest of the drive home was uneventful and quiet, and Arthur didn’t stir or wake throughout. Vivi and Mystery were dropped off outside the front of the house to unlock it whilst Lewis parked the truck back in the alleyway round the back with the sleeping Arthur blissfully unaware. Gently, Lewis scooped up Arthur and drifted silently into the house, thankfully remembering to open the doors and carry Arthur instead of simply phasing through the walls.

It was already comfortably warm inside the house, Vivi must have put the heating on. “Do you think we should put him in his own bed now, or wake him up for something to eat first?” Mystery inquired, padding out from Arthur’s room and down the hall towards Lewis.

“THIS IS ARTHUR WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, HAVING HIM SLEEPING LIKE THIS IS RARE ENOUGH AT THE BEST OF TIMES” Lewis replied, “IF HE WAKES UP HUNGRY THEN WE CAN GET HIM SOMETHING TO EAT ON A TRAY”

“Hey!” snapped Vivi, poking her head out of the kitchen at the mention of food, “how come I never get breakfast in bed!”

“FIRST, BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS MAKE A MESS. YOU LEAVE SO MANY CRUMBS IT’S MADDENING” Lewis grumbled, “AND SECOND YOU ALWAYS SNEAK FOOD TO MYSTERY!”

“And what would be the problem with that?” Mystery demanded, “You are well aware of how much I need to eat on a daily basis, and further that I can quite easily manage any food!”

“IT’S A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE!” Lewis snapped, only to look down in a mix of shame and shock as Arthur, still in his arms, began to murmur incoherently. “OH… WHOOPS”

Without even opening his eyes, Arthur stretched his arms and legs before going slack again. “Going by the arguing, and the smell of peppers, I take it that we are home now?” he yawned, hazily waving a hand in the air like he was reaching some dramatic conclusion. “And for what it’s worth, I could really go with something to eat right now.”

“WELL IF YOU’RE FEELING SO PERKY ALL OF A SUDDEN” Lewis intoned with fake severity, “I DON’T NEED TO CARRY YOU ANY LONGER!” With a flourish Lewis unceremoniously dropped Arthur where he stood, which thankfully was onto the couch.

 “Ah, and to think you were so worried earlier, Lew!” Vivi chided as Arthur sprawled out on the sofa dramatically.

“Is this any way to treat the hero?” Arthur joked, channelling his inner Vivi. He was still sore and tired despite sleeping on the journey home, but he felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Well it’s a good thing that I thought you’d want something to eat then, isn’t it!” declared Vivi as she entered the lounge with a tray of cookies and two steaming mugs of milk which she set down on the low table in the middle of the room, “Now you may be the man-of-the-hour but you still need some proper sleep, so when you’re done with this it’s off to bed for you!”

“Yeah, sure” Arthur mumbled, already stuffing his mouth with a cookie and spraying crumbs to Lewis’ dismay, “I’ll get right on it.”

“SEE? I WAS JUST COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CRUMBS! YOU TWO ARE AS BAD AS EACH OTHER!” he moaned, pointing accusing fingers at both Arthur and Vivi. “AND DON’T THINK I DON’T NOTICE YOU TRYING TO SNEAK ONE!” Lewis snapped at Mystery, whose paw was slowly creeping up the side of the table towards the tray only to stop and slowly creep back down with obvious guilt.

The offending pair shared a look, Arthur feeling a small twinge of remorse for Lewis whilst Vivi felt no such shame and scarfed down another cookie. “Oh lighten up, Lew, we’ve all had a long night. Just try and relax for a change” Vivi joked in between mouthfuls, but at least she and Arthur both made an effort to be less messy.

Arthur drained his mug in one go and gently set it back down on the tray before standing up, if a bit unsteadily. “Well I feel a lot better after that but - and I know what you’re gonna say, Vi - but I am absolutely shattered and really could do with sleeping in my own bed right now.”

“Mark your calendars, the impossible has happened!” Vivi declared with comedic aplomb, “Arthur has decreed he will actually sleep!”

“TRULY, THE STARS HAVE ALIGNED!” Lewis announced, getting in on the joke. He was about to make another remark but was cut short when Arthur wrapped his arms around his friend in a brief hug.

“Thanks, Lew, for everything,” Arthur whispered, starting to get somewhat hoarse, before turning around to give half-crouching hug to Vivi, “You too, Vi. Don’t think I could have done without any of you,” before adding “Including Mystery!” which was answered by the sound of messy eating from underneath the table. Lewis tensed for a second when he realised that Mystery had stolen a cookie again but decided it wasn’t worth getting worked up over.

“YOU’RE OUR BEST FRIEND, ARTIE, WE’D DO ANYTHING TO HELP YOU” Lewis said, placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

“You’ve always worked so hard for all of us!” Vivi added.

“And frequently at the cost of your own wellbeing!” quipped Mystery from beneath the lounge table.

“So that’s why you’re going to bed before this gets too sappy!” Vivi declared, grabbing Arthur with both hands and slinging him over her shoulder to a mix of laughs and protests.

“I might be tired but I can still take care of myself!” Arthur cried as Vivi set him down on the floor again, “I’ve been carried more times in the past hour than I have in the past year!”

“Try not to get used to it, even I don’t get that sort of treatment!” Mystery jeered, extricating himself from under the table to join the three. “Now you had really best be off to bed. It would be a good idea to stick to bedrest for a day or two” he added “when was the last time you took time off? And I mean ACTUAL time off?”

Arthur frowned as he tried remember the last time he was on leave from work but wasn’t really spending the time on something dangerous, or recovering from something dangerous. His train of thought was clearly not going to arrive anywhere soon, which gave things away.

“WELL THAT SETTLES IT THEN,” Lewis surmised, “VIVI AND I ARE GONNA TAKE CARE OF THINGS AND YOU JUST TAKE IT EASY FOR A DAY OR TWO!”

“Honestly, that sounds like a good idea!” Arthur beamed, “I don’t know the last time I got waited on hand and foot” as he shot a wry smile at Lewis as he planned how to make the most use of his inevitably enforced rest.  Lewis read his expression and already foresaw the calls for food and drink that would be coming his way.

“If it stops you from doing yourself an injury, then sure” interjected Vivi.

“HEY, DON’T I GET A SAY IN THIS?” Lewis demanded, before getting cut off.

“I think it’s pretty clear you don’t, Lew, Vivi has spoken!” Arthur snickered, “But I’ll try not to push it too far!”

Lewis heaved a resigned sigh and shrugged. “ALL RIGHT, I’LL ALLOW IT BUT ONLY IF YOU STAY AND RECUPERATE. STARTING NOW!”

Arthur nodded in agreement, smiling. “It’s a deal” He said, shaking hands with Vivi and Lewis to seal the bargain. After heading to the main bathroom to wash up Arthur lay down in his bed, gazing up at the ceiling. He was still trying to process how much his life had changed of late, he had gone from a lonely anxiety to feeling free and close to his friends. He finally understood the shadow that had been hanging over him and been twisting his life ever since that fateful night in the cave. And now he was free, unshackled from his fears and his nightmares.

The next day, Arthur kept to his word and put his feet up for the first time in far too long. It took a bit of negotiation to explain that working on his schematics did not in fact count as hard work and was actually very relaxing. Vivi went with Lance to tow the van back to Kingsmen Mechanics, and also to return the shotgun which with any luck it would stay locked up this time. It would be a long while and a lot of work before the van was usable again, but the fact it could be repaired was welcome news to Arthur who eagerly began to plan to build it back faster, tougher and with even more gadgets than before.

“So I’m thinking that the turbo worked well but what if I got the van a bigger engine as well?” Arthur floated the idea over dinner, helping himself to a tamale from a gently steaming pile in the centre of the table.

“Heated seats” Vivi said matter-of-factly in between helpings, “The van should have heated seats and there’s no two ways about it!”

“I’ve already put heated seats in before, Vi” joked Arthur.

“Well then invest in better ones, clearly!” Mystery interjected, “And also would someone be so kind as to pass me something? Am I not also entitled to a hot dinner as much as the rest of you?”

 Lewis picked one of the smaller parcels off the plate and passed it down to Mystery’s bowl, he had made a number of smaller tamales ready for him. “MAYBE A DIFFERENT PAINT JOB TOO?” Lewis ventured.

“Nuh-uh, she’s staying orange” Arthur declared, “The van’s always been orange and that’s how it’s gonna be.”

“CAN’T SAY I DIDN’T TRY AT LEAST” shrugged Lewis, “YOU GONNA BE KEEPING THE TINTED WINDOWS AS WELL?”

Arthur nodded enthusiastically, “Absolutely gonna have those again. The privacy is nice for me but it’s gonna be even more important for you, Lew”

“Aw, that’s pretty thoughtful of you Artie,” Vivi cooed the effect somewhat diminished by the sound of her chewing, “It would be nice to be able to go places without worrying about Lewis getting weird looks on the road.”

“Well, we would still need to think of something to disguise him when we’re out and about, but at least we could drive somewhere without attracting unwanted attention” Mystery suggested, “Perhaps we could go camping soon if the weather is favourable?” Vivi’s eyes lit up at the idea and even Arthur looked excited at the idea.

“Whadda ya say, Lew? Fancy going to the great outdoors soon?” Vivi asked, putting on her best pleading expression.

“It shouldn’t take too long to get the van fixed, and I’m sure Uncle Lance wouldn’t mind helping to get it working again if we explain it’s only to go camping!” added Arthur.

“I DUNNO,” Lewis hesitated, “PRETTY SURE HE’S GONNA WANT TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU FOR A WHILE YET, ARTIE”

“Nah, it’ll be fine,” Arthur said, waving away the issue, “I can talk it over with him, no trouble.”

“YOU SAY THAT, BUT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU’VE BEEN IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH ME INVOLVED” Lewis admitted “IF I WERE HIM, I’D NOT BE HAPPY ABOUT THE IDEA OF MY NEPHEW HANGING AROUND SOMEONE LIKE ME AFTER ALL THIS.”

“I dunno,” insisted Vivi, “Lance might seem the sort to hold a grudge, but I did tell him how much you had helped in keeping Arthur safe.”

“See?” agreed Arthur, “It’ll all work out I’m sure!”

 “And whilst Arthur might work fast, it will still take a while to make the van sufficiently roadworthy. Ample time to let nerves settle” added Mystery, “And another tamale, if you’d be so kind.” Vivi reached for one of the larger parcels and passed it down to Mystery who took it happily from her hand. Lewis shot her a look of disapproval, but Vivi just gave a cheeky shrug.

“WELL IF YOU’RE SURE, THEN ABSOULTELY!” Lewis exclaimed, “IT’LL BE NICE TO GET OUT OF TEMPO FOR A WHILE!”

“Then it’s settled!” Vivi declared “I can get planning it right away! I’ve basically already started.” Vivi pulled a notebook out onto the table and started rattling off ideas; “I was thinking somewhere up by the mountains, we could get a great view of the stars that way.” She rolled out a map and pointed to a pair of circled points. “I had narrowed it down to a couple of places; there’s this one site by a lake that’s usually pretty free, or there’s this other place that’s at a higher altitude so we can get a better view!”

“I think you’re a bit ahead of the curve, Vi” Arthur laughed, “still gonna be a while before we can go anywhere!”

“There’s no harm in being prepared!” Vivi retorted, poking her tongue out at Arthur.

“NOT TO MENTION THIS SORT OF THING DOES NEED A LOT OF PLANNING” agreed Lewis.

Arthur just kept laughing and shook his head, “I guess you’re right. We all got a lot to look forwards to now!”