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It had just been a usual night for the Mystery Skulls, driving to their next case in the dark of night with only each other to keep them company. The four of them were happy and laughing, for the most part. Only Arthur was quiet, feeling left out among the group. Being a third wheel was never fun. He cared for his friends deeply, but ever since Lewis and Vivi became a couple it seemed hard to think of himself as part of the group. So he drowned out the conversations unless he was involved. Just as he was doing now.
"So where are we going this time?" Vivi asked.
"There's a cave nearby where strange occurrences have been going down." Lewis explained. "People have entered only to be found dead later. None of the victims were suicidal according to the locals. We're gonna go check it out and try to see what's happening."
"So same old shtick then." Vivi said with a sigh. "How come we never get to explore someplace exciting?"
"How is a cave where people have died not exciting,Vivi?" Lewis asked with a laugh.
"I mean, I've always wanted to explore a haunted mansion or something like that!" Vivi said, a shimmer in her eye. "You know, where armor comes to life, and the paintings move, and tons of ghosts are hanging around?"
"I get what you're trying to say." Lewis said. "One of these days, I'll find you a haunted house just like that. And you can explore it to your heart's content."
"We all have to explore it though!" Vivi said. "It's no fun going there by myself."
"Well I'm sure Mystery wouldn't object, but I have a feeling even you'll have a hard time convincing Art' to go inside a place like that." Lewis said.
"Nah, I could get him in there no problem!" Vivi insisted. "What d'ya say, Arthur? You willing to check out a haunted house with us?"
Arthur realized Vivi was trying to talk to him and snapped to attention. "Sorry, I uh, spaced out. What are we talkin' about?" he asked in an attempt to save face.
"Lewis said he's gonna take us to a haunted house someday." Vivi said with a smirk. "And you gotta come in with us!"
A chill went down Arthur's spine. "Are you crazy?! You couldn't get me in a place like that if you paid me!" he said.
"Come on Art', you've been in worse places than an old house." Lewis said.
"I don't care! Haunted houses are where the creepiest things happen!" Arthur insisted. "The three of you can explore one as much as you want, just keep me out of it!"
"I'll find a way to get you in there, you'll see." Vivi said.
Arthur sighed and turned away. "Whatever." he said. Lewis looked back at him. Arthur was becoming more and more distant from them. Something wasn't right, but he had no idea why.
"This looks like the place." Vivi said. The cave was in their sights. Lewis stopped the car and parked it in front of the entrance. The group of four exited and headed into the cave. Not too far in, they were surrounded by darkness. Lewis had thought ahead though and lit a torch. From appearance alone, nothing about the cave seemed strange. The further they went in though, the more Mystery kept turning his head around in suspicion. "What's the matter, Mystery? You sense something?" Vivi asked.
"He probably knows that it's dangerous to stay here for long." Arthur said, clinging onto Lewis for support as he shook. "M-maybe we should head back!"
"But we haven't found anything that could explain those deaths." Lewis said. "Try to relax, Art'. We'll be fine if we stick together."
They came to a branching path. Green lights could be seen from both sides. In the middle were two signs, but the only thing written on them were question marks. "Looks like we're gonna have to split up." Vivi said.
"Alright, Vivi and Mystery can take the path on the right. Art' and I will go to the left." Lewis said, thinking things through.
"Huh? Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Arthur asked, sweat dripping down his face.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you." Lewis said, resting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "You're in good hands."
"If we see anything, we'll come find you." Vivi said. "Don't have too much fun without me!"
"We'll try, but I make no promises." Lewis said. The two groups began to go their separate ways. But just as Mystery was about to head down with Vivi, he looked over at the shivering Arthur. Without anyone noticing, he slipped away from Vivi and went with the boys.
For a while, there was nothing but silence between the two. Lewis figured that since they were alone, now was the best time to find out what was wrong with Arthur. "Hey Art', is something going on with you?" he asked.
"W-what do ya mean?" Arthur asked.
"You've been real distant lately, and it's worrying me." Lewis explained. "We're best friends, you know you can talk to me about anything. If there's something bothering you, you can always let me know. I'm here for you, man."
"It's nothing. You don't need to worry about it." Arthur said, turning his head to look away from Lewis. He didn't think his insecurities and jealousy mattered. Lewis had other things to deal with.
"You sure?" Lewis asked. "I'm willing to lend an ear if you need me. I've always been there for you and now's not about to be different."
"Seriously, I'm fine! It's not a big deal!" Arthur insisted.
Lewis sighed and dropped the subject. If Arthur didn't want to talk, it wasn't his business to make him. The two continued to walk in silence until they reached a dead end. In front of them was a cliff. Lewis peered over the edge. Down at the long drop below were countless stalagmites. To fall here would certainly mean death. "Watch your step, Art'. It's a nasty fall down there." Lewis warned.
Arthur kept looking over his shoulder, his shivering getting worse. He wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Just as he was about to speak, a voice seemed to talk to him in his head. "He's not even looking at you." it said. "This is your chance to make all your troubles disappear. Just push him off the edge and you can have everything." Arthur tried to ignore it, he wouldn't dare kill his best friend! Even if he was jealous of Lewis, he would never try to kill him! "There's no one else here, you can get away with the deed and none will be the wiser!" No, he couldn't! Even if he wanted to, he was too much of a coward to act on that!
"Maybe they just slipped and fell to their deaths." Lewis said, still looking down below the cliff. "I guess that makes this case a dud. What d'you think, Art'?"
Arthur felt his left arm slowly turn numb. He glanced at it and saw it turn green. What was happening to him?! "If you won't do it, then I'll just have to do it for you!" The voice said.
"Art'? You're more quiet than usual. What's bugging-" Lewis asked, turning around to face Arthur. But before he was able to finish his sentence, Arthur pushed him of the edge of the cliff. Why? Why would Arthur push him like that?! They were friends! Lewis could only think of questions as he plummeted to his death. But one final thought came to him. Vivi. She would never know the truth. She would never know about Arthur's betrayal. The last thing he thought of was the beat of his heart, as he became aware of it in his final moments.
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Vivi found herself in a room filled with stalagmites and fog. She looked up, seeing a cliff above her. "Hmmm, I can't see anything of interest with all this dang fog in my face." she said, trying to wave it out of her face. "Mystery, maybe you can smell something around here?" No response came from the dog. Not even a whine in protest. "Mystery, why're you being so-" She turned around, only to find the dog wasn't with her. "Mystery? Where'd you go, boy?"
Did he stay behind or something? Or maybe he found something in the tunnel that she missed? Whatever the reason, she didn't have time to worry. Mystery could handle things on his own, he was pretty smart for a dog after all. It still surprised her that he couldn't talk. Deciding that he wasn't too big of a concern, Vivi turned back towards the room. She tried to traverse through the fog and stalagmites to the best of her ability, only to stop when something from above managed to catch her eye. She turned her head up, a feeling of dread overcoming her as she saw what was falling.
It was a person. Not just any person either, but it was Lewis. He was headed straight for the stalagmites. She tried to run as fast as she could, hoping that she could make it in time to save him. But it was too late. Just when it seemed like she had caught up to him, he landed straight into a stalagmite. And it pierced him right where his heart was.
Time seemed to stand still in that moment. Lewis was dead. She couldn't save him. If she had noticed something sooner than she could've made it in time. But she had been distracted. Vivi felt like she was about to cry. But all she could do was stand there, hoping that it was all a bad dream. That she'd wake up back in the van with everyone where nothing was wrong. Yet the truth continued to sink in, and she screamed. As she screamed, a strange pink light appeared and went into her eyes. It appeared so quickly that she didn't see where it came from, but had she paid attention she would've noticed that it came from Lewis.
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Arthur couldn't believe what he had just done. Granted, it wasn't like he had control of himself, but a pit just seemed to sink in his heart. He just pushed his best friend down to his death. This isn't what he wanted. This was all a mistake. By that point, the left half of his face had gone numb. He tried to restrain the shaking arm with his free hand as tears spilled down the right side of his face. What would happen to him? What was causing this in the first place? Was he going to lose himself?
Before an answer came to him, he felt the left side of his face return to normal. He wondered what happened as he tried to move his left arm, but most of the feeling hadn't come back for some reason. He looked over to see why. His left arm was gone. He was about to scream when he saw the reason why. Standing behind him was Mystery. Or at least, he thought it was Mystery.
He didn't look much like a dog anymore, but rather a fox. Six tails were behind him, and in his mouth was Arthur's severed arm, still green and twitching. Mystery dropped the arm out of his mouth and stared at Arthur. "M-M-Mystery?! What's going on?!" Arthur asked.
To his surprise, he received a response. "I just saved you from being completely possessed." Mystery explained. "You're welcome."
"Y-you can talk?!" Arthur asked. Too much was happening at once.
"That's the least of your concerns right now." Mystery said. "We need to find Vivi."
A wave of dread washed over Arthur. He had forgotten about Vivi. What was he going to tell her? Even if he explained that he was possessed, there's no way she'd forgive him if he told her the truth. If she knew he pushed Lewis to his death, she'd hate him. And how would he explain the missing arm? This couldn't be happening. "Oh man, how will I break this to Vivi?!" he asked.
"Do what you think is best, I'm not gonna stop you." Mystery said. He changed back into his dog form. "Just don't tell her about me. As far as she's concerned, I'm just a normal dog. Now come on, if we waste any more time here you'll bleed to death." He ran up ahead, returning to barking sounds. There was so much Arthur wanted to ask, but he had bigger problems. He didn't want Vivi to lose both of her friends in one night. Using all the strength he could muster he followed after Mystery.
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Vivi paused for a moment, blinking her eyes to make sure nothing happened. What was that light she just saw? And what did it do? Nothing seemed to change. She was still in the cave, Lewis was still dead, and nothing was going to change any of that. She began to cry. There was no point in holding back her tears. The sound of barking snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Mystery, looking frantic and running towards her. "Mystery? What's wrong?" she asked.
Not even seconds after she asked that, Arthur came through the entrance with a missing arm. Blood dripping from where it once was. "Vivi...help..." Arthur said, clearly out of energy. He stumbled and fell to the ground, passing out.
Vivi rushed over to him and picked him up. "We have to go back to the van, now!" she said, looking at Mystery. The dog nodded in response and began to run out. Vivi was about to follow, but looked back at the room. She took a glance at Lewis, hesitant to leave him. "Don't worry, I'll come back for you." she whispered before heading out.
Back at the Mystery Skulls van, Vivi placed Arthur in the back and grabbed a first aid kit. "Mystery, I need you to bandage the wound for me. I have to make a call to the nearby town." she said. "I'll have to make a replacement arm later."
Mystery picked up the bandages and wrapped them around the stump where Arthur's arm used to be. He took a good look at it first, making sure that there was no sign of the creature who had possessed him. No sign of green was there, meaning it was safe to patch up the wound. He double checked to make sure the bandage was on correctly, then turned his attention back to Vivi. She put away her cellphone and began to cry. Throughout all this mess he had no idea how she was doing. He saw her standing in front of Lewis's body after all. There was no way she was taking this well. Even someone as strong as her had their limits. He whimpered to get her attention.
Vivi turned to face him, a sniffle escaping her. "I'm sorry Mystery, I'm not in the best mood right now." she said. Mystery placed a paw on her arm in comfort. With Arthur unconscious, he was the only one who could help her. The gesture got her to attempt making a smile, even if it was only a small one. "I just made arrangements to have Lewis buried." she explained. "I didn't want to leave his body in there. With Arthur passed out, I'm not sure what's going to happen to the Mystery Skulls. Lewis was the one keeping us together. And with everything that happened, I...I don't know what I want to do."
Mystery tried his best to comfort her, trying to keep up the facade of a dog made that harder than it needed to be. Vivi sighed, placing her glasses on the dashboard. "Maybe I just need some rest to figure all this out." she said. "When Arthur wakes up, I can ask him what happened. You keep an eye on him and wake me up if anything happens." Unable to do anything further, Mystery returned to the back of the van. Vivi took out a blanket and rested herself on the front seats. It felt so empty without Lewis there. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and tried to fall asleep.
The events of that night in the caves would stick with Vivi for the rest of her life, no matter how much she would rather forget about it. But she was unaware of the presence lingering beside her.