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Fuzzy. Everything was fuzzy.
Lewis had no idea how he got back in the Mystery Skulls van, or why he was there in the first place. Last he remembered, he and the others had been in the cave. But now he found himself in the van, Arthur unconscious and missing an arm, and Vivi lying in the front seat trying to sleep. Did he black out or something? He struggled to remember but everything was a blur.
Perhaps it was best to just wait for his memory to return on it's own. There was no point worrying about it when nothing could be done. Everyone else was sleeping so there was no point in bothering them either. Despite the fact that he didn't feel tired, Lewis figured it was best to get some sleep. Maybe a good night's rest would help him. Not wanting to disturb Vivi, he rested against the wall of the van and closed his eyes.
...
...
Travelling through the path, Lewis found himself standing on top of a cliff. Looks like the path they took was a dead end. He leaned over the edge and looked down, seeing a number of stalagmites waiting down below. Falling here would certainly lead to death. "Watch your step, Art'. It's a nasty fall down there." he said, calling out to his best friend.
He began to wonder if Vivi and Mystery had found anything the way they went. Nothing in the area suggested there was a supernatural force here. He began to think about other possibilities. Perhaps the deaths had all been accidental. People didn't always look where they were going, and it was easy to trip here. Oh well, Vivi would be disappointed, but not all of their cases involved ghosts and monsters. He could recall a number of times when the creatures they faced were just men in masks trying to scam people out of money. "Maybe they just slipped and fell to their deaths. I guess that makes this case a dud. What d'you think, Art'?" he said, sharing his thoughts.
Arthur didn't respond. There wasn't even a mutter or grunt. That was strange. Sure, Arthur wasn't the talkative type and he'd been a little distant these days, but he was never this quiet. Something was wrong. Lewis began to turn towards him. "Art'? You're more quiet than usual. What's bugging-"
He only had a brief glimpse, but he definitely saw Arthur shove his left arm into him. Lewis was pushed off the edge of the cliff, falling into the stalagmites below. How could he do such a thing, Lewis wondered. They've been best friends for years! Lewis probably knew Arthur better than the orange-haired boy himself did, why did he want to kill him? He felt hurt, betrayed, angry beyond all belief. He trusted Arthur only for this to happen. How could he be so foolish?
And then there was Vivi, she would never know what happened to him. Arthur would never tell her the truth after all. She was in danger staying by his side. But he couldn't do a thing about it, it was too late.
The beating of his heart felt like pounding in his chest right before he-
Lewis woke up.
His hands were shaking and his breath became ragged. He looked around to make sure his fears were settled. As soon as he saw the van filling with sunlight, he let out a sigh. It was nothing but a bad dream. But of course it was, there's no way Arthur would try to kill him! Something like that could only happen in a dream.
The sound of groaning directed Lewis's attention. He looked over at Arthur, who was beginning to wake up. Mystery's head shot open, and he began to bark. The sound awakened Vivi, who slowly stirred from her sleep. "Huh? What is it, Mystery?" she asked.
"It's Art'! He's waking up!" Lewis said. Something seemed off about his voice, but he couldn't place it. But what was stranger was that no one seemed to react to him. It was like no one heard what he said.
Arthur began to sit up, holding his head with the remaining hand. "Ughh, my aching head..." he said. That seemed to get Vivi's attention, as she jumped to the back of the van.
"Arthur!" she shouted. "You're okay!" She looked like she was about to cry out of relief. She immediately hugged Arthur, who froze up in shock.
"Calm down, Vivi. Ya don't need to hug me!" Arthur said. Vivi backed off and looked at him.
"Arthur, what happened in there?" she asked.
"Yeah, what happened to your arm?" Lewis asked, though once again his words were ignored.
Arthur looked down and bit his lip, as he tried to figure out his thoughts. "I...I'm so sorry, Vivi. I tried to save him, but I wasn't fast enough!" Tears began to form in his eyes.
What was he talking about? Who did he try to save? None of this was making any sense to Lewis.
"But what happened? How did he fall off the edge? Please, Arthur!" Vivi asked, nearly begging. "Tell me how Lewis fell!"
Lewis froze in shock. He had fallen? Huh? What was she talking about?
"I don't know!" Arthur said. "We were examining the top of the cliff, and the next thing I know Lewis tripped or something! I tried to reach out for him but I..."
"Guys, what're you talking about?" Lewis asked. "I'm fine, can't you see?" Again, they acted like he wasn't there. "You're acting as if I'm dead or something!"
"Well then, what about your arm?" Vivi asked. "Tell me what happened to your arm, while I get the materials to make a new one." She went to the opposite side of the van, walking right through Lewis as if he were thin air. Lewis began to panic. No one could hear him, his girlfriend just went through him, he didn't know how he got back in the van, just what was happening?!
The dream. It was real. That all happened. Which means that he was a...
Ghost.
That also meant Arthur had lied to Vivi about his death. The spineless coward couldn't even tell her the truth. What kind of friend was he if he wasn't willing to tell her that he killed him?!
"I, erm, don't remember." Arthur said. "It must've happened when I tried to grab Lewis or something." He looked over at Mystery for some reason. He was lying about that too. Lewis knew that his missing arm just so happened to be the same one used to kill him. Whatever happened to make him lose it, serves him right, had nothing to do with his death.
"If you ever remember, let me know, okay?" Vivi said. "It's gonna take me a while to get this new arm fixed up, and we should probably take you to a hospital just to be safe." If only she knew the truth, then she wouldn't dare help him. He knew exactly what she'd do if she learned the truth, she'd tell him off and dump him at the side of the road. She was feisty like that, which is what he loved about her.
Throughout his anger towards his former best friend, Lewis began to wonder something. Why did he come back as a ghost? His mind racked with possibilities, but a concrete answer never came. Maybe it was because of Vivi? He was worried about what Arthur would do to her if he wasn't there. Not to say that Vivi couldn't take care of herself, but if Arthur could deceive him then who knows what he'd do to her. He couldn't risk it. He would protect Vivi, no matter what.
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Days became weeks, and weeks became months. Lewis lost track a long time ago. When he wasn't watching over Vivi, he found himself returning to the area where he died. Almost as if he was drawn to it. Turns out being a ghost had its perks, and he was able to his his powers to do amazing things. Eventually he decided to put those abilities to use.
As it so happened, the Mystery Skulls were passing through that area again soon. This was his chance to fix things. He remembered what Vivi told him the night he died, abut how she wanted to go to a haunted mansion. Even if he was dead, he was going to keep that promise to her. He created the exact kind of mansion she wanted. It would have it all, the living armor, the moving paintings, even all the ghosts hanging around. Knowing Vivi, her eyes would light up as soon as she came through the door.
He could also take his revenge on Arthur, the one who took everything away from him. That is if he had the guts to enter. But he didn't have to worry about that, he knew Vivi would drag him in whether he wanted it or not. Of course, there'd need to be a reason for them to enter the house in the first place...
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Even though the night was dark, the van was filled with cheer from it's passengers. It seemed like nothing could spoil their good mood. That is until the van made some strange sounds, and all the dials went to zero.
"Arthur, did you remember to fill up the van at our last stop?" Vivi asked the driver, giving him an accusatory look.
"I did! I remember paying for it and everything!" Arthur said, looking nervous. He could've sworn he had filled the tank before they left. "Man, the nearest station isn't for miles! We're in the middle of nowhere!"
"Maybe someone at that house can help!" Vivi said, pointing at an old house a few feet away.
"Are you sure, Vivi?" Arthur asked. "I overheard someone say that a house just appeared in this area out of nowhere! What if this is it?!"
"Aw come on Arthur, don't be such a baby." Vivi said. The car finally stopped in front of the entrance. Vivi and Mystery hopped out of the door and made their way to the mansion that seemed to be waiting for them. "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"