Chapter Text
Lewis didn’t remember anything before the evening he woke up on the Pepper’s couch. The doctors hadn’t been able to help, neither had the social workers. The only identifying thing he owned was his shoes with the name Lewis. And even then there was a sliver of doubt, the shoes could have been bought second hand. Maybe Lewis was his surname and not his given one? They weren’t even sure about his ethnicity as first. He had a naturally tan skin that might have been Mediterranean descent. Or Indian. Or Latino. Or Native American. Sometimes he envied people who had a strong ethnic appearance, like Mrs. Pepper (later known as Mom) and Mr. Tanaka down the street.
It had been mid-September of his first year, back when the Peppers were still just fostering him. He had seen some skeleton decorations for sale and asked if they were for Dia De Muertos.
Mrs. Pepper had look at him for a moment and asked “¿Puedes entender lo que estoy diciendo”
Lewis’s responding “Si,” had her grinning.
“You speak Spanish, Lewis.” And he felt his heart explode in happiness. He had finally learned something about himself. And further learning about how little the holiday was celebrated in America, he learned he’d in all likelihood been of Hispanic descent.
After that he’d always loved the holiday that had given him a piece of himself.
His new family had joined in too. The restaurant was always decorated for the celebration lasting till November Second. Mr. Pepper made sugar calaveras, which quickly became a popular item during the season. On Halloween, after trick-or-treating, they’d pray for the souls of lost children. On November Second, they’d visit the deceased members of their family and pay their respects.
Admittedly their ritual for November First was a little different than the norm. Rather than merely praying for the souls of adults, they would visit the cemetery and find a grave that clearly hadn’t been visited in a while. They would clean it up, light some candles, and Lewis would introduce himself and tell the grave about what had been going on in the world. He’d also make sure to visit graves they had done this for previously. His own missing memories clawed in the back of his mind. No one deserved to be forgotten.
After he’d made friends with Vivi Yukino and Arthur Kingsmen, they also joined in. Vivi was ecstatic her favorite holiday could be extended two extra days. Arthur just got a determined look on his face when Lewis explained how he didn’t want anyone to be forgotten and had joined him in the cemetery every November First.
When they’d first started traveling, it was understood that they would always be home by Halloween, so they could celebrate the first evening of Dia de Muertos (and take his younger sisters) trick-or-treating).
Thus is was with a tired squeal if the brakes that Lewis parked the van in his driveway one October Thirtieth. They had been driving since before daybreak in order to get back home in time. Vivi had been dropped off already. As Lewis left the car, Arthur slid over to the driver’s seat. The van had been bought by both of them and they often switched it between them. Tonight it would stay at Kingsmen’s where Arthur could check it for any wear and tear from the road trip. It would be nice if they could get that shared apartment they had talked about, but for now it was just a pipe dream. He yawned as Arthur pulled out, tiredly entering his family home. He was immediately greeted with a hug.
“Mom? What are you doing awake at this hour?” He squinted at the wall clock that now read three am.
“Waiting to make sure my baby got home safe.” Most people found his mother intimidating, something Lewis never understood. How could someone so obviously full of love be scary? “I knew there was no way you were going to miss tomorrow, even if you had to drive all night.”
He chuckled. She knew him well. “Now of to bed,” She insisted with a peck on his cheek. “Tomorrow’s going to be a big day. And you have a client who wants to meet with you.”
“A client? But tomorrow’s the first day!”
“I know, but I also know that you three need more jobs than you’re getting. The case is local, so you won’t have to leave town. If you don’t finish it by evening, you can come back and we can have our celebrations.”
Lewis smiled. She knew how much Dia de Muertos meant to him. “It wouldn’t hurt to hear him out. I’ll call Vivi and Arthur in the morning.”
“In the morning. Now you sleep.”
“Yes Mama,” He grinned. No matter how old he got, he’d never stop being her little boy.
~
More than once Lewis had wondered where exactly his girlfriend got all her energy. He still felt drained from the long trip the day before and Arthur looked like he had about the same amount of life as the ghosts they hunted. Vivi’s dog, a white Kishu-Inu named Mystery sat patiently at his master’s feet. By contrast Vivi was awake, alert, and practically bouncing in her seat. “We’ve never had a case so close to home. And the client was looking for us specifically. That means we’re getting well known. This is so exciting!”
“Glad you’re happy,” Arthur muttered into his third cup of coffee.
“Excuse me, are you ‘Mystery Skulls’?” The man who approached the table was obviously nervous.
“That’s us!” Vivi bounced up. “Sit down, take a load off. We’ll get you some of Mrs. Pepper’s coffee and you could tell us about what happened.”
“No coffee, please,” The man sat down. “I’m not really sure when to begin, to be honest. Most of the stuff in the beginning could be perfectly normal. I work as a forest ranger. Now’s the time of year when things tend to quiet down. Animals hibernate or migrate. Bugs die off, things like that.”
“Instead there’s been an upswing in prey animals. Bugs, small rodents, even the plant life that’s usually dead by now is thriving. And now the critters are getting bigger too. I guess an increase food supply could lead to that, but some of them are pushing the boundaries of how big the species can get.”
The man fiddled with his hat. “It’s weird, but Mother Nature’s done weirder, you know. Then there’s the little girl…”
Arthur groaned. “Creepy little girls are almost always demons in disguise.”
“I don’t think so,” the ranger said, “She wasn’t really creepy. She came to play in the forest each day this summer. Every time I found her I thought I heard her talking to someone, but she was alone when I got there. I thought she had just had an imaginary friend. Then she stopped coming. I ran into her in town last week and asked her if she’d found somewhere new to play. She didn’t recognize me, or remember that she’d ever been playing in the forest.”
“You’re right, she sounds more like a victim of whatever is happening than the culprit,” Vivi agreed, a bit subdue. She’d never admit it the the boys, but memory alteration was one of the few things that really freaked her out.
The ranger sighed. “Then things got worse. The forest just seemed darker. People have started claiming they were seeing monsters. Animals are turning up dead and mutilated. I didn’t know where else to turn.”
“We’ll take the case,” Vivi declared, as usual not consulting the other two. Lewis had no objections, anyway. Arthur looked a pensive, as usual, but not outright arguing.
“Is there any history or supernatural happenings in the area? Or did something happen last spring before the little girl started playing in the forest? A lost hiker or missing person that was never recovered?” Lewis inquired. Always best to get something like that out in the open.
“Nothing overtly supernatural, but there was an earthquake, last spring. That’s the only thing I can think of.”
~
“So what are we thinking,” Vivi asked from her usual perch of shotgun. “Earthquake might have let a trapped demon loose.”
Arthur suppressed a shudder, he was driving after all. “I don’t know. The pattern of escalation reads more like a curse. Probably on an area since it doesn’t seem be targeting anyone in particular. Maybe someone did die in forest and just was never reported missing.”
“I don’t think either of those sound right,” Lewis thought hard. He was sitting in the back, Mystery curled up at his feet. “The little girl was removed from the picture right before the escalation started to increase. I think whatever caused this wanted her to be safe. That wouldn’t fit a curse, which isn’t sapient, or a demon, which has no moral compass. My guess would be enraged nature spirit. Maybe a dryad whose tree got destroyed.”
“Never fun, but better than demons,” was Arthur’s only comment as he turned the van offroad. There were some dirt paths that lead into the forest, mostly forged by campers than actual roads. “So what’s the plan, drive around until something spooky happens?”
“Not the best investigative method, but it hasn’t failed us yet,” Vivi confirmed. “So what is everyone going as for trick or treating tonight? I was thinking the Shadow from those old radio shows. NOT the movie.”
“I’m going with Sissel from Ghost Trick, what about you Lewis?” Arthur added.
“Manolo from Book of Life. The girls loved the movie. Paprika is going as La Muerta and Cayenne and Belle as the Scardelita and Adelita. Momma’s going to do our make-up.”
“Oooh, I wish you had told us. I could have been Maria.” Vivi squeed.
“And that would have left me as Joachim? I’ll stick with the amnesiac ghost.” Arthur grumbled.
“Joachim was adorable,” Vivi poked him is his side. “JOACHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!” She flung her arm out in a pose.
“Joachim told his best friend to die,” Arthur grumbled again. “When Manolo needed his support the most.”
“Yeah, but he was -LOOK OUT!” Lewis cried.
Arthur slammed on the brakes, thanking what ever might be listening that they hadn’t been going very fast. There was a dead wolf in the dirt road. And it was taking up most of it. The creature was the size of a horse and partially disemboweled.
“This looks almost like a warg out of Lord of the Rings,” Vivi whispered, jumping out of the van.
“Are you insane? What if that thing’s not dead?” Arthur leapt after her, ready to drag her back in.
Lewis hadn’t said anything, but was out of the van and right behind Vivi before she was halfway to the roadblock.
“This is amazing,” she gushed, “That ranger guys was talking about large animals, but this is incredible!” She had her camera out and was taking picture after picture. Mystery stood back and growled.
“I’m more worried about what killed it,” Though being the pessimist was normally Arthur’s role, Lewis was on edge. He could feel the darkness the ranger had spoke of and didn’t like it.
Arthur studied the cadaver. “I’m with Lewis. It’s torn apart, but doesn’t look like it was eaten. This it bad. We should head back to civilization.”
Vivi pouted at them. “Guys, there is a real mystery here. It’s our job to solve this.”
“Not without weapons.” Lewis put his foot down. “This isn’t our usual cultist or ghost. There are dangerous things in this forest. If this wolf was part of a similarly sized pack, they could tear us apart. Rule number one: We don’t risk our own safety.”
Vivi sighed, but internally relented. They were right, no matter how much she wanted to stay. As she turned to go the great bulk in front of them shuddered. Mystery growled again
“Did it just?”
“In the van! In the van!” Arthur yelped. They turned back but fore they could move two feet the creature leapt over them, cutting off their escape. Yet for all it’s grace and power, it was even more obvious the thing was dead. It’s guts were dragging along the ground and half it’s head was missing.
“Zombie Warg,” Vivi whispered.
“Those had better not be your last words,” Arthur hissed.
Lewis held Vivi tight, Practically wrapping his larger body around hers. It might only buy her a few seconds, but he’d do whatever he could. Mystery obviously felt the same, standing right in front of his mistress defensively. Arthur was a little on the side, his body tensed in fight or flight mode. But Lewis knew he would never run if they were in danger. And Arthur didn’t have any more chance in a fight with that thing than he did.
The wolf pounced straight in the middle. Arthur rolled to one side, Lewis grabbed Vivi and leapt to the other. The dog ended up between the wolf’s legs and darted towards the majority of his pack.
Lewis heard the other man yelp in shock. “Arthur, are you okay?”
The only response he got was the wolf growling. No word from his best friend. “Arthur answer me!”
“No,” Vivi started to tear up. “He has to be okay,”
“Arth-” Lewis’s cry was cut off by a sudden feeling of falling. The vertigo was interrupted by the feeling of another earthquake. A large paw, god, he was only the size of it’s toe, landed beside him.
“Lewis, I think we shrunk,” Vivi observed, looking at the giant plants and rocks around them. Mystery was very put out, growling and whimpering at everything.
“How?” This day was simply too much for the purple haired man. Fortunately the wolf-thing either hadn’t noticed them or decided prey so small wasn’t worth the effort. It wandered off.
“Thank goodness for small favors,” Lewis sighed. “Now we need to find-”
“Guys!, Hey guys!”
“Arthur!” Lewis and Vivi cried out together.
Their blond friend was alright. He was running over to them, being followed by…
“Lewis it’s a FAIRY, this day keeps getting better and better.” Vivi gushed. The two boys shared a look of exasperation. “Can I take your picture?” she began fumbling for the camera around her neck.
“Perhaps at another time,” The fairy said, “We must leave at once.”
“I will accept just about anything if it gets me out of this forest,” Arthur declared.
“Leave? Oh, that’s out of the question, Chosen Ones. I must take you to meet the Ancient One. Only then can you save our forest from the Corrupted Heart.”