Yes, I'm writing a story for a trio of music videos with no dialogue that currently last about twelve minutes combined. Technically, I started this back when there were only two videos. Good thing I've already determined that I am completely and utterly insane. Otherwise I might be worried about the condition of my brain.

Since we currently don't know a lot about what is planned for the rest of the music videos in the story arc, none us know how the situation with Shiromori and Mystery will be handled. So let's just assume that this story mostly ignores her. She took a wrong turn at Albuquerque along the way and never managed to reach Mystery and the others. There are reasons most of the world depends on maps and GPS instead of tracking the essence of people in the form of representational flowers. Anything after "Freaking Out" doesn't count for this story.

I fully admit it. This is just an insane idea. Just go with it, please. The first chapter mostly sets the stage, but things should pick up soon.

Puppet

Once, Arthur would have found it strange and utterly terrifying to drive his van down a dark and empty interstate with a supernatural shapeshifter with rather sharp fangs sitting beside him and a powerful ghost lurking silently in the back.

Of course, it would have been strange once to be driving predominantly on one of these trips. Technically it was his van, but that only seemed to matter while they were in their home town and he was using it for everyday stuff. Whenever they went on one of their paranormal investigations, Arthur generally only took a turn driving when someone else needed a break. That was the way it was back then. Once upon a time, it was always his best friend behind the wheel.

Then everything changed. Everything was ripped apart in the course of a single night. Their lives were torn apart all because of that stupid cave and the thing that dwelled there. The memory made him unconsciously tighten his grip on the steering wheel to the point his metal prosthetic creaked. Arthur forced his hands to relax, not wanting to wake anyone up.

For a while, neither he nor Vivi remembered what happened in the cave. The whole night was a series of mysteries. They simply woke up in the hospital, shocked to find out that Arthur was missing his left arm and no one had a clue what happened to Lewis. He was simply gone. What attacked Arthur? Who dragged Arthur and Vivi back to the van from wherever the attack happened, allowing a passing motorist to spot them before Arthur completely bled out? Why was Vivi out cold at the scene when she was physically unharmed? And where did Lewis go? Neither of them could remember anything that could answer those questions. Not for a long time.

Vivi's memory loss turned out to be from a supernatural source, but Arthur's problems came from good old-fashioned pure trauma. Turns out possession by a malicious entity, intense horror and guilt, unimaginable pain, and extreme blood loss could have negative effects on a guy's mental state. Who knew? He blocked it out of his conscious mind for months. Unfortunately, Arthur's subconscious remembered vividly.

Arthur shook his head tiredly before running his remaining original hand through his blond hair. The nightmares tormented him from the moment he woke up in that hospital, still weak and doped up on pain medication after nearly dying from blood loss and trauma. The horrific memories disguised as dreams haunted his nights even though he couldn't remember anything in the morning except intense fear, complete helplessness, heart-breaking loss, crushing guilt, and the color green. Arthur hated those nightmares, wondering for months if it would be better or worse to actually know why he kept waking in a panic every night. Or why sometimes that panic was accompanied by tears on his face and a scream lodged in his throat. Or why he felt like he'd done something unforgivable. Only after one of their trips brought them to a mysterious and haunted mansion with a furious ghost did Arthur remember one of his nightmares the next day. Only then did he remember the cave.

The dark and empty highway could not hold his attention as he drove, allowing memory to drag him back to that night. All four of them entered the cave, so ignorant of what fate awaited them. They didn't even suspect that anything bad could happen.

Vivi had heard about the location; she'd heard the stories of strange sounds, sights, and feelings that followed anyone who entered and tunnels that did not always lead to the same place as before. The stories were enough to entice the young woman who loved the supernatural so much, but not enough to make her cautious.

Lewis had thought it would be fun. He loved anything that made her eyes sparkle that much with excitement and didn't see any harm. It would be like any of their other paranormal investigations.

Mystery, however, had acted like he was on guard from the moment they parked the van. That should have been enough of a warning for them; Vivi's pet was always the most sensitive to the supernatural. But they didn't notice his behavior at the time.

And Arthur had gone from tired and reluctant to scared stiff when he actually saw the location. He was never particularly excited about walking into a possibly-haunted location in the middle of the night, especially after a long day working for Uncle Lance. But the sheer ominous nature of that cave kicked it up a notch. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn around and run away.

But his best friends had wanted to go. They had wanted to explore the creepy cave, just like they wanted to investigate every cursed forest, every haunted house, and every freaky town that might be hiding a secret cult. And just like always, Arthur went with them. Because no matter how much he feared those places, being left behind would be worse.

Stepping into that cave had only made his terror grow. There was something wrong with that place and he'd known it. The strange green mist that seemed to almost glow around them and a feeling of cruel malevolence had left Arthur on the verge of a panic attack. But his best friend let him cling to his shoulder, just like every other time he was afraid. It had helped a little. Ever since they became friends in the fourth grade, Lewis was safety, stability, and comfort. And even gaining Vivi's friendship and Lewis eventually falling in love with her didn't change that. So even while Arthur felt terrified, Lewis stayed close and assured him nothing would happen. He reassured him that everything would be fine. And Arthur had believed him. Even when they split up, Arthur had stayed close to Lewis for protection.

He should have stayed away from all of them. They needed the protection.

Vivi took the lower path while they headed up. Lit by Lewis' torch and the strange green mist, the dark tunnel eventually brought them to the top of a cliff overlooking a large chamber. The cavern was an impressive sight, the stalagmites jutting out of the ground like fangs so far below while green mist wafted around them. But Arthur didn't head closer to the edge to sightsee like Lewis did. His fear of the foreboding place and the unexplained sense that something is very wrong here had kept him back. Arthur kept feeling like something was watching him, waiting to strike.

He was right. The cave wasn't empty. Something was watching him closely. Something that sought out fear and despair, which left one member of the group as an ideal target.

The nameless, shapeless thing that lurked in the cave claimed Arthur that night, latching on. The only warning Arthur had received was a slight chill before his arm started going numb. But not completely numb. Just a strange, detached feeling that spread from his hand up to his shoulder in almost no time. Panic and fear at the sensation gripped Arthur, compelling him to scream or shout or something. But his throat had refused to cooperate. He was locked out of his own body. Part of his sight started taking a green tint around the edges and he could see that his arm, where it all started, was changing colors.

Then he'd heard it. A voice in his head, smug and taunting.

"So many fears. So much terror. Yes, it won't take much to break you. You're already so weak and timid. And do you know what scares you the most?"

Arthur had felt his head turn towards where Lewis still stood near the edge, only moments having passed since he walked over there. The blond didn't know what was happening, only that his body was moving against his will and that he was absolutely terrified. He was just a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings.

"Being alone."

There was no warning. There was no chance to realize what the entity possessing him intended. Arthur's body moved. It lunged forward as half his face twisted into a vicious grin. Arthur couldn't control his body, but he'd felt his left hand make contact. He'd felt his body push. And he saw his best friend's look of shock, betrayal, and fear as he fell over the edge.

What little control he had left of his body resulted in tears streaming down half of Arthur's face while the entity possessing him laughed. The scream of fright cut off abruptly as stone spikes met flesh. The stalagmites won. They broke and tore through the figure. Even from so high up and mentally collapsing into a swirling vortex of horror, denial, grief, and guilt, Arthur saw the splashes of red that quickly spread. And another voice released a brief heart-breaking wail. Vivi…

"Look at what you've done. You're already so weak that I barely need to try. Now to take care of the young lady down there," the entity whispered in his head as he begged for it to stop. "Then we'll see who else you have left. Maybe some fam—"

Unimaginable pain had erupted from his left arm, radiating throughout his body and interrupting the entity. Both Arthur and the one possessing him screamed in agony, the young man's body collapsing to the ground. He saw blood, fangs, and a muzzle far too close to his face. And amber-colored glasses.

Through the haze of pain, fear, and sorrow, one part of his mind still managed to ask Mystery?

There was a tearing sensation. Not just the physical, white-hot pain of something pulling and ripping at his arm just below the shoulder. There was something else, pulling at the malicious force in his head. The physical and insubstantial tearing almost made Arthur black out in agony.

Then something gave way and the entity was gone. No more voices and no more green. Arthur was back in control again, gasping and shuddering in pain. His entire left side felt warm and wet, he felt nauseous and light-headed, and his vision was going blurry, but it was gone.

He'd tried to raise his head to look for Mystery, but what he saw wasn't the small white dog with black and red markings around his head. The creature had been too tall, too long, and clearly not a dog. He saw about half a dozen tails fanning out behind the creature. And yet somehow Arthur had known this was Mystery.

That didn't stop him from whimpering when the large creature approached him. The blood and fangs was just too much for the miserable, terrified, and exhausted young man. He'd tried to crawl away, but the agony multiplied and his vision went white when he attempted to move his left arm. Something was wrong. Something worse than a bite mark. But he couldn't think. His head was growing too cloudy. His thoughts kept whirling around the entity, the blood, the pain, Mystery, Lewis…

Lewis… He killed… He didn't mean it… No… Please, no…

And right before he'd lost all awareness, he'd heard Mystery speak for the first time. He didn't even have the energy to be surprised about it.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't wake up again until a few days later, with no memory of what happened and nightmares waiting to torment him. Only after the mansion did he remember what tore his arm off and why. Only later did he remember what happened to Lewis…

A cold wet nose nudged his right arm, startling Arthur out of his darker thoughts and memories. Once again, the young man needed to loosen his death grip on the steering wheel. It was probably a good thing there was no traffic in sight during the wee hours of the morning. He'd been too distracted to deal with them properly. He glanced over to the passenger's seat to see Mystery staring at him with a far too knowledgeable gaze.

He might appear to be a regular dog, though one that they'd known for a while was far more intelligent and aware of things than was normal. They knew better now. They'd eventually asked Mystery flat out what he was. Well, they asked once they realized he could talk. He just smiled vaguely and said he was their friend. That was apparently all he would say on the matter. Their best guess was that Mystery was a kitsune or something similar, like a húli jīng. It would explain the shapeshifting and the multiple tails that Arthur glimpsed that awful night. But he still seemed to prefer to stay in his canine form. He was just willing to talk sometimes now.

But even if Arthur ended up nervous about Mystery for a while, nightmares of fangs and blood plaguing him, they knew their "dog" could be trusted. He'd lived with Vivi for years. And Mystery saved him from the entity and from hurting anyone else. An arm was more than a fair price to pay for that help.

Honestly, Arthur knew he should have suffered more for what happened. After all, he got out of that cave alive…

Mystery nudged his arm again, interrupting Arthur's thoughts once more and pulling him back to his surroundings. He moved a little closer, leaning against the blond young man. The warm fur against his side felt rather nice.

"I know what you're doing. Stop dwelling on it again," Mystery said, his voice kept soft so they didn't disturb the others. "You're only harming yourself for no reason with your guilt."

"I'm fine," mumbled Arthur.

Clearly not buying it, he said, "I suppose that means it's my turn to remind you that nothing that happened in the cave was your fault. You were possessed. Your body was controlled by another while it tried to tear your soul apart. You did nothing wrong."

"I know, I know…"

"And it won't happen again," Mystery said, poking his nose at the young man's jacket. "You're safe from that now. No one will control you again."

Arthur glanced down at the star pin firmly attached to his jacket, resting near his heart. He'd started adding a few pins to his orange jacket so it wouldn't be as obvious, but the star pin was the one he really cared about. No one except he and Mystery knew what it really was. It was a safety measure and a sense of security.

Attached to the back of the yellow star and out of casual view were three tiny fragments of stone. He wasn't even certain where or how Mystery got them. He just vanished for about a day not too long after it became obvious that Arthur was remembering. He'd waited until Arthur remembered his nightmarish memories enough to realize Mystery wasn't really a dog. And when Mystery returned from wherever he vanished to, he brought something back: a piece of black jet, a small fragment of light purple amethyst, and a chunk of deep blue turquoise. None of them were bigger than the tiny washers that his hamster liked to steal and all stones that Mystery assured held beneficial properties that would protect him from future possessions.

With the three pieces hidden on the back of his pin, Arthur took comfort from the improvised protective charm. He needed this tangible form of security. He needed the reassurance that nothing would use him to hurt his friends again. He refused to be someone's puppet. And Mystery certainly seemed to prefer this to Arthur's previous idea.

He'd tried to make the dog promise to rip out his throat immediately next time something took over.

"And everything worked out in the end," Mystery continued gently. "We may not have made it out of there unscathed, but we're still here. We're still together. Don't dwell on the past and what you could not prevent. It is better to focus on what you still have in the present and hope for the future." Nuzzling the young man's right shoulder a little, he said, "It's all right. You're not alone. We're still here."

He was right. Arthur knew he was right. Every time one of his friends told him it wasn't his fault, that he shouldn't feel guilty, that they were the ones who dragged him into the cave, and that none of them could have predicted something would be attracted to his fear and possess him, Arthur knew that they were absolutely correct. But it didn't always make him feel any better. It doesn't matter that his mind and his soul would never even consider harming his best friends. It was still his body that performed the crime. He felt his hand as he shoved his best friend to his death. He might have just been the puppet, but that didn't stop the guilt from haunting him. Even when he couldn't remember, his subconscious still felt that guilt.

But Mystery was right about not being alone. They were still with him. Despite everything that happened, it was all right because he was with his friends. And that fact made his regret and sorrow easier to bear.

He glanced at the rearview window briefly. Vivi, the blue-haired young woman wrapped in a blue blanket despite her similarly-colored sweater and scarf, slept soundly in the back. She'd forgotten to take off her glasses before she nodded off and cuddled her toy sea turtle gently, undisturbed by the quiet conversation in the front seat. Slumber was practically the only time that she was still. Her energy and enthusiasm, especially when investigating the paranormal, should be bottled and sold as a coffee substitute. But for now, she seemed absolutely peaceful and perfectly content to rest next to the person she loved most in the world.

The mansion was not as bad as the cave, but it had freaked Arthur out at the time. The van breaking down abruptly in front of a mansion that none of them remembered and was clearly haunted? Arthur knew it would be a disaster. But they'd been out together, trying to distract each other from the last several months and everything that happened since the night they couldn't remember. His lost arm and the prosthetic he'd built to replace it. The nightmares that struck whenever he tried to sleep. Lewis disappearing without a trace and not even a hint of where he might have gone, to the point even the police were no longer searching and his family was losing hope. They'd needed a chance to do something normal again, even if only for a little while. And investigating the paranormal was normal for them, so Arthur followed Vivi inside as that spark of enthusiasm made her lit up like always. Even the weaker ghosts that herded them deeper inside barely fazed her.

When they were separated and Arthur encountered the source of all the supernatural energy, he didn't recognize the powerful ghost. He didn't realize the truth. He wouldn't have wanted to admit the possibility anyway. A ghost that strong? One strong enough to subconsciously create an entire mansion while drawing in weaker ghosts with his mere aura and still being recently dead enough that Arthur saw a brief moment of surprise and sorrow when he realized what he'd become? Even Arthur with his reluctance for anything paranormal learned something from the investigative trips and knew that such a ghost would be fueled by an insane amount of very strong emotions. Like love. Or more likely, hatred and fury. And how could Arthur have even considered the idea that such a ghost could be their missing friend?

He didn't know why the fiery ghost targeted him. He didn't remember the cave then except in his nightmares. All he knew was that something terrifying wanted him dead. So he'd ran.

It should have been a clue when the ghost stopped when Vivi tried to protect Arthur. He should have wondered why and looked harder at the skeletal figure. But he didn't. He just saw a ghost that wanted to kill him and his remaining best friend far too close to the dangerous threat. So he'd grabbed Vivi and ran out of the mansion, an explosion of magenta supernatural fire chasing them. He'd drove them out of there and was simply grateful to have survived.

But that marked the point when he started remembering his nightmares. That marked the point when he knew why he felt so miserable and guilty. That marked the point when he realized Mystery wasn't what he pretended to be and confronted him about the cave. And since he remembered what he did to Lewis, Arthur was able to make the connection and asked the canine if the ghost was his best friend. Mystery confirmed the nightmare was real and that vengeful specter was exactly who the blond young man suspected.

Guilt and grief won out over fear. Arthur knew that Lewis wanted revenge for his death… for his murder. And even if he was terrified by what would happen when he saw the ghost again, Arthur still felt responsible. They'd been searching for Lewis for months only to find out that the young man was dead by Arthur's hand…

If Lewis didn't track them down in that stolen truck, Arthur would have sought him out shortly after. He didn't even try to run that time. The blond young man knew Lewis deserved whatever revenge he needed to bring him peace. There was rage and magenta fire, shouts of accusation from the ghost and of protest from a confused Vivi, and resignation and quiet apologies from Arthur as he was pinned against the side of the truck.

He wasn't even sure now what made Lewis pause. It wasn't Vivi that time. He'd blocked her off with a ring of supernatural flames, either to keep her from interfering or to protect her. Maybe it was the fact that Arthur didn't even try to escape, no matter how frightened he was. Maybe something in his expression did it or a part of Lewis buried beneath the burning sense of betrayal and fury still wondered why his best friend would hurt him. But something made Lewis stop and finally notice a change. So instead of the fiery death that Arthur expected, he heard a slightly-echoing voice ask a question.

What happened to his arm?

And when Arthur couldn't bring himself to answer, couldn't bring himself to make excuses for why Lewis died and to tell him that no one could even mourn him properly because they simply couldn't remember… Mystery broke his silence. The dog startled both the ghost and Vivi by speaking, taking the blame for the injury while explaining he did it to save Arthur from the entity possessing him.

From there, everything erupted into chaos. Explanations, questions, confusion, and short-lived denial engulfed the group for a while. Vivi still didn't remember the cave, Lewis didn't want to believe how wrong he'd been, and Arthur didn't want to excuse what happened. But Mystery was stubborn and patient. He refused to quit until he made them understand.

It took a while, but eventually the entire sequence of events of that night was laid bare and somehow Arthur started receiving almost as many apologies as he was giving. Not to mention the hugs. Vivi was always a tactile person, ready to embrace whoever she deemed worthy, so everyone ended up hugged by her eventually. But Arthur didn't expect and certainly didn't feel like he deserved the hug from Lewis as the taller figure muttered repeated apologies, horrified at what he'd almost done to his best friend of many years. Even if Arthur told him it was all right and he deserved to suffer, Lewis kept saying that he'd known Arthur couldn't hurt anyone and he should have trusted him more.

Things didn't immediately go back to normal. How could they? But even with the awkwardness and the varying amounts of guilt, they started picking back up the pieces. They adapted to the talking dog who wasn't really a dog. And once it truly sunk in that he was back and no longer in a murderous state of mind, Lewis' return shook off some of the melancholy that had hung over the others. Proving that death did nothing to affect how much they loved each other, Vivi and Lewis could barely keep their hands off each other for the first few days. As if the other would slip away if they didn't hold on tight. Arthur didn't begrudge them a second of their time together. They deserved it. Their affection and relief to have each other back just proved to him how much they needed each other. And even if it didn't erase the guilt and it took time to get past his gut reaction of there's a dangerous ghost right there, the painful gaping loss of Arthur's best friend began to ease a little.

So seeing a powerful ghost in the back of the van with Vivi's head resting on his chest didn't scare Arthur like it once would have. In fact, catching a glimpse of him in the rearview mirror actually comforted Arthur just like the presence of the supernatural shapeshifter beside him. He wasn't alone. His friends were safe.

While Arthur picked up some facts about the supernatural during his time as a reluctant paranormal investigator, there was plenty he didn't know. He'd been surprised to learn that even if ghosts couldn't properly sleep like the living, they could slip into a state fairly similar to it. Fueled by willpower and emotions, even the dead could grow weary. They could use up too much power or even be harmed enough that they needed rest to recover. Normal fatigue could be dealt with by falling into a still, silent, and unaware state that could almost be considered sleep if it wasn't for the lack of breathing. Extreme levels of exhaustion or damage required more drastic measures to recuperate. Lewis would withdraw into the heart-shaped locket that served as his anchor, his physical connection grounding him to the world and the manifestation of his soul. He would vanish inside, but it was a more drastic measure and left him helpless. So he generally relied on the more sleep-like method, lying in the back of the van like a corpse with only the slow pulsing of his anchor to hint otherwise.

And he certainly needed his rest for tomorrow. One of Lewis' abilities was that he could alter his appearance temporarily into the image of his once living self. Well, it looked like the old Lewis except for his eyes. They were still glowing magenta irises surrounded by darkness. Mystery said it had something to do with eyes being windows to the soul and how it was nearly impossible for the eyes to completely hide something's true nature. Regardless, Lewis could disguise himself for short periods of time, which was necessary if he wanted to interact with other people or even drive without scaring someone. It just took a lot of energy and concentration to maintain and that meant he needed to rest before the upcoming investigation. Lewis getting tired in the middle of it and changing back to his normal appearance right in front of the people who hired them would only lead to panic.

"Mmmhhh," sighed Vivi tiredly, sitting up. Stretching her arms above her head briefly, she crawled towards the front of the van while taking care not to wake her boyfriend. "What time is it?"

Shrugging, Arthur said quietly, "Three-thirty? Maybe four in the morning? I'm not sure."

"Want to pull over and let me drive for a while?"

"I can keep going a little longer. I don't mind."

Leaning over the seat, Vivi asked, "Are you sure? You need to get some sleep too. Busy day tomorrow and everything."

"I'll be fine. That's why they invented coffee and energy drinks."

"Arthur," she said gently. "You have to sleep. And you said the nightmares are less frequent now, right?"

Not taking his eyes off the road, he nodded reluctantly. Vivi knew about the nightmares from the start. He couldn't hide them when she visited him in the hospital every day after he lost his arm and with how often they camped out in the van. She knew Arthur woke up in a horrified panic every night even before they understood why. After he started remembering the nightmares, however, they started growing less frequent. They didn't strike every night anymore, but they still happened. He wished they at least wouldn't wake him up. Lewis was shocked the first time he witnessed one of Arthur's nightmares, but Vivi knew how to help by then and held tight until he recognized his surroundings and the shaking slowed.

So Vivi knew how much those nightmares affected him and how much he dreaded them. But she also knew when the last time he actually slept was. And no one ever won an argument against her when she tried to take care of her friends.

"Please let me drive a while," she said. "Just try and get at least a little sleep. Please?"

He knew he couldn't win. Without a word, Arthur slowly eased the van to the side of the road and stopped. Vivi didn't even bother with a door. She just climbed right over the seat and gave him a quick hug.

"Go on. You and Mystery hop in the back. I'll wake you up when we stop for breakfast."

Fighting back a yawn as his body decided to inform him abruptly that she was right about needing sleep, Arthur silently obeyed. The back of the van might not be the most spacious accommodations, the built-in shelves of equipment taking up valuable room, but they'd always found it cozy. He remembered a few trips where no one wanted to waste money on the only seedy hotel in town and all four members of the group piled in together in a nest of blankets and sleeping bags. He missed those days…

Arthur was asleep almost before he realized he was lying down.

Technically, I started this story on AO3 a couple years ago before being distracted. But I'm back and I'm slowly posting this story here too as I continue. Expect lots of world-building and some later plot points that I devised a couple years ago that made me raise my eyebrow at the third video in the series. But anyway, I would love to hear what you think.