Blue eyes blinked rapidly, as Vivi looked up with confusion. A sense of disorientation washed over her as Vivi suddenly found herself sitting on her knees at the base of the large stalagmites. Her whole body seemed to tremble, though she didn't know why. The blue haired girl's mind was a jumble as she tried to piece together what she had just been doing. Turning her head to get a better sense of her surrounding, Vivi Yukino saw that she was currently in a large cavern filled with thick green fog and stalagmites. That's right, cave! She was in DeRail Cave, a cave with a skull shaped entrance that sat not far from her home town of Willow Creek. From what Vivi remembered, the cave was named after a serial killer who had been killed within back in the 1800s. Supposedly, the cave had begun to glow green not long after the man's death, and had stayed that way sense, to this day. That had been what had originally caught the bluenett's attention in the first place. As well as the series of mysterious disappearances that has been accruing in the area for as long as people can remember. There was a rumor that anyone who ventures into the cave are never seen again. Vivi had wanted to investigate it with Arthur.
That's way she was here. She had come to the cave with Arthur as well as her loyal canine, Mystery. It had genuine hunted vibes all over it. It would be there first big hit. Solving the mystery of Willow Creek's infamous emerald cave. The legends and lore surrounding the place went back over a century, as well as the reports of missing people. This time Vivi had hoped they would have a real haunting. She was tiered of men in masks, she wanted a real ghost for once damn it! And so she dragged Arthur, one of her best friends, and well known scaredy-cat of all things paranormal, to a cave supposedly haunted by the spirit of a serial killer. What could possibly go wrong?
And so it was just her, Arthur, and Mystery in the spooky green cave that everyone avoided like the plague, for obvious reasons of course. So why didn't that feel right? Some part of her whispered that there should be one more name included in that list of people, though it was quickly pushed away before she could give it any thought. It was just the three of them. Vivi remembered splitting up with Arthur at the fork in the tunnel. Both she and Mystery had gone one way and Arthur the other. The tunnel she had chosen had slopped downward, heading deeper into the cave before opening up to a large cavern filled with thick green fog. In fact, that was the last think Vivi remembered before suddenly finding herself kneeling on the ground. There seemed to be a gap in her memory. One minute she was looking around at the amazing scene before her, and the next she was on the ground looking up at the jagged rocks, the fog circling there base.
Speaking of the fog, it made it hard to see what was around her. So when she noticed something above her, she had to strain her eyes in an attempt to see it better. Unfortunately no matter how hard she squinted her eyes; the purple blur above on one of the jagged rocks wouldn't come into focus. Apart of Vivi wanted to blame the mist for that, as it clung low to the ground for blocking he vision. But the blur was above the mist, there was no reason for her to not be able to focus on the shape above her.
Unable to figure out how she found herself kneeling, Vivi slowly got to her feet. There was no point in just sitting there; she still needed to investigate to see what might be causing the disappearances. There was also that strange blur she couldn't seem to focus her eyes on. Looking around again, she then noticed that Mystery wasn't with her. He was nowhere to be seen. Hadn't he followed her down? Vivi could have sworn that he had, and yet he wasn't there. The bluenett's heart filled with concern for her four legged friend. The last thing she needed was to lose her dog in a dark cave. But just as she cupped her hands around her mouth to call out for Mystery, a deep growl echoed through the air, bouncing off of the cavern walls around her. It sounded like it had come from above. Looking in the direction that she believed the sound to have come from, Vivi noticed an outcropping of rock jetting out over the cavern from high up. A thought crossed her mind, 'Anyone who fell from there would fall onto those stalagmites.' The thought sent as shiver down her spine, that would be one horrible way to go out.
Snapping herself out of it, Vivi tried to figure out what could have made that growling noise. Was there a bear in the cave with them? It didn't sound like a bear, though she couldn't curtain. It hadn't sounded like anything she had heard before. It was then that her worry for Mystery turned to fear for Arthur. What if he ends up mauled by a wild animal because she dragged him here and then left him all alone. His uncle would be pissed. What if the path Arthur had taken led up to the ledge, where the growl seemed to have…come…from…oh God. He could be up there right now with a wild animal. She needed to get Arthur's attention, so once again she cupped her hands to call out. And just like before never got a chance to get a word out. For at that exact moment, an ear splitting scream rang out. A scream that would haunt her dreams for many years to come. Vivi's blood turned to ice, that was Arthur screaming bloody murder.
This wasn't his usual screeching in terror, this was different. That was the sound of someone being viciously attacked. Vivi's mind instantly put the pieces together, Arthur was being attacked by whatever animal that had growled. Arthur was in danger, he needed her! Vivi had to save him! Without another thought Vivi charged back the way she came as fast her legs could take her. Her mind was in a loop, the only thing she could think was, I need to hurry! I have to save Arthur!
It didn't take long for her to reach the fork where she had split up with her best friend. Arthur had stopped screaming, leaving the cave in a thick silence that filled Vivi's ears. Stopping before the left tunnel, Vivi cried out, "Arthur! I'm coming for you, just hold on!" Her words were then followed by a dragging sound. What the hell was that? Vivi took a step forward, only to stop when Mystery appeared from the dark tunnel. Her heart stopped. Mystery's muzzle was covered in blood, his body littered with small blood splatters. But that wasn't that froze her in place. Little Mystery had Arthur's thick orange vest in his mouth, dragging him through the tunnel as best as his small body would let him. A trail of smeared blood could be seen coming from where they had come. The blood was dark, almost black. This wasn't a small cut. Rushing to his side, Vivi ended up back on her knees as she pulled Arthur closer to her. It was then that she finally saw what was wrong. Her heart sank into her stomach. She had to cover her mouth with her hands to hold back a scream. His left arm was completely gone. There was a gaping open wound at his shoulder where his arm should be.
"Oh my God"
Vivi muttered through her fingers, tears already trailing down her cheeks. There was so much blood, it pooled around him, splattered on his face and drenching his side. Vivi had already pulled off her favorite blue scarf before she had time to think about it. She needed to compress the wound, stop the bleeding as best as she could. If not Arthur would die right in front of her. Shaking her head to dislodge that morbid thought, Vivi carefully and precisely wrapped the fabric tightly around his shoulder and neck. Compressing the wound as hard as she could manage. "Please hang on, don't die Arthur!" Vivi' voice was choked with sobs, her vision blurry with tears. His breathing was shallow, getting weaker by the minute. She needed to call 911 to get Arthur an ambulance right now. Vivi went for her phone, but stopped. What was she thinking, there was no way she would have signal in here. She had to get Arthur outside if she wanted to call for help. Hooking her arms under the blonde's shoulders wasn't an option. He was missing an arm after all. So instead, she wrapped her arms around his chest and began to drag him back towards the entrance. Mystery grabbed a mouthful of orange vest and helped Vivi pull Arthur. "You better hold on, I'm not letting you give up."
It took them longer then Vivi would have liked to drag her bleeding friend outside the cave. It was dark, the only light coming from the stars and moon shinning down. She gently laid Arthur down onto the soft grass then fished out her blue cased cell phone. Mystery laid down next to him, whining as he pressed his cold wet nose into the fabric of his blood splattered white shirt. Vivi quickly dialed 911, put the phone on speaker and sat in down on the grass next to her. As the phone rang one, then twice, Vivi returned her hands to the wound to apply more pressure.
"This is 911, what's your emergency?"
The calm voice coming from the speaker was feminine. The bluenett looked down at the bright screen. "My name is Vivi Yukino. I'm at the DeRail Cave about a mile south outside of Willow Creek, and I need an ambulance for my friend Arthur Kingsmen." The calm voice spoke up from the phone, asking what was wrong with Arthur. With a shaky voice, Vivi explained that his arm was gone and that he was bleeding out. She wasn't able to explain why it was gone sense she didn't know why herself, though she suspected that an animal had to have been responsible. There was no other explanation that would make any sense. Plus there had been that growl she had heard. Vivi even told the lady about the bright orange van parked outside the cave. "Ma'am, just keep applying pressure, an ambulance should be there shortly." Fresh tears flowed down Vivi's cheeks, "Thank you." The 911 operator stayed on the line as Vivi sat by Arthur's side helplessly. She had never felt so useless before in her life. There was nothing she could do but wait and hope help arrived in time. Just thinking about her enthusiasm from before put a bad taste in her mouth. How could she have been so stupid! She had dragged her best friend into a dangerous cave, and now look! Arthur was dying of blood loss right in front of her.
Vivi heard the sound of sirens just before she saw the flashing lights come into view. An ambulance could be seen approaching, its screeching sirens growing louder as the medical emergency vehicle drew near. From past experiences with having to call 911, she knew that a fire truck always fallowed behind an ambulance when one had to request for one. This time was no different as a fire truck and a patrol car pulled up to the cave not far from the newly arrived ambulance. As the paramedics approached, Vivi got out of there way as they took control of the situation. The bluenett watched in a daze as they got to work trying to stabilize Arthur, trying her best to tell them why they where there and how her friend could have been so gravely injured. At one point she even spoke to the officer, who patently waited for her to get her thoughts together.
Vivi would never remember exactly what she had said; only remembering how she had been scolded for going into such a well known dangerous place in the middle of the night. Vivi could only agree, her heart in pieces. After Arthur had been carefully laid onto the gurney and placed inside of the ambulance, fished out her key to the van. Arthur had a spare key made for her when they first formed the Mystery Skulls in case she ever needed to drive if there was an emergency. This defiantly counted as one. Despite what some people may say, Vivi was a good driver. She had to be for Arthur to trust her with his precious van. That van was like his baby. Though she didn't blame him there, she also cared for her little blue car back home.
After unlocking the driver's door, Vivi held it open for Mystery to jump inside then fallowed herself. Before, one of the paramedics asked if she would like to ride in the back of the ambulance with Arthur. She had turned them down for obvious reasons, the first being that there was no way Mystery would be able to ride in there with them, and there was no way she was going to split up with him when she needed her furry buddy the most. The second reason being that she couldn't just leave Arthur's brightly colored van out here in the middle of nowhere. He'd blow a gasket if she did that. She would just fallow them with the Mystery Skulls van.
Taking a deep breath, Vivi buckled up and started the ignition. She then flipped on the headlights and fallowed the ambulance back to town to the hospital. It was a quiet ride, Vivi not being in the mood for music had turned the radio off. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, her eyes were sore from crying, and her cheeks were still stained with drying tears. No matter now heard she tried, Vivi's thoughts kept looping back to how she found Arthur bleeding out in the damn cave. His arm completely gone and poor little Mystery straining his tiny body in a brave attempt to get Arthur to safety. She already felt mentally and emotionally drained and she hadn't even made it to the hospital yet. At least there wasn't any traffic this time of night, so it didn't take long for them to arrive at the Willow Creek General Hospital. It was a large three story building that sat at the center of town. The emergency room was at the back of the hospital, right next to Heart and Vascular. Pulling into the parking lot, Vivi found a parking spot that wasn't too far from the entrance. At least she didn't have to park a mile from the door like the last time she was here with her grandma.
Vivi removed the key from the ignition, a heavy sigh slipping past her lips. Looking over to the canine sitting beside her, she saw that he was looking right at her. His little eyes filled with sadness. Fresh tears spilled from her own eyes, her heart clinching painfully in her chest. Vivi brought her arm up and tried to wipe her face with the fabric of her blue sweater. Mystery whined from beside her, pawing her side in an attempt to comfort her. He then pressed his nose into her sweater, curling himself closer to her. Vivi turned to give her dog her full attention. Even in the dark, Vivi could see the blood stains that still covered his small form. This reminded her of the fact that she herself was also still covered in Arthur's blood. Without warning, Vivi grabbed hold of Mystery and pulled him into her lap and held him close to her.
"Why did this have to happen?" Vivi whispered into Mystery's fur as she tightened her grip on him. She had always considered herself to be a leader with a good judgment. That was why none of them had ever been hurt before, even with Arthur's tendency to get kidnapped. She and Arthur had always figured it out. Thinking about their past cases, Vivi felt a feeling of wrongness. The Mystery Skulls had always just been her, Arthur, and Mystery; so why did it feel like that wasn't true. Vivi's head started to hurt as she leafed through her memories. Was there something she was forgetting? A wet tongue licked her cheek, pulling Vivi out of her painful, spiraling thoughts. Vivi found herself staring into Mystery's eyes. He looked her strait in the eye, and then turned his head to look out the window beside Vivi's head. Wandering what had grabbed his attention; Vivi fallowed his gaze only to find herself looking at the entrance to the emergency room. The ambulance was still parked just outside the automatic sliding glass doors, though Vivi was curtain that Arthur had already been brought inside.
Looking back at Mystery, Vivi saw the serious look he was giving her. It wasn't hard to tell what he was trying to tell her. Why are you sitting out here when you should be in there? Vivi knew she had waited long enough. She needed to go inside to see what was happening. "You're going to have to wait here in the van then Mystery. Hospitals don't allow pets after all." The small dog simply wagged his stubby tail and butted his head into her side. Letting out a frail laugh, Vivi petted his head, "I get it, I'm going." She unbuckled her seatbelt, flipped off the headlights and stepped out. It was a cool fall night, so Mystery would be ok staying in the van. She never liked having to leave him in a vehicle, but at the moment she truly didn't have a choice. After insuring that everything was locked up right, Vivi finally made her way into the hospital.
Vivi already knew that she looked terrible. Messy blue hair, tear stained cheeks, and blood covered clothing. She wasn't surprised when a nurse by the automatic doors gasped when appeared in the older woman's line of sight. Well, Vivi assumed it was a nurse; she could also just be a medical assistant. The woman was slightly taller than Vivi with black hair that was pulled back from her face. She wore the standard blue hospital scrubs and held a clipboard in one hand. "Ma'am are you alright? Do you need assistance?" Vivi shook her head. "No I'm fine, it's not my blood. It's my friend's, he was just brought in. His name is Arthur Kingsmen. I fallowed the ambulance that brought him." The nurse, whose name tag read Nancy Grant, covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You mean that boy who was missing one of his arms? You must be the friend the paramedics mentioned. " Vivi simply nodded her head in response. "My name is Nancy Grant, I'm a nurse by the way, and so once you sign in I'll take you to the sitting room further in." Vivi nodded once more, "I'm Vivi Yukino," She would have shook Nancy's hand, but with her own bloodstained, the bluenett decided against it. Vivi then headed over to the reception desk to do just that.
After signing a sign in sheet and getting a visitor's sticker, Vivi fallowed the dark haired woman through a pair of double doors and down various corridors. It felt like a maze in here, the hallways twisting and branching off into other corridors. Eventually, Vivi was lead to a small waiting room. It was smaller than the one at the front entrance and was currently empty. The bluenett took a seat on one of the comfy cushioned chairs against the wall. At least the chairs here looked more comfortable than the ones in the main lobby. The nurse had already left. That wasn't surprising, hospitals where always busy after all. Vivi sat back and pulled out her phone. The case and screen both had blood smears from when Vivi had handled it before. Vivi's pale hands had been covered in blood while she had used her scarf to try to compress Arthur's wound.
Sighing, Vivi got up and walked over to the restroom that was adjacent to the waiting area. Entering the small bathroom, Vivi walked over to the sink attached to the wall. The faucet, and soap dispenser where motion activated so Vivi didn't have to touch anything as she began to wash her hands, and face. Red tinted water went down the drain as Vivi cleaned the blood off her. Once she dried herself off, she then washed the blood off of her phone and returned to the chair she had been sitting in. At least she felt a little better after cleaning up a bit.
Vivi had barely sat down when she saw a familiar face hurry into the waiting room. A young woman with long blue hair in a ponytail hurried over to Vivi, wrapping her long slim arms around Vivi's shoulders. She was dressed in the same attire as the nurse from before. The only difference being the name tag which read, Vera Yukino. "Oh Vivi, are you ok? I heard what happened." The woman that was currently hugging Vivi was her big sister. Vera Yukino is three years older than Vivi and is a medical assistant who is currently employed at this hospital. The younger bluenett hugged Vera back, the two sisters having a private moment.
"I'm fine, Vera. Its Arthur I'm worried about." Vivi pulled back a bit to meet her sister's eyes. "Aren't you still working Sis, is it ok for you to be sitting in here with me?" Vera only laughed at the question. "You don't have to worry about that silly, I just clocked out so I can sit here with my little sis for as long as you need me to. I know how much you care about Arthur; I would never leave you alone while you were hurting. That's what big sisters are for. Plus," Her sister's voice suddenly turned serious, "I can't have you blaming yourself for this, what happened to Arthur isn't your fault."
Vivi knew that Vera's words were meant to comforting, reassuring even, and yet those last words stung her heart like a stab wound. Vivi couldn't meet her sister's eyes anymore, her heart filled with more shame then she could handle. No words could describe how much she blamed herself, how her reckless need to solve the supposedly unsolvable had almost cost her best friend his life. Vivi wasn't used to feeling such gut wrenching guilt. It consumed her, tearing her apart from the inside out. Before she knew it, words were spilling from her mouth poison. "You don't understand, it's all my fault, Sis. Why did I have to insist we go into that stupid cave! I dragged him along even though he said he didn't want to go. I'm a horrible friend." Vivi help onto Vera tightly as she fell apart in her sister's arms. She was crying again, her body shacking as she allowing her sister to comfort her for the first time in years. "He's going to die, and it'll be all my fault! I`m a horrible person!" Vera tightened her grip on Vivi, holding her as tight as she could. "Don't you say that! There was no way you could have known that would happen. None of that is true and you know it. You're not a horrible friend, don't you ever thing that's true." Vivi shook her head fervently, but made no response. There was nothing she could say that would ever fully express what she was feeling. What happened today would haunt her for the rest of her live. Vivi would always blame herself; she already knew that to be true.
Pulling back to look at her face, Vera wiped the tears from Vivi's eyes. "It's going to ok, Sis, just believe. That's all we can do." Vivi's sister then looked around the waiting room as if looking for someone, or something. Then turned her blue gaze onto Vivi. "I just noticed that Lewis isn't here with you. Is he waiting outside with Mystery? I understand if he is, dogs aren't allowed inside the hospital after all. It's just strange not seeing the two of you together." Vivi was completely thrown off guard by her sister's sudden rambling. What in the world was she even talking about? She blinked once, twice, and then gave her loving sister a blank stare.
"Who?"
All thought about her grief vanished with the sudden question. Seriously, who exactly is…Lewis was it? Why was her sister asking about someone she doesn't know out of the blue like that? And yet the name seemed to trigger a sense of déjà that Vivi couldn't explain. God, Vivi was to mentally exhausted for this right now. She doesn't know a Lewis, so why did the thought make her feel so uneasy? Like she was forgetting something. But that couldn't be. Her sister wasn't one to play around in these kind of situations, so why was she bringing up this Lewis person. Vera had spoken about him as though he was as close of a friend as Arthur, but that couldn't be true. Vivi doesn't have a friend named Lewis, she would know if she did. Which she doesn't.
Vera gave her little sister a deadpan look. "What do you mean, who? Pull yourself together Vivi. I know you're in shock but come on, you should at least be able to recognize the name of your own boyfriend." Wait, what? What in the hell is Vera talking about now. Vivi knows for a fact she has never had a boyfriend before, so why, for the love of all things holy, is Vera saying that Vivi does. It doesn't make any sense. She really was too tiered for this shit. Vivi couldn't help the aggravation from slipping into her words; she was truly far too exhausted to put up with this. "Vera, I don't know any Lewis, and you know I don't have a boyfriend, or ever had one. So why are you saying that?" Vera didn't back down, that was one of the things the two sisters had in common. It was one of the reasons they squabbled a lot when they were younger. The older Yukino sister narrowed her eyes in slits, the heat of their intensity unnerved Vivi. "Did the two of you get into a fight, is that why you're acting like you don't know him?" Vera gritted her teeth, "I swear to God if that giant of a man hurt you…" "No, no, no, that's not it Vera! I don't know what you're talking about! I honestly don't know anyone called Lewis! And what do you mean by, giant of a man. Is this Lewis person a big guy or something?" This was truly too much.
Vera's eyes widened in shock, her mouth making an O shape as something seemed to click. "Oh, oh you're being serious." "Of course I…hey!" Vivi was cut off as long slim fingers found their way into her hair, feeling along her scalp. "Did you hit your head, is that why you can`t remember Lewis?" Vera pulled one of her arms back and help up four fingers in front of Vivi's face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" This was getting ridiculous; Vivi had enough of her sister trying to tell her that she had forgotten someone, someone who was supposedly her boyfriend. Like she would ever forget someone special like that. Besides, she was curtain that amnesia doesn't work that way. You don't just forget a single person's existence and nothing else, right?
Vivi smacker her sister's hand away, "I don't have a concussion! Will you stop that, what part of I don't know a Lewis don't you understand? Why are you pushing it so hard?" Vivi didn't mean to raise her voice, but she really wasn't in the mood to deal with this, not with Arthur in such critical condition. But before she could stand up to calm herself down, she saw Vera pull out her phone from a pocket in her scrub bottoms. It was an older model then Vivi's and was in a worn, chipped hot pink case. "If words alone won't work then I'll just have to show you a picture I took of the two of you at the New Year's party." Their family had held a small party at their house new years, though Vivi was curtain that there was no Lewis there.
With no way of stopping her sister, Vivi sat and watched as Vera pulled up the picture she had mentioned. Vivi wasn't sure what to expect, how her sister could have a picture of her with someone that doesn't exist. Vera swiped her finger over her phone, her eyes scanning her screen intensely. "No, no, there it is!" A look of triumph crossed the elder sister's face. "This is you and your boyfriend," Vera said as she turned the phone around to show Vivi. But when Vivi tried to look at the picture her sister was showing, she found herself unable to focus on it. Her head started to hurt, as well as the space behind her eyes. Vivi was so focused on trying to blink the pain away that she missed her sister gasp in shock. Once her vision cleared, she found herself looking at a strange sight. Displayed on her sister's phone was a picture of Vivi at the family new year's party, as well as a…purple blur? Wait, what? There was no way that could be real, why would there by a large human shaped blur in the picture next to her.
Vivi looked up at her sister's wide eyes, her question dying on her lips as she saw just how spooked Vera looked. The pink cased phone slipped from her manicured hand and hit the tile floor. Luckily the thick casing prevented the cell from cracking any further.
"What the hell was that Vivi?"
Was Vera, scared? The older sister put her hand up to her mouth, "You're eyes, Vivi, they, why did they…" Vera couldn't seem to get a coherent sentence out. She was that startled. The only other time Vivi had seen her sister look that way was when their grandma had her stroke last year. Now Vivi was starting to get scarred. Without thinking, Vivi grabbed hold of her sisters shaking hand with her own. Holding them tightly as she looked into freighted blue eyes that looked just like her own. "What are you talking about Vera, what's wrong with my eyes?"
Vera opened and closed her mouth several times before finally getting out, "They glowed Vivi, and didn't you feel it. Your eyes starting glowing with this magenta light when you looked at the picture." Vera took a jagged breath, "That wasn't normal Vivi, what in the hell have you gotten yourself involved in!?" Vera lowered her voice from its near scream to a lower, frightened whisper. "Is that, is that why Arthur's hurt, why you can't remember Lewis? Did you finally manage to bit off more than you can chew" The younger bluenett could only stare blankly. Vivi's brain refused to work; she hadn't heard that correct, right? There was no way her sister had just told her that her eyes glowed. And what was that part about Arthur and…Lewis? What was Vera getting at; nothing supernatural happened in that stupid cave! Arthur was just mauled by a wild animal, and no Lewis had been there! How many times did she have to tell her sister that before she dropped it?
But the part about her eyes glowing magenta bothered her the most. Had her eyes actually, glowed? Is that why the back of her eyes had started to hurt when she had first tried to look at the photo with the strange blur? Wait, hadn't she seen a similar blur back at the cave that she also hadn't been able to focus on. What did that mean, had something happened? That familiar feeling of unease returned, but Vivi pushed it away. She didn't have time to think about that. Vivi opened her mouth question her sister further, but never got the change. At that moment a gruff voice filled the small waiting room.
"What the hell happened to my boy, Vivi!?"
Vivi snapped her head to the sound of the enraged voice. Standing at the waiting room doorway was none other than Lance Kingsmen, Arthur's uncle. The older man's eyes were full of fear and anger as he stared her down. Lance wasn't a very tall man, about a foot shorter then Arthur. But despite his lack of height, he was a thick, stout man who Vivi was curtain could take down anyone who got in his way. He was wearing a championship belt after all, even if he did deny it. Vivi's words failed her; an image of a bleeding out Arthur appeared in her mind's eye. Guilt and nausea crashed back into her like a wave. She had been so focused on the Lewis issue that she had managed to get her mind off of Arthur. Of his to pale body losing too much blood. Now there was no escaping the memory.
She once again felt his warm blood dripping from her hands; the scent of iron filled her nose. Suffocating her with its thick odor. She could even taste it in the back of her throat. She was back in that dark cave again, Arthur bleeding out before her very eyes. Vivi's breath hitched, her head started to grow hazy. Her body started to feel light and heavy all at once. Oh God she couldn't breathe, she couldn't…her thoughts started to fall apart. Vivi couldn't get a coherent thought to form, her mind starting to loop as all she could see and feel was Arthur bleeding out in front of her. Arthur Dying in front of her…
A high pitched wailing sound found its way in Vivi's ears, growing louder by the second. It took a moment for her to realize that the sound was coming from her own throat. Everything was swirling, she couldn't breathe. Her hands were covered with her friend's voice, she can't breathe. Vivi had started to hyperventilate; a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her middle, gently holding her in place. Though Vivi barely noticed as her body shook uncontrollably. Vivi didn't even realize that she had started to cry again. Oh God, why can't she stop crying?
"Vivi, you have to calm down, steady your breathing." A voice that sounded like her sister's drifted in, though it sounded far away. "Holy shit, is she ok?" The gruff voice of Lance broke through the static consuming Vivi's thoughts. More words seeped through, though they came through broken. "Where's Lewis…don't know…Vivi's memories…call doctor…breath…" Finally, everything turned black. Vivi's mind finally went blank as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Outside in the parking lot, a small bloodstained dog laid within the darkened interior of the orange van's front seat. Mystery laid his stained muzzle onto his front paws, his floppy ears pressed against his head. His heart was weighed down with soul crushing guilt. He didn't even have the will to use an illusion to make himself invisible to fallow Vivi. He couldn't bear to see her hurt, especially sense it was his fault that Arthur was in this mess in the first place. After all these centuries, Mystery had never felt like this before. He knew that humans were fragile, that they lived short lives and died so easily. Yet it was different to see it up close and personal with those he considered his family. Despite his appearance, Mystery wasn't the normal little doggie he pretended to be. He was in fact a powerful kitsune who has lived several hundred years, the six tails he had in his true form was proof of that. He had the ability to create powerful illusions that could pass for reality, and take human form whenever he pleased. Though he still struggled to keep all of his tails hidden. And yet, he couldn't do anything for Arthur except mutilate him.
Arthur, who had cared for him as though he was his own dog and loved him just as much as Vivi did. Who had done so much for him over the years. Mystery could still remember the constant head pats and belly rubs Arthur would give him. Vivi had been no better, pats and rubs always being given. He might not be a real dog, but he still loved attention. And he was curtain that if had been a real dog; he would be spoiled rotten with the amount of attention he got.
Mystery whined heartbroken, his tail tucked between his back legs. He pawed at the blood that covered his muzzle. At one point in his past, the feeling of blood in his fur wouldn't have made him bat an eye. But now, to have his fur covered with Arthur's turned his stomach. It was an awful feeling. Blood still coated the inside of Mystery's mouth from when he had seized hold of Arthur's arm and tore it clear from his body. Mystery hadn't wanted to do that, he never wanted to harm any of his special humans, especially not Arthur. The young man was already easily scared enough as it is.
But he did what he had to. As a fellow spirit, he had no way of properly exercising the evil spirit from the blonde's body. Spirits don't have the ability of exorcism, that right belonged only to humans. Which had left the disguised dog with no other option than to forcibly rip the demon from the blonde's body. Though he knew that would have consequences of its own later down the road. The memory would forever be burned into Mystery's memories, as well as the taste and smell of his friend's blood. And now there was a chance that Arthur wouldn't make it, and it would be his entire fault. In his attempt to save him, Mystery had almost killed him in the process. And that wasn't even the worst of what haunted the dog's mind. Not only had he failed Arthur, but Lewis as well. Lewis, who that spirit had killed using Arthur's body. The kind, loving softie of a giant had deserved better then getting left behind in that dark cavern. He could still hear the sound of Vivi screaming after Lewis had been pushed over the cliff.
Now that Mystery thought about it, he had found it odd that Vivi hadn't mentioned Lewis to the paramedics who had arrived to help Arthur. Actually, why hadn't she mentioned him when she first called 911? Something wasn't right. Thinking about it, Mystery realized that he had felt something off about her when she had found them in the tunnel, though he had been too focused on Arthur to pay it any mind. There had simply been more pressing matters at the moment.
Mystery was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the jingling of keys. His ears perked up at the sound, was Vivi back to get him. The very idea made his stump of a tail wage in excitement. But was soon faced with confusion when the driver's door opened, causing the automatic lights on the roof of the van to came on. Instead of Vivi, the elder Yukino sibling stood in the open doorway. Vera wore her normal hospital scrubs as well as a dark blue huddie. Both Sisters loved the color blue for some reason.
In Vera's right hand, Mystery noticed that she held Vivi's key chain. Vivi most have given it to her for some reason. A thought crossed the dog's mind. Vivi most have asked her sister to take me home while she waits to see if Arthur will be ok. Mystery didn't like the idea, but it made sense. Vivi was a responsible woman who wouldn't just leave a small dog locked in a van all night. And while Mystery didn't want to leave there side, he knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn't even go into the hospital to comfort Vivi properly.
Mystery heard Vera gasp as she saw the blood on him. "You poor baby, I'm going to have to bath you good when I get you home." So Mystery had been right. Vera reached behind the seat and grabbed a blanket that Arthur had been lounging on at one point and used it to pick him up. It was clearly to keep his bloodstained fur from getting her clothes stained. That to made sense. Mystery let Vera pick him up with the blanket, and carry him out of the van. Once she locked it back up, Vera carried him down several rows before stopping in front of her own car, which wasn't much to look at. But it was still nice all the same. Still keeping him wrapped up, Vera placed him in the passenger's seat then got in herself. The sound of the door slamming fallowed by the engine and headlights coming to life, filled Mystery with sadness. He knew he wasn't saying goodbye, but it hurt to have to leave while his remaining to humans stayed behind.
It didn't take too long for Vera to pull up into the Yukino family's driveway. Vera got out with Mystery, once more locking her car door. The two quietly entered the house, everyone else being asleep. It was late after all. Vera was especially quiet passing her grandmother's room, which was the only bedroom on the first floor. From what Mystery has observed, the elderly woman wasn't able to walk up stairs anymore. Like Vera had mentioned when first getting Mystery out of Arthur's van, she took him straight to the upstairs bathroom. While he hated baths, he hated being covered in Arthur's blood even more. It had taken much longer then Mystery would have liked for Vera to scrub the drying blood out of his white fur. Let's just say a lot of doggie shampoo was used. Once Mystery was all squeaky clean, Vera wrapped him in his red bath towel and started drying him off.
Mystery was both mentally and physically exhausted when Vera took him with her to her bedroom at the end of the hall by Vivi's. Both girls still lived at home, though Vivi spent most of her time on the road with the Mystery Skulls. But considering what had transpired tonight, that would no longer be the case. Mystery jumped up onto Vera's bed as she changed into a set of PJs she pulled out of her dresser. Once the older Yukino sister got into bed, Mystery pressed himself against her side. Mystery already knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. This being proven true as Vera long sensed fell into a deep sleep while Mystery remained awake at her side, his heart broken to many pieces to count.
Notes:
Well that was a dark chapter; hopefully the next one won't be so bad, though I can't guarantee it. I got the idea for Vera while writing; I got the idea of Vivi being comforted by a relative in the waiting room. I wanted to show Vivi's trauma over Arthur sense most fanfics I read are about Arthur's trauma over Lewis. I hoped you like it and like before, please leave a comment to let me know what you thought.