Vivi was okay. At least, that was what she was telling herself, over and over again. You're okay, you're okay, you're safe now. No matter how many times she thought it, though, it didn't help. She wasn't taking the news very well that her boyfriend, who was now a furious, flame-spitting ghost, had died because of some accident in a cave. Not only that, but now, said boyfriend, who she didn't even REMEMBER that well, was chasing after her best friend for who-knows-what-reasons, and wanted to kill him.

Oh, and her pet dog was actually some kind of demonic wolf-fox and had tried to eat her just ten minutes ago. So, overall, not a great day for Vivi.

Vivi, after driving with her pedal foot to the floor and her eyes on the rear view mirror for half of the trip back into town, finally felt safe enough to glance down at the little ghost coiled up in the passenger seat. It was asleep, purring in its musical way, using Vivi's purse as a pillow. "And what am I supposed to do with you now?" she asked the ghost rhetorically. Looking back at the road, she did her best to focus. She couldn't go back to the mansion, that much was certain. But, then, could she go home? Mystery knew where she lived, and he wasn't likely to stick around at the mansion; one thing she knew about that dog, there was no stopping him when he was hungry. What could she do? She had nowhere to go, except maybe the Tome Tomb, and even that wasn't really –

Wait. Maybe that was her answer. Duet, her boss, LOVED collecting ancient texts about the supernatural. He was also probably the only one in the city, besides Arthur, who would believe that her dog had turned into a giant demon. Duet could probably tell her what Mystery was, and how to avoid him. Maybe she'd find a way to find Arthur while she was there, too. The small ghost, disturbed by a bump in the road, opened its eyes sleepily, and murmured an inquisitive yawp in Vivi's direction.

"Hey, little guy. Don't worry, we're going to see some friends of mine," Vivi told the spirit, rubbing its head again. The little ghost purred again, leaning on Vivi's purse to get closer. However, the purse snapped oven, and the ghost tumbled inside. Vivi, who was watching the road, could only watch with a sideways glance and a giggle, as she said, "You alright?" In response, the little ghost's head popped up out of the purse's opening, a book of Latin perched on its head like a roof. Vivi laughed again as the spirit cocked its head at her voice, setting the book at an amusing tilt.

Getting over her laughter fit, Vivi said to the ghost, "You know, I still need a name for you. What should I call you?" All she got in response was another yawp. "Well, 'yawp' isn't exactly a name. It should be something catchy, something that fits…" Vivi always named things by the way she reacted with them. Mystery had gotten his name thanks to the mysterious circumstances of how she found him. He had appeared, suddenly, while Vivi and her parents had been out for the day in the park. Vivi's parents tried to find the owner, but found no one who claimed a dog by his description. At Vivi's insistent begging, he had become a part of the family, and they had remained inseparable ever since. Until now, anyway…

But before Vivi could sink back into her funk, the small ghost had managed to climb out of her purse, the Latin book still balanced on its head. It had managed to clamber up onto the dashboard, only to fall off when Vivi approached a red light, sending both it and the Latin book tumbling. Laughing again, Vivi stopped when she saw the name on the Latin book: Vox Latinae Populi.

"That's it!" Vivi cried, getting another curious look from the small ghost. She continued on, saying, "That's your name!" she said triumphantly, pointing to the words on the cover.

"Vox!"

The small ghost looked at the book, then back to Vivi, then at the book again. "Well, do you like it?" Vivi asked. The ghost turned back to her, opened his maw in a toothy smile, and gave an excited trumpet in his joy. Vivi smiled at the newly christened ghost, and returned her attention to the road, pulling off to a store on the right. It was decorated in black, with macabre images and symbols covering the walls. In neon blue, the words "Tome Tomb" could be made out on a sign hung over the double doors. Vivi parked the van and grabbed her purse, with Vox still inside it, peeking out of the opening in the bag.

She pushed open the double doors, and an automated, haunting jingle beeped as she did so. Behind the checkout desk, a man was facing away, looking down, his long raven hair ending in starkly bright colored highlights. Hearing the tune of the door opening, he spread his arms to either side, and said in a dramatic voice as he turned, "Seeker of the occult, be welcome." Then, when he was finally facing Vivi, he opened his eyes and saw who it was.

"Oh, Vivi, it's you." With that, he dropped his arms to his sides, and casually walked out from behind the cashier stand, losing his dramatic inflection. "If you're looking for some extra hours, I think I have some shelves that need restocking."

Vivi shook her head, always amused by Duet's dramatism. If the man wasn't so set on all things supernatural, he could have been an actor. "Sorry, Duet, I don't have time for overtime today. I need a favor."

Duet's eyes widened slightly under his long, slightly greasy bangs, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile. "What kind of favor?"

"I need some help identifying a spirit. Also, if you have anything on how to find a missing person, that would be great."

"Missing person? Nothing I should be worried about, I hope?"

"Oh, I'm sure that it's nothing. Arthur left his uncle's house a couple days ago and he hasn't come back yet. He isn't returning my calls either. Arthur's a smart guy, Duet, I know that he can't be in any real trouble."

Duet made an unconvinced face. "I see. Well, I don't know about your missing friend, but an unknown spirit? I KNOW I can help you there." He walked to a door marked "Employees only" and returned with a large, old book. He set it down gently on the register counter and said to Vivi, "Well, Vivi, if your elusive spirit is one that's been recorded at all during history, it should be in here." Vivi thanked him, and then turned to open the book. Duet suddenly looked sharply at her, and Vivi gave him a quizzical look. Duet slowly raised his arm and pointed at her purse. Quietly, he said to her, "Vivi. Dear. It appears to me that you have a straggler from your last bust." Vivi looked down at her purse to see Vox peeking out at the book. Seeing Duet's pointing finger, the little ghost spiraled out of Vivi's purse and around Duet, eliciting a high squeal from Duet that Vivi didn't think his voice was capable of reaching.

Intervening, Vivi quickly said "Oh, sorry, sorry! Duet, this little guy helped me escape from the spirit chasing me."

"Vox," Vivi said, turning to the ghost encircling her frightened boss, "This is Duet. He's a friend. BE NICE." Vox turned to face the man staring up at him and chirped merrily, giving him a snuggle with his ribbon body. Duet, who fared better in supernatural theory than practice, tentatively petted the ghost, watching its movements for any sign of aggression. With introductions settled, Vivi returned her attention to the book, with Vox peering over her shoulder. While she read, Duet asked her, "So Vivi, what exactly is this spirit that you're looking for? You're not usually one to not know what ghosts are which."

"It's a Fiver, Duet. It got the jump on me while I was investigating a house just outside of town."

"A Greater Spirit?" Duet was suddenly much more interested, his fear from meeting Vox all but gone. "What did he look like? Did he have a natural body like they say? I've always wanted to find out how an organic body can manage to hold such magical power without augmentation or total reconstruction. Do you think that he…"

While Duet began to excitedly babble on, Vivi tuned him out and turned towards the massive index of the book. It was old, so it likely wouldn't have the modern classification of Spirits that she usually relied upon. Fortunately, every description came with an illustration, and eventually, Vivi found what she was looking for.

The hand-drawn image was a fearful one, and it certainly matched what Vivi had witnessed in the Childswood Mansion. The drawing, of an obsidian-black beast with many tails, was of a kitsune. Vivi could have guessed that much, she knew Japanese mythology, but she wanted specifics. She read on, skimming through whole passages depicting the vast powers of a kitsune, how they fed on the flesh of humans, their shapeshifting abilities. None of it was relatively helpful. It talked in detail about what made them strong, but almost nothing spoke on what made them weak. There was something very vague hinted at about "an energy reserve depleted", but the old tome didn't continue any further.

Duet looked at the image that Vivi had turned to, and stopped speaking dead in his tracks. "Wait, Vivi, THAT's what you saw in your investigation?"

"It looks pretty cool, if you ask me!"

Duet and Vivi both looked up to see a girl dressed in green robes, her wide eyes and face obscured by a hood. Vivi sighed. Chloe was always excited about this sort of thing. Vivi was, too, of course, but Vivi's love of the supernatural came from a love of learning. Chloe mostly wanted to…what was it she always said? 'Find me an undead boyfriend?' Vivi was convinced that Duet had had her working too long in the 'Young Adults Fantasy' section. Chloe was always begging to tag along on a ghost hunt, but Vivi had told her that she needed some time to grow up a little more first.

"Chloe, it's not 'pretty cool', this spirit just tried to eat me earlier today. I need to find a way to keep it from catching up to me."

"Um, I don't know if that's going to work, Viv."

"And why is that, Chloe?" Vivi had returned to the book, eyes focused on her task.

"Well, I'm just guessing, here, but does it have a lot of tails, like in the picture?"

"Yes, Chloe."

"And does it kinda look like a mix between a wolf and a fox, like in the picture?"

"YES, Chloe."

"And does it kinda look a little like your dog?"

"YES CHL –" Vivi stopped and looked up, confused. "Wait, how did you know that it looks like my dog?"

"Because it's standing outside the doors right now." Chloe pointed a billowy green sleeve towards the front entrance. Whirling around, Vivi saw what she was talking about. There, waiting for her patiently outside, tails blowing in the wind, was Mystery.

Freezing, Vivi couldn't bring herself to break eye contact with the spirit. Edging slowly to Duet, she said quietly, "Duet, take Chloe and go hide in the back. I'm the one he wants." Nervously nodding, Duet grabbed Chloe by the arm and scooted out into the back room. Watching them leave, Vivi sighed with relief. She turned back around…

And Mystery was inside, not five feet away from her.

Startled, Vivi bumped into the cashier table behind her as Mystery pawed silently forward. Vox, having had enough of being bullied by bigger spirits, encircled Vivi protectively, raising its claws and squawking discordantly at the kitsune. Mystery gave the little ghost an unimpressed look, and growled in response, making the whole shop vibrate. Frightened, Vox rushed inside of Vivi's purse, shaking the bag with his quivering. Looking up from the purse, Vivi turned and set her face against the spirit facing her. If Vox could be brave enough to stand up to Mystery, then so could she. Before she could say something defiant to him, though, Mystery opened his own mouth and said,

"Well, now you know what I am. This wasn't how I planned for you to find out. But now, it seems that I have some explaining to do."