Note: Meynung Shiker sounds like May-nung Shy-ker. Also, note, on occasion there will be choices the characters make that may sound like I'm advocating/against something. That is not the point. This is character study, not moralizing. Whether I approve or disapprove of character choices has nothing to do with what they actually do.

…...

"Yoo hoo, anybody home?" Arthur waved his hand in front of Lewis' face. "You've got that big, dumb grin again. You're clogging up the shop with little hearts, can you take it outside or move in with her already?"

"Ha, ha, Artie. Very funny." Lewis rolled his eyes. "I didn't come to get teased, I get enough of that back home. I came for help with Chem."

"Yeah, and while you were waiting for me, you zoned out into Vivi-land." Arthur spun a wrench for emphasis. "And who says I'm kidding?"'

Lewis' incredulity was maddening. "Come off it, Artie. You know that can't happen."

"Uh, no, actually, I don't. How come you're so sure?"

Lewis pulled up a tire and plunked down on it. "I don't think there's really any need. I mean, she's got her things going, and I've got mine. We've got it good right now. No need to mess it up or anything."

"Whoah, whoah, hold up there. Mess it up? Are you kidding me? Hello, planet purple, come in planet purple. Her goo-goo eyes are worse than yours!" Arthur grabbed a rag, wiping his hands on it. "You may be her boyfriend, but I've been her pal since high school. There's things she tells me first because there's higher stakes telling you. I guarantee you it's one question away from happening."

Arthur smirked, satisfied at the little jaw-drop and sudden tugging at the purple ascot his declaration had induced. He squatted in front of Lewis. "So the real question here is, what's the holdup? For real."

Lewis' hand drifted up to rub the back of his neck, his eyes fixed on the concrete.

"Lew? C'mon. Please. Gimme something, anything. Don't shut down now."

The hands dropped down to his lap, folding together. "I just…" He swallowed.

"You afraid of what she'd gonna see under the fancy shirtsleeves?" Arthur snickered. His laughter vanished as Lewis' shoulders hunched. "Lewis, you serious? Is this about the scarring? She knows about that, right?"

Lewis gave a small nod.

"I didn't mean to kid if that's it, but is that really it?"

Lewis' thumbs circled each other hesitantly. "It's not about the scarring. It's why."

Arthur held his breath. Lewis never talked about it, and Arthur had long given up trying to pry more information out of him. But if he was offering…

"I have… still… sometimes… I have nightmares." Lewis gathered himself every couple of words, watching his thumbs weave around each other. "I can't really remember them. I'm really confused and disoriented after. My… family… doesn't really know. I lock my door. I have… methods of… keeping quiet."

Arthur lowered himself to the ground carefully, afraid to make a sound and break his friend's stream of thought.

Lewis finally lifted his face, and it pained Arthur to see him look so lost. "You're… you're supposed to share a lot more when you move in. It just… happens." He unbuttoned his sleeve, pulling it back to touch the marks on his skin. They'd faded since Arthur had first seen them as a kid, but it was still obvious something had worked Lewis over pretty thoroughly. "I don't even know if I'm dangerous like that, Artie. 'Cause nobody else is around for it. If we move in together…"

Arthur released a long breath, scratching his sideburns. "I see what you mean. But Lewis, you're nuts for Vivi, and she's pretty crazy over you."

"But what if that's not enough?" Lewis blurted. "What if she freaks out, what if I hurt her?"

"You didn't let me finish. Listen, if you two are this ga-ga for each other, eventually you were gonna get this close, right? Or didn't you think this part through?"

"I actively tried not to think much further than this step."

Arthur tilted his head. "So you weren't thinking of settling down with her for the long haul? Never crossed your mind?"

Flushing crimson, Lewis tugged on his ascot again. "Well, yes, but I... don't…" He cleared his throat repeatedly.

"My point is, eventually this was going to happen. Either you'd get closer or drift apart. Which one are you more interested in?"

"Closer," Lewis mumbled.

"Even if you're scared?"

"But what if I-"

Arthur held up a hand. "Just answer me first."

"Yes."

"Okay. So, how smart is Vivi? Oh, gods, not the eyes again. Okay, just by your face, you think she's brilliant. Yes, I agree. So, how about you ask her, and let her know a few of your concerns ahead of time?"

"Tell her?" Panic edged Lewis' voice.

"What's the alternative? Surprising her? Unless you think you can keep these suppressed somehow."

Lewis dropped his head, rubbing his neck.

"Hey, Lew. Remember something about Vivi." Arthur put a hand on Lewis' knee. "She's scared you'll see things about her too."

"But what if she sees things she can't live with?" He asked. "I don't think… I couldn't take it, Artie."

"You're never gonna know like this, Lew. It's your choice whether or not to ask, but if you don't, she might."

Lewis' head jerked up, a panicked expression on his face.

"Sorry, Lew. You know Vivi."

"I do, oh man oh man, what am I gonna do?"

"Head her off at the pass. Ask her. Trust that maybe, just maybe, things will turn out better than you could have hoped. Personally?" Arthur stood, flipping his wrench. "I can't see anything ever coming between you two."

…...

Vivi's jaw ached from its clenched position. Squire's jaw was set pretty hard too, and she was glad. Angry Squire was a clearer thinker than scared Squire, and she needed those gears turning.

Whatever Mystery had done, it worked like a charm. Nobody commented on their passing, in spite of Kay's full-fledged plumage and soft sobbing. Back at the hotel room, Arthur pulled Kay over to the bed and sat against the headboard, cradling her. He looked ridiculous, nearly buried in gold feathers as Kay clung to him, and Vivi had the vague sense she would be teasing him under any other circumstances. She couldn't muster even half a smile over Dulcie's hairclip, still embedded in Arthur's hair.

Her pocket had gained several ounces of weight on the trip over. The talisman had made its way back to her. She'd kept her mouth shut, but now she fingered the box in her pocket. "Squire. You and Kay stay here, all right? Try to calm down and piece what you can together. I'm going to get some more answers for us."

Arthur lifted his head, eyes wide, as Mystery growled, "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"To have a little heart to heart with my boyfriend." Vivi crossed her arms. "And don't even start about how dangerous he is. He may have a bullseye on Arthur and Kay right now, but he ran as soon as I showed up."

"He ran as soon as we showed up," Mystery corrected. "He knows what I could do to him."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you think he'd hurt me. Go on, I dare you."

"Vivi, I no longer know what he's capable of. Before today, I would have said no, of course not. Now? I'm not sure."

Vivi turned to the door, tucking her scarf around her neck. "Yeah, well, I have five ways to send him to hell if he so much as twitches. I'm not afraid of him, and it's about time somebody gave me a straight answer. Mystery, if you give a rip about the Skulls, I need you to stand guard for Arthur and Kay." She paused, taking a breath. "I know you care. I'm sorry. Just… please, stay here. I promise I can handle myself."

Mystery walked over, dropping his forehead to nudge her shoulder affectionately. The dog-like motion startled a laugh from her, and she turned to give him a hug. "I promise I'll be back."

"I'm counting on it."

A knock on the wall turned her back to Arthur, who signed, Be careful.

Her lips tightened, but she gave a curt nod. "Will do."

…..

There was a small bridge they'd driven over on the way into town. Moss trailed in uneven patches along the stones and mortar that made up the waist-high guardwall. It spanned a bramble-choked creek, swollen to gurgling by recent rains. Vivi parked the van on the side of the road, just before the bridge, and crossed directly to the middle. Gripping the little gray box in her hand, she held it out over the creek and released it, ears attuned to the creek.

There was no splash.

"So are we just going to play fetch, then?" She crossed her arms. "I don't get a say in whether or not I even want this thing anymore, you're just going to dump it on me every chance you get?"

"Like hell I'm letting you walk into whatever you're planning without protection."

Vivi spun to the right. There he was, crouched on the roof of the van, cupping his hands around the box.

"I don't care if you don't like what it stands for anymore. You're the one that chose it as a protective talisman. If you cast something like that for you and," he paused, his eyes narrowing as he grated out, "and for him, that means you're looking for trouble. That means you need this."

She stood there, clenching and unclenching her fingers, staring up at him.

"You owe me so. Many. Answers," she snarled.

He turned his head away.

"Don't even. There are huge, gaping holes in my memory, and in spite of the fact I've collected at least four boxes of your stuff from my place, everything I know about you is second hand information. Though lately, I've come to question the 'loving brother' and 'best friend' bit."

His hair prickled, but he said nothing.

"Apparently I was madly in love with you one day, and an amnesiac the next. All I know is that you were there that night, because they dragged your corpse out of the cave. So." She cracked her neck, leaning forward. "What exactly happened that's so terrible, I can't even remember you? Or would you prefer to start with why you tried to murder my best friend? Oh, I know, how about telling me how the fickle frockmaster you know Duet, and why he has the same ghosts you do! And while we're at it, should I be calling your house and telling them to lock up Dulcie so she's safe from you too?" She took a step forward. "Should I call Juvenile Hall and tell them to put Aji in maximum security, if there even is such a thing for her age range? Tell me, who all's on your hit list Lewis he's-such-a-great-guy Pepper? Lewis he'd-never-hurt-anyone-such-a-catch-Vivi-can't-believe-he's-gone-you-must-be-devastated Pepper!"

The eyesockets widened with each sentence, his glowing retinas snuffing out until black hollows stared down at Vivi.

"Aji's… in… prison?" he faltered.

Vivi threw up her hands. "Unbelievable. Have you really been so dead set on Arthur you just skipped over the rest of your family and, I don't know, checking to see how they were? Remind me why I supposedly liked you, again?"

His skull retreated into his neck-hollow like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.

Vivi crossed her arms. "So. You're missing info and I'm missing info. As much as I'd love to send you to your final rest in pieces right now, I happen to have committed to helping someone who seems to have peripheral ties to you." She gritted her teeth. "And right now, I don't give a pig's foot for anything having to do with you, but Arthur is running himself ragged trying to take care of your sisters. Something you're failing pretty miserably at."

Pink flames crackled from the neck of the suit.

"So for his sake and Chloe's, I'm willing to stand here and exchange information with you." Her shoulders rose to her ears. "And if you answer every single one of my questions, I'll take the talisman back. Otherwise you can fish it out of the next ten dumpsters."