Happy 4th of July! I still think its crazy I started this story the summer before my senior year of high school and it's only now getting finished after I've graduated college... I'm terrible at updating.

Thanks to SailorCandy, striker86, and Exotic girl 26 for reviewing! Hope everyone reading this likes the new chapter; let me know what you think!

I don't own Metal Fight Beyblade.

Sophie yawned, blinking as she came slowly into consciousness. The night before they'd been so excited, thinking they might finally have a lead with all the strange things that had been happening. Looking back, she wasn't so sure. Chasing after a ghost story might just turn up more dead ends.

Sophie walked down the stairs, into the kitchen. Mei Mei was already eating breakfast at the table, much more alert and happier than she'd been in weeks. They'd filled her in on the details once she returned to the condo last night.

Mei Mei had been horrified to learn what had happened to Gingka, but was visibly relieved to hear he was okay. She'd been in an unusually good mood, but when the other girls brought it up, she'd refused to say anything. She'd been much more interested in learning about the Wraith Bride legend than divulging her own secrets.

Hikaru had slipped back to the library to see if she could find out anything more about Elise, specifically with the police search that followed her disappearance. Madoka was gone as well, off to see Gingka.

Sophie yawned again. Their motivation so early in the morning baffled her. They were on vacation, after all.

She took a box of cereal from the cabinet, accidently dropping it off the edge of the counter when she put it down. Something else clattered to the ground, making a metallic clanging sound against the tile floor.

"What was that?" Mei Mei looked up.

Sophie leaned down, noticing a key on the ground with the box of cereal. She picked both up, looking at the key. She recognized it as one Hikaru had shown her weeks ago. None of them knew what it belonged to or where it had even come from; it was as though the key had just appeared in the condo one day.

Sophie pocketed it, figuring she'd ask the guys about it later. She knew Hikaru had planned to ask them about it when they'd originally found it, but Sophie doubted she had ever gotten around to it.

"What's the plan for today?" She joined Mei Mei at the table with her cereal.

"Once Hikaru and Madoka get back, they want to check out the Melcher estate," Mei Mei said, confirming Sophie's suspicions. "If we can't figure out anything there, we'll go to Elise's house."

"Huh," Sophie muttered. She was still skeptical of the whole idea, but like the others, she wanted to know what was going on. She hadn't been with them the night they'd left the club, but she'd seen a strange woman walking the beach during a storm several times since they'd arrived on the island. She couldn't imagine how terrifying it must have been seeing the woman in the dark like that.

"So are you going to tell us what happened to you yesterday?" Sophie didn't bother trying to hide her interest.

"No," Mei Mei smiled faintly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough.

"Hmph."

At that moment, the door opened, revealing Hikaru.

"Find anything?" Mei Mei asked.

Hikaru shook her head. "Not really. Most of the records are locked up at the police station, so there's no chance of me getting access to them. From what I could tell, it didn't look like they had much for suspects, though. She just…disappeared. Some people thought she ran away on her own since there was no evidence of a struggle or anything."

"Oh," Mei Mei looked disappointed.

Hikaru shook her hands. "No, no, don't worry! I still got some information! There was an old lady in there; she asked what I was looking for. She told me she'd been alive when Elise went missing. She had a friend who was a bridesmaid. Elise definitely showed up for the wedding, she got into the dress and everything- but after that the trail went cold. Nobody knew where she went, just that she didn't show up at the altar and no one could find her after that."

Sophie frowned. "I don't like where this is going. Something isn't adding up here."

"I know," Hikaru grimaced. "Madoka should be back any minute. What's there to eat? I'm starving."

Madoka filled in Gingka on the details of what they were doing. He seemed mildly interested to find out what was going on, and was much more awake than he had been the previous day.

"When are you getting out?" She asked.

"The doctor said I should be good to go in a few days," Gingka grinned. "They want to keep an eye on me for a little longer to make sure nothing gets infected or goes wrong."

Madoka smiled back. She was so relieved everything was finally working out the way it supposed to. Well, almost everything. Her smile fell, reminding her of what she was going to be doing later.

She checked the clock; it was almost nine. She needed to get back to the condo soon before the others started getting impatient.

She held Gingka's hand in her own. So much had happened between them in such a short amount of time that she still couldn't believe it herself. They weren't together by any means, but something in their friendship had changed, even if she didn't really know what it was yet.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said at last.

"You've said that five times already," Gingka held back a laugh.

"I know," Madoka leaned back in her chair. "But I can't say it enough. You could have died."

"And I didn't, so you can let it go."

Madoka shook her head, standing up. "Your hair is a mess."

Gingka raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Madoka fought a smile. "It doesn't look any different from normal."

"Wha-Hey!" Gingka said indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Madoka giggled. "I've got to get going, I'll see you later."

Gingka grabbed her arm as she walked away. She looked back at him, sitting up in the hospital bed.

"Be careful, okay?" His eyes were wide with concern. "I'd go with you if I could. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

She looked him in the eye. "I will, I promise. I'll be back before sunset."

"I'll hold you to that."

His grip slipped down to her hand again, and she let it linger there for a few minutes before letting go and making her way back toward the beach.

"Ready?" Hikaru said nervously, as the four girls stood in front of the entrance to the Melcher estate.

"As we'll ever be," Sophie muttered under her breath, but the other girl didn't hear her.

The Melcher house, as Sophie had said, was enormous. It was decorated with elaborate columns, an immense garden path leading up to the door, and intricate statues were present on the porch. Sophie stared at the detailed work on the doorframe. Hikaru pressed the doorbell. It rang, a loud, echoing chime of bells that reverberated through the air around them.

A few minutes later, an old man appeared in the doorway.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking at the girls, puzzled.

"We're looking for Charles Melcher," Hikaru explained. "Do you know where he is?"

The old man eyed them. "What do you want with him?" he asked warily.

"We want to know about Elise Warsaw."

The old man gave a start. "Elise Warsaw is gone. Nobody knows what happened to her. She ran off the day of her wedding." He started to shut the door.

"Wait!" Hikaru said suddenly. "We're trying to figure out what happened to her- we've seen her ghost!"

The old man stopped the door midway. "Many people have seen her ghost over the years," the man said shortly. "Elise is gone." He promptly shut the door.

Hikaru groaned. "Well that didn't go how I expected at all."

Madoka looked at the door thoughtfully. "We know one thing."

"And what's that?" Sophie raised an eyebrow.

"That was Charles Melcher. He's still alive and in the same house."

"How do you know that?" Mei Mei asked.

"There was a picture of him in one of the other books I brought back the other day. I was flipping through it last night since I couldn't sleep. He looks exactly the same as he did in the picture, only older, and that man was way too old to be his son."

"Then it's on to Elise's house," Sophie said, looking none too excited at the prospect. "We'd better get going."

Elise's house was nothing like the Melcher estate, which had been meticulously looked over by a caretaker. The Warsaw house was in shambles, having been abandoned many years ago by the looks of it. Shutters had fallen off the windows, and weeds had grown out of proportion in the small yard. Vines snaked up the side of the wall. Fallen trees and other debris littered the ground around them. The house was set off slightly from the road down a wide dirt path, giving it some privacy from the rest of the world. Mei Mei shuddered; the situation was so bizarre, so eerie.

Hikaru went up to the door, and tentatively twisted the handle. To their surprise, it opened.

The inside of the house was just as unkempt as the exterior. Paint was peeling off the walls and dust coated every surface. It didn't seem as though anyone had been in there in a long time.

"C'mon," Hikaru ushered the other girls in.

They surveyed the area quickly.

"What are we looking for?" Sophie hissed, sticking to the others.

"Anything that sticks out. Something off," Madoka shrugged.

"That's pretty much everything in this entire house."

"Shh!" Mei Mei whispered. She couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched, even though it was very much clear they were alone.

They walked up a flight of stairs, the wood so old and rotted it collapsed under Sophie's weight as soon as she put her foot down. Regardless, they managed to make it up to the second level, taking care to put as little pressure as possible on the steps.

Madoka opened the door to one of the rooms.

It was a bedroom, empty and unused. Stuffed animals were in one corner; a large trunk sat in another. Black and white pictures hung on the wall. The group took a collective breath.

They'd found Elise's room.

"See if you can find anything," Hikaru instructed. "Look for anything unusual." She walked over to the trunk.

Sophie looked at the walls, at the faded wallpaper. A girl had grown up in this room… And disappeared. Now fifty years later, hardly anyone cared, except a group of tourists who had only uncovered her story by chance. Sophie stepped over to the bureau, wiping dust off the mirror. Her own, sad reflection stared back at her.

"It's locked," Hikaru said flatly. "I can't get it to budge at all." Madoka and Mei Mei were standing over her, looking frustrated as well.

Sophie walked over to the trunk, and examined it. A heavy, nauseous feeling dropped into the pit of her stomach. She took out the key she'd found on the counter. "Try this."

Hikaru's eyes widened. She took the key from Sophie, and turned it in the hole. There was a click, and the girls held their breath as the trunk opened.

"How-" Mei Mei started to ask, but Hikaru cut her off.

"Don't."

She lifted the lid. The trunk was filled with varying contents, from clothes to old photos. Hikaru sifted through it, finally taking out what appeared to be a journal.

They froze, footsteps suddenly echoing through the house. Hikaru shoved both the journal and key into her bag and shut the trunk.

"Who's there?" The footsteps began traveling up the stairs. The girls looked at each other in fear.

They screamed as a person came into view, pressing themselves against the wall as a bright light blinded them. A policeman stood in front of them, flashlight in hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Don't you realize this is private property?"

"We-" Madoka started, but the police officer shook his head.

"I've got to take you ladies to the station."

In the end, the girls only spent a few hours at the station, receiving a stern lecture about trespassing. The officer made them promise not to do it again, and let them off easy. The girls nodded; they'd had more than enough of that house to last them. The house had been old and abandoned, and the girls were able to convince him they were just interested in seeing what it looked like on the inside. It was admittedly a weak story, but the officer didn't seem to have any desire to pursue the issue further. Sophie had to wonder if the importance of tourism on the island played a role in that. Maybe this wasn't the first time someone had been caught snooping in that house either.

He'd searched their bags, making sure they hadn't taken anything with them. Somehow, he overlooked the journal. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief; that was the only lead they had left. They didn't dare mention Elise, unsure of how the officer would react.

After leaving the station (the officer additionally had told them he'd be keeping a close watch on them), they returned to their condo. Madoka was itching to get back to the hospital and Mei Mei seemed preoccupied with something as well.

Sophie glanced outside, looking at the horizon. It looked like another storm was coming.

"You don't mind if I go outside, do you?" She asked Hikaru. "Just for a little while."

"Fine," Hikaru said. Madoka and Mei Mei had already left. "I'll start looking through the diary on my own; it's easier that way."

Sophie walked down to the shore, breathing in the ocean air. No matter how much time they'd spent on the island, she still couldn't get over how wonderful it was.

"It's been a while." She turned sharply, recognizing the voice behind her.

"Wales," Sophie said smoothly, regaining her composure.

"I wanted to apologize for the night at the club," Wales said.

"I see," Sophie kept her voice level.

"I didn't mean what I said."

Sophie couldn't conceal her shock. "You-What?"

Wales looked down at the sand. "I thought it would be easier, but I was wrong."

"You-" Sophie could hardly believe her ears. She closed the distance between them, so they were standing inches apart. "If you thought it was easier," she could feel her voice about to crack, "then why did you stop talking to me after that?"

"Because," Wales started, "I knew what would happen. I wouldn't be able to stay away."

Sophie felt the ground disappearing beneath her. All this time- Wales had felt the same way as her. They both knew they were headed in this direction, and they'd both tried to stop it, thinking their friendship was all they'd ever have.

Sophie smiled, but it was weak. "I've been so stupid."

"You're not the only one."

The weeks leading up to the night at the club rushed back to her: the sunset together, the kiss… There had been something behind it after all. She hadn't been imagining it.

Wales shifted. "Can we move past that?"

"Of course," Sophie rolled her eyes. "You think I'd honestly be hung up on that?"

Wales smiled at her. "You never know."

"I think I can look past it," Sophie said playfully. "But you're going to have to do something for me." Wales raised an eyebrow. "Kiss me."

Just as before, their lips met, the kiss more passionate than the first one, the two of them finally able to be together the way they thought their friendship would never allow.

"So I'm forgiven?"

Sophie wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly and felt a thrill go through her as he returned it. She didn't know how long they stood there, but she knew for once everything felt right.