Back again! Only a few more chapters to go, hopefully I'll have this done within the next few weeks. Fingers crossed~

Thank you to SailorCandy and Ryukaru for your reviews! Lol, SailorCandy, I know it's sad about Masamune and Kyoya- they were added initially when I didn't know what the pairings would be so I'd have options. I mean, it could always be a "pair the spares" scenario and we could ship them XD I can't imagine that ending well at all.

I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.

Sophie screamed when Hikaru walked into the condo. The other girl was coated in mud, rain dripping from her matted hair.

Mei Mei came racing down the stairs. "What's wrong?" She also let out a yelp of surprise as soon as she saw her best friend.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?"

Hikaru shook her head. "I'll explain everything later. I have to shower and get the police station. Now."

"Police station? What? Hikaru, what the hell is going on?" Sophie asked impatiently.

She didn't bother answering. Sophie and Mei Mei stared at each other, confusion and concern washing over them.

The door opened. Neither of them made any motion toward it, assuming Madoka had returned from visiting Gingka.

"Is she ready yet?"

Sophie barely contained her gasp. What was he doing back here again still looking for her, of all people? She told him earlier Hikaru wasn't there, so how had-

Ryuga tapped his foot impatiently, holding his shoulder for some reason. He was also soaked, but not nearly as muddy as Hikaru.

"What do you want?" Sophie steeled herself. If Ryuga had something to do with what happened to Hikaru, she was going to lose it.

"It's okay, Soph," Hikaru came down the stairs. She turned her attention to Ryuga. "They picked him up?"

"Yeah," Ryuga nodded. "But we need to get there now and explain what happened. I don't want him to try and bullshit them before we've had our chance to speak."

Hikaru nodded, already halfway out the door.

"Wait!" Sophie called. "What's going on? Can't you tell us anything?"

Hikaru paused, not turning to face her friend. "Charles Melcher attacked me. I can explain everything when I get back, but right now we need to get to the police station, before it's too late."

Without another word, the pair was gone, leaving Sophie and Mei Mei very lost.

Shortly after, Madoka arrived back at the condo. It took seconds for her to realize something was off. The atmosphere in the condo was somehow tense. Sophie and Mei Mei were both on the couch, anxious looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" she asked slowly.

"We don't have all the details," Sophie began calmly. "But Hikaru was attacked today."

"What!? Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Mei Mei reassured her. "She's with Ryuga right now. They're both at the police station, making a statement."

"But who attacked her? Why?" Dozens of questions ran wild through Madoka's head.

"Charles Melcher," Sophie frowned. "That was all she told us before they left."

"Charles Melcher?"

Sophie shrugged. "That's all she said. I'm sure there's more to it, but she wasn't very forthcoming. Add to that the fact she's with Ryuga- honestly, I have no idea."

Knowing she wasn't going to get any more answers, Madoka went up to the room she shared with Mei Mei, hoping to distract herself. Things had gotten more out of control than she'd ever thought possible.

Her eyes fell upon her open suitcase. Their vacation was beginning to come to a close. She could hardly believe it; it didn't feel like they'd been on the island nearly long enough.

Madoka began sorting through her clothes. If nothing else, there was still time to do laundry once more before the trip ended. The thought comforted her. At least it was familiar, something normal. Meanwhile, everything else she knew, life itself, was spinning wildly out of control. As she organized them, something fell to the ground with a thud- the old shell she'd found on the cliff with Gingka after the storm they'd all gotten caught up in. After all this time, the storm seemed like such a distant memory. The shell- it didn't even seem relevant anymore. With everything else going on, she'd forgotten about it entirely.

She picked it up gingerly. It hadn't broken or cracked from the fall, but she still couldn't decipher the symbols carved into it.

Madoka took the shell into the bathroom. If nothing else, it was sure providing a welcome distraction. Using a discarded makeup brush, she began to wipe away some of the sediments that had slipped into the cracks and the engraving. Once satisfied, Madoka rinsed the shell off, taking care as she washed it.

As she dried it, the markings on the shell became clearer. Wiping it more vigorously, her eyes widened.

Suddenly, she knew exactly why Hikaru had been attacked by Charles Melcher. She just needed to get to the library to confirm her suspicions.

Once she did that, it was off to the police station.

Madoka alerted Sophie and Mei Mei, the three of them on their way in mere minutes.

Hikaru and Ryuga emerged from being interviewed. Hikaru clung close to Ryuga, unsure of what the final outcome would be.

She had told them everything she could, other than the parts about Elise. Even she had to admit it seemed a little far-fetched. Had she not been the one directly involved, Hikaru would have had a hard time believing it herself.

But she had let them know about her unexpected discovery in the woods, his confession, his relentless attack, all of it. Ryuga had even brought the shovel with them. It made her uneasy, but she knew it strengthened their story no matter how uncomfortable she felt. They had done all they could. Somehow, though, Hikaru couldn't help but believe it may not have been enough.

"Do you think they believed us?" Hikaru asked anxiously. She paced back and forth in the waiting room of the police station, nervously awaiting what would happen next.

Ryuga shrugged. "You told them where the bones are; they're obviously gonna check up on that. We just have to wait."

She had filled Ryuga in on everything on the way; he trusted what she said, so she could only hope the police would do the same. There wasn't any point in holding anything back.

She sat down, looking at the floor. "I just wish we had more proof. They can't deny he didn't attack us, but I want justice for Elise. He admitted to killing her out there in the woods, but I can guarantee he won't do it here. It's our word against his, and I'm not sure they'll believe two tourists."

Ryuga touched her cheek. "Hey," he said softly. "Everything will work out. I promise."

She looked up at him. "How can you be so sure?"

"Even if things don't go the way we plan, they're going to recover the bones. They'll do the tests and confirm they belong to Elise. If nothing else, she'll finally get a proper burial after all this time."

She smiled faintly up at him. How his rough demeanor had changed so much in the past few hours was still a mystery.

The doors of the waiting room burst open.

Ryuga jumped back as Hikaru stood up abruptly. She stared in amazement at her three best friends marching through the door.

"What-"

Sophie held up the diary- of course! Why hadn't she thought of that? Madoka held up what appeared to be a shell triumphantly.

"You solved it, didn't you, Hikaru?" Madoka grinned.

"I- Yeah," Hikaru felt herself grinning back. "But what are you doing here?"

"This," Sophie waved the diary, "Is all the evidence we need. You've read the diary, right? Elise was afraid Charles would do something violent. Combine that with what Madoka found out and whatever you've told them, and it's going to be real hard for Charles to convince the police otherwise."

"Explain," Hikaru said excitedly. Finally, they were making progress!

"I found this shell during one of the storms. At the time, it had a bunch of markings I couldn't read. Once I cleaned it up, they became very obvious," Madoka pointed to the shell. "These are Roman numerals, a date to be specific. The year before Charles and Elise were supposed to be married. And these are initials. CM is obvious. The JE is not, however I went to the library on a hunch to check out the local records again. JE are the initials of the woman Charles married a year after Elise went missing."

"She's the girl Elise caught Charles with," Mei Mei concluded.

"No way!" Excitement bubbled up inside Hikaru. Finally, after all these years, the secret of the Wraith Bride had been uncovered.

Hikaru could feel herself getting misty-eyed as she held tight to Ryuga to keep herself steady. Between the four of them, the girls had finally figured out the island's most closely guarded secret.

No matter what Charles said, the evidence was strongly pitted against him.

Several days passed before they woke up to the headline. Charles Melcher had been arrested for the decades old, nearly forgotten murder of Elise Warsaw. The island was shook.

Madoka had already relayed as much of this information as she could to Gingka, who anxiously awaited her updates everyday. Today, however, he was finally being released from the hospital, just in time to enjoy the last few days of their vacation.

It couldn't have come soon enough. She agonized over this ever since the day he'd been admitted. Back then, there'd been no telling whether or not he'd be okay. The entire thing was a nightmare. But now, it was coming to a close, and just in time, too. She'd been afraid Gingka would have to spend extra time in the hospital, alone, when the rest of them had already been forced to leave in order to catch flights. There was no way she could have afforded to stay any longer than they had planned.

She was running slightly late, much to her chagrin, but Kyoya and the rest of the guys had left anyway. She blushed. It was silly to think she'd get any alone time with Gingka, especially on his first day of freedom.

Still, she wanted to see him. So Madoka picked up the pace, panting heavily as she made her way through the town, weaving her way through tourists and merch stands alike.

The heavy crowds had already begun to thin, even with the summer still going strong. Every day, large groups of people became fewer and fewer. It was stark reminder of how little time they had left on their perfect vacation.

Perfect. She had to laugh inwardly at that. This summer had been just about anything but perfect. Sure, plenty had happened and a fair amount of it was good, but between the rollercoaster of a shark attack, drama between everyone, and a literal island legend seeking peace, she was burnt out. As far as she was concerned, the end of her vacation was meant for rest, relaxation, and nothing else.

Madoka entered through the automatic doors of the hospital, and was greeted by a welcome blast of icy air-conditioning. She quickly made her way to the stairs, ready to take her usual, well-worn path to Gingka's room when a nurse stopped her.

"Are you looking for your boyfriend?" She asked kindly. "He was just released about ten minutes ago."

Madoka blushed. "Thanks, but he's not my boyfriend."

The nurse raised an eyebrow.

Madoka left the hospital, groaning as the humid air hit her full force. She had run all that distance for him to be gone? They couldn't be too far ahead of her. Maybe if she ran-

Her phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Madoka!"

"Gingka? Where are you? I just got to the hospital, but they told me you already left."

"Yeah, we must have just missed you. We're all grabbing food, you wanna join in?"

She shifted. "Maybe, I-"

"Hey, you're in the area right? You should head on over. Come to the burger shack; you know the one. You have no idea how much I've missed actual food."

She laughed. "Alright fine, you win. I'll be there soon."

Madoka followed the path she had come in on, slowly taking in the sights once more. It was even less crowded than it had been just a few minutes ago. It wasn't that late yet, but the sun would be setting soon.

She passed the police station, shuddering. Justice had been served, but she was grateful they were done being questioned. None of them had any desire to go back. Charles was finally behind bars, where he belonged.

Still, the memory would remain forever seared in her thoughts.

She paused when she arrived in front of the building. The peachy exterior and inviting deck reminded her of how much she had come to enjoy the island. Tourists were waiting in chairs, animatedly chatting as if there were no concern in the world.

It was funny, when she thought about it. This burger place was the first place they had all gotten dinner together as a group during the early days of their trip. Back then, Gingka had squirted ketchup in her face if she recalled correctly. Now, at the end, it seemed fitting they should end up back here.

Madoka was about to go inside when she heard a voice call her name. She whirled around.

"There you are!" Gingka ran up to her. She didn't realize how much she appreciated seeing him outside of a hospital setting until this moment.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for you! C'mon, the others are already inside."

He grabbed her hand, dragging her inside, not even giving Madoka a chance to protest.

Once they got to the table, he slowed enough for her to get a quick glimpse of everyone. Just a short while ago, the change in dynamics would have shocked her. Now, it hardly registered.

Gingka already had a spot for her, squished against the back wall between him and Mei Mei, who looked quite comfortable next to Chao Xin, Madoka noted with amusement. Sophie and Wales were next to each other, too, holding hands. Sophie looked happier than she'd been in quite a while. Kyoya appeared dismayed to be stuck between Gingka and Masamune, who, predictably, already had the ketchup out.

The only thing that took her slightly aback was the close proximity between Hikaru and Ryuga, but she relaxed almost instantly. After watching the two of them argue for most of the summer, it was nice to see a positive change.

But then, maybe she should've expected it. She was still having difficulty wrapping her mind around the horror they had faced deep in the jungle not too long ago. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to face that nightmare firsthand.

Madoka took her seat.

She couldn't remember the last time they had all been together this happy. She smiled as the waiter came around to take her drink order.

After, she made a pointed effort to remove all condiments from Gingka and Masamune's possession, despite their protests. She shook her head. They needed some peace and quiet for once.

She turned to Mei Mei and began conversing with the other girl.

Dinner was going innocently enough Masamune accidentally spilled his soda. Unfortunately, it fell in Kyoya's direction, effectively soaking both him and the remainder of his burger. Kyoya shot him a death glare.

Masamune gathered as many napkins as he could, but it wasn't nearly enough. They soaked through instantly.

"Napkins! Napkins! Hellooo? We need some more napkins over here!"

Madoka covered her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her laughter. If Kyoya saw her giggling, she'd be the one he would turn his wrath on. Poor Mei Mei wasn't doing much better, but at least she wasn't quite as close to him.

Ever helpful, Gingka tried to assist them in cleaning up the mess. This would have been fine, had Gingka not knocked over his own drink in the process, which also splashed all over Kyoya. This time, Madoka couldn't contain her laughter no matter how hard she tried.

"Are you kidding me?!"

She barely dodged the ketchup packet attack Kyoya whipped in Gingka's direction, pressing up against the wall as much as possible, laughing so hard she might cry.

No, this summer hadn't been perfect by any means, but it was definitely one Madoka would remember forever.