I really wish that I own Hardy Boys and Hell Girl, but alas, I do not...

Enjoy!

"Seems to me that if you're not in danger, you're not happy."

-Aunt Gertrude The Hardy Boys: The Stone Idol

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Frank sat on the cold ground, his hands tied behind his back. He had been blindfolded, too. The man with the gun sat near him, breathing heavily.

Frank didn't cry. He couldn't. All he could do was remember himself calling his mother to say goodbye.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I… I might not see you again."

"Frank, what are you saying?"

"It's almost time. You won't see me in this form again."

"Frank? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… bye Mom. I'll see you again after I cross the line."

He had cried after that. He never wanted to be forced to say goodbye to his mother over the phone like that. But he knew it was his last chance.

It had been two days since he had met the Unforgiving Witch. Two days ago, he decided his path in fate. Frank chose silently, and told Kukiko she wasn't needed anymore. She needed to stay with Ai to protect the damned girl. Frank had to deal with the consequences himself.

The case had gotten messy. The girl had hired a thug to help take out unwanted intrusions. Fenton had almost instantly made himself a target, but with a last minute maneuver, it was Frank who took the hit.

It was like the dream, except this time he could see. He could hear his father coming, shouting for him. Fenton didn't know of the thug.

The brunette swallowed, knowing his warning would be his last words.

"Dad, look out!"

The gunshot rang out as his father shouted, and then the darkness consumed Frank.

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Joe didn't remember much of what had happened. When the girl pulled the string, all he could think about was how he had wanted to talk to his brother. But when he saw Frank's image, as one of her victims…

He went on the boat with Ai to watch the girl, shaking in fear. He had transformed into a panther, and clawed at her stomach. It made him feel better, even though he cried for hours afterwards.

"Mistress, may I speak to my father?"

The question was spoken quietly through the last of his tears. He didn't know why he wanted to talk to Fenton. Something inside him just gently pushed him towards his father for comfort, and the blonde allowed himself to drift in that direction.

"Joe," Kukiko said softly. "Frank's body disappeared. There's still a chance."

Anger bubbled within him. Joe got up, and walked up to the brunette girl. "Why weren't you with him?! Why was he alone?! If you were there-"

"She would have been powerless." The two turned to look at Ai. "The Unforgiving Witch has claimed Frank's soul. She had allowed fate to go this path, and there is nothing I can do about it."

The Unforgiving Witch. Joe had heard stories about the mysterious figure, and at one point, even wanted to meet her. Why would she want Frank?

"Joseph." The blonde quickly allowed his thoughts to disappear as Ai addressed him. "You may speak to your father. We will need his help. Gill has reappeared."

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"Would you like me to do something, Mistress?"

"Thank you for asking, Frank. But no, not yet."

"Gill has come back."

"Yes, he has. We will wait for now, though. It's not our battle, yet."

"When will it be our battle?"

"Be patient. You need to train more."

"Yes, Mistress."

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Fenton had locked himself in his room since he returned from the warehouse. The thug had disappeared, as well as Frank's body…

"Dad." Fenton looked up, and came face to face with his blonde, dead son.

"What…?" Was he hallucinating? Did the shock of Frank's death make his mind replay old memories of Joe?

Joe shook his head, as if he had read Fenton's thoughts. "There's a lot I need to tell you, Dad. I don't know where to start."

The retired PI let out a small chuckle. "Start at the beginning, I guess."

"The beginning…" Joe turned his gaze from Fenton to the window, where the pale moonlight entered the room. "The beginning was the end of my life."

"When you were murdered."

"Yeah." Joe let out a long, slow breath. "When I first arrived in Japan, I heard rumors about Hell Girl. I was so freaked out at first, knowing that this girl comes and basically kill people. Yeah, the victims most often were criminals, but there was still the fact that people were suffering for eternity for something that could have been changed while they were alive."

"The same reason I want to stop Ai Enma," Fenton said softly. "Revenge is not worth it in the long run."

"I met Kukiko on the train to Tokyo before going to school. She told me about stories she had learned while she had stayed with one family before they sent her back to the orphanage due to financial reasons. She told me Ai Enma's story, about how she was damned to do this task for who knows how long…"

"She had a choice, didn't she?"

The blonde shook his head. "You don't know the story, do you? You never asked the Shibatas or anything?"

"No… I always assumed that the story was irrelevant."

"It's not. She tried to get revenge, justice… whatever you want to call it. The village tried to sacrifice her, and her family tried to save her. In the end, her immediate family was killed. She had a cousin, too. She loved him more than anything. But he was forced to start burying her alive." Joe's blue eyes met Fenton's. "She had an unusual power, which she used to burn down the entire village."

"And she became Hell Girl because she want to help others…?"

"No. This is her punishment for her sins." Joe tore his gaze from his father yet again. "I felt so bad after finding that out… I wanted to help her. I told Kukiko that when I died, I would go and offer my services to her. I didn't know how soon I would die then."

"So when you did died…"

"Kukiko and I found Ai Enma, and started helping her," Joe finished. "Last year, when Frank was here, I became upset at myself. Why did I choose the opposite side of a war my brother was trying to fight? I didn't know what to do, other than turn into a black cat and watch Frank run around looking for answers."

"Did he find out?"

"Yeah. Don't know how, but he followed a victim to the gates of Hell. He watched the guy get tortured and all. He told me later that he had dreams about all of the victims after he saw me as a black cat."

"So that's when his dreams started…"

"Frank had them back in the US, too. The dreams weren't as frequent, but he saw everything that happened. He saw ime/i tormenting the victims, sealing the agreement, and sending people to Hell." The blonde sighed. "I told him I could stop, but all he said was that I had a duty to perform, and that I should forget about him…"

"You blame yourself, huh?"

"Completely. What's worse, Frank's spirit is with the Unforgiving Witch, who no one has seen for almost half a century!"

"The who?" The name sounded familiar to Fenton, but where had he heard it before…

"The Unforgiving Witch." For the next half hour or so, Joe explained as his father listened. He talked about the mysterious figure, and how she had killed more than the number of victims Ai had sent to Hell. About how she passed through Heaven, Hell, and Earth with ease. How she was the most feared being, yet had disappeared all of a sudden almost five decades ago.

"Why did she take Frank?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling it's because of all of his visions."

"I see…" Fenton looked at the clock. "It's almost midnight."

"Yeah, it is." Joe got up. "I have to go. But… I'll be back eventually. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day. But I'll be back."

"Okay, Joe." Fenton got up, and embraced the blonde in a hug. His mind was reeling in all the facts that he had learned. "I… I won't interfere."

"Good." Joe pulled away, and walked towards the open window. He placed a foot on the ledge before turning back. "Dad, if you see Gill again, run."

"What…?"

"He's dangerous, Dad. Stay far away from him." With that, Joe jumped out the window.

Fenton ran towards the opening, expecting to see Joe on the ground, bleeding. But instead, a crow rose from the spot under the window, cawing loudly as it flapped into the night sky.

He watched for a bit, before heading back to his bad. The PI laid his head down against the pillow, thinking.

He wasn't completely sure what was reality, but he wanted desperately to believe that he was dreaming. He didn't want to believe that Joe works for Ai Enma, because that would mean they were enemies. They had different views on the word "justice," and that alone stung him. Fenton had always taught his sons the importance of justice and what was right, but now it was all shattered.

Fenton shut his eyes as images of Frank appeared in his mind. Why didn't Frank tell him? Was he worried about a rift forming in the family? Did Frank want to save Joe from any disrespect now he was dead?

One thing was for sure; Frank was the one who was ultimately hurt from this. He was stuck between the two powers, to be used in one way or another. That had to cause more pain than his arguing with Laura…

Laura. She was hurt from the whole ordeal too. Fenton couldn't imagine calling her now, telling her that their last son had died because of a combination of his investigation and magical powers. Sure, she believes in the supernatural, but would she understand this?

Fenton allowed himself to drift off to sleep after the long day. He wanted to go back in time and fix everything. He wanted to bond with Joe more. He wanted to let Frank rest, instead of becoming the rope in a tug of rope war. He longed to apologize to Laura, and tell her all the reasons of why he loves her.

Fenton Hardy cried for the first time in years before the sleep finally brought him into the realm of dreams, where what he longed for stood next to him, only to be taken away in an instant.

I feel all sad inside now... Sorry Frank and Fenton...