Almost done with this...
I do not own Hardy Boys or Hell Girl.

Enjoy!

"Oh pitiful shadow lost in the darkness, bringing torment and pain to others. Oh damned soul, wallowing in your sin…"

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Fenton woke up to a cat meowing next to his ear. He slowly opened his eyes, to find a black cat sitting next to his head on the pillow.

"How'd you get here?" Fenton sat up and picked up the cat. It meowed softly, cuddling against Fenton.

"I want some fish!"

"What…?!"

"I mean… Meow!"

The PI dropped the cat, who jumped gracefully to the floor. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, Dad. The kid pulled the string the second he got the straw doll, so the case is done. And with Gill on the loose…"

"Why is Gill so bad?" Fenton asked Joe, registering that he was technically talking to a cat.

"Gill calls himself Hell Boy. He sent people to Hell just for upsetting him. His parents, his teachers… He destroyed a career of a TV psychic, who made the request for him to go to Hell. But Gill managed to escape, probably with what's left of his powers. We figured that he's probably going after Hell Girl for a 'rematch.'"

"But why did he come up to me?"

"Greatest detective in the world, trying to locate Hell Girl? Not that hard, Dad." The cat looked straight into Fenton's eyes, the yellow orbs reflecting the sun. "But the witch issue is a bigger thing at the moment. Mistress can't do anything, but I can."

"You can?"

"The rules don't apply to me for some reason. I might have to pay for it later, but right now we need to find Frank." Joe headed to the door, before looking back. "You need breakfast. Then we'll look."

"Okay." Fenton got up, and followed the black cat to the kitchen, trying to understand all the information he received the last twenty four hours.

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"Mistress."

"Only a day after your death, and you have mastered many spells. I have underestimated your powers."

"Your extensive library has helped. And not needing to sleep."

"Yes, the dead don't easily sleep. If we did sleep, we would not be doing what we have done in the land of the living. And the library is an old habit."

"'Old habit?'"

"Being an Athenian has brought out my thirst for knowledge."

"Is that why…"

"Yes, it is. I wanted to try being a mortal in a lifestyle I would enjoy. Who knew fate would drive me to you…"

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The hours had passed by slowly. Joe, still taking his cat form, had been trying to pick up a trace of Frank's presence. So far, nothing had been found.

"It's the Unforgiving Witch we're talking about. It might take a while." The cat had stayed perfectly still in the center of Frank's room since earlier in the morning, and now that noon had passed a few hours ago, Fenton's hopes had slowly diminished.

Fenton had almost dozed off when he felt a dropping sensation throughout his entire body. Opening his eyes, he realized he was in fact falling into an abyss of darkness.

"Gill!" The black cat instantly took the familiar form of the young, blonde teenager. "That bastard-"

"What's going on?!" Fenton shouted to Joe.

"Gill gained power. Probably transporting us someplace. Here, grab my hand!" Joe extended his arm to the retired PI, who instinctively grabbed it. Once Joe seemed positive that they had a firm grip, he held out his other hand and started mumbling something. Fenton didn't understand any of it until Joe yelled, "Release!"

The darkness retreated, revealing what seemed to be an elegant set for a television show.

"Damn, he got you too." Fenton turned his head as he and Joe landed on the ground, half amazed to find the dead girl buried next to Joe standing in a black school uniform, holding a spool of scarlet thread.

"Kukiko, Dad. Dad, Kukiko," Joe said quickly.

"Charmed." Kukiko nodded her head in Fenton's direction.

"Yeah…"

"Where's Mistress?"

"I am here." The trio watched as a girl walked out from behind a pillar near the staircase to their left. Her hair was very long, and seemed to posses the night sky in its color. Her red eyes reminded Fenton of a long, blazing fire.

"Dad, Ai Enma."

Fenton was at a lost for words. This was the girl he had tried to hunt down in hopes of bringing justice to the world. He would have probably killed her if given the chance. What was he supposed to say?

He never got a chance to think it over, because at that precise moment, another person fell from the sky.

"Ah!!!!"

Instinctively, Fenton ran over and caught the woman. Her speed and weight combined knocked them both to the ground.

"Fenton?!"

He looked up, and realized he was holding his wife in his arms.

"Mom?"

"Joe?" She looked around at the surroundings, as if expecting something to pop out.

"Honey, this isn't a dream," Fenton said gently, helping Laura to her feet. "There's so much… I don't know where to begin."

"Mom, I…" Joe walked up to his mother, but stopped suddenly. He began to shake, as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his head. "You can't be… no…"

"Joe?" Fenton released his wife. "What-"

"How could you?" he asked in a shaky voice. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"What?" Fenton looked at his wife, then his son, before finally gazing back at the woman near him. "Laura…"

She didn't look him straight in the eye. Rather, she stared at their dead son. "This is why, Joe. This is why you're different. I'm… I'm sorry."

Joe adverted his eyes. "You could have told me before."

"You weren't ready."

"I guess so." He let out a small chuckle. "Wow, though."

Fenton was about to ask what the two were talking about, when a loud laugh filled the room. The five turned towards the stained glass window that was the centerpiece of the set. There, a teenage boy with blonde hair and a sneer on his face floated near. He wore a buttoned down white shirt and black slacks, completing the look by donning a black cape.

"Ah, Ai Enma. I promised a rematch, and here we are!"

"Gill!" Kukiko snarled, getting ready to launch herself at the threat. Joe did the same, but his stance reminded Fenton of one from a wild cat.

"And you have new servants! Well, well…" Gill's eyes scanned the two adults who stood near Joe. "Fenton Hardy. You have served your purpose. Now for your gift."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You led me to this boy-" he said, pointing at Joe, "-who was linked to Hell Girl. I've already seen your mind, too. You don't want to deal with that woman."

The truth slowly dawned on the PI.

"Don't you dare touch her!" He stood in front of his wife, trying to shield her from the teen.

"Really? Watch me!" Gill held out his hand, and a ball of energy formed in less than a second. "Touch this, and you go straight to Hell! Might want to move out of the way, Hardy."

"Go to Hell," Fenton hissed under his breath.

Gill's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Is that how you feel? Then DIE!" The energy ball was release, and headed straight towards the married couple.

The PI pushed his wife away as the ball came closer, silently accepting his fate. He heard Laura and Joe shouting his name, but he knew it was too late.

"I love you Laura."

He spread his arms, waiting for death to claim his soul and ferry him to Hell.

*big hint/foreshadowing*

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