9After much dusting and laughter, the Deadbeats were all clean. They draped themselves on the couch, exhausted.
"I hate...being tickled..." Boonita panted.
"Hey. Better than being covered in dust sneezing all the time. Trust me, I've been through that experience before with an alien giant when I was hiding in his huge pillow covered in feathers, one time," Lea replied, giggling at that memory. "Besides, now I know you three aren't complete bullies. Just little mischief makers wanting attention. And I should know because Jack Frost has been doing that for three-hundred years."
"Three hundred years?!" said Vivi in shock. "Dang!"
"I know. He's been invisible for that long because not many people know nor believe in Jack Frost," Lea responded in remorse. "I always felt bad about him. He's my favorite myth since I was a kid. His work in creating Winter is what always made me happy. I wouldn't be me without an amazing guardian like Jack to remind others of enjoying life every day. Maybe not be here meeting new friends like you."
Lewis plopped a few sugar cubes in his tea. "Sounds like you two were made for each other."
"Why does everyone keep assuming that?" Lea questioned, seriously getting tired of that assumption. "I already told you before that Jack is just a friend to me. He's immortal and I'm not. Besides, I just finished going through a crazy Valentine's to bring him and Katherine together because she has loved Jack for centuries but never got the nerve to tell him until that day...With some help from me. If anything, Jack and Kate are meant to be."
"Awwww! That's so sweet!" Vivi swooned.
Lea giggled. "Yeah. Happy to help my guardian friends out."
"You are full of surprises, Lea," an unknown voice responded.
"Huh?! Who said that?" Lea looked around on that in startlement.
"I did."
Lea looked down and saw the little dog who had been quiet all night. Lea stared at him. Did this dog really talk?
"Yes, I can talk. I needed to be sure you were trustworthy before revealing myself," Mystery replied with a smile. "I smelled powerful magic from both your companion and bracelet that was nothing I've ever detected in centuries. But I knew it wasn't evil. Unlike the black sand."
"No way...You have a talking dog," Lea responded in amazement.
"Technically, he's a Kitsune in disguise," Lewis corrected.
"As in the multi-tailed fox from Japanese legends? That is so awesome!" Lea squealed in joy.
"He's also the same creature responsible for Arthur's missing arm!" Boonita shouted.
Arthur and Mystery shot a glare at the ghost for mentioning that.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?!" Lea turned around in bewilderment at Boonita before back at the band. "Mystery is the reason why Arthur has a metal arm?! I thought it was because of a car fixing accident since Arthur works at a mechanic shop called 'Kingsmen Mechanics'."
The band looked at the blonde teen in silence, wondering how she knows about that.
"What? I did online research about knowing you guys. Even read Vivi's blog about the band," she responded in defense.
"WOW! She is a true fan!" said Eepers, kind of surprised.
Lea felt her cheeks blushing on that, bashful on that compliment.
"Ooh, do me! Where did I work at? What's my favorite food? Name my favorite animal!" Vivi immediately asked in excitement.
"Well...You were assistant manager of a used comic and book store called "Tome Tomb", your favorite food is this Japanese savory pancake I can barely pronounced, and your favorite animal is Mystery. Along with being a fan of turtles," Lea said, counting the answers.
"Oh, my gosh! This is true fan material!" Vivi said with joy.
Lea blushed badly. She was afraid Vivi would be creeped out by her extensive knowledge, but she was taking it better than Lea imagined!
"Now, do Arthur and Lewis!" Vivi requested. "Same questions on where they first worked before the band, their favorite food, and favorite animal!"
"Oh, I don't know, Vivi. I think I did enough impressing," Lea responded sheepishly. "Last thing I want is to freak anyone out."
"You mean freakier than a demon dog, a skeleton ghost and his little back-up ghosts?" Arthur questioned. "Or your living doll? No offense."
Nightlight shrugged in response; not completely offended by that comment.
Lea laughed. "I see what you mean," She looked at Lewis. "So...am I going to be your maid...forever?"
"What?! Don't be ridiculous," Vivi responded. "You may dress like one, but that doesn't mean you have to serve us. That's crazy! Who even told you of this sick idea?"
"I have a feeling it was a few certain spirits who brought that up. Along with Lewis temporarily going along with it," Arthur theorized, glaring at the four ghosts. "I'm very well aware of their antics."
"But it seemed like our new guest has gotten them back and handled herself very well with knowing our secret," Mystery added.
The blonde teen smiled at that.
"You're right," said Lewis, snapping his fingers to switch Lea's maid outfit back to her concert attire. "I shouldn't have gotten carried away."
The Deadbeats whined, as they hugged Lea.
"Does this mean she's off the hook?!" Eepers complained.
"We don't want her to do!" Yike whined. "We like her!"
"Really? Even after vacuuming and tickling the dust out of you?" Lea questioned; a bit surprised that the Deadbeats don't want her going.
The ghosts looked a little shy. "Well, we don't get to meet a lot of people. And sure, you did all that stuff to us, but we deserved it," said Boonita.
"Yeah! I can't remember the last time we had fun with a new friend!" said Yike.
Lea gave a caring smile from hearing the Deadbeats out. "You know, it doesn't have to be the last time I'll see you guys again. Maybe there's a way I can visit. Or vice versa. I know Kate might still have one of her teleporting snow globes for me to use in stopping by. And besides, I can think of a few good places the band can perform. Some are practically supernatural and appear scary yet actually not so bad."
Vivi blinked. "Teleporting snow globes?"
"And no thank you on any supernatural scary gigs!" Arthur said, nervously waving his hands.
Lea giggled, now feeling the Deadbeats let go from the hug. "Yeah, it's a long story on those magical items. Both North and Kate have them to travel around to different places. Even other dimensions. And don't panic, Arthur. I know a few other places that aren't supernatural scary, if that's not your cup of tea. One of them includes a fairy tale world. Along with a house full of aliens with some of them that look like monsters. Scared me, at first, but they're actually nice."
Arthur raised his metal hand. "Nope! I won't take my chances! Just normal gigs with normal people!"
"Oh, come on, Arthur! We've handled much scarier cases with most them not so bad," Vivi reasoned.
"Cases?" Lea questioned in confusion.
"Yeah, we're more than just a supernatural band. We're also paranormal investigators!" the blue haired woman explained.
Lea looked at her in disbelief, her mouth gaped at that. "Seriously?! You're a mystery solving gang, too?! This night keeps getting more amazing!"
"Yeah! In fact, it's how we reunited with Lewis!" said Vivi. "We went into an old spooky house and met Lewis and the Deadbeats!"
"Reunited with Lewis?" Lea asked. Just then, she had a sudden thought from that. "Wait...Did someone kill Lewis?! Is that how he became a ghost in the first place?!"
"You could say that," Boonita remarked, revealing a knowing smirk at the yellow wearing adult boy. "Why don't you tell her, Arthur?
"I prefer that she didn't know. It's more complicated to explain," Arthur responded in slight shame, rubbing his metal arm. "Not to mention hard."
"What is it?" asked Lea, determined to know.
"I can tell you," Boonita responded, flying over to the young girl.
"Boonita, don't you dare!" Arthur exclaimed in anger.
"Hey, somebody's got to tell her, at this point," the female ghost shrugged at this point.
"Tell me what? I am seriously lost here," Lea responded.
"Arthur is responsible for Lewis' death!" Yike immediately answered.
That threw the blonde teen off guard. "WHAT?!"
"Yike! I was gonna tell her the shocking news!" Boonita argued.
"Sorry. Lea kept asking and nobody was giving a straight response," Yike reasoned before apologizing.
Lea felt like she couldn't breathe. Arthur...killed Lewis. Lea looked at Arthur. The boy saw the look on Lea's face. It was filled with shock and confusion. His stomach turned when he watched her face grow with disgust.
"YOU KILLED LEWIS?!" Lea roared. "WHY?!"
"I can explain!" Arthur replied, his hands up in defense. "Remember when Boonita mentioned about Mystery the one responsible for my arm? Well, you see, it was around the same night Lewis became a ghost. We were investigating these caverns after hearing about some supernatural stuff going around. While Vivi took one path, Lewis and I investigated the other. When Lewis checked near the ledge with spiked rocks in the bottom...I wasn't myself."
"Not yourself? What do you mean by that?" Lea questioned, folding her arms in an angry yet curious way. A horrid thought crossed her mind. "Did you decide to kill Lewis on a whim?! Were you jealous?! Is that it?!"
"What, no! I mean, yes, I was jealous, but it wasn't completely me who did it!" Arthur groaned in frustration. "I never meant to kill my best friend! If anything, the moment it happened, I didn't recall the incident! Neither did Vivi!"
"I actually completely forgot Lewis. I had no memory of him until he came back," Vivi responded in sadness.
Lea was having a hard time understanding this. Arthur killed Lewis in a supposed haunted cavern but doesn't remember doing it? Along with Vivi's memories erased on any knowledge of Lewis? It didn't make any sense! That's when the most obvious conclusion hit her.
"...You were possessed," she responded to Arthur numbly. "A ghost sensed your jealousy on Lewis and used it to take over your body in hurting him. Didn't it?"
Arthur nodded his head silently, looking down in shame.
Lewis looked at Lea. "Are you...an expert on ghosts?" he asked, surprised.
"I wouldn't say I'm an expert. I have a guardian friend who knows anything about ghost related stuff," Lea responded, only to sigh remorseful. "Not to mention the fact that I once discovered that the Guardians' long archenemy used to be a great hero until darkness overwhelmed both his heart and mind. He's just another pawn to something more sinister that plans on doing worse damage on earth."
Nightlight came over to Lea and hugged his friend around her ankles in comfort.
Lewis looked down. "The darkness can be amazingly corruptive."
Vivi nodded. "If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you," she quoted.
"After the incident, I thought Lewis was completely missing. Despite Vivi not remembering Lewis, I was still looking for him," Arthur explained, looking at his own reflection with the metal palm of his hand. "I didn't know that horrifying ghost haunting the mansion was Lewis or that Mystery was a Kitsune until later. And when I remembered what really happened to him, I felt bad ever since."
Lea looked at the older boy in the orange vest, now understanding the full story. "You still cared about him. You were worried about your best friend missing to a point that you risked going through every scary place in searching, even though you hate it."
"Yeah...I guess I did," Arthur responded, smiling a little on that.
"So, wait. Where does Mystery responsible for Arthur's left arm gone fit into all of this?" Lea questioned.
The dog sighed. He found it too hard to tell Lea. Vivi stroked Mystery's back, comforting him.
"Before the incident, I sensed something strange where Arthur and Lewis were. I noticed Arthur's left arm turning green with half his left face the same," Mystery tried to explain. "This was the work of an evil spirit from the caverns that sensed Arthur's jealousy and took over him in hurting Lewis. I turned into my Kitsune form and got rid of the infected part of his body before it could completely take over Arthur. But...I was already too late with what happened to Lewis."
Lea couldn't believe it. But she had no choice but to believe it. After all, she's seen so many strange and bizarre things in her lifetime.
"Wow...I mean...That is just crazy," Lea managed to say, wanting to sit down.
"You don't know the half of it," Arthur muttered.
Lea sat to sit down. She planted herself in a chair and Eepers curled into her lap like a kitten.
"What happened wasn't pleasant. But the important thing is that we managed to get back together," Vivi explained, getting up to place her hands with one in Lewis' and the other with Arthur's. "And I'm happy to remember Lewis again."
Lea gave a small smile at this. She even unintentionally petted Eepers that seemed to calm her down. This pink ghost was surprisingly smooth and soft.
Eepers purred like an affectionate kitty. He grinned as he stretched, nuzzled and cuddled into Lea's lap.
Yike tapped Lea on the shoulder. "I get a turn after him!"
Boonita rolled her eyes. "Boys."
"Awww, of course, Yike. You are just so cute," Lea cooed, using her free hand to caress Yike's head. "All of you Deadbeats are."
Eepers and Yike purred, as Lea stroked them. They cuddled against her face, making the human giggle.
"Hey, that tickles!" Lea chuckled, still petting them.
Eepers giggled, too. "Humans sure are ticklish."
"We should know. Arthur is practically ticklish, with and without the metal arm," Boonita remarked.
"Hey!" Arthur exclaimed.
Boonita flew over to Arthur and went down the back of his shirt, tickling his upper body.
"GAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Boonita! GET OHOHOHOHUT OF THERE!" Arthur struggled and laughed.
Lewis and Vivi laughed. "Never a dull moment." Lewis put an arm around his girl.
Vivi curled up in Lewis's arm. "Never."
Nightlight nodded his head in response from that, bringing out Lea's neon bag he found under the bed.
"My bag!" said Lea, as she stopped petting the Deadbeats and went over to Nightlight with her neon bag. "I was wondering where it was. Had a few of my things there."
Lea reached into her bag and nonchalantly took out a hair bow. "I wondered where this was! I forgot to wear it to the concert!"
Boonita's eyes lit up when she saw the hair bow. The bow was dark purple magenta with a skull in the center.
"I don't recall having a franchise of that," Lewis admitted.
"It's actually one of mine. I like creating new things that work for my friends and family," Lea responded shyly. "I also made the little black cap for Nightlight."
"I knew that hat was too unique to be one of ours!" Vivi exclaimed.
Lea saw Boonita's eyes fixated on that bow. Her eyes were big and wondrous. "You can have that, if you want,"
"Really?! I can?!"
"Yeah. I think it will look nicer on you than me anyway," Lea responded, giving the bow to Boonita. "Besides, I can always make more."
Boonita was moved beyond words. A human, who she just met and terrorized, would be nice enough to give her this accessory.
"Thank you. No one has ever given me anything before," Boonita responded calmly, now placing it on her head to make it look like her pink tip is held as a pony tail.
"It really does look amazing on you, Boonita. In a haunting sort of way," Vivi complimented.
"At least we can tell now which of the Deadbeats is a girl," Arthur muttered to Mystery.
"I heard that!" Boonita hollered, causing Arthur to jump in startlement.
"Now that everything is settled, I believe we owe someone a trip back to her home city," Lewis responded.
"Oh, right!" Lea facepalmed in realization. "My parents must be worried sick about me being gone for who knows how long I've been here!"
"We actually took care of that," Vivi responded, tossing Lea in what looked like the blonde teen's phone. "Lewis helped access your phone and we sent a text to your parents in saying you would be coming home late."
"Last thing we want is the police going around town looking for a missing teen," Arthur responded.
"Uh…Thanks?" Lea responded, not sure how to feel about her favorite band taking her phone.
"Don't thank us yet. We still need to return you home," Arthur replied.
Moments later, the Mystery Skulls and Deadbeats tour bus teleported to an area not so far from where Lea's home was.
The blonde teen got off and turned to see her favorite band poking out of the door. "Appreciated the lift back here, everyone. Tonight was definitely better than I ever hoped for."
"Same here, Lea. You and your little toy friend both take care of yourselves," Arthur replied with a smile.
"We're definitely going to miss you. Could you still answer my previous questions involving Arthur and Lewis before you go?" Vivi requested. "I need to know."
Lea smiled a little, seeing that one of her favorite band members asked. "Oh, okay. I'll start with Arthur. As I once stated before, he works as a mechanic at his uncle's Kingsmen Mechanics repair shop, likes pizza with oysters called 'Surf's Up Surprise', and likes hamsters. Most specifically, his pet Galahad," she responded. "Lewis works at his family Italian or Hispanic restaurant called Pepper Paradiso as the dishwasher, waiter, and babysitter for his three small sisters. I didn't get specific details on the names."
"It's Paprika, Cayenne and Belle," Vivi answered. "Go on."
"Okay. His favorite food is this chocolate covered dish that is known as the Ghost Pepper chocolate…Which is kind of ironic, now that I say it out loud," Lea admitted, giving that food some thought. "And finally, his favorite animal would be alpacas. How's that?"
"Nailed it!" Vivi exclaimed with excitement. "Don't stop making creative stuff for everyone! You're so talented and creative!"
Lea blushed from all the compliments. Nightlight even popped out and waved goodbye to his new friends.
"Thanks. Well, I guess we better get going. Night, guys and Vivi," Lea said, ready to go.
"Wait!" Lewis spoke up, causing the blonde teen to stop at her tracks. "One last question. Do you by any chance play a stringed instrument?"
"Um, yeah. I play an acoustic guitar," Lea answered. "Why?"
Lewis closed his eyes and concentrated, lifting his right hand that was on pink fire. It didn't take long for a guitar pick to form when the fire dialed down in Lewis' right palmed hand. The pick was black with a flaming gold heart in the center; just like the image from Lea's concert shirt.
"For you. In case you ever want to come see us again, just play a song on your guitar using that pick and it will open a doorway that will bring you to where we're at," Lewis explained, now tossing the guitar pick to Lea.
The blonde teen caught it with ease without burning herself and smiled back. "Wow, really?! Awesome! Thank you, Lewis. All of you."
"Until we meet again, Lea Thompson," Mystery spoke, winking at her.
After saying their goodbyes, Mystery Skulls and the Deadbeats' tour bus drove away into the night with Lea walking back home.
"Hey, Nightlight. Remember when I said before about going to the concert was the perfect night ever?" Lea asked her little friend.
Nightlight nodded his head in response, remembering that very well.
"Well, I change my mind. Getting to know Mystery Skulls and the Deadbeats as more than just a regular band is the best night ever," Lea responded, putting the guitar pick in her pocket. "In fact, now that we can visit them, I might be making a few special items just for each member. Including the Deadbeats."
Nightlight smiled at that idea. He's happy for Lea making new friends.
As the blonde teen went back inside her home, she revealed her neon straw bag had a few different colored signatures from each band member of Mystery Skulls and the Deadbeats. Proving that it truly was a night Lea will never forget.
Redbat132: And that about wraps up the end of RD and I's first Mystery Skulls Animated story! Hope everyone enjoyed it!
