#Anna Fender (An offender)

[phantoms-lair]

MSAHolidaySpirits2020 - Gift for WorldBeyondTheWorld

@worldbeyondtheworld I’m your Mystery Skulls Secret Santa. Hope this is okay.

It was unusual for Vivi to be on her own. Even if her friends weren’t by her side, Mystery always was.

But today she was on her own, by choice. She was mad at Mystery for the secrets he’d kept. Mad at Lewis for turning on Arthur like that, and for going straight for murder without asking questions. And while she wasn’t mad at Arthur (who had been as much in the dark as her), they had been spending a lot of time in an enclosed van and she could use a breather.

She’d made sure Mystery and Arthur had recovered from their injuries, and that Lewis wasn’t going to backslide and go after Arthur again, then set aside a weekend trip for herself. She just needed to get away from all of it and breathe. Arthur and Mystery understood, even if both looked guilty. Lewis had looked like a kicked puppy, but hadn’t said anything, which she’d take.

She just wanted some time away without anyone she’d know, which was why she was so surprised to hear a familiar voice (albeit one she hadn’t heard in quite a while) call “Vivi?” from the other side of the All-You-Can-Eat diner.

“Fred?” She turned her head to make sure she hadn’t imagined it. “Fred, is that you?” The next thing she knew she was being hugged and laughed. “Fred Jones, what are you doing in Texas?”

“A friend of yours?” One of the girls with Fred (Velma, she thought from Fred’s past descriptions) asked. “This is my cousin, Vivi. Vi, these are my friends- Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby.” Fred introduced. “Nice to meet you.”  Vivi was privately pleased she’d gotten Velma right. And also amused by the subtle confused looks going between her and Fred, trying to find the slightest scrap of resemblance between the round Japanese girl and angular American boy.

“This might help.” She pulled up a picture of her family on the phone. It was far easier to see the resemblance between Susan Yukino nee Jones and her brother, Skip.

“Oooooh,” All of his friends nodded.

Fred looked a little put out. “You didn’t believe me?”

“It’s not that we didn’t believe you Fred,” Daphne assured him. “It’s just a little hard to see.”

“Not the first time, won’t be the last.” Vivi assured. “And you never answered my question.”

“We were hired to sit in on a séance.” Fred explained. “We have a reputation for debunking fake supernatural happenings and the widow doesn’t want to be tricked.”

“Which should be simple. Ghosts aren’t real, therefore it’s a trick.” Velma shook her head in disbelief.

“Why don’t you come with us, Vi?” Fred said excitedly. “It’s been so long, and the last time I went to Japan, I found out you had moved to America!”

She had gone on this trip for some me-time, but to her own surprise, found the idea of spending time with her cousin wasn’t a bad one.

He was right, it had been years since they’d seen each other which meant he and his friends were utterly unconnected to the mess in Tempo. “You sure your client won’t mind?” Fred shrugged, “It’s not like she’s paying for our room and board or admission to somewhere. We’re all just sitting around watching, shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The medium is from somewhere called ‘Kurain Village’,” Daphne added, “They’re supposed to be reputable.”

Vivi’s eye’s lit up. “Kurain Village! I’ve read about them! I always wanted to see their techniques in action, but Baa-san said it would be disrespectful to go just to gawk at them.”

“Well now you can gawk at them to help a widow.” Fred elbowed Vivi slightly with a grin, who returned the gesture.

“What’s so interesting about their techniques? Moaning and wailing? Ouiji boards?” Velma asked, rolling her eyes.

Vivi laughed. “Oh no, I’m not spoiling the surprise if you don’t know. Let’s just say it’s very distinctive and would be very hard to fake.”

Velma seemed skeptical, but that was fine. This was very off the beaten path for a Kurain Medium, so if it was a fake the skepticism would be good for exposing them. That being said, if it wasn’t she did look forward to seeing Velma attempt to rationalize it.

“So like, what’s your stance?” Shaggy asked. “Do you believe in ghosts? Or think it’s all fake?”

Vivi thought for a moment. “The short answer is both. I do think ghosts and stuff are real,” How could she not, after what had happened,  “but that ninety percent of haunted houses and mediums are either frauds or have more rational explanations.” She shrugged. “I give the mediums from Kurain a bit more benefit of the doubt because theirs isn’t a ‘for profit’ thing. It’s more of their way of life, like monks that live in a temple away from civilization. It’s a culture, not a business. That being said, I can easily see someone trying to make a quick buck by stealing their name. So after lunch, should I follow you guys on my bike?”

“There’s plenty of room in the van,” Fred offered.

But Vivi shook her head. “I love you, cuz, but I have spent most of the last couple of months in a van. I’ll take the motorcycle.”

For a moment, Fred looked taken aback. Too taken aback, like he made a mistake. Vivi’s eyes narrowed as a suspicion came over her. “Fred have you been talking to my Mom? About, oh I don’t know, Lewis?”

The guilt written all over her cousin’s face was enough to prove her guess was right. “Fred Jones - if this is all a trick of Mom’s to get me to come home you can tell her-” “No, it’s not. I didn’t even know you were going to be here, I swear. We really are on a case and I just saw you and thought you shouldn’t be alone right now.” Fred’s voice shrunk as he spoke and Vivi sighed heavily.

“Okay, so who’s Lewis and what are the rest of us missing?” Daphne asked.

Vivi took a deep breath. “Lewis was my boyfriend. We were very close, like considering marriage close.”

“And he dumped you?” Velma guessed.

“He disappeared nearly a year ago. Last week they recovered his body.” 

Fred’s friend looked like they had been hit with a sledgehammer, and Vivi supposed she was being overly blunt, but now she was annoyed. And the worst part was she couldn’t explain a lot of her feelings, about Lewis coming back and her memory being stolen. She’d just have to channel what Arthur went through.

“It’s been a terrible year, Arthur (a mutual friend) and I have been searching all over trying to find him and dealing with physical and mental trauma. His body being found, him coming home? That’s closure to the year of not knowing.”

“But for some people, and Mom is a big part of this, it’s like a fresh tragedy. The body suddenly makes it real in a way it wasn’t before. Mom wants me to ‘come home’ and ‘be with the people that love me.’ But my home is in Tempo, there are people that love me in Tempo. I need to deal in my own way, and people who insist I do so in a different way are not helping.”

Fred looked like a kicked puppy and Vivi reigned herself in. She was angry with a lot of people, but Fred himself wasn’t one of them. “Look, I’m sorry for being upset, I’m just mad at Mom and a lot of other people. And a break sounds good, if you still want me to come. Just no false pretenses, okay?”

“Okay.” Fred sighed. “Sorry Vi, I didn’t mean to make things worse.”

“And I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just been a rough time.” She hugged her cousin. “Let me finish my food and I’ll be right with you.” “If there’s any food left after you and Shaggy are done.” Fred joked. “Small mercy they don’t have to deal with Scooby and Mystery.”

“Next time.” Vivi promised as they continued to their table. 

As the left she heard on of his friends whisper “You tried to distract your cousin from her dead boyfriend with a séance?” and couldn’t help but laugh.

~

As she pulled in next to Fred’s van, Vivi had half a mind to pull right back out.

“I didn’t know Vi. I swear.” Fred looked concerned as he left the van. “She just gave us directions.”

The address didn’t lead to a house or business. It led to a cave.

Vivi took a deep breath. “It’s fine, everything’s fine.” It was not fine. 

“Caves bad?” Shaggy asked.

“Caves bad.” Fred confirmed, but didn’t go into why, which Vivi was grateful for.

“Like, maybe it’s outside the cave?” Shaggy suggested. “Like, everyone seems to be outside.”

There were four other people milling about.  One was an old lady who Vivi assumed was the client. Another other was a young lady dressed in the traditional outfit for a Kurain medium, with the much younger girl next to her dressed similarly. Standing a bit off to the side was a man with hair spikes that could duel Arthur’s and a crisp blue suit.

“Dearies!” The old woman shuffled up to them. “Thank you for coming to put an old woman’s mind at ease. Oh? Is this a friend of yours?” “My cousin actually.” Fred explained. “She lives not far from here and turns out she knows a bit about Kurain mediums. I hope this isn’t a problem.”

“Not at all, dearies. The mediums brought that gentleman with them, and the more the merrier.” She clasped Vivi’s hands. “Artemisia Fishal, but everyone calls me Arty.” “Vivi Yukino,” she introduced herself. “One of my best friends is named Arty. Um, is the ceremony going to be inside the cave?” “At a chamber that’s just inside the mouth.” Mrs Fishal confirmed. “Is that a problem?”

“No, if we’re just inside the mouth I should be alright.”

“Claustrophobia?” Mrs. Fishal asked, not unkindly.  “Don’t worry, you can see the mouth of the cave easily.”

“Thank you,” said Vivi, not correcting her. “Um, is there any reason it’s in a cave?”

“Underground is closer to the underworld, dearies. Why don’t you and Mr. Wright head in, I’ll join you shortly.” Mrs. Fishal shooed them towards the mouth of the cave.

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Fred whispered to her as they headed toward the cave.

“If I’m not I’ll let you know.” she whispered back. The truth was this would be her first time going into a cave since getting her memories back and Vivi had no clue how she’d react.

There was a feeling of panic that had her clutching Fred’s arm as they entered, but she managed to squash it down. It helped that this cave was so different from the one that lived in her nightmares. For starters there wasn’t a speck of green. Instead it was mostly orange, lit by numerous candles (what Vivi would have considered far too many if it wasn’t a stone wall and ceiling), their smoke drifting out the mouth of the cave. There was a small dip between the entrance and where it looked like they were going to sit, so the group made their way down, the blue suited man (Mr. Wright?) joining them.

“You’re a defense attorney?” Velma asked in surprise, noticing the small badge on the man’s lapel. “What are you doing traveling with a pair of ‘psychics’?” The sarcasm in the last words was extremely heavy.

“They’re underaged and I have a driver’s license.” Mr. Wright answered dryly. “Maya works the books at my law firm and Pearls, who’ll be doing the channeling today, is her cousin.”

Daphne’s eyes widened. “The little girl? She’s the medium?” Mr. Wright laughed. “Never underestimate anyone from the Fey Family, no matter what their size.”

“She’s from the Fey *family*!” Vivi’s eyes lit up. “Then they’re both direct descendants of Ami Fey? The woman who created Kurain? Oh this is going to be good!” “It is. I just wish I knew why she was lying so much.” “That’s what mediums do,” Velma scoffed.

“Not them,” Mr. Wright seemed too distracted to notice the insult to his friends. “The widow,”

But before any of them could ask further, the last three people entered the cave.  Mrs. Fishal and the little girl (Pearls?) sat at the mouth of the cave while the older (Maya?) came and joined them. “She’s nervous,” Maya whispered to Mr. Wright, but loud enough Vivi heard too. “Since channeling is traditionally done one on one, she’s not used to having an audience.”

“Pearl has this.” he assured her. “You know how powerful she is.”

“Um, Okay.” Pearl's timid voice echoed through the cave. “I’m going to channel the spirit of Mrs. Fishal’s husband. She showed me his picture, so I’m going to call for him now.” She closed her eyes and Vivi heard her cousin and his friends gasp as the tiny little girl began to grow.

“This,” she whispered, “is the Kurain Channeling Technique.”

There was no way for it to be a trick, or a replacement. They all watched as the child grew several times her own size and her frame became masculine.  As was the voice that absolutely did not belong to Pearl. “Gotta hand it to you, Anna. You were right about all this mystical mumbo jumbo.”

“Told you, sweetie.” Mrs. Fishal in a suddenly much younger voice. She pulled at her face, tearing away the visage of the kind elderly woman to reveal a woman in her mid twenties. At the same time she pulled a gun and held the audience at bay.

“What’s this all about?” Mr. Wright demanded. “Who are you?”

“Anna Fender, and I’m sure most of you remember my boyfriend.”

Pearl - or rather the person possessing Pearl - lifted his head and Mystery Inc gasped.

“Upton O'Goode!” Fred exclaimed, shocked.

“So you do remember me,” The man sneered. “What this is about is those brats ruining my perfectly good plan to rake in tons of cash.”

“By illegally scamming the Sinclairs out of their inheritance,” Daphne snarled back.

“But you had to meddle and stuck your noses in and got me sent to jail. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, some guy there didn’t like being on the wrong end of one of my schemes and shivved me in the kidney.”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my Uppy.” Anna continued. “I’ve always had a love for the occult, and I remembered what I knew about Kurain mediums. That they take on the physical appearance of the spirit they’re channeling. Pearl Fey has more than enough spiritual power to keep my Uppy around indefinitely.”

“You’re planning on stealing her body” Vivi said in a low and dangerous tone.

“Oh more than that,” Anna gloated, handing the gun to Upton. “I’m getting my revenge on the brats who caused Upton to die in the first place. Nothing personal to you or the lawyer, but no witnesses. You understand.” She pulled something out of her pocket that Vivi recognized. So did Fred and Mr. Wright, since they both stood up with her at the same time.

A warning shot from Upton drove Mr. Wright back, but Fred and Vivi both moved forward for the tackle. Anna pulled Upton back and pressed the button on the detonator she was holding.

Vivi felt herself being blown back by the blast. It hurt like a sunnuva, but wasn’t the worst she’d had by far. Her ears were ringing, but she forced herself up. Surprisingly not all the candles had gone out in the blast, enough were still lit to see the mouth had been completely collapsed in. She could also see Fred’s friends surrounding his prone form on the ground.

“Fred? Fred!” She stumbled over as fast as she could. He was unconscious and bleeding from his head. “Do any of you know first aid?”

“Like, I learned some when I became a counselor at Camp Kichihaha.” Shaggy answered shakily. “But, like, for a head injury like this, we need help. Like, I don't even want to apply pressure to the wound in case there's a skull fracture. We need an ambulance.”

The temperature dropped several degrees, but no one commented on it. Vivi forced herself to calm. They had enough problems right now, they didn’t need her giving the others hypothermia. They needed to contact the outside world. She pulled out her cell phone. No signal, which wasn’t surprising. What else could they use?

She scanned the cave and her eyes fell on Maya Fey.

“You’re a spirit medium too, right?” Vivi asked. “I am, but I don’t know any doctors I can channel. I mean, I know one, but I don’t think I’d trust him with this, or to help.”

Vivi shook her head. “I don’t think a doctor would be much help without equipment. I want to know if you could channel a spirit named Lewis Pepper.” “Rour read royfried?” Scooby asked.

“Did that dog just talk?” Maya asked, equally flummoxed.

“Vivi, I really don’t think this is the time.” Daphne said frantically.

“Trust me. I think Lewis can get us out of this.” Vivi promised. “Look at me.” Mr. Wright demanded. He waited until Vivi was looking him in the eye. “Tell me you have no ulterior motive except to get us out, and that this ‘Lewis’ won’t be harmful to Maya.”

“I swear this is just to save my cousin, and our lives. Lewis will bring no harm to your friend.” Vivi said firmly.

Mr. Wright relaxed. Almost too much so given what had happened and -

It clicked that maybe there was a reason Mr. Wright had a close connection to the Fey family besides Maya working at his office. He had known the widow was lying, if not about what, and had known for a fact she was telling the truth. It seemed he might have some psychic power of his own.

“Please try.” Vivi turned to Maya. “If he resists coming, just tell him Vivi needs help.”

“Okay,” Maya said uncertainly. She clasped her hands in front of her and concentrated. 

For a moment she thought it wasn’t working, then Maya’s form expanded far more than Pearl’s had.

“Vivi?” Lewis sounded confused. “Why do I feel alive?”

“You’re being channeled by a medium. I’m sorry, but I need to be quick. I ran into my cousin Fred, who took me to a séance. We’re in a cave off Peterson Park in Sommeton, right next to the road.”

“Cave?!”

“It was a trap,” Vivi continued as though he hadn’t said anything, not letting either of them dwell on that fact. “Meant to kill Fred and his friends, as well as steal a new body.”

“Did you say steal-” Lewis clenched Maya’s fist and a purple flame formed around it.

“Put that out!” Vivi ordered. “They used some kind of explosive to seal us in, and I don’t want to set off anything undetonated.”

“Right, right. Sorry. Just-”

“I know.” Vivi deflated. “I really do. Look, Fred has a bad head injury and is unconscious. I need you to call EMS and have an ambulance sent out this way once you let go of the channeling. Also let the police know a woman named Anna Fender had kidnapped a little girl about Belle’s age. AND STOP WITH THE FIRE!”

The purple flames that had been gathering around Lewis stopped. “‘I’m sorry, I’m trying…”

“It’s okay. I need you to go and get help. And Lewis?” Vivi kissed him on the cheek. “I’m still pissed at you for that stunt you pulled. But I’m really glad you're back.”

Lewis’s lower lip trembled before he grabbed Vivi into a bone crushing hug. Then suddenly his form shrunk until it was Maya Fey hugging Vivi.

“What was that?” Maya asked in shock. “He felt more powerful than my sister.”

“More than Mia?” Mr. Wright sounded equally stunned.

“Lewlew came back as a pretty powerful spirit.” Vivi admitted. “But that’s working in our favor, because he can manifest without a medium. So he’s gonna call and get help.

“This can’t be real.” Velma shook her head. “Spirit Channeling? Body Snatching? Ghosts?”

“But it is,” Shaggy said quietly.

“We saw it with our own eyes,” Daphne pointed out.

“Ro ricks,” Scooby added.

“But- No, I don’t have time for denial.” Velma stood firm. “I don’t care if ghosts are real. What can we do to help Fred until help arrives?”

“We find a way out.” Vivi said. “Right now time is the most important thing, and if they don’t have to dig us out, all the better.” She eyed the rubble. Sure there was a possibility that there was another way out further in the cave, but she doubted it. Fender had obviously out a lot of preparation into this plot, she doubted the woman would pick a cave with another easy access point.

At the same time she’d not placed the explosives where they’d been sitting, but at the mouth of the cave trapping them in. She’d wanted them to die slowly, in the dark (since she doubted those candles would last an hour). And even if that wouldn’t come to pass, with help on the way, the mouth of the cave was still their best way out.

Slowly and carefully Vivi began to climb the hill of rubble. She felt the stones occasionally shift under her weight, and stopped moving until they settled. Once she reached the top, she looked back. Fred had been blown far enough back he’d be in little to no danger if things went south.

Her head brushing against the ceiling, she delicately shifted one of the stones at the top, as though this was the highest stake game of jenga.

“I’m coming up,” 

Vivi heard a voice behind her. She looked down and saw Daphne starting to climb the pile. Right behind her were Velma, Maya, and Mr. Wright, with Shaggy and Scooby keeping a watchful vigil over Fred. “We need to be -”

“Careful, I know.” Velma adjusted her glasses. “A wrong move could cause a second collapse, which could result in more injuries. But Fender planned this too well for there to be another exit, and you said it yourself, we need to have a pathway for the paramedics as quickly as possible.”

Well, she could hardly argue with her own reason thrown back at her. They moved as quickly as they could, shifting the stone and debris swiftly but carefully. Vivi almost cheered when she saw the first ray of daylight shine through. She was very glad she didn’t when she cleared a little further and got a view of the outside.

“They’re still here,” she hissed.

“Jeepers,” Daphne whispered. “Why?”

“It looks like Upton’s changed his clothes, I guess Pearl’s would have been too noticeable.”

“They had no reason to rush,” Velma pointed out. “As far as they know, we had no way to contact the authorities, or anyone.”

“But no reason to stick around, unless” Vivi’s eyes narrowed as she noticed Anna wasn’t loitering around like Upton. She focused and saw her head dipping in and around the steering wheel. “She lost her keys in the blast.”

“How can you tell?” Maya whispered.

“The only reason to not leave as soon as Upton was changed would be car trouble. Usually in that case you’d pop the hood, but she’s messing with the steering column. She’s trying to hotwire her own car.” Vivi deduced.

“Then we can save Pearls!” Maya whispered back, suddenly filled with determination.

Vivi bit her lip. The safe thing to do for everyone in the cave would be to just let the culprits with the gun leave. But leaving that little girl with the body snatcher was something she couldn’t do either. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she wanted the proverbial pound of flesh from the people who hurt her cousin.

“Okay. We need to clear a little bit more so I can get through. I’m going to take the gun out of play. Maya, do you know a way to get that spirit out of your cousin?”

“There’s a Spirit-Severing Technique. I know the theory, but I’ve never used it before.” Her voice sounded shaky.

“Maya, when the chips have been down you always been there when we needed you. You’re the Master of Kurain Channeling. You can do this.” Mr. Wright said, his voice so full of conviction, it was clear it wasn’t platitudes. He firmly believed in her.

Maya puffed out her cheeks and seemed to be steeling herself. “That’s right, I can! Pearly needs me and I’m not going to let her down!”

Vivi nodded. “Let’s get the hole a little bit wider so I can squeeze out. Once the gun is out of play, you guys move in.”

Though logically the bad guys hadn’t heard them yet, the rest of the stones were moved from the top in almost utter silence, each one afraid to draw the enemy’s attention. Finally it was big enough for Vivi to squeeze through.

She waited until Upton had his back turned to the cave and as quietly as she could, slid down. Once she reached the ground she ran, keeping as low to the ground as she could. She was almost there when Upton turned and noticed her. 

He let out a shout and fumbled with the gun. And that was what Vivi had been waiting for. The anger inside her wasn’t fire, it was ice. It blew through her veins like a blizzard and it was finally time to let it loose. She swung one arm forward in almost a scooping motion and a trail of ice flowed from her position to just in front of Upton’s, where it exploded in giant spikes from the ground, knocking the gun from Upton’s grasp, then freezing it into place.

Upton shrieked and fell back towards the car, but Vivi only picked up speed. In one smooth motion she jumped over her own spikes and slammed onto the hood of Anna’s car. Anna, who had been getting up to see what Upton reacted to, let out a scream of her own as the hood of her car was suddenly smashed in and covered in ice. Vivi stood and lifted one arm. Her bat came flying out of the sidecar of her bike and flew into her hand.

“You should have done more research, Anna.” Vivi said grimly. “The Feys aren’t the only family with power in their blood.”

“Stay away from her!” Upton cried, running for the car. He never made it, though, as someone grabbed his arm and flipped him into the ground. 

“No, you stay away from her!” Daphne snarled, as her flip landed Upton in grabbing range of Velma and Mr. Wright. Maya joined them a moment later, and clasped her hands in front of her like she had when she’d channeled Lewis.

Vivi spared a glance back at Anna, but she seemed to be suitably cowed and she did want to see this. She could already think of two cases where being able to exorcise a spirit less violently would have come in extremely handy.

She couldn’t quite see what Maya was doing. She could sense power in the air, but nothing like a spell. Whatever she was doing must have been one of the powers innate to the Fey Line.

Maya made a sudden slashing motion and Pearl collapsed, suddenly much smaller than the man Mr. Wright and Velma had been holding onto.

“Upton, NO!” Anna scrambled out of the car, her fear momentarily forgotten. “Bring him back!”

Mr. Wright snatched up Pearl, who was disoriented from the ordeal, and swung her away from Anna.

A loud cackle filled the air. “Don’t worry, Annie.” As if from nowhere a form seemed to coalesce, made of smoke and sludge. “They can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Anna’s face brightened as the form took the rough shape of the man who’d possessed Pearl.

He turned and leered at Vivi. “Whatcha gonna do now, girlie? Your ice is scary, but you can’t hurt an actual ghost.”

“Bet,” was Vivi’s flat response. She swung the bat toward his chest - or rather what she knew his chest must contain. And like an over-confident idiot he let her. She grinned as she felt it connect with his heart and watched it go flying into the dirt. It wasn’t shiny gold, like Lewis’s. Or beautiful as Shiromori’s, or stunning as Mystery’s. In fact it was an ugly squishy thing with green veins pulsing in it.

“What the hell?” Upton screamed as he curled in on himself. But Vivi didn’t care about the ghost’s main form, just the anchor that was rapidly beating on the ground.

“On the worst day of my life I was stuck in a cave while the man I love died right in front of me, while a monster tried to steal my best friend’s body. And almost every night I see some aspect of that or the fallout in my nightmares. And I try to be strong for them, for Arthur, for the Peppers, and even for Lewis now. Because they’ve been through so much Hell and they need someone to act as a pillar.”

“Today I just wanted to find some peace for myself and you made me relive it. You trapped us in a cave. You stole an innocent child’s body. My cousin might die! And once again I couldn’t do a THING to stop it!” Vivi couldn’t stop the tears that flowed from her eyes and froze to her cheeks.  “So GO TO HELL!!!!” Lifting her bat above her head she smashed it against his heart as hard as she could. 

Upton howled in pain and his form destabilized, but she didn’t stop there. She smashed it again and again until there was nothing left of the dark heart or the figure who spawned it. Even as it was, she kept hitting the ground until the sound of sirens broke through her haze.

She turned to Anna Fender, who was huddled against her car. Vivi let out a breath that condensed into white vapor. “The authorities are coming to arrest you now. Whatever deity you pray to, pray that Fred survives. Or I’m coming for you next.”

Ultimatum given, Vivi forced herself to calm down, forced the ice away. The medics were here, she had to get them to Fred.

“You killed him,” Pearl sobbed into Mr. Wright’s shoulder. “You killed his soul.”

Crap. CrapCrapCrap. The last thing she’d wanted was to traumatize the kid who’d already been through too much today. “I didn’t kill his soul. Promise. I destroyed his anchor. It’s his tie to the land of the living. So he can’t manifest or be summoned anymore, but he still exists on the other side.”

And if Vivi had a feeling where exactly on the other side he was, she wasn’t going to mention it to the little girl.

“She’s telling the truth, Pearls.” Mr. Wright assured.

“How can you know?” Daphne asked, looking as wrung out as Vivi felt.

Mr. Wright hesitated, then realized after everything there was no reason not to be forthright. “I can see if people are lying or keeping secrets. Not what the truth is, mind, but I know when someone’s hiding something. She,” he gestured to Anna, “was hiding a lot. Vivi saying she hadn’t killed his soul? Nothing.”

Maya let out a sigh of relief too. Velma just shook her head.

“I guess that’s a useful skill for a lawyer to have.”

Mr. Wright let out a tired laugh. “Useful, but frustrating at times. ‘I magically know they’re hiding something’ is not court admissible evidence and there’s no way to tell if what they’re hiding is even relevant. But I’m glad I have it. I just wish I’d acted on it sooner.”

What he was going to say next, if anything, was lost by police and paramedics arriving. Mr. Wright and the Fey cousins spoke to the police while Vivi, Velma, and Daphne led the paramedics to the cave.

Shaggy and Scooby were still with Fred, Scooby laying on him to keep him still and Shaggy monitoring his pulse and breathing. The paramedics took over and Shaggy was pulled into a hug by his two friends as they watched the professionals work.

~

They probably took up more room in the waiting area of the emergency room than they should, but Vivi wouldn’t worry about it unless it looked like they were running out of space. In addition to his friends (including Scooby, who apparently was considered a service animal to help with Shaggy’s Anxiety), Mr. Wright (or Nick as Maya called him) and the Feys were there too. And she really should have known her boys wouldn’t just sit at home in Tempo after the SOS she had sent. Arthur was curled up on one side of her with Lewis’s Anchor in his hand while Mystery lay at her feet.

(Unlike Scooby he had no reason to get past security, so Vivi suspected shenanigans were up. As apparently did Mr. Wright, who kept looking at him.)

She had been texting a status update to Uncle Skip and Aunt Peggy when a nurse wheeled Fred out, his head wrapped in bandages. “Just a concussion.” The nurse assured them. “He’ll be fine, but needs rest. No strenuous activity or operating heavy machinery.”

“But my van-” Fred protested as his friends wrapped him in a hug.

“Will be taken care of.” Vivi promised as she took over the wheelchair from the nurse.. “But you and your friends are going to stay in Tempo with us until Uncle Skip and Aunt Peggy come to get you.”

Fred groaned. “You guys need to fill me in on what happened. Last thing I remember we saw Vivi at that diner, then I wake up to a doctor poking a flashlight in my eyes.”

“You, like, don’t remember?” Shaggy asked, surprised.

“Concussions can mess with the ability to retain short term memory,” Velma explained. “Though I am curious if you knew about your cousin’s ability with ice magic beforehand.”

Fred shot her a suspicious look. “Am I still unconscious? Or is that an imposter Velma.”

“Things got weird after you got knocked out.” Daphne assured him. “And no, he didn’t know.” Vivi filled in. “That comes from the other side of the family.”

“It’s weird you asked that though. While I was out I had a dream about you in the snow while I was out.”

“You did?” Vivi asked, surprised.

“Yeah, we were in a forest and it was snowing. Your hair was messy and in this weird ponytail. And you were dressed in this ninja outfit. You just sort of sat there smiling at me.”

Vivi’s hands gripped the wheelchair tighter. She recognized the scene, but realized it wasn’t herself Fred had seen. But why was Mushi-obaasan in Fred’s dream? He didn’t have any Yukino blood in him? Heck she’d offered her own blood as a transfusion since they were the same type, but the doctors had told her it was unnecessary.

Then the answer hit her. Fred was family and family was so much more than simply being related. The same way Uncle Lance and the Peppers were to her, how Mr. Wright was to the Feys, and how Fred’s friends were to him, Mushi-obaasan didn’t need to share blood with him for her to recognize him as such. Family was what you made of it, and despite everything, Vivi was glad of her odd little family, blood or not. She suspected Mushi felt the same or she would not have shown herself to Fred.

At least she hadn’t shared her ice powers with him like she had with Vivi. She very much doubted the doctors would have appreciated an ice-plosion in the middle of the ER.