Mystery Skulls Animated (Reader Included)

Ghost

All was quiet, as an orange van driving along a dusty dirt road came into view, its headlights illuminating the path ahead of it. The side of the van read Mystery Skulls: Ghost Investigators with a small black and white skull logo. Inside sat three people and a dog. The driver Arthur was a young man with blond hair, wearing an orange vest, white t-shirt and baggy yellow pants. His left arm shone a bright metal grey as he held the steering wheel. The girl sitting in the passenger seat was Vivi, with blue hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight, wearing a cyan coloured sweater, dark blue skirt and scarf with high heels, as well as purple glasses.
Y/N sat in the back, leaning into the front seat to be part of the conversation Arthur and Vivi were having. With H/L (hair length) H/C (hair colour) and E/C (eye colour), she wore a black jacket, red t-shirt and long grey pants, as she pat their pet, Mystery, a white dog with a black and red mane, and a short white tail.
As the gang listened to their music, none of them seemed to notice a purple aura surrounding the vehicle. The van jolted, eventually coming to a stop. Everyone turned to the empty gas light, before turning to Arthur, annoyed expressions on their faces.
"Arthur, didn't you fill up the fuel tank at the gas station?" Vivi asked sternly. Sweating, Arthur put on a nervous smile. "U-um...I f-forgot?" He stuttered awkwardly. Y/N groaned. "Great, we're stuck in the middle of no where."
Mystery started whining, as Vivi smiled knowingly. "Not necessarily." Pointing out the window, to which everyone now noticed the large black mansion standing to their left, almost intimidating the small group.
Vivi jumped up and down in her seat excitedly. "Stuck out in the middle of no where and we get to visit a haunted mansion?! How thrilling!" She yelled, skipping out of the van. Arthur sweated nervously at her words. "W-wait! H-how do you know it's haunted?!" He called after her, jumping out of the van to chase her. Y/N and Mystery shared a look, before Y/N shrugged, leaving the vehicle to join her companions, the dog following suit.
Arthur and Vivi were already ahead of them, the blue girl about to open the door as Arthur tried changing her mind. "M-maybe we can just c-call someone? W-wait in the van until someone g-gets here?"
"Now what fun would that be?" Y/N said, climbing the stairs as she tried helping Vivi. Opening the mansion door, all was silent inside. Y/N, full of confidence a moment before, felt it starting to drain away. A large slam behind them drained the little courage she had, as they all turned to face the sound. The doors had closed on their own. Rushing over, Y/N attempted to open them, only to find them locked. Arthur grabbed a hold of her arm, as one by one, the candles started to light up themselves, leading them toward what looked like some sort of ballroom.
Vivi gasped, thrilled at the experience, while Arthur held onto Y/N's arm even more tightly. "Creepy..." Y/N muttered, glancing around the room.
Out of no where, small purple ghosts appeared, teasing the group as they pulled their hair and pinched their skin in a playful manner. "Hey Vivi, check their vibe." Y/N chuckled. Vivi put out a hand to pet them. "Aw, they're actually kinda cute!" She giggled. That is, until their playful smiles turned to evil grins.
"BAD VIBE!" Y/N yelled, as the gang bolted away from the terrifying creatures. Ahead of them, a suit of armour moved. The gang only had time to dodge, tripping and sliding as they missed the huge sword the armour held up, about to slice them in half.
Groaning in pain, Y/N heard Arthur scream, pointing at the headless dog sitting in front of them. "OH MY GOD MYSTERY!"
Mystery's head popped up, unharmed. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but it was only temporary. The paintings along the hallway they were sitting in suddenly jumped out at them, attempting to grab them. Arthur jumped into Vivi's arms, while Mystery jumped into Y/N's in fear.
One of the paintings pulled a rope hanging from the ceiling. Before they knew it, the gang were falling. Y/N turned to see a mirror facing in her direction, but it wasn't her reflection looking back. Instead, a man with H/C hair and E/C eyes looked back at her. Before she could think anything of it, the mirror was gone, and Arthur had grabbed onto her arm once again.
Arthur hit the ground first, with Y/N landing on top of him. With another groan of pain, Y/N and Arthur glanced up. Vivi and Mystery were no where in sight.
The two friends glanced around the room, spotting a large black coffin with purple designs in front of them. Y/N held her breath as the lid to the coffin slowly opened.
The two were paralysed as a large skeleton in a black suit stepped forth, seeming to stare at the heart shaped trinket placed on his chest before turning to glare at them.
Floating forward, the ghost landed in front of the terrified humans. He pointed directly to Arthur, as if accusing him of something.
Arthur pointed to himself, "M-me?! W-wha-"
All of a sudden, the torches in the back ground lit up, as the skeletons bright purple eyes peered directly at Arthur, not even seeming to notice Y/N. Purple flames appeared on the ghosts skull, as if it were hair.
Arthur didn't waste anytime, grabbing Y/N's hand as he bolted from the room, the ghost not too far behind. As they ran, they bumped into Mystery and Vivi, both holding giant sandwiches, completely unaware of the danger headed their way.
"VIVI! MYSTERY! RUN!!" Arthur screamed. The dog and blue girl gave both their friends confused looks, before seeing the danger and joining them.
As they ran, Mystery stopped, glancing at a painting. It was much different than the others, as if it were a memory. He recognised the scene, from six months ago.

(Flashback)

An orange van sped down a dusty road. There were three people inside, Mystery included. Vivi sat in the passenger side, Mystery beside her, while Arthur sat in the back. There was another person with them. A man with purple hair. Mystery remembered him as Lewis. Vivi and Lewis chatted together, Mystery enjoying their happiness. Arthur, however, sat alone, feeling dejected.
They pulled up to the entrance of a cave, a sign reading DANGER out the front. The gang paid it no mind, as they'd been assigned to investigate it.
Upon entering, the group separated at a fork. Vivi and Mystery went one way, while Arthur and Lewis went another. The path the two best friends went in led to a cliff. Lewis leaned over, taking a closer look at the jagged rocks below.
But something happened to Arthur. As he stood silently watching his friend, he felt his arm moving of its own accord. Without warning, Arthur pushed Lewis off the cliff, sending him into the sharp rocks below. Arthur screamed out to his best friend, but all that came out was an evil laugh.
Everything was a blur after that. Mystery had come in running, showing his true form as he ripped off Arthur's left arm to stop the curse placed on him from spreading. Vivi's screams had died down as Mystery removed her memories.
A couple of months later, Vivi had forgotten about the incident, while Arthur refused to sit next to Mystery out of fear.
They'd accepted a new member into their group, a young girl with H/C hair and E/C eyes, wearing a black jacket. She waved excitedly as she made her way to the van, thrilled to be going on her first adventure with the ghost investigators. Mystery smiled, as a familiar aura came from the girl. He remembered the aura from many years ago....

(Back to present)

Y/N had tripped, the ghost floating right over her as his target ran off. Standing up quickly, she glanced around, her eyes landing on a large piece of rotting board that was easy to hold. Picking it up, Y/N made her way towards her friends.
The ghost had Arthur backed into a corner, as it began to charge toward him. Vivi stepped in between them, holding out her arms to protect her friend. Closing her eyes, she expected the ghost to harm her.
After a few seconds of nothing happening, she opened her eyes, confused. The ghost had stopped in its tracks, a look of sadness covering his features. The two made eye contact, as the golden heart slowly floated towards the blue girl. Entranced, Vivi held out her hands.
All of a sudden, something hit the ghost, slashing it right across its chest. The heart fell, as the ghost itself knelt on the ground in pain.
Standing behind it was Y/N, shakily holding the board she'd found. Dropping it, she grabbed Vivi's hand, dragging her toward the direction of the exit, with Arthur and Mystery following suit.
Vivi held out her hand, reaching toward the ghost as they ran. The ghost did the same, his golden heart shattering as he watched the gang disappear.
Rage coursed through him, as he let out a scream of anger, sending flames after the gang. They jumped out the door in a nick of time, all of them running into their van, which had miraculously started working.
Speeding off, they never dared look back. Which is why they never saw the ghost glaring down at them from a window as they vanished into the night.
The ghost reached for his golden heart, now turned to a dull grey. Opening it gently, he stared lovingly at the portrait inside. It was a picture of a blue-haired girl and a purple-haired boy, holding each other close, as if they were lovers. The ghost felt a single tear roll down his cheek, remembering the memories he and Vivi had in the past.
The ghost's form disappeared slowly, as morning began to approach.

(The next morning)

"Jeepers, that was terrifying." Y/N said. Arthur hummed in response, still shaken up for being the main target for the horrid spirit. No one had spoken since they'd escaped, although Vivi had set to work illustrating a portrait of the ghost. Mystery was fast asleep next to Y/N, getting rest after the scary experience. Y/N chuckled as they pet the sleeping dog. "Jeez, it seemed like the ghost really disliked you, huh Arthur? As if you'd done something to it. As if you'd ever hurt a fly." Arthur laughed along, but it sounded nervous. "Y-yeah...h-hurt a f-fly..." he mumbled the last part. Y/N gave him a confused glance, before shrugging, turning her attention back to the dog.
Arthur's thoughts went back to the ghost. Why was it after him? What had he ever done to it? He let out a shaky sigh. It didn't matter now. They were safe, and they didn't have to worry about it anymore....
Right?

A/N: So yes Lewis doesn't know about the reader in this story, sorry to disappoint. Also, I don't think the Japanese writing on the van says Ghost Investigators, I'd say it just says Mystery Skulls. I don't even know if it's canon that they're ghost hunters, but I couldn't look it up while I was writing this.
Also, you can't tell me you wouldn't hit someone who was trying to murder your friend