This Time I'll Make You Disappear (Mystery Skulls Animated)

Eight: Day Two, Visiting Friends and Family

"Hey, kiddo! It's good to see you again, nephew," Lance noogied Arthur as he invited him inside.

Arthur laughed. "Y-yeah, it's been a w-while, uncle. I m-missed you."

"I missed you too. How've ya been?"

"Eh, I-I've been doing p-pr-pretty good."

Lance took a seat on the fluffy yellow couch. He pat the seat next to him and Arthur sat down next to him. He heard a little squeak and Arthur looked down to see...

"Galahad! H-hey, l-little guy!" Arthur smiled and took the hamster in his hand softly. "I m-missed you t-too."

"Heh, yup! Lil rascal's been itchin' to see ya," Lance commented.

Arthur pet Galahad's head. "I couldn't w-wait to see you t-too!"

"Ya want anything?"

"N-no thanks," Arthur denied and watched Lance walk to the kitchen.

"Alright, so, how's girlie doing? You seen her around?" Lance asked from the kitchen.

"Vivs' doing g-good. I hung out with her y-yesterday," Arthur said placing the hamster in his lap. "You know sh-she's throwing a party for m-me?"

"Yep, I was invited today before you arrived." Lance returned after grabbing some cola.

"That Vivi, a-always throwing p-parties." Arthur chuckled.

"Heh, well, girlie throws the best parties, great food, great music, great guests. Can't wait to see what she's got planned for you kid."

Arthur smiled, but mentally sighed. "Me neither." 'You know you aren't going, why torture yourself?'

"So...it's been a year since the 'incident' with your arm...how do you feel?"

'Haunted!' "Still g-guilty, but...I miss h-him still, uncle...I miss h-him so m-much," Arthur sighed.

"Why don't you go to that Pepper Paradiso restaurant and check on his family? Maybe that'll make you feel better, buddo."

"M-maybe," Arthur shrugged. "It's j-just weird without him, you kn-know?"

"Yeah, I get it. You two were the bestest of friends all your life. It's gonna be hard, even after a year."

"Yeah, w-well...I'm gonna go talk to the Pepper family. I w-wanna make sure th-they're okay too," Arthur said.

"Oh, alright, kiddo! It was nice seein' you again!" Lance smiled and hugged his nephew tightly. "You stay good, okay? I'll see you on Saturday."

"Y-yeah, see ya S-Saturday. B-bye, Galahad," Arthur hugged his uncle and then pet the hamster's head softly.

He waved before exiting the house and entering his car. He sighed and started his car, driving off shortly after. He suddenly got a phone call. Mystery was ready to be picked up. Arthur told them he'd be there shortly and headed toward the pet salon.

~~~

"Doggy!" squealed Paprika.

Arthur smiled a bit as the youngest sibling started giving the dog obvious unwanted attention.

"Arthur! It's been ages!" Cayenne was next and jumped towards Arthur.

"Wh-whoa!" Arthur stammered and caught her in the knick of time. "Hey, Kay."

"Hey, Arthur!"

"Arthur?! Where!? Oh my gosh! Where have you been!?" cheered the oldest Belle.

"Wow, l-look how big y-you've gotten," Arthur smiled and hugged her. "How o-old are you n-now?"

"I'm seven," Belle smiled.

"Wow, a-and growing up n-nicely."

Belle giggled and hugged back.

"Arthur, what a wonderful surprise," Kia greeted as she exited out of the kitchen.

"Ah, Mrs. Pepper, h-how are you?" Arthur smiled and firmly shook Kia's hand.

"Gimme a hug, kid." Kia pulled him into a hug after Arthur let Cayenne down.

"Hey, hands off my wife," Peño called jokingly.

"Aw, quit it, Peño," Kia laughed.

"Hey, Mr. Pepper," Arthur shook his hand after releasing his hug with Kia.

"Good to see you again, kid," he replied.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Cayenne asked after finishing her greeting with Mystery.

"I j-just w-wanted to say hi and m-make sure y-you guys w-were okay," Arthur smiled.

"Oh, that's nice of you, dearie," Kia smiled back. "We're actually doing pretty good."

"Yeah! I mean, we still miss Lewis, we always will, but we all know he's in a better place now!" Belle cheered, and her sisters agreed.

"Lewis will forever remain in our hearts, but we'll see him again at a later time, I'm sure of it," Peño said, a tear escaping his eye.

"Lew-Lew was the best," Paprika chirped. "He'd always sing me to sleep when I had bad dreams and he'd always make sure I was safe."

"Yeah, Lewis was an amazing singer," Cayenne agreed, "Remember when he was in that play in high school?"

"Yeah, he did amazing!" Belle remembered. "Wasn't that the year his girlfriend wrote the script?"

"Oh yeah. It was so nice of Lewis to call her up and give her the credit for an amazing play," Paprika cooed.

"And then they kissed and it was so cute," squealed Belle.

"Blek, that was the worst part," Cayenne fake-gagged.

"I thought it was adorable," Paprika swooned.

Arthur smiled back at the memory. Lewis and Vivi were the greatest couple in the world. It started off as a crush in elementary school and middle school, and escalated to a full-time relationship in high school. The love they shared never faded. Even when they got into arguments, it ended shortly with an instant apology from Lewis, even if it wasn't his fault.

"They w-were pretty much th-the perfect c-couple," Arthur commented. 'And now she doesn't even remember him...'

"What was it like, Arthur? Did they third wheel you?" Belle asked curiously.

"Sometimes th-they did, other times th-they didn't," Arthur rubbed the back of his head. "I-I-I tried t-talking about it to th-them, but they k-kept doing it, so I-I t-tried my best t-to ignore it."

"Aww, that doesn't sound like something Lew-Lew would do," Paprika sympathized.

"Well, th-that's what happened."

Mystery yawned and Arthur noticed. "Tired, buddy?"

"You should get going, anyway," Kia suggested. "We kinda have a no pets policy and customers are looking suspicious."

"Oh, s-sorry about that. It w-was good s-seeing you again. I'm s-sure I'll s-see you guys a-at my party on S-Saturday?" Arthur asked.

"Oh yeah! Are we going, mommy!? Please!" Paprika begged.

"Of course, we'll see you there," Kia smiled and gave Arthur a hug goodbye.

The girls hugged him as well before Arthur left the restaurant.

~~~

Again, I apologize for the late update! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, if you did pls leave a vote/comment. Sorry this author's note is so short, don't have much to say. So, bye!