Shaggy and Velma Get a Clue or Two

[russm]

Fight the Good Fight 1

(Authors note: This story is set a month after The Patter of Tiny Dinkleys. This is the third story in a five story series which started with The Snack Strikes Back)
Velma dug deep, her body was covered in bruises and her muscles were screaming in pain despite this she forced herself to give maximum effort. It had been like this all day with virtually no break yet it was all coming down to the last few seconds. Out of the corner of her eye she could see an opponent heading towards her at speed, at the last second she twisted out of the way and slammed them into the wall "Not this time!" Velma screamed into her face, slamming them into the wall again for good measure "And stay down!" Setting off like a thing possessed, she elbowed to the ground anyone who was foolish enough to get in her way. She screamed out as she swung her stick with all her might, the puck sailed through the air with such force that the keeper ducked for cover. The goal siren sounded a few milliseconds before the match timer went to zero. The next second she was being surrounded by her team-mates and hoisted aloft.
She was battered, bloodied, bruised, exhausted, and finally, at peace. She had just exorcised so many of the demons that had tormented her over the past year. As she was carried aloft Velma closed her eyes and let her head rest back and savoured the moment of victory, of her team and her own private battle with herself. She owed so much of where she was to her friends and one friend in particular. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Shaggy, there! She raised her hockey stick towards him in salute and he waved back, I did it for you, I did it for me, I did it for us she thought. Half an hour later she limped out of the changing rooms to her friends and into the waiting arms of Shaggy. In silence they headed for the Mystery Machine. Fred and Shaggy had to half carry her most of the way. In the back they made a little bed out of some blankets and laid Velma on top and covered her up. Shaggy stayed in the back with Velma with Fred and Daphne in the front. Shaggy and Velma gazed at each other, Shaggy stared deep into her eyes, the demons were indeed gone, his Velma was back. She was asleep before they had left the car park, when they got back home Fred and Shaggy carried Velma to her room, Daphne got her ready for bed and Shaggy tucked her in. While she slept the gang celebrated, a little over a year after she had been taken from them, their Velma had returned in triumph.

Chapter 2: Domestic Bliss

As the sun rose the following morning Fred, Daphne and Scooby were up and about trying to pack. There was no question of waking Velma, it was 50/50 if she'd even wake up today after the exertions of yesterday.
"Don't worry gang, I'll take care of her while you are at the convention" said Shaggy "She wasn't that keen on going anyway"
"Are you sure Shag?" asked Fred, already knowing the answer
"Trust me guys," replied Shaggy "it's not only Daph who knows how to pamper Velma."
"Well just don't overdo the food Shaggy, you're cooking for Velma not Scooby." said Daphne as she went up to see Velma, she knocked on her door and stuck her head inside "Velma, are you awake?"
"mmmmnnnn" came the muffled reply
"Fred, Scooby and I are off to the convention, Shaggy will look after you. Don't forget to get some rest and take those painkillers, we'll see you in a couple of days OK?" a snore was the only reply Daphne received.
"How's she doing?" called Fred
"Sleeping like a baby, she's fine" Daphne replied heading back downstairs
"Raaah raby Relma" chuckled Scooby.
"She needs the rest, those were some brutal ice-hockey games she played yesterday." said Fred wincing from the memory of yesterday’s all-day women's ice-hockey marathon.
"You said it Fred, I lost count the number of times she got slammed against the wall. Man, girls play rough." said Shaggy.
"Yes, but she gave as good as she got, especially at the end." replied Fred
"That's my Velma... I mean our Velma" said Shaggy awkwardly.
Daphne winked at Shaggy "She needs to rest up for a while, I'm sure you'll find a way to keep her away from the rink for a few days" and smiled innocently.
Daphne had been the first to notice the change in Shaggy and Velma's relationship. They were now the closest that they had ever been. Their on-off relationship and been very much on for quite a few months now and showed no signs of dampening down. She had spent ages discussing this with Fred, mostly talking at Fred about it if the truth were known. Daphne suspected the change started when Velma was hospitalised with a bad head injury she received whilst on a case. Shaggy had been very supportive during her recovery, this made a deep impression on Velma and she had responded with warmth towards him ever since. The experience had also touched Shaggy and he had remained very attentive towards her even when her recovery was well under way.
Then there was the time when they all thought Velma had been eaten by a monster leaving just her clothed skeleton behind, that had forced Shaggy to face up to his feelings about Velma. That's when it all came together for them thought Daphne. Shaggy had shown a level of physical courage Daphne had never seen before, but only when Velma was in danger, Velma had made sure that she was the bait rather than Shaggy so she could be sure he was safe and the two of them had shown open displays of real affection towards each other. Daphne had since spied them cuddling up together on the sofa, holding hands when out walking together and, after checking to see that they were not being observed, passionately kissing; they had even been sneaking off to 'look for clues' while the gang had been on cases, the same thing she and Fred used to do when they were first dating. But maddeningly for Daphne, neither Shaggy nor Velma would acknowledge that they were officially an 'item', and Scooby wasn't talking either no matter how much she tried to bribe him.
While Fred and Daphne packed the Mystery Machine Shaggy had a quick word with Scooby
"Sorry I can't come along Scoob, but I need to look after Velma. She overdid the ice-hockey yesterday and needs the rest."
"Ro rorries Raggy" replied Scooby "Raggy ret rovey-dovey rith Relma" he chuckled
"Shhhh Scoob, it's still a secret. Careless talk costs Scooby Snacks" he said sternly
"Rorry Ragggy" Scooby replied.
"Good, looks like Fred and Daph are nearly ready, here's a few boxes of snacks for the trip." Shaggy handed over an armful of boxes to Scooby who dashed off to pack them in the van. Daphne came in to check that they hadn't left anything behind
"You ready to be the 'Face of Blake' at the Fur, Fashion and Fancy Vans convention Daph?" asked Shaggy
"Suppose so, but I'd rather be the Face of Blake for their beauty products than canine grooming and van cleaning. No free samples for us yet, the first load of the products got stolen before they left the company warehouse..." Daphne saw the look on his face "Don't worry Shaggy; dad's investigation team is on the case, not us." Fred came in to say it was time to leave, Shaggy waved them off "Give us a call when you get there!" he shouted as the Mystery Machine drove off.
After the gang had left Shaggy busied himself round the house. A few hours later he thought he could hear some movement from Velma's room so he went to see if she was up. He knocked on her door "Velma, are you up?"
"mmmm?" came the reply
"Do you want some breakfast?" he asked
"Oh OK." came a quiet replied.
The mass of aches, pains, bumps and bruises slowly coalesced into a just about awake Velma which sat up in bed, put on her glasses then promptly went back to sleep. She was awoken by knocking on her door
"Room service" called Shaggy
"Come in Shaggy" she replied then stretched and yawned. A couple of trays piled high with food, fruit juice and coffee with legs underneath entered the room
"All your favourites Velma, told Daphne I'd pamper you. She told me not to make too much food so I've only done two trays." Velma smiled at Shaggy and swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge while Shaggy loaded a table with the food and moved it in front of her. Velma patted the spot on the bed next to her
"Thanks Shaggy, come and sit here, I think I'll need a bit of help with all this." She said looking at the food before her
"I did a bit extra as it's nearly lunchtime now" said Shaggy sitting next to her
"Oh wow, I didn't think it was that late, have the others gone to the convention?" she asked as they cuddled up to each other
"Yeah, they got off OK. First things first painkillers for you, Daph's orders." Shaggy handed her two large tablets and a glass of water.
Velma took the tablets "Thanks, Shaggy, I can't decide which part of me hurts the most so don't squeeze me too tight."
They both tucked into the food while Shaggy described what he had been doing while she slept.
"I've cleaned the kitchen and done all of your chores for today and those that you hate doing for the next couple of days."
"Aww, thanks Shag" she said hugging him. In his own way Shaggy did know how to pamper her. Velma, as a practical person, appreciated practical pampering, sure the sessions that Daphne would take her on were nice, but nothing actually got done. She now would have a few easy days with the time to concentrate on her projects; finish a series of gadgets that Fred wanted to install on the Mystery Machine, and Shaggy, though the gadgets would be taking a back seat.
"A few days of peace, quiet, and no Daphne" sighed Velma "I'm sure she's spying on us"
"Scoob thinks so too" he replied
"I feel a bit guilty, she knows, but us not saying were together is just teasing her" she said.
Shaggy nodded "She knows Velms. I guess your right; let's tell her when they get back."
Velma let out a sigh of relief "I agree. I don't think I could stand another pamper session with her, it's like the Spanish Inquisition but with hot tubs and scented candles."
Much to her surprise Velma ended up eating much of the food Shaggy had made for her. She collapsed back on the bed "Thanks for the food Shag, boy was I hungry" she said gently stroking his back "Help me up when you're finished, I need to get moving." She curled up next to Shaggy and fell asleep whilst he finished his breakfast. She awoke a couple of hours later to find herself tucked up in bed again. Velma decided it was time to face the inevitable and see if any of her limbs were still in working order, got dressed and went down stairs. Shaggy was sitting on the couch sifting through his collection of recipe books. "Let's go for a walk, I think my legs still work." smiled Velma so hand-in-hand the pair went for a gentle stroll around their neighbourhood working out the stiffness in her limbs. As they approached their house Velma remembered a question she had been meaning to ask Shaggy for a while.
"What have you and Fred been working on in the garage?" asked Velma
"Ready for a surprise?" asked Shaggy
"Probably" replied Velma. He led her to the garage door
"Close your eyes" he said. She did and heard the sound of the garage door being opened. "Here you go" she opened her eyes and saw an old pick-up truck, painted green with orange trim and interior.
"What's that?" she asked
"It's my dad's old pick-up truck, he said if we could get it running again, we can have it. I was going to call it the History Machine." he said
"The History Machine?" she said.
"Yep on account of it being so old, the idea is we have a back-up to the Mystery Machine" he replied.
"How did you help out?" asked Velma
"Mostly by dropping spanners on his head, I also picked the colours and took it for a couple of test drives. It was a great time" sighed Shaggy "Me and Fred really connected." Quite literally thought Velma shaking her head, all of a sudden the pamper session Daphne had dragged her on didn't seem too bad after all. At least they didn't involve dropping heavy metal objects on each other’s head.
Returning to the house Velma prepared them an afternoon snack and they collapsed in a heap together on the sofa to watch a couple of shows of the science of cooking.
"Making ice cream with dry ice! I have got to try that" said Velma.
"And I have got to eat it. Hey look, we've got a message" said Shaggy "I suspect it's Daphne saying they got there OK" and indeed it was.
"Well they sound happy, the Fur, Fashion and Fancy Vans convention is right up their street" said Velma. The rest of the day was thankfully uneventful. Velma was able to finish off some of the Mystery Machine upgrades and Shaggy cleaned and polished the pick-up truck.
That evening they settled down together to watch TV, Shaggy sat on lengthways on the couch and Velma sat between his legs and rested back on him, her head resting on his chest, his arms round her waist with her arms holding his. Both were slowly falling asleep and neither wanted to move. Just before he dropped off to sleep Shaggy thought about tomorrow. The only thing they had to do was the weekly shopping, after that they had a free day. He was too tired to think of something to do, but was sure that something would crop-up.

Chapter 3: Coolsville, we have a problem

They awoke when the sun came through the curtains the following morning, Shaggy leapt to his feet "Best job of the week Velms, shopping for food! It's nice and early so the store should be empty" he said almost dragging Velma to pick-up "We'll get breakfast there." They settled in the truck and hit the shops.
"Good work you two, the Myst, I mean History Machine seems to be running fine, it sure beats having to carry the food back." said Velma. When they got in the door they heard the beep of the answering machine.
"Just missed a call, let's get this stuff away first" suggested Shaggy so then went through the usual routine of putting all the stuff away, eating the little treats that had 'accidentally' fallen into the shopping cart, then settled down to listen to the message.
"Probably Daph making sure I'm taking those pain-killers..." said Velma as she pressed the play button
"Velma, Shaggy it's Daphne, please help me!" came Daphne's terrified whisper "Someone is trying to kidnap me, I can't find Fred or Scooby anywhere, I think they've already been taken. There is someone here pretending to be Fred. Please help; I'm still at the convention centre, I've also found that stolen..." Shaggy and Velma stared at each other; there was some muffled noise in the background then they heard Daphne scream "you're not Fred, get away from me, leave me alo..." there was some more muffled noises followed by the phone being switched off. Both stared at the answer-phone, stunned by what they had heard.
"Daphne" whispered Velma,
"Fred" whispered Shaggy
"Scooby" they both whispered. Shaggy and Velma held onto each other for a while until the initial shock of what had happened had left them.
At the convention centre 3 figures were grouped around the open boot of a car. "See Mugsy?" said Rocky "That was easy and she was supposed to be the toughest of them."
"Gee, yeah, just like the boss said, it was easy" replied Mugsy
"That's three of them taken care of, the other two should be even easier, I doubt one of them will even turn up" said Rocky looking at pictures of Shaggy and Velma "Even if they both do, we'll be waiting."
"Oh yeah" replied Mugsy cracking the fingers on his huge hands "We'll be waiting for them just like you said Rocky. I'm gonna scare the little orange one so much that's she won't even be able to think her way out of a paper bag just like the boss wants"
"The boss has waited a long time for this, not only will we be rich from the ransom but it will mean the end of those meddling kids, their reputation will be ruined when they all have to be rescued by the local police. All it took was a little inside knowledge, isn't that right boss?" said Rocky as he closed the boot, trapping an unconscious Daphne inside.
"Works for me" said Fred clapping Rocky and Mugsy on the back.
Back home Shaggy and Velma had got over the initial shock of the message. "Let's check that message for clues" said Velma as she took the answer-phone down to her lab. There she ran the message through some signal processing software. Once the muffled sounds had been cleaned up and enhanced it was clear that Daphne had been kidnapped. "We need to go and rescue them Shag" said Velma wiping a tear from her eye,
"Just us?" asked Shaggy
"I understand, I'm just as unsure as you, but they'd do it for us." replied Velma she then smiled at Shaggy "Besides, we have each other"
He smiled back and held her "I know, but let's not split up and look for clues, we're a bit thin on the ground as it is" he said
"I agree. Let’s get our gear together. I think it's time to test some of the new toys I've been working on" replied Velma "But first let's stop and think about how we proceed." Velma waited for a few seconds, then mentally kicked herself, usually she and Fred bounced ideas off each other. This is going to be harder than I thought.
"What was she talking about when she said something was stolen?" asked Velma
"Daph told me that the first shipment of their new products had been stolen before it had even been shipped, their team is on the case, not us" replied Shaggy
"Hmmmm. Daph was the Face of Blake for this launch, stolen product turn up at the convention, they had already got Fred and Scooby, someone is pretending to be Fred, she finds the stolen stuff, she gets kidnapped... sounds like their all connected to me..." muses Velma. Upsetting as it was she forced herself to go over the last part of Daphne's message in fine detail and was able to extract two phrases '3 down 2 to go' and 'got her, we're rich boys'.
"Like man they know who we are, they're not only waiting for us, they want us to come!" quivered Shaggy.
"Good thinking Shaggy" replied Velma "This is no mystery; I think they are just going to hold Daph for ransom, and from what I could make out on the tape, they are going them as bait to go after us as well. I'll alert Daphne's father." Velma picked-up the phone, dialled a pre-arranged number, left a series of code-words then hung up, this had happened so often that Velma could do this in her sleep. She looked at Shaggy "As we don't know who we are dealing, but they seem to know us all to well, we'd better go undercover, very undercover." Velma thought for a while, smiled then blushed slightly "How does this sound..." and she proceeded to explain her idea.
"What about traps? Fred usually does the traps" Shaggy sighed.
"Not today Shag, if we're right about this then we can leave the trapping to the bad-guys. We just need to provide the bait" she replied "and I already know one lucky Dinkley who will be volunteering to be that bait, follow me"

Chapter 4: iVelma

"Now it's time for my surprise" said Velma leading Shaggy to a side room off her main lab area. "Meet Daphne and Velma 2.0." she said opening the door.
"Zoinks!" exclaimed Shaggy as he looked at what could be the girls' identical twins standing in front of him. Hair, clothes, height, Velma's glasses they looked identical to the real thing.
"They are designed to take our places when we are sleeping. They have a GPS position locator and transmitter, a radio distress beacon, life-like breathing patterns, hair, skin, body temperature and weight distribution, some movement, speaker, microphone and a gas analyser. Should someone attempt to use knock-out gas on one of them a silent alarm is triggered and it reacts as if we were being gassed. If it is moved it sends regular position updates." Velma stood next to her decoy.
Shaggy circled all three "Like creepy man, they look so real."
"As great as it is to be rescued by you boys, Daphne and I are getting tired of ending up as damsels-in-distress, especially me, I've never been good at escapology. I can spend hours struggling to get free and all I get is rope burns. Why rope all the time? Do they know Daph has taught me how to pick locks, and the tape they use for gags these days just brings me out in a rash. My hair colour and freckles should tell them that I have sensitive skin, I'll start carrying a roll of low-allergy tape at this rate..." said Velma
"Well Fred and I don't look good in a dress, Scoob has the hips but..." replied Shaggy but Velma wasn't listening
"And you're never held anywhere nice; it's always a damp dungeon or some kind of run-down warehouse. Even when it's not you end up being dumped on a cold hard floor or tied to a rough wooden chair, I mean seriously last time it took hours to get all the splinters out of my legs. Sure it sounds romantic like the kind of fluff Daphne used to read when she was young, 'the beautiful heroine waiting for rescue by the gallant hero'. And, well, yes it is wonderful when you rescue me Shaggy, it does set my heart racing the first time I see you, but..." Shaggy pinched the arm of the decoy Velma "...Ow! What did you do that for?"
"Sorry Velms, I thought you were the decoy." replied Shaggy
"Well it fooled you" said Velma rubbing her arm "so I guess it's ready."
They loaded up the History Machine with the various bits of gear they needed, Velma collected a small jar from the kitchen cupboard.
"What are you bringing that stuff for?" asked Shaggy
"This will help us tell the real from the phoney Fred" she said
After the gear was all stowed they went to put the finishing touches on their disguise. Velma went to fashion some jewellery then they got changed into their new identities. Velma wore her red beret, a chocolate-orange shirt, an orange T-shirt, jeans and red trainers. Shaggy changed into a black jacket, green long-sleeve shirt, combat trousers and orange trainers; he also dyed his goatee a darker colour.
Velma tensed "OK Shaggy, just, just do it..." Shaggy proceeded to apply make-up and hairspray to her.
"All done, hope that didn't hurt too much" he smiled "It's as close as I can get to your normal natural look, but disguise you." Velma examined her new face with a sense of trepidation.
"That's not bad Shag, this should work I don't recognise myself" she said
"Well I prefer your natural look as well" said Shaggy gallantly
"Thanks Shag... come here and help me test the kissability of this lipstick" smiled Velma as she pulled Shaggy to her. Once the testing was completed they applied the final part of their disguise. They stood back to admire their handiwork and each other.
"I can still see your classic colour theme" said Shaggy
"Well I do have my standards to maintain" smiled Velma
"Well you look fantastic Mrs Rogers" said Shaggy
"Thank you Mr Rogers, my husband has excellent taste." After about 5 minutes they finally got their fit of the giggles under control enough to make a start.
As they headed off they began to feel quite positive about the whole affair. They were now doing something about the trouble their friends were in so their sense of powerlessness was beginning to evaporate. It began to dawn on them that this was all new, Shaggy and Scooby had solved mysteries together, Velma and Fred had often solved mysteries together, occasionally Daphne and Shaggy had solved mysteries together, but neither could recall a time when they had solved a mystery, just by themselves. On the way they stopped for some supplies, much to Velma's delight Shaggy brought her a huge bunch of flowers.
"Our first mystery as an official couple" proclaims Shaggy handing over the flowers..
"That's so romantic" said Velma imitating Daphne's voice and mannerisms. The happy mood dissipated as they approached the convention centre. Velma attempted to get a remote connect to the Mystery Machine so to activate its GPS emergency beacon but was unable to make contact.
"The current aerial is not all that good, that's why I'm working on an update." explained Velma "you need to be quite close to get a remote connection."
"Well, it's time to get our game faces on" said Shaggy "We've arrived."

[russm]

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Arriving at the convention centre they checked into its hotel as Mr Chastain and Mrs Dace Rogers using Shaggy's private credit card by way of extra cover. They lugged their gear up to their room and collapsed in a tired heap on the bed and stared at the ceiling while they caught their breath.
"OK, let's agree not to tell Daphne about this particular part of our disguise plan. We'll never hear the end of it if we do" said Velma, Shaggy nodded in agreement.
"Sure thing Velms, our lives will be bad enough as it is when we tell her were a couple" Velma leant up on her elbow and smiled at him "A couple of what though? Let's get Phase Two moving." They unpacked their gear and collected the items they needed for the next stage and went down to the basement car park of the hotel.
"Let's pick up the pick-up" laughed Shaggy, Velma just rolled her eyes. In the basement car-part they found the Mystery Machine. They tried not to react to the discovery and were careful to give it a wide berth so as not to arouse suspicion. Only once in their truck with the windows rolled up did they talk about it.
"That explains why we couldn't raise the Mystery Machine." said Shaggy. Velma proceeded to remotely connect to the Mystery Machine to see if it could provide any clues to where the rest of the gang were.
"No luck Shag, it hasn't moved since they arrived at here. I'm going to switch its motion tracker on. If it gets moved, we'll at least know where it is. Perhaps it will lead us to the others."
They drove out to the local rail station. On the way Velma put on a tracksuit over her clothes and removed her make-up and jewellery, Shaggy also put a tracksuit over his clothes. Once at the station Velma grabbed her bag and headed for the passenger rest area and the ladies showers. After a while she emerged as classic Dinkley 1.0, timing her exit with a train load of passengers. She then caught a bus to the centre and was relieved to see Shaggy was able to follow her all the way in the pick-up. Just before entering the hotel she made a deliberately bad attempt to disguise herself and waited for Shaggy to get into position to watch over her. Velma entered the hotel and used her Mystery Inc company card to book a room under her own name and was able to get a room directly above one that was occupied by a Mr and Mrs Rogers. She also made some obvious enquires about Fred and Daphne. She then dashed up the stairs as fast as she could to their room so to avoid anyone waiting for her at her new room. She leant against the wall trying to catch her breath. A short while later Shaggy entered and leant against the closed door. He went to speak but Velma motioned him further into the room and sat on the end of the bed
"Well?" she whispered
"You were followed as soon as you got to the hotel" he whispered "Someone who look a lot like Fred checked the hotel guest book as soon as you went to your room and left a message for you. He knew exactly who to look for and now knows your room number. I overheard him making a call, sounds like they will try to grab you early tomorrow morning... time for you to be Mrs Rogers again, its open season on Dinkleys at the moment."
"With pleasure Shaggy" she replied "I'll put the decoy on charge" soon Mrs Rogers was back. Later the Rogers' enjoyed a meal in the hotel restaurant then visited its Sports Bar, no-one would be looking for a single Velma in there. For Dace there was an ice-hockey game on the big screen TV, for Chastain, the bar snacks. Both took the opportunity to get some rest and relaxation and at the end they both agreed that they had an enjoyable evening together. It would have been a very enjoyable evening where it not for the reason they were there in the first place. As soon as they got up to their room they put Phase Three into action.
They stepped out onto the balcony and threw some line up to the balcony above and secured the line to the bulkiest part of their gear. They then carefully went up to Velma's room. Once there they hauled up the decoy Velma as they felt carrying a life-like body through the hotel might just arouse too much attention. The put the decoy Velma to bed then switched it on. All the diagnostics came up good. They put the lights and TV on timers so the room would appear to be occupied and set up an intruder alarm. A small flat-panel speaker was also installed near the door which would make it sound like Velma was on the phone and generally moving about. Velma changed back to her regular self then ordered an evening meal via room service. It duly arrived and was duly eaten, mostly by Shaggy. As far as the outside world was concerned the room was now occupied by Velma. By way of extra authenticity Velma left her regular clothes in the room, the decoy's glasses were put on the side-table. They stared at the decoy as it breathed gently, "Let's go, the decoy is starting to creep me out now" said Velma. They left the balcony door open slightly so to make the bad-guys job easier, buckled up to the ropes and went back to their room. They had set the bait all they needed was for someone else to take it.

Chapter 6: Hairspray, towels and hills

They abseiled down to their room and disconnected all the rigging from the balcony above then securely locked their balcony window. After the abseil Shaggy needed some Scooby Snacks to calm his nerves. He watched some TV whilst Velma locked herself in the shower until every last trace of make-up and hairspray was gone. Shaggy could hear her complaining about make-up, hairspray and how long it was taking to clean all the stuff off. All of a sudden the bathroom door was opened and Velma came out of the bathroom, dressed ready for the next day, towelling dry her hair
"Ugh! Why do people spray that stuff on themselves?" she said
"Dunno Velms not my scene, I'm next in the shower" replied Shaggy
"OK I'll check the weather in the local area for tomorrow, we don't want to get caught out" she said throwing the towel in the washing basket.
"Two points!" said Shaggy as he entered the bathroom
Velma smiled and started to check the weather for the local area and the team email, no ransom demand had been made yet. Don't think they will send any demand until they have collected all the Mystery Inc set. She cleaned her glasses till they were crystal clear, that always seemed to help her think. Her thoughts were interrupted by Shaggy stumbling out of the bathroom with a towel round his waist
"Man, must remember to take fresh clothes in the bathroom in future. Ow, now I've got soap in my eyes, this stuff stings"
Velma watched in amusement as he fumbled around in the suitcase for his clothes, while he was rummaging around his towel kept slipping. In frustration he dumped it on the ground and grabbed a handful of clothes. He stood up clutching the bundle and turned around "Velms, don't forget to unpack the cereal bars and fruit, we'll need something to eat in the morning. I hate to think what time we're going to have to get up and I doubt the bad guys will stop for breakfast on the way" he said in the general direction of Velma.
"Sure… thing… Shag" she replied quietly
"Are you OK?" he asked "You sound quiet" He walked up to her and gently stroked her head.
"Fine, never better" she whispered "never been better"
Spellbound Velma watched him return to the bathroom and pat the door closed with his backside. A few seconds later she heard a muffled 'zoinks!' from behind the door and smiled.
"Velms, did I just do what I think I just did?"
"Yes" she replied carefully "thank you"
Shaggy sighed, was it because he was so used to sharing a hotel room with Fred or was this Mr & Mrs Rogers business becoming all too easy all too quickly?
After Shaggy had changed and having made it clear to Velma that the 'towel' incident was never to be mentioned to Daphne, they settled down for an indeterminate wait. A chair was pushed under the door handle of their room to prevent anyone surprising them. All there was to do then was the waiting; they lay awake on the bed, dressed, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Velma recalled talking to an FBI field agent once; they described how waiting for things to happen was, in many ways, the most difficult part of the job. Having to be alert despite the boredom... and watching the Cooking Channel with the sound off isn't helping matters! Velma decided that if she did become Mrs Rogers they would have at least two TV's in their house, and she'd keep the remote control to one of them under lock and key. She looked at the time and yawned; Shaggy is still awake... It can't hurt if I close my eyes for just a few minutes...
Shaggy started awake man, like so much for me staying awake and keeping watch he thought. Velma, still sleeping, had wrapped herself around him. He looked down and gazed at her; she looked so peaceful and so beautiful. He gently caressed her head and back; she made little sleepy noises and snuggled closer into him. Shaggy crossed the Rubicon; it would be a tough call between Fred and Scooby over who would be best man. Looking around the room everything seemed to be in order, the status read-out from the decoy showed noting but green lights and none of the alarms had gone. It's all peaceful and quiet so... His Shaggy sense was telling him something bad was about to happen, years of running away from monsters had made his sense of danger razor-sharp so he wasn't that surprised when a few seconds later the intruder alarm to Velma's room went off. Velma began to stir "Velma, time to get moving." he whispered. She awoke just as the knock-out gas alarm on the decoy went off. Fully awake they sat up and waited, eating some breakfast bars to give them energy for the task ahead. A couple of minutes later position updates began to arrive. "Its show time" whispered Velma "No one kidnaps our friends and get away with it." Just as they were getting ready to leave position updates from the Mystery Machine also started coming in. The co-ordinates were almost identical.
Using the updates from the decoy and the Mystery Machine they were able to follow the crooks at a safe distance.
"Looks like they are heading for that house on the hill surrounded by some woods" said Velma looking at the directions the readings were heading.
"That's good as I'm not sure we'll be going much further" said Shaggy
"Why?" asked Velma
"Well we're losing oil pressure, engine temperature is rising and that bit on the road behind us looks like part of the engine me and Fred fitted a few weeks ago." he said. In the end both of them were right. The Mystery Machine did stop at the house on the hill and the decoy was moved inside. The History Machine made it as far as the bottom of the hill before it gave out. The pair got out of the pick-up and stared at the assortment of engine parts that trailed behind it.
"Well it's the Ancient History Machine now" said Saggy sadly
"Never mind, we can always get a tow-truck and the Mystery Machine is not that far away. Besides it got us this far, the rest of the gang must be in the house of top of that..." Velma looked up "...very steep hill" she looked again at her net book display, "why do hills look so much easier on a computer" she muttered starting out on the path.
"Not the path Velms, we should stick to the wood, no one will see us coming up the hill if we use the wood for cover" said Shaggy "Me and Scoob learnt that lesson a long time ago. Oh Scoob, don't worry old pal, we're coming" The pair set off up the hill keeping to the wooded area as Shaggy suggested even though it made the going more difficult. Dawn was breaking, the house would be in the light first and they would remain hidden in the gloom.
"There are times I would give anything to be Daphne," panted Velma
"Why? I think you're perfect" gasped Shaggy "Man, the hills are getting steeper these days."
Velma smiled "That's sweet of you Shaggy, I was more thinking that Daph is probably tied to a chair at the moment, you know, forced to sit down and not climb anything. There's something to be said about being the one in need of rescuing." she paused and stood up to stretch her back "Ow! I don't think my back should have made that noise. People never think about what the rescuers have to go through to do the rescuing." she smiled at him "I'll try to arrange to be held prisoner somewhere flat next time I'm in need of rescuing."
Daphne had in fact been kept locked in a basement room, chained to a pipe by her ankle. She could have escaped but not knowing where Fred and Scooby were had stayed her hand. She had got free a couple of times to try to find out where they were but to no avail. As vague threats had been made against both of them if she had not co-operated she had decided to play a longer game until she could get more information as to their location. She was wondering about Shaggy and Velma, she had got part of the message through, at least enough that Velma would know to alert her father. Part of her hoped they wouldn't come to their aid. Velma would be still worn out and Shaggy would be more worried about Velma that he might be overcome by nervousness like he was when he was younger especially as Scooby wasn't there. She also knew that they would come and they would try, but as to what they could do by themselves she was at a loss. The door was unlocked and light flooded into the basement, Daphne shielded her eyes trying to see who was there, was she to be rescued? Her heart sank as she recognised the silhouettes of her captors. She was unchained and dragged out of the room and upstairs. "Time for you to earn your keep princess" growled Rocky. This wasn't a good sign as far as Daphne was concerned, she needed to think of a plan quickly... genius! she thought and cleared her throat to speak...

Chapter 7: A vigorous team

Scooby was dozing in the large cage he had been locked in when he awoke to familiar sounds and smells. Daphne was coming! "Oh please don't hurt me sir, I've been a such good little girl just like you asked." came her voice "I never complained and stayed ever so still even in that dark and scary basement" Scooby was confused, the approaching scent belonged to Daphne and the voice belonged of Daphne, but that wasn't the Daphne he knew. Then he twigged it, this was her Hopeless, Helpless, Clueless, Heiress routine. "Please be kind to me sir, daddy will be so much more generous if he knows you have been kind to his little Daphne." The door was opened and Daphne was pushed inside followed by her captors, Mugsy and Rocky.
"Sit over there princess" said Rocky.
"Yes sir, oh there's a window, oh thank you, you are kind, this is so much nicer than that basement." said Daphne, she then began to blub slightly "Please can I speak to daddy or my friends? Can I see my precious Freddie please? I need to know he is safe. I'll be extra good then." Scooby covered his eyes and whined, he whined for Daphne's distress, her pain, her upset but above all for her appalling acting. As much as Great Danes hold any opinions on theatrical matters, Daphne's performance was, to Scooby, eye wateringly bad.
"Mugsy, tie-up our little princess so she stays put while we get things ready for her big video shoot. And Mugsy, make it look artistic as well, so it looks good on camera." said Rocky
"Geee errr OK Rocky" said Mugsy "Hmmm artistic..."
"Oh please don't tie me up, I showed I could behave when I was locked in that basement" pleaded Daphne
"Princess, what would you like? Mugsy to tie you up, or go visit your meat-head boyfriend?" growled Rocky
"OK, OK, you can tie me up but please not tight, just please don't hurt my precious Freddie-weddy" Freddie-weddy? Scooby was not sure if his stomach could take much more of this. Fortunately for Scooby's artistic sensibilities a large wad of cloth was tied over Daphne's mouth when Mugsy had finished ihis Daphne plus rope mixed-media art project. "Now be quiet and stay still" said Rocky. Daphne nodded her head and went all doe-eyed and tearful "mmm-mm, mmm-mm." Daphne sobbed unconvincingly for a while until she was sure that there was nobody listening then she quickly shook her gag free
"Don't worry Scooby, I was just acting" she whispered to him
"Ro ridding, ro reesey" said Scooby shaking his head
"Cheesy?" sniffed Daphne "I thought it was a fine performance myself."
Daphne was about to begin to free herself when the door opened. She quickly sneezed a few times
"I'm so sorry sir; it came off when I sneezed. I would have re-gagged myself if I could."
"Let me do it for you princess." said Rocky. The cloth was stuffed into her mouth and tied tightly in place Daphne gave him an angry stare when his back was turned.
"Don't worry; you won't be a lonely princess any more" said Mugsy "We've got your friend to keep you company. The other was a no-show just as we thought he would be." Daphne's stomach became a ball of ice as they carried in an unconscious Velma, dressed in her pyjamas and already tightly bound and gagged. She was dumped unceremoniously in the corner of the room then they left locking the door behind them. To make matters worse she was not wearing her glasses, escape would be much harder now, poor Velma they must have got her while she slept she thought. Daphne was gutted, her message had got through but the rescue had been a failure. Where was Shaggy? He wouldn't abandon them, he certainly wouldn't abandon Velma. Things did look grim for them at the moment we're down, but we're not out... yet she thought. Daphne scanned the room for anything that might help, there were some familiar looking bottles on top of Scooby's cage. Scooby was more confused than anything, something did not smell right.
Daphne struggled to free herself; finally she managed to remove her gag. "Don't know about artistic, but these ropes are painfully tight... Scooby, can you reach that liquid soap up there? I need to get free quickly. When we are out you must lead Velma to safety, no matter what just get her away from here." Scooby grabbed the soap with his tail and poured it over Daphne's wrists and elbows which enabled her to quickly free herself. Daphne then picked the lock on Scooby's cage, Scooby came out and sniffed and nuzzled Velma, something was definitely not right, he licked her face, this usually woke her up. Scooby recoiled, a look of disgust on his face.
"Ro Rukky" he whined
"Scooby! How could you?" scolded Daphne "Velma is our friend, she came to rescue us and now needs our help." She crept over to her sleeping friend "Velma, Velma wake up" she whispered shaking her gently, she didn't even stir. "Something's wrong with her Scooby she won't wake up." Daphne said in despair. Something wrong indeed, the scent from the clothes was Velma's but...
"Rot Relma" said Scooby "rorot Relma"
Daphne looked quizzically at Scooby as she began to untie her friend. "I don't understand; a robot Velma? Ohhh I hope they didn't hit her on the head." Daphne stopped to examined Velma for signs of a head wound; she didn't find a bump but... a USB port? "Now I understand, this is her robot decoy. She was making one for both of us. I knew they were lifelike but this is just plain creepy, it even breathes like Velma does when she's asleep. I'm sorry I scolded you Scooby, but I was so sure it was her" whispered Daphne scratching him behind his ears
"Reah rorot Relma ray roo reepy" agreed Scooby.
"Do you know where Fred is?" asked Daphne
"Rattic" he replied pointing his tail upwards.
"Good work Scooby, I'll lower you down then climb up and rescue Fred" Daphne opened the window as quietly as she could and looked down; it was about 15 feet to the ground. Scooby sniffed the incoming air and began to get excited "What's up boy?" whispered Daphne
"Raggy, Remla rearby" said Scooby
"What's that? You smell Shaggy and Velma?"
"Reah roming rat ray" indicated Scooby. Daphne looked in that direction, dawn was breaking but there was not much light yet. She thought she could see movement, but was unsure; Shaggy's green t-shirt would make it hard to see him, there was a figure in unfamiliar clothes near the top of the hill. Daphne stared intently at the figure until "Velma!" whispered Daphne; well that solves the mystery of the missing glasses she thought. Daphne waved from the window, a few seconds later Velma waved back, and then she saw Shaggy who also waved. Yes! Daphne shouted in the privacy of her head, never underestimate Mystery Inc. her spirits soared, it wasn't just Shaggy and Scooby who made a vigorous team.
Velma was exhausted by the climb, Shaggy looked exhausted, time to get in back-up she thought and called Daphne's father. A few minutes later a police helicopter was re-tasked from traffic duty and headed towards their location, a few squad cars also set off for the same direction. Velma got to the top and peaked in through a window. She was enraptured by what she saw, there next to an open fire, in a room lined with bookcases, was a Rest-o-matic 3000 armchair, the ultimate in comfortable sitting. She gazed at it longingly what wouldn't I give to sit in one of those right now she thought. While Velma was admiring the internal furnishing Daphne was putting her plan into action. She opened the window as wide as she could and eased herself out "Come on Scooby, I'm sure Shaggy and Velma have got some Scooby Snacks with them." Just as Scooby was about to climb on her shoulders the door opened and Mugsy and Rocky came in. Scooby leapt on Daphne's shoulders as they made a lunge for him, she started down the drainpipe but her soapy hands and Scooby's extra weight caused Daphne to lose her grip. They slid down to the ground and connected with Shaggy just as he got to the top. The trio then tumbled down the hill. Velma was about to go back down and help when two people emerged from the house and went to give chase after Daphne. Must lead them away from the others she thought. Before Velma realised what she was doing, she was running towards them shouting.

Chapter 8: Comfy captivity and chocolate

Velma ran towards the two goons
"You two stay right there" she shouted, both stopped in their tracks. She grabbed both of them by the lapels and lifted them off their feet and shouted into their faces "Is that a Rest-o-matic 3000 in there?" Rocky nodded unsure of what was going on
"Do you have any hot chocolate in there? Marshmallows?" she shouted, Rocky nodded again
"Has your last damsel-in-distress just escaped?" Both nodded
"Err yeah, she just slipped down the drainpipe and bounced down the hill like a little purple rubber ball" said Mugsy trying to be helpful
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Velma dropping them onto the ground. They picked themselves off the floor and began to back away from her "Today is your lucky day gentlemen, I'm your new damsel-in-distress, tie me to that Rest-o-matic 3000 and feed me hot chocolate NOW!" she screamed at the top of her voice, waving her arms about, and hoping that this was an offer they would refuse.
Rocky and Mugsy stared at each her, in any other circumstances Velma would, by now, be tightly trussed up in the basement, but today it just wasn't happening for them. They looked at each other, then at the mad woman in orange... turned tail and ran for their lives. Velma followed after them, her demands for comfy captivity and chocolate ringing in their ears. In desperation to escape they ran down the path near when Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby had fallen.
Further down the slope Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne had just managed to untangle themselves when the sound of Velma screaming something reached them
"They've got Velma, let's go Scoob" shouted Shaggy. The trio dashed up the hill
"Wait" said Daphne, "They are coming this way. Lets try to grab Velma out of their way when she passes" They got ready but much to their surprise it was Rocky and Mugsy who appeared first, fighting each other in an attempt to get further away. A few seconds later a tiring Velma came into view, she stopped when she them and bent over, hands resting on her knees trying to catch her breath.
She smiled at Daphne "They... don't make…. villains… like they used to….. I mean… what a damsel got to do... to get kidnapped these days?" She said between breaths
"Damsels traditionally don't run after their potential captors demanding that they be tied to a comfy chair and force fed hot chocolate" laughed Daphne "It looks like you scared them away." Once Velma had caught her breath they all headed up to the house to get Fred.
"Scooby says Fred is being kept in the attic" said Daphne when they had reached the house.
"But how do we get inside" asked Shaggy "I don't fancy climbing up the same way you came down Daph."
"Well, we could use this open door" suggested Velma pointing at the open front door.
"Well yeah, if you want to do things the easy way" he replied. The gang went inside and looked around. Daphne and Shaggy had to drag Velma away from the library and its chair so they could head up stairs.
"Who was behind all this Daph?" whispered Velma as they climbed the stairs
"Not exactly sure" replied Daphne "I think whoever it is was also behind stealing the first load of Blake's products that were intended for the convention, I found all the stolen products relabelled and on sale there. Whoever it was also made a convincing Fred as I saw him at the stand and started to talk to him like a I would my Fred... Wait there used to be one of the product developers who looked at lot like Fred. He left a quite few months ago."
"It will have to wait, we're at the attic, do you want us to go in first?" asked Velma.
"No, Fred has done this for me often enough I'll go first" whispered Daphne. She picked the lock and the gang crept in. They entered a large room with two doors at the opposite end. Scooby started to sniff around but the dust was getting up his nose, soon he was continuously sneezing.
"Rorry Raphne, rose rot rorking" he whined
"That's OK Scooby, there' so much dust here" replied Daphne "We'll open the doors" Daphne and Velma each stood in front of one of the doors, Shaggy and Scooby stood a few feet back between them, ready to provide support should it be needed. "On 3 Velma, 1... 2... 3!" The girls simultaneously opened the doors. Each stared into a small room with a figure sitting in the far corner "Fred!" they both shouted.

Chapter 9: The camera never lies

A few seconds after they had opened the doors the police arrived at the house. Daphne explained the situation to the officers who brought out the Freds. Both looked equally rough and both looked too much like each other for even Daphne to tell them apart.
"If Scoob's nose was working he could tell them apart strait away" said Shaggy "What will we do now?"
"I know how to tell them apart, I'll be back in a couple of minutes, officer could you come with me please?" Velma left the room followed by one of the police officers. A squad car was heard to leave only to return almost immediately. A short while later the officer returned Velma followed a minute later carrying two plates, on each there is a slice of bread with something spread on it. She handed a plate to each Fred "Now gentlemen, on my signal you are each to take a bite out of the bread and eat it. Ready, eat now." both took a bite, one carried on eating the other collapsed, half choking on the floor with tears streaming from his eyes. Velma pointed triumphantly at the stricken Fred.
"There's your man officer. The real Fred is the only one I know who can eat this stuff" declared Velma
"Say fella, have you finished with that?" said the real Fred taking and eating the other slice of bread. "Do you have any more Velma? I'm still hungry" he smiled
Daphne rushed over to the real Fred and began to give him a long kiss. She went a strange colour and her eyes watered, but taste of the spread did not deter her.
"Man, that's love if ever I saw it" Shaggy whispered to Velma who smiled and put her arm round him.
Once Daphne had confirmed to her satisfaction that Velma's identification was correct she turned to face the criminal behind their recent capture "Let me have a closer look at this phoney Fred" said Daphne staring at him angrily. She approached and carefully looked as his face
"Look here, there are some scars around the hairline, the real Fred doesn't have any scars like that, it looks like he's had plastic surgery to make himself more like the real Fred." she stared intently at him and nodded in recognition "Now I recognise him, this man used to be one of the best product designers in my fathers company. Well, what have you got to say for yourself?"
"Curse you Daphne Blake, curse you and your meddling friends" he replied angrily "I was the brains behind the company, all those ideas were rightfully mine. I should have been rich, not your father. All I wanted was what was rightfully mine but you had to get involved and ruin everything."
"What are you talking about? You worked in the beauty products division." she asked angrily "All you did was steal the pet and van products then relabelled them."
"Clueless as always you red headed bimbo..." without thinking Velma slammed her hand into Fred's chest "...This was just to be my revenge on you, on all of you. You stopped me profiting from my ideas. So what if I was using the same labels as your fathers products, he stole my ideas so I stole his labels"
"You are raving mad, what on earth are you talking about?" she asked
"I think I know" said Velma quietly.
"What Velma? What's wrong?" asked Daphne as she saw how pale and upset she looked.
"Think back Daphne, back to the last case we did for your father and a junk-yard a year or so ago" she replied quietly. Shaggy took Velma in his arms, partly to comfort her, and partly to stop himself from laying into him. By nature Shaggy was not a violent person, but being confronted by the person who was the root cause of all her suffering was causing his blood to boil. Out of the entire group only he really knew how much pain and distress she had gone through during her recovery.
Daphne thought for a second, she looked at Velma then the man and her eyes narrowed; it took two police officers to prevent her for tearing him limb-from-limb.
"Take it easy, Miss Blake, take it easy," said the senior officer "What happened?"
"About a year ago my father asked us to look into some counterfeit products; he suspected that someone inside the company was behind it. Velma and I were attacked and kidnapped to be held for ransom but we escaped and their whole operation was shut down. The assault was so bad that one of his gang was charged with attempted murder."
"Of who?" asked the senior officer.
"Me" whispered Velma finally succumbing to the emotion of the moment. The man was dragged away by the police leaving the gang to comfort Velma
"There are some things you shouldn't be reminded of" she whispered when she was more in control of herself.
"Do you remember it all now?" asked Daphne
"No, it just reminded me of everything we all went through afterwards" she replied then squeezed Shaggy and smiled "But you are all the best medicine I've ever had… Can we go home now? It's already been a long day." The gang headed downstairs, Daphne called her father to let him know she was OK and to update him on what had happened over the past couple of days. Fred arranged for a tow-truck to collect the History Machine and to everyone's relief the robot Velma was packed away.
Once outside they savoured the fresh morning air, Fred and Shaggy went to strap the armchair to the roof of the Mystery Machine whilst Daphne checked out Velma's unexpected change in image.
"Say Velma, great new outfit you have there, I barely recognised you when I first say you. Is this your new look for mystery hunting now?" said Daphne.
"Thanks Daph. No this is just special occasion wear, my regular clothes are back in the decoy's hotel room, I hope. We figured they knew who we were, so we needed to go in a deep disguise."
Daphne stopped dead in her tracks; her eyes out on stalks. She grabbed Velma's left hand "Was this part of the disguise as well! Because if it isn't I will be so..." she said staring at the engagement and wedding rings on her finger.
Velma went the same colour as her trainers "It was Daph, it was open season on Dinkleys out there, I went to the hotel and checked in as me; Shaggy said I was followed the moment I got in the hotel. They would have grabbed me there and then had we not planned for that eventuality. That's why we used the decoy me and we went in a disguise they wouldn't expect. I wore make-up and Shaggy dyed his goatee."
"You wore make-up! Oh Velma, both of you sure went the extra mile for us" said Daphne
"Anytime, we knew you'd do the same for us" replied Velma.
"So... Who did you go undercover as?" Daphne asked innocently, Velma went even redder and looked utterly wretched. For once Daphne relented "You can tell me all about it later… Mrs Rogers" she said quietly patting her on the arm then heading off to the van.
"How...?" said Velma in shock.
Daphne turned around and smiled "Well Shaggy is wearing a wedding ring as well. It suits you both"
"Remind me again, why did we rescue you?" muttered Velma to herself as she followed Daphne to the van.
The Mystery Machine pulled up outside the hotel, Shaggy and Velma dashed out the second the van had stopped moving. Daphne could not figure out why Shaggy and Velma were in such a rush to check-out of the hotel.
"World record check-out time guys!" exclaimed Fred as Shaggy and Velma emerged seconds later with the remains of their gear.
"Come on you two" said Velma to Fred and Daphne "you've had a bad couple of days. When we get back home Shaggy and I will cook dinner for you tonight as a treat. I think I've got some dry-ice in my lab." Fred and Daphne exchanged worried glances dry ice?
"Oh... good." said Fred weakly.
Daphne mulled the idea over for a while, intriguing as it was she decided that she would insist on a quick trip to the drug-store on the way back. Fred was simply relieved to be on the way back home no matter what culinary fate awaited him.
They were quiet for a while, letting the miles tick away. After a while Daphne spoke up
"Velms, I'm sorry I teased you and Shaggy about your disguise. It really worked; it fooled me as well as those goons. I don't think I'd have had the gall to pull of something like that." As Daphne continued to speak, it eventually dawned on her that she was getting no response from the back. She turned round to see why there was no reply and her face lit up
"Freddie pull over slowly" whispered Daphne, Fred did as asked
"What's wrong Daph?" he asked "And why are we whispering?"
"Look at the two love-birds" beamed Daphne. Shaggy and Velma were sleeping peacefully, Shaggy was resting against the corner of the van; Velma was leaning back against him, sitting between his legs. His arms were around her waist; her arms were resting on his with their hands entwined. Her head was resting on his shoulder, face turned upwards towards him. Their foreheads were resting on each other, their lips almost touching. Scooby was asleep on their legs and looked equally at home. Daphne slowly climbed into the back of the van
"Come on Daph, don't disturb them, they look so peaceful" whispered Fred, Daphne made sure she didn't disturb them especially whilst she took some photographs. Daphne was ecstatic got you she thought.
Fred shook his head, Daphne had a strange set of priorities at time. "Well let's be going Daph. There is always next year’s convention, it's a shame that this one went so bad for us" sighed Fred driving off again
"Oh I don't know" she smiled looking at the photos of Shaggy and Velma "I think this trip has been quite successful after all."

[Doo]

Just read this one today. Nice fanfic russm! I really enjoyed it!