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alphashley14 · 5 months ago

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One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

Chapter 24

Heaven

The Mystery Skulls and Mystery Incorporated each wrote notes for Ricky and Cassidy for whenever they woke up. Then each group packed into their respective vans and set out into Crystal Cove to get started on their part of Arthur’s plan.

The three Mystery Skulls were sitting in the front seats of their van - Lewis driving, Vivi in the copilot’s spot, and Mystery in her lap having taken on the form of a dog. And for the whole ride, he was quiet. Just as he’d been ever since Velma had voiced her idea. The chatter between Vivi and Lewis was minimal as well, as Lewis maneuvered the van through town behind the Mystery Machine. They both knew without exchanging a word that something about his past in Crystal Cove was deeply, deeply troubling Mystery. But neither of them could find the words to ask him about it, and they knew his preference for retelling certain parts of his past as few times as he possibly could. When they stopped in front of their destination, a gothic manor near the edge of Darrow University belonging to a certain formerly disgraced horror writer, the dog went absolutely rigid in Vivi’s arms and she had to carry him out of the car.

Of course, Mystery thought to himself. Of course they would bring me back here. Why do the fates seek to torment me?

Mystery had known, of course, that they were going to visit H.P. Hatecraft. And that Mr. Hatecraft’s home was on Darrow University’s Campus. He had not realized, however, that their destination was this house specifically. The roof had been re-shingled since the last time Mystery was here. It used to be orange, but was now a midnight blue. Yet there was no mistaking the familiar smells, structures, and trees. But of course the smells Mystery used to love the most had long since faded, and would never return again.

Emiya and Donald blowing smoke rings side by side. Elanor cutting George down from that tree after falling into another trap. Joan and Kano scolding Danny, Diana, and Shinobu for setting it. All those wonderful parties and get-togethers… and all of those funerals…

Mystery’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Fred knocking on the door. “Professor Hatecraft? Professor Hatecraft? Hello? Are you home? It’s Mystery Incorporated.”

Mystery raised his head from where it had been resting on Vivi’s shoulder and gathered himself. In order to save the future, the present was what mattered right now. The past wasn’t dead. But it would have to wait. Mystery had lived in solitude with these memories for twenty years. He could wait a day more.

“Please, Professor Hatecraft. We know you’ve been busy, but we need your help!” Velma called.

The door opened, and there stood the man himself, H.P. Hatecraft, still in his black and gray striped pajamas. “My friends! By the maw of Angoroth! How good to see you. What brings you by?”

“Not a social call I’m afraid,” said Daphne.

“We really need your help,” said Fred. “May we come in?”

“Oh. Uh… how about we talk- out here? On the front porch? Gets terribly stuffy inside you know,” he said quickly, not-so-subtly adjusting his collar to better conceal his neck. Everyone raised an eyebrow. What’s he sweating about?

“I wish we could,” said Velma, “but this matter is… delicate. So it doesn’t have to be here, but we need to talk in private.”

“H.P.? Who is it?” Then none other than Harlan Ellison appeared in the doorway from behind Hatecraft in nothing but a pair of striped silk pajama bottoms and a matching robe. Which was untied, revealing his bare torso underneath. And when he saw them, a look appeared on both writers’ faces like they’d been caught and Ellison quickly tied his robe shut.

“Mr. Ellison? What are you doing here so early?” Daphne asked.

“Yeah. And why does it look like you slept over?” Asked Velma.

And Hatecraft and Ellison, who were usually so famed for their use of words, seemed to be all out of them.

“Oh. Uh- Harlan-”

“Hatecraft and I-”

“-Were just um…”

“-Working on that new book!”

“Yes! That’s it. We were just collaborating on our new book!”

Scooby tilted his head, confused. “Uh… In your pajamas?”

“Don’t question the process.” Ellison snapped.

The Mystery Skulls were not nearly as oblivious about such matters. Mystery had been shocked right out of any lingering angst, at least for the moment, and was now shaking in his attempts to conceal his laughter.

“Ya know if you two are together and don’t want anyone to know, nobody here is going to out you,” Vivi said bluntly.

“Wait they’re what-” But Fred was cut off when both writers abruptly grabbed the kids by their collars and dragged them inside.

Harlan slammed the door shut behind them. “Okay, yes. We’re together. Now what do you kids want?” He demanded.

Mystery Incorporated was too slack-jawed to answer.

“Oh shut your mouths before they let in flies!” Ellison said. “We’re gay, not extraterrestrials!”

Five jaws snapped shut instantaneously. “I-it’s not that!” Daphne apologized quickly. “None of us are against it just…”

“Surprised,” Scooby said.

“Well this would explain why you and Angie never got together,” Mystery said thoughtfully. “Her union with Dale wasn’t one I expected, but having met their daughter I’m more than pleased with the results.”

That snapped Velma out of her stupor. She turned so fast it nearly gave her whiplash. “Wait- you knew my parents too?!”

“Not personally, but the Dinkleys had lived in Crystal Cove for generations.”

“I’m sorry- weird talking dog- do I know you? And why do you two look familiar?” Harlan asked, pointing between Vivi and Shaggy (who looked like Arthur at the moment, as you recall.)

“You might’ve known our parents,” Vivi said. “I’m Vivi Yukino. This is Arthur Kingsmen. Well- sorta.”

“Wait- Vivi and Arthur? As in Tedashi’s little girl? And Gawain’s boy?” Harlan’s scowl was abruptly wiped off his face.

“Yeah,” Vivi said sheepishly, “those are our Dads.”

“Old friends of yours?” Hatecraft asked.

“Oh yes! You wouldn’t have known them H.P. All that unpleasantness happened years before you moved here. But I knew their fathers from my days as a grad student at Darrow University,” Harlan explained. “Tedashi Yukino was an expert on Japanese mythology, and Gawain Kingsmen was an Arthurian scholar. Come to think of it H.P, I don’t think I ever told you, but I’d been in this house long before the first time you invited me in. As a guest of the previous owners: the Kingsmens.”

“What?” Everyone but Mystery exclaimed.

“It’s true,” Mystery sighed. “This house was the Kingsmen family home for nearly six generations. Arthur lived out every day he got to spend with his parents here. This place has changed a lot in twenty years, but I remember it well.”

“Holy- now that you mention it this place does look kinda similar to the one in Arthur’s old family photos,” Lewis remarked.

“Gawain and Tedashi were a little older than me, and they were both brilliant in their fields,” Ellison continued. “We collaborated several times on various projects and quickly became friends. And you two - why I haven’t seen you since you were… Still, I can hardly blame Tedashi, Jenny, and Shinobu for moving away. It was a terrible thing that happened to those people-”

“The children haven’t had that talk yet,” Mystery growled before Vivi could ask any questions. “And it’s the duty of their elders to have that discussion at the appropriate time and place.”

Harlan caught the hint as plain as day. “Oh- Yes! Yes, you’re right. Of course. I’m sorry I overstepped. I suppose I had expected them to know, given how old they are now…”

“Indeed,” Mystery sighed. “It is high time they knew, and it is a conversation their parents should have had with them years ago. But I don’t believe they ever expected their children to set foot in Crystal Cove again.”

“I know I wouldn’t,” Harlan agreed with a shudder.

Beside him, Hatecraft placed a hand on Ellison’s shoulder with about a million questions plastered all over his face, but Harlan placed his hand over his and gave him a look that said I’ll explain later.

“So!” Hatecraft said, unable to bear the awkward silence any longer, “How may I help you?”

“We need your help getting into the health sciences building tomorrow night,” Fred said.

“It’s kind of a matter of life and death,” Daphne added.

“The health sciences building? Whatever for?” Ellison scoffed.

“I’m not sure of how much help I could be,” Hatecraft added. “That department is hardly my specialty.”

“-And we realize that,” Velma sighed, “but aside from Dean Fenk you’re the only connections we have at Darrow University, and I doubt she’d be receptive. Daphne wasn’t kidding. It is literally a matter of life and death.”

“By the tentacles of Tawn-Gawn Gorath! You’re asking me to help you break and enter! I’m going to need more of an explanation than that.”

The Mystery Skulls and Mystery Incorporated all looked at each other.

“A moment,” Fred and Vivi said at the same time. They beckoned both of their groups into one big circle and began to speak in hushed whispers.

“How much do we tell them?” Vivi asked.

“Body-swapping aside, what we’re doing is about saving Mr. E,” Velma pointed out.

“Saving Arthur,” Lewis corrected.

“Yeah,” Velma said, “but it’s Mr. E’s body that’s in that situation, so as far as anyone other than us, E, or Angel knows, that’s Mr. E back at Destroido right now. And besides: gang, at this point… even if by some miracle the three of them swapped back right this second…”

“Like yeah, I feel the same way,” Shaggy agreed.

“Reah,” Scooby said, and Daphne and Fred nodded too.

“As would I,” Mystery said without an ounce of hesitation. “And I should hope I speak for the others as well?”

“You do,” Vivi and Lewis nodded.

“-And that’s all anyone else needs to know,” Velma said.

“Like you’re right Velma,” Shaggy said. “Like if we started telling them about body-swapping, other dimensions, doomsday, and crazy magic stuff it would totally freak them out.”

“‘It would be too much,’ as the Mystery Skulls keep putting it,” Daphne said, and all five members of Mystery Incorporated gave Vivi, Lewis, and Mystery a very pointed look at that. To which the Mystery Skulls gave them extremely guilty smiles in return.

“So it would seem we’re in agreement,” Mystery said.

“We tell them anything immediately pertaining to the Original Mystery Incorporated that might get them to agree to help us,” Vivi said. “And we leave out the magic.”

And just like that, the circle broke and all seven heads turned back to the two very bewildered writers.

“It’s hard to say where to begin with this one,” Fred said after a moment, scratching the back of his head. “First thing’s first: how familiar are you with Destroido?”

“That horribly corrupt company that makes all those terrible products?” Hatecraft asked.

“That’s the one,” Velma said. “We have a long and… to say the least complicated relationship with the owner. He goes by Mr. E.”

Ellison’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “The owner? How’d you meet him? He never shows himself in public and does all of his business through his CEO, Ed Machine- or at least he did, until he was murdered.”

“Ah, yes. I remember seeing that in the news,” Hatecraft said thoughtfully. “Did they ever catch who did that? Wealthy fellow like that, you’d figure his homicide would be at the top of the CCPD’s priority list.”

“See, that’s the thing…” Daphne said. “Ed Machine’s murder wasn’t exactly a hom-icide per say. It was more like a…”

“Ruh rarrot-icide?” Scooby offered helpfully.

“Neither of those are words in the English Language!” Harlan griped. (Bad grammar was his absolute #1 pet peeve.) “And assuming you meant to say ‘parrot-icide,’ what’s that even supposed to mean?”

“How we go about answering that question depends entirely on you, Mr. Ellison,” Mystery spoke up.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“You were in Crystal Cove twenty years ago. ‘When all of that unpleasantness happened,’ as you put it. So tell me: how much do you remember about those kids that disappeared?”

“Kids? Who- wait- why does that ring a bell…?” And Ellison suddenly had a dazed, somewhat befuddled look on his face, as though stuck between two places at once.

Interesting, Mystery thought to himself. “Brad Chiles. Judy Reeves. Cassidy Williams. Ricky Owens. And their mascot, Professor Pericles. You knew them.”

Ellison blinked at Mystery a few times. Then cried, “My God! How could I have forgotten that? I haven’t heard those names in years. Wait- come to think of it… didn’t they also call their little group ‘Mystery Incorporated?’”

“Reah, they did,” Scooby nodded.

“Oh! I believe I came across an article about them while I was researching for my- ehem- since abandoned teen vampire romance novel,” Hatecraft said. “I didn’t pay too much attention to it, but I do remember thinking it was odd that I had never heard them mentioned before.”

“More’s coming back to me now. This- this is weird,” Ellison said, massaging his temples. “It’s like I’ve opened Pandora’s Box. As I recall, their parrot had everything to do with their disappearance and admitted as much, but refused to say what had actually happened to those kids. Let’s see, what else… As I remember it, a lot of people eventually assumed that if he’d murdered them, the bodies had to have been dumped at a point in the caves where the ocean’s current would have swept them out to sea. But others argued they could still be alive because their van never turned up. Especially Mark. Oh God, Mark! I haven’t seen or heard from him in years, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the only one still looking for his boy.”

“Uh… who’s Mark?” Scooby asked with a tilt of his head.

“Mark Owens,” Mystery said, and his eyes had gone glassy. “Ricky’s father.”

The room went heavy and quiet, and Harlan had a hint of suspicion written on his face as he looked at the dog. Why was he the only one in their group who knew that?

“Jenny still sends him a Christmas Card every year. Just like you,” Mystery said, as if he was reading his mind. “-And you’re right… he is still looking.”

Ellison held the dog’s gaze for a moment before breaking the eye contact with a sigh. “I don’t want to say he should give up… it tore this town apart for a while after those kids disappeared, as much as people used to complain about their uh… escapades. Still. Come to think of it - without any bodies or definitive proof of death, it was sort of odd how abruptly the search ended… Why am I only remembering this now?”

“Because something wicked didn’t want you to,” Lewis said.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Ellison asked.

“And back to the original discussion at hand, what do those missing kids have to do with the owner of Destroido?” Hatecraft asked.

And the answer to that, of course, was everything.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Within the twisted depths of Destroido, Arthur Kingsmen woke with a start. He couldn’t doze off! They had so much to do! Items to move, accounts to secure, a torture device to- oh. He had dozed off. Hours ago, if the state of the room was anything to go by.

He was sprawled across the couch, a blanket had been thrown over him, the room was dark, Marcie was gone, and she’d left him a note on the table.

You dozed off at about 2am. Figured I’d let you sleep. I snuck out to make appearances. Figured the bird might notice if I’m too scarce for too long. You should probably do the same sometime this morning. There’s always a breakfast spread available for the scientists in the mess hall, and as of recently it wouldn’t be unusual for Mr. E to stop by and grab a bite - please eat something. I’ll meet you back in Mr. E’s rooms at noon. -M

Arthur quietly reminded himself to thank Ricky for telling him to recruit Marcie. He would most certainly be having a much harder time doing all of this if not for her.

There came a trilling from the walls, and the three Dead Beats flew in to say good morning. “Hehe, hey guys,” Arthur laughed. The little pink spirits inadvertently tickled him as they wove around him and through his hair. “Yeah yeah, good morning. I’m glad to see you too. How was it last night? Quiet?”

The Dead Beats nodded.

“That’s a relief. What about the bad guys? Did you keep an eye on them like I asked?”

The Dead Beats made angry faces and nodded. One of them made a few very discontent noises, and whatever they said made another one hiss in agreement.

“I know, I know. You want a piece of em’. You’ll get your chance when we make a run for it tomorrow night. I need you guys to be my backup, remember?”

The ghosts trilled excitedly at that, faces lighting up with jagged smiles.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too,” Arthur admitted. And he smirked at the thought, in spite of himself.

It was strange. He had a reputation as being the grounding member of the Mystery Skulls. The “chill” one. The gentle one. So it felt weird to… hate someone so strongly. But he did. Maybe whatever that damn entity had put inside of Ricky to rot him from the inside out was seeping into Arthur somehow. He hoped not, but he supposed it would make sense, given that he was wearing a cursed man’s skin.

Still - it might not be an entirely bad thing. In fact, knowing his own shortcomings, perhaps a sprinkle of ambition and a dash of rage were doing Arthur some good.

“Come on guys,” Arthur said, getting up. “We’ve got work to do.”

He couldn’t wait to see the looks on his opponents’ faces when everything they’d worked for crumbled at their feet.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Hatecraft had taken his guests to a large, gothic lounge so they had a more comfortable place to talk. Save the double doors and high fireplace, the tall room was covered from wall to high-arched ceiling in overflowing bookshelves and paintings of monstrosities from Hatecraft’s books. All things considered, it felt very much like home to the Mystery Skulls. Throw in some magenta and a few heart and skull designs, and one could be fooled into thinking they were back at the mansion.

The eight mystery solvers were seated on scattered furniture around the room, and Hatecraft and Ellison were in matching high-backed armchairs on either side of the fireplace in front of them.

They’d finished telling their story several moments ago, and to say the least the two writers, so well known for their imaginary terrors, looked absolutely horrified upon being told about real ones.

Finally Harlan blurted out, “Why the fuck haven’t you gone to the police?!” And it should be noted that Ellison seldom cursed and usually prided himself on a more “sophisticated” use of language. So suddenly dropping an F-bomb should tell you just how appalled he was.

“It’s just as we told you,” Velma said from her place on the couch, “because then it becomes a hostage situation.”

“That, and Crystal Cove’s police department is about as useless as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest,” Vivi added dryly, sitting cross-legged on the floor with Mystery in her lap.

“Our best and only real shot at getting Ricky and Marcie out unharmed is to do so right under Pericles’ beak. Which obviously is better said than done,” Lewis added from the chair next to her.

“And that’s why you have to remove that- thing at the University and not at the hospital?” H.P. asked. “Because that’s what he’d expect?”

“Rep,” Scooby nodded from his place at Shaggy’s feet.

“That, and we don’t want anything violent going down at a place full of doctors and vulnerable sick people,” Vivi added.

“By the claws of Chloringor,” Hatecraft muttered, placing his head into his hands.

“And who, might I ask, is going to be performing this supposed surgery? You kids certainly can’t!” Harlan argued.

“We have someone in mind but haven’t brought this to them yet,” Daphne said. She was sitting on the arm of the couch beside Fred. “They have a lot more to lose than either of you should this go wrong and we thought their odds of saying yes would increase dramatically if we already had a location lined up.”

Hatecraft opened his mouth, but Ellison talked first. Loudly. “So let me get this straight! You’re asking H.P to risk his job, career, and possible jail time to break into a surgery that you don’t even have a surgeon for yet?”

“Like yeah, we are.” Shaggy said. “And like, we realize how much you’d be risking and like how unreasonable of an ask this is. But like… we’re all Ricky’s got. This is like the only plan we have. So we don’t exactly have like, any other options.”

“I’ll do it,” Hatecraft said before Ellison could go on another tirade.

“WHAT?!”

“Harlan,” H.P. said, firmly but with a touch of tenderness, “I know you speak out of concern for me… but this man could die if we don’t do something. For all the writing I’ve done about the monsters that lie just beyond the mortal veil… what kind of man would I be if I didn’t do something to stop the ones living among us?”

“H.P… this is madness. And we haven’t even seen any proof that this crazy story is true!”

“I don’t need to see proof,” Hatecraft shrugged. “These kids have saved my life once and my career twice. They’re too smart and too honest to lie about something this serious, and I don’t see why they would make it up either. I know they wouldn’t seek to ruin me.”

“But-”

“Harlan,” Mystery said, and all heads turned in his direction by the force of his tone. “Walk with me a moment?” And without waiting for confirmation, he hopped out of Vivi’s arms and slunk out of the room.

Harlan looked at H.P, then at the rest of their guests, and everyone including Vivi and Lewis merely shrugged, just as clueless as he was. So what else could he do but get up and follow the freaky talking dog? Mystery was waiting for him just outside the door, and once Harlan was at his side he started walking away, and Ellison followed.

“Alright,” Harlan grumbled once they were quite a distance from the door, “what is it?”

“How much of your memory has come back?” Mystery asked.

“All of it - I think,” Harlan replied. “It’s just- still so peculiar. I don’t know how I could have forgotten something that important. It’s like something went into my head with a correction pen and left a bunch of blank spaces that I’m only now uncovering. The question is why?”

“It was their names,” Mystery said. “There’s a great deal of power attached to names. Dating back in folklore across various cultures and pantheons for thousands of years. As old as stories themselves. If Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy can be generalized into those kids who disappeared, then it’s easier to wipe them out of existence entirely. But once you give them names, you give them identity, and with identity comes power. Enough to break through whatever was keeping those memories suppressed.”

“But how could I have generalized them?” Ellison asked. “I knew them. Not very well, but I knew them. I knew their families through close mutual friends. How and why did I forget them to begin with?”

“‘Because something wicked wanted you to,’” Mystery replied.

“That’s what that pink haired fellow said earlier. What’s that mean, anyway?”

“It means all those ghost stories about a curse on this town are true,” Mystery said. And he spun Harlan a tale that you should know already. About an entity, a curse, and four kids and a talking animal who were prophesied to break it.

“So, what?” Harlan scoffed. “You’re saying that’s what happened to the Original Mystery Incorporated? Some evil entity wanted them out of the picture because they were getting too close?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying happened,” Mystery nodded.

“Oh for goodness sake! Then what about what the kids said about the former mayor dressed up as some freak, blackmailing them into disappearing?”

“The Freak of Crystal Cove has everything to do with the curse,” Mystery corrected him. “Think about it, Harlan. You haven’t stayed in Crystal Cove for all of these twenty years - you’ve traveled all over the world. Where else on Earth have you seen apparently normal folk suddenly wake up and decide the answer to their problems is terrorizing their neighbors in monster costumes?”

“What’s your point?”

“That there are bigger things happening in Crystal Cove than you know. Things that are worth risking everything for. Supernatural things.”

“Oh please! How gullible do you think I am?”

“Ha! Of all people I would expect you to be more open to such things,” Mystery chuckled.

“Unlike Cape Cod and H.P., I know where the line is between fantasy and reality,” Harlan insisted.

“Do you, now?” Mystery implored. “Because as I recall, your original genre of interest was solely creative nonfiction. But now, aren’t you famous for horror dystopia? Quite a sharp turn, don’t you think?”

“That’s not all I’ve written. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The tragedy, you liar. You were on the guest list that night, Harlan. You were there.”

“It was another lunatic in a costume-”

“That’s all most people saw,” Mystery interrupted him. “But you saw something else too that night. Didn’t you?”

Harlan froze dead in his tracks. There was- there was no way. He’d never told anyone about the other thing he’d seen that night. Who would have believed him? Those poor families were going through so much- he hadn’t wanted to make anything worse with his nonsense. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. “H-how did you… I never…”

“I saw you too, Harlan.” But there was something different about Mystery’s voice. Hadn’t it been coming from… lower to the ground a moment ago?

“You were there,” Harlan realized. And he turned around- Only to be met by a pair of big red eyes shining at him through the dark.

“Yes,” The kitsune rumbled, “Yes I was.”

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

There was a song playing somewhere, distantly. Gently kissing his eardrums.

“Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there all night. Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there for forever!”

He felt so warm, and so heavy, and so comfortable. Yet the stiffness in his limbs and the rumbles of a hungry stomach gently pulled him into wakefulness. Ricky’s eyelids fluttered open, and at once he was wide awake, his heart caught in his throat.

“Tell me I'm not dreaming, When a kiss from you is all it takes to turn me into stone. Your love is the sweetest-

Was he dreaming?

No - his most recent memories were coming back to him. So unless the whole day had been one big dream borne from his wistful thinking-

Cassidy.

She was alive. She was here. She was…

Breathtaking.

“You're perfect, you're my dynamite, you're so original. How do you do it? When we're dancing, it's magnetic Is this too good to be true?

Angel was sleeping on the other side of the sectional, and her sleeping face was not two feet away from his own. She was curled up on her side, head resting on her arm, a blanket draped over her. But by the way the fabric fell he could see her every curve. The pink flames in the fireplace had cast the entire room in flickering sunset orange, and the way it struck the shine of her beautiful dark skin- no artist could ever hope to replicate it. But if he were ever to spend money on art, he’d pay handsomely to see someone try.

She had never looked so much like an angel as she did now.

“I know a place where we can go Where the music is to die for! “Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there all night! Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there for forever!

Ricky’s heart was thudding inside his chest, and he felt all the blood in his body rush to his face. This wasn’t- well- this was hardly proper, wasn’t it? There was so much between them and she probably (wisely) still didn’t trust him-

Which begged the question of why she was sleeping right beside him. And come to think of it he didn’t remember laying down either. What was the last thing he remembered?

Mystery.

“Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there all night! Baby there's a dancefloor up in Heaven, touch the sky We can dance there for forever!

That’s right. We were waiting for Mystery. He was going to tell us how he knew us. Ricky must’ve closed his eyes “just for a second” and dozed off. But that still didn’t explain how and why Cassidy had wound up asleep too. And how long had they been asleep? What time even was it?

“Dancing for forever Dancing for forever Keep dancing for forever…

That was when Ricky spotted two sheets of stationary on the table - notes from the others. The first one was from the kids.

Mr. Ricky and Angel, Mystery Skulls explained why you konked out in their letter. Crazy stuff right? We know you’ll prob be mad about it when you wake up but in our defense it was all Mystery. Hope you slept well and that you feel better when you wake up. Btw - All of us feel bad we didn’t notice how sleepy you were, Ricky - sorry. • ᴖ • And sorry about the sleeping spell Cassidy - that was all Mystery’s idea. (☉__☉”) Anyway - we went out with MS to make some preparations for Arthur’s plan. We’ll tell you how it went when we get back! Also Scooby said he’s craving Clam Cabin so we were thinking of bringing food back to the mansion and pigging out instead of making Lewis cook again. That’ll be fun! •ᴗ• (We’ll probably bring back food from somewhere else too tho if you’re not down for shellfish - Daphne’s allergic.) Hope you both feel better when you wake up! - Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby

When he finished reading the note, it left Ricky feeling warm and fuzzy inside. It read as if they… were looking forward to seeing him again. The corners of his mouth turned upwards against his will. But even so, those sweet feelings quickly turned sour.

He was grateful that they were being so kind to him. Really - he was. But that doubtful little voice was quick to remind him that they were only being nice because they needed something from him: he was in Shaggy’s body. And as soon as their souls were back in their proper vessels everything was going to get awkward again, and he would be subtly or not-so-subtly pushed away. He didn’t fault them for it, by virtue of… how he was. And of course everything he’d done. And besides - he was used to it. But still… as selfish as he’d been already, maybe he could be selfish for just a little bit longer, and pretend that their sweet words meant something more than that.

Ricky carefully tucked the kids’ note behind the other one, which must be from the Mystery Skulls, and started reading.

Ricky & Cassidy, R - you woke up this morning before the potion you took last night could run its full course, so it put you back to sleep. Mystery knew it was going to happen and stalled until it took effect on purpose. The rest of us had no idea so don’t shoot the messager. To be fair tho - it was gonna happen no matter what anyone did. You should wake up when it wears off @ about 1:00. C - Mystery thought you shouldn’t come into town with us in case OG Mystery Inc sees you. Ur supposed to be dead - remember? That & you hadn’t slept in over 24 hrs so u needed the rest. And he didnt want to argue w u abt it so he put a sleeping spell on you. Again - HIS idea, NOT ours. You should be up @ about 3. We & Mystery Inc went out to talk to some allies for Arthur’s plan. Should b back by 5. Will tell you about it when we get back. Leftovers & snacks in fridge for lunch if/when you get hungry, & if you need help with anything ask Dead Beats or suits of armor. Avoid painting ghosts and PLEASE do not explore. You are in a REAL haunted house - Plz use common sense. Hope you slept good & feel better after your nap. Sorry again about Mystery & his meddling. He says he won’t apologize but owes you a story. See you then! - The Mystery Skulls 💀

Any warm and fuzzy feelings the letter may have inspired was quickly banished from his mind by the immense irritation he was feeling towards Mystery. Of course it shouldn’t have taken him that long to go get a book. That sneaky, clever, slippery son of a- … whatever! He’d give that ridiculous beast a good scolding when he got back! Still feeling drowsy, Ricky put the papers back on the table and made himself comfortable again. By that time, the music drifting through the house had changed songs, but Ricky was hardly listening to it. And yet, as he brooded over Mystery and his damn meddling, he found his anger… dissipating.

Knowing what he did now, the kitsune was over a thousand years old and had been a guardian spirit for centuries. To Mystery, all humans were so short-lived that they were all children compared to him. In fact that’s probably exactly what Mystery saw: a pair of drowsy toddlers who needed a nap to get through the rest of the day.

Not that he was exactly thrilled about being mothered by a giant fox, but at this point he didn’t have much choice in the matter. At least Mystery was (mostly) more nurturing than controlling in the way he did it.

Unlike a certain someone.

With a sigh, Ricky rolled onto his side. And in spite of himself, he admired the view.

God, she was so beautiful.

Cassidy’s red lips were slightly parted in her sleep and the subtle furrow always present between her brows was gone. Ricky had never noticed it before, but saw its absence now. Her chest rose and fell with every slow, deep breath and her slack fingers were curled upwards in such a delicate, elegant way. It had been over a decade since the last time Ricky had seen her so at peace. And maybe it made him every bit the greedy, selfish bastard he knew he was. But he wanted that for her. And he wanted to be there to see it.

The guilt that had been eating Ricky alive from the moment he’d learned of Cassidy’s “death” had lessened. But it hadn’t entirely gone away - and it probably never would. She survived, and Ricky would gladly spend the rest of his days repaying the universe for that miracle. But she’d been hurt. She’d nearly died. Because of him. And he was never going to make that up to her.

They were like celestial bodies, the two of them. Without the other they’d go hurling off into space. And yet from the moment they’d reunited five years ago, a sort of gravity seemed to hold them together. Or maybe, even after a decade apart, that connection had never truly been severed. Not touching - no. Never connecting. But trapped in a perpetual dance, each revolving around the other. Always seeing. Always wanting. But they’d hurt each other in so many ways. If they were different people, that red string connecting their fates probably would have been snapped a long time ago. By hurt. By life. By love found elsewhere.

And yet.

As hard as he tried to ignore it, because he didn’t deserve it, he knew in his heart: I want.

I want I want I want I want I want.

You could have her, something else was telling him. Haven’t you suffered enough? Been alone for long enough? They will abandon you once they have their friends back as they were. And you will be alone again. You think they care about you? After everything you’ve done? You wretched, unloveable thing? But it doesn’t have to be that way. You could have her, just as you once did. All you need to do is-

“Shut up,” Ricky muttered quietly. He’d curled in on himself as those thoughts persisted. Clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block them out, but they were coming from inside him. They sounded like him too - almost indistinguishable from his own thoughts. Almost. But now…

Now, Arthur’s words were echoing in his memory. ��It’s more difficult to manipulate someone who’s aware they’re being manipulated than someone who doesn’t.’

“You’ve been found out,” He murmured. Maybe to no one. But those thoughts- they weren’t his own. “-And I’m not going to let you use me to hurt any more than I already have.”

Silence.

Then-

Fool. You really think you could ever be free of HIM?!

That voice! It sounded so clear that- it might not have come from inside Ricky’s head this time.

That was when the house began to shake and it was not Ricky’s imagination! He opened his eyes and sat up to find that the walls were shimmering pink. Furniture and items bounced, clattered, and shifted against the shaking floor. The fire roared, flames jumping and leaping out of the hearth all the way up to the ceiling. Ricky yelped with fright and dashed off of the couch and across the floor to hunker down beside Cassidy. Distantly, he thought he could hear the painting ghosts and Dead Beats moaning and shrieking from elsewhere and the clanging of armor and heavy footsteps. Rumbling, clanging, and the sound of breaking glass. Ricky’s hands slammed over his ears to block out the cacophony of anger!

Then like a subsiding earthquake, the rumbling slowed down, then stopped altogether. When Ricky looked up, everything was just as it had been. And most importantly: that evil presence, whatever it had been, was gone.

“What the hell-” Ricky muttered to himself, but the answer came to him almost as soon as the question left his mouth: The house. Lewis’ haunted mansion and its plethora of supernatural defenses. Acting on their Master’s will, they had banished the intruder. What that had been was another question entirely. But whatever it was, it wasn't good - and Ricky didn’t think it was a resident of the mansion either. He would have to tell the others about this.

With the immediate threat gone, Ricky’s eyes turned to the thing that mattered most. Mystery’s spell must have been strong - even through all the commotion, Cassidy hadn’t so much as stirred. Speaking of which: he had sort of put his arm over her to hold her still and calm his own trembling. His face burning, he was quick to snatch himself away and respectfully retreat back to his side of the couch.

Then there came cooing noises from the walls. And through the air like wisps of smoke, in slithered at least a dozen Dead Beats. Some of them coming up at the rear were still clearly perturbed by whatever they had presumably just helped chase off, if their suspicious glancing about and hissing were anything to go by. But the rest, having sensed his distress, were looking at him with sad, sympathetic expressions. “Hey guys,” Ricky smiled at them. “Thanks for having my back.”

The Dead Beats made some sad sounds as they surrounded him, and Ricky quickly found himself overwhelmed. “Wait- hold on now-” But every single one seemed intent on reaching him. They piled into his lap, and slithered around his legs, waist, and shoulders until Ricky ended up leaning back absolutely buried in warm, airy spirits that were purring soothingly like a mountain of house cats.

“Oh crap,” he grumbled, even as he wriggled to get comfortable. “Well- this could be worse.”

…And for some reason, the universe decided to interpret his snarky comment as a wish.

There came the sound of a ringing telephone from somewhere off in the manor. It rang, and rang… and then for some reason it started getting louder. And not ten seconds later, a pair of Dead Beats flew into the room carrying a vintage and rather gothic telephone between them.

Ricky quickly reached out and took the handset from its port to quiet the ringing, then put the transmitter and receiver to his mouth and ear and said, “Hello?”

“Ricky! Hey man, it’s Lewis. Good to hear you up.”

“Yeah, I woke up just a bit ago. I got your notes - sorry for falling asleep on you.”

“Eh, that’s not your fault dude. You’re a first-timer when it comes to magic. So uh- speaking of ‘a bit ago,’ did something… happen? At the house just now? I just felt this huge power surge.”

“Yeah - actually it did.”

“Everyone alright?” Lewis asked.

“I think so. Cassidy slept through it and I’m not hurt. As for the rest of the house… I haven’t left this room yet, but everything seems fine. Anything that moved or broke fixed itself, and most of the Dead Beats came in a few minutes later and are… hanging out?” He glanced at the ghosts, still swarmed all over him like a big blanket.

“Good. Mystery and I both felt it and we were worried. So… what happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think it was your ‘security system,’” Ricky explained. “I had just woken up and read your letters, and I was thinking about… stuff. When I noticed my thoughts were taking a really steep turn and it kind of occurred to me that… they weren’t mine?...”

The other end of the line was quiet for so long while Ricky explained that near the end he was starting to worry the line had gone dead without him noticing. But finally, Lewis asked, “And that presence is gone now, right?”

“I think so. I don't know how to describe it but the whole room felt… heavier? Darker? I don’t know how to describe it. But it’s not like that anymore so yes - I think it’s gone.”

“You said the Dead Beats are hanging out with you. What are they doing exactly?”

“Well-” Ricky stuck the phone into the mass of ghosts, hoping Lewis could hear all the purring. Then he put it back to his ear. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah - I did.”

“They’re kind of… all over me, making that noise.”

“Are they pulsing in any way? Look at the way they’re glowing, and the hearts on their chests.”

“They are, now that you mention it.”

“Yep - I know what they’re doing.”

“Well, what’re they doing?”

“Giving you a ghost bath, basically. Whatever that thing was, they can still feel its residual energy on you. So they’re washing it away with their own positive energy. If that negative energy was left as is, at best it would probably leave you in a bad mood. At worst, that entity could come back and use it as a foothold to try getting in.”

“Wait- ‘get in’ as in…”

“Potentially try to possess you.”

“Oh. Uh… shit. So… what was that thing anyway?”

“No idea. But whatever it was, it most certainly wasn’t one of my ghosts and I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with the curse. Mystery, Vivi, and I will investigate when we get back. For now, have the Dead Beats stick by you.”

“Alright then…” Ricky conceded, not feeling nearly as secure as he had a minute ago. “So… how are things on your end? What’re you up to?”

“Vivi’s driving, and I am terrified. Pray for me- ow!”

Ricky snorted at the sound of Lewis being thwacked on the other end of the line. Followed by some aggressively playful banter in Spanish and Japanese that had Ricky biting his lip to suppress his laughter. “-Anyway! Ricky, say hi.”

“Hi, Vivi.” Ricky chuckled, then his tone turned dry when he said, “Hello Mystery.”

Vivi’s muffled voice came through the line, as though she wasn’t speaking directly into the transmitter. “Hi Ricky! Glad you’re up!”

Then came Mystery. “Hello Ricky! I’m glad you’re alright, but I’m not apologizing!”

Ricky scoffed. “Well fuck you too.”

The kitsune was cackling in the background when Lewis put the phone back to his ear. “-Anyway, we just left H.P Hatecraft’s house.”

“The writer? What for?”

“It was Velma’s idea. Hatecraft’s our way into Darrow University tomorrow night.” And Lewis explained Hatecraft’s role in the plan (and also apparently Harlan Ellison’s too.)

“And I assume you know who is going to be cutting that thing out of me?” Ricky asked once he was done.

“Daphne’s sister - Daisy. She’s some kind of surgeon, though Daphne didn’t specify what kind. Her fiance however, is apparently a neurosurgeon.”

Ricky blinked dumbly for a moment while he processed what Lewis had just said.

A neurosurgeon.

As in a health professional. Who specified in surgical interventions. Of the nervous system.

Like… removing a small capsule that kept releasing a neurotoxin within centimeters of his spinal cord?

“What are the odds?” Ricky finally said.

“Right??? That’s what we said!” Lewis agreed. “But.”

“There’s always a ‘but,’ isn’t there?” Ricky sighed.

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it? Anyway - the catch is that Daphne and Daisy apparently don’t get on well. Like even in comparison to her relationship with her other sisters. And to top it off I couldn’t quote the specific law but we’re about 90% sure this is gonna be hella illegal. At best, both Daisy and her betrothed could lose her medical licenses if they get caught or god forbid something goes wrong. At worst, they might face jail time.”

“I can stop that from happening. It would not be difficult,” Ricky said. A statement - not an offer or a question.

“Good luck convincing them of that. It would be one thing if Mr. E was to go meet with them to make this request in person. They’re going to need to take the word of a bunch of meddling kids and their weird talking dogs. We would be offering to come and get you for this, buuut…”

“I’m Shaggy right now, so what good would it do? Got it.”

“Whiiich… brings me to the point.”

“Out with it.”

“If and when it comes to that, can I show them Arthur’s flashdrive?”

Ricky’s mouth went dry.

“Just- They’re doctors,” Lewis explained. “They took an oath. And once they actually see a patient in pain, they may be honor-bound to do something about it. Or, as Daphne suggested, it may become a matter of pride - a challenge just to prove they could. Either way ends with the result we want.”

Ricky cleared his throat. “Yeah- yeah. Makes sense I mean they’d probably need to see it anyway to know what they were treating right? Like it’s not as if they could just take your word for it.”

“That, too.” Lewis said. And the concern in his voice just made Ricky’s heart pound. That thing’s words echoed in his head. You think they care about you? And the demons in his own head joined in. They’ll be so disgusted once they see it. They won’t be able to look you in the eye!

“All of us don’t have to see it,” Lewis said. As if he could hear those thoughts clear through the phone. “It’s too valuable and too important to leave in the hands of strangers unsupervised. So at least one of us, or a few of us, are going to have to see the footage. But not all of us have to. We can stand outside while it’s playing.”

Ricky took a few deep breaths. “Okay,” he sniffed. “Okay then. So- you want me to pick who?”

“I mean you’re kind of the only one with the right to. I can only imagine how personal it is. So yeah. It’s no rush. We’re still about ten minutes away. You can think about it for a bit if you need to.”

So Ricky held the handset away from his mouth, pursed his lips, looked up at the ceiling, and thought about it.

Not the Mystery Skulls. Not yet, at least. Not that he didn’t trust them, but he hadn’t known them long enough. The kids on the other hand… especially-

“Velma,” he said into the phone at last. “She’s seen the worst of me already so at this point… but- you know what? Nevermind. All of them can see it if they choose. Mystery Incorporated, I mean. It wouldn’t be fair to put all of that on Velma, Fred’s parents are going to be in those videos, Daphne’s sister is the one who’s going to cut me open, Shaggy’s stuck in this body-swap mess, and he and Scooby are kind of a package deal. And after everything that’s happened… I think all five of them have more than earned the right to see it. Or not. Whichever they choose. But if somebody has to, then I would rather it be them.”

“Are you sure, man?” Lewis asked. “I mean it’s asking a lot for you to let one. But all five of them?”

“Please don’t question it,” Ricky said. “That’s my decision and I really don’t want to argue or explain myself.”

“Okay. I’m sorry - I’ll back off.”

“And… sorry for getting touchy and not letting you see it. It’s just-”

“Dude! No. Nobody would blame you for that. I mean we’ve known each other barely over a day. I totally read you loud and clear.”

“Thank you, Lewis,” Ricky sighed.

“So… you gonna be okay?” Again. That concern.

“Ask me again tonight,” Ricky sighed.

“Okay… we’re going to be at Daisy’s soon anyway. So I’m going to have to let you go. See you later, Ricky.”

“Goodbye Lewis… and good luck. Thanks again - for doing all of this for me.”

“It’s no trouble. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Well… thanks. Goodbye.”

When Ricky set the handset back into its port with a click, the phone disappeared in a puff of pink flame.

TA-DA! Still alive!!! Thank you to everyone who waited so patiently for the next chapter of my little fic. I know I said last time that I didn't want to make you wait another three months for the next chapter buuuut that ended up happening anyway. I just completed my English minor and literally all of my classes last semester were English Creative Writing classes, so as you can imagine I was doing a LOT of reading and writing with ZERO time for writing fanfiction. But right now I have the summer off of school so I've had lots of time to catch up! Ellison and Hatecraft have joined the party! These are two characters I never paid a tremendous amount of attention to, but Tumblr has given me a newfound respect for them. And their less-than-low-key gayness. Which made it into this fic NOT low-key at all. Lol I hope I did these new characters justice, and you will be seeing them again. I unfortunately didn't have the time to create any fanart for this chapter and didn't want to make you all wait any longer to find out what happens next in the story. I'm sure most of you know how much time and effort it takes to create fanworks, and I can't promise fanart for every chapter. (Veeery much looking forward to it if anyone posts any of their own in the future tho. 👀) This story, as usual, keeps surprising me with just how many words it takes to write. So my original plan for this one chapter got divided into two chapters instead. Speaking of which: Chapter 25 is almost complete and to the last long wait it up to you, I intend to post chapter 25 next Sunday. And God willing, you might get Chapter 26 the Sunday after that, but don't take that word as gospel. As for Chater 27? HA! We'll get there when we get there. Speaking of Chapter 25, as most of you know from my recent poll, the original chapter song/title for this chapter was originally going to be something else before it got changed. This happened because this chapter ended up being substantially longer than originally planned and also because I wanted to put all of the songs with heaven/hell motifs close together. Just to keep the theme going. And 'Heaven' was the last obvious one. Sorry about the poll causing confusion, but here's a treat: Unless something drastic changes (which it might, who knows?) The Chapter Song/Title of One of Us Chapter 25 is "Erase Me (Original Demo)" and the title of Chapter 26 is going to be "Erase me." That's all for now! Chapter 24 of One of Us should be posted to ao3 sometime tomorrow.

Chapters 1-22 of 'One of Us' are presently posted on Archive of Our Own!

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alphashley14 · 8 months ago

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One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

Chapter 23

Hellbent

“Shitshitshit- LEWIIIISSS!!!” Arthur shouted from the driver’s seat! He turned the steering wheel frantically to and fro as he struggled to regain control of the van careening across the desert. The squealing wheels sent orange dust flying, shrouding the monstrous cattle around them in clouds of ginger. And that same dust invaded the open back of the vehicle, even as the corpse of the dead skull cow tumbled out of the back, slamming into its’ brothers behind it, and Vivi Yukino struggled to get the back doors shut once more.

It occurred to Cassidy to help her, but her battered body protested and it was all she could do to keep herself from tumbling out of the back of the vehicle after the beast. The dust was all-encompassing. Every breath burned as it invaded her lungs, and she had to shut her eyes tight to keep the fine particles out of them. She held on tight to her shotgun and to the bars of one of the shelves in the back of the van, struggling to keep herself as still and secure as she could.

Then there was a flash of pink light behind her eyelids. And suddenly, abruptly, unnaturally even, the van lurched to right itself and there came the telltale sound of the back doors slamming shut. Then Cassidy dared take a breath, she realized the air had become clean. Her eyes fluttered open, and the sight that greeted her didn’t make any sense.

The interior of the van had completely transformed. The purple fabric upholstery had been replaced with bright carmine leather, and the rest of the van’s interior, which had previously been oranges and deep reds, was now entirely black with tasteful gothic touches of purple and bright magenta.

And this did not seem to concern the other occupants of the vehicle in the slightest. Vivi leaned back against the now-redwood shelf and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping orange dirt and bits of yellow gore off of her face with a spare towel. (Not that it did any good for the rest of her.) “Thanks, Lewis. Good catch.”

Wait. Lewis! As soon as Vivi said it, Cassidy realized that Lewis was no longer in the van. But again, the Mystery Skulls didn’t look the slightest bit perturbed about this. And no sooner was Angel sitting up to investigate, any question she could have asked was answered with another flash of pink.

“WHAT IN THE GODDAMN-”

“Ah, shit. Forgot about you…” The skeleton that had appeared beside Vivi sighed.

“I- WHAT THE- YOU-” Cassidy stammered, bewildered beyond words.

“This is Lewis,” Vivi said in a complete deadpan. “You met him a minute ago. Long story short he’s my boyfriend, he’s dead but didn’t exactly go anywhere, so now we solve ghost stories… with a ghost.”

“Not even the weirdest thing we have going on here,” Lewis sighed, and in a flare of pink fire that engulfed him from head to toe, the ghost transformed back into a handsome teen in a vest and ascot - with not a speck of dust or gore on him.

“We’re happy to have him with us,” Arthur added from the front seat. “Lewis is a really great guy and you should definitely not be scared of him.”

“The hell I shouldn’t!” Cassidy strongly disagreed.

“Alright then, be scared of him. But ya gotta ask yourself: are you more scared of him or Bessie the murder bull and his five thousand friends?”

And almost on cue there came a particularly loud MOOOO from the Devil’s Herd, still stampeding after them.

Cassidy opened her mouth, but immediately closed it. She pursed her lips, then after a moment she came to a conclusion: “Bessie. Definitely Bessie. Fuck that.” And she began to aggressively brush and flick as much of the blood and chunks off of herself as she could. Vivi handed her a clean towel too, which helped.

“Amen,” Arthur agreed.

Then the dog, who had gone very quiet up until now, spoke up. “Lewis, get ready to open the passenger side door. We’re approaching the hive.”

The atmosphere in the van immediately shifted (except for Cassidy, who was out of the loop and along for the ride), the trap returning to the front of their minds.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

“The trap?” Fred exclaimed with glee.

“Yes Fred,” Cassidy sighed fondly, “the trap.”

“What kind of trap?” He asked, tapping his fingers together and bouncing lightly in his chair, a giant grin on his face.

“A big, crazy, stupidly dangerous trap that I still can’t believe worked,” Cassidy groaned, some of that old anxiety returning just at the memory of it.

“I’mma be totally honest with you: if we didn’t have magic it probably wouldn’t have,” Vivi shrugged.

“Would 100% not recommend for your own investigations,” Mystery agreed.

“-And if you do attempt it for one of your own mysteries, you’d better hope you don’t survive because I will kill you,” Cassidy growled.

Ricky knew that tone. “Fred. She means it!”

But the master trapper was hardly listening. “Less lecturing, more trapping!”

And with another exasperated yet fond sigh, the storytelling continued.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Cassidy had absolutely no idea what she’d been (quite literally) pulled into, but she was about to find out.

“You have the flare gun at the ready, right Vivi?” Asked Arthur.

“Got em’ right here.”

“And the dynamite?”

“That too.”

“And Lewis? Remember, you have to get out not long after Mystery.”

“Just tell me when,” the ghost said.

“It won’t be long. The hive’s just ahead! Get ready!”

Cassidy craned her neck to look between the two front seats, and she could see them approaching a system of canyons and gorges. They had just entered them when the song on the radio changed to an intense set of crescendoing, pulsing chords.

“Hellbent? Oh Hell yeah! Now this is ‘fuck shit up’ music!” Vivi cheered.

“It really is the best car chase song,” Lewis agreed.

“Easy for you to say,” Arthur gulped. And Cassidy got the distinct impression that there was a story there, but she didn’t exactly have any time to dwell on it. Because that was when the shaking ground beneath the van’s tires began to tremor. “Here they come!” Shouted Arthur!

And that was when Hell poured out of the mountainside. Like a mob of angry ants, the Devil’s Herd came from every cave, crack, and crevice. But instead of driving away, the van turned and began to drive around the perimeter of the hive, stirring it up even more, prompting the cattle to come out after them.

“Lewis! NOW!” The dog shouted! And by itself, the door swung open and the dog leapt out of the van with a flash of red light.

I’ve been Hellbent, baby,

Cassidy shouted after him. “DON’T! DID HE JUST- OH MY GOD!”

Hellbent on lovin’ you all day long,

“Don’t worry about him, Vivi said dismissively. “He’s a professional.”

Hellbent on drugs ‘cause it turned you on,

“-Not to mention he’s more dangerous than anything he’ll find in there,” Arthur added.

Don’t know what else to do,

“But-”

Mmm~

“I’ll tell you what. You want to be helpful? Get in the front seat and start throwing sticks,” Vivi said.

I’ve been Hellbent, baby,

“Alright,” Angel groaned as she heaved herself between the seats and onto the passenger side.

Hellbent on makin’ you love me, too, Even though not what I’m supposed to do, I don’t give a damn, Mmm~

“I’m up here, but I don’t know what you mean by- OHMYGOD!” And Angel had never in her life rolled down a window so quickly as when Vivi Yukino suddenly dropped a lit stick of dynamite into her hand. The BOOM that followed after she threw it brought even more angry cows out after them.

“WHAT IN THE- OHSHIT-” (She chucked yet another stick out the window just as fast as Vivi handed it to her) “-HELL?!”

“We’ve got to get as many of them out of the hive-” BOOM! “-and to the trap as possible!” Vivi shouted over the wind as she took another stick out of a box, held it out for Lewis to light, and passed it to Cassidy - who promptly threw it out the window, much to the displeasure of the cows. “Not to mention the fewer of them are in there, the easier Mystery’s job is.” And as soon as she finished talking there came another explosion as the stick Cassidy had just tossed went off.

Immediately after, over the roar of the wind surging in through the open window, there came a sound from the radio like the cocking of a shotgun, and the song launched itself into a call-and-response verse.

I’ve been hellbent, baby (I’ve been hellbent, baby)

“Aaand the most effective way to do that-”

It’s been too long, baby (It’s been too long, baby)

“-is to make them mad,” Arthur added just as loudly as Vivi. But unlike his friends he was sweating bullets and looked even closer to a panic attack than Cassidy.

My eyes wide shut (My eyes wide shut)

“Well a little bit of damn warning would have been nice!” Cassidy retorted, throwing out yet another stick.

And I feel your touch (I feel your touch)

“Would love to but we’re on a time crutch,” Vivi disagreed over the resulting BOOM.

I’ll prove you wrong! (I’ll prove you wrong!)

“Here - this last one should do it. Make it count.”

You make me strong! (You make me strong!)

Grumbling, Cassidy took the last stick of dynamite and threw it out the window as hard as she could.

I said all I need is, all I need is, all I need is you!

The explosion that followed brought out the biggest swarm yet.

“-Aaand that should do it. Lewis, get us the blazes out of here.”

And as the music carried on into more of those intense beats, Cassidy’s vision was engulfed in blinding pink light and if she could have screamed she would have! It felt as if her battered body was being forcibly sucked through a very long tube. When it finally stopped, the van was a great distance ahead of the herd (but not so far that they weren’t still being chased) and the Mystery Skulls’ attention was on her.

“What the hell just happened?” Vivi demanded from the back seat.

“Oh no - you’re hurt!” Arthur cried.

“No shit,” Cassidy groaned. And she would have said something snarky, but she broke out into coughs and when she took her hand away from her mouth her palm was covered in blood.

“Lewis, did you-”

“She must’ve been more seriously hurt than we thought before we picked her up,” Lewis said. “I’m so sorry - I never would’ve teleported us if I’d realized.”

“S’ fine,” Cassidy gritted out, clutching her even-more-broken ribs and struggling to keep her composure. “I’d already be dead if you hadn’t grabbed me.”

“We’re gonna have to talk about this later,” Vivi said. “And you? You will tell us how this happened. But for now? Lewis, you have to go.”

“Will you be alright-”

“That’s why we have the contingency plan! Now go!”

And in a swirl of pink, he was gone. And not a moment after he disappeared, there was another slurry of pink light across every surface, and everything reverted back to the way it had been before Lewis possessed it.

“How much further to the gorge?” Vivi asked, as if none of that was unusual at all.

“Just ahead! You need to switch places with- uh…” Then Arthur turned apologetic. “Sorry. I don’t think we ever asked for your name.”

“Angel,” Cassidy groaned, already moving back into the back seat.

“Angel- haha. What a coincidence, right?” Arthur said, awkwardly looking away so he didn’t make direct eye contact with Cassidy’s ass as she passed him. “Well- nice to meet you Angel. Sorry if we’ve come across as rude but given the circumstances-”

“Not the time for niceties, baby. Jus’ drive!”

“Yes ma’am.” Arthur said quickly, right as Vivi hopped into the now empty seat beside him. She rolled down the window and the gale that filled the van assaulted Cassidy’s ears, even as Vivi hopped to sit on the window’s edge with her entire upper body outside of the vehicle.

Cassidy, having laid down in the back of the van, felt the terrain beneath the vehicle tilt downhill and Arthur shouted over the wind, “This is the gorge! Fire the first flare!” And distantly, Cassidy heard Vivi fire it with a bang and a loud hiss. Unbeknownst to her, the blue light was visible for miles. Vivi tossed the now useless thing. And right as she was readying the second, the edges of Cassidy’s vision started going dark.

She was vaguely aware of a walkie talkie cutting on, but she couldn’t focus on the words being said. And right as Hellbent was coming to an end with one final dramatic chord, she blacked out.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

“How bad was it?” Ricky asked tensely.

“Wipe that concerned look off your face Ricky, I was fine!” Cassidy waved him off dismissively.

“Internal bleeding is not fine, Cassidy! If we didn’t have magic you may have needed surgery!” Mystery scolded.

“I’m a little lost,” Fred scratched his head. “How did you get hurt?”

“The particle displacement that occurs during magical teleportation isn’t easy on the body,” Lewis surmised. “Basically, in Cassidy’s case, suddenly displacing her weakened, injured body from one place to another worsened the tears in bruised tissue, reopened cuts, and as for her bones? The displacement puts pressure on your entire body at once, so you can only imagine what that does to bones that are already cracked or broken. Imagine if someone has broken ribs, (which Cassidy did) and some asshole walks up and squeezes them around the middle as hard as they can. But on your whole body.”

“Jeepers. I’m glad you’re okay, Cassidy. That must’ve really hurt!” Daphne cried.

“It’s water under the bridge now,” Cassidy shrugged. “If I had a nickel for every time Lewis apologized afterward… But he never would’ve done it if he’d realized I was injured and I’m still glad he did, given that we had the Devil’s Herd right on our heels.”

“How did the rest of the trap go anyway?” Fred asked giddily.

“Long story short,” Vivi explained, “We reached word of the third herd while we were still cleaning up the mess from the second. So before we had set off from there, we harvested an organ from the second queen’s carcass - the one whose head is mounted on our wall. That organ produces highly potent pheromones. That’s how they communicated - like bees.

“We put those pheromones in gas canisters all over the van that continuously released small amounts, which made the cattle think we were another queen. So their instinct was either to destroy us or to take us back to their hive - either way, they’d have to catch us first. So Arthur and I lured most of the skull cattle into a deep gorge, and beyond a certain point the people of Tumble caused a carefully orchestrated rock slide with dynamite to close them in. Then, long before they could dig or climb their way out, Mystery showed up, luring the rest of the herd into the gorge.”

“That was my objective when I leapt out of the van,” Mystery explained with a hint of pride. “My job was to slink through the hive, kill the queen and any of her daughters, rip out her pheromone organ, and use it to lure any skull cattle left in the hive back to the trap with the rest.”

“It’s a shame you missed that bit Cassidy because it was really cool,” Vivi said excitedly. “He jumped right off that cliff and they all followed. Most of them were either dead or close to it when they hit the bottom, save those who landed on the corpses of those who jumped before.”

“Rou jumped?” Scooby exclaimed. “What about the landing?”

“Kitsune are shape-shifters, remember?” Mystery smirked. And in a flash, he transformed into a large white raven and perched on the top of the chair behind Vivi’s head. “I flew- oh. I’m sorry, Ricky. Is this alright?” The kitsune-turned-bird asked, apologetic and concerned.

“Oh- yeah it’s fine,” Ricky said sheepishly, rubbing his eyes and sitting up from where he’d been laying his head on the table. “I think what freaked me out yesterday was that you turned into something too similar to a parrot, and I wasn’t expecting it. But this is alright.”

“‘No parrot-like things.’ I’ll keep that in mind.” Mystery said with a pleased fluff of his feathers.

Then he hopped off of the top of the perch, turned back into a dog, and landed squarely in Vivi’s lap - who couldn’t resist the urge to give him a cuddle. Which, if his wagging tail was anything to go by, had been his plan all along.

“So once they were in the gorge…” Velma prompted.

“The townsfolk poured hundreds of gallons of molten tar down on the cattle,” Lewis said grimly, igniting a single flame on the tip of one finger, “-And I burned them alive.” Monsters as they were, Lewis could still hear their screams. And he felt no satisfaction in their deaths.

“Like, zoinks,” Shaggy gulped.

“Jinkies,” Velma gulped in agreement. “That’s… dark.”

“There were too many of them to euthanize them humanely,” Vivi said sadly. “We tried that in Idaho and it cost us dearly. We didn’t even try in California because the Redwoods were in danger. Not to mention, obviously, all the people and wildlife who were also at risk. Then in Arizona a whole small town was in danger. And like the others, that herd had already caused a lot of damage and killed a lot of people. We didn’t even consider doing it humanely at that point.”

“Good,” Ricky said gravely. All heads turned with their undivided attention. “I can’t even begin to imagine how many people those things hurt. So even if they suffered, it’s better for them to not exist anymore. They never should’ve existed in the first place. God, why did I-”

“Don’t.” Mystery said. His eyes narrowed, flashing red, and his voice was very firm and stern, only to immediately turn gentle. “Come back, Ricky. Turn around. Don’t go down that path. The regrets, the what-ifs, the should-have-dones, the self-loathing. You’ll only drive yourself mad. Believe me… I know.”

Ricky sat back in his chair a bit, sullen, and said no more on the matter. Though everyone could tell, and Ricky knew they could because he could see the concern on their faces, that particular battle wasn’t over just yet. Finally, he could take the silence no longer and put his head on the table, his face hidden in his arms. The table was awfully comfortable. And his eyes were growing so… heavy.

“Cassidy!” Lewis said suddenly, which made everyone jump including Ricky, who quickly sat up and ran his hands over his face. (This went unnoticed by everyone except Mystery.) “Now you need to tell them what happened after you woke up.”

And that made Mystery stiffen. Ah, yes. That.

“Why? What happened after you woke up?” Fred asked.

“This one damn near gave me a heart attack and killed me, that’s what!” Cassidy shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger at Mystery. The “dog” batted his eyes and innocently looked away as if he had no idea what she was talking about, except he was also smirking as if to say, ‘I did it and I’ll do it again!’

“Why am I not surprised?” Velma said dryly.

“Oh they didn’t tell ya’all shit,” Cassidy laughed. “Just wait until you hear what the first damn thing out of his mouth was!”

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

When Cassidy awoke, the first thing she registered was the pain. Her whole body protested with either stiffness, discomfort, or jabs that came with every little movement and adjustment. Next came sound - the hustle and bustle of movements and voices all around. Then the dry heat of the desert that clung to her skin, and the coarse, stiff bedding beneath her back. Then, finally, she blinked her eyes open.

The light was dim and orange. Late afternoon sunlight just permeating the tent’s fabric above her head. Cassidy turned her head to and fro, taking in her surroundings. She was laid on a pop up cot with a very thin mattress inside of what appeared to be a medical tent. The other beds were empty, a monitor stuck to her arm kept track of her vitals, and a fan in the corner was trying its best to combat the Arizona heat. Aside from that, she was alone. And she could see her bag sitting on a makeshift bedside table, though her rifle was nowhere in sight.

As what had happened before she passed out came back to her, Cassidy sat up as carefully as she could with a groan. Ghosts, magic, and skull cattle? Were the mysteries not limited to Crystal Cove?

Careful not to jostle herself too much, Cassidy reached over, pulled her bag over into her lap, and started digging around looking for her weapons and to check that all of her stuff was there. Surprise surprise, her pistol, shotgun, mace, and knives were all missing. As were her notes and files on the Mystery Skulls.

Just then, Cassidy’s head snapped up at the sound of someone entering the tent, and Arthur Kingsmen jumped when they locked eyes. “Oh! You’re awake! It was… Angel, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right. And you’re Arthur Kingsmen, synth player of the Mystery Skulls. And… also a monster hunter apparently,” Cassidy said with a groan as she hefted her bag back onto the table. There wasn’t a single thing in there she could use at the moment anyway.

“Yep. That’s me,” he smiled and rubbed the back of his head, an embarrassed blush coming across his face that reminded her painfully of Ricky.

Three kids and a talking animal… could there be a fourth? Even if there isn’t it’s too close to be a coincidence but there’s just no way…

Just then, Vivi popped her head into the tent. “Hey Artie, how’s- Oh! You’re up!” Vivi Yukino said happily. “Hey Lewis! Miss Dynamite is awake!”

Which led the ghost (apparently wearing his human disguise) to stride into the tent after her. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Like that skull herd trampled me,” Cassidy said in the least-pained tone she could.

“Sorry,” Lewis said guiltily.

“From what I gather, you didn’t do it on purpose. All the same, I’d say we have a lot to talk about.”

“That’s for sure,” Vivi said. “For starters, let’s properly introduce ourselves. I’m Vivi Yukino. This is Lewis Pepper, and this is Arthur Kingsmen. But you apparently already knew that, Miss… Angel Dynamite?”

“Yeah, that’s my name.”

“No it isn’t.”

Angel whirled around just in time to catch a glimpse of an enormous shadow on the other side of the tent dart out of sight.

“What was that?”

“Mystery…” Vivi warned sternly, but her tone went unheeded as a huge snout forced its way between the Mystery Skulls, followed swiftly by an absolutely gigantic beast.

“SWEET lordy…” A gasp forced its way out of her and as much as every instinct she had was screaming at her, Cassidy found herself frozen in place. Not that, as hurt as she was, she would have been able to do much else anyway. The kitsune’s seven tails fanned out magnificently behind him like the tail of a peacock. Snow white fur was stained and splotched with orange mud and the golden blood of the cows, and when he shook himself speckles of it misted into the air around him. “What- that the hell-?” She asked shakily.

“Angel, this is Mystery,” Vivi said in an even, measured voice. “You’ve actually met him, briefly, in the car before he jumped out.”

“That was a cute little dog!” Cassidy all but shouted. “Not some dog- wolf- fox- whatever-you-are! I- eep!”

Cassidy jumped, shaking, when Mystery abruptly leapt up, his front paws on either side of her body, absolutely towering over her. His red eyes glowed in the dim light within the tent, and the sheer intensity of his glower through his gold spectacles locked all of her limbs in place.

“What’s your name?” The creature asked. And his voice was all-encompassing, reverberating into the deepest parts of Cassidy’s chest in such a way that it shut all of them right up.

“I- it’s Angel Dynamite,” she replied. Panic fluttered in her stomach. Why would he think otherwise?!

“No it isn’t,” he snapped, hackles raised and teeth bared. “I do not know your face as I once did. But if there’s one thing I never forget it’s a smell. Especially one I pursued with such passion as yours. ‘Angel Dynamite?’ Ha! No, that’s the name you had to give yourself. I remember now. That’s what he used to call you, isn’t it?”

Cassidy’s heart seized inside her chest, and the lovestruck face of the boy she’d loved once flashed before her eyes. He knew. He knew! But how? And the other Mystery Skulls didn’t, if the bewildered looks on their faces were anything to go by.

Cassidy nervously swallowed. “You know me,” she said, as evenly as she possibly could. An admission with deniability if ever there was one. But Mystery would not have it.

“What. Is. Your. Name?” He barked. And the force in his tone and the desperation in his eyes was so powerful that she had no choice but to give in.

“... Cassidy Williams,” she admitted quietly.

And at those words his entire demeanor changed. His lips dropped over his fangs in a gasp of awe. The hardness vanished and the tension in his shoulders let out like a deflated balloon. He looked- relieved. So relieved he looked as if he might cry. “You’re alive,” he muttered, disbelieving. But then tearfully, he laughed. “I knew it!”

“You know me,” Cassidy repeated, and he must have heard the fear and confusion in her voice.

“I do,” he said, and his voice had become very gentle. Melancholy, yet fond. Reminiscing. “And you knew me. A version of me, anyway. But you would not remember me. My children and their families, you knew as well,” he said, gesturing to the other three Mystery Skulls. “But that doesn’t matter right now. The others! Ricky, Judy, Bradley. Are they alive as well? Do they still live?”

Cassidy was so flabbergasted by his enthusiasm that it didn’t even occur to her to lie. “They are! They are!”

At that news, Mystery became so excited that it took a whole twenty minutes to calm him down enough for him to tell them a story that Cassidy had only thought was familiar. And for Vivi, Arthur, and Lewis, that revealed wounds so old and so painful that no one around them had ever been able to bring themselves to tell the whole thing - until now.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Once Cassidy stopped talking, the table fell very quiet.

Then silently, five heads slowly turned to look at the little dog, sitting solemn and silent in Vivi’s lap. And he had that same expression on his face as that day in the desert: Joy and sorrow blended together in a tapestry of painful memories.

Finally, Ricky swallowed the knot in his throat. “... You knew us?” He asked quietly.

And the dog looked right at Ricky and replied, “I did.”

“... H-how?”

“I don’t blame you for not piecing it together yourself,” Mystery said. And his voice was forcibly even as he wrestled his own feelings under control. “A lot has happened in the past twenty-four hours. You all had so much more on your minds.”

“That doesn't answer my question,” Ricky said. And he was forcing himself to stay calm too.

“Do the math,” Mystery said simply. “You disappeared a little over twenty years ago. Vivi, Arthur, and Lewis were all born in Crystal Cove and are all twenty-seven, twenty-six, and twenty-five years old respectively. And their families lived here for some years even before that until they all moved away, almost two years after you left. I am the guardian spirit of the Yukino family. I was here too. Vivi, Lewis, and Arthur were so young they hardly remember Crystal Cove. But me? I remember. And yes, I knew you. I knew your families, your friends, your neighbors. The Yukinos lived not two blocks away from the Owenses. Five from the Williamses. Four generations of Yukinos lived in Crystal Cove, and for all that time I was here too. I was there when Vivi’s parents and grandparents congratulated yours on your birth. Both of your births. Brad and Judy’s too. I watched you grow up. I followed your mysteries - they were the only exciting thing that happened in Crystal Cove back then. And I was there, sniffing in vain around in the brush, when your father and Cassidy’s parents led volunteers to trudge through the caves and waterways with sticks… looking for your bodies.”

That last bit had Ricky’s throat closing and his eyes burning.

Dad…

Ricky and Cassidy both did not like thinking about their families. How much their disappearances must have hurt them. Even now, with the Freak not a threat anymore, neither of them had looked up or approached their families. It had been twenty years. Surely, they had moved on. Surely, showing up now would only hurt them more. And seeing them from a distance without being able to reach out would surely mean only more pain on their end.

“... Why are you only telling me this now?” Ricky asked.

“I did not get to finish my story last night,” Mystery reminded Ricky gently. And, it’s as I keep saying: A lot has happened. There have been other things to talk about. And… I do not mean to diminish your pain when I say this. But would you believe me if I told you that it is painful for me too? Remembering everything that happened back then?”

“Then why don’t I remember you?”

“I was the guardian of the Yukino family. I tried not to get too involved in the lives of humans that were not mine, and it was in my nature to be forgettable. But I think, once reminded, you may yet remember.”

“Then start talking,” Ricky said firmly. “And don’t you dare leave anything out.”

“I will,” Mystery said. “But I believe a more comfortable setting would be appropriate, as it is quite the long story. And I need to get something from my chambers anyway. Vivi, Lewis. Why don’t you lead our guests to the family room? I’ll meet you there.”

“If that’s alright with Ricky,” Vivi shrugged.

And if Ricky had a bit more pep in his step right at that moment, he may have fought it. But at this point, he already felt so exhausted and utterly drained that he simply sighed, “Sure.”

And so, Mystery hopped from Vivi’s lap and skedaddled out of the room, while the humans got up and silently picked up stacks of dishes from breakfast and carried them into the kitchen to be washed later. Then, awkwardly quiet, they followed Vivi and Lewis into yet another unexplored part of the mansion.

Ricky kept quiet, his head swimming, and it was all he could do to keep his eyes trained on Cassidy’s back walking just ahead of him. Her shirt fit her well - he could see her toned muscles and defined shoulder blades shifting beneath the fabric with each step. Beautiful, he thought to himself. Even now, part of him feared that if he took his eyes off of her for too long she’d disappear. Or worse: he’d wake up to find that the miracle of this morning had been nothing but a dream.

As for Cassidy, there were a lot of things that were yet to be explained to her, but for now she was content to hear what Mystery had to say until Ricky was ready to tell her the truth. Some things about the kitsune’s role in Crystal Cove twenty years ago had been explained to her back in Tempo, but she was looking forward to having a lot of gaps filled.

“So like,” Shaggy cleared his throat after a while, “how exactly did you guys know Mystery Incorporated back in the day?”

“Yeah. And why didn’t you mention it before?” Velma asked. Curious - not accusatory.

“Our families knew each other from what I understand,” Lewis said.

“More than knew each other,” Cassidy corrected gently. “After spending some time in Tempo, I managed to find out more than what Mystery told us. Ya’all ain’t gonna believe this: Fred and Vivi are related.”

At that, everyone abruptly stopped walking and turned around. “What?!”

“Wait- how?!” Vivi exclaimed, just as shocked as everyone else.

“What’s your Momma’s maiden name?” Angel asked.

Vivi thought for a second, then smacked herself on the forehead. “Reeves! Of course!”

“I thought Vivi was Japanese,” Fred said, confused.

“Half Japanese, on my Dad’s side,” Vivi corrected. “I mostly take after him, but my Mom is definitely white. Like she is blonde. And- actually, come to think of it her hair is the same yellow as Fred’s. Anyway - all I know is some sides of Mom’s family had lived in Crystal Cove for a very long time. So I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. How are we related, by the way? Specifically?”

“Your Mom and Judy’s Dad are cousins,” Cassidy explained. “Which makes you and Judy second cousins, and you and Fred are second cousins once removed.”

“Wow. Small world,” Fred said.

“I didn’t even know my Mom had a cousin,” Vivi said.

“They apparently don’t talk much anymore,” Cassidy shrugged. “And Fred and Vivi aren’t the only ones with a connection. I don’t know if anyone else is related, but apparently the Owenses, the Kingsmen, and the Yukinos were pretty tight. But I didn’t hear a lot about how or why that is, apart from that the Yukinos became fast friends with the other two families when they first moved to Crystal Cove, and the Kingsmen and Owens families were friends even before that. Then when my parents moved to Crystal Cove a few years before I was born, the Nocedas and the Peppers were the first to welcome them to the neighborhood, and the Yukinos weren’t far behind.”

“Wait- who are the Nocedas?” Daphne asked.

“My birth parents,” Lewis said quietly.

And a sympathetic silence followed as the eight of them continued on before Vivi pressed through the awkwardness. “Anyway- Arthur, Lewis, and I really couldn’t tell you much about back then. I was only six when the Original Mystery Incorporated disappeared. Arthur was five, and Lewis was four. And we moved away like… a year later? I have a few fleeting memories that are relevant. But they’re mostly glimpses, feelings, or single moments. The adults back home in Tempo who do remember everything only have parts of the puzzle, and even then talking about it has become a sort of unspoken taboo. Mystery has more of the story than anyone else, and even he doesn’t like talking about it. All the hurt that happened in Crystal Cove 20 years ago… a lot of people have either forgotten about it or tried to. But Mystery sure as hell hasn’t.”

“No kidding,” Cassidy agreed.

“It’s frustrating,” Vivi sighed. “Mystery’s become more and more open with us since he first revealed himself as a kitsune and started actually talking to us, but his days as Kit and Koa are the only really important part of his life that he won’t talk about.”

Ricky had been starting to nod off, but something about what Vivi said caught his attention. “His days as what?”

“Those were the names he lived under during his time in Crystal Cove,” Vivi explained. “Throughout his days as a guardian spirit, he’s assumed whatever name the family gives him. Usually during and after a period when he takes the form of some companion animal and decides to live among the family for whatever reason instead of watching over us unseen. He’s been Mystery for a little over eighteen years, if memory serves me right. But before that, he took the form of a border collie and my grandma named him Koa. If you remember him at all, that would be the name and form you knew him by.”

Koa… something about that name rang a bell. Where do I know that name from??? Ugh, it was only nine in the morning, and too much had happened already. What Ricky really wanted to do was lie down and take a nap. But there was still too much to do and too much to talk and think about.

He didn’t ask any more questions, and kept trudging along with the others.

At last, they came upon a spacious yet cozy lounge with dark blue wallpaper and red and orange furniture. Apparently the “family room,” where Mystery had for some reason decided to hold this discussion.

Ricky plopped down on a large, L-shaped couch and leaned back, arms over the back of the couch with his eyes closed, intending to mentally prepare himself. Cassidy spared him a worried look before she sat down on the other line on the “L” beside him. While the kids walked around the room and looked at the pictures.

Only then did it become clear as to why this was known as the “family room.” Because that’s what all of the pictures were of: The Mystery Skulls, along with their families. And quite a few of the older ones, the kids recognized, had been taken in Crystal Cove! They were so busy looking around and asking questions, especially about the pictures that included Vivi’s Mom’s side of the family, that they hardly noticed when five minutes went by. Then almost another five minutes. And right when they were starting to wonder what was taking Mystery so damn long, in the kitsune trotted, looking a bit too pleased with himself, carrying a large book-shaped package in his mouth.

“Apologies for the wait,” the kitsune said a bit too merrily as he set the package down on the coffee table.

“No kidding. What took you so long?” Cassidy asked suspiciously.

“Ah, silly me. I’d misplaced my photo album. I’ve accumulated so many things over the years, you know. I was beginning to fear I’d left it back in Tempo when I found it under my pillow of all places. Imagine that.”

“You’re up to something,” Vivi stated.

“Up to something?” Mystery cried in his most offended possible tone. “Vivi! I am shocked and appalled that this is your opinion of me!”

“Hear that, kids?” Lewis asked. “That’s the sound of bullshit.”

“Yyyep,” Fred agreed.

“Rullshit,” said Scooby.

“‘Bullshit?’ ‘Up to something?’” The Kitsune balked teasingly, “From the way you all talk, you’d think I was some sort of shady vagabond!”

“What. Did you do?” Vivi asked dryly.

“Very well,” Mystery sighed. “But you can’t be mad at me.”

“What. Did you do?”

“Technically,” Mystery said, “I didn’t ‘do’ anything. But… let’s just say that my story is going to have to wait until this evening.”

And right as Vivi was about to demand why, she was cut off by the sound of a soft snore.

Ricky. Had fallen asleep. Right where he sat, leaning back against the couch.

“Ricky?” Cassidy called him and lightly shook his shoulder, but he didn’t so much as stir. “Ricky?”

“No no, don’t wake him,” Mystery said. “I’ve been waiting for this all morning. It was only a matter of time.”

“Why? What’s wrong with him?” She demanded.

“Don’t fret, little Angel. Nothing is wrong. Sleepyhead’s medicine simply hasn’t worn off yet.”

Lewis smacked his forehead. “The sleeping potion! Of course!”

“The what now?” Cassidy cocked an eyebrow.

“Ricky couldn’t sleep last night,” Vivi explained, “So Mystery gave him a potion. He really needed the rest. That’s why he slept in.”

“I told him to go take it right away, or at least I thought it was implied,” Mystery sighed, slightly irritated, “But instead he bumped into Velma on the way back to his room and stayed up for another few hours. Then took it.”

“Okay,” Cassidy said, confused, “That still doesn’t explain…”

“Have you ever taken nighttime medicine?” Vivi asked. “It can be difficult to get comfortable and fall asleep when you’re sick, so a lot of nighttime medications have stuff in them to help their patient sleep. But those medicines are supposed to wear off by morning. So if you take it late and wake up early without the effects wearing off, you feel super lethargic for the first half of the day. The same thing has happened to Ricky, but he took a potion instead of ‘normal’ medicine so the effect is a lot stronger.”

“Poor dear. It’s likely that the only reason he’s been awake as long as he has is due to the stress,” Mystery said. “But with magic, even stress can only hold it off for so long. Then we likely sped it along by feeding him.”

“Like, why by feeding him?” Shaggy asked.

“Eating a big, comfortable meal like that would be enough to make anyone satisfied and drowsy,” Lewis said. “Add a dreamless sleep potion into the mix and it’s no wonder he’s zonked out.”

“Oh for Pete’s- you planned this!” Velma cried accusingly, jabbing a finger at Mystery.

“I did not plan for Ricky to take his medicine late. But just now, did I intentionally have Vivi and Lewis take him to the most comfortable lounge in the house then stall long enough for him to doze off? Yes I did,” Mystery smirked mischievously. “Because I didn’t want to argue with him when I told him he needed to go back to bed before anything else. Just like Cassidy is about to.”

“What- me?” Cassidy snapped.

“You’ve been awake and on-the-move for over twenty-four hours,” Mystery said, bending his neck down to her level. “That, and we won’t urgently need you for anything for another few hours anyway. So yes, Cassidy. The others and I will be going out into Crystal Cove to make some preparations, and in the meantime you and Ricky will remain here. Not that you’ll miss us - we should return at about the same time you wake up - at around 3:00. Five hours still won’t be nearly enough rest but for now we’ll have to take what we can get.”

“The hell I do!” Cassidy stubbornly spat, indignant at the mere suggestion. “I still haven’t-” But mid-sentence, Mystery exhaled a cloud of red smoke in her face. Cassidy abruptly stopped talking, her eyes rolled over, her entire body went slack, and she slumped over on the couch beside Ricky.

With a red flash, Mystery took the form of the man with long black hair he’d shown them last night. Except of course, his seven magnificent tails were still showing from under his kimono and his tall pointed ears were sticking out of his hair on top of his head. Twenty years later and they’re still so adorable, the kitsune chuckled to himself, fondly remembering a time long ago when this very pair of sleepy meddling kids fell asleep on the Yukino’s couch.

“Jeepers! What did you do to Angel?” Daphne cried.

“Just a simple sleeping spell, Daphne. Fear not,” Mystery said dismissively. And gently, tenderly even, he lifted Ricky’s upper body from the back cushion and moved him to lie longways on the couch. “I believe I mentioned that we kitsune have some power over dreams. Which makes us skilled in all sorts of sleep-related magic,” Mystery continued, and he picked up Ricky’s legs from where they hung over the side and put them onto the cushions. “This one will only put her out for a few hours. Assuming I’ve estimated correctly, Ricky should wake up an hour or two before her, but I’m sure he’ll be fine as long as we leave a note explaining things.”

Rolling her eyes, Vivi came up behind him with a couple of blankets as Mystery moved on to Cassidy. “Why did you put Cassidy to sleep?” She asked. “Her needing the rest can’t have been the only reason.”

“I mean, she couldn’t exactly have helped much until this afternoon anyway,” Lewis guessed, scratching the back of his head.

“-But knowing her, she would have tried to regardless,” Mystery added, having now moved Ricky and Cassidy to each lie longways on the cushions. “And when we didn’t let her, as if we could stop her, it only would have bothered her while she waited. So I felt it was best that she sleep until then.” And he took the blankets from Vivi and draped one over each of them.

“Why’s that?” Scooby asked.

“Because,” Lewis announced, a piece of paper magically appearing in his hand, “I went to see Arthur last night, and he has a plan. But he needs our help to pull it off, so we’ve got homework and the deadline is in less than 48 hours.”

“And all of it involves going out into Crystal Cove,” Mystery added. With a flourish, a long ornate gold kiseru pipe appeared in his hand and he began to smoke kizami while he spoke.

Unnoticed by Mystery Incorporated, this caused Vivi and Lewis to spare each other a very worried look. Being a spirit, smoking wasn’t bad for Mystery in the way it is for fully mortal beings. But while it wasn’t harmful for him, he knew second-hand smoke could be bad for humans and that the habit had become increasingly frowned upon in the past few decades. Which meant these days, wanting to set a good example for the younger ones, Mystery never smoked in front of them anymore unless he was extremely stressed about something. In the three years since he’d revealed himself as a shape-shifter, this was only the third time they’d ever seen him do it.

All of this to say, if whatever Mystery was going to have to say about twenty years ago was affecting him this badly, then it was extremely concerning indeed.

“But,” Mystery continued, blowing out a long, beautiful red stream of smoke, “it would be extremely unwise for Cassidy to go into town with us. If she did, she could be spotted on one of Mr. E’s cameras. And if our enemies saw her, then best-case scenario there goes our element of surprise and one of our wild cards. Worst-case scenario, we end up with kriegstaffebots at our door trying to finish what they started.” And as he finished talking, he began blowing lovely red smoke rings as he listened to the others.

“Zoinks! Like yeah, those are good reasons!” Shaggy gulped, his eyes nervously following a trail of smoke that went by his head.

“-Not that they could get into the house anyway if they tried!” Vivi added quickly. “Not with our defenses, remember?”

“Yeah but it’d be annoying. And since we’d be essentially under siege it would become near-impossible for anyone aside from Mystery, myself, or maybe you to leave. That, and this is a great spot. I’d rather avoid having to move the house if I can,” Lewis pointed out.

“That’s true too.”

“Rud reasons,” Scooby agreed.

“So what’s the homework?” Velma asked eagerly.

“The two main keys to success in Arthur’s plan are physically escaping Destroido and ditching Pericles, Brad, and Judy. Then getting the cobra larvae removed. As you could guess, the second part is the tricky part and also what we’re going to do today,” Lewis said. “Because the capsule is pretty deep in there, and it’s like a centimeter away from Ricky’s spinal cord. The only way it’s coming out is if Arthur’s sedated and someone cuts it out, and that’s not something we can do safely. Which means we need a surgeon, equipment, and a place where that surgery can be done.”

“Uh, why don’t we just take him to the hospital?” Scooby asked.

“It’s too obvious and too dangerous,” Lewis replied. “Removing the cobra venom will probably be Pericles’ first guess about ‘Ricky’s’ next move, and the hospital is the most obvious place that could be done. And the last thing we need is them dragging Arthur back right when we think we’ve won. Or worse: bringing killer robots into a hospital full of sick people.”

“So,” Fred surmised, “We need somewhere equipped with surgical equipment and someone who can perform surgery, but it can’t be at an actual medical center.”

“Not only that but it has to be the right kind of surgeon. Or at least a surgeon with the right training,” Velma added.

“This is where you come in, Mystery Incorporated,” Mystery smirked. And he blew an enormous, beautiful red smoke ring that encircled the four kids and their dog before it dissipated, filling the air with the smell of tobacco.

“The Mystery Skulls aren’t established in Crystal Cove,” Vivi explained. “We don’t know anyone here. We don’t have any connections. You guys on the other hand have been meddling around this town for years. You probably know just about everyone by now. So finding the answer to this is going to be up to you.”

“I think I might have an idea of where we could do the surgery, but I don’t know about a surgeon,” Velma said thoughtfully.

And Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby didn’t have any ideas either until, with a defeated sigh, Daphne raised her hand. “Actually… I think I know the exact person who can help us.”

And HERE IT IS! I'm sorry for the long wait, and I hope the long chapter and the fanart makes up for it! I didn't mean to make you all wait this long for this chapter. I went through a bit of a rough patch the past couple of months because of school stuff. I picked the wrong major. BUT! I'm on a different path now that's much better for me and my mental health. I can't promise when the next update will be, as my current schedule doesn't leave me with much spare time. But I don't intend to make you wait another three months either. On to talking about the chapter itself and its future, I don't know how they keep ending up this long but no one particularly seems to be complaining about it. Cassidy still doesn't know what happened to Ricky, Mystery has revealed yet another can of worms to open so expect lots more flashbacks ahead, and we're finally going to see our heroes actually start contributing to Operation: Free the E in the next few chapters. As for my song choice, I wasn't originally planning to use "Hellbent" for this part of the story, but as I was writing the flashback to Arizona I realized no other song could possibly be this appropriate for a car chase. That, and the past several chapters have been God, Pay for My Sins, and Angel. So why not continue the trend and put all of the songs with Christian/heaven/hell titles in one place? I would also like it to be known that Hellbent will most likely be used as a chapter song/title again in the future. I had been planning to use it for another chapter anyway, and tbh I'm running out of good Mystery Skulls songs that remain fitting to what's happening in the plot. I'mma try to have song repeats be few and far between tho! I would also like it noted, some of you may have noticed, that I have added "previous" and "next" buttons to the format of my posting. I got the idea from Morningmark's comics he posts here on Tumblr. I can't promise how consistent they are to every single post though, because some of my chapters have proven difficult to find. I'll work out the kinks eventually, and I hope they make reading 'One Of Us' on Tumblr more manageable. Just don't forget to run over to Ao3 to leave a kudo or a comment too! Seriously, do share your thoughts and possible theories. I never grow tired of them and they're what encourage me to keep going! I stay busy with school so I don't know when I'll have time to post chapter 23 to Ao3 but you can bet it'll be posted there by this weekend!

Chapters 1-22 of 'One of Us' are presently posted on Archive of Our Own!

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