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alphashley14 · 2 months ago

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One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

Chapter 29

Yeah

Back at a certain haunted house about twenty or so minutes before Arthur and Lewis’ intense reunion, seven mystery solvers stood in stunned silence, having just watched a ghost disappear and a kitsune throw himself out the fucking window.

For a few beats of stunned silence, the only sound was Ricky’s own harsh breathing and the soft rumble of thunder overhead. Then right as the first raindrops were starting to fall from the dark sky above, Ricky shakily turned around. To Vivi, still sobbing on the floor. And to the others: Cassidy, Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby. All staring out the broken window with the same question written on their faces: what do we do now?

Come on, Ricky. Calm down. Be the adult. What’s next? Forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths, Ricky started looking at each person in the room, organizing his swirling thoughts as he looked at each one.

No one looked physically hurt. That was the important thing. Almost everyone was just as shell-shocked as Ricky was, and Cassidy looked to be in the same boat as him: gathering her wits and trying to figure out what to do next.

Vivi caught his attention next because she was still bawling. And now that he had the presence of mind to think about it, the sight yanked on his heartstrings. “Vivi,” Ricky said. And in a few strides he was at her side and dropping to his knees beside her.

“Vivi- Sweetie, you need to calm down,” he said, as he began gently patting her back. He felt ridiculous. Nothing he could think of to say felt right, because what could he even say? Vivi had been so strong about all of this from the moment Arthur had been replaced with Shaggy. She’d kept her head and had been nothing but kind and generous to every single stranger under her roof. But now here she was, having witnessed something so terrible, without a single one of her family beside her. “I know. I know. And I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling. Just- listen. Uh- breathe. In… out… you’re okay. It’s- it’s okay.”

And yes, Ricky knew he wasn’t very good at this and he wasn’t the person she needed right now. And yes, Ricky knew it was not, in fact, ‘okay.’ But that’s what you’re supposed to say, isn’t it?

“N-no. No! It’s- it’s not- I-I-I-!” But Vivi couldn’t get two words out without sobbing so hard she coughed.

Then Cassidy dropped to the floor beside him. “Breathe, baby. Breathe…”

Ricky flashed Cassidy a grateful look. How had he ever gotten by without her?

“I can’t- oh Artie! An- And-” And then Vivi was reaching for him.

Ricky should really be more used to it by now, but he still froze when she hugged him. Then she started breathing, like Cassidy had told her to, and when she finally whimpered, “I’m sorry… *sniff* I’m so sorry that happened to you. We didn’t- *hic* I mean we’d never- *hic* *gasp* The house just- *choke* I-*gasp* I- *gasp* I- *gasp* And Arthur- *sob* Arthur!” But the longer she spoke the more Vivi lost control over her words until it was just babbles of relevant words between her sobs that she just couldn’t string together in a sentence. It teleported Ricky, very suddenly back to earlier today. She’s in the same state I was with Cassidy, he realized.

But Ricky could have the person his tears were for in his arms again.

Vivi didn’t. Couldn’t. (And maybe she never will, his anxiety said not helpfully, but Ricky didn’t even want to entertain a thought so awful.)

Unless… then Ricky had an idea.

“Shaggy, come here,” he said.

Shaggy looked surprised and confused, pointing at himself as if to say ‘who me?’

To which Ricky gave him a perhaps undeserved ugly look and beckoned him over more aggressively. ‘Yes, you!’

Shaggy quickly came over, and as soon as he knelt next to them, Ricky was gently detangling the limbs thrown around him and turning Vivi over into his arms.

He wasn’t Arthur. But the body Shaggy was in was the only part of Arthur they could give her right now. And maybe - just maybe - the feeling of him could be enough to calm her down.

And it seemed to work. Vivi latched onto Shaggy immediately, her face buried in his shirt as she sobbed, with Cassidy rubbing her back and saying sweet things to her. Shaggy’s arms came around her, having caught on to what Ricky had in mind. But all the same he gave Ricky an awkward, pleading look as if to say, ‘Why meeeee?’

Ricky winced and mouthed ‘sorry,’ at him. He’d feel horribly awkward if he was in Shaggy’s shoes too.

“Girls,” Cassidy said, beckoning Velma and Daphne over, “can you two take Vivi to her room while the others and I clean up down here?”

Her words snapped the two out of their shocked stupor, and at once they nodded and took over, and Cassidy and Ricky scooted away to let them. But it didn’t look like Vivi was ready to let go of Shaggy just yet, and poor Shaggy didn’t seem to have the foggiest idea what to do about it.

“Shaggy,” Cassidy said, and to her credit - only a hint of her ‘are-you-stupid?’ voice leaked through. “Go with them.”

Shaggy nodded, and the three of them gradually got a shaking, sputtering Vivi to stand before they began leading her out of the room, the sounds of her cries echoing through the corridors long after they were gone.

Cassidy, Fred, Scooby, and Ricky watched them go. Scooby looked torn between following Shaggy or staying with them, until he finally looked at the others. “What do we do now?” The dog whimpered.

“And before that,” Fred said, “What just… happened?”

“I- don’t know,” Ricky sighed.

“But before we do anything else something needs to be done about the window,” Cassidy said.

“She’s right,” Ricky said. “There’s about to be a thunderstorm right on top of us and this room is going to be destroyed if we don’t cover it with a tarp or something.”

“I bet there’d be one in the conservatory,” Fred said thoughtfully. “And if not there, then I saw a shed in the garden. I’ll run and look. Scoob, you coming with?”

“Ruh-huh,” Scooby nodded.

“Thank you,” Ricky said. “I guess… the glass needs to be swept up too. The window broke outward but some of it still landed in here. Angel, would you help me?”

“Course’, baby.”

Fred and Scooby ran off towards the back of the house, and Ricky and Cassidy hurried off to look for brooms and dustpans. They found a set in the kitchen and a set in a closet near the stairs, and within five minutes they were back in the art gallery and starting to sweep.

They completed the task in silence, and were sweeping the shards into a small trash can by the door when Cassidy finally spoke. “So… I know I haven’t said the obvious yet but… are you okay?”

‘I’m fine,’ was the obvious answer. The automatic answer, drilled into most people by a lifetime of counterproductive ‘politeness.’ But that wasn’t what Cassidy was looking for.

“I… don’t know,” he finally replied. “Just- today has… sucked. The only good thing that’s happened to me today has been-” Ricky suddenly realized what he was about to say, and all the blood rushed to his face with embarrassment. But the sentence was so far out of his mouth he had to finish it. “... You. Er- finding out you were alive, I mean. A-and getting to spend time with you, without any of my shitty behavior screwing it up for once. But now…”

He shouldn’t be thinking about this. There were other things that needed done. And Arthur was dealing with a lot worse than hurt feelings right now. He should really be shelving this for later. But Cassidy wasn’t letting him.

He was more than a little shaken, same as the rest of them. But once he stopped and thought about it, he also felt… hurt.

The Mystery Skulls had seen it. Ricky had said he wasn’t ready for them to, but they had anyway. And it had been everywhere. Ricky’s heart was breaking for Arthur and the guilt was making his skin crawl. But even more than that, Ricky was so fucking embarassed that if he thought on it too long it made him want to fall straight through the floor and die. Those horrible, horrible sounds and images of him- of Arthur were gone now and the paintings had gone back to their original states. But how had that even happened to begin with? And why? Had it been an accident? Some supernatural fluke?

Or…

Betrayal was a familiar sting. His old friends’ most recent one had split his heart open all over again, and the scarred, worn old thing was still bleeding. But somehow, he still had some hope left. Hope that people existed who cared about him and how he felt - people who were good and honorable enough that when they promised to honor his wishes, keep his feelings in mind, they kept that word.

And yet.

Absent-mindedly, Ricky started biting the nail on his thumb. It was a nasty habit, one he’d dropped from his youth as he’d gotten older. He didn’t even know why he found himself doing it again now. What he did know was that scared, mistrustful part of him was scolding him for getting comfortable. For being stupid enough to hope. For trusting the Mystery Skulls.

But then he remembered everything Mystery, Vivi, and Lewis had done for him so far, and there it was again: Hope.

So many parts saying such different things. It left the whole of him not knowing what to think… and hurt, no matter how much he dared wish for a kinder truth.

The thunder was getting closer when Ricky looked away from the window, back at her. “Cassidy…”

She was staring at him, expectant. Leaning against her broom. Not pitying. Listening.

“They- wouldn’t have done that to me… right?”

He didn’t need to elaborate, understanding passing over her face at once. But she didn’t answer him immediately. Rather, she looked to the raindrops falling into the black, twisted trees in greater numbers, her brows furrowed in thought.

“... No,” she finally said. “No, I don’t think they would.”

But that raised the question of the hour all over again. “... Then what happened back there?”

And try as she might, not even Cassidy had an answer for that.

Once the rain decided to come down, the heavens opened up fast. Fred and Scooby were unfortunate enough to have been in the shed in search of a tarp when the rain really started coming down, and by the time they made it back to Ricky and Cassidy, blue tarp in hand, they were both drenched and a sizable puddle was forming on the floor by the broken window.

With the aid of Fred’s expertise in trap setting, getting the tarp secured over the hole was no trouble, which left them with the task of locating appropriate towels and drying the floor. (After they dried off Fred and Scooby of course.) It didn’t take long. Especially after Shaggy came back down, having been kicked out by the girls. The whole process took about twenty minutes, and by the end of it poor Fred’s teeth were chattering and even Scooby was shivering a little.

Angel suggested the two go up to their rooms for a hot shower, but Fred refused, claiming that they had a potentially messy job later in the day, and there was no point in showering twice.

Begrudgingly, Cassidy let them win that round. But she still dragged them all to a nearby fireplace to warm them up. She took them to yet another lounge room in the mansion, and once again Ricky found himself surprised.

At least one of the Mystery Skulls, apparently, was a gamer. And a huge horror fan. And if the large deep blue sofa was anything to go by, Ricky had an inkling that it was Vivi. The walls were painted a deep maroon that reminded him rather unsettlingly of the Sitting Room, but not much of them could be seen with the sheer number of display cabinets, posters, prints, and framed artwork that were lining the walls. And while none of these pictures moved, they were all from various horror films and games. On either side of the wide blue sofa there were two large blood red bean bag chairs for extra seating. The coffee table was black and shaped like a coffin, and on either side of the fireplace were a set of cabinets that, after Shaggy and Scooby couldn’t help themselves and snooped, contained a wide and veritable collection of scary movies and games.

Between the two cabinets above the fireplace was a large flatscreen TV with a gaming setup that even Ricky could tell was impressive, given how little he knew about video games these days. And on another wall, there was a large display case with an extremely expensive-looking collection of horror figurines and dioramas. Most of which, according to Shaggy, were zombies from two particular games called ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Silent Hill.’

A lot of people wouldn’t exactly find this room ‘relaxing,’ with the sheer amount of gore in some of the art. But for them, fake monsters were such a common occurrence that it somehow felt homey. Shaggy and Scooby were delighted to find that the Mystery Skulls had all of the Vincent Van Ghoul movies and quite a number of the video game adaptations. Ricky couldn’t help but chuckle when they pressed their faces against the glass cabinets to look at the few Van Ghoul figures and dioramas in the collection.

“Like, Look Scoob! They’ve got one of the pig beast!” Shaggy said excitedly.

Scooby’s tail was wagging so hard Ricky half-expected it to go flying off.

Ricky caaasually stood behind them, hands in his pockets, to sneak a peek at the dioramas himself.

“Don’t think I don’t see you,” Cassidy teased behind him.

Busted. “I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about,” Ricky said innocently.

“Like, do you like Vincent Van Ghoul movies too?!” Shaggy whirled around.

“Well- I’ve seen them but-”

“It’s miniatures he likes,” Cassidy said over his shoulder, “Ricky had a whole shelf of ones he made from kits or from scratch in his room when we were younger. He even hung a few of the planes from the ceiling.”

“Ranes?” Scooby said with a tilt of his head.

“I’ve- always liked things that fly,” Ricky sighed. “But uh- it’s not like I ever did anything- that detailed,” he said, getting distracted by the dioramas again. They were so tiny, but just look at the way the rust had been painted on the walls. And the texture on those intestines…

“He’s not giving himself nearly enough credit. They were incredible.”

“Cassidy-!”

“Just look at the pretty toys you dork,” Cassidy laughed, giving him a little push closer to the display case. With a sigh, Ricky admitted defeat and gave in.

Eventually, Shaggy and Scooby walked back over to the fire with Fred, leaving Cassidy and Ricky to look at the dioramas a bit longer.

They sat there for a time, looking at the ones on the bottom shelves, an uneasy silence between them, before Ricky decided to be the brave one.

“You know… By any chance, is this why you led us into this room in particular, Angel?” Ricky asked. And he hoped the nonchalant way he said it didn’t give away how much her answer mattered.

“Maybe,” Cassidy shrugged innocently. “Maybe I saw this room when I stayed here back in Arizona. Maybe I remember thinking that you’d like these. And maaaybe I thought seeing them might cheer you up.”

The butterflies in his stomach began to flutter, and Ricky had to tighten his mouth to keep from smiling. “-Thank you,” he said, rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants before he could say something stupid. “-And I do. Like them, I mean. You know I can’t actually remember the last time I did this. Just- looked. And enjoyed something like this. Always- so busy. Or maybe- just not spending time on simple things that made me happy. I can’t remember the last time I made one of these. Or even looked at one that wasn't related to my company.”

“We had a few back at the old apartment, didn’t we?” Cassidy said, smiling fondly.

Ricky had to think about it for a moment. But then, he remembered. And he smiled. “Huh… we did, didn’t we?”

With nowhere to go and having to build their whole lives virtually from the ground up, Ricky and Cassidy had eventually moved to San Francisco after they left Crystal Cove. It took three years, but they were finally living in a half decent apartment and had gotten to the point where they didn’t have to skip meals to make rent. Money was coming in, they weren’t living paycheck to paycheck, and their lives were finally reaching some semblance of stability. Ricky remembered now. He’d come home from his second job to find that Cassidy had splurged from her own savings on a model airplane kit to surprise him - just as nice as the ones he’d used to have back home in Crystal Cove.

That had been a good night. A great night. Ricky had gone to some dark, dark places mentally back then. But that was one of the greatest moments of pure, spontaneous joy he could remember from those times. He’d been so excited to put it together he’d almost gotten ahead of himself. Then how thoughtful the gift had been had hit him full force, and he’d swept his Angel right off her feet.

How could he ever have forgotten? He could still hear the way she’d shrieked with laughter so clearly. The kissing had been awkward at first because neither of them could stop giggling - quick pecks that started to linger, then deepen. Then they’d wound up against the wall, and silly giggles became the loveliest little moans and sighs. His Angel’s arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, his hands under her thighs, his body pressing hers against the wall, and their lips gliding over one another with the most perfect, practiced ease. She was so much smaller than him. Even as a young man, skinny as he was, Ricky had always been strong. Holding her up and against him had felt so right, and she’d fit so well against him. Then she’d slid her fingers into his hair and tugged, and his last bit of sense had just disappeared.

They never did make it to the bedroom that night. But that creaky old sofa they’d nicked off the freeway had served their purposes just fine.

… Dear god, how could he have forgotten that night?

It had happened similarly a few times after that. Cassidy would surprise him with a model, and he’d show her exactly how much he liked it. (And he liked them a lot.) Then usually the next evening they’d put on a movie and they’d sit in the living room together, him building the set while Cassidy sat curled on that very same sofa offering emotional support with a glass of wine.

Then. About five years after they disappeared, he came home to find she’d done it again, and instead of being excited or feeling touched it made him… angry.

Why had it made him angry? Something about money? Oh god- he’d said such awful things…

Cassidy never bought him another model after that.

“... I remember now,” he said. “You bought them for me…”

“Of course I did,” she said. “I knew what you liked. And I loved how happy they made you.”

Should he say it? He should. He could see it in her eyes that she was already thinking about it.

“... Remember the last one?”

A pause. “... I remember.”

Of course she did. She was the one who’d gotten unfairly shouted at until she cried. Fuck - I was such an asshole!

“You know, I still have it,” He said sheepishly.

Her head snapped around. “Nuh-uh.”

“I do.”

“You do not!”

“I do!” He laughed. “Honest to god! I mean I never- ya know- built it. But it’s… in the back of one of my dressers back at Destroido as we speak. Unopened.”

Now she looked confused. And a glimmer of that old hurt was in her eyes. “But… I thought you hated it.”

“I didn’t- don’t. I mean-” Ricky sighed deeply and rubbed his hands over his face. “Listen- that night… the way I acted-”

“Don’t.” She was blatantly looking away from him now, and there was a tension in her shoulders that he wanted nothing more than to soothe away, but he didn’t know how. “It was a long time ago. So what does it matter?”

“It matters to me,” Ricky said. “And that’s-” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Look - I know you don’t get it. And maybe you never will, and that’s not your fault. But you’re right: It didn’t matter. Not to me. Not for the longest time. And maybe in a real sense, it still doesn’t. I mean- it was fifteen years ago. But it didn’t matter when it should have and now…”

Having been inadvertently overhearing the conversation progress into something personal, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby gave each other an awkward look and subtly snuck out of the room, but by this point neither Cassidy nor Ricky even remembered they were there, much less noticed them go.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Ricky sighed, finding his words again. “It’s- as if I was asleep, and now that I’m awake I have to live with the consequences of what I did while I was dreaming. Even all the way back when we were still speaking, working together, I had so many regrets in regards to you. So many things I wanted to apologize for. But I just- never did. Then… You died, Cassidy. And I can’t even begin to describe…”

Here, and here only, Ricky held his tongue. Because what good would it do, telling her how he’d really felt? That hearing Professor Pericles say those words had hurt more than any torture ever could? That he’d thought about dying? That sometimes he’d wanted to?

But he wasn’t going to put that on her. For once in his life, he wasn’t going to be a selfish piece of shit. With a sigh, he began again. “The point I’m trying to make is… it didn’t matter. Not when it should have. But now it does, and that’s… important. At least to me it is. But- you’re right. It was a long time ago. And if you don’t want to hear it, then I’m not gonna dredge up old shit just to check a box and make myself feel better. So- Sorry. Forget I said anything.”

They didn’t say anything for several moments. Then Cassidy looked up at the ceiling with a deep sigh. “Fuck it. The box is already open.” Then she asked, “Why did you keep it? I mean- I have hardly anything of that old apartment, myself. But of all the things to not throw out…”

Ricky’s mouth moved before he could think about it.

“How could I ever throw it away?” He asked. “You gave it to me.”

He shut his mouth extremely quickly, but the words were already out.

Now she was outright staring at him, mouth agape.

No going back now. “I loved it when you surprised me with those models, okay?” He said quickly. “And that night... I’m sorry - You deserve an explanation with this apology. But I can’t give you one, because I don’t know. I don’t know what came over me that night, Cassidy. I don’t even remember what I was so angry about. -Money? I think? I don’t even know. What I do know is that you made me… so happy. We were- so happy… And you did something nice for me, and I was an asshole. And I don’t care what it was about. You were my best friend. My ride-or-die. My partner. I- loved you. And I never should have spoken to you that way. So I know it’s fifteen years too late. But I’m sorry, Cassidy. I’m sorry for taking the bullshit in my head out on the one person who made it all bearable.”

There were another long couple of seconds where Cassidy didn’t speak. Then finally, she sighed and said, “You’re making it really hard to be angry with you, you know that?”

It was well deserved. And not wholly unexpected. But hearing her outright all but say she was still angry hurt all the same.

“Do you want to be angry with me?” Ricky asked slowly. “Cuz it’s… okay. If you are. In fact you probably should be but- I actually am- ya know- sorry. I was- I haven’t liked myself for the longest time… But I don’t want to be that way anymore. And that means facing the music. So if you’re angry with me… then be angry with me.”

“I am angry with you,” Cassidy said simply - without any bite or venom in it at all. But then she kept talking, and the more she spoke the more all those old feelings started leaking through. “I’ve been angry with you for a long time. Since even before we broke up. I was angry at you for shutting me out. I was angry at you for breaking my heart. I was angry at you when you showed up at my door and asked me to uproot my entire life to come back with you. I was angry at you for continuing to shut me out, for sending a fake assassin after the kids without asking for my opinion, for not apologizing or listening to me, and finally for teaming up with Pericles! Or- I don’t know! I’m sure if you gave me enough time I’d think of something else. But somehow, most of all…” She buried her head in her hands with a groan of frustration. “I’m mad at you for- this.” And with a sweeping arm motion, she gestured to him.

“For…”

“You!” Her head snapped up, and she gestured to his whole body again. “Where were you?!” She demanded. And- oh fuck, her eyes were wet. “Where were you? This Ricky, the guy I always knew you really were, when I needed you more than anything?”

Oh.

That, he understood.

His mind flashed back to the other him, back in the Sitting Room. There was her answer. He’d already told Cassidy all about his better half while they were waiting for the others to return. But… no. That wasn’t an excuse. Cassidy’s better half hadn’t wound up in the Sitting Room. Curse or no curse, it all came down to him. His choices - and his consequences.

“... But now that I know what I know, I feel like I can’t be angry with you,” Cassidy sighed, and suddenly she was sitting beside him - so close that their crossed legs were touching at the thigh.

The butterflies in his stomach jittered, but Cassidy looked unbothered by the contact so Ricky said nothing. He just swallowed the nerves down and stared at her expectantly. There. Present. Listening. Finally, finally listening.

“You- told me about your better half in the Sitting Room. And I just- can’t get it out of my head,” she said. “He’s so- young. Which means that’s how young you were when- and all that time we were living together- right from the start, you were already… ” She broke when her voice cracked, blinking the wetness from her eyes. He understood what she was trying to say, but the words were stuck in her throat.

“Losing Pericles. And Dad. And home,” Ricky said, “I think we always knew I took it harder than anyone else. And I always- look, don’t reassure me about this because we’re talking about you right now, but I always felt like it was my fault. You n’ Judy and Brad… you lost everything. Then Brad and Judy lost their baby- lost Fred to the Freak. All because Pericles was mine. Or- probably more like I was his. But I didn’t know that back then because I didn’t see the red flags for what they were. If anyone should have seen it coming, it should’ve been me… and I didn’t.”

“I remember you saying something like that back then,” she said. “But I think I brushed you off. Or just told you not to be ridiculous. We- never really talked about it. Not properly. And now that I think about it… you got a lot worse after that- horrible night, when Judy called us in a panic. So maybe- you’re not the only one who wasn’t really listening.”

“No. Don’t apologize. Don’t make excuses for me,” Ricky said, and without even thinking about it his hand came to rest on her knee. “You were there for me and putting up with my bullshit when no one else was, and for a lot longer than most people would have.”

“I know that. But remember how you told me the better halves of Brad, Judy, and Fred Sr. were all adults? It just- bothers me, okay?” She hugged herself, “I knew you were hurting back then. I was, too. And I knew it hit you harder than it did me. But I still don’t think I realized just how badly. I mean bad enough to split you in two.” She let out a nervous laugh, shaking her head. “I always thought it seemed like you’d left some part of yourself behind in Crystal Cove. I just- wish I’d realized why sooner… maybe I could’ve helped you.”

“Please don’t put that on yourself,” Ricky groaned. “You were barely seventeen and suddenly homeless, out in the world all alone without any support. You were my girlfriend, not my therapist.”

Cassidy pursed her lips, then her hand came to cover his and she sort of sagged against him, her head on his shoulder. “I wasn’t alone. And I wasn’t completely without support,” Cassidy reminded him gently. “I had you.”

“And I had you,” Ricky said, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. “-And I’m sorry that wasn’t enough. Because it should have been.”

They fell into a tense silence, but not so tense as it had been. A weight had been lifted between them - a single boulder off the top of a mountain, but progress all the same.

There came a knock, and when they looked up Velma was standing in the doorway, hip cocked to one side. “If you two are done canoodling, we have things to do today,” she said dryly.

Simultaneously, they suddenly realized what position they were in and how they must look, and immediately they were scooting apart, flushed and flustered.

“Velma! Cassidy and I were just-”

“Talking!”

“Yep! Talking! About- stuff.”

“‘Stuff’... Uh-huh… ” Velma said with no small amount of disbelief or judgment whatsoever. “Well whatever you were doing, the gang and I are heading out, but Shaggy can’t come because he’s… Arthur. And Cassidy, you can’t because you’re not supposed to be alive. So. Ricky, we’re not going to make you come with us, but the invitation is open.”

Ricky spared Cassidy an awkward glance. “-Yeah, I’ll come. Where are we going?”

“To help Fred set a trap ready as part of Arthur’s escape plan. Lewis gave us the instructions from Arthur while you two were in dreamland earlier. We’ll explain the details on the way. But before that, go change back into Shaggy’s clothes. If Pericles or the others happen to see you in those stripes, you’d might as well be wearing a giant neon sign that says ‘I’M RICKY.’”

“Gotcha,” he nodded. “And um… Cassidy-”

“It’s okay,” she gave him a tired smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Go on. I- we- both have a lot to think about anyway, right?”

“Yeah- yeah. And uh… thank you. Again.”

“Any time… baby.”

Ricky’s heart skipped a beat. Am I reading too much into that or did she just… no way. She says that to everybody right? Right??? “Oh. Uh… bye-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Velma cried! And without another word she grabbed Ricky by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out before the atmosphere got any more romantic.

Cassidy snorted as she watched Ricky flail awkwardly after her, but once they were gone her smile turned sad. She plopped down onto the couch, then looked back to the figurines. Damn you, Ricky Owens. Damn you.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

“Look Velma,” Ricky said once they were well out of earshot of Cassidy, “We really weren’t-”

“Yeah, yeah. Just save the kissing part of the making up for when you’re not in my friend’s body!” She scolded, finally letting go of him.

“There was no kissing! And there probably never will be!” Ricky insisted as he smoothed out his clothing.

“As if,” Velma scoffed. “You might not have said it, but these past two days you haven’t exactly been subtle about the fact you were and are still in love with her. Hell, even Fred sees it, and he’s the most oblivious of all of us when it comes to these things!”

“I’m not- Look, Velma. I care about her. But- nothing’s going to happen between us. She’s my oldest friend. And what we went through together… she’s the only one who gets it. All I want is for us- her, at the end of this, is for her to be free. And I’m not going to deprive her of that by chasing after her like the shitty ex who came crawling back begging for another chance. It’s bad enough as it is that I dragged her back into this mess in the first place, much less everything else I did. And worse still that we’re stuck working together now. Do I want to make amends? Yeah. But only because I know I hurt her, and she deserves to be able to move on from that. But once this shit show is over, I’m back in my own body, the curse is broken, and Pericles isn’t trying to kill us anymore? The sooner and the further she gets from me, the better.”

“Wait- really?” Velma stopped right in the middle of the hall, genuinely surprised. “You’re not even going to try?”

“Hell no,” Ricky scoffed. “And believe you me: if someone you loved treated you the way I treated her… you wouldn’t want them chasing after you with flowers and a changed heart either.”

And actually, Velma knew exactly what he meant and how that felt. She’d turned Shaggy down flat when he tried rekindling things again after they broke up. And the history between Ricky and Cassidy was much longer than theirs, and a lot nastier at parts too.

But Cassidy and Ricky were not Velma and Shaggy.

“But. I thought you-”

“It doesn’t matter how I feel or what I want,” Ricky started walking again, avoiding Velma’s eyes, and she followed after him. “I’ve been selfish for long enough. Once all this is over my work will have just begun. Now that I’ve got my head out of my ass it’s high time I started worrying about what everyone else wants and needs. And what she wants… it’s not me. Not like that, anyway.”

Beside him, Velma crossed her arms and flexed her jaw, thinking as they walked in silence. How to proceed from here? Because he was wrong, and she knew it. The whole gang did. Angel still loved him, wanted him, and she regretted not fighting harder for it when she could. She’d all but confessed as much right before she thought she was going to die. But, on the other hand… whatever happened or didn’t happen between Ricky and Cassidy wasn’t really any of their business - Velma’s business. Or her place, for that matter. And also there was the complicated business of Ricky being in Shaggy’s body, everything going on, and all of that complicated history, most of which was a mystery to them and - again - none of their business. And yeah: if Velma was totally honest with herself, she still had grudges of her own with Mr. E, and she wasn’t about to start playing wingwoman for him this soon into rebuilding bridges.

Then again… trusting people had always been a weakness with her.

“You know… that’s not how it looked back there,” she pointed out.

“Yeah? Well that’s how it was,” Ricky said dismissively, but from their time working together Velma had plenty of experience by now with Mr. E trying to shut her down before she could say what she really wanted, and frankly she was sick of it.

“Just saying,” she pressed forward, then baited a hook. “You sure were doing a lot of snuggling for a guy who thinks it’s best to keep it platonic.”

“And you need thicker glasses. I wasn’t holding her! I was- look, she leaned on me and I leaned back… and we held hands. And that’s it!”

He’d taken the bait.

“So what you’re saying. Is that she was snuggling you?”

“That’s not- I- she…”

Velma just smiled smugly while she watched him get more and more flustered. She asked herself, Should I, A: throw him a lifeline here? Or B: watch him struggle a little more?

“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Velma shrugged, nonchalantly examining her fingernails.

“Seriously? And here I thought Daphne was the romantic,” Ricky grumbled.

“Oh. I’m not the one who said it,” Velma said, flashing him a knowing and suggestive smile.

Ricky stopped in his tracks, even as Velma kept walking. “Wait- what’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, wide eyed. “Who said it???” And with those damn puppy dog eyes, Velma aaaaalmost felt bad for what she was about to do.

“Oh, look. We’re here.” And she quickened her stride towards the foyer before he could stop her.

“Wait- Velma! Velmaaaa!”

But Velma just pressed her lips together to keep a diabolical cackle from slipping out.

She had chosen option C: toss him a rope, and leave him hanging.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Ricky never did get to properly ask what Velma had meant by that. Not that he thought she’d tell him even if he did. Fine timing for her to be in a cheeky mood! When Ricky caught up to her in the foyer, he found her talking to the gang smirking at him as if to say ‘Ha ha, I win,’ and social obligation forced Ricky to accept defeat and head upstairs to his room to change clothes.

Velma - 1. Ricky - 0.

He would get her back for that. All there was to do was wait for the opportunity.

Ricky changed out of his striped shirt back into Shaggy’s green one, but after a moment’s thought he decided to keep the jacket. The weather sucked and it was different enough from the one he usually wore back at Destroido that he doubted anyone would blink if they saw “Shaggy” wearing it. Besides, he was going to be wearing a poncho over his clothes anyway to defend against the rain.

Changed, he left his room and was walking back to the foyer to meet the others when he saw something ahead that made him pause.

Vivi was sitting at the top of the stairs.

Probably waiting for him.

Shit.

Ricky took a deep breath, and walked closer. She was sitting on the top step hugging herself around the shoulders, a stuffed turtle tucked into the crook of her arm. She looked awful. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she’d washed off all her makeup - ruined from all the crying.

She looked up with a sniff when she heard him coming and stood up, still anxiously holding that stuffed turtle close. “Ricky. I uh-” Her voice was hoarse, and she had to push her glasses up and rub her eyes with her sleeve before she could keep talking. “I’m so sorry… I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to see me right now. I just- I needed you to know that- back there- it was an accident. The footage in all those paintings. We didn’t- we never would’ve looked at that stuff without your permission. B-but I know you still- *sniff* didn’t want us to see it, and I can’t imagine how upset you must be. I just- couldn’t let you leave thinking we did it on purpose… please don’t be mad…”

“Vivi… I’m not mad,” Ricky sighed, and he pulled her in for another hug. “I’m- glad you told me. I didn’t think you would’ve done that, but I’m not exactly a stranger to being stabbed in the back by people I trusted. So yeah, I’m not happy you saw it, but I’m glad to hear it was an accident. Can you tell me what did happen though?” He asked as they broke apart. “I just- that was freaky, Vivi. And embarrassing. Horrifying, frankly. I didn’t know that footage of Arthur was on those tapes, and that’s not how I wanted to find out.”

“Yeah. What did happen earlier?” Ricky heard Daphne ask, and when he glanced over, he found Mystery Incorporated and Cassidy all standing about halfway up the stairs.

Vivi sniffed and wiped her eyes again, nodding. “It was the house,” she croaked. And she swallowed to clear her voice before she continued. “This mansion is a supernatural structure that Lewis created and has dominion over, but it’s not all him. There’s a complicated network of energies woven through it by all of the lesser spirits, blessings, and magic, and together they create a sort of consciousness that’s independent of Lewis.”

“So… what you’re saying is it’s a bunch of different programs intersecting to form a system that can, in a way, think? So it’s like an AI?” Velma asked.

Vivi nodded. “Exactly like an AI, just not exactly an advanced one. It has its moments where it does something so smart it’s almost scary, but for the most part its intelligence is very two-dimensional. About as smart as a toddler, tops. Complete with tantrums if something happens to destabilize the energies.”

“So… that’s what happened back there?” Ricky asked.

“Not exactly,” Vivi explained. “The house’s- I guess you could say ‘programming’ or ‘algorithm’ if we’re comparing it to Artificial Intelligence, responds to the energies of its inhabitants, especially the living ones. It knows its purpose is to serve and protect the people Lewis allows to be here, and to defend itself and its inhabitants from perceived threats. But unlike in a computer it’s not an exact science and there are “holes” in the code. So while the house’s supernatural defenses at any given time are mostly airtight, its ability to respond to complex or non-specific orders and new stimuli is… limited. So it doesn’t always do as good a job at looking after us as it thinks. Following along so far?”

Everyone nodded.

“A being’s mental, physical, and emotional state has a direct impact on how our energy presents itself,” Vivi continued, “and the house communicates through energy fluctuations. Basically, it uses our auras and the way our energies interact with other people and objects to guess what we want or what we need. Which brings us to what happened earlier.

“You seven were all really upset about the same thing. Which means all of you were inadvertently focusing your energy towards the same object and idea: the flashdrive and its contents. Meanwhile Lewis, Mystery, and I were all also thinking about it, even if we hadn’t seen the footage. And… we all kind of wanted to. Not that we were going to! It’s just we were all worried about Arthur and worried about Ricky, and we saw how much it upset Mystery Incorporated which meant it had to have been really bad, which was just making us even more worried and curious. Aaaand the mansion saw that and thought…”

“It thought it was being helpful by giving you what it thought you wanted,” Ricky said.

“Exactly,” Vivi groaned. “Then once we saw the footage… everything went to shit. I’m so sorry, Ricky. We could’ve told the house to turn it off or looked away, but we didn’t. At first because we didn’t realize what was happening, but then by the time we did we got carried away and sort of… froze. Then we saw Arthur collapse and he started screaming and…” Vivi hugged herself tighter, then took a deep breath to compose herself. When she opened her eyes again all of the emotion had drained right out of them, and what she said next was so controlled it could have come straight out of a textbook. “Our sudden and intense negative emotional reaction triggered an equivalent response.”

“A ‘tantrum,’” Ricky surmised.

“So the tantrum was when the Dead Beats went nuts and everything started shaking with the freaky music?” Cassidy asked.

Vivi nodded. “The tantrum part wasn’t the images themselves. The tantrum was caused by our response to it,” she explained. “Just- imagine what we were feeling, then just imagine those feelings infecting everything they touch but with no real place to go. It’s no wonder the house and the Dead Beats had such a strong response. It’s been what? Two hours? And it still hasn’t completely restabilized. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a couple of days for the mansion to be completely back to its old self.”

“You’re right,” Fred said. “Everything’s almost… too quiet.”

“Jeepers! Freddy’s right!” Daphne cried.

“Like yeah!” Shaggy said. “Like, it’s been a while now and there hasn’t been any weirdly accurate music playing at a suspiciously appropriate moment!”

“Yeeeeeeeah-o!”

Everyone jumped and looked around when, as if on cue, music began to play from unknown corners of the house.

“Yeeeeeeeah-o!”

“Well Shag, I guess it took offense to that,” Fred laughed, hands on his hips.

“Because the world expects so much of me,”

“Am- am I crazy, or is it judging us?” Velma said, flabbergasted.

“And all I really want is to be Just happy.”

Ricky barked a laugh. “My God! It is!”

“I did not come all this way to get sassed by a house!” Cassidy exclaimed, hands on her hips.

“I’m just glad its personality is still intact,” Vivi chuckled, shaking her head fondly at the ceiling.

A few more notes played, but apparently the mansion had said everything it wanted to say, because then the music abruptly cut off. Everyone looked around, tense, for another couple moments waiting for something else to happen, the conversation only resumed once everyone was sure nothing was going to.

“Also. Not sure if anyone else has noticed, but the Dead Beats are gone,” Velma pointed out.

“Somehow I didn’t even notice, but she’s right,” Ricky said. “I haven’t seen a single one since the incident.”

“Lewis would have taken a few with him, but the rest would have gone to the basement to go dormant for a bit,” Vivi explained. “Like how sleeping is the brain’s reset button. Some of them should start reappearing again by the time you guys get back, but like I said some of them could be asleep for days.”

“Not doubting you, but you don’t exactly sound confident,” Cassidy said thoughtfully.

“Well… to be honest, an ‘incident’ of this scale has ever happened before. I’m having to hypothesize based on my experiences with other supernatural ‘hives’ like this one and how smaller scale ‘tantrums’ have gone in the past. Mystery and Lewis might have other ideas once they get back, but that’s all I can say for sure with the knowledge I have.”

“And we thank you for it, but I’d still like to hear what Lewis and Mystery have to say about the subject when they get back,” Ricky said.

“Reah…” Scooby whimpered. “And uh… where’d they go, anyway?”

“Scoob’s right,” Velma sighed. “I hate to say it, but shouldn’t we be, ya know, worried? About the enraged fox spirit that just all but unleashed himself on the town?”

“We don’t know he went into town!” Ricky was quick to interject. His mind was still struggling to connect the gentle giant he’d come to know with the beast that had towered over them back in the art gallery.

“I wouldn’t worry about Mystery too much,” Vivi said. “He tends to go off by himself when his own emotions get the better of him. It’s just the way he is. And he’s got a lot of wisdom to go with all those years of his, so I don’t see him doing anything rash. But still. He is a nogitsune, so he is technically an ‘evil’ spirit. And the way Mystery lets off steam usually involves- well. Violence. But like I said, he’s no fool. Knowing him he’ll keep to the forests and countryside and go on a run, probably eat a deer or a cow - whichever’s unlucky enough to cross his path first - then he’ll be home around dinnertime, probably not hungry but in need of a bath.”

“It’ll- probably be a deer then,” Velma said, unsettled. “There aren’t any farmers in miles and miles of Crystal Cove. Between the Horrible Herd and the Gluten Demon, our agriculture industry took a hit that’s probably going to take years to recover. We import basically all our food now and the only reason people haven’t starved is because of Mayor Nettles - she’s the most competent government official Crystal Cove has had in decades.”

“Poor little deer…” Daphne said sadly.

“If it makes you feel any better, if Mystery’s hungry or angry enough there’s always a chance he’ll get it out of his system tearing a cadaver apart before he ever runs across a living thing. Pick a freeway, there’s plenty of those to be found. At least that’s what I tell myself so I don’t have to think about it,” Vivi shrugged.

Shaggy and Scooby both went a little green at the thought. Raw roadkill? Even they had higher standards than that!

Then Vivi turned serious. “But I won’t lie to you all. The one we need to worry about isn’t Mystery… it’s Lewis.”

“That’s right. Lewis left too. Where’d he go?” Daphne asked.

“Where do you think?” Ricky asked, dread creeping over him.

“No way. He couldn't possibly be that stupid!” Velma cried.

“Lewis is smart, brave, confident, competent, loyal to a fault, and I love my boyfriend,” Vivi said. “But the way a ghost manifests is strongly impacted by the way they die, or the way they were immediately before and after death. And to make a long story short… Lewis came back mad.”

“That why his temper’s so short?” Cassidy asked.

Vivi nodded. “He’s the most hot headed and rash of all of us once that damn temper gets him. And he’ll have gone to see Arthur. LUCKILY, before anyone says anything else, it’s Arthur he’s gone to see. And believe you me, if anyone can get Lewis to calm down and see sense before he does something rash, it’s Artie. Lewis’ rage makes him impulsive and sometimes violent, but when it comes to us, Arthur especially, his restraint is excellent.”

Shaggy didn’t look convinced. “I mean… and that’s all well and good. But shouldn’t we like…”

“Do rumthing?” Scooby asked.

“Honestly? There’s no point even worrying about it,” Vivi sighed. “By now he’ll have arrived at Destroido long ago. It’s too late to stop him now, and we couldn’t have caught him even if we’d chased after him right out the gate. So if Lewis was going to do something stupid, then by now he’s already done it. Just keep the radio on while you’re driving and keep an eye on your devices. If nothing shows up in the news about Destroido being on fire, then we’re in the clear.”

“So what you’re saying is… there’s an angry ghost - a real one - potentially terrorizing my employees and destroying my life’s work as we speak?” Ricky asked, suddenly feeling rather faint.

“Damaging your life’s work, if that makes you feel better,” Vivi corrected apologetically. “His beef is with Pericles, Brad, and Judy, not Destroido. If Destroido just happens to be where they are when Lewis starts tossing fireballs, then that’s just bad luck.”

“I’m- just going to tell myself that Lewis isn’t that stupid,” Ricky said resolutely.

“That’s probably wise.”

Surprise chapter! No Warning! Ta-da! And Chapter 29 is a WRAP! I don't really have much to say about this chapter. It's comparatively uneventful compared to the previous few, but after everything our dear heroes have been through I figured they needed a little break before they could pick up the sword again, so to speak. There were so many parts of this chapter I loved writing! I'm sorry you all had to wait so long for it. I've been enjoying school, but it's kept me super duper busy this semester. Not a lot of time for writing, but I'm determined to keep moving forward! 💪 Also, on a whim, I went ahead and have already posted Chapter 29 to ao3! So be sure to head on over and visit me there!

Finally, here's the tag list for all my beloved readers who wanted to be notified when each chapter is up. If you want to be added or removed from this list, then feel free to DM and let me know!

@void-lioness @nikicherry1234 @angorwhosebabyisthis @lunasummers04 @orithereticent @mysteryskullsblog @the-moogle-of-your-nightmares @sfcabanasstarcgs

Chapters 1-29 of 'One of Us' are presently posted on Archive of Our Own!

#scooby doo mystery incorporated #mystery skulls animated #sdmi #msa #one of us fanfic #fanfiction #scooby doo #mystery skulls #archive of our own #mr. e #ricky owens #cassidy williams #angel dynamite #Vivi yukino #fred jones #shaggy rogers #velma dinkley #daphne blake #mystery incorporated

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alphashley14 · 10 months ago

Text

One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

Chapter 25

Erase Me (Original Demo)

Mystery Incorporated didn’t talk much in the few minutes before they arrived at their destination. There had been plenty of idle chatter about Hatecraft’s new boyfriend. And plenty of speculation about what exactly Mystery had said to Mr. Ellison. Or what he may have shown him for that matter - the writer had been very pale when Mystery had brought him back.

Then Lewis had dropped a bomb on them about Arthur’s flash drive. And if they had to use it, it would fall upon at least one member of Mystery Incorporated to watch it.

… All things considered it made sense why they hadn’t heard about it before now but the timing was still shit.

Daisy Blake’s impressive property, as with many wealthy homes, was surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence, and the road was blocked by a gate. Given such, when Mystery Incorporated and the Mystery Skulls pulled up to it, it fell upon Daphne to get them buzzed inside. She leaned over Fred on all fours, reached her arm out the driver’s side window, and- hesitated.

“We’re doomed,” Daphne gulped.

“Is your relationship with Daisy really that awful?” Lewis asked over the two-way radio. Having three (albeit adopted) sisters of his own, he sometimes struggled to see how siblings could be anything but inseparable. With Daphne however, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“It’s pretty bad,” Velma said back. “She commissioned us to retrieve a necklace of hers once after it was stolen by a Hodag, and she was super rude the entire time we were here.”

“Ugh, this is a bad idea. Even if it is the only one we’ve got,” Daphne groaned.

“Come on though. She can’t be completely heartless, right? I mean she’s a doctor. Isn’t caring about people in her job description?” Vivi asked.

“Yeah you’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Daphne griped. “Well I’ve never seen her at work but I can definitely say I’ve never seen her flex a selfless muscle in her body outside of it. As for Steve, he’s… I haven’t talked to him that much but he seems like a good guy. But don’t be fooled. He’s from… ‘our world’. So he can slither around in a den of vipers just as well as Daisy.”

“Be that as it may,” Mystery interjected. “What choice do we have?”

“And if all else fails, there’s always the flashdrive…” Lewis reminded them all.

As if they needed reminding.

Without further ado, Daphne rang the buzzer.

They waited.

Daphne rang it again.

Just as she was about to hit it a third time, a voice drawled through the intercom, “Who is it?”

“Hi Daisy!” Daphne said as nicely as she could. Though there was an ugly grimace on her face seen only by the other occupants of the Mystery Machine. “Iiit’s Daphne.”

“Daaaphne. Finally taking me up on my offer to bring your little trap-maker by for polo?”

“Fraid’ not, sis. We need to talk. I’m calling in an I-owe-you from when my friends and I braved a Hodag on your behalf. Unless you’ve forgotten?”

“An I-owe-you?” Daisy scoffed. “And here I thought favors among family were supposed to be unconditional.”

Daphne took a deep breath as if she was about to shout, but Velma placed a hand on her shoulder. “Gently, Daphne….”

Daphne let that breath out, then took a second deep breath to gather herself. “Daisy,” she finally said, “you’ve made it abundantly clear my entire life that asking anything of you is pointless. That’s why I stopped trying years ago. Do you really think I’d come to you now if it wasn’t important?”

Daisy said nothing on the other end of the line.

“Please, Daisy!” Daphne groaned. “I need your help right now more than I have ever needed it in my entire life. Just- hear me out and I will never ask anything of you again. Please.”

A moment’s pause.

Then there came a loud BZZZZZZT, and the gates swung open.

Daphne sighed with relief and sat back in her seat. Much to Fred’s relief - Daphne hovering over his lap like that was giving him some weird feelings. But for now, they would have to go into a box to be sorted out later. A big, thick steel box with the best locks his brain could conjure.

They had a job to do.

Three minutes later the two vans were parked and Daisy’s mansion was towering imposingly before them. Once both groups were squeezed onto the front porch, it was one again time to ring the doorbell. “This is going to be a dumpster fire,” Daphne groaned.

“Come on. I know the odds are against us, but she’s your sister,” Vivi said, trying to be supportive. “If you go in thinking this is going to go badly, then it will. Just think positive!”

“Okay - I am positive this is going to be a dumpster fire.”

Vivi opened and closed her mouth before finally pulling out her phone. “Ya know what? That was funny. I’m writing that down.”

“Regardless of how this goes, with or without using the footage, the result will be the same,” Mystery said. “I want to avoid it if I can, but know this: we have exactly one plan and are pressed for time. Daphne - I will put a spell on your sister if I have to. So for her sake, you’d better use every bit of cunning and charm that you possess.”

“So like, it’s a good thing Daphne has so much of both!” Shaggy said, flashing her two thumbs up.

“Reah!” “You’ve got this Daph!” Scooby and Fred cheered.

With a heavy sigh, Daphne moved to hit the doorbell, but the door swung open a split-second before she could. And there was Daisy Blake, looking not too pleased to see her sister there unannounced. And even more displeased when she saw just how much company she’d brought with her.

“Daphne.”

“Daisy.”

“You sure brought a lot of friends. I didn’t realize you had this many outside your little mystery club.”

Daphne’s eye twitched. “Well - you learn something new every day, don’t you?” she said through gritted teeth. “You’ve met Fred, Velma, and Scooby. This is Vivi, Lewis, Arthur, and Mystery. Is Steve home?”

“Yeah, and he’s enjoying a quiet morning in. He worked a twelve hour shift yesterday,” Daisy said, not-so-subtly hinting that they should make this quick. Unfortunately, everyone but Daisy knew that would not be happening.

“Then we’re sorry to disturb him,” said Vivi. “But we need to talk to both of you.”

“To both of us? Just what kind of favor do you have in mind?” Daisy scoffed.

“I have a patient for you,” Daphne said. “And to say the situation is complicated would be an understatement. Can we talk about the details inside?”

To the untrained eye, Daisy’s expression did not change. But the older mystery solvers could all see a calculating glint hiding behind her mascara as Daisy gave a deceptively nonchalant shrug and waved them inside.

Daisy led them through a maze of large rooms and clean, geometric shapes. Where Hatecraft’s home had celebrated the gothic past, Daisy Blake’s home was grounded in the future. It was dominated by whites, grays, and blues with dashes of magenta, and the art on the walls was inspired by the human body.

It all made Vivi extremely uncomfortable, and she knew Arthur would hate it here if Shaggy wasn’t walking around in his body right now. The medical motifs and overall lack of character reminded her of a hospital or a doctor’s office. And indeed, many of the “modern” light fixtures and furniture looked as if they’d been taken directly from the couple’s profession. Vivi had spent enough time in hospitals for a lifetime - staying by her friend’s side while he recovered from having his arm ripped off.

Daisy led them into a spacious living room and sweetly called out, “Stevie darling, we have company.”

And while there were many less-than-pleasant things that could be said about Daisy Blake, there was real tenderness in her voice for her betrothed, and her face softened when he turned around from where he sat on the couch watching a medical drama.

Steve Poindexter was as wealthy as he was handsome. Nothing less would please a woman like Daisy. And while he was quite a few years older than her (Daisy was twenty-four and he was thirty-five) there was nothing untoward about their relationship and they were very much in love.

“Who is it, Daisy Belle? Friends of yours?” He asked, pausing the TV and getting up.

“Not at all,” Daisy said. “You remember my littlest sister Daphne, I’m sure. And these are some of her little Mystery-solving friends.”

“I know who you are,” Steve said. “Some of my colleagues were there the night you captured a Headless Horror at the hospital. And I was called in to treat one of the victims of the cicada attacks for nerve damage after the bugs wrecked his car. He couldn’t sleep through the night until you kids caught the perpetrator. And for that you have my thanks.”

Mystery Incorporated straightened a little from the uncommon moment of praise for their efforts.

“-But I get the impression this isn’t a social call.”

“I’m afraid not,” said Daphne. “We need your help. Specifically: we have a patient who needs your help.”

“That’s right - you said something about a patient. So, who is it and what’s the problem?” Daisy asked.

All seven of them glanced at each other.

“Can we sit down?” Daphne asked.

Daisy raised an eyebrow, but allowed it. And once they were all seated around the room across from Daisy and Steve, they began to tell their story.

“You said you treated a victim of the cicada attacks,” Velma said.

“I did,” said Steve.

“Then you must be familiar with Destroido.”

“Uh, who in Crystal Cove isn’t familiar with Destroido?” Daisy asked in a do-you-think-we’re-stupid? tone of voice.

“Fair,” Velma shrugged. “Getting to our point, you might have heard about those kids that disappeared in the caves twenty years ago.”

“Kids that- Oh yeeeah, those weirdos. I was a few years younger than them, but I saw them around school every now and again,” Steve said. “There was always weird stuff happening around those freaks. And their parrot gave me the creeps.”

“Oh yeeeah… I was like super little when that happened,” Daisy drawled. “Didn’t you find them though? ...Some of them, anyway? Mommy and Daddy hosted a party for trap-boy’s parents here a while back, right?”

“Yeeeah…” Fred sighed.

“Ohhhh that’s right. You’re the kid the old mayor got locked up for kidnapping,” Steve cringed.

“That’s me…” Fred said awkwardly.

“Anyway!” Dahne interjected. “We actually did find all of them. In fact the other two had both been living in Crystal Cove under new identities for some time. Cassidy Williams is actually Angel Dynamite, the DJ at K-Ghoul radio.”

“Wait- The one that exploded? Didn’t you used to be there all the time?” Daisy asked.

“That’s the one,” Daphne said, shocked Daisy had paid her enough attention to know that. “-And the last one, Ricky Owens, has been going by Mr. E… he’s the owner of Destroido.”

If Steve or Daisy had been drinking something, they undoubtedly would have spat it out. “Whaaat?”

“It’s true,” Vivi said. “And he’s also the patient we need you to treat.”

“Isn’t the owner of Destroido like… a billionaire? And a total recluse?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. How the heck did you get involved with someone like that?” Daisy asked.

“And for that matter, why doesn’t he just hire us himself if he needs treatment? Or go to the hospital? Why would he need some kids to seek out our services for him?” Steve asked.

“Like- hoh boy, those are all excellent questions,” Shaggy gulped.

“And that is what we meant when we said this situation was complicated,” said Velma.

“But before we tell you anything else - Daisy, Steve, I need you to promise that none of it leaves this room,” Daphne said. “If we don’t have your discretion, people could get seriously hurt. Possibly even die.”

Daisy started to laugh. But then she saw the look on her sister’s face, and the haughty facade melted away a little bit more. “Oh… oh shit, you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Like I said,” Daphne sighed, “I wouldn’t have bothered coming to you if it wasn’t important.”

Daisy and Steve looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. “Alright,” said Daisy, “you have my word.”

“We’re no strangers to confidentiality,” Steve said with a nod. “But I reserve the right to use my best judgment.”

“If you have any respect for yourselves, your profession, or your patients,” Mystery growled, “you’ll treasure the trust being placed in your hands and keep your mouths shut.”

Daisy and Steve stared at him. “Just so we’re clear… that dog just talked. Right?” Asked Steve.

“See, Darling? I told you weird things happen around Daphne. But I thought that was the one who talks.”

“Reah. I can talk too,” said Scooby.

Steve blinked at him. “... Huh.”

“Ha! If you think that’s weird, you are not prepared,” Vivi scoffed.

“So? Do we have your confidentiality or not?” Asked Mystery.

Steve was now wearing the same calculating look as his betrothed. “...Alright.”

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Cassidy Williams woke very suddenly to an empty room.

What in the world? How did I- Mystery! That son of a bitch! Grumbling curses under her breath, Angel sat up with a groan, stretching this way and that to relieve the stiffness in her limbs before her eyes wandered to the empty spot on the couch where Ricky had been. Then she spotted two pieces of stationary on the coffee table. After reading them, she realized that he must’ve woken up a while ago and wandered off to find something to do.

Cassidy stood and stretched once more to loosen the sore muscles in her thighs and buttocks, and then there came a happy trilling sound. When she looked up, she found two Dead Beats floating into the room towards her. “Hey babies, how you doin?” Angel chuckled as they snaked around her neck and torso for pets. “You mind showin’ me where that fool Ricky got to?”

The little ghosts gave an affirming chirp and made a “follow me!” motion with their nubby little arms.

They found Ricky in the kitchen. The lights were off in the daytime and the only light was streaming in from a window above the sink. Bubbles drifted lazily through the air, catching the light with sparkling rainbow sheens before popping in a shower of tiny droplets like falling stars. And standing at the sink, jacket tied around his waist and his bare arms elbow-deep in soapy water, was Ricky. Well- Ricky-in-Shaggy’s-body, that is.

His back was to the door, and he was working his way through the mountain of dirty dishes from their huge breakfast that morning. There were also Dead Beats all over the place. There had to be at least twenty! Ricky would finish a dish, inspect it, then hold it up and a Dead Beat would take it and either find a place in the dishwasher or carefully stack it in one of the cabinets. Those that weren’t helping were hanging around the room watching Ricky work. There was a radio on the counter playing one of their hosts’ more upbeat, hopeful-sounding songs, and Ricky was lightly bobbing his head along while the Dead Beats pulsed and hummed to the beat.

“-In this life, it changes for the better, babe. And right now, I feel it, overtaking meee~…. Oooh. “Said please baby, please. Erase me. Erase my mind again-”

Cassidy hadn’t seen him so content since she’d arrived. For a few moments she was content to lean against the doorframe, arms crossed, and watch him. But she knew she couldn’t lurk forever.

“Hey, baby.”

Shaggy’s body jumped in a way that was utterly and completely Ricky, and when he spun around his entire face was as pink as the Dead Beats. “Ca-Cassidy! Uh- hi. I was just- dishes,” He stammered. In a way that was just as stupid as it was endearing, and his own embarrassment only turned his face redder.

“And just like before, we’ll fall in love.”

Cassidy snorted and crossed the room in a few strides, brushing the mob of ghosts away as they tried to crowd around her for attention. “Here. It’ll get done faster with two,” she said, standing at the large sink beside him. He scooted over a little to give her room, but her hip still ended up brushing against his thigh. His blush wasn’t going away. Interesting.

“We’ll fall in love again.”

“I’m uh- glad you’re up,” Ricky said as the two of them got into the chore. “I woke up a while ago and hung around for a while but… then I got hungry and when I got to the kitchen there were all these dishes so I figured… might as well, am I right? Anyway - did you sleep good?”

“Well given that a spell was put on me, I don’t think I got much of a say in how I slept,” Cassidy grumbled.

Ricky snorted. “Me neither. Though I at least wanted the sleeping potion, even if I was the idiot who took it at the wrong time. Still - do you at least feel better? It didn’t occur to me how long you must’ve been awake.”

Cassidy pressed her lips into a thin line. “Yeah… I do.” She admitted dryly, but then she waved a sudsy ladle at him and scolded, “-And if you tell Mystery that, I’ll smack you silly!”

Ricky laughed. “Don’t worry - I won’t. Can’t give him the satisfaction after pulling one over on us, now can we?”

“Definitely not,” she agreed.

As the song came to a close and the two worked in silence, Cassidy gradually realized that Ricky was tensing up again. His brows were furrowed and there was a troubled look on his face. Was he considering telling her whatever it was everyone seemed to be tiptoeing around? Or was there something else?

“So…?” Cassidy finally said, not looking at him.

Ricky jumped. “So?” He echoed, pretending not to know what she could be “so”-ing about.

“Is there anything you wanna tell me?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him starting to sweat, and the nervous bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. “Uh-huh,” he croaked.

Cassidy paused what she was doing, forearms resting on the edge of the sink, and looked at him. Waiting.

Ricky looked petrified.

Probably on account of the fact that he was petrified.

He had been thinking about this, dreading this, since he’d hung up the phone with Lewis. But all those thoughts had done was draw a new weariness over him. So heavy on his shoulders it had been tempting to lie back down, close his eyes, and return to that familiar, comfortable blackness where he wouldn’t need to think about it anymore. That was why he’d left the room in the first place. Watching Cassidy, still blissfully dozing, he’d found himself envious of the peace written on her face. But now that her beautiful black eyes were open and expectant, the words were shriveling on his tongue.

What sort of expression will you make when you find out what kind of man I became without you? Ricky wondered. Will you be able to look at me at all, once you know what it took to change me?

His hands were shaking when he took them out of the water and hastily dried them with a dishtowel. “I- uh…” He opened and closed his mouth a few times.

A moment passed.

Then another.

Then finally he shook his head.

“... I can’t.”

Cassidy bit her bottom lip. She was frustrated. And honestly a little hurt. But instead of getting angry she asked, “Why not?... The others know. So you told them. Why not me?”

Ricky didn’t say it, but he knew exactly why.

Because whatever care or respect you have left for me is one of the few things I have left to lose.

“When I… told them,” Ricky began shakily, fiddling with his hands, “it was right after- well- this happened.” He gestured to himself, in Shaggy’s body. “I was emotional, and it was an emergency. But now… the words’ve just left me.”

“Then you don’t have to tell me everything yet,” Cassidy sighed, resigned. “But… can you try? Just- start wherever makes sense and tell me what you can.”

Ricky still looked absolutely terrified, but he nodded. “... okay.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

Then another.

Then finally-

“I said no,” Ricky said, right as Cassidy was starting to worry he wasn’t going to say anything at all. “Professor Pericles was spiraling. I’d gone along with… things I’m not proud of. But after a certain point… what we were doing didn’t make sense anymore. He was hurting people. And it was as if he was enjoying it. And that- wasn’t what I signed up for. At least I didn’t think it was. And I’m ashamed to say it, but I think it was his reckless spending that snapped me out of it. He’s spent millions. Hundreds of millions, Cassidy. Of Destroido’s money - my money. Often without permission, and never with so much as a ‘thank you.’ And ya know what? Yeah - that pissed me off. Enough that money-related questions led me to the questions I probably-definitely should have been asking all along. I knew I had to do something so- I locked him out of the system. I was losing control of the group and figured if they needed me to access every cent, then I could filter what they did with it. And uh… he- didn’t like that very much.”

Ricky still remembered the surge of fear that went through him when Pericles had launched himself off his perch. Could still feel the sting on his cheek. “-Idiot human mascot!”

“So he uh- anyway- he attacked me.”

“I’m sorry. He attacked you? How? Were you hurt?!” She demanded.

“It was just a slap!” Ricky said quickly. Only to immediately kick himself. Why is your first instinct to defend him??? “But uh… he’d- never hit me before, ya’know?” He said with a half-assed smile. “He’d- said some pretty nasty things but he’d never- so it uh… really smacked some sense into me, huh?” He laughed halfheartedly at his own joke, trying to lighten the mood.

Cassidy wasn’t laughing. Cassidy looked horrified. Ricky looked away so he wouldn’t have to see that look on her face anymore.

“It- made it clear to me that I was gonna have to do something drastic, so I went to Brad and Judy. He was out of control. Losing his mind, really. And he wasn’t even pretending to listen to me anymore. I thought if I could get all three of us to throw him out, or at least threaten to, then I could make him see reason. But uh…”

His voice cracked, and he had to swallow and pause before he could talk again. “They uh… they lied to me. They told me to my face that they were with me. But then they went straight to him. And uh… he uh…” Ricky choked back a sob, his vision blurring with tears.

‘Tell her…’ that pitiful part of him whimpered once more. ‘Come on! Just say it!’

Cassidy’s arm, still wet from the sink, slid around his. And she gently interlaced their fingers. She didn’t say anything, but she was there. Grounding him. Listening. Waiting.

“They- they drugged me and they- he put s-something…” Ricky shuddered, but he just couldn’t get those last few words out. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her about the thing in his back. How dirty he felt all the time knowing that there was something inside him that could turn on him at any moment. The torture. The way Pericles had laughed while Ricky screamed…

“Cassidy, I messed up. I-I messed up so bad. I’m in so much trouble… I couldn’t refuse him anything anymore, I couldn’t leave, and I had no one to go to for help. I’m- I’m a prisoner in my own home. Then this happened, and now Arthur’s in my place. But he’s- he’s not me. He’s smart, he’s brave, and he has friends. I’m fucked - but Arthur has a plan to get me un-fucked, and he’s doing it with my body.”

Ricky paused to sniff and rub the wetness from his eyes with his wrist. “The others are uh… in Crystal Cove right now. They’ve gone to one of Daphne’s sisters for help, but in order to prove what’s happening to me and show her what we’re up against… Arthur and Hot Dog- Marcie - hacked Destroido’s cameras. Anyway… they uploaded all the footage they could onto a flashdrive and uh- and right about now the kids are probably watching it.” And his eyes were wet when he turned and smiled at her. “-And when they get back… I think I need you to see it too.”

Cassidy was staring at him with an expression that was almost unreadable. “Ricky,” she said at last. “I won’t push too hard. But please- please at the very least tell me this: Ricky… Ricky, they didn’t!”

Confusion stabbed through his other emotions. What’s with that face? “Didn’t what-” Then he thought about what he’d said, and realized what she was insinuating.

“Oh! Oh shit- NO! Nonono! It was nothing like that! I swear!”

She stared at him for a long moment, searching his face for honesty. Then quietly, she pressed her forehead to his shoulder and all but sagged against him. “Thank god…”

Oh no… “Cassidy…” When was the last time she’d- it had been years since he had last seen her this upset. He knew the sadness in her eyes. He knew the longing he either ignored, denied, or pretended not to see. And he remembered her anger. The night she’d stormed into Destroido on her bike, the night he’d been found out for being behind the Oblitheratrix, the night they’d stopped working together… he remembered her anger. He remembered the shouting, the screaming, the arm-waving and circle-walking as she raved and berated him for his foolishness. He remembered hurled insults and both of them saying things they regretted later.

And most of all, he remembered that one last tearful look over her shoulder when she left his home and never came back.

But she wasn’t angry now. She was relieved and she was scared. For him. He dared to turn so her head was on his chest, his free arm came around her shoulders, and then… he dared press his nose into her curls. “I’m sorry, Cassidy. I didn’t mean to- it really wasn’t anything like that… I’m alright… Nobody- nobody touched me.”

And yet… the connection Cassidy had made bothered him. Was it really ‘nothing like that?’ He couldn’t help but wonder. Even if nothing overtly sexual had been done to him… now that Ricky was thinking about it that way: they had drugged him. Snuck into his room while he was sleeping. And while he was defenseless and vulnerable, they… put something inside him. And after that, he could never say no again…

He remembered that dirty feeling. Then a whole new wave of revulsion washed over him as he realized fully, perhaps for the first time, just how truly violated he had been. How he was still being violated now. Professor Pericles, along with Brad and Judy, had taken over his home, his finances, his autonomy… and even if not in the way Cassidy had assumed - they’d violated his body too.

“Promise me, Ricky,” Cassidy said at last.

Her eyes were wet when she looked up at him. And they were simmering like hot coals. She didn’t know the full truth yet. But he knew that look.

Rage.

“Swear to me that they didn’t violate you. Not like that. And not in any other way. Swear it!”

He wanted to.

But he’d also promised himself that he wouldn’t lie to her anymore.

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Daisy and Steve were looking at them like they had lost their minds.

To be fair though, if someone had come to them with the same story two days ago, they probably would have reacted the same way.

“So. Let me see if I have the facts right,” Daisy said, disbelieving. “There was another mystery-solving group that got chased out of Crystal Cove twenty years ago by their psychotic genius talking pet parrot and the former mayor in a monster costume. But the parrot escaped from the animal asylum after a robot dog disguised as your dog attacked the place. And has now joined forces with two of the aforementioned missing kids - who happen to be trap-boy here’s long-lost parents - and trapped a third one, Ricky Owens, who has apparently been living as this “Mr. E” guy for… who knows how long, in some kind of domestic violence-type situation-”

“It really does get more and more bonkers the more you put it into words, doesn’t it?” Lewis muttered. Vivi, Mystery, Shaggy, and Scooby all nodded in agreement.

“-So you’ve come here to ask my beautiful fiancee and I to surgically remove a small capsule of- mutated cobra larve from his lower back. Which the parrot has been using to torture and control him. Do I have that right?”

Daphne took a deep breath through her nose and said, as seriously as she could, “Daisy. You do not even have all of the facts for how absolutely bat-shit insane this situation is. But yeah - that’s the gist of it.”

“Oh my God, you have lost your mind.”

“Daisy-”

“Get out.”

“Please, sis-”

“You must think I’m either crazy or stupid to believe one word of this!” Daisy shouted! “Now get out!”

“We can prove it,” said Lewis.

Daisy faltered, her eyes widening with surprise. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting proof. Mystery Incorporated stiffened. Right… the flashdrive.

Lewis pulled it out of a pocket inside his vest, and all eyes locked on the small purple piece of plastic and metal pinched between his fingers. “- We’re not just rescuing Mr. E. He’s also working to rescue himself. With a little help, he hacked his own system. There’s hours of security footage and multiple notes and photographs on this flashdrive, proving everything we just told you. If you take a look and still refuse, then there’s not much we can do. But you have no idea what he risked to get this out of Destroido. We owe it to him to use it… Please, Dr. Blake…”

Daisy’s eyes were narrowed and her lips were pursed, tapping one manicured nail against her crossed arms. Thinking. Then finally, she looked over at her fiance. Steve shrugged his shoulders with a look that said ‘I’m kinda curious not gonna lie…’ And Daisy rolled her eyes to the ceiling with an exasperated sigh. “Fine. We’ll have a look. But no promises.”

“Thank you,” Lewis sighed. “Now Velma, if you would please get out your computer, I’ll leave this with you and we’ll be waiting in the van. Give us a call when you’re done or if you need anything.”

“Wait- where are they going?” Steve asked.

“You seeing that footage is us using it as intended, and Ricky gave them permission to see it. Not us,” Vivi shrugged. “It’s only right to honor his wishes.”

Velma waited a few moments for the Mystery Skulls’ retreating footsteps to disappear altogether before she opened her laptop, plugged the drive into the port, and began typing away to access its files.

And then, there it was.

File after file after file, letters and numbers stark white on a black background. Hours worth of footage, just waiting to be played. “Holy- Jinkies, there it is,” Velma said shakily.

“What? Have you not even looked at it yet?” Daisy scoffed.

“We only just acquired this footage last night, and the contents are some sensitive stuff,” Daphne said.

“Like there’s so much of it. Where do we even start?” Shaggy (still in Arthur’s body) asked. Daisy, who paid little attention to her sister’s friend group, didn’t pay his appearance any mind.

“And before we do… is everyone here ready to see this? And do you want to?” Fred asked his friends. “We don’t really know what we’re about to see, and it’s like the Mystery Skulls said - it’s our choice who in our group does. If any of you walk out now, I won’t judge.”

“Like… I feel like we owe it to Arth- to Mr. E to see it, after how hard he worked to get this to us,” Shaggy gulped. “And like- Ricky said he wanted us to see it… so like yeah. I’m not going anywhere,” Shaggy said.

“Ree too,” Scooby nodded.

“In spite of everything that’s happened… I feel like I need to see this,” Velma agreed.

Daphne and Fred looked at each other and came to the same silent agreement as the others: they weren’t going anywhere.

“Right… as to where we start,” Velma said, “It looks like Ar- Mr. E and Marcie have made a small legend at the top of the file list for things that happen in each video, and each one has a title and description too.”

“What’s the first video say? Is that when… it first happened?” Daphne asked nervously.

“I don’t think so. Look at the legend,” Velma pointed out. “He’s used a small icon that looks like a red circle to indicate each time the remote was used, and there isn’t one on the first video.”

“There are icons there though,” Scooby said. “Rut do those mean?” Scooby was talking about two icons beside the video’s title - “Confrontation1” The first one he was pointing to was spiky, orange, and yellow. Like a collision. The next was a man’s head, his mouth open and lines coming out, like he was talking.

Their eyes wandered to the legend.

💥 Physical abuse. 🗣️ Verbal abuse.

Velma hit play.

The video started out with Mr. E - the real Mr. E, still in his own body, sitting in front of his monitors. Velma recognized at once where it was - on his island office in the middle of his dramatic-ass shark moat.

“Who’s that?” Daisy asked.

“Your patient,” Fred said.

“That’s Ricky Owens?” Steve balked. “Damn - he let himself go.”

“It’s called depression and it happens to people when they suddenly lose everything at age seventeen,” Daphne snapped. And the rest of her friends were glaring at him too. Steve quickly shut his mouth.

Whatever Mr. E had been up to, the glaring light in the dim room prevented any of them from making it out on the screens. But he jumped and quickly turned it off when Professor Pericles appeared onscreen with an angry shout.

“Ricky! Ricky what have you done?! I’ve been locked out of the system!”

“I know - I did it on purpose,” Mr. E snarled, rising to his feet. “You’re out of control, Professor Pericles! And I’m putting a stop to it! I’m in charge - I built Destroido from the ground up! While you were cooling your beak in prison! It’s time that I-”

WHACK.

The five Mystery solvers went rigid with shock.

They’d heard about some of the things Professor Pericles had said and done to Mr. E. Seeing it themselves was another matter entirely. And Ricky had never said anything about- he hit him. And when they heard what he said next, their jaws dropped.

“You are in charge of nothing, Ricky Owens! You have never been anything other than an idiotic human mascot! A shoulder for me to perch upon!”

The Mr. E on the screen was so startled- so genuinely frightened of the very creature he’d deluded himself into seeing as a friend, that he was silent for a long moment. Then he gingerly touched the red side of his face, wincing. “... You don’t mean that,” he said quietly. Pitifully hopeful. Still in denial. Still desperate for something that wasn’t there, and maybe never had been.

Professor Pericles sneered down at him like a bad seed in his bird feed. “You will restore my access by the end of the day.”

“And if I don’t?” Ricky growled. Stubborn. Trying to be brave when it was clear even through a screen that he was terrified.

Professor Pericles smiled at him in a way that didn’t reach his eyes. One foot came up to touch Ricky’s large nose with deceptive tenderness.

Then he dug his talons in.

Not enough to break the skin, but just enough to hurt. Ricky hissed with pain. “You’re a very valuable egg, Ricky,” Pericles sneered. “I’d hate to have to break you.”

“Pericles- stop. That- ow! That’s enough!” Ricky shouted. He shoved the parrot off of him with a great flapping of feathers as the parrot perched himself on the edge of the chair. Ricky got to his feet before he could regain the upper hand.

“Restore. My access,” Pericles demanded.

“Really? That’s all you care about?! You hit me!” Ricky barked.

For a split-second, Pericles’ expression turned positively venomous. But then it softened. “Ricky,” he said in a jarringly tender voice. “How are we to move forward when I don’t have access to our resources? The treasure is at hand. Whatever investment we make in attaining it will be returned to us beyond calculation.”

“You mean whatever investment I make,” Ricky corrected him. “How much of your own money have you spent, exactly? Or Brad and Judy’s? Why is what I worked for worth so little to you?”

“Und here I was under the impression you’d grown up,” Pericles tutted disappointedly. “I didn’t realize you were so selfish. Isn’t locking me out rather childish?”

“I- you- shut up!” Ricky shouted! And Mystery Incorporated suddenly remembered what Ricky had said, about how Pericles knew exactly what buttons to push. “Shut up and get out! I don’t want to talk to you- I don’t even want to look at you right now. You want your access back? Earn it back!”

“After everything I’ve sacrificed-”

“You’ve sacrificed?! What about my sacrifices? You’ve cost me everything, and still you find more to take.”

“Vögelchen… You told me once that I was family. Does that mean nothing to you?”

“Did it mean nothing when you betrayed me?! But unlike you, yes. It means something. But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you or that I trust you. Not for back then, and certainly not for that shit you just pulled. Now get out.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you stop acting like a child!”

“Fine! Then I’ll leave! There’s plenty of places for me to go! It’s my house!”

“Don’t you turn your back on me, Ricky Owens!”

“Watch me!”

And Ricky wasn’t kidding. Mr. E stormed over the bridge, went out a side exit, and when Professor Pericles tried to follow a steel door slammed shut within an inch of his beak.

Then Professor Pericles was alone. But the video wasn’t over yet. He flew back over to the island and perched himself on the top edge of that ring of monitors, looking up at the fish swimming in the lake above. What he said next couldn’t be heard very well, with how quietly he was speaking and the way German was mixed in. But they could make out this: “My Master… my master was right. Mein Vögelchen ist only human after all… no different from…”

He was staring off into space when the video ended.

They stared at that last frame for several long moments. Visibly unsettled.

“Well- um- that was-” There were holes in Daisy’s unbothered facade. “So like- I guess he really is Ricky Owens, huh?”

“That was definitely the same parrot…” Steve muttered. “Knew he gave me the creeps.”

“Like um… that was like…” Shaggy stuttered.

“Yeah,” Fred said. None of them even had the words.

“I didn’t see any torture though…” Daisy scoffed.

And even if the way she said it was insensitive, she was right: they hadn’t seen what they needed to just yet.

The second, third, and fourth videos, according to their captions, were of Brad and Judy conspiring with Professor Pericles against Ricky. There wasn’t any footage of Ricky going to Brad and Judy with his plan to turn on Pericles, as he’d been smart enough to avoid the cameras in case Pericles was monitoring them. But because the others weren’t nearly as familiar with the placement of the cameras as Ricky, a lot of their activities were on camera. Which added yet another layer to the tragedy: if Ricky had only checked his footage at the right time, what happened to him next could have been avoided.

Then, along with video evidence of their verbal conspiracy, there was a short clip of the Original Mystery Incorporated having dinner together, and Arthur had managed to find the exact moment Brad’s hand moved nonchalantly over Ricky’s drink. Then when it cut to the end of the meal, it showed Ricky walking with a slight stagger into the hallway where his rooms were apparently located, unaware he’d clearly been drugged. Then there was a clip with a timestamp about two hours later of Brad, Judy, and Pericles entering that same hallway with a briefcase, then leaving thirty minutes after that. But there weren’t any cameras in the rooms themselves or joining hallways, so there was no footage of them actually committing the crime.

Then there was the seventh video.

The first one with a big red circle beside its’ title:

“Confrontation2+Confession 🔴”

Velma clicked on it.

Again, it was on that central island in Mr. E’s lair. Ricky was pacing to and fro across the floor, arms crossed, while Brad and Judy stood side by side watching him as if they hadn’t committed an unforgivable sin just the night before.

“He’s late,” Ricky griped.

“You know he shows up when he means to,” Judy said. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon, don’t you think Brad?”

“Right you are, Judy. You know he’ll be looking to get his system access back, and making you wait isn’t the way to do it, Ricky.”

“Suppose you’re right…” Ricky grumbled. And he looked proud. Proud of himself for standing up to Pericles for once. Happy that he still had two old friends who had his back. Hopeful that after this, things would be better. That they’d change their approach, and no one else would have to get hurt once he took the reins back.

The new Mystery Incorporated were on the edge of their seats. Daphne was holding Fred’s hand, Shaggy and Scooby were hugging each other, and Velma was anxiously tapping her heel. Even Daisy and Steven, who weren’t involved yet, were tense. There was a sort of hopelessness to watching this footage. Like watching a train wreck: they all knew how it ended.

Then Pericles arrived.

He landed with a flutter on the edge of a desk beside Brad and Judy. And when he spoke his voice was jovial, yet his remaining green eye glinted with malevolence.

“Ricky. Brad. Judy. Do forgive my tardiness. Now Ricky, what did you need to interrupt my work to talk about?”

“This isn’t a talk, Professor Pericles. It’s an intervention. Things can’t continue as they have.”

“Oh? Und how have they been?” Pericles asked. And there it was - that hostility. Almost a ‘how-dare-you?’

“As you know, I’ve revoked your system access.”

“Ja. And you still haven’t returned it, as I told you to.”

“And there it is!” Ricky exclaimed. “You can't order me to do anything, Professor Pericles. When I agreed to this partnership, it was a part-ner-ship. That means you and I. Working together towards a common goal, each respecting the other. But you haven’t respected me or anything of mine since almost the beginning. You have spent tens of millions without my permission on plans that you have gone through with behind my back. You have poked your beak into parts of my life and business that don’t concern you and I didn’t want you in. And overall - you have gone too far. It isn’t just the expenses that bother me. The collateral damage of your last few schemes have been insane.”

“Bah! One cannot make a genius omlette-”

“‘-Without breaking a few worthless eggs.’ Yeah - that’s what you keep saying. But you know what? People aren’t eggs. By the time you actually told me about that ridiculous skull cattle plan of yours, you’d already spent a fortune making them. Then by the time we expunged what was left of them out of my company, they had eaten twenty-nine of my best scientists. And at least forty of my other staff. My people, Pericles. People with families who I was responsible for. I told you I thought it was insanity, but did you listen? Their deaths are on me because I didn’t stand up to you sooner. Not to mention all the casualties in Crystal Cove, or the homes and businesses they destroyed. All for a plan that didn’t even work! I don’t care how much of my money you’d already spent on those creatures. I should’ve had them all killed the minute I found out about them!”

“But you didn’t,” Pericles said. “You’re judging my sins, Mister E? Then you're a damn hypocrite. What if not blood is your kingdom built upon, Ricky Owens? All you are is a false king sitting on a throne of poisoned land and ruined lives!”

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?” Ricky roared. “YOU THINK I LIKE THE PERSON I’VE BECOME? When I was a boy, I had a different dream for this company. I wanted…” But then Ricky gritted his teeth and looked away. “Nice deflection,” he grumbled. “But I’m not letting you do that this time. Because I might be a piece of shit, but we’re not talking about me. We are talking about you: Out of control and out of your damn mind. But you know what? I can see it on your face. I could talk myself hoarse, but you’re not listening.”

“My ears are working just fine, Vögelchen.”

“Don’t. Call me that,” Ricky seethed. “There is a difference between hearing and listening, Pericles. And if you won’t listen to me, then you’ve not left me with much choice: Get out. And I don’t mean out of the room this time. Get out of my home, out of my company, out of my life. I can’t exactly make you leave Crystal Cove, but us? I’ve talked to Brad and Judy about it already, and we’re all in agreement: you’re done. Out.”

“Out? You think you can banish me?” Pericles smirked.

“Yes. I do. Destroido is mine. So you see Professor Pericles, it’s over! You’re not the boss here, I am! And you’re out of the group!”

The camera caught Pericles pulling a big red button out of a pocket in his scarf and there came a collective gasp of horror.

The instant Pericles pushed it, Ricky’s body froze in a position that wasn’t natural. His eyes widened with shock. Horror. Confusion. In so much pain he couldn’t even muster the breath to scream.

“Oh Ricky, Ricky,” Pericles tutted. “My loyal Brad and Judy told me of your little mutiny. So, last night while you were asleep, I put mutated cobra larvae in your spine! Every time I push this button… a little venom is released.”

And there it was. Straight out of his own beak.

They saw it all. They heard Pericles boast about what he was planning to do, and they heard him laugh. They saw Brad and Judy, smirking at one another as if they were proud of what they’d done. And they saw Ricky. They saw him fall to his knees, unable to stand. They heard the sound that found its way through the audio - somewhere between a whimper and a grunt. Then finally, as the torture continued and Pericles still didn’t let up, a damn burst and Ricky cried out!

None of them would ever forget that sound.

He was convulsing, shaking, crying, begging for it to stop, making any number of promises between sobs.

And Pericles was enjoying it.

That was when Velma slammed the laptop shut with a snap, unable to bear watching a second more.

Not a soul stopped her or asked to see the rest.

And for a long minute, they were quiet. The silence was only broken by the sounds of Daphne quietly sniffling. Fred was stunned stiff beside her. Scooby was huddled as close as he possibly could to his boy, and Shaggy felt as if he was going to be sick. As for Velma? She was thinking. Thinking so much so fast that her brain was overwhelming itself. Or perhaps not. It was more like her brain was so horrified that she couldn’t conjure any thoughts at all. Silently, she put both feet up on Daisy’s expensive leather couch and hugged her knees to her chest, still staring at the closed laptop.

They would wonder to themselves later, if they lost something when they watched that footage.

Subsequently, they would also wonder what they gained.

Either way, they got what they came for.

Daisy left the room.

She straightened her back, arms crossed, and briskly yet gracefully walked out of the room, her heels clicking against the tile. Looking almost as disturbed as his betrothed, Steven rushed out after her.

They didn’t come back for a very long time.

And there it is! Chapter 25! I know I promised to post it on Sunday and I'm technically posting it on Monday, 2am isn't thaaaat late, right? I spent all day working on revisions and that lllovely little piece of fanart that I put so much of my heart and soul into. (My one regret is that Tumblr is going to condense it so, SO much 😑) I was having a really good conversation with @angorwhosebabyisthis a while back about SDMI, specifically about Ricky, Pericles, and their relationship, and they pointed out to me that the way Pericles physically abuses Ricky using a device that he has literally inserted inside of him is quite obviously an allegory for rape. And I'm not going to lie - I had never drawn that comparison before. But once I saw it I couldn't unsee it. And I think it's extremely important that more adult fans do and that it gets talked about in the SDMI discourse. Because if more people have realized it, and I certainly hadn't, then I certainly haven't seen anyone else talking about it and I haven't read about it in any other fics. Likely because in spite of its' extremely adult, dark themes, SDMI is for all intents and purposes a "kids' show." Not to mention it's an extremely heavy and oftentimes taboo topic even among adults. But while it is the former, I don't believe it should be the latter. I rated this fic M for mature from the start and have piled on the angst this much already. So even if it isn't a comfy subject, I saw no reason why it shouldn't be here. All the same, I hope my writing didn't upset or trigger anyone and that anyone disturbed by such things heeded the warnings I put at the beginning of the chapter. SO! On to talking about the rest of the chapter! Any room for doubt the kids may have had is no longer existent. How will what they've seen affect their behavior and actions moving forward? And Cassidy finally has at least some idea of what's happened to Ricky, but how will she react to the full picture? Much less when she sees it. Daisy Blake is a character I've been looking forward to playing with because we saw so little of her in SDMI and what we did see was extremely two-dimensional. Which is one of my favorite characters to write in fanfiction because it means I can do whatever interpretation of her I want, and who's to say I'm wrong? Not to mention Daphne's complicated relationship with her family in SDMI is an interesting dynamic to explore. Same goes for Daisy's dear fiance Steve, who for all intents and purposes doesn't actually exist in the canon of SDMI. All that is canonically known of "Daisy's fiance" is that he is rich and a neurosurgeon. That is it. He's basically an OC. I literally said to myself, "What is the first basic af white boy name I can think of? Steve. And what's the first sorta fancy and less-than-common surname I can think of? Poindexter." (As in Benjamin Poindexter, aka Bullseye, the Marvel villain.) And so it was. I got sidetracked into another project (look sometimes autism makes you spend three days on cross stitch, okay?) so I unfortunately haven't gotten more than a few paragraphs into chapter 26 of One of Us. So while I do hope to have it done by next Sunday as I hope, I also can't make any promises. But rest assured I do have a plan, and I intend to have it to you as soon as I can. And people... please go onto my ao3 and leave comments on my fic there once the chapter posted. Seeing the number go up on my inbox and getting to read your words means more to me than you know. Chapter 25 should be posted to ao3 tomorrow morning, and it definitely will be tomorrow afternoon.

Last thing: a while back I said I would be starting a tag list for One of Us, and unfortunately I forgot about it when I posted Chapter 24. So sorry about that. Here's to all my readers who either asked to be tagged when new chapters are posted, or liked that post. Cuz I can't tell if liking it was asking to be added to it or not and I wouldn't want to leave anybody out. If you want to be added to this list or want to be removed from it, then feel free to DM and let me know!

@void-lioness @nikicherry1234 @angorwhosebabyisthis @lunasummers04 @orithereticent @mysteryskullsblog @the-moogle-of-your-nightmares @sfcabanasstarcgs

Chapters 1-24 of 'One of Us' are presently posted on Archive of Our Own!

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