A/N: Trying a different approach for Scooby-Doo, so bare with me. Your only warning - it's a lot darker than my other stories.

Disclaimer: I do not own Scooby Doo and the Gang. All rights belong to Hanna-Barbera and those who have affiliated.

The lights just went out - typical.

They always go out, no matter where we are; whether it be a haunted house, a spooky castle, or some abandoned factory, they go out. And you'd think that after experiencing it so many times in our lives that it wouldn't bother us, but it always does. I mean, come on and think about it... You and your friends are at some creepy place that you've never been to and then BAM, it's pitch black - so dark that you can't even see your own hand as you wave it in front of your face.

What do you do in that situation? We panic, of course, but each in our own different way. Shaggy jumps into Scooby's arms, or vice versa, trying to seek protection from a close friend. Velma flinches, and as she begins digging through her bag for a flashlight, she says, "Jinkies!"

I cling myself to Fred's arm, pulling him close as he gives instructions. "Alright Gang, stay close, you never know what we could run into around here," he whispers as Velma hands him the flashlight to lead the way.

You'd also think that we should see this coming and sure, we do, that's why we bring flashlights, but there's much more to it. Again, we've never been to this place before, and we're searching for clues that could lead us to solving yet another mystery.

What is it this time? We don't know; all we got was a notice to come and inspect this rotting, old building because 'strange things have been going on'. Pfft - that's what they all say, and even though it's true, they don't see the half of it. Once they see the Mystery Machine pull into view and tell us what's been happening, they high-tail out of here and leave all the hard work to us.

But honestly, I don't blame them. They probably think we're crazy... Well, we are a group of teenagers willing to run around in the dark looking for some masked freak terrorizing innocent people, so I guess that does kind of put us under the category of 'crazy'. Plus, we enjoy doing it; that's two ways.

But I don't see them calling the police first, so that has to mean something - perhaps trust. Does that mean that more people have faith in a group of 'crazy' teenagers who ride around in a multicolored van rather than the authorities? Maybe so...

We have solved tons of mysteries and each of them have resulted in someone behind bars. We've never let anyone down before, I don't think. Mystery Inc. gets asked to do a job and we fulfill it, even if it means running into monsters or ghosts in the middle of the night.

Which is what it is right now - sometime around 3 A.M. And guess what else it's doing outside? Storming? Yeah, that's it, and it's also Halloween! Go figure.

We were at my house, watching scary movies and giving candy to Trick-or-Treaters when Fred got the call. Without any hesitation he headed to start the van. The rest of us debated and protested that we wanted just this one night off, but he had to bring up the fact that Mystery Inc. is our name and solving mysteries is our game. No one could argue with that, so we reluctantly filed into the van.

So, here we are, still walking in the darkness. The only noises heard are the sounds of our nervous breathing, just waiting for something to jump out at us as it always did.

Now our breathing is drowned out by loud cackling, coming from all around. There was no way of seeing who is hysterically laughing or to see which way it is truly coming from. All we can do is stand here in fear, wondering what is to come next.

And it surely comes, when you least expect it.

Though we are unable to see, our sense of smell is still perfectly fine, and our noses quickly and forcefully inhale the gas that surrounds the room. Before I feel myself completely give out, I hear a faint voice say, "Lights out forever, Mystery Inc."

And even though it's physically dark around me, I can still see the difference when my entire world goes black.

A/N: I warned you. It's so much 'darker' than my other fluffy stories. I wanted to do something a little bit like this for Halloween and I think it came out alright. But I never know unless my readers tell me if it does them justice. So...

Please review! (Also, please take a look at Who's My Prince Charming? I only have 2 reviews and I feel like I did a bad job...)

Thanks so much!

Have a Happy Halloween!

XxLadyStrengthxX