All around the town, it was a weeknight that everyone was excited for. Except for maybe Cherry who never understood the fuss and tuned it out by reading a book. Everyone else, however, was in front of their television sets so they could watch one of the best TV shows they knew known as Talent Star.
"Oh, brother, another one of those shows." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Man, I'd like to be on a show like this, but I don't know what I could do." Mo smiled out of excitement.
"Maybe sing?" Atticus smiled back.
"Singing? Me?" Mo replied.
"You do have a pretty good voice when you want, Mo." Patch said.
"Yeah, like that time at Discord and Fluttershy's wedding." Cherry said.
Mo smiled bashfully to all of them.
"Ah, if only we could go to Chicago, and actually be there... It'd just be... Awesome." Patch smiled.
"Yeah, but what are the odds we'd be able to go there?" Atticus asked.
"Nor would we even want to go?" Cherry muttered.
The phone soon rang and Cherry answered it.
"Hell's Kitchen?" Cherry smirked.
"Hey, Cherry, it's Fred." A familiar voice said on the other line.
"Hey, Fred, what's up?" Cherry greeted.
Atticus, Mo, and Patch smiled to hear from Fred.
"Wanna come with us to Chicago?" Fred asked.
"You gotta be kidding." Cherry deadpanned from the coincidence.
"It'll be lots of fun." Fred said.
"You guys wanna go to Chicago?" Cherry asked the others.
"Chicago... Rolly says that's where the best pizza is." Patch smiled hungrily.
"Yes, please!" Mo smiled.
"Okay, Fred, we'll meet you in Chicago," Cherry said. "Uh, the rest of Mystery Inc will be there, right?"
"Sure thing!" Fred smiled. "It'll be great to see you guys."
"Great." Cherry said.
The others smiled out of excitement.
"Looks like we're gonna see Scooby and the gang," Cherry said. "No doubt that there's going to be a mystery involved."
"Yep, no doubt." Atticus said.
"Well, maybe now I can be in Talent Star," Mo smiled. "I guess I could sing on there."
"Maybe." Patch said.
"Chicago...?" Cherry asked.
"Chicago." Atticus nodded to her.
One ride later...
They were soon all on the road to get going to Chicago after talking with their families about it, and it was soon allowed. Cherry began to do research on Chicago with her phone to pass the time as it was along way into the windy city away from home.
"Huh... That's funny." Atticus said.
"What's that?" Mo asked.
"I could've sworn I saw the Mighty Ducks' van." Atticus replied.
"I see something too." Patch said.
"Something weird is going on here..." Cherry commented.
"I see some mutant dinosaurs and what I think might be an alien and two people with them." Patch said.
"Patch, I think you and Atticus fell asleep watching too many mutant animal cartoons," Cherry said. "I mean, what's next, sharks that walk on the streets and land? Hmm...? Mice who ride motorbikes from the planet Mars? SWAT Kats? Those cowboys that are actual cows in the Wild West?"
"Cherry, you know that last one actually happened to me." Atticus reminded.
"Yeah, well, you know what I mean." Cherry shrugged.
"Then explain how those are real." Mo said as she pointed ahead to what Atticus and Patch mentioned.
Cherry opened her mouth until her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock.
"I don't believe it." Patch said.
"How do you think I feel?" Cherry asked him.
"Oh, this adventure is sue going to be an interesting one." Atticus smiled knowingly.
"Yes, it is." Mo smiled back.
They soon kept riding along until they would find a place to park.
"I sure hope Brick Pimiento is nice in real life." Mo said to the others.
"Hopefully." Atticus said.
"Eh, I'm sure he is," Cherry shrugged. "Most people freak out around celebrities, but they're pretty laid back and normal."
"The Mineralogical Society has the world-famous soap diamond on display at the Field Museum." Cherry said to the others, seeing something on her phone.
"Soap Diamond, huh?" Patch asked. "That's an interesting name though. Can't say I've heard of that before."
"Same here." Mo said.
"Anything on the opera house that the show is going to be held?" Atticus asked.
"Yeah. It's almost a hundred years old," Cherry replied. "It's been closed since the 70's, and there are rumors that it's haunted."
"Mystery!" Atticus beamed.
"Oh, brother." Cherry rolled her eyes.
Suddenly the Mystery Machine was swerving around.
"...What are those guys doing?" Patch blinked.
Cherry soon made binoculars appear and soon looked through them to see why the Mystery Machine was swerving.
"Well?" Atticus asked.
"Don't ask me why or how, but Scooby appears to be driving the Mystery Machine." Cherry informed.
"What?!" Atticus, Mo, and Patch panicked.
"Yeah, what kind of idiot lets a dog drive their car, Atticus?" Cherry smirked.
"Cherry, this is serious!" Atticus panicked.
"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" Scooby smiled as he began to drive.
The Mystery Inc gang soon screamed as Scooby drove them around.
"Maybe Scooby will be lucky." Mo said.
"I highly doubt it." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Let's try to be positive for our friend." Patch said.
Eventually, after a while of driving, the Mystery Machine van luckily parked by the opera house.
"Looks like Scooby did get lucky." Mo said.
"Whatever." Cherry rolled her eyes.
Everyone soon came out of their vehicles, taking a look at the opera house.
"This place is amazing," Velma commented. "I can't believe it's been closed for so long."
"I can't believe it either." Mo smiled.
"Hey, guys." Fred said, coming with the others.
"Hey, Fred. Hey, gang." Cherry said to Mystery Inc.
"Isn't this place fantastic?" Mo smiled.
"It really does feel unique and amazing." Daphne smiled back.
They soon came to explore while going into the opera house and to catch up since their last adventure together.
"I'm sorry, boys," A security guard said, stopping Atticus and Shaggy at the door. "No animals allowed except seeing-eye dogs."
"Fine," Shaggy replied. "You guys go ahead, we'll catch up with you!"
"Yeah, we'll see ya inside." Atticus said.
"No, they won't." The security guard said, crossing his arms.
"Tough luck, Spot," Cherry said to Patch before walking off with the others. "See you later."
Atticus soon whispered an idea to Shaggy, Scooby, and Patch. They all listened in and smiled a bit as that sounded promising. The security guard glared at the four who just smiled innocently. And where the four of them soon went off to a hiding spot where no one would see Atticus use his magic.
"Okay, you guys, let's have some fun so we can join the others." Atticus smiled. Once he used his magic on Scooby and Patch, they now looked human to the guard.
"Whoa, Scooby, you look weird..." Patch said.
"Like, so do you." Shaggy told him.
"Yeah, well, I'm used to it by now." Patch shrugged.
They soon walked up to the entrance. The security guard looked at them and they just grinned innocently before he shrugged and let them inside.
The others soon looked around and came up to a man who was pushing a stereo.
"Hi, we're supposed to check in with the assistant director?" Daphne spoke up.
"Dewey? Yeah, good luck with that," The man chuckled before gesturing. "He's in there."
"Thank you." Mo said.
They then walked into the theater room to see a man who was given some smelling salts from a woman to help relax him.
"Hmm... This doesn't look so good..." Cherry said.
"Where?! What happened?!" The man yelped once he sat up in his chair.
"You know, that guy..." The woman told him.
"The Phantom!" The man yelped before passing out again until the woman gave him some smelling salts to wake him up again.
"Sounds like we arrived a little late." Mo said.
"Hello, we're supposed to check in?" Daphne called to the woman.
"Yeah, I know, but you'll have to wait." The woman replied as she gave some more smelling salts to the man.
"Uh, how many times have you been giving him smelling salts?" Mo asked the woman.
"I've lost track, I've had to do it so many times." The woman replied.
"You know, overuse of smelling salts can damage the nasal passages." Velma advised.
"But I'm guessing something to do with The Phantom caused him to be so scared that every time he wakes up and remembers that guy, he continues to faint." Mo said.
"Pretty much, yes." The woman replied.
"Which Phantom?" Cherry smirked. "The Phantom of the Opera?"
The man sniffled until he woke up again, freaking out about the Phantom.
"And we're stopping that." Mo said.
Cherry soon took the smelling salts away in deadpan.
An older man with a clipboard then came in, handing it over to the woman. "Hey, I found that clipboard the Phantom took, and also I quit," he then told her. "I ain't hanging around this place for another second. It's haunted." He then left the theater as the others looked at the clipboard.
"'Christine Must Win'?" Cherry read aloud, seeing some graffiti. "It IS the Phantom of the Opera!"
"Christine must be one of the contestants." Mo said.
"Or the girl who chose Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny over Erik." Cherry said.
"Cherry, knock it off." Mo rolled her eyes.
"Well, gang, it looks like we've got another mystery on our hands." Fred commented.
"Looks like it." Atticus said as he, Shaggy, Scooby, and Patch walked over.
"...Who's...?" Cherry blinked.
"Scooby." Atticus whispered.
"...He looks weird." Cherry said.
"It was either this or try to sneak past the guard with something big enough to hold Scooby and Patch in." Atticus said.
"Still looks weird." Cherry replied.
"Just make the most of it." Atticus told her.
A young blonde girl soon slammed the door open and came inside with her parents who were talking on the phone and a magenta-colored creature who must've been her imaginary friend was following her.
"Wow." Patch said.
"Well, hello there," Daphne smiled to the blonde girl, bending down to her height. "Are you-"
"Are you trying to psych her out?!" The black-haired man glared.
"Is this some kind of mind game?!" The redheaded woman added.
"She was just saying hi." Cherry said.
"Well, don't." The man glared.
"You can't just talk to Chrissy." The woman added.
"She's very sensitive," The man replied. "You have to talk to her before you talk to her to let her know you're going to talk to her."
"Isn't that right, sweetie?" The woman cooed to her blonde daughter.
"Whatever." The blonde girl scoffed, taking out her mirror.
"You see?!" The adults glared at Daphne and Cherry.
"...You guys are kinda weird..." Cherry glanced at the adults.
"Totally." Daphne added.
"Come, my dear friend, Chrissy, let's help you with your stuff." The imaginary friend smiled in a sickly sweet way.
"Oh, Berry, you're such a sweetie~" The blonde girl cooed to her imaginary friend.
"I'm not even going to ask why she named her imaginary friend Berry." Mo said.
"Yeah, we're here to check in." The man said to the woman beside Velma.
"WE'RE CHECKING IN!" The woman yelled out on her cell phone.
"Uh, Mr. Ottoman's kind of unconscious right now?" The woman replied to the couple.
"Yeah, so you'll have to wait until he wakes up." Atticus added.
"Are you saying we can't check in?!" Lance glared.
"THEY'RE SAYING WE CAN'T CHECK IN!" Barb complained.
"This is totally unacceptable!" Lance ranted.
"Is it possible for someone to be tri-polar?" Cherry muttered.
"They're pretty much like that all the time." A brown-haired girl said, coming behind them.
"You don't say." Patch said.
"Hey, you're Emma, right?" Fred smiled to her. "The violinist?"
"Yeah, and you're Fred and Daphne," The girl replied. "I saw your audition tape, you guys were great."
"Well, it's nice to see a nice little girl part of the show," Mo smiled. "Uh... You do mean it, right?"
"Yeah," Emma smiled back. "I'm not just saying that because of the cameras."
"What cameras?" Patch asked.
"Those cameras," Emma pointed out. "You know, they're catching all the backstage drama."
"That's the best part of the show," Daphne smiled. "All the who likes who, who hates who stuff."
"Ohh, yeah." Mo said.
A couple of cameramen were shown along with other cameras watching their every move. Another group soon came by.
"The dinosaurs are back, Cherry." Patch pointed out.
"...What the...?" Cherry gasped slightly.
"This must be where to sign you kids up." The mutant T-Rex told the teenage boy and preteen girl with him and the other dinosaurs and alien.
"I guess so," The girl smiled. "Thanks, T-Bone. This really means a lot to us."
"You two have earned this." A mutant blue triceratops told the teenage boy and preteen girl.
Cherry rubbed her eyes before she looked a bit lightheaded.
"Whoa! Easy there, Cherry," Atticus said, trying to help her. "It's okay... We're not reliving Jurassic Park again."
"I sure hope not." Cherry mumbled.
"Is this where we sign up?" The teenage boy asked.
"Uh, yeah," Atticus said. "Um... Hi... Nice dinosaurs."
"Thanks," The teenage boy smiled. "They're the Extreme Dinosaurs!"
"Nice to meet you." Patch greeted the Extreme Dinosaurs.
"I'm Leo Stardust, this is my sister Luna," The teenage boy smiled. "That's Spike, T-Bone, Stegz, and Bullzeye. That's also our friend: Chedra Bozack."
"Salutations." The younger girl said, sounding quite intelligent for her age.
"This feels like something out of a wannabe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon." Cherry commented.
"It's nice to meet you all." Atticus told the group.
"Sure... Yeah..." Cherry replied.
"Are you gonna be in the show too?" Luna asked.
"Well... Our love bugs are hoping too." Cherry smirked.
Patch nodded with a playful smirk. Atticus and Mo looked bashful about that.
"Uh, so, what're you in for?" Mo asked.
"We have our own band." Luna smiled.
"That's sounds great." Patch smiled back.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Talent Star," A famous man soon appeared with a whimsical smile. "Hey, I'm your host, Brick Pimiento. I just wanted to reassure you all that everything is fantastic, just fantastic. There isn't a problem, nothing happened, and there's definitely no ghost."
"Ghost?!" Barb and Lance looked to each other.
"Ghost? I didn't say ghost," Brick chuckled to them. "Why would I say ghost when there's no ghost, heh? Fantastic."
"But he did say 'ghost'," Bullzeye said. "Three times."
"Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all." Chedra added.
"There he is!" Shaggy beamed, seeing the TV Show host, with Scooby.
"Reah! Rhere re ris!" Scooby replied.
"Do you guys have an act to show him?" Atticus asked Scooby and Shaggy.
"Uh, sure we do!" Shaggy replied. "You think he'll let us show him?"
"If you do, sure." Patch shrugged.
"Yeah." Atticus nodded.
"You're okay there, right, Dewey, heh?" Brick asked the assistant director as he walked away after ruffling up his hair. "Fantastic. Well, carry on."
Shaggy and Scooby then followed after him.
Dewey sniffed something and then woke up. "I smell dog!"
"Uh, no dogs around here!" Atticus said innocently.
"Yeah, no dogs here at all." Mo added.
"Hmm..." Dewey glanced at them suspiciously.
"Uh, Mr. Ottoman, are you all right?" The woman asked the assistant director.
"Dogs are nothing but big furry sacks of germs. Did you know that?" Dewey replied.
"I don't think that-" The woman replied.
"I'm going to find that dog if it takes me all night," Dewey told her before swiping her clipboard and storming off. "Give me that."
"Wow." Mo blinked.
"Drama~..." Cherry commented. "Well, whoever or whatever this Phantom is, I'm sure we can handle it."
They then heard someone screaming all of the sudden.
"Is someone in danger?" Luna asked.
"I guess that's what that scream would mean, kid." Cherry deadpanned.
"I don't know what that was, but I'm running away from it." Shaggy said to Scooby.
"Are they actually going to run from the screaming?" Leo asked, referring to Shaggy and Scooby.
"Yes..." Atticus sighed.
Brick and the others came to the monitor room to see what was going on. "Is that him?" he then asked.
They soon heard some laughter to see a screen of Chrissy screaming as a monster appeared to be in front of her.
"Yeah! It's the Phantom!" A man told Brick.
"We better hurry and capture that Phantom." Spike said.
"I think the Phantom should eat her," Cherry said. "It would serve her right."
"Cherry!" The others scolded.
"What?" Cherry glared. "She's a spoiled, obnoxious brat, and her parents are worse!"
"What about the other contestants?" Patch asked. "He might go after them."
"Ugh... Fine..." Cherry replied.
They soon spotted the Phantom in the hallway.
"There he is!" Mo said. "We have to stop him!"
"Who should go after him?" Patch asked.
"Velma, you watch the monitors. You can tell me where he is," Fred said as he got ready to leave. "Daphne, you come with-"
"Yes!" Daphne replied before following him.
"I'm going too." Atticus said.
"I think I need to go too," Leo added. "Luna, you stay with the others."
"Be careful." Luna told her older brother.
"You know I will be," Leo smiled. "You take care of yourself and be good."
Luna smiled back as she waited for him. The others soon ran off together to go after the Phantom of the talent show.
"Time to capture this Phantom." Atticus said.
"Move aside," Leo smirked. "Someone big and strong should handle this."
"Excuse me?" Atticus replied.
"I'm just saying I should take the lead on this." Leo told him.
"Ah, kid, you got a lot to learn," Atticus smirked. "I can handle this, ya know. I am pretty strong for my age."
"Yeah, well, so am I!" Leo retorted.
Anime-like lightning strikes began to shoot from their eyes.
"Okay, Nancy, let's get going before you kill someone." Cherry said, trying to move her friend.
"Coming, Cherry." Atticus replied with a slight glare at Leo.
"I think Atticus might have found himself another rival." Patch said.
"His rivalries are going to be the death of me..." Cherry whispered.
Everyone soon split up to look for the Phantom.