The Sasquatches and the Surviviors

by Green Platypus

The gang heads to The Red Woods to help Daphne's uncle with a film. The forest is home to legendary beasts who stalk any who stray into the dark trees. They are soon separated and lost in the forest pursued by fearsome creatures. With supplies running low, they must find their way back before it is too late. Sequel to The Doppelgangers and the Disavowed. AU.

Part 6 in the Dracula Chronicles. I wanna thank all of my readers once again, and of course those of you who comment. I don't know exactly how many more stories will be in the series before the finale one. I've got three or four more ideas for stories, the only thing that I can say is that the finale one will be at the end of their 12th grade year. Anyway, enjoy the story.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- but not absence of fear,

-Mark Twain

Part 1: Hunters and Prey

Billy Scroggins nervously adjusted his orange hunting vest as he trekked through the dark forest. Above the red woods he could see Lonely Mountain. It rose up like a giant grey tombstone into the misty California sky. Personally, Billy preferred his Georgia home. He was glad that someone was with him.

"Ben, you ever hear that legend about the ape men of lonely mountain?" He asked nervously.

"Is now really the time?" His friend hissed back.

"They say that they're sasquatches, you know, big foots, that devour the souls of people who get lost in the forest."

"Shut up Billy- Bob" Ben hissed back irritably.

"They say that when they've devoured someone, body and soul, that that person becomes one of them. They're supposed to be so quiet that they can be right behind you, and you won't even know it until they've snapped your neck."

"I said shut up!" Ben yelled with a hint of fear in his voice. "We came here to hunt, not to tell ghost stories."

"Sorry, it's how I cope."

"Well cope some other way."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Something feels wrong." Billy said nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't hear anything"

Ben paused to listen to the sounds of the forest. Billy was right, they were gone.

"I don't think we're alone Billy" Ben said nervously.

Both men readied their rifles and stood back to back.

"Who's there?" Billy called out.

"I think I hear something now; it's almost like chanting." Ben whispered; his voice filled with terror.

Billy listened. There was chanting. It was quiet, it sounded distant.

"What's it saying?" Ben asked.

"I don't know"

The chanting was growing louder now, and faster, and closer. The two men were frozen in fear, each pointing their rifle out but each too afraid to fire.

"I'm scared!" Billy moaned.

Ben took the safety off of his rifle as something dark moved in front of him. It was tall and shaggy. Billy moaned behind him as he saw more. They were surrounded by giant hairy, growling creatures. The chanting was blasting and vibrating through the forest now. It reverberated in the skulls of every living creature present.

"Ahhh!"

BANG!

Part 2: Uncle John

The gang stood by Daphne's mother's car on the hot August day. It had been an eventful summer vacation. Mysteries Inc., as they were now known, had taken down a small smuggling ring, a car thief, and one very theatric embezzler. The previous week, however, had brought the most exciting news of the summer. Daphne's uncle John Maxwell from France, a documentary film maker, was traveling to the California Redwoods to shoot a documentary about a local legend and he needed production assistants. Daphne, Fred, Dell, Shaggy, Velma, Minga, and Scooby had all volunteered.

"Are you sure you can't come?" Daphne asked as she hugged Shannon goodbye.

"Right, you're going to the mountains and I'm on crutches for the next week. Now go and have a good time, and stay out of trouble."

"I'm a Blake, that's impossible." She said jokingly.

"Yeah, I know, hence the crutches."

"What about you Eric, you sure you don't wanna come?" Fred asked.

"Sorry, allergies. I'd die of sneezing if I went anywhere near there."

"Jimmy?" Fred asked.

"No way man, I don't do heights." Jimmy said backing away slightly.

"Daphne, get in the car, John is waiting at the airport." Mrs. Blake yelled from inside the car.

"Sorry, gotta go" Daphne said as she and Fred entered the car.

"So, Misses Blake, John is your…?"

"Freré" Mrs. Blake said in answer to Fred's question.

"Brother" Daphne translated.

"Danica will be there too" Mrs. Blake said smiling.

"Oh that's great" Daphne said enthusiastically.

"And Danica is your…?" Velma asked.

"My cousin, Uncle John's daughter."

The car sped down the busy Coolsville streets until they reached the airfield. Mrs. Blake drove right onto the tarmac and parked the car next to a large private jet.

"Everybody out" She announced.

Everyone exited the car just as another man exited the plane. He was a little taller than Mrs. Blake, and had a very similar face. He had short dark brown hair hidden under a grey baseball cap.

"Josephine, Petite Soeur, commet allez- vouz?" The man said in a French accent.

"Je suis bon, commet se fait- Danica, on m'a dit qu'elle a fait quelques modeling." Daphne's mother answered. It was only slightly noticeable, but she seemed a lot more comfortable speaking French than speaking English.

"Elle est dans le plan." He said, he then turned and called into the plane. "Danica sortir Josephine et Daphne sont ici!"

"Is our whole trip gonna be in, like, French?" Shaggy whispered to Scooby who just shrugged.

In response to the man's call, a young woman of about seventeen walked down the steps of the plane and onto the tarmac. She was very slim and walked very gracefully. She had the same dark hair as Daphne's mother, as well as the same kind of thin face that Daphne and her Mother shared.

"Danica!" Daphne yelled excitedly as she and the girl pulled each other into a tight hug.

"Daphne, it's good to see you again! The girl answered in the kind of French accent you hear from someone who isn't used to speaking English.

"Everyone" Daphne said turning to the gang. "This is my uncle John and my cousin Danica."

"Hello" the girl said shyly.

"Yes, hello, you must be my new assistants, well, get on the plane, we're all ready."

Everyone climbed up into the plane. Before John could go his sister grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"John, Ces enfents, ils attirent des ennuis. Assurez vous qu' ils rester en sécurité, garder ma fille en toute sécurité." She whispered quickly and seriously.

"Je vous promets." John answered confidently. 'The children attract trouble', John thought; how bad could it be.

Part 3: The Legend of Lonely Mountain

The plane was spacious and comfortable inside. A black curtain divided the main room from the cockpit.

"So, Mister Maxwell, where exactly are we going?"

"There is a valley in California, part of the redwoods. The people call it the Valley of Solitude. In the middle of the valley is a mountain, called the Lonely Mountain."

"I'm beginning to sense a theme here." Fred interjected.

"Indeed, but the reason we're going there, that's much more interesting. You see, Secluded Valley has its own version of the Big Foot legend, called the Ape Men of Lonely Mountain. These creatures are said to stand nine feet tall, and be black as night. People say that they're so quiet, that they can stand right behind you without hearing anything. The most terrifying part, once they've eaten every last bit of their prey, that person becomes one of them. In the 1960's a convict from Alcatraz Prison named Clint Morris escaped into the valley, rangers say that they chased him into a cave when something very large grabbed him and carried him into the depths of the Earth." Mr. Maxwell finished with the air of a father telling ghost stories to his children.

"Like, Zoinks" Shaggy yelped. "Why did we volunteer for this?" He said looking at Scooby.

"Rame reason re rollunteer for ranything" He shrugged.

"Like what's that?"

"Ri ron't ro"

"And that's what we're going to try and find, these Ape Men?" Velma asked.

"Oui, we have our guide and my assistants in California getting us transport."

"What kind of transport? Jeeps, trailers, trucks?" Minga, ever the vehicle enthusiast, asked excitedly.

"Pack mules and horses" Maxwell answered matter of factly. "The trails into the valley are too narrow for anything else; besides, we want to keep from disturbing the natural setting. If we're lucky, we may just prove the existence of Bigfoot."

"And, like, what if Bigfoot finds us?" Shaggy asked nervously.

"Hunting is allowed, heavily regulated; mind you, in the valley, that in mind, I've brought a… specialist in animal defense."

Part 4: Fear The Lonely Mountain

After the plane landed they were driven to a small inn near the woods. It was quaint looking, almost like an old English pub. The sign hanging over the door read Falcon Inn. There was an image of a Falcon carved above it. The inside was exactly what you would predict from the outside. There was a small bar, a dining area, and through a small door that Mr. Maxwell led them through, a sitting room with armchairs, two couches, and a fireplace. Seated on either couch were two people. One was a slim blond woman of about thirty; the other was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, with neat brown hair covered by a red beret.

"Everyone, this is Candice Mint, my assistant, and Guy L' Avorton, my intern."

"Bonjour" They both said politely.

"Guy, have the animals been secured?"

"Oui Monsieur Maxwell"

"Trés bon"

"Excuse me Guy, you look familiar" Velma said, smiling slightly.

"I have done some movies, back home. I, um, it wasn't for me." He answered unsurely.

"Mister Maxwell" A deep voice spoke behind them, in something not quite British, but definitely not French. The man himself looked rather scary. He was very tall, and bald, with a long scar running down his face across his eye. His face seemed to be affixed with a permanent scowl. "They're bringing someone in that the rangers just found in the forest. You may want to talk to him."

"Thank you Karl, I'll be right in." He said to the man who nodded and walked out.

"That's Karl Tembo of South Africa. He's the defense specialist I mentioned." Maxwell said as he walked into the bar area where a park ranger and one of the waitresses were trying to calm someone who was shaking violently.

The man himself looked as though he had been dragged through a battle trench. Somewhere underneath the mud and grit was a shredded orange hunting vest. His face was scratched and cut and he had blood mixed in with the mud coving it. His hair may once have been blond, but was now black and matted with sticks. Above all, he looked terrified as he sat at the bar table, shaking.

"Who are you?" he said quickly and nervously as his eyes darted back and forth.

"My name is John Maxwell" he answered calmly.

"Here drink this" The forest ranger said, handing the man a large mug of hot chocolate. After a few sips, the man began to shake less.

"I'm Ben, Ben Lang." He answered in a thick southern accent.

"Where did you find him?" The waitress asked in awe.

"He just wandered up to the ranger station, beaten to hell. He hasn't talked much, just chanting, under his breath."

"What happened to you?" Mr. Maxwell asked the man.

"They came" the man said, filled with terror once more. "They followed us, the creatures, like apes." The man was going hysterical now. "They surrounded us, growling and snarling, their fur matted with the bones of their prey… they took Billy Bob! The CHANTING! My god the chanting… so loud… in my head!" The man screamed as he stood up and grabbed the front of Mr. Maxwell's shirt. "Nos Surge! Nos festum! Nos Surge! Nos festum! Nos Surge! Nos Festum!" The man screamed furiously, snarling. The ranger quickly jumped up and held the man back. He struggled like his life depended on it.

"Sorry about this Doris." He said to the waitress. "I'll take him into town; we'll get him some help." The ranger said as he dragged the man out the door.

"Fear the lonely mountain" The man whispered as he left.

Part 5: The Trek

Everyone was up bright and early the next morning, how much sleep they got was another matter entirely.

"Mount up everyone, we need to get into the forest and set up camp before the sun sets!" The guide, Karl, yelled.

"Yeah, like, four in the morning, I think we have time" Shaggy grumbled as he swung himself onto one of the horses.

Everyone mounted a horse and rode in a straight line down the mountain trail into the valley. Karl was in the front, Mr. Maxwell and Ms. Mint rode behind him. Further down the line Fred, Daphne, and Minga rode horses that led the pack mules carrying their equipment. In the very back were Shaggy and Scooby sharing a horse, Dell, Danica, and Velma.

"You don't see this kind of thing in Florida" Fred whistled as he looked across the valley towards the peak of Lonely Mountain sitting right in the middle of the dense forest below them.

"It reminds me of Tibet" Minga mused happily as she guided her horse down the narrow cliff face.

"It reminds me of falling" Shaggy gulped as he looked down the sheer drop to the forest below.

"How far are we going?" Daphne called up to the front.

"We want to make it into the valley, to the edge of the forest at least." Mr. Maxwell called back.

"Imagine the millions of years it took to form these mountains" Velma said as she ran her hand across the smooth stone wall.

"Awe inspiring" Guy agreed.

Slowly the caravan made its way across down the narrow trail, past sharp outcroppings of rock, and heavy growths of plant life that had to be cut through so that the party could proceed. After a couple of hours the sun rose over the distant peak of the mountain.

"That's so beautiful" Daphne mused looking out across the sky.

"Look at this, at us. A year ago we were just ordinary boring high school kids, now we're riding a mule train into the forest looking for bigfoot. There can't be anything better than this." Fred said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Disagree" Shaggy replied.

"Très excitant" Danica spoke up from the back.

"Danica, do you usually help your father on his shoots?" Velma asked.

"Not always, he says it's dangerous, but I begged him to take me on this one. I told him that if Guy get's to go, I do, he's only a couple of months older than me."

"I was wondering about that, Guy, I mean, I've seen him in movies, why is he doing this?"

"Guy says that he is tired of the movies. He says that all of the teen and child actors, they are typecast, they don't get work. He says that he wants to make a difference in the world. That's why he helps my father on these documentaries." Danica said, clearly enamored.

"Noble" Velma replied with a slight smile.

"Remember to keep an eye out for mountain lions!" Karl called back gruffly.

"What do you know about him?" Velma asked disdainfully.

"Not much, he is a big game hunter. He was recommended to my father as a guide… and as protection." Danica added cautiously.

"Do you think we need protection?"

"From ape men, no, but there are wild animals, and it is useful to have a guide."

"You don't believe in the creature?"

"No, I do not."

"Little tip then, don't talk to Dell, he'll lecture until you admit it's real, trust me." She said looking back at Dell who was scanning the forest with binoculars. "Find anything Dell!" Velma called back half jokingly.

"Nope, just a hawk eyeing Shaggy and Scooby's chip back"

"Oh no you don't" Shaggy said cupping his hands over his mouth and looking at the large bird. "GGRRRROOOAAAR!" He bellowed at the bird, who immediately took flight away from the group.

"How did you do that?" Velma said in awe.

"You get good at animal impressions when it's all that makes your baby sister eat." Shaggy said as he popped a chip into his mouth.

After another hour the caravan stopped at the edge of the forest. Everyone dismounted and took a stretch break.

"Tie the horses to that tree, we make camp here tonight." Karl ordered. "Mister Maxwell, if you want to get footage now, I suggest you go because the sun will be setting soon, anyone who wants to go with him, go ahead, but I'm gonna need help setting up camp.

"I'll stay" Fred said raising his hand.

"Like, whatever, I ain't going into the forest" Shaggy said raising his hand.

"Roo red it" Scooby barked also lifting his front paw.

"I used to do small climbs with my brother up the mountains; I know how to set up a base camp." Minga said, already unpacking.

"All right then, anyone coming with me; be ready for a little hike." Maxwell called.

Guy handed off equipment to the others and they followed Mr. Maxwell into the forest.

"Danica, I want you to stay here at camp"

"But dad…"

"No argument, Monsieur Tembo, watch her."

Danica rolled her eyes and pouted as she sat down on a log next to the horses while the others trekked off into the forest.

"Miss Maxwell; if you're staying then make yourself useful, take the food bags and tie them up into the tree."

"Oui monsieur" She sighed, standing up.

Part 6: The Shoot

The group didn't go far. Mr. Maxwell was keen to stay close to camp. Guy lifted the camera out of the bag and started taking footage of the forest.

"Miss Mint, take notes."

"Oui monsieur"

"The redwoods surrounding lonely mountain; great crimson trees that reach into the heavens, yet, think of the things that they could hide. This valley is largely unexplored. It is a world lost to science and to history. It is a world out of a fairy tale, and what is a fairy tale without a monster. They say that there are monsters in these woods, cousins of the legendary Sasquatch. Sightings of such a creature stretch back to the original inhabitants who were forced to flee for their lives by some mythical spirit, since then this has been a world untouched by the hands of man, but molded by man's imagination" he paused for a moment. "Too cheesy?"

"It is your speech monsieur."

John shrugged.

"I'll work on it."

"Is there anything we can do Uncle John?"

"Yes, search for signs of the creature, that's why we're here. Look for claw marks, or…"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Danica!" Mr. Maxwell yelled turning toward the camp.

Everyone ran back to the camp. They could hear rustling from the camp sight. Finnaly they burst through the trees into the clearing. Once they got there they could see Danica sitting on a log, shaking. Minga was next to her, trying to calm her down. Shaggy and Scooby were crouched by a bucket and it looked like they were losing those chips they had had on the way up. Fred and Tembo were kneeling by a rock near the edge of the forest.

"What happened here?"

"Mister Maxwell, I think you might have some of that proof you wanted." Tembo said darkly.

Mr. Maxwell walked over to where they were kneeling.

"Sacré bleu" Mr. Maxwell gasped covering his mouth. On the ground was a severed human hand.

Part 7: Break Camp

John stood by a tree nervously tapping his fingers on the bark. Behind him the sun was setting behind lonely mountain.

"What was that?"

"It was a human hand, Mister Maxwell." Karl answered straightforwardly.

"We need to go back, we can't stay now."

"You're in charge here, but we can't go back in the dark, in the morning we'll ride back up and then go to the ranger station and give it to them, in the meantime, I'll find an empty ice chest." Karl said gruffly.

"Karl, whatever put that hand there… you have defenses right?" Maxwell asked seriously.

"Of course sir, both lethal and nonlethal, although if it's all the same to you, I'm loading my shotgun tonight."

That night rain pounded on the tents. It would be enough to keep anyone awake, if anyone could sleep in the first place. Shaggy and Scooby stayed up in their tent nervously playing cards. They were the first ones to hear the strange rhythm coming from the forest.

"Shaggy, Scooby, turn down the music.' Fred grumbled as he woke up.

"That's, like, not us, Fred" Shaggy said nervously.

"Quel est ce bruit?" Guy mumbled as he too, woke up.

"Whatever it is, it's getting louder" Shaggy moaned as he and Scooby both covered their ears in pain.

"Guys, it's us, can you hear that too?" Daphne said from outside the tent.

"Yeah" Fred said opening the tent flap and now also covering his ears against the sound. Outside it was pitch black, except for the moon and Daphne's flashlight.

"Who's making that noise!?" Mr. Tembo yelled angrily as he exited his tent.

"No one, it's coming from the forest." Mr. Maxwell yelled.

The whole camp had been awakened now. Karl was scanning the trees with the barrel of his shotgun. The sound was growing louder and closer when…

"Everyone, get to the horses!"

Chaos erupted. Creatures, nine feet at least with matted dark fur burst from the trees. Karl fired his shotgun one bullet after another.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Everyone scattered. Mr. Maxwell pulled a gun out of Karl's weapons case and began firing at the creatures. Feet splashed in puddles, mud splattered everywhere. Boots and coats were pulled on as people ran for cover. The rain fell even harder and lighting cracked in the sky. Thunder boomed, but nothing drowned out that awful chanting.

"Nos Surge! Nos festum! Nos Surge! Nos festum! Nos Surge! Nos Festum!"

Lighting struck the cliff side and rocks tumbled loose. One of the tents was flattened by a giant hairy foot. Lighting struck again, this time at the trees. Flame erupted around the campsite. Without any other option everyone ran deeper into the forest. Hands grabbed at the ground looking for bags and supplies. Packs were slung over shoulders as people ran for their lives.

Shaggy and Scooby were the first to meet up with others, Daphne, Velma, and Guy, apparently also running in the same direction. Together they ran deep into the forest. Hands were thrown up over faces with eyes squinting against the rain. The creatures were still behind them. Shaggy held out his arms to stop the others as they came to a steep cliff. Below water raged along, quickened by the rainstorm. The group looked back to see the creature still following them. With that, they jumped into the icy water, and it carried them violently away from the edge of the valley, into the heart of the forest.

Minga held Dell's hand tightly as they ran through the forest. In the darkness they almost collided with Danica and Fred as they ran. They ducked under low branches and vaulted over fallen trees as the creatures growled at them from behind. Finnaly the growling stopped. They looked back to see the creatures had fled, but there was no sign of the campsite or of the others.

Part 8: The Ranger Station

Casey Summers had been a ranger for many years, he had seen a lot of strange things in the forest, and he had met a lot of annoying people, but the man who had been chanting in his cell for the last three hours was certainly the most annoying.

"Will you stop that!" he yelled in frustration.

"It ain't his fault, just let him chant; looks like he's been through enough." Jenny Grey, one of the other rangers said.

"Yeah, well you ask me, they should just close off the whole valley, nothing but trouble."

"Where'd you and Jefferson find him anyway?"

"I told you, he just came up to the door, beaten to hell. Jefferson just dragged him to the inn for some coffee." He laughed.

"Hmm, what're the odds of someone just wondering up to the station like that?"

"Knock, Knock, Knock"

The two rangers looked at each other for a moment. Slowly Grey walked over to the door and opened it. Outside, in the rain, were two men and one woman, all in their pajamas, all soaking wet and muddy. All three of them had scratches and cuts and all three were carrying guns.

"You planning on using those" Grey said indicating the weapons.

"Help us" Said the man in front in a thick French accent.

It was half an hour before everyone was coherent enough for introductions. It was another twenty minutes before Maxwell, Mint, and Tembo were ready to recount the events of the previous night.

"We ran, it took us all night but we got up the cliff and ran here. The horses are still down there." Tembo said.

"What about the children?" Summers asked.

"We don't know, we hoped they had made it up the cliff." Ms. Mint answered.

"I saw them go into the forest" Mr. Maxwell spoke up for the first time.

"If they're in the forest than there's not much we can do right now. Radio signals can't get in or out. Our best hope is that they find one of the cabins and send up a flare, we'll keep a look out."

"What cabins?" Karl asked.

"There are four emergency cabins at strategic locations in the forest." Summers said walking over to a large map on the wall. "One is by the lake, one is by the base of the mountain, one is at the edge of the forest on the other end of the valley, and one is near the entrance to the caves on the north side. Each one is equipped with food, clothes, first aid supplies, maps, two tranquilizer guns, and a flare gun."

"Smart" Karl said nodding.

"They also play into the folklore of the area. The legend says that the ape men go after the lost, if you're in a cabin with maps and supplies then you're not really lost." Grey said.

"That's our only chance?" Mr. Maxwell said angrily.

"I'm sorry sir" Summers said apologetically.

"I made a promise to my sister, those kids were my responsibility! My daughter is down there!" he screamed even louder. "My only child"

"We will try our best sir, but at the moment we two, we're the only rangers here. Everyone else has been transferred to other areas or is dealing with other assignments. In the meantime, you said you found a hand."

"Oui" Ms. Mint said lifting a small bag of ice onto the table. "There was no blood, just the hand."

"Odd" Grey said. "You're right; it looks almost like it was amputated surgically."

"Is that a ring on it?" Summers asked as he looked closer at the hand.

"Yeah, it's a high school ring from Batson High, never heard of it."

"Billy Bob" Lang gasped from the cell. "It's Billy Bob's ring."

Part 9: The Cabin In The Woods

Scooby was the first to drag himself out of the water and onto dry land. He shook himself off and looked around. They were deep into the forest. He couldn't smell any of the adults, but he could smell…

"Raggy!" he yelled as he found Shaggy lying on the shore.

"Hey buddy" Shaggy groaned. "You're standing on my stomach, and it really hurts."

"Rorry" Scooby said as he moved back to the ground.

"S'all right buddy, where are we?"

"Ow. Ow, Ow" They heard off to the side.

"Hello?" Shaggy called cautiously as he pulled himself up.

"Oui" the voice groaned.

"Guy, you all right?"

"No"

Shaggy and Scooby looked over to see Guy limping badly out of the water. They ran over and held him up between them.

"What happened to you man?"

"I jumped off a cliff"

"Oh, right."

"Help, I can't see, somebody help!"

"Velms!" Shaggy yelled.

"Shaggy, I can't see; where are you?"

"I'm coming, here Scooby, hold Guy" He said slipping out from under Guy's arm and running towards the sound of Velma's voice.

When he found her, she was sitting up against a tree without her glasses. She was staring forward, blankly. Like the rest of them she was soaked and shivering.

"I'm here Velms"

"Shaggy, I lost my glasses in the river, I'm blind without them."

"Okay, take my hand. I'll be your eyes, c'mon." He said, helping her to her feet.

"Who else was with us?" Guy asked once they were all back together.

"Guys, over here" A voice called out.

"Daphne, is that you?" Shaggy said.

"Yeah, there's a cabin here. Come quick!"

"All right, chien take us in" Guy cheered woozily pointing Scooby to the cabin.

"Like, wait, wait, wait. I know enough about horror movies to know that you should not go into the cabin in the woods."

"Raggy, ri rell rood"

"All right fine" Shaggy grumbled as they all walked inside.

"What is this place?" Guy mused as he took a seat at the table inside. Around them were cases marked supplies, an old metal stove, and a rack of rifles.

"Salvation" Shaggy said.

"How poetic"

"No, the sign on the wall says that this is salvation cabin." He clarified as he sat Velma down at the table and began to search the crates. "There's, like, fresh clothes in here."

"Maps" Daphne exclaimed as she excitedly pulled some large maps out of another trunk.

"Ri round rood" Scooby barked as he dug his nose into a case filled with canned goods.

"I found a first aid kit" Daphne said holding up a white box with a red cross on it.

"There're some cots back here." Guy said as he rummaged through the closet.

"There's a flare gun in this one" Shaggy yelled excitedly as he pulled a large red pistol out of one of the crates. "We can signal them."

"Who?" Velma asked critically.

"There's a ranger cabin, up on the cliff" Guy groaned as he clutched at his injured leg. "Y at-il des analgésiques dans ce kit de premier secours?"

Daphne handed Guy some pills and began cleaning and wrapping his wound.

"I'm, gonna go try this gun" Shaggy yelled as he excitedly ran outside. Everyone waited for a moment. Each one secretly hoping that the flare would go up and a helicopter would come down to save them. Then Shaggy slowly walked back in. "Flare's dead' He said bitterly tossing aside the gun.

Part 10: Lost

Fred groaned as he woke up. He rubbed his back, realizing just how uncomfortable he was. Light was streaming in from somewhere. He looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Across the room, he saw Minga and Dell huddled close, and a little farther away he saw Danica. Then it hit him as he noticed the cold stone floor. He looked over toward the light and saw the sun streaming in through the mouth of the cave. Outside there were only trees as far as he could see. He looked down at himself, in his pajamas, damp and dirty. The others looked the same. Slowly they all began to wake up.

"Ugh, I had the weirdest dream" Minga mumbled as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Fred looked at her, grimly apologetic.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, but she already knew the answer.

"What happened to the others?" Dell spoke up, still only half awake.

"I don't know." Fred answered seriously.

"Where are we?" Minga asked peeking out of the cave mouth.

"I don't know, did anyone bring any equipment?"

"I grabbed my backpack while we were running." Minga said.

"I grabbed the camera bag I think" Danica said halfheartedly holding the bag up.

"We could try looking for our footprints from last night" Dell offered.

"I don't see them out here" Minga called from outside. "The rain must have washed them away."

"Am I crazy, or is everyone just ignoring les démons from last night?" Danica said exasperatedly.

"Sorry Danica, we've just, seen things like that before." Fred said as he searched through Minga's bag and tossed everyone protein bars. "Quick thinking on the pack Minga, you brought binoculars, pocket knife, compass; perfect."

"Oh, no" Danica said clutching ant her neck. "I lost my necklace, it was my mother's."

"Oh" Minga said with more understanding than the word conveyed.

"It's okay, we just need to find the others, Guy and Daphne… and my father"

"We will" Fred said with all the confidence he could muster. "We have a compass then we're not really lost. Camp was to the south, if we go south, then we'll make it back." Fred paused. "Does anyone else hear… rumbling?" He asked tilting his head toward the sound.

The sound grew louder as the cave began to shake. Rocks fell loose at the mouth and everyone was thrown farther in. The floor cracked as it gave way and the group was thrown down into darkness. There was a collective grunt as everyone hit cold stone. Fred clicked his lighter open and the cave was illuminated.

"First trip to California, and I get an earthquake" Minga said as she hoisted herself up.

"Okay, now we're lost." Fred said grimly.

"Fred, shine your light over by this wall. I think I feel something."

Fred moved toward her voice and shined his lighter around the wall.

"AAAAHHH!" Minga shrieked as she backed away quickly.

Leaning on the wall was a very old looking skeleton, yellowed and crumbling with age. Its skinless face seemed to grin in the glow of the fire. It was covered in tattered fabric and had a backpack slung around its arm.

"¡Dios mío!" Dell gasped.

"Sacré bleu!"

Fred leaned towards the body and pulled open the backpack. He pulled out a flashlight, some moldy fruit and bread, and a jumpsuit with C, Morris, # 1970, sewn into it.

"Clint Morris, the prisoner from Alcatraz, he must have fallen." Fred said examining the broken neck bone.

"Fallen, or attacked?" Danica said fearfully pointing to the skeletons right arm. Where there should have been a skeletal hand, there was only a splintered bone. Fred shined the lighter towards the floor where he saw tiny fragments of bones scattered around the body.

"Just like the hand at camp." Dell said.

"Something's going on in this forest." Fred said taking the old flashlight and checking the switch. It lit up and illuminated the room. Above them they could see the crumbled rocks where they had fallen. Fred shined the flashlight toward the back of the cave. There was a small crack in the wall.

"What do you think is behind there?" Minga asked cautiously.

"Only one way to find out" Fred said as he edged his way in. Everyone held their breath as the room was plunged in to darkness. Then light streamed in through the crack. "There's a tunnel back here!" Fred called out excitedly.

Fred slid his lighter through the crack and Minga caught it, lighting the way for everyone to slip through the crack. Finally after everyone else had gone through, Minga began to edge in. Then she turned back for a moment, picked up the folded prison jumpsuit and laid it over the body. Then she followed the others through the crack in the wall.

When she emerged he found herself in total darkness except for the weak beam of light shining off of the flashlight.

"What's the plan?" Minga asked, handing Fred back his lighter.

"We follow this cave to wherever it goes, and hope that it goes out." Fred said as he started off along the cave.

Part 11: The Dream

"It's really pouring out there isn't it?" Velma mused as everyone huddled around the small fire in the stove.

"These are really good." Daphne said scooping the last bits of food out of her bowl. "How can you two cook so well with only canned food and some old spices?"

"Rit's a rift' Scooby smirked.

"So, do we have a plan?" Shaggy asked putting his bowl down.

"The papers, from what you've read me, say that this is a safety cabin. If we stay here, the rangers will eventually find us, even without the flare." Velma said.

"What about the others?" Guy asked solemnly. "What about Danica?" He added under his breath.

"There are three other cabins, hopefully they've found one" Daphne said.

"Like, we'll find them man" Shaggy said reassuringly.

"What about the creatures?" Daphne asked purposefully.

"Like, thanks for reminding me" Shaggy replied sarcastically.

"I didn't get a good look at them, but it could have easily been some bears" Velma offered.

"No way man, I know bears, and those weren't bears."

"It doesn't matter!" Guy said slamming his bowl down. "We need to find them; that is the only sensible course of action!"

"I agree" Velma said. "We need to be proactive."

"Like, I don't know if…"

"There is no debate; we need to find the others!"

"Guy shut up!" Daphne yelled, silencing the room. "If we start fighting then we're dead. I understand that you want to find them, I do too, but Shaggy's right, we need to stay put… at least for now, we don't know the forest, and if we try to navigate it without studying the maps then we don't stand a chance. Tonight we need to get some sleep, tomorrow we'll discuss this."

Everyone set their plates down and moved to the cots that they had set up in the middle of the room.

It had been a good twenty minutes when Shaggy finally turned to face Scooby in the cot next to him.

"Hey Scoob, like, you awake?"

"Ri am rowe" He answered groggily.

"Do you think that Velma's, like, mad at me about something?"

"Ri, ron't row" He mumbled absently.

"Ever since the thing with the robots, she hasn't talked to me much. I know that something was wrong, something happened with the robot of me, but you got over it, I just don't know what's wrong."

"Raggy" Scooby said, pausing to choose his words. "I'm a rog, I rould rell rat rasn't roo, ri rould smell it. Relma… rusts roo, rut, rat ras romething, rintense, rersonal."

"What do you mean personal?" Shaggy asked confusedly.

"Ro to reep" Scooby said.

"The only reason I even came was to try and talk to her."

"Rumans" Scooby mumbled as he went off to sleep.

That night, Scooby's dream started off very nicely. He was back on the farm where he had been born. His brothers and sister and parents were there. They were running and barking and eating. He was just a puppy.

"C'mon Scooby, his sister Ruby barked, let's go look in the forest.

"Uh, uh" Scooby responded shaking his head. "There's monsters in there."

"Scooby, there are no such things as monsters." His sister would always say that. She would always try and be reassuring, but she was also adventurous. She reminded Scooby a lot of Daphne.

"I think you're wrong on that" Scooby would always protest.

"Scoobert, think about it, if there are monsters, we could be the first to discover a whole new species." His brother Rudy would always try for the logical approach, like Velma.

"I'm going in, you guys can follow or not." Howdy was headstrong and independent, just like Fred.

Scooby followed, like always. It felt so good to be with his family again. So good to talk to other dogs without having to sort through that weird speech impediment that all humans seem to have. Howdy stopped in front of them.

"Do you hear something?"

"Yeah" Ruby responded. "Almost like a rustling"

'No', Scooby thought, 'not this day, anything but this day'.

"Monster!" Scooby yelled as something that looked very large burst through the trees.

Scooby ran, leaving his siblings behind him. He heard the leaves rustling, and then a bang. 'They're running too' he thought, 'they have to be running too'.

They weren't, no one was running because there was nothing to run from. Scooby found that out later after Rudy came out of the forest looking for him. It had just been a squirrel, but Scooby's screaming had startled a hunter behind the trees. Their owners and parents ran out to the edge of the forest as the man carried Ruby out in his arms. Scooby waited in terror the whole time as his owners drove Ruby to the vet. It was hours before they got back. Ruby's whole front leg was in a cast, and the vet said that it would never really heal.

"It's not your fault" She used to say. "I was the one who wanted to go into the forest."

Scooby always knew, though, it was his fault; if he had just stayed calm Ruby would be able to walk normally, to run. Scooby's dream fast forwarded from that point. Everyone else had been adopted, even Ruby. Scooby was the last one when the man in the uniform came. At first he thought it was the man from the pound, the one that he heard stories about from the other dogs. He hid under the table in the living room.

"Are you sure you want him?" The owner said. "He's kind of a coward."

"He'll grow out of it, besides; he won't be an attack dog, just a sniffer."

"You don't usually use Great Danes for that do you?"

"Technically, we can use whatever we want. Now I heard that this little pup has a good nose right?"

"Yeah" The owner laughed. "Mostly for food though."

"Well I think that he's just what we need. Cadet… whatever your name was… get this pup in the truck while I settle up with the farmer here!" The uniformed man yelled.

Another, younger, man in a uniform ran inside. He was lanky and had shaggy brown hair. He looked eager just to be here. It was the first time that Scooby had ever seen the man, but he looked friendly.

"It's Rogers sir." The young man said cheerily. "Samuel Rogers."

The man leaned toward Scooby who instinctively backed away.

"It's okay" He said reassuringly. He slipped a baggie out of his pocket. "You want a treat, I made them for my family but the only one who likes them is my little boy."

Scooby took one of the snacks, and had a new best friend.

"I'll make you proud." Scooby told his parents as he left.

"I know you will."

"We love you Scoobert."

"Nos Surge! Nos Festum! Nos Surge! Nos Festum!"

Scooby awoke with a start. The cabin was in chaos. Shaggy was collapsed on the floor holding his ears and screaming in pain. Scooby started to do the same once his ears adjusted. Across the room Daphne and Guy had pulled the rifles out of their mounts on the wall.

"Tranquilizers!" Daphne yelled as she pushed a dart into the chamber. "How's your aim?"

"Good enough to take out one of these beasts!" Guy yelled back

Outside there were three creatures. Each one was approaching a different window. Daphne fired off a shot and hit one creature in the chest, but the dart just stuck there as it kept advancing. Glass shattered as the creatures broke into the cabin. Scooby craned his head up just enough to see them advancing. The chanting was becoming louder as they got closer. Daphne had pulled Shaggy over her shoulder and held the rifle in front of her as she made for the back door. Guy ran to collect Velma, but one of the creatures blocked his path. It turned toward Velma.

"Ro!" Scooby barked.

He strained against the pain as he stood up. He ran at the creature and pounced, baring his teeth furiously. The creature backed off enough for Guy to scoop up Velma and join Daphne in running away. Meanwhile Scooby ran; he had to get away from the noise, the pain. Outside the rain pounded furiously. His fur was soaked. He was tired and scared, but he kept going. He ran without looking where he was going. Something tugged on his collar and he writhed in place for a moment, twisting out of it until he was free. He tripped and skidded down a hill until he came to a stop in a puddle of water. He could hear rustling around him. He could hear familiar voices growling.

"Is he one of us?"

"No, but he has the scent."

"We should take him to the pack."

"Hello" Scooby barked. "Who is that?"

Part 12: Underworld

Fred's confidence began to falter as he realized that the tunnel went down, not up. The others had probably noticed it too, but they didn't say anything. The light was going out too; it would only be a matter of time before they were walking in total darkness.

"How long have we been walking?" Dell asked wearily.

"I don't know." Fred responded.

"It could be worse" Danica said with a brave attempt at cheer. "We could be going uphill."

"Actually, we could only hope to be going uphill." Minga said matter of factly.

"Way to keep up the morale Minga" Dell panted.

Hold on!" Fred yelled excitedly running ahead. "I see a light!"

"Where?"

"The end of the tunnel"

"That sounds promising" Dell quipped.

Fred ran forward at full speed, closing the gap in seconds.

"There are cracks in the rocks here! Come help me, I think we can push them loose!"

The others ran to help. They all put all of their strength into the wall. Crackling echoed through the cavern as rocks began to fall forward. Light began to stream into the tunnel. Fred cleared out the last of the rocks and pulled himself through.

"Oh my God" He said in awe.

The others followed him into the tunnel and were greeted with an enormous cavern. It was easily bigger than the school auditorium and blazing with light.

"Where's it coming from?" Dell asked squinting out of the darkness.

"Up there" Danica answered pointing to the ceiling. "Bioluminescent fungus, my father did a film about a cave system filled with it."

"Not daylight then" Dell sighed sitting down on a nearby rock.

"No, but it is, comment dites- vous… combustible"

"Combustible" Fred said quickly shutting his lighter.

"Where's Minga?" Dell asked suddenly.

Everyone looked around quickly. Minga was nowhere in sight.

"Minga!"

"Minga where are you!?"

"Down here" They heard her call back.

The group followed her voice down a small incline. At the bottom they found her kneeling by a pool of clear blue water.

"It's an underground lake"

"Oh thank God, I'm so thirsty." Dell said running toward the water.

"Wait Dell!" Danica yelled grabbing him by the wrist. "It's not good water, the fungus has been seeping into it; it's poisonous.

"Oh" Dell said, shaken.

As Dell and Minga began conversing, Danica took the camera out of the bag.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm filming; this is magnificent footage and… hold on"

"What is it?" Fred asked, joining her by the camera.

"The camera was on; it's been on since… last night."

Danica cycled through the footage.

"Stop there" Fred said pointing at the screen. "That's new"

"The lens must have been sticking out of the bag when we ran."

They watched the footage of their chase through the forest.

"Freeze it"

Danica froze the image. It was one of the creatures.

"I've never seen anything like this."

"Oh man, this is awesome" Dell said looking over at the image.

"What's that in the background there?" Fred said pointing to a small image on the screen.

"How did you see that?" Danica asked as she zoomed in.

"It's a… thing I have." Fred said waving his hand dismissively.

"This camera's got great resolution." Dell said impressed.

"Only the best" Danica responded proudly.

"Speaking of cameras, that's what that is" Minga interrupted. "In the corner, there, that's a camera on the tree branch."

"Son of a gun" Fred said squinting at the image. "I've seen that before, that kind of camera. It's a modified closed circuit camera. We saw them back in September; Jacobo was using them to monitor his lab exits."

"Could it be a ranger camera?" Danica asked.

"No, there's no way they could keep camera's running all through the valley" Minga answered.

"So what, you think it's some kind of Most Dangerous Game hunting broadcast?" Dell said.

"I didn't, but thanks for the paranoia" Fred responded sarcastically.

"Guys" Danica said hesitantly. "Do your feet feel wet, or is it just me?"

They all looked down. The water was rising quickly. Cracks were beginning to open up in the walls and ceiling and water was jetting out of them.

"Back up the tunnel everyone, c'mon allons- y!" Fred yelled

"Oui!" Danica responded as she shoved the camera back into the case.

They all ran up the hill toward the opening in the rock.

"What's that noise?" Dell yelled as a loud roar echoed around the cavern.

"Oh frak!" Fred yelled as a flood of water roaring tumbling down the cave.

Everyone turned around quickly only to be faced with the growing lake of water glowing blue with fungus. Dell and Minga embraced in fear. Fred's mind raced as everything around him slowed down. There was a small opening at the very top of the cave, cracks were spreading across every wall; water was lifting everything that could float.

"Mouths closed, eyes shut, everyone hold hands this is gonna get bumpy."

Everyone did as he said. With mouths and eyes clamped tight they were lifted off their feet and rushed toward the ceiling. For a moment Fred thought that they were going to slam into the ceiling, and then he felt the cold air on his face. He felt dirt on his lips, and he knew he was safe. He looked around quickly, daytime, and everyone was there and everyone was moving.

"You saved us!" Danica cheered.

"Hey I just… you know what I don't have anything witty to say, I'll get back to you on that."

"That's a funny taste" Dell said.

"What is?' Fred asked seriously.

"Sorry man" Dell said. "I think I swallowed some."

Part 13: The Pack

Scooby woke up on a cold stone surface. There was chatter around him, not human chatter he realized, but familiar chatter. He opened his eyes slowly. He was in a forest clearing, and there were other dogs, no, not dogs, he realized, wolves.

"Hello" he called out groggily.

"He is awake, finnaly" Someone said next to him, a female he was sure. He turned to look; it was a female, a female wolf.

"Who are you?"

"I am Luna" She responded. Then she indicated another wolf next to her, a male. "And this is my brother Remus. Walk with us."

The two wolves led Scooby through the clearing. All around them were wolves of all ages jumping and playing, eating and hunting.

"I don't understand" Scooby said. 'There aren't supposed to be wolves in this part of the country."

"True, we were in the region the humans call Alaska." Luna said

"And the next thing we knew, we were here." Remus finished.

"Someone took you." Scooby said with piqued interest.

"Who brought you here?" Remus asked.

"I came here with my friends, which reminds me have you or your pack ever seen any creatures?"

"What do you mean creatures?" Luna asked.

"Oh about yay high" Scooby said raising his paw into the air. "Hairy snarling anything… like… that?" Scooby finished stuttering out the last words as he came snout to snout with a very large, very angry wolf.

"Who's this?" The large wolf snarled.

"I'm a… just a… who are you?"

"I'm Romulus; I'm the leader of this pack. What did I tell you two about bringing in live food?"

"He's not food!" Luna said standing in front of the quivering Scooby. "He has the scent, smell him!"

"The scent?" Scooby asked as the larger wolf contemplated him.

"The wolf scent, the mark of a fellow pack member" Remus answered.

"It's faint" Romulus growled.

"But it's there" Luna shot back. "He has lived with humans; maybe he can get us help, to get back home."

"I already told you, this is our new home! We will stay here!"

"We can't stay here; more members of the pack are taken every day. We need help!" Luna shot back.

"I am the leader of this pack and I make the decisions! Know your place! I'll let the runt stay for now." With that the large brute walked away.

"What a jerk" Scooby said once Romulus was out of earshot, a much farther distance for canines. "Now, what were you saying about pack members being taken?"

"Every night since we've come here two or three wolves a day have been taken. We don't know what's doing it."

"Then we need to set a trap" Scooby said with all the courage he could muster.

Part 14: The Trophy Tree

Shaggy was cold, he was tired, he was hungry, and he was terrified. He was also pretty sure that everyone else felt the same way. Shaggy and Daphne had been taking shifts leading Velma along. Guy had insisted that he could walk on his own, and by on his own, he meant leaning heavily on the now empty rifle. Right now Daphne had Velma and Shaggy and Guy brought up the rear.

"You are worried about your dog, yes?" Guy said.

"Like yeah, he's more than a dog you know." Shaggy shot back.

"I am sorry" Guy sighed.

"It's fine" Shaggy said trying to wave Guy off.

"I'm sorry about last night too, I was scared and I reacted badly, you were rational."

"Man, I'm a lot of things, but I ain't rational."

"No, you were, you were calm in the face of fear. I was angry… I know you like her" guy said trying to break the silence "The girl with the glasses, I'm sorry I'm not good with names."

"Velma, like her name is Velma"

"Gotcha" Guy smirked.

"Like, she's not too happy with me right now."

"Look, I have no idea what is between you and her, but if you see me as a threat, I'm not. Danica is my girlfriend."

"Hey guys, I think we found something!" Daphne called back.

Guy and Shaggy ran ahead to join the girls at a very large tree. Hanging from the branches were hundreds of little scraps and trinkets.

"I haven't seen this many medallions since I went through the attic at Blake Hall."

"Look at all of those rings" Shaggy mused as he closed his hand around the chain that secured his heirloom ring around his neck.

"Mon Dieu" Guy gasped as he snapped a golden chain from one of the branches. "This is Danica's."

"And this is Uncle John's" Daphne said pulling a silver watch off of one of the branches.

"What's that scratched onto the bark?" Shaggy said squinting at the sharp writing. "Nos Surge, Nos Festum."

"We rise, we feast" Velma translated.

"Cheery" Shaggy quipped.

Crunch, Crunch

"What was that?" Shaggy said cocking his head to the side.

"Qu'est-ce?"

"There was a noise" Shaggy said rushing everyone behind the tree.

They all peeked around the corner as two large hairy creatures lumbered into view. They were dark brown and at least eight feet tall. One of them was holding something very familiar in its hand.

"Fred" Daphne gasped as the creature placed a silver lighter on the branch.

"What the hell are they?" Guy said.

Now that they were closer, they could see that the other creature was holding a man in its arms. Beaten and bruised; he was wearing hospital scrubs, but that was the only clean thing about him. His right arm ended in a bandaged stump.

"We have to help that man" Daphne whispered.

"Any ideas?" Guy asked.

Shaggy cupped his hands to his mouth.

"GGGGGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

The creatures looked around startled and ran deeper into the forest, leaving the man behind.

"Nice one" Daphne said patting Shaggy on the shoulder.

"Come dite vous, awesome" Guy agreed.

"Hi" Daphne said sweetly to the man huddled on the ground. "It's okay; we're friends, what's your name?"

"Hey there" The man said in a pronounced southern accent. "I'm Bill Scroggins."

Part 15: Search Party

"Look, I told you, Jefferson's gone, Knudsen's gone, Riker's gone, Jenny and I are the only ones left here, even with local help, we can't search the whole forest."

"What about helicopters?" Maxwell asked.

"Look, even if the central station would approve a copter, we can't go out while this thunderstorm is still in the area." Officer Grey clarified.

"What about the cabins?" Maxwell asked again.

"We'd need a copter." Grey said. "And the fog in the valley would make it hard to see anything. They would need to be high up."

"Like, top of the mountain high." Summers finished.

"Please" Maxwell said beginning to tear up. "My only child is in there, she is all I have left, and I never should have brought her. I lost her mother on one of these shoots you know, when Danica was just a child… I shouldn't have brought her."

Grey gave the man a sympathetic look.

"All right, there're five of us, I'll make the call for the copter." Summers finnaly said picking up the phone.

"What about chuckles there?" Grey said thrusting her thumb toward Lang.

"Nos Surge, Nos Festum, Nos Surge, Nos Festum"

"Grab the straightjacket, he's coming with us."

Part 16: Ruins

"How much time does he have?" Fred asked as he and Danica hovered over Dell.

"I don't know, in my father's films, they said it could kill a man in a matter of hours, but this was heavily diluted. It could be harmless, it could just be slow." Danica said. "Is she okay?" Danica asked pulling Fred aside as Minga embraced the shivering Dell and began sobbing quietly.

"Minga lost her parents in an avalanche; her brother raised her after that. She and Dell started dating at the end of last year."

"And she doesn't want to lose anyone else." Danica finished.

"Yeah, and for the record, he's my friend too, I don't wanna lose him either." Fred said walking away.

"I lost my mother, when I was little; she died helping my father with one of his films. He had never let me help until now, I've always wanted to, to be just like him, but even if we survive, he'll never let me do it again."

"Hey" Fred said putting his hand on her shoulder. "I've only known you for like, a weekend, but I think that you've definitely got what it takes to do what he does, and we will make it out of this."

"Do you think the others are okay?" She asked.

"I hope so" Fred said breaking confidence for real for the first time since they had woken up the day before. 'I have to hope so."

"Where there's smoke there's fire." They heard Dell say.

"What's he doing?" Minga asked worriedly.

"In some cases the fungus can cause hallucinations." Danica responded.

"No, I think he's trying tell us something." Fred said contemplating their surroundings. "Does anyone smell smoke?" he said sniffing the air.

"Oui"

"Over here, c'mon. Someone might be in here, it could be a campfire."

"In the rain?"

"Just c'mon." He said excitedly. They ran through the trees and into a clearing where there was a thick plume of smoke. Fred's jaw dropped as he came face to face with the center of the clearing.

It may have once been a cabin, but now it was nothing more than a pile of smoking timbers.

"What the hell happened here?"

"It must have been the lighting" Danica offered.

"No" Fred said kneeling by the remains. "There's gasoline here, this was on purpose."

"It looks like it was some kind of emergency base camp; there was one a couple of miles up from my village back in Tibet." Minga said as she shifted Dell's weight onto her other shoulder.

"There are some crates here; they look like they weren't damaged. There are some fresh clothes inside."

"Good, we should all change before we get hypothermia." Fred said holding a burnt piece of metal in his hands. "Looks like these used to be guns of some kind, fire got to them."

"And then what" Minga asked exasperatedly.

"We go up" Fred said staring up the imposing shape of Lonely mountain.

Part 17: The Labs

"So you got taken by the creatures to some kind of facility?" Velma asked the man, still staring blindly without glasses.

"Yep; but they took me out, said they were gonna release me into the wild." The man said.

"Like, what about your hand?"

"They, they took it" The man said as his eyes began to glaze over.

"Who"

"There were… there was…"

"Can you take us there?" Daphne asked seriously. "There are some people we were with, that we'd like to find very much, can you take us there?"

"Okay" the man said after a pause. "It'll be quite a hike though."

It was another couple of hours and night had fallen before Scroggins stopped them at the mouth of a cave. He silently went inside, pressed his foot down on a rock, and stepped back. Instantly the stone walls receded and light poured from the new opening.

"Back to hell then" Scroggins said under his breath.

"What is this place?" Daphne pondered as she examined the dank room. There were dim lights and operating tables, and a whole rack of tools that didn't look like your average surgical implements.

"You smell that?" Velma said sniffing at the air.

"Yeah, kind of"

"Are you okay man?" Guy asked noting Shaggy's blank, almost horrified, expression at the lab.

"Like, uh, yeah, it just feels like I've been here before, that's all." He said absently. Scroggins hovered nervously by the door staring at his hand.

"I don't get it" Velma said as she tried squinting around the room. "If these things are animals why do they have a lab where they take people?"

"Like, guys' Shaggy said from the corner. "Not just people."

The others followed to where he was standing. In the corner there was a cage with five or six, dirty, emaciated, and whimpering wolves.

"Oh my god" Daphne gasped kneeling by the cage as one of the wolves looked up at her with hollow eyes.

"There shouldn't be any wolves in California" Velma said.

"Alaska" Shaggy growled. "They were taken from Alaska."

"How do you know that?"

"I" Shaggy paused. "I don't know."

"Guy's" Scroggins called from the doorway. "There's some kind of camera on the wall here, painted to look like rock."

"If there's a camera then someone, somewhere is watching us" Velma said.

"Like, there it is again"

"What?"

"That noise, the chanting, can't you hear it?" Shaggy groaned covering his ears.

"Shaggy, I don't hear anything." Daphne said.

"AAAARRRROOOOO!" The wolves collectively howled from inside the cage as they began pawing furiously at their ears.

"nos surge, nos fetum, nos surge, nos festum" The sound reverberated faintly through the room. "NOS SURGE, NOS FESTUM, NOS SURGE, NOS FESTUM, NOS SURGE, NOS FESTUM" It boomed louder and louder. The ground began to shake as three of the creatures appeared in the doorway.

Everyone backed against the wolf cage as the creatures advanced. Slowly, Shaggy knelt down and fumbled with the lock, finnaly, it came undone and the wolves shot out, tackling the mad creatures and snapping their jaws furiously.

"Run, there's a door behind us, they'll hold them off for as long as they can." Shaggy yelled as he pushed to now revealed door open. "Thank you" He yelled at the wolves once everyone was safe, and with that he shut the door.

Part 18: Dog Fight

"Are you absolutely sure that this is going to work?" Remus said as he pulled the last branch over the pit that they had dug.

"Most likely" Scooby shrugged. "It worked the last time."

"You've done this before?" Luna asked astonished.

"Way too many times" Scooby responded. "Now you said that he goes for the weak, so I'll act as bait and lure him to the pit, got it?"

"I think so" The siblings responded.

Scooby waited as the sky grew darker and the rain began to pour harder. Just when he was about to give up, a shape emerged from the forest, one decidedly dog sized. It came toward Scooby and he heard a familiar voice growl up.

"This'll show them to bring in strays" It growled. "I'll take this one, and then maybe one of the weaker pups, the masters will be pleased.

"Romulus!" Scooby barked as the huge wolf bore down on him.

He ran leading Romulus across the clearing. The noise had woken the rest of the pack and they were all whispering the same thing.

"He'll die, Romulus will kill him, and then he'll kill us."

Scooby ducked as the brute jumped at him, causing Romulus to fall face first into the dirt. But he wouldn't give up that easily. He snapped his jaws at Scooby who jumped back. Romulus ran for him and pounced on top of him. Scooby was on his back desperately trying to distance himself from the larger canine's gnashing jaws. With all his strength he kicked his hind legs and sent Romulus flying toward the trap. Scooby ran toward him and at the last minute, jumped, soaring clear over the hidden pit. The two opponents stood on opposite sides of the trap; Romulus hesitantly pawing at the ground.

"So, you were taking the other pack members, why?" Scooby barked.

"I was told to by the masters, the masters needed the weak for their experiments."

"So in the end, you're just someone's pet" Scooby barked mockingly.

'I ain't nobody's pet!" Romulus howled as he charged at Scooby.

"Yeah, you are" Scooby quipped as the large wolf fell through the branches and into the hole. "Now shouldn't y'all have seen that coming?"

"That was incredible!" Remus barked running up toward Scooby and giving him what could only be described as the canine equivalent of a high five.

"That was terrifying" Scooby panted.

"So what do we do now?" Luna said giving Scooby an affectionate nuzzle.

"I have to go find my friends, there are creatures out there. They could be… no scratch that, they are in danger."

"Okay, well we can help right?" Luna said to the assembled pack who just backed away nervously. "C'mon."

"Why should we?" One of the wolves spoke up.

"How about because he saved our lives!" Luna shot back.

"Romulus has been stopped, our problems are over."

"No… no they're not" Scooby barked nervously. "The creatures he was working for, they will come back. I know it's scary, but we have to fight, we have to defend our packs. If we don't they'll just keep coming."

"How can you have no fear in the face of this?" One of the wolves snarled.

"I'm scared out of my fur" Scooby responded. "But I have to do this, for my pack."

"I'm with him" Remus barked.

"As am I" Luna agreed as they both stood side by side with Scooby.

"So am I" Another wolf said stepping forward.

"And me"

"And me"

"For the pack"

Scooby looked around at his new backup.

"Alright" He said confidently. "Here's the plan."

Part 19: High Ground

Fred looked down the steep cliff side as he and the other three walked up the mountain. With his luck, he would end up falling off of that, and surviving to feel the pain. The plan from here was to try and signal the ranger station from the mountain peak. So far Danica had gotten a large bruise across her face. Minga had twisted an ankle and was only kept going by some painkillers that had been left untouched by the fire, and Dell was growing more delirious by the second, unable to walk on his own now, the group had begun taking shifts helping him along. Fred meanwhile was sifting through the facts in his head, trying to make sense of what they had seen. Someone was watching them, someone had burnt down that cabin, and he was pretty sure that someone had flooded the cave. Either that or he was becoming delirious from dehydration, maybe both.

"The ants go marching one by one" Dell crooned loopily.

"Hurrah, hurrah" Danica responded exhaustedly.

"He doesn't look so good" Minga said worriedly as she looked into Dell's glossy eyes.

"He's held out for a long time, but I don't know." Danica said.

"Okay, let's take a break" Fred panted as they came to ledge. "I'll see if I can get a fire going" He said reaching for his pocket. "Hey what the hell happened to my lighter?"

"Do you hear that?" Danica said. "That sort of rhythmic chanting?"

"Oh no, not again!" Fred yelled as he helped lift Dell up, through his arm over his shoulder, and began leading the others up the mountain.

They made it another few yards before the creatures came. The first one jumped out onto the path in front of them, the second, behind them, and the third appeared over the edge of the cliff.

"Danica, what would the French be for this?" Fred asked as the group nervously closed ranks.

"Merde" Danica replied succinctly.

Fred's brain kicked into high gear again, but as it turned out, he was too late. Danica quickly pulled a large light out of the camera bag and shined it at the creature in front of them. Blinded, it threw up its hands and backed toward the edge. The creature behind them came closer, picking a large boulder up off the trail. With incredible strength it lifted the stone above its head and prepared to strike. Danica tossed Fred another light. He caught it and flipped the switch sending a bright burst at the creature. Startled its grip loosened and the boulder fell right onto its head. A howl of pain echoed through the mountain side. The creature clutched its head as it backed up against the wall. The third creature climbed up over the cliff side and began advancing. Fred and Danica stood back to back, each shining a light at one of the creatures. Slowly Fred handed Dell off to Minga and shouted one word.

"Run!"

Minga took off with Dell at her side while Fred and Danica kept the creatures distracted.

"What's the plan?!" Danica yelled over the ever increasing volume of the chanting.

"Gimme a minute!" Fred answered through gritted teeth. Danica, is this the highest setting on these lights?"

"Oui, unless…"

"Unless what?!"

"In the bag there is a small emergence battery, like the lights, the camera bag kept it dry. If we jack the lights into it, it would make them very bright but it would also overload them. They would explode in… fifteen seconds" She finished unsurely.

"Explode" Fred said with a wide grin. He fished the battery out of the bag, careful to keep the light trained on the creature's eyes. Carefully he plugged in his light, then Danica's. "On the count of three, we throw this at the one in front, and run okay?"

"Oui" Danica said nodding her head.

"One"

"Deux"

"Three!" Fred yelled as they lobbed the heavy device. It exploded at the creature's feet. Danica and Fred took off up the mountain.

"Flame On!" Fred yelled back with a smirk. "I told you I'd think of something witty."

As she ran Danica took out the camera and got one last shot of the creatures.

Part 20: Berserker

"What is this place?" Daphne said as she looked around at the room they had escaped into.

"It looks like a… hotel." Guy said.

Guy was correct; it did resemble a hotel suite. There was a very pristine bathroom, a living area with a big screen TV, a bedroom with a huge four poster bed, a balcony overlooking the forest, and one more room that seemed to be locked.

"Who's there?" Shaggy said in the direction of the bed.

"There's no one there Shaggy" Daphne said as she began flipping Fred's lighter on and off.

"No, I thought I heard something too." Velma said.

"We should get out of here" Guy offered nervously.

"Oh great plan, but how?" Daphne asked piercingly.

"What if we could get up the mountain through the balcony?" Scroggins offered.

Daphne's face broke into a very Fred- like grin.

"Like, no way man" Shaggy groaned. "You have one hand, she can't see, and it's, like, nighttime."

"The moon is full, the stars're out. We could make it."

"How about this Shaggy, we have no choice."

"Alright, fine"

Daphne went first, and then she took Velma over her shoulder and began climbing. Guy did the same with Scroggins while Shaggy brought up the rear.

"Comfy back there?" Daphne asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, could you make a stop at the Starbuck's drive through on the way?" Velma joked.

"Heh, heh, heh, very funny." Daphne retorted.

After about ten minutes of climbing they made it to a ledge where they could stop.

"I think this is the trail up the mountain" Guy said.

"Okay, then we get up to the top" Daphne ordered.

"Like why?" Shaggy panted.

"The mountain top, is the only thing visible from the ranger station, if we can get a fire going, then we can signal them."

"Like okayaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!" Shaggy shouted in pain as he put his hands up over his ears.

A few seconds later, the rest of them heard it too.

"Nos Surge! Nos Festum! Nos Surge! Nos Festum!"

The creatures came, at least six. One of them was holding something blue, and awfully familiar.

"Scooby!" Shaggy yelled as he recognized the collar in the creature's hand. At the sound of the name, the creature licked its lips. "Scooby!" Shaggy yelled furiously as he charged the creatures. He grabbed a large rock off the ground and slammed it against the first creature's side. Then he shot his fist out at the second one. It connected powerfully and the creature doubled over in pain. "Run!" Shaggy growled.

The others did as they were told. Shaggy meanwhile continued his assault. He hefted an impossibly large tree branch off the ground and swung it at one of the monsters' heads. The creatures all growled and bared their teeth. Their hot breath blew into Shaggy's face.

"GGGGGRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAR!" Shaggy responded barring his own teeth.

He ran up the side of the mountain and kicked off, striking one creature's teeth with his foot. Then he leaped off and ran leading the creatures down the mountain. One of the creatures swiped at him with its claws. Shaggy jumped from the ledge into the waiting branches of the tall redwoods. One of the creatures roared to its fellows and three of the six took off after Shaggy. The one in the lead swung on a branch and landed on Shaggy's perch. Baring his teeth, Shaggy kicked at the creature. The second one landed behind him. Shaggy looked around, examining his situation with cold steely eyes. He put all of his strength into a kick at the branch they were standing on. The branch gave way and they all tumbled down. Shaggy caught another branch, but the creature in front of him wasn't so lucky. He heard it hit the ground with a howl. The other one landed on the branch below him. He jumped down and began beating the creature furiously. His fists connected hard each time.

"That's for Fred!" He snarled. PUNCH!

"That's for Dell!" PUNCH!

'That's for Minga!" PUNCH

"And This! Is! For! Scooby!" PUNCH!

The creature gave way; it collapsed and fell down straddling the branch. Then the third one showed up. Shaggy punched at it, but it ducked. It swiped its claws at him and knocked him into the air. Then it grabbed him by the throat and jumped down. Air rushed into Shaggy's face as they descended, and landed, surprisingly softly on the forest floor. The creature slammed Shaggy into the base of the tree like a ragdoll. It growled into his face and opened its jaws wide. Shaggy gave one last defiant growl as the creature prepared to strike.

"Scooby Dooby Doooooooaaaarrrrrrroooooo!" Came a howl from the edge of the tree line.

At least thirty wolves charged, all howling the same battle cry. And in the lead, was a very familiar, brown and black dog.

"Scooby!" Shaggy yelled.

Two wolves pounced and bit at either arm of the creature, jerking its grip away from Shaggy. The creature tried to throw them off, but two more jumped at its chest, flooring it. Shaggy ran up to Scooby and embraced him with tears in his eyes.

"I thought I lost you buddy"

"Rever"

The sun was rising now. One of the wolves growled, indicating the creature.

"Rhat roo ree roo rith rat?" Scooby asked Shaggy.

"Have your friends take him to the base of the mountain, there are three more in the forest, can they find them too?"

Scooby gave a series of howls and growls to the wolf next to him. She gave a sort of affirmative gesture and nuzzled Scooby affectionately. Shaggy darted his eyes from one to the other and an amused grin formed on his face.

"Rut up" Scooby said noticing the grin.

"I said nothing" Shaggy laughed.

"Rumans"

Half of the pack took off for the other creatures while the other half followed Shaggy back toward the mountain.

Part 21: Last Stand

Fred and Daphne embraced for a full five minutes when they found each other. Guy and Danica did likewise.

"I knew you couldn't be dead" Daphne said tearfully.

"Me too" Fred answered.

"Here I found this" Daphne said handing Fred…

"My lighter!" He yelled joyfully.

"Danica, j'ai trouvé ça. Je suis tellement contente que tu es vivant. Je suis tellement désolé que vous aviez à passer par cette." Guy said handing Danica her necklace back.

"Il n'est pas de ta faute. Je voulais venir et je suis encore heureux que je l'ai fait."

"Where's Shaggy and Scooby?" Fred asked hesitantly.

"We lost Scooby last night when we were running; we haven't been able to find him. Shaggy stayed back to fight the things that attacked us on our way up."

"Oh, so you've seen them too?"

"Wait a minute, Shaggy stayed back to fight?" Minga asked in disbelief.

"Does anyone else hear that chanting?" Velma asked.

Daphne raised her tranquilizer gun. Guy did likewise. Danica pulled out three more lights, handing them off to Minga and Fred. The creatures came, five of them. Everyone stood back to back.

"Do those guns work on them?" Fred asked nervously.

""Not so far" Daphne responded.

"Beware the Jabberwock my son, with jaws that bight and claws that catch. Beware the jub- jub bird and shun the frumious bandersnatch." Dell crooned.

"Thank you for putting our situation so succinctly Dell." Daphne said.

"Merde" Fred said.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRROOOOOOOO"

There was a streak of grey as one of the creatures was floored. A flash of white tore into the fur of another. In less than five minutes every one of the creatures was writhing on the floor, pinned down by an army of wolves. Behind them, Shaggy and Scooby walked up over the edge of the mountain. One of the wolves gave a sort of inquisitive bark to Scooby.

"Ree rants to row rat to roo rith rem."

"Uh…"

"This looks like metal" Minga said interrupting Shaggy.

"Your right" Fred said kneeling with her by the nearest creature. The fur was torn where the wolf had bitten in. Underneath was not bone, but some kind of metal.

"This isn't real fur" Daphne said joining them.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me on this, I know the difference" She answered as she absently rubbed the hide between her fingers. "Freddy, hand me your knife."

Fred fished it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She flipped it open and sliced at the fur. Shaggy and Scooby winced behind them. Underneath was a network of wires and tubes all snaking around a metal skeleton.

"It's like an exoskeleton"

"What are all those tubes?"

"Hydraulic fluid." Velma said triumphantly. "That's what I smelled in the lab, I recognized it from my dad's lab. These things must be powered by hydraulics."

"This is brilliant." Minga said.

"Ggggrrrr" One of the wolves growled.

"Re rays rere's reople rin rere."

"Like, people."

Fred reached for the head and pulled the fur up. Underneath was a snarling human face.

"Who is it?" Velma asked.

"I have no idea" Fred replied.

Daphne tried another one.

"Okay, I recognize this one" She said. "He was the ranger that brought that man into the inn."

"How much you wanna bet that the others are rangers too?" Fred asked.

"But, like…"

"Ry"

"I say nothing" The man said angrily.

"Okay, but my friends' new friends are getting hungry" Fred smirked indicating the wolves.

"GGGGGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!"

One of the creatures broke free of the wolves pinning it and ran at the group. It jumped a t them with claws extended.

Chop, Chop, Chop, Chop

BANG!

Part 22: Rescue

The creature clutched its arm in pain as a bright orange helicopter appeared over the horizon. Standing in the door was John Maxwell, rifle leveled at the creature. Screaming in pain the monster fell to its knees. The wind whipped up in everyone's faces as the helicopter landed on the mountaintop. Mr. Maxwell, Ms. Mint, Tembo, and two forest rangers stepped out, rifles at the ready. Inside was the man from the inn, secured in a straight jacket. The rangers went to work tying down the creatures.

"Jefferson"

"This one's Riker"

"Here's Davies"

"It's the whole damn ranger office."

"Danica" John said as he tearfully embraced his daughter. "I thought I lost you."

"I took footage Father" Danica said holding up the camera bag. "I taped everything we did."

"My little assistant." He said taking the camera. "Just like your mother."

"Billy" The man from the inn yelled from the helicopter. "You're alive!"

The two rangers finished stripping the 'creatures' from their suits and handcuffing them.

"I don't mean to seem ungrateful for their help, but what the hell are wolves doing in California?" The male ranger said.

"We took them here" Jefferson said. "The man who hired us needed them for his experiments."

"That's what the lab was for." Velma said.

"Lab?"

'In the mountain" Velma clarified. "There's a lab."

"Yeah, and it's, like, right out of a horror movie too."

"This whole experience has been out of a horror movie. The chanting, the tree with all of the trinkets…" Daphne said

"The burning cabin, the cave in with the skeleton." Fred finished.

"What were you boys doing?" The female ranger asked.

"Two years ago, when we were assigned here, the eight of us went into the forest to find this lost hiker. What we found instead was a very wealthy man who was conducting research on the human response to fear. He told us that we could either work for him or be his next test subjects. He had had the lab set up for years; Clint Morris was his first test subject. He had us bring in the wolves about a year ago for new research, then when they started letting hunters in here, he designed the ape man suits and had us try to capture test subjects. We set up the tree, burnt down the rescue cabin and blew up the cave to try and get a fear response out of you, and then we set up cameras so our boss could keep track of you."

"What was the man's name?"

"You already know him. His name was Ranger Mark Knudsen and he's right over there, cuffed with the bullet in his arm."

Mr. Maxwell strode over to the man and struck him in the face with his boot.

"That's police brutality!" Jefferson yelled.

"I didn't see anything" Both of the rangers said, as they threw Knudsen roughly into the helicopter.

"Guys!" Minga yelled. "Dell's passed out."

Part 23: The Hospital

"He's gonna be okay" Fred said more trying to reassure himself than Daphne, who had her head buried in his shoulder.

The rest of the group all sat around the hospital waiting room in various states of distress.

"It's been an hour, why isn't he out yet?" Minga said.

"Stupid me, I didn't get it in time, if I just could have been smarter, he wouldn't have swallowed any of that water." Fred said. "I was wrong; we can't keep doing things like this."

"Fred" Shaggy said standing up. "We tried that once, it didn't work. Let me tell you something else, Dell loves solving mysteries more than any of us. His entire life is Cryptids; he taught me that stupid word you know? He would never want us to stop."

"Your right" Minga said.

The door opened and a doctor stepped out.

"He's okay, he's resting now, but he's okay."

Everyone jumped for joy as the doctor stepped back through the door. He made his way into a small bathroom, one of the things left over from when this old hospital had been a house, and he stretched his fingers over his face. He ground his teeth in concentration as his features shifted back into their normal place. When he was done, he shook his slender face and spiky hair.

"Oh, that always feels weird. I hate the feeling of new teeth." He said in his natural Scottish accent. Then he drew a golden pocket watch from his scrubs and held it in front of the bathroom mirror. A face appeared the face of an old friend.

"Hello Jonathan" The face said.

"Vincent" He replied.

"What is the status of the situation?"

"It took every ounce of my not inconsiderable medical and magical skill" Jonathan Fletcher said proudly. "But I did save the boy."

"Excellent, and what of Griffin?"

"Griffin got away, but Knudsen is locked up we should be able to get something from him, he was the rangers' liaison to Griffin, after all. They had no idea who they were really working for."

"Then I feel sorry to inform you that Mark Knudsen was killed in prison, we're still investigating the details."

"Damn it!"

"We will be doubling security on the children back in Florida." The face said changing the subject.

"I thought it had already been doubled."

"Then we are quadrupling it. Never the less, I need you and Rachael back to headquarters."

"Right away" Fletcher said with a grin.

Part 24: Premiere

"I've never been to anything like this" Velma said as she took her seat in the theater.

"Me neither" Fred said.

"I can't believe that Danica filmed all of that" Minga said. "Now that is guts."

"I can't believe that I actually got to be in a Cryptids documentary." Dell said excitedly.

"Yeah, it was, like, pretty nice of your uncle to fly us to Paris for the premiere." Shaggy said as he munched on popcorn.

"Hey, you guys were integral." Daphne said. "He wants to make a movie about us you know."

"Rarout rus? Rat rould ree rawesome." Scooby barked.

"Hey, like Scooby Doo's gone Hollywood."

"Re're in Rance."

"You know what I mean."

"Shhh it's starting"

Ms. Mint walked out on stage and delivered a speech in French. Daphne translated.

"Welcome everyone, to our premiere. We worked very hard on this film, and owe a large amount of gratitude to our production assistants; Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Norville Rogers…" Shaggy winced. "Velma Dinkley, Minga Sherpa, Dell Chillman, Guy L' Avorton" The audience cheered. "Danica Maxwell, and Scooby Doo, without whom this film would have been very dull. Unfortunately, our directors John and Danica Maxwell could not be here tonight. They have already left for New York to begin work on their next film. And now, without further delay, I present to you The Legend of Lonely Mountain."

Part 25: Reunion

In the car, Scooby thought about his last day in California.

"The pack will always have a place for you." Luna had said.

"Thank you, do you think we'll see each other again?" Scooby asked shyly.

"I sincerely hope so. You are a remarkable canine Scooby Doo."

Scooby certainly hoped so too. The car screeched to a halt and Shaggy and Sam got out with Scooby at their heels. They had spent a week searching for this family. Sam knocked on the door. An older woman with graying hair and a kind face answered.

"Hello"

"Hi, I'm Sam Rogers; we spoke on the phone about your dog Ruby."

"Oh yes, I'll call her. Ruby, they're here." The woman called into the house.

A brown Great Dane walked into the room. Upon seeing Scooby her eyes widened.

"Scooby!" She barked excitedly as she ran for him. "How are you?"

"I'm good" Scooby said hesitantly. "I'm so sorry that I've never tried to see you before, I was just scared."

"Well, there's nothing to be scared of. I'm family, c'mon, you want some food."

"In a minute."

Ruby was taken aback, it wasn't like Scooby to turn down food.

"I just wanted to say, I was scared to face family again, after the accident, but now I'm not scared of that, now I just don't wanna be away from family anymore."

"Then come in" Ruby smiled. "We've got food."

"Okay" Scooby said following her while wagging his tail excitedly.

Part 26: Epilogue

Knudsen settled comfortably into one of the chairs in the grand dining hall. It was a beautiful room with golden tableware, a carved oak table, red drapes, and Knudsen's favorite, the mounted trophies. Opposite him was Griffin, whose face today was indicated by a pair of round reading glasses hovering above his collar.

"Glad you got me out when you did, I did not want to spend any more time in that prison. What is it that they think happened to me?"

"Prison records show that you were stabbed in a riot." Griffin answered in his raspy British accent.

"Oh c'mon, give it to me. I played them perfectly. You got your research and you got away."

"Yes" Griffin said with what sounded like a grin. "In one mission we have certainly made up for Packard's blunder. My research is right on schedule."

"Props on sneaking around that lab while they were snooping." Knudsen said raising his glass and sipping the dark red wine.

"It was integral to test the boy's sense of smell, and hearing, and to make sure that they did not discover my private research."

The doors opened and the men both stood as their master entered.

"Be seated" The master said in a smooth Eastern European accent.

The two men sat.

"Did you get the data?"

"Oh yes" Griffin answered holding up a disk with 'Rogers' written on it.

"Forgive us master" Knudsen said pouring the last of the wine into his glass with a smirk. "But celebration was in order, and we know you don't drink… wine, that is."

Not Over by a Long Shot

So, more with Griffin and the enigmatic Master (not such an enigma if you know that last line, or the title of the series for that matter). As you can see we've also got Ranger Knudsen from Camp Scare in play now. I know that Danica was Danica LeBlake in What's New Scooby Doo, but I wanted her to be on Daphne's mom's side with her uncle John Maxwell from Never Ape and Ape Man, so Danica Maxwell. On the subject of music, "The Blink Suite" from the Doctor Who series 3 soundtrack for Hunters and Prey, and the "Bane Chant" from Dark Knight Rises for anytime the creatures show up. The "Main Theme" from Jurassic Park; The Lost World or "Two Mules for Sister Sarah" from the Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows soundtrack for The Trek. 'The Phoenix Rises" From the X- Men: The Last Stand soundtrack for High Ground. "The Master Vainglorious" From the Doctor Who series 3 soundtrack or "Transylvania 1889" from the Van Helsing soundtrack for the final scene.