Zoinkeys!
"Alphonse, please get me some tea." said a young man to his butler.
The boy was hardly fifteen, but was one of the most well-known local authors in Crystal Cove. He lived alone with only the aid of his butler, and few humble servants. His parents were always away on "business" so they left him alone to his work, usually for a year or two at a time. This time was no different. They had visited him two weeks beforehand, and Rodney Aaron knew they wouldn't be back for a while.
"Yes sir." Alphonse said smiling. Alphonse left the room and headed for the kitchen.
Alphonse was an older man, almost in his seventies, who had worked for the Aaron family for years. He loved his job, but most of the time, it was tedious work. "Alphonse get me tea" or " Alphonse clean up this mess." He knew it was his job, but Rodney was a slob. All he did was sit at his desk typing all day, driving Alphonse almost mad with every obnoxious keystroke. Alphonse grabbed the screaming teapot that had been boiling on the stove. He poured it into the small cup with a tiny teabag in it. Peach tea. Rodney's favorite. Alphonse dropped a single sugar cube into the glass and stirred it. He began upstairs when he heard a loud crash and screaming coming from Rodney's room. He bolted up the stairs as Rodney was being dragged to the window by a huge, scaly beast. Alphonse dropped the tea and reached for the boy, but his reflexes weren't in peak condition. He grabbed Rodney's shoe as he was pulled out the window. Alphonse watched helplessly as his young master was dragged violently to the lake beside his mansion, and he began to panic as he watched Rodney's head slowly drift under the surface of the glassy, moonlit water.
"Jinkeys." Velma said staring at Fred and Daphne. "Looks like you two caught the same bug."
"I don't know what happened." Fred said. "We went to the `Greasy Clam' for lunch together."
"You went to a restaurant called `The Greasy Clam' and expected to not get food poisoning?" Velma questioned.
"Well it seemed like a good idea at the time." Fred admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry Daph, if I would have known-"
"It's okay Fred." Daphne said trying to hide her queasiness. " It was fun."
"Really? Wow Daph. Anyway, I guess it's just you shag and scoob this time." Fred said clutching his stomach. He was confident that Velma would do a good job as the leader.
Velma headed out Fred's front door where she was met by the other two members of Mystery Inc., Shaggy and Scooby doo. Velma loved Shaggy. She had ever since they first met, but she didn't want to just come out and say it. She had to let their relationship blossom before she would even come close to those three words. They had been dating for almost two months, and she though it was time to tell him, but, being the person Velma was, she was scared of how he would react. The logical part of her brain told her he would say it back, but she couldn't hear that part over the fluttering jitteriness of her heart. It pounded in her ears every time she was around him.
Shaggy felt almost the same way. He wanted to just shout it from the back doors of a speeding Mystery Machine. "I Love You Velma Dinkley!" However, he knew Velma too well, and he didn't want to embarrass her by saying it too early. He would give anything for her, including his appetite or his life. She was his world, and if he ever lost her, he would spiral out of control. He knew this, so he did his best to do what he thought she would want.
Shaggy rubbed Scooby's head as Velma closed the door behind her.
"Like, are they going to be okay?" Shaggy asked.
"Reah, are Red and Raphne ronna be okay?" Scooby repeated.
"Their going to be fine, They just got food poisoning from the `Greasy Clam'" Velma said glaring at Shaggy.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" Shaggy asked.
"I know you suggested it to them." Velma said. " That was supposed to be their first date, and you had to go and ruin it."
"Hey, I eat at the 'Greasy Clam' all the time, and it's never affected me." Shaggy admitted.
Velma rolled her eyes. She hopped in the Mystery Machine and motioned for them to do the same.
"Like Zoinks. Are we alone on this one?" Shaggy asked with fear in his eyes.
"Yes, We're alone on this one, but hey, at least we aren't starting from the beginning." Velma laughed.
"What do you mean?" Shaggy asked.
"Well, usually, we stumble upon a mystery and have to start from scratch. We already have this case half solved. Remember?" Velma explained.
"Oh, yea. I forgot the police have already found clues for us." Shaggy said smiling.
`This is gonna be a piece of cake.' He thought.
The Crystal Cove police department had already done most of the work for the gang. They found clues, and did interviews, pretty much giving the gang every piece of crucial evidence they needed. This case was a strange one however, for the police actually CALLED Mystery Inc for help, an act which had never been done by anyone before. Fred seemed to think it was good advertising, so they jumped at the opportunity.
It was already late, and the considerably smaller gang was tired. They were to spend the night at the mansion to look for anything the police had missed, if anything. They had rooms that were prepared especially for them by Alphonse. They grabbed the bits of evidence and headed to the study to review the clues and interviews.
"Well, they don't have many suspects, but the interviews are uniformly average. The maid was cleaning off the yacht. The cook was working on meals to store for later. The butler was getting tea. They all seem innocent." Velma stated confused.
The maid walked into the room. The maid was a younger woman in her thirties, and she was furious.
"I just cleaned this Study, I don't want you messing it up. OUT!" the maid cried.
Velma looked at the ground, and noticed a muddy footprint near the door.
"Jinkeys!" she said as she waled over to get a sample of it.
It was a smooth footprint with no grips or rivets in it, Velma followed the direction of the footprint until she met the maid's foot.
"Um. You're tracking mud in here, and you're complaining about us making a mess?" Velma asked curiously.
"OUT!" The maid shouted.
Velma Shaggy and Scooby left the Study reluctantly, and headed off to their rooms. Shaggy slid his hand into Velma's and began walking her to her room.
"So, How are you holding up as the leader?" Shaggy asked sweetly.
"Fine so far." Velma blushed. She loved being called the leader, especially by Shaggy.
"Well, I'm beat." Shaggy said standing outside Velma's doorway.
"Goodnight." Velma said. She grabbed Shaggy's shirt and pulled him in. She puckered up to kiss him and he did the same. He decided he would finally tell her.
Just then a scaly hand wrapped itself around Velma's poofy orange collar. She screamed as Shaggy reached out for her.
"VELMA!" Shaggy screamed racing after the big, slimy reptile.
He heard the window crash open and the monster, along with an unconscious Velma, hurdled towards the roof below. The monster landed smoothly on the roof and it bounced its way down the remaining few stories. Shaggy ran downstairs as fast as he could. He was determined to reach the ground before the monster did. He heard a thud as he opened the door. He rushed outside in time to see Velma slowly bobbing her way underwater.
He was furious. This case just became personal, and he was determined to get Velma back if it was the last thing he did. Scooby ran outside after Shaggy.
"Rat's rong?" Scooby asked innocently.
"That...that thing...it took Velma." Shaggy said crying. "Come one Scoob, we're gonna go find this thing."
"Ruh- Roh" Scooby said shaking.
Shaggy and Scooby spent most of the night trying to find secret passages in the house. None. So far their search was going nowhere, and they had no clue if Velma was alright or not. Shaggy stormed outside and headed straight for the lake.
" You stupid lizard! Come take me too!" He yelled.
He picked up a huge rock and threw it into the water. He heard a loud metallic thud. Confusion spread across his face. He headed in the water to see what it was. What would make a thud like that in a lake? He waded farther in until he reached where his rock fell. There, just under the surface of the water was a small pod. A metal sub that was just big enough for two people. He slipped inside and pressed the button labeled DOWN in big handwritten letters. The sub sank slowly, but finally hit the bottom of the lake. A small cavern was right by the sub, so Shaggy slipped out and swam into the air pocket above. There, he saw Rodney dangling by chains.
"What's going on?" Rodney asked.
"I have no clue, say have you seen a girl in an orange turtle-neck shirt with a baggy collar?" Shaggy asked.
"Um. I think the thing took her farther in. I'm Rodney Aaron by the way." Rodney said.
"Shaggy. Here let me get you out of here." Shaggy said hitting the old rusted locks with a nearby rock.
Rodney grabbed his wrists and thanked Shaggy.
"Man, I'm totally writing about this." Rodney said smiling.
"Come on. Help me find Velma and we'll get out of here." Shaggy said. To be totally honest,Shaggy could have cared less about Rodney. He wanted his Velma. Now.
The cavern seemed to go on forever, until finally, Shaggy heard it.
"Help...Me..." Came Velma's faint voice.
Shaggy ran to her. She was chained up against the wall. Shaggy broke the locks and helped her up.
"Thank you." Velma said weakly.
"You're welcome." Shaggy said inhaling the sweet smell of her brown hair. He hugged her like he hadn't seen her in years. He wiped the tears from her eyes and cleaned off her glasses.
"Better?" He asked.
"Yes." She smiled.
Shaggy saw a fishing net on the wall, and, in a rush, thought up a plan to catch the lake monster. He set up his trap as quickly as possible and waited. Finally, after nearly an hour, the monster came. When it saw Velma was gone, it went into a frenzy.
"No!" it shouted in a weird deep voice.
It stepped into Shaggy's trip wire, and before it knew it, it was hanging upside down.
They dragged the monster back up to the mansion and called the police. They sat their monster down and prepared for the unmasking. The suspense built slowly until finally everyone had arrived. They grabbed the latex mask and pulled it off to reveal...the maid.
"We first suspected the maid in the study. She said she had just cleaned it yet she was tracking in mud. Not any mud, but the same mud that is at the bottom of the lake."Velma explained.
After her detailed explanation, they grabbed the woman and put her in the police car. Velma got everyone in the Mystery Machine and drove back to Fred's. It was almost noon, and they didn't know if Fred and Daph were any better. They rushed through the door to tell of their adventure.
"And it was the maid." Shaggy said smiling. "Oh yea, and one more thing."
He walked over to Velma and looked into her brown eyes. He leaned in close to her.
"I Love You Velma Dinkley." He said sweetly.
Velma blushed as Shaggy's lips met hers.