Okay, Not much to say about this story…just thought you should know that this was completely spontaneous, so if it sucks you have my…uh, deep-ish-est apologies. NEway, this is a Scooby Doo story apparently, and, as do most of my creations include, there are OC's in it. However there won't be much OCXOriginal character stuff here…so far, and another thing I think I'll add, I was not impressed with "Zombie Island", "Witch's Ghost", or "Alien Invaders". (Not that I don't like them, they're my favorites, I just didn't like the endings so much)

However they did help spur this story. But moving on, I think that's enough Gab, time for some 'imaginaaaaation'ing! (Cue Spongebob adventure music) Enjoy!!

Scooby Doo and the Cryptic Citadel

By DarkLozFanUberest

Chapter One – What about Now?

On an island somewhere in the Bahamas, a beautiful sunset graced the features of the tropical beach where people of all ages mingled, sunbathed, surfed and played volleyball happily together with their families and friends.

The numerous tiki-torches and other light sources made it seem as though it was still around noon, and quite a few children ran around playing and just being kids.

One particular group of kids, namely Scooby-Doo and the Gang, (who in fact aren't really kids at all) were relaxing a short distance from the other beach-goers.

Fred was out in the ocean surfing and trying to show off to the girls who were sunbathing, when suddenly a huge wave sprang up and flipped him off his board.

He immediately came back up, flailing slightly and coughing; on his head was a bunch of seaweed and a starfish.

This caused Daphne and Velma, and a few other nearby girls, to laugh hysterical, which in turn caused Fred to pout childishly and spit out some sea water.

Scooby and Shaggy were at a food shack (yeah, no surprise there…X3) where Scooby was behind the counter throwing odd bits and ends of food to make a gigantic sandwich, which included things like olives, sardines, various fruit, chocolate sauce, mustard, and what looked like a mini pizza.

Shaggy, on the other hand, only had a small fruit drink that he had barely touched.

He was leaning on one arm, with his head resting on that hand and was in what seemed like deep thought as he stared into the drink, and fiddled distractedly with the drink's dainty orange umbrella, a small frown on his face.

Scooby finished making his monstrous sandwich and rubbed his paws together in glee. He picked up the sandwich, with ease it seemed, and was about to take a bite when he noticed his friend.

He paused a second before turning to Shaggy, "Ruh… ranna right Raggy?" he asked throwing on a smile and offering Shaggy his sandwich.

Shaggy didn't even look up and just sighed, closing his eyes in an almost tired manner.

"No thanks Scoob, I think I'm gonna go take a walk…" he muttered before getting up and walking off towards a path that led into the surrounding tropics.

Scooby watched his friend leave and whined a bit as he looked between his giant sandwich and his friend and then back again.

He huffed, slightly frustrated, and put his sandwich down before leaping over the counter to follow Shaggy.

The Great Dane immediately popped back up at the last second and grabbed the sandwich and swallowed it whole.

He burped loudly, and looked a little embarrassed for a second, before laughing it off and racing after Shaggy.

~'\/'~'*'~'/\'~Break~'/\'~'*'~'\/'~

Daphne and Velma watched sadly as Scooby and Shaggy disappeared out of sight.

"I wonder what's wrong with them…" Daphne thought out loud.

Fred came over to them irritably flicking seaweed from his hair and muttering to himself before grinning, "What's up gang?" he asked before realizing two people were missing.

"Hey, where's Shaggy and Scooby?" he asked glancing around for the two of them.

Both girls sighed, "They went for a walk," Velma started, and Daphne nodded, "Yeah, Shaggy sure has been acting weird lately, and I haven't seen him eat in days…" she said gazing down at her purple and pink floral bikini, and fiddling with the lavender ribbons.

Fred sighed (boy everyone seems to be doing that lately X3), "He's been like this all week! He's even refused Scooby Snacks…" Fred frowned, "And we're not even dealing with any mysteries, there haven't been any in weeks…"

Velma glanced up at the already dark sky where stars twinkled merrily in space, a small shooting star streaked across the black abyss.

"It's been nearly a year…" she murmured.

Fred and Daphne gave her weird looks before following her line of sight; they soon realized what she was talking about and looked down for a moment.

"Gee, a whole year and they still haven't gotten over it…" Fred said shaking his head sadly, feeling bad for his friends.

Daphne glanced back over in the direction the guys had left in and placed a hand on her cheek, "Poor guys…"

~'\/'~'*'~'/\'~Break~'/\'~'*'~'\/'~

Shaggy and Scooby were at a little pond in a clearing in the middle of the forest, sitting on a stone bench just staring at the moon reflection in the water.

Scooby walked up to the pond and sniffed at a place where it was bubbling.

A fish, probably a Koi or something, pocked its head out of the water and looked at Scooby curiously.

Scooby growled at it and sniffed it suspiciously; the fish gave him a watery glare, and spit water in his face.

Scooby sputtered and started barking at the fish, which then jumped up out of the water smacking him on the nose with its tail and splashing him again.

Shaggy watched the whole exchange bored, leaning forward on his legs, but laughed a little when Scooby huffed and came back to sit next to him, "Rats…" he muttered, rubbing his nose.

Shaggy sighed and Scooby looked up at him tilting his head curiously.

"It's weird," Shaggy said quietly, laughing slightly, "It's been like forever since they left, but I still miss her..." Scooby knew instantly what his friend was talking about and slouched slightly, depressed himself.

"A-and it still hurts…" he whispered, closing his eyes and gripping his brown shorts tightly.

Scooby whined, and hopped up on the bench next to Shaggy, leaning on him and putting one arm around Shaggy's shoulders trying to think of something to say.

"Rit's rokay Raggy…" he said, trying to comfort his friend, and himself too alittle.

Shaggy sighed, and took a few deep breaths before looking over at Scooby, his eyes slightly red.

"Thanks Scoob…" he said, "I really do miss her though," he said looking up at the sky, "but she did have a point, long distant relationships never seem to work out." Scooby nodded, though he didn't agree.

Shaggy looked back over at Scooby and smiled, "What do you say we get back to the hotel Scoob and order room service, I'm starved!"

Scooby grinned and wagged his tail enthusiastically at the idea of food, "Yeah, yeah!" he barked, leaping off of the bench and getting ready to run for the hotel when he noticed the creepy shadows all around them.

Shaggy got up and stretched and then glanced around becoming immediately wary "Plus," he laughed nervously, "It's really dark and spooky out here."

Suddenly they heard something howl, relatively close to where they were but they couldn't see anything. Scooby jumped into Shaggy's arms when they heard the howl again, closer this time.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy yelped, when they heard a growl immediately behind them. He turned and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him and Scooby.

The creature growled threateningly, and that was all it took for Scooby and Shaggy to bolt from the clearing.

"Ruuun!!' Shaggy shouted as he ran out of the area, followed immediately by Scooby.

Shaggy and Scooby could hear the creature behind them, but they didn't dare stop or even slow down.

They ran out of the forest and right past the rest of the gang, who stared after them confused.

"What was that all about?" Fred asked no one in particular, and the girls shrugged.

"Probably remembered today was the All-you-can-eat Luau Buffet at the hotel," Fred suggested with a smile.

Velma frowned slightly, "I don't know, they looked pretty scared when they went by." She said glancing back in the direction they had run from.

All three of them jumped when they heard a howl from that direction, "Jeepers. Well I don't know about you guys but I think I'll head back to the hotel." Daphne said as she got up from her chair.

"Agreed." Fred and Velma both said, and left the beach for the hotel in a hurry after Scooby and Shaggy.

Behind them a shadowy figure stared as they left, growling deeply. It narrowed its eyes and snarled before disappearing back into the tropical forest.

~'\/'~'*'~'/\'~End Chapter~'/\'~'*'~'\/'~

So what do you guys think? I decided to make this, based on a time about a year after the events of "Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders" if your wondering, well NEway, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter.

Next Time: A look from a different person's point of view. Something terrible happens, and they're going to do something about it.