• Chapter 1 •
Coolsville

"So, you see Mr. Farmers It was not a ghost in your crops after all. It was your farm hand. Jonesy Croft. He was trying to ruin your good name so that you would have to close down your farm. That way his new boss would have all the business" Velma Dinkly explains after removing the mask off of Jonesy Croft.

"I would have gotten away with it to if it were not for you..."

"Meddling kids!" chuckles Shaggy Rogers as he finishes the sentence.

"Well kids you saved my farm. How can I repay you?" asks Mr. Farmers.

"How about free tickets to your big upcoming bar-be-que sir?" Shaggy questions as he licks his lips thinking about the goodies.

"Shaggy!" sighs Velma. They were never going to get paid by accepting freebies all the time from their help.

"Of course, I can! You have the VIP room!" jokes Mr. Farmers. He hugs Shaggy and Velma as the cops take away Jonesy.

"Shaggy, he was going to pay us" mutters Velma as Mr. Farmers chatted with the cops about what was going on.

"Well now we have something better than cash! We have a party to attend to" Shaggy brags with joy.

"Shaggy, for our business to grow we do need some sort of income coming in! We no longer have Fred's father's income helping our business. Or Daphne. No telling when either one of them will be coming back" sighs an unhappy Velma.

She felt like since her other friends moved away she was single handedly trying to keep Mysteries Inc under float. Now it was not Mystery Inc any more. It was Scooby-Snacks Inc. Though the name did not make sense here these days they were working for freebies.

"I am sorry Velma. Next time I will take the cash. I promise" Shaggy vows to her as he ruffles her hair playfully.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo chase each other to the Mystery Machine. Meeting each other there at the same time. Hopping in the van. Velma was stuck driving as always. She missed having help from Freddie and Daphne.

But they no longer wanted any part of the business. Velma loved super sleuthing. Helping small mom and pop businesses stay afloat. She was not getting many jobs here these days but this was what she really loved to do. In the meantime, she was working on a new book. Writing was a venture for her.

She was writing about ghosts. If they were real. What did they want from us? She did not have a whole lot of facts to back up ghosts where real yet. Because they always managed to find there was no real ghosts. Velma still believed that it was possible there were such things as ghosts. She believed.

Then if her book made some income that would help their business. She would put all her income into Scooby Snacks Inc. They would have a better chance if her book made it to publication.

But facts were what she needed. Where could she get more? Shaggy and Scooby hated to go on ghosts' hunts. Freddie was the one who could talk them into things. Velma found it hard to get them to help.

"How is the book coming along Velma?" Shaggy asks as he pops up from the back seat as Velma drives them home.

"Not going so well guys. I need real facts. I need to find a real ghost here in Coolsville. There are lots of spooky stories. But they all come up to be fake ones. I need proof for my book" mutters Velma.

"Count me out. Ghost are real. Spooks are out there" hoots Shaggy.

"Without proof, no one will think otherwise" warns Velma.

"Well I do not want to go ghost hunting. Uh-huh" Scooby informs her. Only it sounded more like "Well I do not want to grost hunt. Ruh-huh"

"Scoob not even for me? For my book?" begs Velma.

"Ruh-huh!" Scooby says shaking his huge cute brown velvet head.

Velma sighs.

They stop at the malt shop on their way home. Velma knew that the guys would be famished after their last job. They raced in. Velma sure had some good times in this malt shop. They sat at their normal booth.

Normally Shaggy and Velma split the bill. Here these days half the bill was Scooby's appite wearing the money thin. Everything did sound good when they were hungry. They did have to eat.

"What can I get you kids?" questions the waitress as she pops her gum from the side of her mouth. She pulls a pencil from the crook of her ear.

"I want the mega dog meal" Shaggy informs her. The mega coney island hot dog meal came with the works.

"Me to" Scoob says. Only it sounded like "Me roo"

"Two Mega dog meals" repeats the waitress. "What can I get for you love?" she asks Velma.

"Oh me? Hmmm, how about a The Cluck Buck Meal. Grilled please" she tells the lady. "Light mayo"

"Diet again?" Shaggy asks her. She nods.

"I feel so much better after losing all that weight" she tells him.

They hand the waitress the menu. The waitress comes back to ask what they wanted to drink. Shaggy gets a mega chocolate shake. Scooby too. Velma a diet cola. They chat away about new jobs. Plans for their non-growing business. Someone comes in the place. The door dings. They look up to see who was there.

"Hey gang! I was hoping to find you here!" someone announces.

"Freddie! Fred is that you?" laughs Velma as she sees the mystery guest.

Fred Jones grins as he takes off the blue back pack he hand hanging off his back. He sits next to her. He grins. That megawatt smile. His perfect blond hair was longer. Not out of place. Fred looked great.

"It is me! I am back home guys! Traveling was amazing. But when I was gone all I could think of was you guys. Of Mystery Inc. Will you have me back?" Fred asks hopefully.

Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby look at one another.

Velma grins.

"Welcome back Fred! Of course, we want you back!" laughs Velma joyfully. They all get Freddie in a huge group hug. Daphne as still gone. But now Fred was back. Maybe things would get better after all!