Old habits die hard… and this one is still living. In other words, I am starting a new fic despite I'm still in the middle of another one.

Well, no use in quitting now! Lets get on with it, shall we?

Summary: The Mystery Inc. gang come across a girl in distress. Only mystery is that they don't know what's got her so shook up, and why… and it doesn't help that she's mute. How can they solve the case if she can't give them a clue?

Also just to tell you ahead of time, knowing some of you might get the idea, this is NOT a Shaggy/OC or Freddy/OC fic. Or Daphne/OC or Velma/OC. …Or Scooby/OC (…it's best not to wonder…)

And the usual disclaimer that mentions I don't own the beloved cartoon characters… though if I did, I'd manage to keep the magic of the show alive rather than kill it like a certain latest spin-off.

Now… BEGIN!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She ran as fast as she could, the sharp snarls growing louder behind her, jaws snapping at her heels.

Tears were running down her face as she turned the corner, only to lead to a dead end.

She fell to the ground, sobbing, watching as it came close…

All she could do was open her mouth to scream… but no sound came.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Shaggy and Scooby-Doo walked down the sidewalk, carrying grocery bags full of food- from frozen pizzas to hamburgers to potato chips to sodas to candy bars to… et cetera. "Man, what a chore," Shaggy groaned. "It's like every month whenever our fridge gets empty, our grocery list gets longer."

"Reah, a rot ronger," Scooby agreed.

"Maybe we ought to go easy on the snacks, cut down on our eating a bit,"

The two friends looked at each other, then burst out laughing. "Rood one, Raggy."

"C'mon, ol' buddy, lets hurry home before we miss the movie, The Scream From Nowhere,"

"Ris it scary?"

"Yeah… but it's all fake, like the bad guys in masks we face, remember? After all we've gone through in real life, it can't be THAT scary, right?"

"Rat's what rou said RAST time."

Shaggy rolled his eyes. "Last time was different. We were watching it in 3-D! Besides, what's so scary about a movie that involves screaming? We've done plenty of that, and I doubt there can be any scream to outmatch ours,"

"Respecially rack in Runior Righ…" Scooby had to hold back a snicker.

Shaggy gave him a look. "Cut it out! That was BEFORE my voice changed!"

"Rhat rabout what Red, Raphne, rand Relma rold us?"

Shaggy thought about it. Their friends HAD told them to avoid scary movies, after being tired of finding their friends scared out of their wits. "Ah, we'll just watch one horror movie, and if we get too scared, we'll vow to never watch a single one again."

"Refore or rafter we rask to rend the right with Red again?"

Shaggy sneered. "We're NOT going to end up sleeping over at Freddy's again, Scoob. …Besides, he changed the locks after last time."

"Whatever rou say…"

"Trust me, Scoob ol' buddy ol' pal, nothing's gonna scare US tonight,"

*Crash!*

Shaggy dropped his groceries and leaped into Scooby's arms. "ZOINKS! What was that?!"

"Rover there," Scooby whispered, and they peeked down an alley…

Where they saw a girl sitting in the corner, a dog standing in front of her, growling. "Hey, what's going on?"

The dog turned sharply, snarling at them. "Ruh roh," Scooby gulped.

"S-Something tells me this pooch ain't Lassie," They backed away as the dog approached. "Easy boy, nice dog… Scooby, you try reasoning with him,"

"Are rou ruts?!"

The dog barked just then, running after them, and the two friends dodged, going in different directions, the dog going after Shaggy. Scooby thought fast then looked at the groceries on the ground, seeing a package of bacon. He whistled and caught the dog's attention, waving the bacon in front of it. The dog panted, drooling at the sight, and took off after it when Scooby threw it across the street.

"Like, what a waste of perfectly good bacon," Shaggy sighed. "Oh well, better it than us, right?"

"Right," Scooby agreed.

They turned toward the girl once more, seeing she was still crouching in the corner, slowly standing up and using a dumpster for support. "So what was with the crazy hound?"

The girl didn't answer, only stared at them.

"Hey, it's alright, it's gone now. There was enough bacon to last it a while-" Shaggy paused. As they came closer, he noticed the girl was covered in bruises and scratches, some fresh, and it looked like the dog had gotten a few bites at her legs as well. "Zoinks, what did that dog do to you?"

She remained silent, legs wobbling.

"Are you going to be-"

She collapsed just then, falling into his arms.

"…okay?"

"What rappened?" Scooby gasped.

"I don't know, but that dog must've done a number on her," Shaggy looked over, seeing that the dog had finished the bacon. "Zoinks! And it looks like we'd better get our groceries and get out of here!"

Scooby gathered the food and followed Shaggy, who carried the girl, and they raced around the corner, ditching the dog. In just a couple minutes, their plans for the afternoon slightly changed…

And it was only going to get stranger.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: So, there you go. What will the others think of the girl? Will she ever speak? Why was the dog after her? What awaits the gang from this point on? And will Shaggy and Scooby still be able to catch the movie?

Please review. No flames or I'll smack you so hard, your grandchildren's nephew's best friend's crush's stalker will go crosseyed!