Broke

The local Velma said, "It's past sunset, and the wax museum will be closed soon. The coffee shop stays open late, though."

Shaggy said, "My stomach is rumbling. I need food."

Scooby whined. He was hungry too.

Daphne said, "We also need to find a place to stay, like a hotel."

"You realize you're not rich here," said the local Velma.

"Jinkies! She's right," said the out-of-town Velma. "Our credit cards and ATM cards are no good here."

"May I see one of your dollar bills?" the local Velma asked.

Fred handed her one and she looked it over carefully.

"It looks pretty good and it should pass," she said. "But technically it's counterfeit since it wasn't minted here. The serial numbers will be out of whack if they check. Oh, and the Secretary of the Treasury's name is different. That's not good."

"So, like, basically we're broke?" Shaggy asked.

"That's about right. And I'm the poorest member of our crew, so I can't help much," the local Velma said. "We could maybe enlist our Daphne, but it won't be an easy sell."

"If we can put up somewhere for the night, we can work on that tomorrow," said Fred.

"I know of a place," said the local Velma. "Our Fred's empty house. I had to learn everything about the security system when I was cleaning up after the haunting there. I can get you in."

"Is there any food there?" Shaggy asked.

"There's plenty of food in the refrigerator, as far as I know. Just don't try to make pizza. I never figured out how Pericles made the dough come alive, so better leave that alone just in case."

"There's a lot we don't know about this new place, " said Fred.

"I'll fill you in on the way," said the local Velma.

"Thanks, Velma," said Daphne.

"We'd better start using a different name for me to tell us apart," the out-of-town Velma suggested. "You could call me Dace. It's not really my middle name, though a lot of people think so. It's a nickname I picked up at my other high school, 'Dace the Mace' Dinkley."

"Why that name?" asked the local Velma.

"I'm a lot stronger in my upper body than I look. Someone tried to push me around and found that out the hard way," said Dace. "My real middle name is Daisy; that got shortened and changed to rhyme with 'mace' and there you have it."

"How strong are you?" asked Velma.

"Strong enough to pick up Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby and run with them," Dace said.

"Jinkies," said Velma.

They arrived at the empty Jones house and Velma got them in.

"I need to get back to the museum," she told them. "Any other questions?"

Scooby asked, "Relma, rhy a rarm? Rhy not Rooby-Dum or Ruby-Doo?"

Velma looked blank.

Shaggy said, "Like, he means, if Shaggy's parents had to send Scooby away, why not to one of his relatives like Scooby-Dum or Ruby-Doo instead of some farm?"

"I've never heard of those relatives," said Velma. "I'm not sure we know them here."

"I saw a statue of Scrappy-Doo in the museum," said Daphne. "Ruby-Doo is his mother."

Velma said in a cold voice, "We've sworn never to talk about that dog. What he did is beyond anything we can forgive."

"Rappy did rad?" asked Scooby.

"Ours was a great little pup," said Shaggy. "A little annoying sometimes, but brave as anything. He palled around with Scooby and me while the others were off doing other jobs. We didn't so much solve mysteries as, like, get into scrapes, but it was fun. Then Daphne got back with us and we had some more real mystery adventures."

"What happened to him?" asked Velma, still with a little chill in her voice.

"After the thirteen ghosts he, like, grew out of his hero worship of Scoob," said Shaggy. "He went out west to stay with Scooby's brother Yabba-Doo, who works for a deputy sheriff."

"Rabba's a real rero," said Scooby.

"I never heard of that brother, either," said Velma. "But maybe you can look up some of these relatives, see if they exist here and can help. But watch out for that pup – he's not the nice one you know."

"I guess we'd better say goodnight and let you get back to your place," said Fred. "Tomorrow we'll start to tackle the mystery."

The gang got something to eat, and settled down to watch the news on TV so they could catch up on events in this new world.

"Greetings, Mystery Incorporated the third," a voice broke in as the picture broke up.

"What is this?" asked Velma Dace. "How does he know who we are?"

"I know a great deal," said the voice. "You may call me Mr. E, and I require your help."

"Velma told us something about you," said Daphne. "You're been using the other gang for your own purposes, and lying to them. Why should we help you?'

"Because I'm the one who brought you here, and I'm the only one who can send you back," said Mr. E.

"Like, what do you want from us?" asked Shaggy.

"Something you're already planning to do, if I'm not mistaken. Stop the Executioner."

"Do you know who the Executioner is?" asked Velma Dace.

"I've found the other Mystery Incorporated did better without too much information," said Mr. E. "I'll just give you a warning: watch out for what's under the hood."

The TV resumed its normal program.