Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry it took a while for me to update it, judging by the length of this chapter you can obviously see why it took me so long. Anyway, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter because this is my second to last day of freedom before I'm going back to School. (MERCUY, WHY?!) Have a good day!
SHOUTOUTS-
Omarnosian10: Yeah, nostalgia is a pretty interesting thing. Isn't it?
A person: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Steel Heart Alchemist: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this next one!
Joshua Ketchum: I'm sure Joltie appreciates it! :) Yeah, good thing Ash was only captured one time. Daphne though, I can't say the same thing... Enjoy the chapter!
Guest: Yeah, I wonder if there's any therapist who his condition... Huh, I never thought of that reference! But did you like the FNAF references though? Because you'll be seeing plenty of them. Enjoy!
Blaze: Yep. Friends forever for Shaggy, Scooby, and the kids!
Mr. R: What about Stan?
Matt: Yep. Taku is Ash's Uncle from my Scooby-Doo: The Case of the Hotel Ghoul story. Why Shaggy and Scooby aren't hypnotized, you'll find out in the next chapter...
Chapter 4
The morning came after a few hours. Whatever happened last night, those who remain in their beds were unaware of those events. Instead, they continue to sleep on. Meanwhile, Fred, Velma, and Daphne had somehow manage to return to their pervious spots in their beds without so much of trouble and are now back to their normal selves. It's as if what happened never really happened and now they're snoozing away, believing that their past actions from last night will never effect them ever again.
If only it were true if it weren't for the insanely loud knocking coming from behind the door.
Begrudgingly, Shaggy and Scooby are the first ones on to be woken up from the banging because their beds were the closest to the door that leads out into the hall. Even though their minds are not fully awake, they can practically hear Ash's moaning from his nightmares in the other bedroom. Knowing it isn't best to wake Ash up in a middle of his nightmare from what they learned from the kids, Shaggy and Scooby both got up and exit the bedroom where they walk towards the door with the knocking becoming increasingly louder.
Finally having enough of the annoying banging and worry for Ash's metal health if he were to wake up now, Shaggy opens the door with annoyed look on his face while rubbing his tired eyes. "Like, dude, whatever you're selling, we ain't buying-" He stops himself short once he realizes this isn't some sad person trying to sell their products to them. Instead, he and Scooby are staring into the stern eyes of Officer Jenny with three of her large comrades standing right behind her.
Now fully awake, Shaggy leans down to Scooby's level to whisper in the Great Dane's ear. "Like, I think they're here about that hot sauce we accidently ordered online. Don't worry, I'll handle this." Straighten up, Shaggy addresses the officer with a friendly tone. "Like, good morning officers! Now I know what you're here for, and I just want to say that me and Scooby did not that hot sauce was-"
Officer Jenny suddenly interrupts him before he could finish his sentence. "We're here looking for the Other World's citizens known as Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Fred Jones. Have you seen them?" She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a parchment before unrolling it. Shaggy and Scooby squint their eyes to look at the people on it, once they realize who they are, their jaws drop all the way to the floor in horror.
The three people in the pictures are people that Shaggy and Scooby know so well, Fred, Daphne, and Velma. What they couldn't understand is why they're wanted by the police. They just arrived yesterday, and they were being watched by Taku, so what could they have done?
Before they could full think this through, Shaggy decides to lie to the police so they can get some answers for themselves. "U-Uh, w-what?" Okay, things aren't going so good. "L-Like, I have no idea what you're talking about. We don't even know these people!"
Just after he said that, the door to their bedroom opens to reveal the very exhausted Fred, Daphne, and Velma in their pajamas. "What's going on out here?" Fred asked with a tired yawn while the girls are busy rubbing their tired eyes.
"FREEZE!" Officer Jenny yells as her large comrades pushed pass a caught off-guard Shaggy and Scooby to get to the now fully awake teenagers. "By order of the Lumiose City and the international banks everywhere, you are under arrest for robbery at Lumiose City's international banks along with multiple other suspects."
"WHAT?!" The members of Mystery Inc. all shout in shock as three of its members are now handcuffed. Before anyone of them could say anything, the door to the other bedroom opens to reveal the tired XY Gang and Taku standing in the doorway. Seeing the sleepy look on Ash's face instead of terrified one assured Shaggy and Scooby that Ash didn't wake up in the middle of his nightmare. But now they need to worry about the unhappy Bonnie being aroused from her slumber.
"Okay, what's with all the noise here-?!" Bonnie stops herself short once she and everyone else takes in the scene before them. "Uh, did we missed something?"
"I'm sorry the police had to barge like this unannounced, Mr. Ketchum," Officer Jenny begins as her comrades begin to drag the three complaining and handcuffed members of Mystery Inc. over to the door. "But I am afraid that the three people who you invited over from the Other World were part of a conspiracy with a large group of people that committed a robbery at the international bank in Lumiose City."
"Now hold on a second, missy!" Seeing the hard glare from Officer Jenny made Shaggy falter on his confident exterior. "U-Uh, I mean... With all due respect, Officer, but there's no way like my friends could have done that."
"Yeah!" Ash quickly agrees with Shaggy. Even with all the trust issues he's been having lately and he didn't know the rest of Mystery Inc. well, but if Shaggy and Scooby believes that they weren't behind it, then he'll stick by their side. "They couldn't have done that, they were here with us the whole night!"
Officer Jenny sighs before taking out a tablet show it to everyone who is in the room. "I assure, I know what I saw last night..." Suddenly a video appears on the screen, making everyone huddle together to watch the scene that's being play before them.
Their eyes widen once they see the international bank completely in chaos with a herd of people walking out of the destroyed doors and windows with large bags full of money in their arms. Amongst the criminal mob are three familiar people who made all of their jaws drop to the floor once they see Fred, Velma, and Daphne in the line of criminals with the bags of money in their arms.
"B-But, I don't remember that!" Freddie shouted in his defense.
"This must be some huge misunderstand!" Velma shouts before the officers began to drag them out the door. "We were obviously set up!"
"Shaggy! Scooby! Don't let them take us away!" Daphne screamed just as they enter the hall. Without hesitation, Shaggy and Scooby quickly launch themselves onto the officers' legs and found themselves being drag along the floor from the officer's brute strength.
"Like, wait! You can't take them!" Shaggy begged, keeping his grip on the officer's leg as tight as he could.
"They're our friends!" Scooby shouted before doing dog whimpering noises. Meanwhile, the XY Gang and Taku are now following behind with perplexed faces. What exactly is going on here?
"Like, tell you what? If you let our friends go, we'll give you that lifetime supply of Five Skull Fire Sauce we accidently ordered online. They're great with avocadoes!" Shaggy tried to bargain with the officers, but as you all know, you can't bargain with the police.
By now, the police had already exited the hotel, now heading towards the Police Cars they parked outside. Realizing it's too late to save their friends now, the kids quickly hurry over to the two cowards, who are still being drag across the floor while still trying to bargain with the police. They grab their legs and began to pull them away from the officers, despite Shaggy and Scooby's protests once they lost their grip on the officers. Although it killed the kids to see their friends practically begging like this, they knew it's best to save Fred, Velma, and Daphne later.
They could only pat the two on the shoulders as they watch Fred, Daphne, and Velma are force into the cars before being driven off to the Police Station with horrified expressions on Scooby and Shaggy's faces. However, their attention were immediately turn to something else once they heard loud shouts of complaints and crying from the area around them. Looking around, their eyes widen once they multiple people being separated from their family and love ones by the police.
"What in the world is going on here?" Clemont asked, mostly to himself as he adjusts his glasses so what he's seeing is true. No one could give him a straight answer as they continue to stare at the Police Cars rolling by with all the people inside.
The Lumiose City's Police Station isn't as tall as most of the buildings in Lumiose City due to the fact its harboring criminals there, but it is long enough to make sure all the prisoners are allow to be put in to due their time in jail. The entire building seem to stretch for almost a mile. Inside the building are the jail cells at both sides of the hall, one for the males and one for the females. Luckily, Fred was put in a cell that's right across the cells that Velma and Daphne are in so at least he knows some familiar faces in this building of chaos.
Things hadn't been easy for the three teenagers after they were arrested by Officer Jenny. After being carted off to the Police Station, they were given old and dirty orange jumpsuits (something that didn't sit so well with Daphne) before they had to get their pictures taken and be sent to their cells. As of now, Fred is sitting on his bed, checking his watch every second before marking the time on the wall with a small pocket-knife the police allowed him to use to pass the time. In the cells on the girl's side, Velma is also sitting on her bed while playing on a windpipe to pass the time.
The only member of Mystery Inc. that got arrested who isn't appearing to be doing well is Daphne. Due to all the low conditions the prisoners got, Daphne's perfectionist personality started to take over. She's currently pacing back and forth in her cell, muttering a few things that're inaudible while pulling on her already disheveled hair. Apparently the atmosphere in the cells aren't so great for Daphne's hair and now she's more ticked off than before.
"AH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY LONGER!" She finally screams, although it look like it didn't even affect her friends. Daphne quickly grabs the bars and stares at Fred with a craze maniac look in her eyes. "HOW LONG HAVE WE'VE BEEN IN HERE?!"
Fred took a look at the marks he made on the wall, which are only three white lines. "Uh, about three hours, Daph..."
Daphne just screams, looking ready to tear her hair apart. "HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO STAY HERE?! WE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING!"
"Actually, now that I think about, my hands do feel swore. Not to mention I'm seeing these weird marks on fingertips..." Freddie says as he looks down at his hands, who look completely sore and bruised.
"NOT HELPING!"
"But what I'm really worry about is Shaggy and Scooby." Fred continues, despite the fact Daphne is still freaking out in her cell. "I know for sure we didn't do anything conscious, but do they believe us?"
"I'm not sure, Fred." Velma admits as she momentarily stops playing the windpipe. "Things haven't been so great between us with those two since the Camp. Although Shaggy and Scooby don't often hold grudges, they do find it hard to let things go."
"I just hope they actually take the moment to help us." Fred said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Daphne desperately trying to use a small spoon to dig her way out of the cell.
Before they could discuss more, the three large officers that arrested them suddenly walks up to their cells. "You have visitors here to see you three." One of them said gruffly before they open the cells and begin to drag them down the hall. The only thing that could cross their minds is that they're hoping the visitors are the people they want to see.
The room that they're being sent to isn't exactly a big room, but it's big enough to move around. There are only two doors that lead into this room, one that they just came out from and the door that probably helps their visitors enter the room. Although they couldn't see who the visitors are because the wires were too thick to see through the screen door, but they can defiantly tell someone is there due to their shadows possibly trying to see them through the wires. At the wall that's in the middle of the two doors is a jail cell.
Upon seeing the jail cell in her sights, Daphne once again lost it. "NO! NO MORE CELLS!" She screamed, while trying to climb over the officer that's escorting her to the cell. Fred and Velma watch with quirk eyebrows as Daphne puts up a struggle before the officer finally manages to get her in the cell before slamming and locking it shut before she could try to escape.
"Now that mess is done," The Officer grumbles as he walks over to the other door, his hand on the knob. "You three all have visitors. Let it be known that you're not allowed to exchange items. If you were to do that or not, then security will check every last inch on yours and the visitors' persons. Are we clear?" Seeing the three teenagers nod their heads rapidly, the Officer nods his head. "Very well, you have at least fifteen minutes." With that, he opens the door...
...Revealing two familiar cowards who came bargaining in once the door was open with five people and two Pokémon not too far behind them.
"Fred!" Shaggy shouted.
"Velma!" Scooby shouted.
"Daphne!" The two shouted in unison before they finally reach the cells and gave the completely dumbfounded teenagers hugs through the bar. The children stood by their sides, smiling at the scene before them. Meanwhile, Taku walks in and nods to the Officer, who nods back and closes the door once the Millionaire entered the room. Taku stood off to the side to view this wonderful scene.
"S-Shaggy? Scooby?" Fred asked in genuine shock while he and the girls are currently being squish by the two cowards.
"You guys actually came to see us?" Velma asked once the two cowards had finally let them go.
"We thought you two would be angry to see us because, you know, we made fun of your voice a few months ago." Daphne said awkwardly once she remembers how cruel they were to Shaggy's voice that it made him use a Voice-Changing-Serum that made even the kids not recognize him.
"Angry?" Shaggy asks with a raise eyebrow. "Dude, I got over that, like, a week after that whole mess!"
"Besides, you're our friends!" Scooby added in.
"So you believe us when we said we don't remember robbing the bank?" Fred asked hopefully.
"Of course, dude!" Suddenly Shaggy's, along with the kids', glazes at turn towards Daphne, making their smiles drop. "Daphne, though, I'm not completely sure..." Not that they could blame him, Daphne look like a complete wreck. She's twitching every now and then and her hair is completely a mess, not her usual appearance.
"Anyway, how are things going in prison?" Clemont asked in hopes to drive the conversation away from the disheveled Daphne.
However, it didn't work since it seems to rile her up more as she quickly grabs the boy's jumpsuit and brings him closer to the bars so he can stare at her crazed eyes. "IT HAS NOT BEEN OKAY!" She screams, making everyone near her jump. "THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR HAIR NEEDS AND THE OFFICERS HERE ARE INSANE!" After a brief struggle, Bonnie finally manages to free her brother from the crazy red-head's grasp.
"Gee, like, calm down, Daphne. I'm sure the officers aren't that bad-" Shaggy stops once he, Scooby, and the kids took a good look at one of the officers in the room before they all scream in horror while doing many attempts to cover their eyes. "ZOINKS! Like, I didn't know police officers were allowed to wear such horrible masks on duty!"
"Look away, kids!" Scooby shouted at the children, who didn't think twice as Ash and Serena use their hats to cover their eyes, Pikachu using its ears to cover its eyes, Clemont taking off his glasses while Bonnie uses her little hands to cover her eyes, and Dedenne diving back into Bonnie's pouch.
The officer, who looks like a large muscular/fat man with balding hair and somehow looks like that disguise with the large glasses, big black eyebrows, big nose, and large mouse, frowns once he sees all the horrified looks he's receiving. "That's just my face." He defended with a small pout before picking up a Hydreigon mask from a nearby drawer and puts it on. "This is a mask. Rwar..."
Seeing that the Pokémon mask has covered the horrible face, the group of friends all sigh in relief. "Oh good, it's gone..." Shaggy breathes out. The Officer with the mask sighs, no one ever appreciates his face.
"Getting back to the topic," Fred says, gaining their attention. "You all know we're innocent, right? We don't remember robbing the banks!"
"Of course we do!" Serena said to confirm this.
"But that still doesn't explain the three of you robbing a bank last night and not remembering it the next day." Clemont said with a thoughtful look while rubbing his chin.
An idea suddenly springs into Shaggy's mind. "Actually, now that I think about it, they were acting, like, pretty loopy after watching those animatronics."
"Don't forget, most of the people we saw that were arrested were from the theater last night." Scooby reminded his best friend.
"So everyone inside the theater began to act strange, then they decide to rob the banks." Velma says thoughtfully. "Maybe you all should go visit the Music Hall, see if there's anything that can connect to why we rob the banks."
"Oh boy, why did we mention that Scoob? We're going to go to a place that's probably going to be haunted by a phantom who loves the Opera!" Shaggy said fearfully once he realizes the trouble he and Scooby brought in.
"Ro roy..." The Great Dane mumbled.
"While you all are going to be searching the Lumiose Music Hall, I think it's best for me to search the crime scene." Everyone turn their heads when Taku began to volunteer in the searching. "If what Fred, Velma, and Daphne are saying is true, then I have a feeling the one who started of all of this wouldn't so far in the crime. I bet you that they're bound to leave something behind."
"Sure, Mr. Ketchum!" Bonne said excitedly.
"Just stay safe!" Ash quickly said to his Uncle just before he could leave the room.
Taku flashes his nephew a quick smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Ash. I may be getting old, but I still got it!" Seeing his nephew snort from that, Taku took this as a chance to exit the room.
"Like, don't worry you guys," Shaggy says as he and Scooby turn to smile at their imprisoned friends. "We'll prove that you're innocent! Just leave to your old friends, Shaggy and Scoob-!" Just when they were about to exit the room, they failed to notice that Taku closed the door behind him. This causes the two cowards to slam right into the door, face-first. "Zoinks!"
"Are you two okay?!" Serena asked worriedly along with everyone else in the room once they see the two hadn't move from their position in a small while.
"W-We're okay..." Scooby mumbled to reassure the girl.
"Y-Yeah, just a little daze but we'll be-" Shaggy begins but he finds himself stopping when he and Scooby try to push themselves off the door only to stop and realize that the wires from the screen door have somehow got caught in between their teeth when they made contact with the door. There was a moment of silence when the two cowards try to take in what's happening, once they did, their eyes widen with full panic before they scream and desperately try to get their teeth unstuck.
"AH! HELP! DANGER! DANGER! Teeth are caught in the screen door!" Shaggy screamed as he and Scooby continue their efforts to free their teeth from the sharp wires.
Realizing this could be the end once his teeth aren't coming out, Scooby quickly addresses to his friends who are still imprisoned. "Red! Relma! Raphne! Quick, dictate ours wills! We're giving it all to the kids!"
Before anybody could respond to that, Clemont suddenly appears by the duo's sides with a screwdriver in his hand. "Alright, say "Aaah" you two." He told them with a small sigh.
"Aaaah..." The two quickly complied, giving the young genius a chance to use the screwdriver as a toothpick to remove the broken wires from their teeth.
Once they were free, the duo quickly gave Clemont a grateful look. "Like, thanks little dude! You saved us!" Shaggy thanked the blonde boy, who slightly smile while adjusting his glasses.
"Uh, it was no problem. But I think you two have bigger Magikarp to fry..." He points behind the two, making the duo confused before they follow the boy's finger. They manage to caught the sight of Fred, Daphne, and Velma's unamused glares from behind the cells.
Realizing what they had said moments before, this makes the two laugh nervously once they realize how awkward the situation is. "U-Uh, yeah..." Shaggy begins in hopes to stop the situation from getting more awkward than it already is. "So, we may be still a little angry about the whole voice thing. but there's, like, still good news! Like, all we have in our wills is our life-time supply of food! So, technically there's nothing much for the kids to use!"
"Why about the time you two won that beach house in Hawaii from that food-eating contest?" Velma pointed out with a deadpan expression on her face and on Fred and Daphne as well.
"Oh..." Shaggy blinked. He forgot about that. "Uh... You know what? Let's go to that theater! It's not going to be standing there all day! Like, on the double, kids!" To avoid anymore awkward moments, the duo quickly began to push the children out of the room despite their small protests. Leaving the three teenagers to stare at the spot where Shaggy and Scooby once stood with jaw-dropped expressions.
They can understand why those two would still be angry, but come on! Don't they get something in their wills?
"Can I get the beach house, Shaggy?" To rub more salt to the wound, they can hear Bonnie from the hallway eagerly asking that question.
Luckily, the older children were quick to reprimand her. "Bonnie!"
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Lumiose Music Hall since it was only a couple blocks away from Lumiose City's Police Station. When they walk right in front of the doors, the entire glass is murky so it was hard for Shaggy to see anything inside. He didn't exactly get a good feeling about theaters since this where the monster shows up, and they didn't even know what the Monster is this time.
"Oh, boy..." He mumbled, alerting the children who are standing right near him.
"What is it, Shaggy?" Ash asked.
"Like, is it just me, or does the glass seem more murky than it was last night?" Confuse by his statement, the children decide to look through the glass themselves. True to the hippie's words, the glass is indeed hard to see through the dirty stains on it. Although they were extremely tired from yesterday's fun events, they figured a place like the Lumiose Music Hall would have been clean daily.
"That's weird," Clemont mutters to himself as he took a quick look at the glass. "Usually the janitors would clean the place up after a show, I wonder where they are now?"
"Maybe who's behind all of this dirty this glass up so no one can see what they were doing?" Serena suggested.
"Maybe..." Clemont sighed as they move away from the doors.
"Well, looks like all we have to do is get in." Shaggy announces, "And since it's, like, locked, and I guess we're gonna have to break in. You got the chair, Scoob?"
Before Scooby could answer that, Bonnie opens the door with a small shove to the handle. The door slowly creeks open, revealing the darkness of the room. "Or we can just walk right through since the door is obviously unlocked." Bonnie deadpanned, making the duo laugh nervously with Scooby throwing away the chair he had previously held in his arms.
"Like, don't repeat anything you just saw, kids." Shaggy told them sternly before they make their way into the Music Hall.
Even though a lot of people had exited the building, leaving small layers of mess on the ground, it's pretty clear that non of the janitors decided to clean up all the unfished food and dirty napkins on the ground. It didn't exactly made Shaggy and Scooby feel better since the lights inside the building aren't even turned on, showing an endless wave of darkness near the reception area.
"Okay, I know we were sleep deprived last night, but this is ridiculous." Ash said after taking in the mess around them.
Meanwhile, Bonnie is currently trying to lift herself onto the reception desk to see if there's anybody there. "Hello?" She calls out, but jumps back down when she received no answer. "I guess nobody's home..."
Gulping, Shaggy took out his flashlight from his pocket and turns it on before shining it on the path before them. "Well, I guess we gonna have to go farther in. Oh... Like, please tell me there's no phantom here..." With no comment on that, the group of friends made their way down the dark hall with Shaggy's small flashlight as their only light source.
After minutes of walking through agonizing silence with Shaggy moving the flashlight every now and then to make sure nothing pops out of them, Shaggy decided that he couldn't take it any longer. "Like, here mister Phantom of the Music Hall. Come to Uncle Shaggy!"
Even though there was no response, it didn't stop the children from reprimand Shaggy. "Uh, is it really a good idea to get the monster to come find us in the middle of an abandon building with no way of anyone trying to find us?" Ash asked rhetorically as everyone else shot a small glare at Shaggy.
"Sorry. Quite places, tend to mess with my mind." The hippie said quickly before they continue their horror-movie walk through the hallway.
Finally after few more minutes of agonizing silence, Scooby notices something that's possibly worth looking at. "Reah! Look!" All humans and Pokémon both stop their small walk so Shaggy can shine the flashlight at the sign to read the place that caught Scooby's attention. The white sign next to the doorway that probably leads to a small room has the words Security Office written in bold letters.
"Hey, the security room!" Shaggy points out before turning back to the children. "Maybe there's something in the footage that can, like, helps us figured out what happened last night." With that, they walk right into the room with Shaggy being able to turn the light switch on. "Finally, some lights..."
The entire room was oddly familiar to Shaggy, even though he only been in there for a couple of seconds. The office is a small, compacted room. Against the wall in front of two office chairs stands a desk, on top which sits a few electronic monitoring devices, as well as a keyboard in front of a giant computer screen on the wall in front of the desk. Wires stream up to the ceiling from the monitoring devices. The desk has two drawers, along with a speaker. Above them were the ceiling would be is a small lantern, the only light source in this dark room.
On either side of the chairs were the security guards would obviously sit are large windows, which allows them to see outside of the office, as well as two doors that appear to be staying open, the one they had just walked through and one on the other side of them. Right next to the doors are two different colored panels, one on each side, both of which have two buttons mounted on them. They can only guess that one of those buttons are for closing the doors. The floor appears to be black and white tiled, matched by a black and white tile stripe on both walls. The rest of the walls from the checkered stripe up are a grayish color.
Despite the fact everything seems so familiar to him, Shaggy still couldn't pin-point where exactly he's seen this before. Reaching nothing, he just shrugs to himself. Oh well, it'll come to him in another time.
Clemont makes his way over to one the chairs before sitting down and began to type on the keyboard. "Let's see if I can find out what exactly happened last night." He mumbled before a footage pops up on the computer screen. Taking a close look at it, Shaggy and Scooby were able to recognize it as the performance they saw last night.
"Hey, I remember that thing!" Shaggy points to the Puppet Master who stood by the performing animatronics. "Like, everyone inside the theater began to act like those weird zombies after that creepy bolts began to play that music box!"
"Really?" Clemont took this as the chance to fast forward the video before pausing it when it shows everyone already exited the building but only the Puppet Master is the animatronic that's remaining on stage. "Now let's see what happened last night." With that, Clemont took it as a chance to un-paused the video.
They all watch the footage with narrow eyes, waiting for something to happen that might give them a clue. After a few minutes went by, they were starting to get bored, Ash even face-panted on the desk when his mind got too tired. Remembering the night terrors he's been having, Ash quickly brought his head up with wide eyes in hopes to keep himself from falling asleep.
Just before they were about to give up, Serena quickly notices something out of the corner of the screen. "Hey, look at that!" She points at the thing on the screen, catching everyone's attention. They all look at the screen and their eyes widen when they see a figure dressed in a purple hood making their way towards the stage where the Puppet Master is.
"Oh great, another guy with a hood." Ash slumps down on the desk with Serena patting his back in a attempt of comfort. "The world really hates me, doesn't it?"
"Like, can you make out who it is?" Shaggy asked, narrowing his eyes to try and get a good look from who's underneath the hood.
"I can try..." Clemont said unsurely before typing something in the keyboard. The camera then zooms right towards the back of the figure's head just when they reach the Puppet Master. Soon the figure turn around to face the camera, but before Clemont could pause to get a clear look of the figure's face, the screen turned static, causing everyone to jump.
"What happened?!" Bonnie asked as Clemont scramble to fix the screen.
"I don't know!" He cries out in panic. "Someone must be hacking with the security footage!" Clemont type a few more things before his face broke into a smile. "Hey! I think I got it!" He pressed the button and the static went away.
But instead of the screen showing the figure and the Puppet Master, it showed something else. Something that made their jaws drop to the floor in complete horror.
"Hello my baby! Hello my honey! Hello my ragtime gal!" Sang the large janitor from the security footage, who is using the stage late night for his performance. The only reason why the friends were so horrified is that the janitor doesn't look like he can dance, yet he is and doing the exact same dance from that Frog in the Looney Tunes (The kids know about it, thanks to Shaggy and Scooby.) "Send me a kiss by a fire! Baby, my heart's on fire-!"
Quickly with a horrified face, Scooby presses a button and the screen goes instantly black. "Rhere are ro rood rootages row a rays..." Scooby remarks to his friends, who are still looking at the screen with horrified looks. Despite Scooby's mispronunciation, they knew what he was talking about as they remember seeing Ranger Stan in the security footage and him almost using the word that was going to scar the kids for life if it weren't for Shaggy and Scooby.
"Tell me about it..." Bonnie mumbles as they all got out of their horrified looks and are now just weirded out at what they just saw.
"Well, bad news." Clemont suddenly announces after typing a few things on the keyboard. "Guess who ever was in that hood, they hacked into the security footage. There's no way we can find out what happened last night now." This points everyone in a down mood, realizing they're not getting any close to prove Fred, Daphne, and Velma's innocence.
Suddenly, an idea forms in Ash's head. "Wait, that guy was going on the stage last night, right?" Seeing his friends nod gave him the chance to continue. "So let's go check that place out! Maybe he dropped something that could be a clue!"
The rest of the children's eyes widen. "You're right, Ash! And since they obviously found a way to get rid of the workers here, then they're bound to be careless on what they were doing!" Clemont said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to that stage!" Bonnie cheered. But before the children and their Pokémon could even exit the office, they felt their clothes being pulled to stop them from going anywhere. Turning their heads around, they see Shaggy had grab onto the collars of Ash, Serena, and Clemont while Scooby had to bite on Bonnie's pouch strap to stop her.
"Now hold on a second there, kids! Like, I get the stage is a pretty good place for finding clues, but aren't we forgetting one important thing?" Shaggy didn't even give them a chance to answer as he instantly shouts, "That creepy guy in the hood! Now, I don't want to mention the incident, but do you all remember the last time we dealt with someone with a hood? How are we, like, gonna know when we get onto the stage that dude isn't gonna sneak up on us?"
Now began to think about what their hippie friend just said. Although it brought up bad memories, Ash knew Shaggy meant well and that he did had a point. Judging from the Music Hall's appearance, it's pretty clear that whoever that was in the security footage is still inside this building somewhere and could do who knows what to them. Clemont's eyes trail off to see the stage on the screen, giving clear access for anyone in the security room to watch it from there. A light bulb suddenly went off in Clemont's head.
"Well, maybe we should split up. The four of us will go search the stage while you two watch us from the security office. You can contact us if you see anything that's threatening, then we'll know when to run." Clemont explained, gesturing towards the screen in front of them for effect.
The cowardly duo stares at the screen in small awe before turning back to the kids. "Okay, that's a good plan. But, like, how are we gonna call you kids if we see a monster coming your way? You can't suspect me and Scooby too come running in screaming to let the bad guy know he's been caught." Shaggy said, not liking the idea that kids are gonna have to go by themselves.
"Weren't you working on that wrist communicator a while back, Clemont?" Serena suddenly asks. Clemont took a moment to process her words before his eyes widen in realization.
"You're right! And I just finished them right before the festival started." Reaching into his backpack, Clemont pulls out two wrist communicators from it. "Good thing they've hadn't blown up yet." He remarks as he hands one of them to Shaggy, who reluctantly put it on his wrist.
"So if you guys see anything on the cameras, give us a shout and we'll get out of there." Ash informs the two cowards before he and his friends began to make their way out of the office.
"Like, are sure you kids want to do this?" Shaggy asked just before they could leave his sights. He didn't like the children going off by themselves when there's a lunatic on the loose in the same building they're in. Especially after what happened with the Specter a few months ago, they've been worried about the kids going by themselves ever since.
"Of course, Shaggy!" Ash said in hopes to calm the two done. "Remember, see anything on those cameras, gives a shout and we'll be out of there!" With that, the children disappeared from sight as they made their way towards the theater, leaving the two alone in Security Room. Sighing, the two took a seat in the only chairs that are in the room and turn to scan over the monitors to check if anything's change. A few seconds went by before Shaggy suddenly screams, startling the poor the dog that was next to him out of his chair.
Seconds later, the children came barging back through the office with worried expressions on their face after hearing their hippie friend scream like that so suddenly. "What happened?! Did you saw something on the monitors?" Serena asked, wondering what it was that terrified Shaggy so much, as he is shivering with his knees drawn to his chest with wide, terrified eyes.
"No, dude! I just realized where I recognized this place before! This is like Five Night's at Freddy's! Mercy, help us!" Shaggy cried before going into his famous whimpering spree. Hearing that familiar horror game coming from his best friend's lips was enough to frighten Scooby, who has currently latched himself onto the pole of his chair with his teeth chattering like crazy.
Only the kids and their Pokémon didn't seem frighten by this. Instead, their worried faces quickly turn into blank stares once they realized Shaggy screamed for nothing. "You made us run back here for nothing?" Bonnie asked cheeky.
"Nothing?! Like, haven't you kids ever heard of Five Night's at Freddy's?!" Receiving only blank stares as a reply, Shaggy continues. "The creepy animatronics that really want to stuff people in a Fazbear Suit?" Nothing. "Being stuck in a office with no way of moving?" Still nothing. "THE PURPLE GUY AND PHONE GUY CONFUSION?!" The only response he got that time was a blank blink from Pikachu.
"Really?" Shaggy asked in slight awe. "I mean, first you kids didn't even know what the Wizard of Oz was. But, like, this is ridiculous! I mean, I knew you kids were cut off from our world, but I didn't think you were this cut off!"
"Just yell through the communicator if you actually see something." Bonnie just told him before they exit the office and continue their way to the theater, leaving the two cowards to stare at the spot where they once were.
Shaggy then turns back to Scooby. "I mean, it is ridiculous how cut off they are."
The children arrived at the theater only to be meet with a sight that almost made them jumped. Standing right there in the middle of the stage with the spotlight, the only light source in the room, shining down on her is the Puppet Master. She stood there, tall and rigid since she's been turned off from last night's performance. Her clown-like features was enough to make the kids shudder at the sight of her.
"Now I'm starting to understand why those two are so afraid of animatronics..." Bonnie mumbled, with the older children agreeing with her mentally. However, they didn't have time to dwell on it long as they remember why they're here and began to make their way up on the stage, shooting wary glances at the Puppet Master ever now and then as they search for something suspicious or a clue.
After a while, they realized they're not going to find anything useful since they couldn't find anything on the stage. Not only that, but the Puppet Master is really freaking them out.
"Like, testing, testing!" Shaggy's voice suddenly springs from Clemont's wrist communicator. "Can you kids hear us?"
Chuckling softly to himself, Clemont brings in the communicator close. "Yeah, we can here you, Shaggy! Can you see us on the monitors?"
"Sure can, little dude!" Shaggy's eager voice answers through the tiny speakers. "Forget what I said about this place being like Five Night's At Freddy's, their camera tech is, like, way better!." Still not knowing what Shaggy means by that, Clemont shook his head helplessly.
"Bad news guys," Ash said to Shaggy as he and the girls come towards Clemont so they can speak in the communicator. "We couldn't find anything on the stage. Guess that guy wasn't as reckless as we thought."
"Rold ron a recond, rids!" Scooby's voice breaks through the communicator. A few seconds went by as they heard shuffling come from the other end, meaning that Shaggy and Scooby are looking through the monitors.
"Got it!" Shaggy's voice speaks up. "Check the backstage, kids. Like, there's bound to be something in there that's a clue!"
"Thanks Shaggy!" Ash said into the communicator before they begin their descend to the backstage. When they got there, they realized the backstage wasn't like any backstage they have ever seen before. Instead of it being one small, enclosed space, it was actually a long hallway filled with props and costumes.
"Now that's just weird..." Bonnie mumbles as they pass by a deformed animatronic.
Finally after what seemed like forever, they finally got to a place where they think could store potential clues; the dressing room.
"Shaggy, we're gonna go in the dressing room. Let us know if you see anything." Clemont informs the two cowards quickly before he and his friends make their way into the dressing room. The dressing room was obviously used for multiple people since they could see multiple rows of chairs and mirrors. In the back they can see the changing room for people to put on their costumes.
However, they didn't focused on the dressing room since they noticed something on the table that caught their interests. It was a blueprint. This they found odd, though. Why would someone leave a blueprint in a dressing room like this? Walking over to it with his friends, Clemont picks up the blueprint and unravels it to take a look at what someone was planning to build.
His eyes widen once he catches the title for the building object out of the corner of his eyes. "Hey guys, look at this!" Clemont shows the blueprint friends, with their eyes widening as well. Written in bold, white letters the title reads Puppet Master's Music Box. They can see a complete diagram of how to put a familiar music box together.
"'Puppet Master...'" Serena mumbles thoughtfully before looking at her friends. "Isn't that the name of that weird animatronic we just saw?"
"And didn't Shaggy said Fred, Velma, and Daphne started to act weird when they heard that thing?" Ash adds in.
"Well, the only way we can know is if we figure out how this person made this music box." Clemont said. Soon, they found themselves reading through the blueprints in hopes to find something useful.
Meanwhile with Shaggy and Scooby, the two were busy lounging around. Shaggy had his feet up on the desk with his arms behind his head while Scooby was busy spinning himself on the chair. So far they haven't seen anything they should warn the kids about, so it eventually ease their anxiousness to the point that they're now laid-back.
"You know something, Scooby?" Shaggy suddenly asks when Scooby began to spin himself again. "We should, like, get a job as security years ago! I mean, we're like excellent owl watchers! I wonder why we never even consider it before?"
"Re roo!" Scooby said cheerfully before spinning himself once again. "WEEEE!"
"Yeah, Scoob! Maybe we should apply for a job once we solve this-" Shaggy stops himself when he noticed something in the screen where the stage is being displayed. Taking his feet off the table, Shaggy slides himself closer to the desk so he can get a good look at the screen. "Um, Scooby? Was that creepy animatronic always like that or am I getting FNAF references?"
Scooby stops his spinning to look at the screen in confusion. What did Shaggy mean by-Oh... Although he never played the games, Scooby could understand why Shaggy was so freaked out by animatronics. Before, the Puppet Master's head was facing in the audience's direction where she was originally set. Now, her head is facing the direction of backstage, right where the kids are...
"Ruh, maybe it was a last minute working system?" Scooby suggested feebly, even he didn't understand what he's just said. Before Shaggy could retort, the Puppet Master starts moving from her spot on the stage towards the backstage, moving rapidly like she was on a conveyor built. Remembering what the kids told them, they realized where the Puppet Master is heading.
"I'm starting to remember why we never applied for security jobs..." Scooby mumbled while staring at the screen with wide eyes along with Shaggy, who is slowly moving the communicator towards his mouth while is eyes still remain on the spot where the Puppet Master left.
"Kids..." Shaggy begins, his voice soft and low since he's still in shock at what he just saw. "Get out of there," Now his face starts to get louder and more panic-stricken by each word. "Now! Now! Something's coming your way!"
Although his communicator is working, Clemont couldn't hear Shaggy's warning clearly due to the poor reception. Frowning, Clemont brings in the communicator close. "Uh, can you say that again Shaggy?"
"...Out...Creepy...Run..." Was all the children managed to hear from the static sounds, making them give each other weirded-out looks.
"Say it in words we can understand!" Bonnie shouts, fed up with not being able to understand. Before they could get a chance to hear more of Shaggy's warning, a loud clang from behind them and causes them to jump fearfully, even Clemont unfortunately dropped the blueprints back on the desk. Soon they heard a female, robotic laughter from behind them, sending shivers down their spines.
"Uh, Shaggy? I think we got the message!" Ash shouts fearfully before the kids slowly turn around to face the monster of this case.