A/N: Now, this is where Shaggy and Sxooby and the others meet up with Agents J and K at Scorpion Ridge, at least near the end.
Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders Chapter 6: Three Sides of a Mystery
Later, the gang arrived at Buck's Auto Repair place near the gas station in the garage.
"Hello?", Fred called.
"What'd you need?", asked the repoman.
"Oh. There you are. Look, I was wondering if you could check on our van as long as we're here. It's just nearby out by the...", Googie began before the repoman, otherwise known as Buck, interrupted.
"I'm busy.", Buck spoke.
"Oh. Maybe after you take care of this one, then?", Googie asked before Buck pushed himself away from the bottom of the car.
"I already saw your van, out by Scorpion Ridge. Your radiator was close to getting shot.", Buck guessed.
"Well, it's actually not my van, so much as my friend's van, but other than that, yeah.", Googie responded.
"What were you doin' out there, anyway?", Buck asked.
"We got lost in a dust...", Daphne began before he interrupted.
"I'll totally get to work on it when I can.", Buck assured before he went back to his work as Googie grew somewhat suspicious.
"Oh. Uh, uh, great! Great, thanks.", Fred thanked before he and the gang left.
However, Daphne had a comment as did Googie.
"Well, that was pleasant.", Daphne spoke sarcastically.
"Uh, yeah, if by 'pleasant', you mean suspicious. He has to be hiding something.", Googie guessed.
"Well, that makes two of us, Googie. I'm just as downright suspicious of him as you are.", Lena agreed.
"Wow. Two girls getting suspicious about the same guy? Huh. I thought I was the only one.", Scrappy admitted.
"Yeah. He's a real Prince Charming.", Velma joked before a white van with a red SALF logo stopped near the gang before Max got off the driver's seat.
"Hey, there!", Max greeted.
"Hi.", Daphne greeted.
"Hello.", the rest of the gang greeted.
"You folks own that green van outside of town?", asked Max.
"Boy. Everyone seems to know about our car troubles.", Daphne commented.
"But the question is, how?", Googie puzzled.
"It's a pretty small town. Besides, you can see that paint job from miles away.", Max replied.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, uh, you work on those SALF dishes?", Fred asked.
"Yep. Name's Max. I work at the station. We're monitoring the cosmos, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.", Max introduced as he shook hands.
"Wow. Hey, uh, I'm Fred. This is Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby.", Fred introduced.
"I'm Googie, and this is Scrappy and Lena.", Googie introduced.
"Nice to meet you all.", Max spoke.
"Your works sounds interesting.", Velma stated.
"Actually, it's pretty boring. Most of the time, we just listen to static.", Max responded.
"Have you ever made any contact recently?", asked Scrappy.
"Not yet, but we're hopin'.", Max chuckled.
"Do you give tours?", asked Lena.
"Uh, no one's ever asked, but I'd be happy to show you around.", Max assured.
"Great.", Velma grinned as she turned to Fred.
"Thanks, Max.", Googie thanked.
"We never get visitors. Let me pick up some oil here and I'll drive you over.", Max spoke.
"We could help you out if you want.", Googie assured.
"Sure, thanks.", Max responded.
Later, a whole assortment of oil was placed in the back of the van.
"Phew! That's a lot of oil there, Max.", Fred sighed.
"Yeah, the radio dishes take up a lot.", Max stated.
Then, just as Daphne, Velma, Fred, and Lena were beginning to get in the SALF van, Shaggy spotted something on his shirt.
"Zoinks! I got oil on my shirt!", Shaggy exclaimed before he tried brushing it off, but to no avail as Googie had a similar situation.
"What? I've got oil on my shirt, too.", Googie stated before Scooby and Scrappy ran back to get tissues.
"Here, Shaggy.", Scooby spoke as he gave one to Shaggy, who tried brushing the oil away with a tissue, only for it to fail as well.
"Here's one for you, too, Googie.", Scrappy spoke as he gave the tissue to Googie.
"Thanks, Scrappy.", Googie thanked before she slightly giggled, due to the irony of both herself and Shaggy in the oil situation.
"Oh, Brother!", Fred commented before Daphne, Lena, and Velma giggled.
Then, that was when Crystal and Amber parked near the gang.
"Hey. You guys ready to show us a jackalope?", Crystal asked.
"Are we ever?", Googie replied in excitement.
"Sure thing, Crystal.", Shaggy replied.
"But I have to warn you, though. The jackalope's just as elusive as he is adorable.", Scrappy added.
"Jackalope?", Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Lena puzzled as Shaggy, Scooby, Googie, and Scrappy hopped aboard the van.
"We're just gonna hang out with them for a while.", Googie spoke.
"Catch you guys later.", Shaggy waved before Scooby laughed as the Jeep drove away.
"They say there's someone out there for everyone.", Velma spoke as Fred shook his head.
"Even for Shaggy and Scooby.", Daphne spoke as the SALF van was getting started up before they went inside the van with Max as it drive away with Buck watching carefully from a distance.
Meanwhile, at the Intergalactic Space Agency, Agents J and K spoke with Zed about the recent reports as they arrfived here.
"Did you find anything to report?", asked Zed.
"Well, you see...", Agent J began before K interrupted.
"4 people were abducted aboard the spaceship last night and came out from the underground caverns. However, one of them didn't show any signs of paranoia, panic, or fear in the face of intergalactic adversity.", Agent K replied.
"And that someone was a girl with a blue skirt.", Agent J added.
"Is that so?", asked Zed.
"Still, after they were abducted, we sent Crystal and Amber to retrieve them from the lab.", Agent K added.
"Then, why aren't they here in the agency, now?", asked Zed.
"We just requested a spot where we could meet them, sir. Just over by Scorpion Ridge.", Agent K assured.
"So, you think we should, uh, you know, mind swipe them as per the norm?", asked Agent J.
"Under normal circumstances, yes. But like Agent K said, this girl, who goes by the name of Googie Neville, did not show any signs of fear in the face of adversary, even though it was just a few people in alien costumes.", Zed replied.
"So, that means the only real threat is...", Agent K began before Zed got the gist as he opened up a data record of Boris the Animal in the monitor.
"You got it. Boris the Animal. He may be dangerous enough on his own, but with that Xenomorph in the mix as his trained watchdog, they could be big bad mojo.", Zed replied.
"And all the more reason we have to find them.", Agent J guessed.
"And recruit them, if possible. Normally, I wouldn't consider such a thing, but with the threat of Boris on Earth...", Zed added.
"What choice do we have?", Agent K understood.
"Good. Then you two know your mission. Get all the help we can if we're to stop Boris the Animal.", Zed responded.
Meanwhile, Shaggy, Googie, Scooby, and Scrappy were outside with Crystal and Amber.
"And this was the spot where we spotted that jackalope.", Scrappy spoke.
"And it was about this big.", Googie added as she demonstrated the accurate size of it with her hands, making Crystal astonished.
"Really?", Crystal asked.
"Yep. It certainly was a bit bigger than any rabbits I've seen back in the day.", Scrappy replied as Scooby bit into some flowers and walked over to Amber to offer them to her by setting them down, earning a lick on the face from her before Amber picked them up.
"Aw.", Crystal grinned.
"Ah, young love.", Googie sighed.
"It's practically boundless, even with dogs like Uncle Scooby.", Scrappy added.
"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!", Scooby howled as he bounced backwards and landed on his back before laughing as Crystal did the same thing.
At the same time, Shaggy went to get some flowers of his own as Sciiby balanced himself in his two front paws before dragging a cactus with beautiful red roses on it to Amber, who continued her grin.
"Like I said, practically boundless.", Scrappy interjected.
Meanwhile, a desert spider crept into the flowers just before Shaggy picked them up and walked over to Crystal, who was taking pictures, much to Googie's concern as she saw what went on with the flowers.
"Uh, Shaggy? I wouldn't...", Googie warned, but to no avail as Shaggy cleared his throat, catching Crystal's attention before the desert spider crawled out of the flowers and onto Shaggy, going unsuccessfully his shirt, before he gasped and panicked, dropping the flowers in the process, causing his hair to lose the nice texture and revert back to normal and his shirt to get untucked as he tried hopping on his butt to get the spider out just as Googie rushed over to him.
"Hang on, Shaggy!", Googie urged before she clutched the flowers and held them out so the spider could crawl onto it before she then dropped it safely with a sigh of relief before Shaggy sighed as well and then looked up at Crystal, Amber, and Scooby before getting out one flower that doesn't have a spider on it and offering it to Crystal.
"You are one funny cat, Shaggy.", Crystal commented.
"I know. Tell me about it.", Googie agreed as Crystal sniffed a flower before Shaggy puckered his lips, expecting a kiss, before he realized that Crystal was just checking out the flowers before he stood back up as well.
"Now, where did you say you saw this 'giant' Jackalope?", asked Crystal.
"Over there.", Scooby replied, pointing to Scorpion Ridge.
Later, the group of four neared the fence with a hole in the bottom before Crystal began climbing in the fence.
"Hey. You're going on there?", asked Shaggy as Amber went in through the hole.
"Yeah.", Crystal replied before she got in the other side. "Like, come on, guys. I want a shot of that jackalope."
"But the fence is there to keep us out of Government property.", Googie added.
"Googie's right. Like, besides, that's where we saw... the aliens.", Shaggy gulped.
"Yeah. Aliens.", Scooby agreed.
"The very same aliens you two saved us from, remember?", Scrappy added.
"I don't think we should...", Shaggy began before Crystal interrupted.
"Please?", Crystal pleaded before Amber gave a slight whimper, making the group feel practically bad.
"Oh, all right, fine. But if the guys from the government catch us, we're out of here.", Googie spoke.
"Yeah, because we so do not look forward to jail time.", Scrappy added.
"Come on, old buddy. The girls need us.", Shaggy urged with a smile.
"Okay.", Scooby agreed before the Shaggy and Googie climbed the fence while Scooby and Scrappy went through the hole.
"All right!", Crystal shouted joyfully before Amber barked as the group trekked across Scorpion Ridge.
Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Lena were at the SALF Station with Max and the others.
"We collect signals from dozens of stars a week and it's all channeled through here where the data is recorded.", Laura explained.
"Pah. It's the biggest collection of static in the US.", Steve stated.
"Steve thinks it's boring work.", Laura spoke.
"And he's right.", Max stated before he and Laura laughed.
"But if there's even a tiny chance of making contact with alien intelligence, it'll be worth a truckload of boredom.", Steve stated.
"Well, the locals seem to think aliens are being attracted by your dishes, Lester, in particular.", Lena spoke.
"That's ridiculous. They forget to lock their corrals at night and try to blame 'aliens' for their missing livestock.", Laura responded.
"The Government even sent an investigation team to look into this 'alien presence'.", Steve added.
"Yeah. They're the ones who put up that fence in Scorpion Ridge. But the strangest thing is, once they arrived at Scorpion Ridge, they suddenly vanished.", Max agreed.
"What were they doing up there?", asked Velma.
"Who knows? Wasting government money.", Steve replied.
"Unlike us.", Laura added before the trio laughed just as Lena began to grow suspicious of them just as Velma spotted the dirt on the trio's shoes.
"So, what brings you to town?", asked Steve.
"Car trouble. We got lost and nearly banged up our van.", Fred replied.
"That's too bad, but Buck is a good mechanic. He'll have you out of here in no time.", Max assured.
"Where're your other friends and their dogs?", asked Laura.
"On a date.", Daphne replied.
Meanwhile, back at Scorpion Ridge, Crystal was taking a look around the scenery before stopping at the horned lizard and focusing the lens and then taking a picture before the horned lizard crept away and Amber barked.
"Like, this place is so beautiful.", Crystal commented as she petted Amber.
"I'll say.", Googie and Scrappy agreed in unison.
"Me, too.", Shaggy sighed.
"Yeah. Me, too.", Scooby sighed.
"Thanks for bringing us, even though we didn't see any jackalopes.", Crystal thanked.
"Sure, Crystal.", Shaggy sighed.
"Well, I did tell you that they are quite elusive.", Scrappy reminded as Crystal crept up behind an armadillo.
"So, like, I was wondering. Um, if you had a boyfriend.", Shaggy wondered just as Agents J and K walked up behind him.
"As a matter of fact, Norville, I don't.", Agent K replied.
"Oh, good. 'Cause I thought that, you know, maybe...", Shaggy spoke before he suddenly realized something amiss.
"Hey. Like, Crystal doesn't call me Norville.", Shaggy realized before he turned around and spotted Agents J and K with a surprised gasp before eventually running away in panic and then hopping onto Crystal's arms before Agents J and K walked up toward them, causing Crystal to gasp as she let Shaggy down, literally, before Scooby hid behind Amber.
"See? I knew this would happen if we brought you guys here.", Googie facepalmed.
"There you are. We figured you'd be here.", Agent K spoke.
"What are y'all doing here?", asked Agent J.
"Just taking some wildlife photos.", Crystal replied.
"We didn't mean to intrude on any of your business.", Scrappy assured.
"We just wanted to help Crystal out on finding the elusive Jackalope to take a picture.", Googie added.
"You do realize it doesn't exist, right?", asked Agent K.
"Oh, it does exist, all right. And how do we know this? Because we saw it last night before we saw those aliens.", Scrappy spoke.
"What do they mean, 'it doesn't exist'?", Crystal puzzled.
"Oh. Fun fact: some say that the jackalope doesn't exist since they barely got to see it. But the fact that we saw it earlier last night was proof that it actually exists. It's that elusive.", Scrappy added.
"I see. Well, the fact is, we've been expecting you for some time now since last night.", Agent K stated.
"Really?", Googie puzzled.
"You have?", Scrappy wondered.
"That's right. Agent J and I watched you get abducted last night and needless to say, I was...rather moldy impressed with your boundless courage.", Agent K admitted.
"What do you mean?", Googie puzzled.
"You see, what Agent K means is that we were looking for some extra help against Boris the Animal, and we found you.", Agent J explained.
"But you weren't the first people we found as helping hands.", Agent K added.
"Like, what's going on here?", asked Shaggy.
"Yeah. And who's Boris the Animal?", asked Scooby.
"Crystal, I think it's best if you explain this one.", Agent K urged.
"All right. Shaggy, I have a confession to make.", Crystal began.
"Ya got a boyfriend?", Shaggy guessed sadly.
"No. Nothing like that.", Crystal assured with a chuckle.
"What does that even have to do with what's going on anyway?", Agent J agreed.
"Anyway, I'm not really a nature photographer.", Crystal spoke.
"You're not?", Scooby puzzled.
"No. I'm really a government agent.", Crystal replied.
"Huh?", puzzled Scooby and Shaggy.
"That's right. We called her and sent her to Scorpion Ridge to investigate alien sightings in this area. More than that, we're also in the process of locating Boris the Animal, the most dangerous Boglodite in the history of the universe.", Agent K explained.
"We know. Crystal told me and Scrappy about that before Shaggy and Scooby woke up earlier.", Googie assured.
"You mean you knew?", puzzled both Agent K and Shaggy.
"Well, we had some debriefing of our own when they rescued us. When they asked for our help, we couldn't just say 'no'. Besides, we practically deal with that sort of thing all the time, whether it's solving mysteries or kicking monster butt.", Scrappy explained as he put up his dukes.
"Whoa. No wonder the girl's got guts.", Agent J commented.
"Thanks, Agent J.", Googie thanked.
"Like, I knew it was too good to be true.", Shaggy spoke.
"So, what is Boris doing here, anyway?", asked Googie.
"That's what we're here to find out, young lady.", Agent K replied.
"Whatever it is, though, that can't be good.", Agent J added.
"We need your help. I hope this doesn't change anything between us. And Amber is a government-trained canine, Scooby. Is that all right?", asked Crystal.
"Uh-Huh.", Scooby nodded.
"Then, you'll all help us unconditionally?", Agent K asked.
"No problem.", Scrappy agreed.
"You can count on us, sir!", Googie saluted.
Then, Scooby and Shaggy nodded in agreement.
"Ah! You guys are the coolest!", Crystal exclaimed as she hugged Shaggy.
Then, Amber licked Scooby, who chuckled afterwards.
"All right, everyone. Let's move.", Agent K urged.
"Right!", Scooby, Shaggy, Googie, and Scrappy agreed before they began their trek.
"So, Agent J?", asked Googie.
"Yeah?", Agent J spoke.
"Exactly how often do you do this kind of thing?", asked Googie.
"We've been doing this way long before you were born, lady.", Agent J replied.
"Uh, actually, it's Googie, but okay.", Googie understood.