"There they are!" Harold called out.

The griffin circled with the others on his tail with the scarves.

"Shaggy, try the staff again." Madelyn suggested.

"Dude, it's a fake." Shaggy reminded her.

"Just try." Madelyn told him.

"This can't end well." Harold said from the ground.

"Come on, Shaggy, it might be our only shot!" Brenda told Shaggy.

"All right... Here it goes..." Shaggy sighed as he glared, trying to look brave. "I totally command you. By the powers of Houdini, the Wizard of Oz, and, um, the English kid with the glasses, to put us down." he then tossed the staff which went through the air.

This made Madelyn, Scooby, and Brenda panic slightly.

"Like, dude, we're losing altitude!" Shaggy told them as they went flying.

"Shaggy... If we don't make it... I wanna tell you something..." Brenda said before blurting it out. "I LOVE YOU!"

"You love me?!" Shaggy replied in surprise.

"YES! I'VE HAD A CRUSH ON YOU FOR A WHILE!" Brenda replied.


"What's happening up there?!" Leshawna asked.

"I think someone just confessed their love." Leshaniqua said to her cousin.

"Really? How can you tell?" Leshawna replied.

"Just a guess." Leshaniqua shrugged.


"Bail out! Bail out!" Scooby cried out.

Everyone jumped off and fell on the ground as well as the griffin and everyone came out.

"Shaggy got them!" Madelyn called out.

"Isn't that incredible?!" Brenda added.

The others looked to each other before looking back. "Yeah..." they replied, a bit oddly.

"You really are brave!" Madelyn gushed as she hugged Shaggy tightly.

"Like, don't squeeze me, Madelyn," Shaggy grunted. "You're denting my metal."

The Dare twins soon came out to see the fallen griffin together.

"Is everyone okay?" Taffy asked.

"Yeah, thanks to Shaggy." Brenda smiled as she hugged the cowardly teen.

They soon heard a sound which startled them all.

"I guess this turkey's back for Thanksgiving." Brandie said once the griffin came back up.

The griffin then fell down again.

"The poor thing looks hurt." Crystal frowned.

"Why doesn't it just fly away?" Zatanna wondered.

"Better check on it." Leshaniqua said.

"Wait a minute... Is that a string?" Taffy asked before taking a closer look. "It is!"

"Ah, yes." Velma nodded as she pulled on the string and pointed her flashlight up to see more strings like the griffin was a marionette puppet the whole time.

"The griffin, it's a gigantic puppet?" Whirlen asked in surprise.

"I definitely didn't see that one coming." Cindy commented.

"Correct. This whole charade is making sense now." Dee Dee replied.

The blimp was falling down to the ground.

"RUN!" Velma called out to the others.


They soon rushed out of the way and someone soon crashed down on the ground with the blimp.

"I think we got company, guys." Trent said as he uncovered the balloon with Fred.

They soon saw who the puppeteer was all along.

"Marlon?! You?!" Whirlen asked his brother.

"Marlon operated that contraption trying to scare everyone away once and for all, but Shaggy, Scooby, and Brenda spoiled his plans." Dee Dee stated.

Shaggy shrugged to his best friend as Brenda and Madelyn hugged him.

"So the monster was never real." Whirlen said.

"No, just a more sophisticated version of the puppets in your magic act when you and Marlon were kids." Velma replied.

"The blimp carried the griffin beneath it to make it look like it was flying." Fred added.

"But how did he disguise the blimp?" Alma soon asked.

"Remember how every time the griffin appeared, it was foggy?" Cindy replied before uncovering a machine. "The blimp generated its own concealing fog bank." she then kicked it to turn it on before yelping as that hurt her foot.

Fog then appeared after she had turned it on.

"I noticed some of the bottles in Marlon's workshop were marked glycerol: a chemical used by professional illusionists in fog machines." Velma informed.

"I used the fog to hide the blimp, then worked the griffin through this handheld animatronic control." Marlon added before demonstrating.

This made the trio run away in fright.

"But what about when the griffin attacked us in the tower?" Brandie asked. "It couldn't have been the same puppet."

"It wasn't. After Whirlen bought the castle, I started renovating the Griffin's Roost," Marlon confessed. "I discovered Lord O' Flannery had rigged parts of the tower with devices of his own to make superstitious people think a monster lived there. When trespassers entered the tower, they would be driven away by the attacking griffin. I kept the secret to myself, and outfitted the worn-out machinery with state-of-the-art equipment."

"Okay, but who was the banshee?" Brenda then asked.

"Another puppet, right?" Madelyn guessed.

"Partially. Marlon had several rigged to appear in various places," Velma replied. "Even in the lake, to make it look like she was chasing us. She wasn't a puppet every time."

"Well, it's no wonder that I didn't recognize her." Scarah commented.

"Yes, I realized that when we saw the device in the tower," Velma then continued. "It was really a projector Marlon uses for his volumetric displays. One of many. Anyone entering the tower would have set off an invisible electric eye, activating the ghost. Marlon's technology was a lot more sophisticated than he was letting on."

"Uncle Marlon, why would you do such a thing?" Trixie asked.

"Because all my life I've been jealous, jealous of your mother and Whirlen." Marlon said.

"My mother?" Trixie asked.

"Trixie, you don't know it, but your mother was a mistress of magic like you're becoming with Migmar Magma back at your home, the greatest magician in the world, and your mother was just like you when she was your age," Marlon explained. "She wanted to learn magic one day, and she and Whirlen were both blessed with a gift that I could never have of my own."

"I... I didn't know Mom was magic..." Trixie said.

"She didn't want you to know until you were ready, it's a very long story." Whirlen told his and Marlon's niece.

"Wow! Gosh, I can't believe it." Trixie replied.

"There's more to it, I'll tell you later." Whirlen said.

"Thanks, Uncle Whirlen." Trixie replied.

"I finally decided I wanted to create my own magic act," Marlon then said. "With my puppets and projections, I could become a magic sensation."

"Why didn't you?" Whirlen asked his brother.

"Because I needed money to start the act," Marlon explained. "The only way I could get it is if you agreed to sell the castle, which I knew you wouldn't do unless you were forced to. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, honest. All I wanted to do was scare people away. I tried to make amends. After the automated griffin wrecked the bridge, I flew back in the blimp to bring you down, but these two fearless souls attacked me before I could explain." he then added, pointing to Shaggy and Scooby who seemed to be confused about being called 'fearless'.

Madelyn smiled to Shaggy before looking back. "Hey, how did the griffin crash anyway?" she then asked.

"Here's your answer!" Fred said, uncovering a certain relic.

"The magic staff?" Madelyn asked.

"I guess, it really did control the monster after all." Brenda commented.

"Aw, I'm so ashamed!" Marlon cried out as he started to cry.

"Oh, Uncle Marlon..." Trixie frowned softly.

Whirlen then went over and comforted his brother.

"Who would have thought that miserable Marlon would be behind this?" Amos commented.

"You would," Justine told him. "You knew all along."

Amos looked nervous.

"Of course... Amos was the only one who was never afraid to be out at night," Daphne replied. "He must have known the griffin was a fake."

"You have a point," Brianna replied. "Amos probably followed Marlon to the Griffin's Roost while he was rebuilding it."

"I saw him going in there, day and night, with loads of strange-looking crates," Amos replied. "So I got nosy and peeked."

"Yes, and my guess is he told you, Mr. Curdles," Cindy then said. "You weren't worried about the griffin. You could even use it to get a cheap price on the castle."

"Wow... These girlies are smart." Amos commented.

"Oh, shut up." Mr. Curdles told him.

"No need to deny it, Mr. Curdles," Dee Dee said to him. "Your story about turning the castle into a restaurant never made sense in the first place. You were really buying it for Miss Rumblebuns, weren't you?"

"Calvin, is this true?" Alma asked the man.

"Yes, Alma, it is. I meant for it to be a surprise," Mr. Curdles told her while she soon gave a dreamy smile. "You see, years ago, I operated a struggling ice-cream concession here for the few tourists who visited O' Flannery Castle."

We are shown a younger Mr. Curdles selling ice cream to people while looking like a jolly man.

"It was here that I met the castle's dazzling caretaker, Miss Alma Rumblebuns," Mr. Curdles continued. "Ah. We were so much in love. Fearing that a high-born creature of Alma's caste could never settle for a mere sherbet jockey, I left. Determined someday to return a frozen-novelty mogul. Alas, I became so swept up in the intoxicating world of cream and cones, I never came back, but I couldn't forget you, Alma. I thought that if I bought you this castle which you loved so much, you might love me again."

"Oh, Calvin, I don't know what to say." Alma replied, feeling touched.

"Well, just say you forgive me." Mr. Curdles said, taking her hands.

Alma then grabbed Mr. Curdles and pulled him into a kiss.

"Eww." Everyone else grimaced from the display.

"Please, Whirlen, I will double the price." Mr. Curdles smiled as his face was now covered in kisses.

"Don't do it, Whirlen, I couldn't take the money now," Marlon told his brother. "Not when I've seen what the school means to you. I was wrong. My place is here with you passing on what we've discovered to kids who truly wanna learn. They're the ones I've really hurt."

"I think there's time to make amends." Whirlen replied as he held out his hand.

Marlon smiled back and took his brother's hand. Cindy smiled as that looked rather nice so far.

"Starting with the education of our new apprentice: Madelyn Dinkley." Whirlen then announced.

"Really? You mean it?!" Madelyn replied.

"With your enthusiasm and our coaching, you could be the next big thing in magic, next to maybe Trixie of course once she masters her abilities with the help of Migmar back home." Whirlen smiled to her.

"Congratulations, Madelyn, you deserve it," Velma smiled to her sister. "I must admit, you handled yourself pretty well on this adventure."

"Thanks," Madelyn smiled back before putting her arm around Velma. "I guess we Dinkley sisters have something in common after all."

Everyone heard a clapping sound, then turned around to see John coming out of the shadows.


"Uncle John!" Taffy beamed.

"Congratulations, you two," John said to his nieces. "I guess you really didn't need my help."

"It was nothing." Brandie replied.

"I'm really proud of you two," John smiled to his nieces. "You've really showed me that you're ready to advance in your studies with the lovely Zatanna."

Taffy and Brandie squealed in excitement before hugging each other.

"Congratulations, girls." John smiled to them.

"Thanks, Uncle John." Brandie replied.

"We couldn't have done it without you." Taffy added.

"I'm very proud of you both," John said. "Perhaps you could join me to take on some demons I have to deal with all the time."

Taffy and Brandie smiled at their uncle.