Author's Note: Whew… I really should be getting back to this story, shouldn't I? I apologize for the delay. A part of me is still trying to figure out where to take the plot from here when it comes to the idea of the Hex Girls and the Grimwood Ghouls meeting each other. Do they get jealous? Would they be merely civil? Would the Goths and the Ghouls take an interest in each other in an "interest in the supernatural + the actual supernatural" kind of way? And what about poor Velma, having seemingly lost her chance at Shaggy? Lots of moving parts, lots of characters… Might be a tough act to juggle around.
The title for this chapter refers to the 'superhero' alias Shaggy had in the "Pup Named Scooby Doo" cartoon. I just had to use it because of the obvious hoopla over a certain Captain America movie that's massively popular. I mean, everyone was talking about it, why not me too?
Disclaimer: We already know this by now…..
Chapter 10: Commander Cool: Civil War?
As far as Shaggy knew, he never recalled buying himself a large, fancy, curtained bed with purple sheets, purple curtains, and purple pillows. A glance around as he regained consciousness from a good night's sleep and he began wondering when his apartment gained such luxurious furnishings or even such a high ceiling with even a candlelit chandelier. Such craftsmanship of the walls and ceiling… It reminded him of the inside of a cathedral or perhaps a castle. Sitting up, the sheets moved slightly along the lavish bed. Feeling a slight draft, he was confused as to why he was apparently shirtless. Last he knew, he at least had a t-shirt and boxers on, mostly because of his new numerous bedmates. Curiosity getting the better of him, he lifted the sheets up. He was apparently naked.
He wasn't alone either, judging from the forms of bodies that surrounded him, his eyes drawn more toward the purple skin of a certain new royal girlfriend of his. Having felt him move around, Sibella turned her body to face him as he dropped the blanket back down, her eyes as alluring as ever. "Couldn't sleep, my mate?" she whispered, a fanged smirk gracing her sensual face. Oh, how he could never tire of seeing such a look, now that he had given in to his feelings.
"Like… Where are we? How did we get, like, here?" he asked, fairly confused. Her smirk turned to an amused grin. "Oh, were we that good, my love?" she asked as she sat up as well, not caring that gravity allowed the blanket to reveal her ample chest. "We are home, having celebrated the consummation of our love. I at least hope you can remember how fang-tastic you were. Mmmm…" she moaned as she cuddled against him. Home? Consummated? How long had the coward been out of it?
More movement, this time to his left. He turned his head, only to come face to face with someone he hadn't seen in so long. Sally "Thorn" McKnight, leader of the Hex Girls. Despite being a Goth, the smile she wore seemed to project a demeanor a lot more pleasant. "Did we wear you out to the point of having amnesia, Shaggy? Tsk tsk… I knew we were good, but wow…" Thorn commented in a mock-impressed tone. Was it Shaggy or did Thorn appear to also have fangs…? After all, this obviously wasn't time for a gig. Why the prop-fangs now? Was she playing another joke on him, like when he first met her? In any case, Shaggy got another eyeful of feminine flesh as Thorn appeared to be wearing nothing except for her red bat necklace that she always wore.
"Umm… Hi, Thorn." Shaggy said with a clueless chuckle, his mind tied between figuring out what was going on and trying not to blatantly stare. Was Thorn always that pale?
Even more movement as two more women rose from their sleep. Dusk and Luna, the rest of the band. "Aw, no greeting for the rest of us? How rude, Shaggy." Dusk jokingly chided as she ran a hand through her blonde hair, kept in pigtails even in bed. The only things clad on her body were her X necklace, her choker, and her green triangle earrings. Her eyes, heavy with eyeshadow, roamed over Shaggy's visible upper half as if she were hungry for more carnal activity. "Perhaps we should… discipline you for that."
Luna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "As if you didn't get enough of trying that earlier, Dusk. You always were the fierce one… Never knew that extended to your sex life until last night." the redhead said, cutting off Shaggy before he could express his nervous reaction to the idea of being disciplined, whatever that meant. Shaggy couldn't help but notice that Luna, like Thorn and Dusk, was also paler than usual. Although the noticeability of that had more to do with the fact that Luna's skin tone was normally somewhat darker than the others. Like her bandmates, Luna also wore nothing but her jewelry for some reason, consisting of her gold necklace and hoop earrings.
"That's what happens when we decide to share a man, I guess. We learn everyone's kinks. First time for everything!" Dusk said with a grin. She seemed very chipper about this. Thorn and Sibella chuckled at the blonde's enthusiasm as Luna rolled her eyes. Shaggy, meanwhile, was still trying to figure out how he ended up in such a strange yet fortunate scenario. He didn't remember anything. Anything at all. The last thing he truly recalled was how happy his students-turned-lovers were when they got home from their group date at Club Chill.
He was brought back to the present when Sibella gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You can't sleep and yet you can't remain conscious either. You'll learn to keep up, dear." she cooed into his ear. He instantly felt a certain something down south react, his face turning red as a result.
"Like, uh, what? Um… What's going on, Sibella? Seriously, like, I… don't remember anything before this. Where are the others? What's with this room? Uh..." he turned his attention toward the other three girls. "Why do you have your prop-fangs on, girls…?"
All four females grew concerned. "Shaggy, dear… You really don't remember…? Our courtship…? Our wedding…? Our initiation?" Sibella asked, worried that her Shaggy would lose such cherished memories. To her fear, Shaggy's expression grew more baffled.
"Like, wedding?! We got married?! Why don't I remember… Huh? Initiation? Initiation into what?" he asked, his mind catching her last question a little late. Sibella closed her eyes and shook her head.
"You forgot how I claimed you, my love? And how we, in turn, claimed our brides here?" Sibella asked, waving a hand to indicate the Hex Girls.
It was then that Shaggy noticed something about his three human friends… Something on the side of their necks. He focused his attention on Thorn, the closest Hex Girl. Cautiously reaching out, he gently pushed aside some of her long red-highlighted black hair, getting a pleased hum of contentment out of Thorn in response. There, on the side of her neck, exposed for Shaggy to see, were two small puncture wounds, decorated with splotches of dried blood… "Oh, that was a fun moment, wasn't it, my lord?" Thorn quipped. Wait… Since when did any of the headstrong, independent Hex Girls call anyone their 'lord'…?
He knew what that wound meant… Clapping a hand to his own neck, he felt around. A momentary flare of pain meant he had found what he didn't want to find. The flecks of dried blood on his fingers confirmed it…
They were all vampires.
Sibella had turned him.
They both had turned his musical friends.
Shaggy had become Dracula.
Jolting himself awake to the imagined sounds of mocking laughter from the King of Vampires, Shaggy stared upward. His own bedroom's ceiling, nothing more. The familiar weight of the Grimwood Ghouls dogpiling on him in their own haphazard slumber helped to assure him that he was indeed back in the real world. Moments later, he realized that he had woke somebody up as a slender purple hand gently caressed his cheek. Tilting his head left, he looked into the worried dimly-glowing green eyes of Sibella, the frown he could barely see in the relative darkness silently expressing the question she wanted to ask as everyone else slept: 'Are you ok?'. Ironic, as it was her that the freaky dream had been about…
'Naaaah, she wouldn't turn me. Would she? Like, maybe if I wanted to, she would…' he thought as he carefully leaned his head forward and kissed her, a silent reassurance. The little smile on her face told him what he needed to know. He could always trust her. Sure, she mentioned something about possibly 'helping her run Transylvania' whenever her defeated father decided to officially step down (or die, whichever came first), but he could help out as her consort while remaining human. Couldn't he…?
Perhaps he'd bring the subject up to her after the Hex Girls visit… Right now, it was only 3:07 in the morning. The vampiress nuzzling into his side was enough of a reminder that he should rejoin his ghoulfriends in dreamland. And so, with thoughts of the next day in mind, he slowly drifted back to sleep. The last thing he felt as he lost consciousness was the now-familiar tugging at his neck of a sleepy Sibella.
This time, his dreams were filled with the sounds of howling (and singing) she-wolves… Winnie sneezed in her sleep.
Exhausted and apprehensive from his sleep full of strange dreams, Shaggy coasted through breakfast that morning, a fact that was impossible to hide from his ghoulfriends and Scooby. Sibella, being the only one that had an idea of what caused his lack of energy, wondered what dreams had plagued his mind. Perhaps their recent fight against Dracula had caught up to him.
"Shaggy, dear, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?" the vampiress asked, the same worried frown on her face that Shaggy saw last night. Gracefully, she placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him, having taken up the task of cooking in lieu of Shaggy's lethargic behavior.
"What…? Like… Not really…" he answered, trying to sound as casual as he could. He didn't want to bother his new lovers with his troubles. Not with the Hex Girls coming over. Today was supposed to be a fun day. Why bring down the mood?
Sibella lightly slapped him upside the head with a palm, making a series of 'tsk' noises as she did so. "Don't think I haven't heard about this kind of behavior before, my mate. You were plagued by dreams last night. Whatever is worrying you, please don't shut us out. We can do a lot more for you than just keep you company, you know." She should have figured that her favorite human would be the kind that would sometimes be too nice for his own good.
"Bad dreams? How bad? Getting mauled by something? Feeling lost? Falling? Having to go… ugh… vegetarian?" Winnie asked, curious. Everyone stared at her about the last one. "What?! I'm a carnivore, remember? Jeez…"
"Oooh, I hope it's not because I became your pillow again." Phanty piped up, worried. "I hear that sometimes ectoplasm can do some weird things. Maybe my body was messing with your head! Aww! I didn't mean to do that! I swear, I'm sorry, Shags!" She got off of her seat and groveled on her knees by Shaggy, an overreaction by everyone else's standards. Shaggy felt awkward, but used to the ghost's hyperactive actions.
"Phanty… Like, please get up. I really don't think it was you. I mean, like, my head's not glowing or something, right?" he asked. He certainly didn't feel weird or unusual when he woke up. Just exhausted. Phantasma shook her head. "Then you didn't do anything. Although, you really don't have to be my pillow like that."
"I know. I like it, though. My way of getting close to you. That way, I don't have to squabble with everyone else over a spot on the bed." Phanty said as she floated up and gave her favorite human playmate a quick hug and a kiss before going back to her seat.
"Being a ghost….has its advantages." Elsa remarked, considering the ghost's logic as cheap yet effective. She wasn't about to argue over it, though. It was hard enough to get a good sleeping spot without the ghost adding to it. But none of the ghouls wanted to sleep in their own beds. Perhaps when the novelty of a relationship began to feel like a normal thing to the Ghouls, the need for a spacious mattress to sleep on would take a higher priority, Elsa's logical mind figured. Not that she minded the cramped arrangement, of course. One must simply take all possibilities into account.
"What were the dreams about, Shaggy…?" came Tanis' shy voice as she ate her own breakfast, a Grimwood School classic called 'Scream of Wheat'. Sibella and Winnie, ever the protective ones, gave their beau expectant looks. Shaggy gulped, unsure of what the group's reaction would be. Still, Sibella did have a point…
"Uhh… Like… I'm not really sure, to be honest… Stuff about you all and my friends, the Hex Girls. Like, a series of visions or something. First, there was me and Sibella in a fancy purple bed with them… We were, like, all naked. But I found out that we were all turned into vampires! I woke up. When I went back to sleep, another dream came. This time, I was in a forest, wandering around until a pack of giant wolves surrounded me. It was a night of a full moon. Like, Winnie was one of the wolves. But then I noticed that I was… um… a little too hairy… And the other wolves smelled familiar…"
"So I turned you and your friends this time, eh? I smell a pattern here…" Winnie said, trying to picture what Shaggy would look like as a full-fledged werewolf. Phantasma raised her hand frantically as if she were still in school.
"Ooh! Ooh! What about me? Did I get a dream too, Shags?!" she asked excitedly, practically quivering from the mere thought of her playmate dreaming of her.
"Like, yeah… Umm… In that one, the Hex Girls and I all died and became ghosts… Afterward, because of your interest in music, Phanty, you ended up joining the band and all four of you were, like, practicing songs." Shaggy said, chuckling a little. Phantasma, however, wasn't sure how to feel.
"You dreamed that you died…? That's… sad. I mean, I would appreciate the company, of course, and the idea of me being in a band is pretty cool, but… I wouldn't want you to join me in death for that to happen. I dunno what to think… Is that cool that we're all ghosts together forever or does it suck that you died so early or is it a bit of both, it's so confusing…" Phantasma rambled, appearing to deflate a little.
"It was only a dream, Phantasma. We're all fine and nothing like that's going to happen." Elsa said, matter-of-factly. She felt sympathetic for her nutty friend, of course, but the golem saw no need to sugarcoat things. Elsa then turned her attention to Shaggy. "What about me, Shaggy?"
Shaggy gulped. "Uhh… Like, that was a weird one. For some reason, you wanted to conduct some experiments on the Hex Girls and myself. Like, really wanted to. I guess you wanted to create more people like yourself or something. We all ended up… uhh… like, a little mixed up…" he trailed off. Most of the Ghouls raised their eyebrows. Sibella and Winnie had a feeling that they knew where this dream was going. Phantasma, also having an idea, let out a little 'eep' and hid under the table.
"You mean…?" Elsa prodded.
"Like, my head was attached to Thorn's chest, which had Dusk's legs and Luna's arms…."
Everyone paused at this, trying to picture their man with his head on a woman's body. The resulting images were beyond strange. Sibella's mental picture, for instance, imagined Shaggy's head on HER body. Winnie, being ever the lewd one, imagined the transplanted Shaggy being on the business end of a man's advances, despite his head clearly being the same definitely-male form which would have probably deterred many if such a scenario had happened.
"You can rest assured, Shaggy, that I would never do such a thing to you, especially without your consent!" Elsa declared as she meekly hoped that he wouldn't grow nervous around her because of a dream.
"Like, it's ok, Elsa. I know." Shaggy reassured her. "It was only a dream."
"What'd you do in that dream?" Sibella asked, curious of what the dream incarnation of Shaggy would have done in that kind of scenario.
"Well, first, I freaked out about it. Then, like, the girls freaked out, as we were all rearranged. I think Dusk ended up with my torso. And then, uhh… umm…" Shaggy trailed off, his cheeks slightly turning red.
"And then?" Winnie asked, having a hunch.
"…I got curious." he timidly said, not wanting to fully admit what he did. He started fidgeting with his hands, halfheartedly scooping brown sugar into his oatmeal.
"Curious? About what?" Tanis asked, her head tilted in innocent inquisitive wonder. Phantasma peeked her head out by phasing it through the table, also wondering what her boy toy got curious about. Shaggy never found stirring his oatmeal as interesting as he did now, embarrassment practically radiating out of his lanky form.
"I… uhh… I kinda… played with Thorn's… breasts…"
Winnie had a predatory grin on her face, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Ah, so you DO have a wild side. Having a little wet dream... How naughty of you! Girls, should we punish him for dreaming of other women?" she asked, clearly joking around.
Sibella, however, seemed to be all business. "Now, Winnie, let's not get all hasty now. After all, what would you do if your consciousness was suddenly attached to Shaggy's body? I somehow doubt that you'd resist the urge to see how 'it' feels." Her sly grin accentuated her remark as Winnie's grin fell. The werewolf contemplated the question for a moment.
"Huh… Alright, ya got me there. I'd totally play with it…" Winnie grumbled, her face going a little red. Shaggy chuckled timidly, as he was the hypothetical example of Sibella's question. He wasn't sure whether to feel weirded out or honored that Winnie would want to play with his crotch if her consciousness somehow got placed in his body. He leaned toward honored, seeing as she was his girlfriend now. One of his girlfriends, he mentally amended. The harem idea was still an adjustment for him.
Tanis raised her hand, her face completely red from being unable to stop herself from thinking about what the Ghouls were bantering over. "Umm… Shaggy? What about me…? Did I appear in a dream too?" she shyly asked, fidgeting with a loose bandage.
"Like, yeah. You did, but nothing really embarrassing happened, like, so ya don't have to worry about that. Basically, you somehow turned the Hex Girls and myself into mummies and we all ended up moving into a tomb together. For some reason, we weren't covered in bandages like you usually are. Like, we just looked really dead and were dressed up in some sort of Egyptian clothes that didn't really cover much… Hmm… Like, I guess that part might be a little awkward for you."
"Umm… What were we doing in that dream?" Tanis wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she was curious anyway.
"That's the odd thing. Like, we were just sitting around and watching a movie. I think, like, it was one called 'Soccer Mummy'…."
-Dream Flashback-
Inside Tanis' tomb, on a fancy Egyptian-style couch, sat five mummies. At least one of which fit the description of a traditional mummy, anyway… Tanis' grown-up figure still aptly visible through the bandages, due to the fact that she purposefully had them wrapped a little tight. She had grown to like making herself as appealing as possible to her "beloved pharaoh", Shaggy, after he helped her come out of her shell of timidity. She still felt uncomfortable about completely shedding the bandages, unlike her fellow undead.
Thorn, Dusk, and Luna, their skin now as dark-grey as Tanis', flanked Shaggy on the couch. The dark-haired band leader sat on Shaggy's lap while her bandmates sat to his right and left. All three sported nothing but simple black dresses as they watched the TV. Shaggy appeared to look like Egyptian royalty with the attire that Tanis awkwardly insisted that he wear. A white tunic, fancy golden necklaces, and a golden headpiece.
The TV showed a movie of a mummy, apparently, joining a human soccer team. Currently, the mummy had stopped during a game because he noticed the jumping, jiggling cheerleaders… "Uh oh! The professor said not to let him get a boner!" one of the players said to another… (1)
-Back to reality-
"…and that was, like, pretty much it. Guess Tanis might be more of a homebody, huh?" Shaggy said, ending his story. Tanis blushed, giggling a little. It was true that she didn't really get out of her tomb much when at home.
"Um… Well… I wouldn't be that opposed to… uh… exploring…" Tanis answered, finding the floor an interesting view.
"Exploring what? The land or Shaggy's body?" Winnie joked with a wink, causing Tanis to let out a timid yelp and hide under the table with Phantasma.
"Like, Winnie…" Shaggy warned as he got up and knelt down to check on the meek mummy.
"Aw, come on, Shaggy. Ya know I was just joking around. Nothing wrong with either of those options!" Winnie lightly protested as Sibella and Elsa quietly chuckled at Winnie's apparent 'foot-in-mouth syndrome'.
Moments after Shaggy looked under the table, Tanis and Phantasma came out from there. The ghost had jovially tied her few random loose bandages up into cute little bows, much to Tanis' awkward chagrin.
"It's ok, Shaggy. I know Winnie was trying to be funny…" Tanis said, clinging to her new boyfriend, who stood up. Her height caused her to be hanging off of the lanky mystery-solver. Tanis wrapped her legs as best she could around him so she wouldn't fall. The others noticed, realizing the benefits of the mummy's actions.
"Why does she get to be that clingy? I wanna hug too…" Winnie grumbled. Immediately, pale blue hands wrapped around her from behind and she found herself hovering in midair. Phantasma had seen fit to give her the hug that the werewolf seemed to have desired.
"Lemme give ya one, Win-Win! I'm a hugger! See?" the ghost exclaimed in joy as the werewolf squirmed in the ghost's surprisingly solid grip. At this, everyone else had a good laugh.
Winnie just wasn't going to win this morning…
A few hours later, a tour bus rolled into Coolsville, painted mostly black with a few marks of Halloween-orange, mainly the HEX insignia on both sides and the back, although it was also marked with little text like email addresses and a phone number for bookings. Like Elsa had done for the Grimwood Ghouls just a few scant weeks before, it was Sally "Thorn" McKnight that was driving the sizable vehicle into the hometown of Mystery Inc. One would have thought that the band would have hired at least a driver, what with their success as of late. But not these women.
Inside the tour bus, decorated to their spooky specifications, the tour bus was like a small but luxurious apartment. A well-stocked fridge, a big-screen TV with DVD player and video games, a bathroom, small shelves of books and other items of entertainment, and a bedroom in back. Luna was keeping herself busy with a book while Dusk let her mind wander as she almost-subconsciously practiced the beats to one of her drum solos on the table she was sitting at with her hands, the noise surprisingly not annoying to the other two women.
"Hey, Thorn. Think we'll catch the gang by surprise? I don't think we gave them an exact time when we told them we were coming." Luna asked, a smirk growing as she pictured them just entering Mystery Inc's home by surprise, not unlike the character Kramer from the old sitcom, Seinfeld. Of course, unlike the goofball of TV fame, Luna pictured some sort of spooky disguise involved to scare their favorite cowards, Shaggy and Scooby. She couldn't put a finger on the reason, but there was just something about pulling pranks on those two that was simply a joy. Whatever the reason, it definitely wasn't out of malice. Not even close to that.
"Oh, I think they'll just be glad to see us when we get there. We've never actually came to visit them, after all. Then again, with how often they travel, I somehow doubt they get many visitors." Thorn mused aloud, their bus' GPS system directing her throughout the streets of Coolsville. So far, from what she saw as she drove, it seemed like a pleasant enough town. She wondered if there was a place in town where she could get supplies for her herbal remedies. It still hasn't gotten any easier singing on long tours… Not to mention, she had been having a sort of feeling that she might be needing any help her knowledge of the Wiccan ways can provide. Very strange…
"Ya know what'd be funny? If Shaggy and Scooby scared us for a change! It'd be so surreal." Dusk snickered as she kept drumming passively. The others rolled their eyes, grinning. As much as they thought highly of the two friends, they'd both eat their official Hex Girls t-shirt if those two ever did anything that actually scared the crap out of them.
Thorn scoffed. "They'd only scare us if they'd somehow manage to actually gain a few hundred pounds with the way they eat! Incoming heart attacks!" As she snickered, her mind pictured herself rolling a bloated, ball-shaped Shaggy around by pushing him. The mental image version of herself stopped, shrugged, and then jumped on top of him and rolled him along by walking on him like some sort of circus balancing act.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want them dying on us. Death by food… Now that'd be a cold fate for those two." Luna remarked, a part of her appreciating how macabre the thought was, despite the subject of the thought.
"After years of choking the chicken, the chicken chokes them! Wait… That's not the right joke…" Dusk groaned. Luna looked over at the blonde, pigtailed bandmate like she just grew a second head. After a moment, Thorn just laughed. Somehow, she had mentally pictured the giant yellow humanoid chicken from Family Guy attacking Shaggy for some random reason.
Visiting their friends would be the best for them, Thorn thought. It could get awfully lonely on the road, even with their agents, stage crew, and managers. Sure, they got to know a good number of the staff, as most had worked with the band for quite some time. But the Girls never really got to bond with them, except for the occasional after-show drink somewhere to celebrate a milestone or a new hit album.
But by the end of the afternoon, they would get more than they bargained for…
All five members of Mystery Inc stood outside the partially-damaged gate to their apartment complex. They had agreed that the Ghouls wouldn't be revealed to the Hex Girls until the humans and dog had spoken to them about their additional company. Most of the Ghouls also agreed with the logic. Winnie had wanted to playfully scare them and Phantasma's curiosity was getting the better of her, but they eventually agreed.
Luckily for the group, they didn't have to wait long. The hulking tour bus that came around a corner and headed their way had to be them. The familiar logo was only further proof as the bus slowed alongside them and stopped, the engine cut a moment after. The door opened to reveal two of the three friends, each dressed in their stage gear, including their faux vampire fangs.
"Hey, strangers. Long time." Dusk greeted with a fanged grin. Just then, Thorn appeared behind her two bandmates, her fangs also on.
"Tell us about it. How goes the tour?" Fred asked, before anyone else could get a greeting in.
"Oh, very successful so far. Good to see some time off didn't make society forget us. How about this tour bus? Custom made to our spook-ifications." Thorn answered as the Girls stepped off the bus.
"Like, that's awesome! I'd hate to think of the price tag on that." Shaggy said as he gave the bus a good look. He whistled. "Yeah, like, definitely pricy!"
"Amazing what a new album and some great concerts sold out in advance can get ya, huh Shaggy?" Dusk bragged, standing next to the skinny coward, joining him in admiring the recent acquisition. After a moment, the blonde gave Shaggy a hug.
"It's wonderful to see you guys again! And hey, no ghostly witches this time, right?" Dusk snickered, remembering the 'good circumstances' in which they first met Mystery Inc. At her question, Shaggy grew a little nervous. After all, there was indeed a ghost around again. A friendly one, but still…
As he thought that, a pair of invisible eyes spotted the hug as the being they belonged to pondered the new women. Was it her or was that hug more than just a friend hug? Or was the closeness because the blonde human hadn't seen her friends in a long time? And why was she still hugging him? Oh, right. She was waiting for Shaggy to return the hug. ….About time he returned it, the awkward lug. Phantasma giggled as quietly as she could about that, keeping a respective distance away while still being able to hear what was being said.
While Phantasma eavesdropped on the Hex Girls and Mystery Inc chatting about their recent events in life, another individual had grown curious of the situation. Although she wouldn't admit that her own curiosity had gotten the better of her, of course. After all, she did tell her beloved that she would stay behind until his say so. She didn't want him thinking that she was untrustworthy.
But who would notice a small purple bat flying around if she remained out of the way enough? Sibella once again pondered if the human realm was changing her personality somehow, her prim and proper ways slowly being discarded for brash actions like spying on her love's friends when she was going to meet them soon anyway.
Nonetheless, from what she saw, the newcomers definitely seemed like interesting humans. It appeared as though the trio were glad to see all five members of Mystery Inc, unlike what Winnie had grumbled about them possibly being attracted to Shaggy. Although, there was that hug that the blonde had given him… But no, this wasn't the time or place to be worrying about things like competition. Chalk it up to Winnie's animal instincts being territorial again.
Speaking of animal instincts… Winnie skulked amongst the bushes, her skills being put to good use to make her approach as quiet as possible so she could get a look at these Hex Girls. Her slow, stealthy movements made it so she missed a good chunk of the conversation, but that was better than her being caught. From what she could tell, with her vision slightly hindered by the leaves and branches of the bushes she was sneaking through as well as the bars of the fence that separated the yard from the sidewalk and road, the new women were indeed vampire wannabes. The clothes, the makeup, the fake fangs… And they were attractive. She didn't know what to make of that particular fact. Her territorial instincts were growling about how they might 'steal her mate'. But she knew better. Shaggy was allowed to have more friends, was he not?
Back in the apartment building, two binoculars looked out upon the gathering at the front gate.
"I can't believe we're spying on poor Shaggy like this… I think we should have waited for Shaggy to introduce us to them…" Tanis grumbled as she looked upon the visitors. Tanis had a hunch that the pale one with the dark hair was most likely the leader, as she carried herself with a similar confident manner as Sibella.
"Try telling that to the others. Especially Phantasma. We all know what she's like when she's sorely tempted to do something…" Elsa responded with a knowing smirk, having predicted to herself that Shaggy's request to stay put would somehow be disobeyed.
"Ohhh… I just hope nothing bad happens…" the height-challenged mummy whimpered. Despite her concern, both kept watching through their binoculars….
"…and that's how we came up with our new hit song." Thorn finished, having just told a story about their latest shenanigans. It turned out that the Hex Girls had their own share of adventures and odd events happening since their last physical run-in with Mystery Inc. Now they knew how Shaggy and the others felt on the road.
"Rat's rawsome!" Scooby commented, clapping a little.
"Like, yeah. Rock bands always have, like, these crazy stories, man." Shaggy agreed, momentarily breaking out into an air guitar session to ham it up. The Hex Girls chuckled at his antics. Same ol' Shaggy. Just for kicks, Dusk went to stand next to him and did her own air guitar gesturing. The two of them began to make corny guitar noises with their mouths. What sounded like third, more shrill voice chimed in with their guitar noises, causing the duo to stop.
"Like, was that you?" Shaggy asked, a little nervous.
"No, Shag. Wasn't that you?"
"Nope! Uhh… Maybe it was just how we sounded together?" Shaggy suggested lamely, glancing around. To his dismay, he caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of blue legs sticking out of the side of the bus, high up and thankfully unseen by anybody else. Phantasma got curious. Shaggy gulped, hoping that Phanty wouldn't misplace everything in there or something. Moments later, Phantasma's legs vanished into the bus as the ghost began exploring…
"You look spooked, Shag. Is something wrong?" Luna asked. Boy, what an ironic question.
"Like, maybe. Uhh… Perhaps it's, like, time I told ya what's been going on with us lately. So, uhh… Turns out you're not the only ones that came to visit us lately." Shaggy said, mentally flustered as he tried to quickly figure out how to properly reveal the Ghouls before Phanty caused some sort of freak-out. As dark as the Hex Girls' gimmick was, he still remembered the unpleasantness of the Witch's Ghost incident.
"Oh, really? Somebody have some family over? Other friends? Hmm… You wouldn't happen to have attracted a lovely woman, have you, Shaggy?" Thorn said in a teasing manner. Unlike what she expected, Shaggy wasn't embarrassed by the insinuation. Instead, he looked even more nervous.
'You don't know how right you are, Thorn.' Shaggy thought, nervously pulling at his shirt collar with a finger. "Uhh… Well, about that… Like, you remember what happened when we met?" he asked.
Thorn smiled, fondly. "Yeah. We bared our fangs and you got scared. Good times." she said, snickering as Shaggy's momentary groan of being reminded of that.
"Like, after that… with the Witch's Ghost." At that, the fond smile vanished.
"Yeah… Finding out that there is such a thing as the supernatural. Yeah, that was… quite the experience. Why are you bringing this up?" Thorn asked, perplexed. It did seem odd that having friends over had anything to do with the Witch's Ghost.
"Hehehe… He asks because of me!" a shrill, girly voice answered, coming from… the tour bus? Everyone looked toward the bus. A transparent white-and-blue head was sticking out of the side of the bus, grinning in joy. Mystery Inc all looked tense, not sure of how the Hex Girls would react to Phantasma. The three women stared wide-eyed at the newcomer. This was unexpected…
"Hey, how ya doin'?" Phantasma said in a brief, curt greeting that Beetlejuice would be proud of. This snapped everyone out of their stupors, mainly the Hex Girls.
"Shaggy…? Who is this?" Dusk asked, not taking her eyes off of the blue ghost as Phantasma innocently phased out of the bus and hovered around.
"Uh, like, this is Phantasma… She came to visit me." Shaggy answered, still trying to figure out if he should even reveal his relationship. Now he really was winging it.
Before Thorn could say anything in response, her hand was grabbed and excitedly shaken by Phantasma. "Nice to meet'cha! Phantasma Phantom. Shags has told us a lot about you guys since ya let him know you were coming. I always liked music a lot. Never got to see any bands close up, though. And now here's a band! Right here, in front of me! Nice bus, by the way. I really liked what you've done with it. Spooky! I could definitely make a home in there. Awesome instruments too! Bet they're better tuned than my stuff. Wouldn't surprise me! I've been told that I'm at least one-eighth banshee. Maybe we should—"
"Phanty!" Shaggy interrupted, his arms crossed. The ghost immediately stopped shaking Thorn's hand as she realized that she had blown her cover in all her excitement. She had disobeyed Shaggy's request to let him introduce his friends to the Ghouls his way. Letting go of said hand, she put her own hands behind herself and whistled, a nervous look of feigned innocence on her face.
"She seems… interesting." Luna chimed in, realizing that maybe this ghost was a lot less dangerous than the first one they met. Not to mention, she did like the ghost's high-heeled white boots… If only they were a darker color.
"Uh, yeah. Like, she's interesting alright. Well, I guess the secret's kinda out. Some of it anyway…" Shaggy grumbled. He was at least relieved that the Hex Girls didn't get defensive. He turned his attention to Phantasma. "Phanty, I thought we agreed that you'd stay in the apartment. Like, you know I was concerned about how to introduce you guys."
Phantasma, while ashamed, grew a little defiant. "But Shags, it's not like I'm the only one that snuck out. Have you looked toward the sky lately? Look carefully."
Shaggy looked up, as did the Hex Girls and the rest of Mystery Inc. Nothing. Just a nice peaceful day. Blue sky, a few puffy clouds here and there, the occasional small bat flying by…. Wait… Bat? Shaggy groaned again. Daphne and Velma chuckled at the curiosity of the Grimwood Ghouls. They couldn't really blame them for wanting a closer look. With their career of being 'meddling kids', how could they?
"Like, how would you girls like to meet a real vampire…?" Shaggy said in a somewhat defeated tone.
"Vampire? But it's daytime." Thorn pointed out, to which Shaggy shrugged.
"Like, sunlight doesn't bother this one as much." he said before cupping his hands around his mouth and tilted his head skyward. "HEY, SIBELLA! YOU CAN, LIKE, COME DOWN NOW! WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"
In response, the little purple bat flinched, having figured that Phantasma would have seen her and tattled on her once she made her presence known. Swooping downward, she decided to be mischievous with her beloved beau. Slowing her decent, she landed on top of Shaggy's head, just as she did when Mystery Inc was being introduced to the Ghouls. Shaggy sighed, even though the Hex Girls did smile and snicker.
"Cute bat, Shaggy." Thorn said, smirking. The shade of purple was a dead giveaway that this was indeed not a normal bat.
Luna already had her cell phone out, snapping a picture for herself. An annoyed Shaggy with a bat on his head. That'd be a good one to rib him with later. Carefully, Shaggy reached up and tried to grab Sibella without hurting her, the bat chittering in slight protest before deciding to let him grab her. He set the bat down on the ground before stepping backward. Sibella curled her wings around herself and slowly expanded, transforming into her humanoid form to the amazement of the Hex Girls. A real, authentic vampire.
"Shaggy, dear, I do hope you'll forgive our intrusion. I know curiosity killed the bat, but we just couldn't resist after hearing so much about your intriguing friends." Sibella assured him in her polite, debonair demeanor.
"You're a…" Luna started to ask, trailing off as they stared at the exotic beauty before them. Vampires always did have that effect on most humans… Males in particular, of course, but even the womenfolk had to admire (if not envy) the unnatural genetics.
"Vampire? Indeed." Sibella reached out for a handshake. "Greetings. I am Sibella…" she paused, appearing momentarily distracted by thought as if considering something. "Sibella Dracula."
Thorn was the first to accept the purple hand. "Most call me Thorn. So, you're THE Dracula? A lot different than the legends, I'd say."
Sibella graced her with a fanged smile, a small part of her cherishing what she was about to say. "Let's just say I recently inherited the family legacy. Coming of age, you know." The victory over her father still tasted as sweet as the freshest blood.
"Holy crap, that would mean you're the Queen of All Vampires, right?" Dusk asked, surprised that of all people, a friendly scaredy-cat like Shaggy knows such a high-ranking monster.
"Mm, eventually. I'm enjoying my time with my dearest friend. Besides, the less spoken of the… I believe your kind call it 'bureaucratic red tape', the better." Sibella replied, shaking her hand next.
"Vampire on vacation… If that ain't a surreal idea." Luna commented to the others.
"Tell us about it." Daphne answered, trying and failing to picture Sibella on a beach trying to suntan. Failing because her mind somehow twisted the imagery to Shaggy applying suntan lotion on the vampire's back, which somehow led to the two getting it on… The redhead did not want to know why her mind went there!
"Actually, I'm celebrating my graduation from school." the vampiress corrected.
"Really? Vampires have schools?" Thorn asked, eyebrows raised. She pondered if 'Blood Sucking 101' was an actual course for a vampire.
Phantasma giggled, feeling the need to speak up. "Silly! We all went to school! Shags here was a big part of our learning. At least to us, he was a big part. We coulda gone anywhere for graduation, now that I think about it, but all of us chose here."
"Shaggy the teacher, huh? Hmm… Well, he's friendly enough to be around students. Lemme guess…" Dusk said, getting a look of intense thought as she stared at Shaggy. "Hmmmm…. Home Ec. teacher? I mean, you and food, Shaggy. You gotta have some killer cooking skills!"
Shaggy was immensely elated that this meeting was going better than he thought. "Actually, like, I was their Gym teacher. It was the position the school was looking for when I applied."
"I can totally see that. Marathon runner, this one. Especially when scared." Thorn joked, playfully nudging Shaggy with an elbow. Sibella came up on Shaggy's other side and put an arm around him. "Oh, trust us. We know. Threaten to kill him once and he'd win all the footrace events of your kind's Summer Olympics competition." she said, grinning as Shaggy timidly groused. Maybe the meeting was going too well, now that the real vampire and the stage vampire were already double-teaming him with jokes.
"Hmm… They said 'all of us'. I assume there's more of your students around, Shaggy?" Luna asked, alert for any more surprises. Who knows what else had impulse behavior around here?
"Like, yeah. Five in total. It was a small school. Uh, like, either of you girls know if anybody else decided to sneak around?" he asked the two Ghouls. Phanty giggled, as usual. Sibella had a predatory sneer as she, with her arm still lovingly wrapped around Shaggy's torso, silently led her beau away from the Hex Girls and… toward the gateway? As they got closer, Shaggy noticed a section of the nearby bushes rustling, as if something was inside it, trying to back away.
"Oh, there's another somebody around here, dear Shaggy. If you all would gather around a moment!" Sibella finally spoke aloud to the others, her tone dripping of the satisfaction of cornering somebody. As they started to make their way over, the rustling suddenly got more violent and louder as a certain brown-furred, red-haired, well-endowed female stood up from it.
"Alright! Alright! Jeez, no need to embarrass me, 'Bella. C'mon… Ya caught me." Winnie grumbled as she stepped out of the bushes and dusted all the loose leaves and dirt off of herself.
"Ladies, this is Winnie, like, obviously a werewolf. Winnie, this is Thorn, Dusk, and Luna. The Hex Girls." Shaggy said, a nervous hand passively scratching the back of his head.
"Uh, never knew werewolves could be… well-equipped." Thorn pointed out. In her defense, who wouldn't notice Winnie's 'assets'? Especially with the werewolf's choice of clothing lately…
"All-natural, baby. Nice to meet'cha." Winnie's embarrassment at being caught by Sibella quickly gave way to her pride in her own appeal. Typical Winnie. The werewolf stuck out a fist instead of a hand. Nobody responded, leaving her hanging.
"What, no fist bump? C'mon, I don't bite… hard. Heh! Always wanted to say that! But seriously, I don't bite friends of Shaggy's." Winnie said in a confident, reassuring tone. Her friendly manner was offset by the fact that the innocent grin she showed revealed her pointy teeth… Nonetheless, Dusk offered the first fist bump response, made awkward by the human being on her guard.
"There ya go. No harm done, see?" Winnie said, dropping the fist. One was better than none, she supposed. Shaggy let out a little sigh of relief. Up until now, he thought Winnie was going to cause some sort of ruckus.
The werewolf approached the three women, got in between Luna and Thorn, and put an arm around each human's shoulders in a chummy manner. "So you're the women my mate's so thrilled to see, eh? Digging the fashion sense, for one thing." she said, casually.
And with that one statement, in Shaggy's mind, Winnie just causes some sort of ruckus…
"Whoa! Wait a minute…!" Thorn exclaimed, wriggling out of Winnie's friendly grasp. "Mate? Isn't Shaggy your teacher?"
"Yup." was the simple reply, the she-wolf clearly not giving a damn. Not maliciously, but just being direct about things.
"And you're how old?" Luna asked, also taken aback by Winnie's admission, but chose to stay where she was.
"Gonna be 20 in a few months. Human years, that is. Not canine years. Yeah, so Coach is a little older than me. Age gaps aren't really a concern to most werewolves unless the gap in question involves being too old to successfully breed." Winnie explained, as if that were the answer to all the questions. With her free hand, she passively examined her claws like a human would examine her fingernails.
The Hex Girls all weren't fully sure what to make of this situation. Shaggy, their good-natured, cowardly friend, had not only been a gym teacher for a class of monster girls at some point, but had the nerve to enter a relationship with one of his younger former students.
Not that the Hex Girls were strict followers of human society's laws, of course. Still… It did concern them.
"Shaggy, dear… Maybe we should explain…?" Sibella suggested, noticing the lost look her lover had. It wouldn't be long before the full secret was out in the open. The newcomers, to her, seemed a little agitated by Winnie's revelation. But, like a band-aid or a piece of duct tape across a mouth, it was probably better to get the whole explanation over with and see what happens. Secrets had a way of hurting, after all.
"That reminds me… Sibella, was it…?" Luna spoke up, Winnie having let her go a moment ago. "If Winnie is Shaggy's girlfriend, why are you calling Shaggy 'dear'? And why'd you put your arm around him the way you did earlier?"
"Very observant of you. Well… Um… I am aware that this goes against human societal protocol, but I too have made a claim on dearest Shaggy." Sibella announced. Just then, Phantasma floated up in front of Sibella, excited.
"Ooh! Me too! I made him my playmate! Neat, huh? In fact, we all like him. So instead of bickering and arguing and catfighting all the time, we decided to share!" the ghost cheerfully exclaimed. Sibella coughed lightly.
"You'll pardon her. She was never one for subtlety or tact. But facts are facts." Sibella said as she walked right through the giggling specter, the feeling of a body passing through her not unpleasant as Phanty kept quietly chanting "Playmate! Playmate!" in a sing-song voice to herself.
Shaggy, the poor man, suddenly felt as if he were up against a wall as he studied the faces of his musical friends. It didn't look particularly favorable as they appeared to be troubled. This wouldn't have happened if the Ghouls had stayed in the…no… No, he wasn't going to go down that road, even in his head. As outgoing as Winnie and Phantasma were, this kind of scenario would have happened one way or the other, he realized just then.
Velma turned to Fred and Daphne, intrigued. "Hmm… Just think. In some other universe, Shaggy would be introducing the Hex Girls as his girlfriends to the Grimwood Ghouls who visited later than the Hex Girls. And in yet another, who knows? Fred might have been the ladies' man."
"Really?" Fred answered in an interested tone, causing Daphne to slap him upside the head.
"Doing some heavy reading into the multiverse theory, Velms?" Daphne asked as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's 'priorities'.
"Constants and variables, Daphne. Constants and variables…" (2) the genius merely replied, satisfied with her thoughts.
Back to the matter at hand, Thorn had crossed her arms, looking from one Ghoul to the next until finally returning her gaze toward Shaggy.
"So… You were a teacher…" Thorn stated.
"Like, yep…" was his timid reply, not liking where this was going already.
"At an all-girls school…"
"Yep…"
"Meant for monsters…"
"Uh huh…" At this point, the ghouls and Mystery Inc followed the conversation with their heads, as if it were a tennis match.
"And that was a few years ago and they're graduated now…"
"Just graduated, yeah…"
"And you're now their boyfriend…"
Shaggy gulped. "Kinda just happened, yeah…"
A moment of silence then occurred as Thorn gave Shaggy a thorough examination, similar to a critic seriously judging a piece of art. Sibella and Winnie both started to feel bad for Shaggy, practically feeling his anxiety. Phanty's own guilt was apparent when she even stopped fidgeting for once.
"Huh…. One moment." Thorn said in a reserved manner as she gathered Dusk and Luna for a group huddle, whispering amongst themselves. For the first time in a long time, Shaggy was sweating bullets in a moment that didn't involve scary monsters chasing him. Scooby tried supporting his friend by patting him on the back with a paw.
Phantasma was reminded of how she was criticized by her peers at school for "being weird" when she was alive. Or was that a conversation she overheard during the couple of times she explored Coolsville? Something she heard on TV? She couldn't be sure. Either way, Shaggy's 'trial' reminded her of something.
The Hex huddle split, the three young women once again facing Shaggy with indifferent looks on their faces.
"Well, we've thought about it, Shaggy…" Thorn said before pausing, drawing this out more than she needed to. Shaggy's head dropped, expecting the worst. His visual attention diverted, Thorn…. smiled?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Talk about being whipped, am I right, ladies?" Thorn then added, her tone noticeably more friendly. Dusk and Luna snickered as Shaggy's head shot back up, confused. Thorn was cracking jokes?
"Huh? Like… This doesn't upset you?" Shaggy asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Shag, we're the Hex Girls. You really think we'd be that upset about not following society's rules of dating? Besides, you're one of the nicest guys we've ever met. You're the last person we'd expect to go all sexual predator on anybody." Thorn explained, grinning.
"That's what I figured too." Daphne pointed out. Good to know there were others that appreciated Shaggy's good qualities.
Shaggy let out a huge sigh of relief, swiping the sweat off his forehead with a hand.
"We do have one condition, Shaggy…" Luna suddenly mentioned, making the meek beatnik freeze on the spot.
"Like… a condition?" Knowing their mischief well, he was almost too nervous to ask.
"Yep! A condition. A good one too." Dusk piped up, a little excited at the prospect the Girls had agreed to in their huddle.
"Since you seem to be so open to the idea of dating multiple women, you're going to take us out on dates. After all, for us to be sure that things with you will be completely fine, we would like to… test your skills." Thorn explained, giving Shaggy a sly wink at the possible innuendo at the end.
"Like, WHAT?!" he exclaimed, his hair standing on end in shock. Where the hell did that come from?
Phantasma giggled shrilly at this development as Winnie and Sibella's jaws dropped. The last thing the Ghouls expected was the three humans insisting they be included. This changed a lot of things… Eight women. Like it or not, Shaggy now had eight women to please overall. Not to mention the matter of the Ghouls getting to know the band. That might take a little effort and getting used to in itself.
"Holy crap… How does Shaggy do it? The Hex Girls are asking him out too? Just…. how?" Fred pondered aloud what Velma and Daphne were basically thinking. It was strange that a meek-mannered, normal guy like Shaggy (if you don't count his extreme appetite and his talking dog) could earn the affections of this many women at once. Perhaps the universe messing with life by giving Shaggy an overabundance of good luck in love? If so, one had to wonder at who's expense the excess luck came from… Then again, the Hex Girls could just be playing with Shaggy again, this time with something more elaborate due to the coward's strange relationship.
Poor Velma. Never before had she felt so outclassed. If five inhuman ladies weren't competition enough for her to regret not telling Shaggy of her secret feelings sooner, the three enchanting Gothic beauties before them throwing their hats in the ring surely created a metaphorical barrier to the brown-haired nerd. But on the other hand, if this thing could somehow work out… Well, what's one more woman for Shaggy to love and be loved by, right? She would have to keep a close eye on how Shaggy and the women handle themselves and each other. For science, of course…. Who was she kidding? It'd be for her own personal reasons! Let the social experiment commence!
"So, do we have a deal, Shaggy? You show us that you can show a group of women a good time and we won't get upset over what many would think to be a VERY inappropriate relationship. Alright?" Thorn asked as she suddenly approached Shaggy, stopping right in front of him. Shaggy wasn't nervous, due to the disarmingly warm smile. For a Goth, Thorn could sure give off a comforting vibe when she wanted. He figured it might have been some part of her Wiccan ways.
"Uh… Like…" He paused, glancing toward his three ghoulfriends. Phanty gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, thrilled to have some new friends (and potential sister-mates) to play with sometime. Sibella, calm and stoic, simply nodded. A slightly jealous Winnie just shrugged, the werewolf only agreeing because at least the humans seemed like cool chicks to hang with. "Like, sure, Thorn. I'd be honored to."
"Oh, how polite." Thorn playfully commented, smirking. A small part of her wanted to tease him by giving him a peck on the cheek while she was still so close to him. Just to see him get flustered, of course. But perhaps later, if things worked out like she hoped. Maybe there'd be more than just a simple peck.
"Good thing our next concert isn't for a few nights later. It'll give us a chance for us all to get to know each other, don't you think?" Luna commented, giving the werewolf a good look. It was quite unusual to run into a lycanthrope with a blatant 'flaunt it if you got it' attitude toward fashion and her body. Winnie noticed the redhead's stare.
"What, Red? Do I have somethin' in my fur?" Winnie said, a slight growl escaping her mouth as a warning.
"No. Just wondering about your style. You go full-on werewolf on full moons, right? Bigger? More animal-like? So… do you wear so little because you're used to wearing nothing when you're feral?" Luna asked as Winnie subconsciously adjusted her short-shorts.
"Well, you're right about my transformation. Not much fits me during that time. As for my clothes, you're wrong. I just enjoy teasing Shaggy and trying to get him to do something." Winnie answered with a predatory grin. Sibella shook her head at the werewolf's answer.
"Werewolves… Am I correct?" the purple vampire grumbled, much to Thorn's amusement.
"Is there really a feud between werewolves and vampires? I've always wondered." Thorn asked.
"That is merely the result of the human media blowing something out of proportion. Some packs of werewolves do indeed have their grudges against some groups or families of vampires, sure, but it's not entire species against entire species. Well… except for that one time my father almost went too far, but that was around a century ago…" She answered, her face scrunching up in annoyance upon mentioning her disgraced father.
"I see. So, you and Winnie are…?"
Sibella smiled. "Practically sisters. We bicker now and then, but isn't that normal?" she answered, snickering.
"True. Alright, ladies, shall we go meet the rest of Shaggy's 'ghoulfriends'?" Thorn declared to Dusk and Luna, the two of them nodding in agreement.
As the Ghouls led the Hex Girls to the apartment, chatting amicably, Shaggy wiped the sweat off of his face with a forearm. "Like…. That went well…" he commented, feeling better.
"Just one thing, Shaggy…." Daphne said as the group started to follow the women.
"Like, what's that?"
"Got any idea of where to take the Hex Girls on your date?" she asked, grinning. Shaggy gulped.
"ZOINKS! I'm doomed!"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well… I kinda feel like I just threw together the second half of this chapter… Maybe this one needs more work? I've been going through some real-life things in recent months that have dimmed my creative fire, so to speak. I still want to keep going with this story, don't get me wrong! I appreciate you guys for reading and enjoying my work so far and I hope I can keep up the kind of quality that most of you would expect from a good story. I admit that I've never fully finished a long, multichapter story before… And I might have problems with trying to keep a story going once it gets into the middle of it. (Example: my Beetlejuice/Silent Hill story "Silent Payback"… Still on-hiatus to this day… Feel free to check out what I have of that, if you're interested.) But I keep writing what I can…
So, if you guys have any suggestions or ideas or pointers for the next chapter (Shaggy's sudden group date with the Hex Girls), feel free to help out via reviews! I'd really appreciate any attempt to get on a creative roll here, as I know this story seems to be somewhat popular so far, judging from how many people have followed/favorited this story.
Reference Footnotes: 1) An obscure Simpsons reference, specifically during the famous episode where a movie theater kept playing previews while Homer was getting more and more pissed off. "Soccer Mummy" was one of the joke movies previewed.
2) BioShock Infinite, anyone?
Reader Review Replies:
Inconsistencies – Yeah, I realize the trap, but I just thought I'd at least give a mention to the idea of Shaggy/Velma. Still not sure if she'll be added or not, but hey, why not a brief acknowledgement at least? Lol.
Sgt. M00re and Mr. G – Thanks for the idea which (Shameless plug alert!) inspired my other Scooby-Doo fanfic, "Meet My Student"!
Dark Goddess2000 – Hope the meeting of Girls and Ghouls didn't disappoint, despite my current creative struggles.
Keeper Of Worlds – I'm still hoping to maintain the balance here as I add the Hex Girls into this.
Phoenix Warehouse Productions – Thanks for the good points. Definitely valid.
Grumpydrawer – Glad you liked my fic! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I'm my own worst critic sometimes. Lol. And yeah, Drac's side-story had to end eventually. Maybe, if I'm inspired enough, I could write something to show what kind of crap Ash puts the beaten Dracula through. XD
You Can Call Me. Ken – Thanks for the praise, dude. As for your request, an epilogue seems like a great idea. Hopefully, I'll actually be able to reach that point! Lol.
Kinggame40 – Yeah…. That minor detail kinda slipped my mind… Whoops! Hmm… As for your "magic-user Shaggy" idea, maybe if Sibella insists on teaching Shaggy magic with "certain rewards" for good effort. XD Talk about 'hot for teacher', am I right? Lol.
All Guests – Thanks a lot!