AN:

Still rolling with it!

Chapter 10:

"Oh my…you've certainly gotten bigger."

Scrappy turned his ears up to the soft sounding voice that was as deceptive as it wanted to be on a good day. She sounded disinterested but she was far from it when she came around and knelt down unnecessarily in front of the young dog that was all ears now. Scrappy didn't say anything to thwart her observations, though he certainly didn't remember seeing her at all within his life time. Oddly enough she reminded him a lot of that female vampire that had been a bit of a ditz when they'd run into Dracula a few years ago. Well, it was more about the seductiveness of it all rather than the personality. Whoever this chick was, she certainly exuded sensuality.

He tilted his head at the light touch of her hand and backed up a little. "Do…I know you?"

"You should." She grinned then, revealing herself with no more than a smile and giggling when he sat back in shock. "I remember when you were a little pup tagging along after his uncle while his master was trying to run a gym class for the Grimwood girls. Fond memories…not to mention all the pictures I've seen of you on facebook."

Scrappy's mind was silently blown. A vampire was talking about facebook?! "You seem familiar?"

"Sibella, like, try not to freak him out too much," Shaggy said as he passed by. "He's…been out of the picture for a little while."

Sibella? This was Sibella?! Scrappy looked her over again and couldn't quite bring himself to believe that just yet. This was not the sibella he remembered from Grimwood academy…was it?

"Out of the picture?" Her curiosity was growing, as was Scrappy's when he cautiously leaned to sniff her. She smelt like roses…right before death came and claimed them. "I thought you kept in touch with everyone."

"I've been busy," Scrappy supplied before Shaggy could. He looked back at the tall man that had once been a teen, carefree then and stressed out now. So much had changed, and this wasn't even the beginning of it all. "I don't have an owner."

"And you might never if you don't finish yer training," Yabba said. The white Great Dane sauntered up to where Sibella was still looking over Scrappy and gently nudged her from her spot with his nose. She took it for what it was, smiled and walked off to take a seat next to Winnie setting up for the night that was only a few hours off.

Yabba felt Scooby sit next to him. "Sibella is one of the harmless ones," he said quietly. "She's here to help us with this thing. The tome that was used belonged to Dracula, and being that he can't just waltz out whenever he wants to, he sent his daughter."

"A tome of Dracula was used?"

"Yes."

Scrappy's ears fell back in alarm. "…it wasn't the one that I think it was; was it?"

Scooby didn't answer. He looked in the direction of the only blonde girl within the room that was on the verge of freaking out the darker it got.

Morning had come and gone. They hadn't even realized it until Shaggy had looked to the window and noticed that the sun was darker than it should have been. Another look at the clock only confirmed that it was nearly supper time, as was the scent of dinner wafting in the air thanks to Angie. Angie never missed making a meal if she could help it, and it was perhaps the only normal thing around here that made this somewhat tolerable. Shaggy, once more to the utter shock of Scrappy and the dismay of Fred and Shaggy, had little to no appetite. He'd come to the table, shoved his food around, ate a little bit, and handed the rest of it off to Scooby. Scooby wasn't one to waste food, so it was inhaled without question. As much as he hated the thought of Shaggy not eating, the Great Dane was going to need his energy tonight in ways he didn't want to think about.

Times between meals were spent explaining the situation to Yabba and Scrappy. Scooby was happy to let Velma explain, already tired of talking and more than willing to shut up for the duration. Of course there was the moment of sheer disbelief on Scrappy's part that someone they knew would go and do something like this, but his shock was more warranted to the fact that it was Googie who had done it. The other piece of his shock that kept him somewhat speechless was his realization that Shaggy had parted ways with Googie in such a fashion, and that the taller man hadn't completely lost his mind. He was so head over heels in love with her…or so he'd thought.

Once the explanations were told and situation was up to date with the here and now, Scrappy happened to look sideways at Shaggy. He didn't mean anything by it other than to study the man the teen had become, but his timing was impeccable as his Uncle's liked to snicker. His soft yelp had Yabba and Scooby investigating and then in hysterics when they realized why he was yelping. It wasn't something that they had thought to bring up but then again, there really wasn't a reason to.

Fred had only kissed him in passing, saying he was going to walk the perimeter again. Shaggy had gone with it, telling him to be careful and not seeing Scrappy's face once the teen dog had spied them. He was too busy worrying until Scooby and Yabba's laughter had the man turning about to see what the hysterics were about.

From that point until now, Scrappy had been unusually quiet. He didn't lend a paw to come up with strange outlandish ideas, and he didn't outright demand that they go out there and deal with this mess as only they knew how. Yabba wasn't going to put up with it and Scooby certainly wasn't, but even a little protest from the smaller dog should have erupted. It didn't, which had Scooby curious.

He nudged Yabba from his spot and urged him into the kitchen. Scrappy didn't follow. His eyes were still glued to Sibella sitting next to Winfred as they set up their plan for tonight.

"All right…what's up with the pup?" Scooby asked softly. "What's eating him?"

"Aside his nerves? Not much," Yabba sighed. "I suppose it has to a lot to do with his growth spurt…it hit him hard and fast, and he ain't been the spry pup you wanna slam into the wall when he gets riled up enough."

"He's aware that he doesn't have to live up to that thing I do, correct?"

"I done told him that plenty of times. It seems like he don't plan to anyhow…He never was much of a coward even if he were pretending."

Scooby nodded, looking elsewhere for a moment. "…How's mom?"

"…not to good." There wasn't a reason to lie about it, and Yabba wasn't one for fibbing even if he wanted to. Scooby wouldn't have appreciated it anyhow so it was best to lay it all out on the table now. "She's not gon' last too much longer. Mrs. Knittingham is taking right good care of her, but I reckon we all need to find our way up there after this here business is done."

"I see. Maybe that's why…"

"Why what?"

Scooby turned his gaze back to the grown pup trying his best not to look as scared as he was. Scrappy was brave without a doubt, but there was nothing scarier than realizing one's mortality when someone close to you was on the verge of meeting death. Scrappy was well aware of his lot in life and there was nothing he could do to change it. He was going to have to make sure he rose to the occasion and didn't die because of a bad decision on his part. This wasn't a game with masks and people running around trying to hide things or make money from what wasn't theirs to begin with. This was real. It had been real for a long time, but the Zombies on that island solidified that world for the grown people sitting around the living room. Shaggy had known of it all along and chose not to speak of it, and Scrappy…he'd been thrown into that world at the same time Googie was…before then even.

It was never quite that real until blood was shed. Scooby was sure that Scrappy had smelt it and it probably scared the pup senseless.

"I take it you've been living up to the hype of keeping the nonsense to a minimum back in the west," Scooby said turning to Yabba once more. "Hard to think a place like that still exists."

"You betcha…but the town has modernized itself. Dusty's moved on and I ain't going wit him this time 'round. Finally got him a wife and some kids, and the thought of not coming home made him hang that badge up."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I reckon I'm headed home…" This wasn't said lightly, as Yabba was one of the first ones to be picked and thought to never come back because of his urge to roam in wide open spaces. For him to say that meant one thing, and Scooby felt his ears lifting themselves with every word Yabba uttered as he scratched at his chin in thought. "Without Mama, future Doos are gonna need a teacher…and if I can teach that youngin' in there, then I suppose I won't do too bad of a job with anyone else coming 'round."

Scooby knew his ears were ramrod straight and Yabba smiled at him. Scooby might have worked a bit differently but he was never slow on the uptake. "You're becoming a Sire?"

"Looks that way. I think it's time…since I know you're still a ways off from having your own litter."

The snort he got was a sure sign of his words being true. Yabba laughed at him but didn't reject the light nudge of comfort from his younger brother. They had a long night ahead of them, and they were hoping that the others wouldn't decide to pop in before they knew what in the hell they were truly dealing with.

"Like…are you guys all right?"

Scooby looked up at Shaggy peering down at the two of them. Daphne was beside him this time, wondering for herself if the two dogs were all right. Scooby cocked his brow and refused to say anything. He left that to Yabba and the white Great Dane answered with a, "What in tarnation does that mean anyhow these days? I mean, are you all right?" he countered standing up on his hind legs to place his front paws on Shaggy's shoulders. "I mean, do you know what I mean?"

"Like…I'm not really all right, no…" Shaggy answered. "Like, why?"

"Because what in the hell makes you think that we're all right if you're not all right?! Damn it man, no one is all right! I haven't been all right since I had to play wife to that damn varmit back in the day…and he was one messy asshole, you know what I'm saying?"

"N-no…"

"Good! Cause I don't know what the hell I'm saying either."

His admission was enough to sputter some laughter from the slender man. It made Scooby sigh in relief to hear Shaggy's laughter and gave him some hope that tonight wasn't going to be a total bust.

"Wow."

"Wow? What do you mean wow?"

"I mean…like…wow. It's so life like."

"And?"

"And? And nothing…except like…does it have ALL your features?"

Fred's growl was nothing short of possessive and he reached to snatch a laughing Shaggy away from the affronting image of his likeness staring blankly at nothing. "You're not making sure." Shaggy laughed even harder which only had Fred squeezing his waistline a little firmer. "Besides, his head is detachable."

The girls giggled from around the room. He was right about that much. It's head was detachable based on its source sitting in the palm of Sibella's hand. When she'd asked for Shaggy's shirt and a likeness of Fred when she'd arrived here the previous night, they were sure that she was going to whip up something that resulted in a copy of the duo. What she came up with was nothing short of dumbfounding and amazing and a bunch of other words that Velma couldn't quite bring herself to say. She was too busy gawking with the rest of them, and would have continued if Shaggy hadn't said something.

She turned her attention back to the creations sitting in the middle of the room mindlessly looking at nothing. The Shaggy lookalike stood back to back with the dummy that was Fred, but it wasn't solid. It was more of a hologram with solidified features as long as someone didn't touch him. Sibella had waved her hand through him once to demonstrate her meaning, and all that remained of the image was the shirt she'd used to conjure up Shaggy's likeness in the first place. Once she removed her hand, the image returned and remained as if nothing had disturbed it. The Fred lookalike on the other hand was completely real without the brains or the personality to go with it.

The lookalike that was Fred was completely solid; everything about him looked like the Fred that they knew today, right down to the fake dressings that had been placed on its arms. Sibella didn't miss a single detail, except for what made a man a man. There was no use for that, not that it would have served a purpose in this case anyhow. It was a living plastic replica that was at the disposal of its owner, which was Sibella holding onto.

"Techinically, it is a form of Voodoo," she explained when she got questioning looks. "However, I'm not binding the essence of Freddie to the doll…just his likeness."

"It reminds me too much of those dolls," Velma muttered to herself.

Daphne shuddered in agreement. "So, how is this going to work anyhow?"

"Like any bait and switch," Sibella giggled. "Only…"

"Only what?"

"You'll see."

Daphne and Velma looked at one another. That could have meant anything by her tone of voice.

"So, who's staying and who's going?" Maggie asked.

Sam immediately pointed to her and Angie. "You're both staying here with me," he said before they could protest. "I'm armed and I have extra weapons ready if need be."

"And now I know why you insisted on us learning how to use the rifle," Maggie muttered. "We're you're back up?"

"No…you're the one who's going to shoot the shit out of it if it gets by me. That is, if your mother doesn't fill it with holes first."

Shaggy and Maggie didn't see that solemn look on their mother too often, but they knew it well enough to know that she was serious about her role in this. "I'll do my part."

"What about Shaggy and Fred?" Velma asked. "Won't they attract attention if the decoys don't work?"

"Oh they'll work," Winnie assured. "As for the boys, we'll mask their presence long enough to keep those things from discerning which is which." She stopped to look outside and stared at the nearly full moon rising over the forests. Another few nights and she would have taken care of it herself. However, there wasn't time to wish for more time. It had to be done tonight. "We should get going…it's dark enough already."

Everyone who was slotted to go started to gather their gear or jackets. Scrappy watched them move, already knowing that he was not allowed to move from this house. Scooby and Yabba had forbidden him to, despite the argument that ended with him on his backside and Scooby practically screaming for him to think past what he wanted to do and what needed to be done. They'd discussed this earlier in the day, outside of the ears of the humans around them with Scrappy all but demanding to have a part in this plan. The moment Scooby had said no…well…

"Scrappy, mind the Rodgers good and proper like," Yabba instructed. "Your job is important, no matter how you may feel about it. Got it?"

Scrappy nooded and remained silent. His back still hurt and his soul was still shaken by the sight of his uncle as anything else than the really big chicken he portrayed, but he knew better than to go against what was deemed best by the head dog in charge. He got a nudge from Yabba in parting like always, but he wasn't expecting his uncle Scooby to do anything other than walk past him. Scooby stopped in front of him, looking at him sideways. Scrappy instinctively ducked his head.

"You're learning," Scooby said quietly. "I want you alive to learn."

"Uncle Scooby…"

"Just because a grunt is placed somewhere else don't mean his job ain't important," Yabba said. "All great people, dogs, or heroes started out just the same. They were put somewhere else to do something important even though they didn't think so at the time. I'd go into details, but I think you get it."

He did get it, and it hurt twice as much. All he could do was straighten his backside and see them off by doing the job appointed to him. Scooby gave him a look of approval and moved on to follow after Sibella, Winifred, with the others following after the likes of them.

Googie was the last one to trail behind them all, terrified out of her mind.

The darkness was all encompassing as it usually was. Walking by the light of the moon was their only way of navigating the trail they were on as Sibella and Winifred could see perfectly even without the aid of a flashlight. It was bright enough for the others to see with the skies almost clear, yet the occasional cloud would stop them in their tracks until the light was allowed to shine again. It only happened twice, and each time was enough to shake Googie to the core with fear so great that even Velma swore she could smell it.

They were all scared. It was normal to be frightened. That piece of it brought the resident genius some solace to this seamlessly mindless walking they were doing to get to a clearing that had been scouted out by Fred and Sam earlier in the day. This part of it was the part she knew and grabbed onto a little tighter than she did the back of Shaggy's shirt from time to time. Shaggy didn't scream or leap when she did it. He stopped and allowed her a moment to recompose herself, eventually taking her hand into his own. It was a comfort she once would have blushed at and thought more of than now once upon a time. Fred moving to the spot where Shaggy once was and shielding her while Shaggy kept hold of her trembling hand kept Velma from outwardly freaking out.

Daphne's sure hands on her shoulders kept her grounded as well, but it was more to remind her that while this wasn't the norm, there were still the same players dealing the same hand…even if it was higher stakes. They were a team, a team posed to keep their world the way they knew it. She firmed her resolve and eventually lessened her grip on the others, but they tightened their hold and kept moving right alongside her as she did them.

The grip they had on one another only made them that much more aware of Googie and her silent cries. At one point Shaggy had stopped to look back at her, but the poor girl was so freaked out that she kept walking and nearly screamed when she ran right into Fred. The blonde man hadn't glared at her, but he wasn't pleased. Velma and Daphne took that opportunity to see Fred in a new light…one that could become something more than jovial or serious when the timing was correct. In this case, he was a man on a mission, and that mission was wrapped up in the man Shaggy had become. The scars that would form on his arms were testament enough to his dedication to the hippie and Velma and Daphne were loathed to let him add more anywhere else on his person.

It was the only reason Daphne took a hold of her hand and pulled her along, ignoring the rot of her stomach flipping and focusing on the anger of being out here in the first place. Googie's hand was clammy and trembling more with each moment she was forced to walk this path, but Daphne didn't let go and they didn't stop, not until Sibella and Winifred had come upon the clearing that had been marked by Fred and Sam.

Scooby wiped away the mark in the dirt left by Sam with his paw. He turned his attention to Yabba who was turning about looking out for anything strange. When he sensed nothing, Scooby motioned that it was all right and allowed Sibella and Winifred into the clearing. The girls set up their props quite quickly, darting from sight and into hiding just as the images came to life.

"Now that those two are in play," Sibella mentioned looking backwards, "All we need is the bait."

Googie immediately froze up. "No…no, come on, isn't there any other way?!"

"Afraid not," Winifred said. "And unfortunately, you get a taste of what Shaggy and Scooby feel when they're the bait."

Not quite. She was scared out of her skin and ready to run somewhere far without seeing what those things were up close. She'd seen enough of them for a lifetime and drawing them out was the last thing on her mind. However a pair of hands stronger than her own and the incessant pulling with the threat of her limbs being torn off inadvertently kept her from doing what she wanted. Winifred tossed her out into the open and near the dummy Fred and the holographic Shaggy and left to wait with screams at the back of her teeth.

"Is it really a good idea to leave her out there like that?" Daphne asked.

"She'll be all right," Sibella reassured. "It's like waving a steak in front of a shark…they'll be here before you know it. Untiil then, might as make it real."

"What do you mean?"

Sibella grinned as she moved the doll in her hand to a glyph she carried around with her on a piece of cloth that had come from Shaggy's shirt. She wrapped it around the doll's neck and set it down on the ground, saying a few words in Latin that Velma barely translated into something quite…beguiling. At least until she saw the dummy move on its own and grab the Shaggy hologram by the waistline.

"Why isn't it disappearing?"

"Because of the charm on it," Sibella answered as if that would explain it all. It didn't and she wasn't about to explain any further. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Velma wasn't so sure, but she couldn't quite help herself or her giggling when the fraudulent couple made eyes at one another and got cozy without a care to who was staring at them open mouthed and somewhat blushing. Googie nearly tripped backing up from the scene in front of here, but they didn't mind it. Fake Fred was too busy nuzzling the head of Fake Shaggy fully enjoying the affection and sinking deeper into his arms.

"And I thought the real thing was bad enough…" Daphne muttered.

Fred shoved her lightly from where he was squatting and stuck his tongue out at her laughing frame. "Shut up you."

"I think yer plan is working," Yabba commented. "Something's coming…and I think that girl's about ready to scream for reasons other than the truth in front of her."

Sure enough he woods were rustling. There was no wind to blame and no presence of the nightlife or the skies above manipulating the woodland. Scooby tensed, rising to his haunches and readying himself as best he could. He never knew what anything was when he came barging in. He wasn't designed to know or analyze what it was that was the threat until after he'd gotten good whiff of it. Yabba on the other hand was equipped to know that stuff beforehand and he probably had a good handle on whatever it was sitting around them now. That presence was focused on the girl mainly, the one who nearly became a statue as she grabbed at the talisman her headband had become and her knees buckled from her fright.

Googie had the good mind to scream senselessly as the darkness came in several waves, stealing her voice and the light as it outright attacked her head on.

And...another cliffhanger!

Will she die?

With the way I'm feeling, she might pee her pants. Or die. I dunno. We'll see soon!