"Basically, the way to kill a chimera is to spear it with something like a polearm, and to kill it like you would a human," Velma explained. "I hope that maybe we can lay our hands on something like that, but what's in here that we could use against Mast- the chimera?"
Just for a second, her face showed betrayal. Seeing her expression, Fred and I scooted over and hugged her, and Scooby nudged in and licked her face. She calmly took off her glasses and wiped them on Fred's ascot, smiling slightly as he scowled.
"I lost my cleaning cloth, and I need to be able to see, Freddy."
"Fine," he muttered. "Come on, guys, let's have a look around and see what there is in here."
Getting down on our hands and knees, we started searching. I speared my leg on something (typical Danger-Prone Daphne…) and it turned out to be some kind of sharpened pole.
"Huh?"
There was something else there, in the gloom. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make it out, but just then Shaggy walked over and opened it.
His yelp of shock startled all of us.
"Like, guys… You might wanna look at this…"
We all scurried over, and the amazement of what was in the chest was on all our faces.
Weapons! Row upon row of weapons, guns and ammunition, canisters of pepper spray- this was invaluable stuff to us right now. We had everything we needed to get free and get rid of Mastanje the chimera boy and Kristina the enchantress before they could do what they had done to their previous victims to us.
Velma picked out a sharp pole. Shaggy reached in nervously and pulled out one of the pepper sprays. I ran my fingers over the poles as well, but Fred reached in and pulled a pistol out, also taking the ammo for it out at the same time. I looked at him and his face told it all; he didn't want to use the pistol, especially against someone who was a monster but at the same time a human being. I slipped my arm round him and squeezed him as he stared down at the little thing.
"You don't have to use it," I whispered quietly, but he shook his head.
"Yes, I do. We're not going to get out otherwise. If I- if I kill them, then hopefully the guys they killed'll be free and so will we. And I don't see how we can just spear them, since they outnumber us about two to one. I don't want one of you guys to do it and not want to kill them, but just be doing it so I don't have to."
But it was so obvious how he didn't want them dead. At least, not by his hand.
Velma put her hand up to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Here's an idea. Shaggy will confuse them with the pepper spray, blind them, and then I can go in and stab one of them. I'll take Mast- the chimera."
I smiled.
"Indeed. You have the chimera. What about Kristina?"
"I'll take her," Fred said instantly. "I should. I'm the leader, right?"
I looked at him and for the first time in what felt like decades I saw the man I had fallen in love with with more clarity than ever. A man who was afraid, deep down, but hid it in front of his friends to protect them; a man who would do something as extreme as killing another person to protect them, to get them out safely. I pulled him into a hug, my tears falling onto his shirt, and kissed him in front of them all. He put the gun down on the top of the chest and held me back, his hands in my hair and on my back and arms, not octopus-style, just sweet.
It took me a few seconds to realise that not all the tears falling onto my cheeks were mine.
A/N: Sorry, these chapters are getting shorter and shorter… The next one will be nice and long, I promise! Author's honour (is there such a thing? Oh well)! Jazzola