Chapter 13: The last chapter title was a little on the nose, so this time it's going to be a more subtle 'aaahhh..' like when you drink a soda.
The last thing he remembers was collapsing in the bathroom. Then nothing. Then he was... here.
The first thing that returned was his hearing, though wherever he was was muffled. Then, sensation returned. He quickly came to understand that he trapped in a cramped space, was wrapped in something and it was COLD. He had never felt this cold in so long and it was overwhelming. The next thing that returned was his eyesight, or at least he hoped it had returned. He blinked several times in a poor attempt for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Shaggy then shivers along with the uncontrollable sensation of his teeth chattering.
Then he made the mistake of trying to move, but found that he just couldn't. Panic soon began to bloom in his chest, as he frantically began to try even as much as wiggling his toes. Nothing. The most he could really do was move his jaw slightly, blink and shiver. Leaving him alone in this pocket of nothingness, this strange prison he had found himself in.
Then his nose began to pick up the smells that surrounded him, and it seemed to wash over him all at once. Chemicals, plastic. Death. Lots of death. The smells began to make his nose burn and his eyes water. Where was he? He tried to move again, and found the familiar sensation of plastic and the sound it gives when it rubs against bare skin. Was he... was he in a body bag?
His mind then flashed to several years ago when they were investigating a supposedly haunted Morgue. The most vivid memory he had of that night was Fred zipping him up in a body bag. Assuring Shaggy that its easy to get out of it if he knows where to look for the zipper. So all he needed to do was to find the zipper and he could get the heck out of here. Right. He could do that. But who is going to let him out of.. wherever he is?
Shaggy fought for the feeling to return to his finger tips. But the most he could bring himself to to was to move them slightly. He would give anything to feel that heat again as long as it would get him out of here. The cold air seemed to have pressed down on his lungs, it was begging to become difficult to breathe. Whatever he was locked in felt as if it was slowly closing in on himself. Was he in a freezer? How long was he in here? Shaggy began pant harder, fear turning in his stomach. It was enough to make him physically sick. Did he die? When did he die? He just.. he just fell in the shower. Yeah, he was sick. But... he wasn't dying or anything. Was he? He can't really remember. The time when he fell was mostly a blur now. He felt that something had happened but he just can't remember. Like the last details of a dream slipping from memory. He tried to control his breathing, as the cold air was hurting his lungs going in than out. It's just that he couldn't help it, he was scared.
Finally, Shaggy wanted to cry in relief. Somehow he managed to move his arms. Crossing them against his chest in a poor attempt to get warm. What would he give for a fur coat right now. Or to be home, and warm. With his parents and Scooby. Away from this place.
Suddenly his ears began to pick up movement, voices. Low, in a dry murmur. It sounded like an older man and a young woman. They were talking about something. He stopped trying to move so he could listen in.
"This is an interesting case. Male, roughly twenty four years old. Collapsed in his home." The man said, and the door to Shaggys frozen metal prison swung open, the old hinges squeaking loudly. It almost hurts his ears. He bared his teeth in response and flinch, though he couldn't do much to stop it.
"Only twenty four? My god, he's my age. Do they know what happened to him?" The young woman's voice sounded heartbroken. A life taken so young. Yes lady, a real tragedy. Now get him out of here.
"They say it was some sort of weird fever. Though not from any diseases he was tested for. So we're going to open him up today, to see what kind of damage his internal organs had taken." He paused. "Maybe we could find the cause of death."
"Maybe it was something he ate?" The woman suggested. The man ignored her.
Shaggy felt the tray he was on slide out, cracks of light poring in through the zipper of the body bag. Open him up? Wait. As in an autopsy? His throat went dry. He needs to tell him that he is still alive. He tried to call out, but his throat was too stiff. He felt his body being lifted, and placed on a different metal table. Shaggy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to put all his strength into his vocal cords. Finally, he managed to squeak out a startlingly low moan.
Beside him he heard a metal object being dropped on a surgical tray. It was too loud, it made him flinch again. "Did... did you hear that?"
Good. Good. Shaggy tried to call again. "He...l...p.."
"Zombie!" The man cried out, and Shaggy could hear his retreating footsteps.
"Steve... Steve!" The woman called out. Though not moving from her spot. She swore to herself, before finally unzipping the bag. She gasped at the startlingly vermilion colored eyes that stared back at her. But it wasn't the color, it was how it reflected the light that hung above him like some kind of animal.
"Hel..p.." Shaggy shivered, with his pale almost blue skin and thick rings under his eyes, he did look like the member of the undead. He was relieved to feel the slightly warmer air hit his face, he could feel how sore he nose had become. "P...please... I'm... not... dead..."
The nurse turned to call for help.
...
"So you're telling me that my baby has been in that freezer for twelve hours?!" Shaggy heard his mother shout from the other side of the door to the hospital room he was staying in. "And none of you people hadn't thought to make sure that he wasn't DEAD?!"
"I assure you that he was clinically dead. We don't know how this happened." The doctors low, cool voice tried to soothe her. But Shaggy knew that his mother wasn't having any of it.
"I want you to know that my daddy has the best lawyers in the country on speed dial." He heard Daphnes voice cut through any kind of explanation or excuse the doctor could give. Her kitten heels clicking loudly on the tile, she was pacing. He had never heard her so angry before.
"Just an hour ago I thought I had to start planning my sons funeral." His mother shouted again. He then heard Brian say something particularly nasty to the poor doctor and it warmed his heart to hear that Brian was there to scold him as well. It was nice not to be on the receiving end of that.
Another pair of footsteps joined the four outside of his door. Instead of berating the doctor, the door to his room swung open. There stood Fred. Looking like he had been through hell and back. Shaggy felt his gut twist in guilt. He hoped Fred didn't blame himself, like he always tend to do in these kinds of situations. (Though no one had ever died before... he got better.)
"Hey man." Fred clearly struggled to keep it together, going to wrap his arms around Shaggy, though he barely felt it through the large collection of blankets that was wrapped around him. "Never do that again. Okay? You really scared all of us."
"You, scared?" Shaggy tried to laugh, but found that his throat was sore. "I'll try really hard not to do that again. Promise."
"You better." Fred wiped his eyes with his sleeve. But then noticing the bright vermilion eyes that had replaced Shaggy's more familiar brown. It looked out of place on his face, that unnerving red orange glow belonged on some sort of sub creature than his best friend. "What... happened to you?"
"Raggy!" Fred was cut off when a large mass of brown lunged at the bed. Going under the blankets and up to lick Shaggys face.
"Scoob!" Shaggy tried to push the dog away. But found that he didn't have the strength to. But his doctor told him that it'll come back soon. Or that it should come back, but he was probably talking out of his ass.
Scooby whimpered, happy to be able to cover his best friends face in kisses once more. Shaggy could just feel the immense relief and joy radiate from the dog. It must've been hell for the poor hound, and Shaggy couldn't even begin to imagine his dog so heartbroken. He's going to have to make it up to him. He's going to have to make it up to everyone. Not just for this, but for acting like a real ass these last few months. Now that he could think more clearly, even more so than before. He knew that he had a lot of work cut out for him. Among other things.
Along with his clear mind came the realization that his senses were much sharper than before. He tried not to think about it. It was overwhelming enough to be alive again. He didn't want to even think about how he could count the dust particles in the air or even the pores on Scooby's nose.
Daphne was next to enter the room, happy to see that he was finally awake. He had already gotten enough of a smothering from his mother earlier, so he was thankful that she didn't do the same as Margret and Scooby. She stepped back, and gasped. "Shaggy, what happened to your eyes?"
"My.. what?" He hadn't really seen himself since he woke up. But was that why people had been giving him weird looks? "What's wrong with them?"
Daphne reached into her purse, pulling out her compact mirror. "Here.. if you could see your reflection that is."
It was his turn to to give her a weird look. But he finally noticed the very obvious shift in eye color. He looked as if he belonged in some sort of freaky vampire cult or something, he doesn't know. He glanced back at her. Daphne didn't even need to ask him what she meant by that. "I promise you that Vanna did not bite me, like, I wouldn't have let her."
"That's something that a vampire would say..." Fred gently poked around his neck and Scooby pried open his jaws to look for sharpened teeth. Shaggy sighed. It seems like Fred is going to have to go through a whole monster archive until he believes that Shaggy is human.
Human. What a weird word. Shaggy tried to apply it to himself, but he found it difficult to. Even though he didn't have that problem before. What happened while he was... away? Yeah, he's just going to say that he went away for a little while, he just so happened to have left his body behind. Like how people forget to pack spare underwear when going on a trip. So he figured that it would be the same thing as well, so he hopes that this was the last time he had forgotten to pack his body.
Velma was the last of the gang to enter the room, though reluctantly. He was still happy to see her though. She finally looked up, and he saw that she looked even worse than Fred. "I'm so sorry."
Shaggy managed the strength to wiggle out of most of the blankets. Despite not being fully thawed out he still held out his arms for her. "For what? Come here.. I like, wont feel better until I get a hug from everyone." And hurry up please, he's freezing. Velma did just that, practically jumping into him.
"I was so wrong about Vanna." Velma continued, burying her face into the ugly hospital gown that was given to him. "I really was, I jumped to conclusions way too fast about her when she was the one that was protecting you."
Both Fred and Daphne looked a little guilty as well. "We all jumped to conclusions." Fred began. "But we were just a little weary, especially how close she was trying to get to you..."
Daphne stepped forward, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We were just looking out for you... we didn't want history to repeat itself..."
Shaggy needed a moment to let their words sink in. Vanna really was protecting him? Huh. He would address that later. But first. "You guys... are the greatest friends anyone could ask for." He spread out his free arm, while the other held on to Velma. "Get in here! So I can like, thaw out faster and we can get the heck out of here. I hate hospitals."
The rest of the team piled in on him, with Scooby covering his face with even more kisses. Shaggy wouldn't know what to do without them. Although he is going to have a word with them about being so overprotective. Shaggy had a bad thing happen to him, but he wasn't all weak and fragile. Though right now he is all weak and fragile but not like the kind they were going on about. The thing with she who should not be named had messed him up pretty badly, and it took him awhile to even start to open up and began the process of healing. He is stronger now. Sure sometimes he may take a few steps back, but he tried to take more steps forward. And as bad as it may sound, Shaggy knew that it could have been worse.
Also, now that his mind was more clear. He needed to find Vanna. He didn't know how he feels about her now, but he can let her explain herself. Maybe they can even move past this and start over as if they just met. Somehow even though she had only been in his life for a short period of time, it feels so empty without her.
...
Later that night, everyone, except for his parents, who went home to call everyone to tell them that he was still alive, piled back into his room and had even brought warm things to eat. Which was nice. Even though there was a no outside food policy (there was also a no pet policy, but rules were meant to be broken.)
Fred mindlessly clicked through the limited channels until he found the news. Oh great. "Hey." Fred turned to Shaggy who was trying to keep Scooby away from his tray. "You made it on the news."
"Woah, groovy." Shaggy sat up straighter, letting Scooby get the last biscuit. Fred took that as his cue to turn up the volume on the television.
"Currently an unidentified man is recovering in a hospital from being mistaken as dead. Sources have said that the man had been locked in a morgue freezer overnight. We reached out to the hospital for further comments but they have yet to respond." The woman remained very indifferent on the matter. "Some even stating that a medical malpractice suit may be in order."
Daphne crossed her arms. "Who would have brought that to the news? We didn't say anything about it."
"It was probably a nurse or someone at the morgue." Velma sighed, someone who probably wanted their fifteen minutes of fame. This may end up as big problem for them, hard to do much of anything when half of the town is watching you. They have snooping to do after Shaggy gets out of the hospital. They still have a mystery to solve and a werewolf to catch. Or as Velma liked to call it a fauxwolf. Instead they just might have to lay low for awhile.
"A physician from the morgue had claimed the man to be unnatural." The woman continued. The camera cuts to an older man, one that Shaggy had recognized from the morgue. The one who first called him a zombie. So much for being professional.
The older man leaned into the microphone that was given to him, they were standing outside of the morgue. "I'm not allowed to say names. But when we received the man, he was dead. There was no doubt about it. But when we went to find the cause of death, the man woke up." He gripped the microphone. "He had these scary glowing red eyes and sharp teeth. That the boy could be a vampire."
"I'm not a vampire." Shaggy practically shouted at the television.
"First a werwolf, and now a vampire. What would we think of next." The woman joked, or at least he thinks she was joking. "In other news, newly sworn in Mayor Poubelle has called for a town meeting tomorrow afternoon." The woman was cut off when Fred changed the channel, where a hockey game was on.
Fred sighed, slowly turning to face his bedridden friend. He and the others were aware of Coolsvilles weird mob mentality. Shaggy had dealt with it first hand. Which had answered Freds question on why Shaggy was always a little nervous around old drive in theaters. Even though literally no one goes to those things anymore. Fred recalled the story about how Shaggy was chased out of town, by the community that he had taken part of in. Had grown up in. It only takes someone wanting to be a hero to start a mob. He wouldn't even want to think about what would happen if they had actually caught him.
"We need to find Vanna." Shaggy finally spoke up. "Like, now." The horrible vision of her getting chased out of town plagued his mind. He didn't want that to happen to her. Even if he doesn't know if he's still mad at her or not. Even if she was protecting him, she still lied, she still let... that happen. He took a deep breath. "Before this gets out of hand."
Daphne stood from her chair, grabbing her phone and purse. "I'll call around local hotels to see if she is still in town."
"She's still here." Shaggy pushed the try that was still in front of him away. For once he was actually full. Huh, that's strange. "I know she is."
Fred fished the keys out of his pocket, tossing them to Daphne. "Take the van, it's like driving an armored car." Daphne smiled at him before leaving without a word. She was well aware with just how protective Fred was of his precious Mystery Machine. So the gesture was really sweet of him, she'll have to find a way to thank him later.
Velma was next to stand up, her laptop shoved under her arm. "I'll keep tabs on the news. Make sure things don't get out of hand."
"Great." Fred clapped his hands together. "Scooby and I will camp out here, and as soon as we get out in the morning. We'll all go to my place to get supplies."
Shaggy sank back into bed, pulling the blankets up to his neck. "Supplies for what?"
Fred grinned at him. "We're going to catch us a werewolf."
...
It was too late for her to do much of anything. So the very next morning Daphne was very grateful to find that she didn't need to call that many hotels until she found the person who she was looking for. Then again Coolsville didn't have that many hotels to pick from. It's a pretty small town that the gang had grown up in, and Daphne wouldn't change a single thing about it.
She pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and popped her head out of the drivers side window. Just carefully checking the area. Even though she knew that there was nothing out there, she also knew that it wouldn't hurt to be careful. When she had determined that it was, only then did she step out of the van. Her heels scraping against the gravel. Even though Daphne wouldn't want to do anything to change the town, that doesn't mean that she couldn't invest in cleaning it up. This place was one of the largest hotels that this town could offer, and yet it still feels a little rundown somehow.
Slipping by the front desk, she unlocked he phone to make sure that she knew the right room number and floor. Finally she stopped right in front of the door she was looking for. The gold plated '237' reflecting her face back at her. How fitting that this happened to be the room Vanna was staying in.
She gently knocked on the door. "Vanna? Or is it Valerie? Are you in there?" She paused, only leaning in slightly to listen out for anything.
There was a shuffling behind the door, then a pause. Then to Daphnes relief the door cracked open to see Vanna in a black silk bathrobe, her hair tied up in a messy bun. She didn't look very good, maybe even a little heartbroken and horribly embarrassed. "Daphne? What are you doing here?"
Daphne frowned, before taking a deep breath. "We know that you were only trying to protect our friend. But I wish you would've told us from the beginning. Why the act?"
Vanna lowered her head, before opening the door all the way and stepping aside to let Daphne in. "I wasn't supposed to say anything, and even if I could. Would you have believed me?"
No. Not really. If Vanna had approached them at the airport and told them that goblins were after Shaggy. She would've thought that she was crazy. Then again they did learn about Dracula and how Shaggy used to be a werewolf. But that seems small in comparison to something supposedly life threatening. So she wouldn't really know what she would have thought of Vanna. Fred would probably not have even offered a ride.
Daphne thought back to Shaggy again, when he "died" it had destroyed the gang. So it was an immense relief to get a call the next morning from Fred telling her that there had been a horrible mistake. When she had saw Shaggy again after that he had certainly looked like he had came back from the dead... and his eyes. Those unnatural eyes. "Was Shaggy a werewolf?"
Vanna sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for a brush to untangle her hair. "Yes, we established that."
Daphne remained standing by the door, a little too tense to do much of anything else. Even though she had the urge to brush her own hair now. "Is he still a werewolf?"
Vanna paused again, biting her bottom lip. "Yes... and no. Depends, what happened?"
"He died."
The half formed vampire gasped, dropping her hairbrush. Covering her hands with her mouth. Daphne quickly caught her blunt mistake and corrected herself. "He got better. He's fine. I promise." Daphne sat next to her. She may have been weary of her, but Daphne still felt a little guilty for startling her.
"Don't scare me like that!" Vanna frowned at her, her voice a little uneven. Daphne resisted the urge to smile at her. She really did care about him. It was some relief, Vanna wasn't out for blood. Or at least not Shaggys blood.
Daphne asked her again. "When I saw him again, his eyes were like a red orange and he seemed a little off. Is he a werewolf?"
"Yes." Vanna answered, while reaching down to pick her hairbrush from off the floor.
"He didn't look like a werewolf." Daphne said, ignoring how uncomfortable Vannas answer had made her. One of her best friends wasn't human anymore. What are they going to do with that?
"I can assure you he is, and is in complete control of all of his forms." Vanna smiled, getting up to pack some of her clothes that was laying around the hotel room. "The last time he shifted forms, Dracula had forcefully induced it. So Norville couldn't have changed back. It was the cruelest thing that someone could do to a werewolf."
"But you had given him the spell to turn him into a human." Daphne pointed out. "Didn't you do the same thing?"
Vanna finished folding a blouse. "I did. But I didn't have much of a choice. But what I did was something he could break himself out of eventually. I needed the time..." Her frown deepened. "I didn't know that it would kill him. He must've fought it really hard." She covered her mouth with her hand again. Daphne could tell that Vanna had felt bad enough, this was just the icing on the cake. "But I didn't want Dracula to get his hands on him. He was too young and inexperienced, he wouldn't have survived living under Draculas command."
"Time for what?" Daphne grimaced, just when she thought she had most of Vanna figured out. Then it hit her. "Did you... murder Dracula?"
Vanna looked away, dropping her hand. "Yes." She replied softly.
A pause.
"Who are you?"
Daphne was taken aback when Vanna looked up at her. The formal bride of Draculas eyes giving away the many decades of grief. It finally hits Daphne now with just how old Vanna really is. "Dracula had been a cruel Vampire King for many centuries before I was even born. No one knows when his rein had turned sour, but many had suffered under his rule."
Vanna sat next to Daphne again, and began to braid her long black hair. Daphne remained quiet, wanting Vanna to continue.
"Around the sixties, it was time for a change. That's when the the First Coven witches had found me. I was traveling with a group of hippies at the time, and I had wondered off and gotten lost somewhere in Louisiana. I discovered a world that I never knew that existed right under my nose. I was eager to join them and become a witch, little did I know that they had chosen me for a very important task."
"To kill Dracula." Daphne answered for her, a little breathless.
"Right." Vanna smiled sadly at her. "So I began my training, and they had christened me with my new name and sent me off. Dracula was looking for brides. I and two others were chosen."
"What happened to the others?" Daphne asked, and Vanna grew still as she relived the memory.
"They died." Vanna took a breath, swallowing hard. "Dracula kept us half formed so we could give him heirs. But it didn't turn out like that. One died during childbirth and the other died because she cried too much. I was stuck raising Sibella on my own... I was lucky that Dracula had deemed me too stupid to breed with." She smirked, and Daphne found herself smiling as well. Oh the irony. "It had taken me over forty years to have him finally drop his guard around me. Then I made my move."
"Wow." That was all Daphne could really say. How could someone respond to that, and she had the feeling that she was only scratching at the surface. "What does this have to to with goblins?"
Vanna laid back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. "Sibella had taken over the throne, as it is her birth right. Though we're not worried about her, she's a good girl. But there is still a power vacuum left in parts of the realm, that if the Goblin King or his followers had gotten to it, we would be in big trouble. That is why I was sent here."
"Wait, okay. So why Shaggy? Why him?" Daphne looked down at her, it was kind of funny. The idea of Shaggy of all people put in a position of power. "Oh my god, is he the Werewolf King?"
"No." Vanna snorted like Daphne had told a joke. "They don't have a king. Norville is the next true Alpha. Resurfaced again after five hundred years. I was supposed to make sure he transitioned back safely and to bring him back to Transylvania. But things just got out of hand and I got too involved because I let my emotions get the best of me." She balled her hands into fits before pressing her palms into her eyes, laying back on the mattress. "I'm such a idiot. I ruined everything."
"No, you're not." Daphne laid down next to her. Now she knew that Vanna was the one for her friend, she had to be. Daphne knew that there was something that she really liked about her new friend. "There is still time to make things right, not with what you're supposed to do. But with a certain someone who wanted us to go find you while he was stuck in a hospital."
"Wait, really?" Vanna turned her head to look at Daphne. "I thought he wouldn't want to see me again."
"I think he's still a little mad at you." Daphne said. "But it was very obvious that he still wanted you in his life."
Vanna sat up, grinning down at her before quickly getting off the bed and started to look for something to wear. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
End of Chapter
A/N: I always imagined Coolsville to be very similar to the town they went to in Witches Ghost. Then again I love smaller towns like that, I always thought they were adorable.
And yes, 237 is the number of the haunted hotel room in the classic horror movie, 'The Shining.' Because I am a nerd and I do nerd things.
Also, I love the badass secret agent vibes that Vanna gives off in this. I really wanted her to shine here. Also, this chapter gives a hint to the kind of world that she lives in. I always enjoy fleshing out worlds, as anyone who had read any of my Super Mario stories would already know. It's kind of a hobby. A sad hobby. But a hobby. I mean I once dived into the politics of the Mushroom Kingdom. Don't think I won't give this the same treatment.