~News Bulletin!~

America can sleep well tonight, for the deranged hamster has been apprehended and is now been taken into custody by the authoress, having been put in a more stable, steel cage.

We now return to our regular-scheduled chapter.

Reviewer THANK YOUS!

Stormbringer128: I enjoy throwing out random cliff-hangers. As for your suspense… (takes out mallet) *BAM!* …There. No more suspense! ^-^

Blackmoondragon1415: I enjoy all the meddlers on tv, so I couldn't just leave them out. And you are correct on the monster-bit ;)

Hipturtle15: (nice name, btw) Please hold back on the freak-out! And I'm glad you liked Scooby and Shaggy's 'Hero' bit and the chase-music chapter!

Disclaimer: Heck, this is a special-occasion! I'm skipping it!

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Velma pulled off the monster's masks, revealing the culprits to be…

"Mr. Monroe and Christy?" The other kids gasped.

"I knew it all the time," Woofer bragged to Whimper, who only rolled his eyes.

"I figured they were behind the monster-charade when Freddy and I met Christy," Velma stated. "Christy had been wearing a pink scrunchy, the same clue that was found at the crime-scene the day before she arrived. And she also had a scratch on her arm the day after our first encounter with the monster- who had scraped its arm when it crashed through the window."

"She also knew that Scooby was a Doo, even though we hadn't brought it up," Freddy added.

"Then there's Mr. Monroe," Freddy said, taking over. "He had offered a reward for Scooby, even though he was just another puppy he could sell,"

"Hmph!" Scooby, Woofer, and Whimper all scoffed, offended.

"Then we learned that he was keeping Scooby's family from taking him back home, bargaining with them for an entire fortune, then got a restraining order against them when they refused." Daphne added, and held up the golden collar. "He probably hid this gift from them as well, keeping it from Scooby so he'd think his parents forgot about him, just to crush his hope."

"Jerk!" Debbie snapped.

"Yeah, I'M not even THAT cruel!" Alexandra sneered.

Dotty walked in just then, followed by Detective Chan, two police officers… and the Mysterious Man. "There they are, officers! The creeps are right over there!" she said.

"L-Like, and there's another creep right beside you!" Shaggy gasped, referring to the mysterious man.

"Do not be deceived, Mr. Rogers," Detective Chan said. "This is my associate, Detective Lance, from New York. He came to Coolsville, having been called by the authorities to help investigate the Pet-Shop Prowlers' crimes."

"When people heard I was in town, I was hired by Mister and Missus Doo to find their son," Detective Lance said, giving Scooby and Shaggy a look. "I TRIED to talk to him about it, but he and his scrawny friend kept running off!"

Daphne, Freddy, and Velma gave Shaggy and Scooby stern glances. "Like how were WE supposed to know he was a detective?" Shaggy said, defensively. "It's not everyday you see an investigator with a missing tooth and glass eye- er, no offence, sir."

"*sigh* None taken… (why do they always freak out about the eye?)"

"What I want to know is, why were you guys after Scooby, in the first place?" Daphne questioned.

"It was basically my NIECE who started the whole thing," Mr. Monroe grumbled. "She put on the costume first and broke into my shop, trying to get the dog!"

"Only because you weren't going to sell it under a million dollars!" Christy snapped. "Those Doo Dane pups are a rare breed of Great Dane, and I've been raiding every pet-shop in the county looking for one. When I heard Uncle Monroe had one but wouldn't sell it, I had to take matters into my own hands!"

"After that, I decided to get in on the monster-act myself. I made my own Prowler costume to try to scare Christy away, making her believe there was a REAL monster in town, and find Scooby before she could! I found him with the Blake girl and took them to the abandoned house outside of town, deciding to hide them there until morning then come back for them. …Unfortunately, there were a bunch of OTHER kids on my trail, and I couldn't blow my cover, so I decided to snatch a few of them to warn others not to interfere."

"I did the same thing, when I noticed a few nosy-children were getting too close to spoiling everything."

"I have a question, though." Puggsy asked. "What's so rare about Doo Danes?"

Christy sneered. "Know any OTHER breeds of dogs that can talk?"

"She's got a point," Shaggy said, shrugging.

The police then cuffed the criminals. "I would have had that puppy in my hands if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

"And you OTHER meddling kids!" Mr. Monroe snapped to the rest of the kids.

"Gentlemen, please escort these two to the nearest jail-cell, if you wouldn't mind." Detective Chan said, then turned to the kids. "And if I were you, children, I'd get back homes. We've been getting many calls from parents about their kids missing- That goes double for Stanley, Henry, and Suzie."

"Yes, pop…" Henry said.

"And if you could refrain from running away for a mere ten minutes, I'd like to escort the Doo's puppy home." Detective Lance said to Shaggy.

"We'll take him there, Detective," Daphne said, putting her arm around Scooby. "After all, I DID promise Scooby I'd help him see his parents again."

"R'oh boy! Ret's ro!" Scooby exclaimed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The kids took Scooby to the Doo's mansion, and when the two parenting Great Danes opened the door to see their son, the kids could've sworn they heard party-favors and saw confetti falling. "Ry ron is rome rat rast!" Missus Doo cried, hugging Scooby tightly.

"We rissed rou, ron!" Mister Doo said, joining in the embrace.

"R'aw, I rissed rou too," Scooby said, tears of joy falling out of his eyes.

The Doo's invited the kids in, rewarding them by treating them to dinner. "I ran't rank rou enough for returning Scoobert," Missus Doo said.

Scooby shoved a roll in Shaggy's mouth, before he could burst out laughing.

"We were glad to help, Missus Doo," Daphne replied, then looked at her watch. "Jeepers! It's getting late!"

"Yeah, we'd better start getting home, before our parents decide to ground us all for the whole summer!" Freddy added.

The kids headed for the door, Shaggy pausing and turning back to Scooby. "Well, Scoob… I guess this is where we go our separate ways," he said, sighing heavily. He handed Scooby his 'Mellow Mutt' costume, and another bag of homemade dog-treats. "Here… Maybe one of these days, we could visit each other."

Scooby gave him a look. "I ron't rink so," he scoffed, then walked over to his parents, whispering something to them.

Shaggy hung his head low, and began walking toward the door…

"Raggy!"

He turned around, and Scooby leaped into his arms, having a suitcase with him.

"Rot a spare room?"

"You mean… you want to come home… with me?" Shaggy asked, stunned. Scooby nodded, and he hugged the pup tight. "Like, you bet, Scoob ol' buddy, ol' pal! …Though, I'll have to check with my parents, first."

Scooby licked Shaggy's face, and the other kids chuckled. "I guess it's true what they say," Velma said. "There's no stronger bond than between a boy and his dog."

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A/N: Well, just a couple chapters left before the ending… (Anyone else this mystery went by, too fast?)

Please review. I accept constructive criticism.