Chapter 28 – Red Room

The Crystal Cove Mystery Incorporated was meeting at the Roger's house, talking about what to do about the loss of the Planespheric Disk and the betrayal by Cassidy Williams that had nearly cost Daphne her life. Scooby was exhausted and he had gone to bed early.

"We have to tell the other gang," said Velma. "They need to know what Cassidy did."

"This will kill Norville," said Shaggy. "Like, she was his girlfriend."

There was a cry from Scooby's bedroom. They rushed in to find him deep in a nightmare.

"No, get away! No! Run boy!" said Scooby, sitting up in the bed. He tried to look around, but a sleep mask covered his eyes. "That scary monster stole my eyes!"

Shaggy said, "Scooby-Doo! Wake up!"

Scooby pawed at Shaggy's face until Shaggy snatched off the sleep mask.

"I can see! It's a miracle!" said Scooby.

"Scooby-Doo, like, what's gotten into you?" asked Shaggy.

"The Freak. The Freak of Crystal Cove is back, and he's in my dreams." He snatched the book Velma was holding and pointed to the image of the author, Professor Kharon, on the back cover. "He's in there, too. We've got to do something!"


As they drove to Kharon's house to investigate, Velma objected. "I don't know, guys. This seems like a crazy idea. Scooby could have easily seen the picture on the back of my book. That's why he dreamed about the author."

Daphne said, "Either way, it's the only real lead we have."

"Besides. Velm, you've been reading this book, Supernatural Curses and the Extra-Dimensional Forces Behind Them. You must think there's something behind all this," said Shaggy.

"I don't," said Velma. "I wasn't sure at first, but I know in my head there must be some sort of logical explanation here, that doesn't involve extra-dimensional aliens, real magic, or ancient curses."

"You're wrong, Velma," said Scooby. "It's all true. Shaggy, read the back."

Shaggy read, "The author, Professor Horatio Kharon, is a tenured professor at Miskatonic University... and a world-renowned hypnotherapist and occultist. Professor Kharon went on permanent sabbatical, disappearing from academic life, and became a recluse living outside of Crystal Cove, and he hates people."

"Even a tenured professor can be wrong," said Velma. "I believe in science, not the supernatural."

"But think about all the things the other gang has been telling us," said Daphne. "Like a real Chest of Demons, and real aliens."

"That's not even the weirdest thing," said Shaggy. "Norville told me of one Halloween where, like, there was so much magic going on that Dace's mind couldn't handle it. Dace, Anne, and Frederick all turned into monsters, and so did the Mystery Machine. He and Scoobert saved the world and none of the others could remember it afterwards."

"So we only have his word it wasn't a dream," said Velma. "I find that story highly dubious. Anyway, their world is different than ours. We don't have magic, even if they do."

"Don't be too sure, Velm," said Shaggy. "Your mind might get blown, too."

"Whatever happens, I can handle it," said Velma.


They drove up to a large, forbidding house with a spiked iron gate blocking the driveway.

"This is it," said Fred. "If he's in Scooby's dream, this is definitely a man we need to talk to."

Scooby whimpered.

Velma said, "I still think this is crazy."

Fred pressed the intercom button at the gate.

"Aah! Go away!" said a voice from the intercom. "No one's home. No one!"

"Hello, there's obviously somebody home," said Daphne. "You answered the call box."

"Darn it, I hate it when I do that," said the voice. "Go away, anyway. Go away!"

"We can't," said Scooby. "You're in my dreams. You're dancing in my dreams every night!"

"What?"

The gate opened and they drove in. The tiny Professor Kharon came out on the porch and grabbed Scooby-Doo by the collar.

"All right dog, talk. Did you see me? Was it actually me in rooms and halls of red curtains?"

"Yeah," said Scooby. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"What's it all mean, Doc?" asked Fred.

"Quiet, blondie. I've got to think," said Kharon. "This could be it, the moment."

He led them to another room. Scooby jumped into Shaggy's arms at the sight of the paintings that filled the walls.

"The Freak!" cried Scooby and Shaggy together.

"Like, why is the Freak of Crystal Cove on your walls, Professor?" asked Shaggy.

"What?" said Kharon. "I don't know. I see that horrible thing in my dreams, my nightmares. If that thing is after you, dog, then it's probably too late. You're already a goner."

"Like, hold on. That's crazy talk," said Shaggy. "One more word out of you and..."

"Yeah? And what?" said Kharon, getting in Shaggy's face.

Shaggy cowered and backed down. "Um, like Freddy, tell him what you're going to do."

"Something... bad, I guess," said Fred in a mild tone.

"That's right, something bad, I guess. Because nobody says crazy stuff like that about my Scooby-Doo."

"I apologize for my bluntness," said Kharon. "I've lost something. That me you see dancing? That's the best part of me, trapped in the Sitting Room."

Velma said, "Oh, give me a break. The Sitting Room? What are you talking about?"

"A world between worlds, a waiting room at a junction between time, space, and different dimensions. In it, you'll find the answer."

"To what?" asked Daphne.

"To whatever it is you need to find," said Kharon. "I found a way to enter the Sitting Room through hypnosis, but part of me got trapped there."

He pointed at Scooby. "And if that Freak gets you, Scooby, when you're dreaming, you'll never wake up."

Scooby gasped.

"How do we stop this monstrous Freak?" Daphne asked.

"You have to face it," said Kharon. "Find the monster's true identity, and it will be defeated."

"That just so happens to be our specialty," said Fred.

"You guys aren't really buying all of this, are you?" asked Velma. "There's no such thing as real monsters."

"Guys in masks, real monsters, doesn't matter to me," said Fred. "They're all going down."

"Hmmm," said Velma.

Kharon persuaded them to try an experiment in hypnosis. They all lay on their backs on the floor.

Kharon handed Velma a metal figurine of a warrior woman. "You, your skepticism is your strength. Take this talisman. Give it to my other self when the time is up. You have one hour. After that... there's no coming back."

From his desk, Kharon lowered a spinning hypnotic disk over the gang. All of them went into a trance. Kharon took out a timer and the hour countdown began.


They were standing in one of the hallways of the red-curtained Sitting Room.

"This way," said Scooby-Doo, and the others followed him into a room with purple chairs and Greek sculptures.

"Like, Scoob, where's your little dancing dude?" asked Shaggy.

"I don't know," said Scooby.

"Look," said Daphne, pointing.

There was a room full of motionless people that included Mayor Jones, Cletus Darrow and his family, Fernando El Aguirre with some of his men, Brad and Judy, Ed Machine, a teen-aged Ricky Owens, and a normal-aged Cassidy Williams. Next to Cassidy was the still figure of Shaggy.

"What am I doing over there?" asked Shaggy. "Like, is that me, or am I me?"

"I don't understand," said Daphne.

"Oh Daphne, we are soul-mates," said Fred. "I never understand anything. Except maybe, if the Freak of Crystal Cove is here, it's obviously one person, my Not-Dad, the ex-Mayor Jones."

He approached the figure and touched it. "Is that right, Not-Dad? Not-Dad?"

At his touch, Jones came to life. "Capering candlesticks, Fred!"

"Like, Fred's non-parental. What are you doing here?" asked Shaggy.

"You're in prison," said Daphne.

"Only part of me," said Jones. "What you see here are the best parts of all of us, that have been trapped here in between worlds because of our association with the cursed treasure of Crystal Cove. We've all been tainted in one way or another by that darn treasure."

Velma said, "Scooby, you have one crazy dream."

"Thanks, Velma," said Scooby.

"Am I, like, tainted, too?" asked Shaggy. "Did I lose the best part of me and not know it?"

"It would seem so," said Jones. "The rest of me isn't aware I'm missing."

"If this is the best part of you, why are you masquerading as the Freak and scaring my Scooby-Doo?" asked Shaggy.

"Jumping juniper bushes!" said Jones. "That's not me. I got the idea for my Freak costume from my dreams, my nightmares, because that nightmare Freak is in here with us. I know who it is."

The lights began to flash on and off, and there was a horrible growling from somewhere close by.

"The monster is free!" said Scooby-Doo.

There was a swirl of black energy, and there was the Freak. It growled and lunged, and they all ran.

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening!" cried Velma.

Everyone scattered in different directions, getting separated (except for Shaggy and Scooby).


Fred found a frozen tableau of four cowgirls, the Mystery Gang, giving their bull member a drink of water from a strange-looking bucket.

"Hold the phone," said Fred. "The conquistador helmet... the second Key."

Then the Freak manifested, and Fred was on the run again.


Velma found herself in a room she recognized as part of the old Darrow Mansion, with the frozen Darrow family in residence. Danny was playing on the floor, his sister was standing nearby in the costume of an Egyptian princess, and Mrs. Darrow was looking with concern at her husband, who was using the spark from an old flintlock pistol to light a candle.

"Jinkies, the Darrow family," said Velma. "He's using the first Key."

Then the Freak appeared before her, and she also had to run. It teleported into her way again and again, until she had to leap through the curtain that led back into the Sitting Room.


Daphne found a scene at the Burlington Library, with the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery arriving by train. Oswald P. Burlington's orangutan, Mr. Peaches, was blowing a scrap of cloth into the air.

"Jeepers, the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery," said Daphne.

Then the Freak was upon her, and she fled.


Scooby and Shaggy found themselves in a village in Old California. A group of masked people was watching their skunk kick some dirt into a pottery bowl.

Scooby went over for a closer look at the skunk. "Aw look, he has a little mask." He sniffed. "And a lot of stink. P.U.!"

Near the group they saw a vendor with stacks of fresh tortillas for sale.

"Hey, Scooby-Doo, maybe we should take advantage of this crazy dream world and snack up," said Shaggy.

"You said it, Shaggy!" said Scooby. "Let's put the Fee in Fiesta."

They grabbed sombreros off of a couple of men standing nearby, and happily chowed down on the tortillas. Then came the inevitable interruption.

"The monstrous Freak!" cried Scooby as they both bolted away.


The gang members ran down hallways that converged on one spot, and crashed into each other.

"Like, am I glad we found you guys," said Shaggy.

"That monstrous Freak seems to be everywhere," said Daphne.

"Guys, I'm ready to wake up now," said Velma.

Scooby-Doo started sniffing around.

"Hold that thought, Velma," said Fred. "Scooby, what is it?"

"Oh, it's Scoobert," said Scooby. "I finally picked up his trail. Come on."

They all followed.

Scooby pointed. "I found him."

"And the monstrous Freak found us!" said Shaggy, as the monster appeared again behind them.

They ran, barely ahead of it.

"Through here," said Scooby, pointing to a curtain.

Shaggy just escaped the creature by diving forward, bowling over the others.

They landed in a jungle setting with a Mayan temple ahead. The monster tried to follow, but cringed at the light.

"Look gang, the sun. It's burning him," said Shaggy.

"No Shaggy, it's something else," said Daphne.

Velma had fallen close to the entrance, and the Freak reached for her.

"He's got Velma," said Fred. "Quick, grab her."

The monster pulled on Velma's arms, and the others pulled on her legs.

"You're not taking our Velma!" said Scooby.

"You're tearing me apart!" cried Velma.

"Try to pull in unison," said Daphne. "Get the Freak into the light. Now!"

With one unified tug, they pulled Velma from the monster's grip. It staggered into the light.

The talisman that Velma had been given by Kharon came free. The creature grabbed it and ran back into the curtained rooms.

"That's it, I quit!" said Velma. "I don't understand any of this. I have spent my whole life believing in facts and clues, but we're in some dream world fighting a nightmare monster. It doesn't make sense. I want it to make sense. I need it to make sense."

She broke down in tears.

"It's okay, it's all right, Velm," said Daphne. "Sometimes you have to not think. Sometimes you have to feel your way in order for things to make sense.

"You are perfect, all of you," said a female voice.

Scoobert was standing at the foot of the Mayan pyramid with the best part of Professor Kharon. "It is easy to see that you are the true Inheritors of the Originals."

"Scoobert, I've been looking all over for you," said Scooby-Doo.

"We have been hiding here from the Monstrous Freak," said Kharon's best part in his distorted mirror voice.

"It is very determined to let none leave this world," said Scoobert. "I can see that you have learned much here in the world between worlds. Now you must take that knowledge back with you."

"We're not going anywhere. We can't leave," said Shaggy. "That doohickey that we're supposed to give the little dude here, like, that crazy Freak took it."

"The talisman?" asked Velma. "We need it to get out of this dream world. You mean we're trapped in here? And Scoobert's talking without any extra R's!"

"Velma, that's not Scoobert," said Scooby.

"He's possessed by an extra-dimensional alien, remember? Try to keep up, Velma." Fred said. "We just have to get the talisman back so we can go home."

"But Fred, how do you trap a real monster in a dream world?" asked Velma.

"No worries," said Fred with a chuckle. "The Freak thing just showed us his Achilles heel. Whatever's on top of that pyramid could bring him down. Come on gang, it's trappin' time. Inter-dimensional reality style."


A short time later, Shaggy and Scooby were running from the monster down a curtained hallway.

"I really, really hate always being the bait!" said Shaggy.

"Me too, it is so unfair," said Scooby.

A cage made of jungle bamboo fell down on the Freak, and a rope dragged it out into the light of the pyramid.

"Now, let's see who this Monstrous Freak really is," said Fred.

Instead of being unmasked, the creature transformed, turning into an armored conquistador.

"It's... It's... Who is that?" asked Fred.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's El Aguirre, the captain of the Spanish conquistadors," said Velma.

"El Aguirre? But why?" asked Daphne.

"The truth is simple," said El Aguirre. "I did not want you to discover how to destroy the Evil Entity buried deep beneath Crystal Cove."

"Like, that doesn't make any sense," said Shaggy. "I thought you'd be the first person who'd want that thing destroyed."

"No! Do you not see? If you destroy the Entity, myself and my men will be set free from this endless curse. We should never be set free. We must pay for all the horrible atrocities we committed while in service to the Entity."

All of them looked at him, giving a pitying moan.

"I can still hear their screaming. All the screams of the innocent ones. No! We must pay, forever. We can never be set free!"

"Okay, like the old Spanish dude is a little loco in the cabeza," said Shaggy.

"Do not fret. All can be undone," said Scoobert. "All can be forgiven."

"Yes, yes. All can be forgiven," said Kharon.

"That reminds me," said Fred. "Uh, be right back."

Fred went to speak to his former father, accompanied by Daphne. The others went up to the top of the temple where there were golden statues of five heroic figures with a certain resemblance to themselves.

"It was centuries of your Earth time ago," said Scoobert. "They called themselves Ma Cuben Sun Macul, which means the Hunters of Secrets. They were the original group manipulated by the Evil Entity. There were more to follow. The evil one has forever been manipulating hapless souls throughout history in hopes they would set him free from his crystal sarcophagus. The Mystery Incorporated that proceeded yours, the Darrow family's Mystery Fellowship, the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery, the Mystery Gang with their bull Tiny, the Alianza Misterio with their pet skunk El Fuchi, and Fraternitas Mysterium, always four humans and an animal. The Mayan group of friends, the Hunters of Secrets, were the very first. They were the most pure. They realized they were being manipulated, and instead of setting the evil one free, they were about to destroy it with the Heart of the Jaguar. Alas, they were interrupted by El Aguirre and his men who came and took the Crystal Sarcophagus away, thinking it to be a great treasure."

A voice echoed from far away in Velma's head. "Time's up!"

"Jinkies, we're out of time," said Velma.


They ran back to find Fred, just finished giving his adoptive father his forgiveness and getting his blessing in return.

"Freddy, we have to go," said Velma.

"Yeah, like time's up," said Shaggy. "If we don't leave now, we don't leave ever."

Velma handed the talisman to the best part of Kharon.

"Ha ha! I am going home," said Kharon.

They all joined in a circle around Kharon as a ring of light surrounded them.

"Find the Heart of the Jaguar, Scooby-Doo," said Scoobert. "It is the only way you shall defeat the evil that is buried deep beneath Crystal Cove. Use the Heart of the Jaguar."


They all found themselves on the floor in Kharon's mansion. They saw his other part merge with him.

"I'm whole again! I'm whole!" Kharon said. "And I couldn't have done it without you meddling kids. You beautiful, brave, wonderful meddling kids."

He began to dance on top of his desk.

Velma said, "Jinkies, after all we've been through, only to find out we've been manipulated by some evil entity? Is that the only reason we're together?"

"Like, yeah. Like, maybe we don't even like each other," said Shaggy.

Daphne said, "It's not that simple. There's the whole other Mystery Inc. gang from the other dimension. They didn't have anything to do with the Evil Entity, right?"

"I don't know," said Velma. "I think that the missing good side we saw back there wasn't yours, Shaggy. I think it was Norville's. He's been acting really strange lately, with that 'bad' side of his. I think he's been tainted."

"Like, maybe they all have," said Shaggy.

"Gang, what are we going to do?" asked Fred.

"The Heart of the Jaguar," said Scooby. "We have to find the Heart of the Jaguar."