Chapter 29 – Left Behind
Mayor Nettles had called the Coolsville version of the gang into her office, along with Cassidy Williams.
"Do any of you know where your counterparts from this dimension are? Did they say anything to you about leaving the county?" asked the Mayor.
"Nothing," said Frederick.
"They haven't called us," said Anne. "We've been out of touch for a bit."
"What makes you think they left the country?" asked Dace.
"This is sort of embarrassing. I had a nightmare; Scoobert was in it, talking clearly in a female voice. Scoobert said that I needed to go to the Yucatan to help them bring a spear thingy back into the country, back here to Crystal Cove. I realize this makes no sense at all."
"It does make sense," Norville said. "Like, were you in a red-curtained room with black and white zig-zags on the floor?"
"Yes, that's right. How did you know?" asked Nettles.
"I've had some nightmares like that," said Norville.
"So have I," said Cassidy. "I think you need to do what the dream Scoobert said."
Norville said, "Yeah, it may help get my real Scoob back out of the coma."
"I still have doubts about this," said Dace. "We can't just go on a dream. Velma gave me access to her home computer. Let me check something."
After a few moments on the Mayor's desktop PC, she nodded. "Mrs. Dinkley got plane tickets for all of them to the Cancun Airport in Mexico. That serves the Yucatan Peninsula. They flew out yesterday morning."
"This is crazy," Anne said. "Why did they go to Mexico without telling us?"
"They may be upset with me," said Cassidy. "I arrived too late to prevent them losing the Planespheric Disk to Pericles."
"But still..." said Frederick.
"I have a resource to get out there quickly," said Mayor Nettles. "Lt. Tomina Kasanski, an old friend of mine from the Air Force, would fly me out there if I ask her."
"Would you take us with you?" asked Frederick. "If our counterparts need help, we should be there."
"I agree," said Anne. "Even thought it seems like they're shutting us out."
"I'd be happy to take you along," said Nettles.
"We don't have passports in this dimension. Will that be a problem?" asked Dace.
"No, not with my friend flying us," said Nettles. "She has access to a Lockheed C-130, which doesn't need to land at regular airports."
"Not me," said Norville. "I've got to stay here and keep an eye on Scoobert."
"We don't all have to go," said Cassidy. "I'll stay back with you, Norville. Somebody has to be ready in case Pericles makes a move with the Disk."
The Crystal Cove gang, along with Angie Dinkley, emerged from the ancient Mayan temple carrying the Priestess in the net trap that had caught her. They also had a stone spear, the Heart of the Jaguar.
"It's time to see who this ancient-jade-mask-wearing-weirdo really is," said Shaggy, pulling off the mask.
"Professor Andelusossa?" said the gang in chorus.
"Enrique?" said Angie.
"It was staring us in the face all along," said Velma. "When the men in the village thought I was my Mom, it was clear that no-one was able to forget her all these years. Then there were the vines. This plant is a native to the Yucatan. Only someone with a background in gardening could have cultivated it and made it grow so quickly. Professor Andelusossa's first job was as a gardener. Finally, the vines on the boat were tied to the wheel. The boat was scuttled to make it look like the Professor had been attacked."
"But why, Enrique?" asked Angie.
"For love," said Enrique. "Angie, when you left me that summer decades ago you took my heart with you. Every night since, I have dreamed of you. When you called asking about the Heart of the Jaguar, I knew it was my only chance to lure you back, to find out if you still cared for me."
"So you decided to test her love by crushing her with fast-growing killer plants," said Fred. "Wow! That's exactly what I would do."
"Oh Fred," said Daphne, leaning against him. "That's so romantic. In your usual unique kind of way."
"And I would have gotten away with it, too," said Enrique. "If... you had really loved me."
"Oh Enrique, sweetie," said Angie. "That was all years ago. There's only one man I truly loved, and that's my husband, Mr. Dinkley."
Velma looked on with a smile.
Mrs. Andelusossa pushed through the bushes. "Enrique, you are not a man. You are a fool!"
She spit, hitting Fred. Fred wiped it up with his ascot.
"Mrs. Dinkley, you have won. You can have him."
"But I don't want him," said Angie, pressing her hand.
"Then I'll take him," said a stern voice, as a tall blond woman stepped from the jungle.
"Who are you?" asked Daphne.
"Tomina Kasanski, call sign 'Ice Princess'. I've been tracking you ever since you left Crystal Cove."
"Like, why?" asked Shaggy.
"Because I asked her to," said Mayor Nettles, coming forward from the bushes too.
"Huh?" said everyone.
"Mayor Nettles?" asked Scooby-Doo.
"Lieutenant Kasanski is an old friend of mine from Fighter Weapons School," said Nettles, giving her friend a high-five.
"But why are you following us?" asked Velma.
Janet Nettles explained about the nightmare, adding "Your counterparts convinced me to believe the dream and follow it up. I brought them along, too."
"Hi folks," said Frederick, coming out of the jungle with Dace and Anne.
The Crystal Cove gang tensed and moved together in a group, with Fred in front menacing them with the spear.
"You brought them here?" asked Scooby.
"You show up just as we get the Heart of the Jaguar?" asked Shaggy.
"Are you trying to take it from us to protect the Evil Entity?" asked Fred.
"You don't trust us any more?" asked Dace. "You think we've turned evil?"
"What has happened to you?" asked Anne.
"A few days ago we learned a lot more about what was going on," said Velma. "We met with an expert in the supernatural and entered a shared dream state that was more than just a dream."
"We saw a bunch of people who had lost their good side, like my fake dad," said Fred. "Two of them were Cassidy and Norville. We didn't see all the rooms there, so there could have been more."
"Like, all of you," said Shaggy.
"Reah, all of you," said Scooby.
"Describe the rooms," said Mayor Nettles. "I may have seen them in my dreams."
"Red curtains, zig-zag striped floors, couches, and Greek sculptures," said Daphne. "It's called the Sitting Room."
"That convinces me," said Nettles. "It's real."
"Want me to lock up these phonies?" Kasanski asked. "I'll take the lot, along with your fake-monster prisoner."
"No!" said Frederick.
"Wait!" said Anne.
"How can we prove to you we aren't evil?" asked Dace.
"You can't," said Daphne.
"Cassidy betrayed us, and nearly got Daphne killed," said Fred. "But you must know that already."
Frederick said, "She said you might be mad because she didn't get there in time to stop Pericles from taking the Planespheric Disk."
"That's a total lie," said Shaggy.
"What she really did was snatch the Disk when we had to use it to ransom back Daphne. She was about to be killed by Kriegstaffebots," said Velma.
"I had to grab it back," said Scooby.
"Scoob threw it to Pericles to save her life," said Shaggy.
"You saw two of our group in the Sitting Room, and you say one of them betrayed you," said Dace. "It just happens that neither of them is here to defend themselves."
"Cassidy must have done that on purpose," said Velma. "She didn't want to face us."
"And then you jumped to conclusions about the rest of us. Velma, this isn't like you," said Dace. "How do you know you aren't the ones in the process of getting corrupted?"
"We – we don't," said Velma shakily. "We may have been living under the influence of the Evil Entity all this time."
Angie Dinkley said, "Velma, sweetie, you need to trust yourself. You know in your heart that you're a good person. All of you, look in each other's eyes and you'll see what I sense, that every one of you is all right."
Each moved close to face their counterpart, and took a long look.
"I'm sorry, Dace," said Velma.
"It's all right," said Dace.
"You're okay, Frederick," said Fred.
"Same with you," said Frederick.
"Anne, I can tell you're just like me, still," said Daphne.
"So are you, Daphne," said Anne.
Frederick said, "Cassidy has lied to you before. I believe you that she's gone bad. We'll vet Norville when we get back."
"Vet?" asked Scooby-Doo. "No shots, please."
"He means we'll check him out, Scoob," said Shaggy.
"If you've finished your mutual love fest, let's book," said Kasanski. "My C-130 is on an airstrip 30 klicks from here."
They began the long walk.
