"Why Do We Fall?" from The Dark Knight Rises.

Part 37: Jailbreak

Shaggy slumped against the damp stone wall of Dracula's dungeon. It was humid down in the dungeon, probably the only warmth in the entire realm. Shaggy had cast aside most of the suit, only keeping the reddish brown corduroy trousers and the dark green undershirt. The rest of the clothes sat beneath him, keeping the water in the ground from matting up his fur.

Velma was on his left, letting Shaggy lean his head on her shoulder. Her Victorian dress had been ruined within three minutes of entering the dungeon. Of course Dracula did not care, but Adam had been tasked with bringing them food (stale bread… hopefully bread) and had smuggled her some clothes from a previous kidnapping victim. It was an uncomfortable thought, but the clothes were dry, if a little dated. The burgundy skirt kept Velma from getting too warm and the orange turtleneck kept her from getting too wet.

Scooby paced around, keeping the rats at bay. He still had his blue collar and gold dog tag. Every so often he glanced at it, a proud declaration of who he was. Every time one of the demonic guards passed they would keep their distance from him. Shaggy could not tell if it was just something about dogs, or if they really feared Scooby himself.

"All my fault" Shaggy moaned.

Velma gave him a gentle slap. "It is in no way your fault. You were born with a gift, and Dracula is afraid of that. He is afraid of you and that gives you strength."

"Like really, because right now I'm just locked in a dungeon covered in plants that I can't touch without getting hurt."

Dracula had sent a few of his human followers to tie wolf's bane around the bars. It kept the demons from getting too close, but it also kept Shaggy, the only one capable of breaking them, from even touching them.

"Shaggy" Velma said, stroking his hair, "we've been through a lot. We will get through this."

Shaggy sighed, making more of a growling sound than he meant to. "Every time we got chased by monsters I would always try telling myself they weren't real. I can't do that anymore."

"They were always real Shaggy." Scooby said, turning away from the guard and facing his friend. "Maybe you never saw it, because when they had their masks taken off they were just like you, but I could see it. Humans are big and strong and smart, and when they go bad, in my eyes, or any dog, there is not a barkin thing separating them from Dracula. But I always went up against them, because you were with me, because Velma was with us, and Fred and Daphne would be there to bail us out when things got really rough. Yeah, the bad guys are a little stronger, but it's no difference to me, because my best friend is twice as strong."

"Dracula could snap me like a twig."

Velma shook her head. She lifted Shaggy's chin and looked him in the eyes. "He doesn't mean that. You never give up, you scream and you run, but you never stop fighting, not really. That's real strength."

"Yeah" Scooby barked. "Plus, you know, in the literal sense, he started smoking when he touched you. You got one up on him."

"We still can't get out" Shaggy said.

There was a thud from outside the bars. One of the demon guards was pushed against the wolf's bane and erupted into flames, burning the plants away with him. Jekyll walked up to the door, tossing the keys and catching them again. He was humming as he unlocked the door. Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma all stared at him.

He looked up and smiled. "Well come on, we haven't got all night."