Author Note: Yes hello hi, I know I know, I suck at updates, and I am so sorry it took me a month for this chapter! I say this with every update, but I promise you I never forgot nor abandoned this story, and I'm still going to see it through to the end. To everyone who has stuck around to the end, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your patience has been rewarded with this chapter, and hopefully Chapter 22 to follow shortly. That being said, I plan to install about 3 more chapters, tops, so the end is near! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story to follow.

Also, I forgot to mention this with the last chapter, but shout-out to thequeenxofhearts for her help with the previous chapter. A few months ago, her and I were discussing ideas for where to take this story, and she gave me the idea of having a multiverse Velma invent something to help Fred and Daphne find their way back. We'll see what happens with the invention and with Fred and Daphne's adventure back, but for now, this chapter deals with the original Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby, and the multiverse Fred and Daphne once more. I can guarantee a few more twists before this story has to end!

Thanks to everyone who has recently reviewed and read this story; as always, reviews are always appreciated! - iamacliche

Chapter 21

"All right gang, I think it's time we split up!" Fred stood in the middle of Coolsville High School's gymnasium before Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy. He oozed an aura of authority, beaming at them as he spoke; Velma realized that no matter which version of Fred she was dealing with, he would always marvel at exclaiming when it was time to split up. "Now normally, whenever we trap a monster towards the end of a mystery, we would send Shaggy and Scooby, but since Scooby has been kidnapped, maybe we could shake things up a bit. Shaggy will still go to lure the ghost here, but I think it would be best if Daphne and I stay behind and work the trap once you guys run into the gym. So that means we need someone to fill in for Scoob; Velma, how fast do you think you can run?"

Velma and Daphne quickly exchanged a look of panic, their eyes wide and their foreheads beginning to break out into a sheen of sweat; even though the friends had anticipated that Fred may try impose his own plan and therefore unwittingly break their own plan for capturing him, they were still unprepared for the wrench he had thrown into their plot.

Shaggy coughed nervously and tapped Fred on the shoulder. "Actually, Freddy, I was thinkin,' uh, maybe you could come with me. I mean, I know the girls are, like, strong and independent women who are more than capable of bein' bait, but like, I just don't wanna put them in harm's way. We don't know what this guy is capable of, after all. He already kidnapped Scooby; do we really want him takin' one of the girls next?"

Velma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as Shaggy spoke, and attempted to taper down the blush that threatened to color her cheeks. "He's just trying to go along with the plan, it doesn't necessarily mean he likes you that way," she scolded herself firmly. "But my God, sometimes people don't give him enough credit for being so smart and so brave – "

Fred scrunched his face together, as if he was mulling over Shaggy's point carefully, before he turned to Velma and Daphne and smiled briskly. "Well girls, Shaggy has a point," he said. "Even though it pains me not to be in charge of the trap for once, I suppose there isn't any harm in switching things up for once. Will you two be okay to work the trap?"

Daphne bobbed her head excitedly, in a way that Velma feared could be perceived as overly eager. She shook her head slightly at Daphne, and Daphne wordlessly picked up on the silent cue and stopped, then spoke, "Of course, Freddy, it's easy; once you and Shaggy run into the gymnasium, you guys will lure the ghost to stand over the tiny 'X' taped in the middle of the gym floor. As soon as you guys have safely raced past the 'X,' Velma and I, who will be watching from behind the bleachers, will drop the net over the ghost as he is passing over the 'X,' and then we'll unmask him!"

Fred grinned, apparently satisfied with Daphne's retelling of the plan. "Right! And then we'll move onto the next mystery after we make the creep hand back Scooby; I can hardly wait to find the next thing. I sure am glad you guys finally got over yourselves for solving too many mysteries in a row. I mean, mystery solving is in our blood; we can't just stop and take breaks whenever we want, ya know!"

Velma fought back the urge to cringe in response to the multiverse Fred's adamant desire to constantly solve mysteries and constantly control and manipulate those around them. She reminded herself that soon enough, this would all be over, and hopefully it would be no more than a speck in the gang's peripheral vision.

"Are you sure you girls don't want me to stay behind and work the net? She can be tricky sometimes," Fred said, eyeing the lattice-like structure of the net that hung suspended from the high school gym's ceiling.

Daphne stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Freddy, we've got this," she said firmly, looking him steadily in the eye as he spoke. "I hate to say it, but Shaggy is right; we aren't sure what this ghost is capable of if he has already captured Scooby. Now, you and Shag better hurry on out of here; we need to catch this ghost, and fast!"

Fred's shoulders visibly relaxed and he finally smiled, visibly persuaded at last. "Okay, you're right – let's go, Shaggy!" Fred turned and looked to Shaggy. "I've never been bait before, but I'm willing to try it if it means getting Scooby back and wrapping up this mystery."

"Like, don't worry Fredster, I'll teach ya how it's done!" Shaggy said as he lead the way out of the gym, with Fred trailing close behind him. When Shaggy was sure Fred wasn't watching, he spun and faced Velma and Daphne, mouthing, "Be ready for us – good luck!"

The second Shaggy and Fred disappeared through the gymnasium doors, Velma and Daphne turned to face each other and sighed with relief, the tension deflating from their lungs like air escaping from over-inflated balloons.

"That was close," Daphne breathed. "I thought that Fred was going to insist on manning the trap for sure – Shaggy sure did come through with the save at the last second!"

At the mention of Shaggy's name, Velma felt her chest tightening and her cheeks blossoming into a blush. She ducked her head away from Daphne, but her multiverse friend quickly picked up on the reaction and giggled sweetly. "Hey, even though the Velma that I knew didn't have a crush on Shaggy – at least, that I know of, - I think it's so sweet that you do, Velma. When this is all over, I think you need to tell him!"

Velma smiled, unsure of how to acknowledge Daphne's remark of "when this is all over," which boldly implied that her new friend (Or old friend? What a crazy situation Velma had found herself in with this multiverse she had invented!) would be long gone, and hopefully Velma's former friends would somehow be safely restored to their original home. Instead of vocalizing all of this, she said, "Thanks, Daph – I'll consider it. Now, let's get into our position and be prepared for them to come back! We have such a small window of opportunity, and it's going so seamlessly thus far."

Velma was alluding to the plan she had devised with Shaggy, Scooby, and the multiverse Daphne. After multiverse Daphne revealed that she and Fred had kidnapped the gang's original friends, the four had quickly decided it was time to capture Fred, just as they would capture an imposter or any other monster during their other mysteries. From there, they could expose him for good, and then the multiverse Daphne would leave through the box with Fred, enroute to their home world. Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby would accompany the two back to their world for their original friends, where they would retrieve Fred and Daphne, and then head home, hopefully in record time. Once the gang were safely back in Coolsville, Velma planned to destroy the box so that none of this could ever happen again. The plan the gang had collectively cobbled together wasn't foolproof by any means, but it was the best thing they had for right now. But the first thing they had to do was capture the multiverse Fred through the guise of a mystery.

So far, the "mystery" was unravelling smoothly, and there had been no snags nor hiccups; Velma, Shaggy, and Daphne had faked Scooby's kidnapping to start the mystery, which allowed Scooby to dress and appear as the ghost by using a costume he and Shaggy had purchased at the local party shop for a discounted price. After a few "run-in's" with the ghost, which featured their usual cat and mouse game of being chased by the unknown monster, Velma, Shaggy, and Daphne were delighted when Fred predictably proposed trapping the monster to end the mystery, which also conveniently aligned with their secret plan. This lead to their current situation, which consisted of preparing to capture the "monster" with a net in the middle of the high school gymnasium. The multiverse Fred had unknowingly played right into their hands by proposing the net; the net, which he thought was for the "ghost," was actually going to be used to capture Fred. Shaggy proposed luring the "ghost" back, just as he was utilized as bait during any other mystery, with the caveat that Fred accompany him. This would ensure that Fred could be in a position to be captured, which wouldn't be possible if he was the one maneuvering the trap. But since Fred was accustomed to controlling the traps and didn't easily relent in resigning from his post, the gang knew this would be a challenge convincing him. But now it seemed that this part was over and done, and now all Velma and Daphne had to do was wait for Shaggy and Fred to run into the gym with Scooby chasing them. Fred, who thought the 'X' marked on the gym floor was intended for the monster, would run over the mark and find himself tangled in the net, and from there, he would have no choice but to apologize and concede to his transgressions – or so the gang hoped.

"I sure do hope this works," Velma sighed as her and Daphne moved to the bleachers so they could nestle out of sight safely. She gripped the switch that would release the net, and squeezed the slender, silver lever nervously. "He sure made me nervous when he tried proposing that I went along with Shaggy; I was afraid he was going to wreck the whole plan and – hey Daph, are you okay?"

Velma squinted her eyes at Daphne, who looked pale and sickly all of a sudden. Daphne sighed and gripped Velma's arm.

"Velma, in case this doesn't work out, there is something I wanted to say to you," the multiverse Daphne said shakily. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry again for what Fred and I have done to you. I know sorry will never be enough, but I mean it. When we got here, it just felt so nice having you guys back again, and I selfishly thought being with you all would be enough to push away any lingering guilt I had, but every day our actions ate away at me until it consumed me, and it was all I could think about. I'm so glad I finally told you so that we could do this and move forward, but I'm worried that Fred won't cooperate. Call it women's intuition, but I just have a bad feeling about this."

Velma felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle; she couldn't deny that she, too, was having a sinking premonition about this plan, but she had hoped she was just being overly dramatic and anxious. She smiled for Daphne's benefit and patted her on the arm reassuringly, saying, "Daphne, don't be so silly! The plan is going smoothly so far; Shaggy will lure Fred in here at any moment, and once Freddy is trapped, he will have no choice but to admit he was wrong and help us. There's no way this could fail!"

"Just hear me out, Velma," Daphne insisted seriously. "I want to believe you're right, and I sure do hope with all my heart that this plan does work, but on the off chance it doesn't, I just wanted to say thank you. Even though we weren't here for too long, the time I spent with you and Shaggy and Scooby was priceless. Although I'm sorry for how it all happened, I'll always treasure this time we spent together, and I'll never take for granted everything we shared in this short time period. Even though I am going back to my home world, to my own version of a Velma and Shaggy and Scooby, you will all still be in my heart, and I will always cherish our friendship. I hope you can forgive me eventually, and when this all blows over, I hope that you too can call me a friend."

Velma felt her tears well up with unexplainable tears, moved by Daphne's apology. Without hesitation, she enveloped Daphne in a hug, which apparently had caught the red head off guard as she flinched, but then she returned the hug a moment later.

"Oh Daph, of course I forgive you and would consider you a friend!" Velma cried. "Obviously, what you did was wrong, but you overcame your selfish desire and your fear of retaliation to rectify the situation and do what was right, and that has set this plan into motion. Without your confession, we may have never known what had truly happened! While I can't forget nor easily dismiss the convoluted manner in which we met, you can rest assured knowing that I have already forgiven you, and even though I miss my Daphne and Fred every day, I will always be grateful for the time we spent together, too!"

Daphne smiled, in spite of the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Thanks, Velma," she replied, hiccupping through her tears. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve your forgiveness and your friendship, but I promise that I won't let you down, and I'll do whatever it takes to get your friends home!"

The two girls stared at each other for a moment, smiling, touched by this warm, unexpected moment of forgiveness and friendship, but suddenly jumped when they heard the shrill sound of Shaggy screaming from somewhere outside the gymnasium.

"It's the guys!" Velma shrieked, scrambling to duck behind the bleacher. "This is our moment, Daph – here we go!"

No sooner had the two tucked themselves behind the bleachers than Shaggy tore into the gym, with Fred only a couple feet behind him. Finally, Scooby was trailing them both closely, and he was doing a remarkable job running on his two back legs while wearing a mauve colored sheet that resembled a ghost costume. For an extra bone-chilling and realistic effect, Shaggy had stained the sheet with ketchup stains, so the costume appeared to be marbled with streaks of blood, which now glistened against the gymnasium's harsh fluorescent lights. The second Velma saw Scooby framed in the doorway, she eyed Shaggy and Fred as they moved closer and closer to the 'X.'

"Tell me when to pull the lever, Daphne," Velma whispered. She wiped her sweaty palms against her orange sweater nervously, and then she gripped the shiny lever.

"They're getting closer – here we go," Daphne whispered evenly. "Okay, get ready…three…twooo…one…PULL IT!"

Velma squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the lever back, and prayed that Shaggy was still a few paces ahead of Fred so that she had only captured the imposter. She heard the net falling swiftly through the air, making a soft whistling sound as it fell to the floor. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she gripped the multiverse Daphne's arm in nervous apprehension, whispering in a torrent, "I can't look I can't look I can't look – " She didn't sigh with relief until she heard a man grunt, and then a second later she heard Fred scream, "HEY, VELMA! DAPHNE! YOU CAUGHT THE WRONG GUY!"

Velma and Daphne leaped from behind the bleachers and came face to face with the sight of Fred tangled beneath the weighted net, his eyebrows furrowed together angrily. Shaggy was standing just a foot away from the net, and Scooby, still posing as the ghost, was hovering near Velma and Daphne cautiously, his arms still raised menacingly.

"Actually Freddy, we have indeed captured the right guy," Velma boasted proudly, beaming at her friends, who looked equally as pleased. "Scooby, you can come out now!"

Scooby ripped the costume off his head and shook the sheet off his body. "Ruprise!" he yelped happily, his tongue dangling out of his mouth sheepishly.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Fred yelled. "Scooby, I thought you were kidnapped?!"

"You can drop the charade now, Freddy," Daphne said boldly, as she pointed an accusing finger in his direction. "I told them everything; there's no point in lying anymore!"

Fred looked at Daphne, and a wave of pain washed over his face. "What do you mean, you told them?" he asked quietly, his voice seeped in disbelief.

"I couldn't take it anymore, Freddy," Daphne said, her voice thick with tears. "I had to tell them! Every night as I laid awake in bed, I was haunted by the multiverse Daphne and Fred, and the way they looked at us when we aimed those guns in their faces. And the closer we grew to this world's Velma and Shaggy and Scooby, the guiltier I felt; I couldn't do it anymore! You kept telling me to just forget about it – "

"Daphne," Fred said with a degree of warning flaring in his voice, glaring at her as he spoke.

"– but I couldn't just forget about it like you did!" she continued, unfettered, her resolve never faltering. "I don't know what's gotten into you these past few weeks, but you've become so relentless, and I realized that there was no reasoning with you. So we devised this plan and this fake mystery to trap you, so you would have no choice but to listen to us. Look around you, Freddy; we've destroyed this version of our friends' lives! How could we be so cruel and selfish?!"

As Daphne spoke, Velma observed Fred's face carefully, watching for any sign of change washing over his tense features, and slowly, she could see the knots in his shoulders loosen, and his frown dissipated, and his eyes looked moist with tears. "It's working," Velma thought, her body trembling with relief. It was as though Daphne's words were shaping and remolding Fred like clay before their very eyes.

Finally, Fred sighed, defeated, and replied, "You're right, Daph – maybe I have been a little too brutal with this whole thing. Can you guys release me so I can hug you all and ask for forgiveness? I need to make this right."

Daphne and Shaggy cheered, and Scooby began wagging his tail with glee. "Oh Freddy, I knew you would have to come around to our viewpoint!" Daphne cried. "Shaggy, let's release him so we can go get your friends back!"

Goosebumps slithered across Velma's arms as Shaggy ambled to the net eagerly and began tugging on it with enthusiasm. "Wait guys," Velma interjected, thrusting her arms in the air erratically. "What if this is a –"

No sooner had Velma begun to voice her fear than Shaggy had pulled the net off of Fred. As Shaggy looked towards Velma with confusion at her sudden outburst, Fred leaped up, and in one powerful stride, he bounded over to Shaggy and wrestled both of Shaggy's wrists behind his back, effectively destabilizing Shaggy.

" – trap." Velma finished, her voice dropping two octaves lower as fear stalked her from all angles.

"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy yelped. "Fred, what are you doing?!"

Scooby began whimpering and crying, but only for a second before he began to snarl and growl at Fred. He raced towards Fred and stopped just before him, blaring his teeth angrily.

"Freddy! Let him go right now!" Daphne shrilled as Velma gripped her friend's arm, frozen in fear.

Scooby continued barking at Fred, his back coiled like a cat's before striking at his prey. "Call off the dog," Fred said evenly and smoothly, "Or Shaggy gets it!"

"Like, no offense buddy, but there isn't much you can do to hurt me at this point!" Shaggy pointed out, his voice trembling in spite of his show of bravery. "Like, it's not like you have a weapon on you or anything, right?"

As Scooby pawed the ground and began to hunker down, ready to attack, in the blink of an eye Fred brandished a knife from his back pocket and slid it beneath Shaggy's throat. Velma felt her insides clench as bile threatened to fly out of her mouth.

"ZOINKS! Like, forget what I said, man," Shaggy cried.

"Oh my God, he's going to kill Shaggy!" Velma screeched.

"FREDDY! Drop that knife!" Daphne yelped.

"Call off the dog, or else!" Fred threatened ambiguously once more, eyeing Scooby intimidatingly.

"Like, Scoob buddy, don't worry about me, okay?" Shaggy said as calmly as possible. "Go stand with the girls – we'll figure it out."

Scooby tucked his tail between his legs and ducked his head low, and slowly walked to stand beside Velma and Daphne, who were standing together with their hands balled into fists, as though it would be enough to fight Fred off with their anger alone.

"So this is what it comes to then, Fred?" Daphne asked, a note of anger rising in her voice. "What's your plan then, huh? You're going to kill Shaggy and then expect us to act like nothing happened?"

"The Fred we know would never do this!" Velma spat vehemently. "How is it possible you're anything like him?!"

The multiverse Fred bellowed with laughter. "Oh please, that jackass is such a pussy! He just cowered beneath me and Daphne when we kidnapped him and his little girlfriend. Obviously, we aren't the exact same person, but his lack of taking calculated risks like I do have gotten him nowhere except stuck in a vast multiverse with his pathetic girlfriend. Yes, it's true; we uprooted them from this world, and it was going so well until Daphne had to spill the beans. And now that it's all been discovered, we'll do it all over again, but not before I take out your friend here for your transgressions."

"So you're seriously going to kill Shaggy and then go back into the multiverse to do it all over again?!" Daphne echoed, incredulous. "Fred Jones, you're out of your mind! If that's what you think, you're going to have to go by yourself, because I refuse to leave! And I guess that means if you're going to have to slaughter me alongside Shaggy, then by all means, go for it!"

"Like, gee Daph, maybe you shouldn't sound so eager about being killed like a cow being made into a hamburger," Shaggy murmured. "Boy oh boy, I sure could go for a hamburger right now. Don't I get, like, a last meal or somethin'?"

Fred tightened his grip around Shaggy's arms and pushed the dull end of the blade against his throat, causing Shaggy to yelp. "Speak again, and next time, it will be the sharp end of the knife," he growled.

Velma began to step towards Fred, her voice finally unknotted and her eyes welling with tears. "Freddy, please don't do this," she began to wail. "If you're going to kill anyone, let it be me. I'm the one who invented this box and the multiverse; I'm the cause of all this horrible destruction. If anyone deserves to pay for any transgressions or evil, let it be me."

"Like, VELMA!" Shaggy squealed. "Don't say that!"

"Oh don't worry Velma, you will be joining your friend here, too," Fred laughed insidiously. "After I'm finished with him, I'm coming for you and the dog next, and then I'm making Daphne go with me into the multiverse, and we're stealing what's left of your drug supply to pick a new world to inhabit."

"This is never going to work, Fred!" Daphne barked. "You won't get away with this. If you think it's as easy as jumping from universe to universe until you're perfectly happy, you're wrong! Your mistakes will always catch up with you, and eventually, you're going to have to deal with the fact that you should have just tried to make things work out in the original world we came from instead of trying to cheat your way into the life you wanted!"

"That's what you think, Daph," Fred bellowed with laughter. "Now be a good girl and watch me take care of business!"

Fred raised the knife in the air and glowered at Shaggy, who began weeping and crying. Daphne and Scooby stepped to stand beside Velma, who had begun to cry even harder. As Daphne and Scooby begged and pleaded with Fred, he turned to Shaggy and narrowed his eyes into slits. "Any last words then, Shaggy?"