Author Note: I won't say too much to kick this chapter off, but as a quick disclaimer, if you haven't seen the conclusion of Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated and you are hoping to avoid spoilers, then be forewarned that there is a spoiler for that in this chapter! Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this latest installment! - iamacliche

Chapter 22

"Okay then, now the real question is this; who's hair are we going to stuff into this wand?!"

Daphne turned to face me, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed me precariously. "Don't look at me!" she chirped. "I don't want my hair yanked out of my head!"

Daphne and I were once again standing in the box, which we now jokingly referred to as our "home away from home." We had just digested the drug moments ago, and the box had already inflated into its infinite corridor, and we were standing in the middle of the hallway amongst the vast array of identical doors. We had just left behind the futuristic Coolsville, and now we were debating whose hair we were going to shove into the wand the multiverse Velma had gifted us.

"Okay, fine," I relented, sighing with exasperation. "If it means getting us home, then I guess I'll volunteer to pull my own hair out of my head. Plus, we've spent so much time in this box and the multiverse, I genuinely feel ready to rip my own hair out of my head out of pure frustration, anyway!" My corny attempt at joke provoked a laugh from Daphne, and I smiled as I felt a laugh bubble out of me, as well, but the real reason I was feeling giddy is because the idea of finding our home made me feel like an excited child. It was hard to believe that after all these trials and obstacles, Daphne and I were about to finally find our home by simply using this wand.

"If only we had found the tech world sooner, huh Daph?" I mused. "I can't believe it was as easy as finding a wand that makes us look like fairy queens!"

Daphne nodded. "I can't believe it either, Freddy! But you better hurry up and stuff your hair in this wand; if we don't hurry up and use this wand, these doors are going to shrink away, and who knows what kind of door we'll be stuck with then! Remember, we only have about ten minutes, and we only have a handful of vials left, too, so we're running out of time and resources, and fast."

I looked at the silver wand gripped in my hand and slid open the compartment. "Okay, you're right," I agreed. "But I have to warn you, Daph, I'm not sure how easy it will be for me to just rip my own hair out of my – "

As I spoke, Daphne closed the space between us and ran her hand through my hair. She smiled at me sweetly before yanking once, hard. Surprised, I yelped, and then I blinked as she drew away from me and unfurled her fist, revealing the several coarse blonde hairs she had plucked from my scalp.

She smiled at me sheepishly and kissed my cheek. "Sorry, babe," she laughed. "I figured if I did it fast and quick, while you were distracted, then it would do the trick."

I laughed in spite of myself. "I guess it did work," I conceded. "But next time, maybe a little warning would be nice."

"Well no worries Freddy; if we do this right, there won't be a next time," Daphne said. She grabbed the wand from me and shoved the tiny blonde hairs into the open slot, then clicked it back together. A few moments later, the wand blinked a few times, giving off a cool, icy blue tone, which indicated that it was working. Then the wand went dark, which the multiverse Velma had instructed us would signify that it was time to start sifting through the doors to find our home.

I laced my hand through Daphne's and smiled at her. "Come on, let's get moving!" I said cheerfully. "We're almost home!"

We began walking down the hallway hand in hand, waving the wand over each of the doors as we went, patiently waiting to see that blue aurora emitted from the wand. As we walked, we moved quickly and efficiently, careful not to move too fast so as to miss anything, but also moving fast enough to save us time. I could tell that Daphne was just as apprehensive as I was as we moved; her hand was shaking as she squeezed my hand, and I could practically feel the enthusiasm draining out of her fingertips and filtering into my veins, which in turn made me feel jittery, too. My body wouldn't stop thrumming with excitement as we walked past door after door, the star on the wand still dark, as memories flashed through my mind. I could hear Shaggy's laugh as though he was standing right next to me; I could see Scooby crying and cowering as he hoped for just one more Scooby snack; I could see Velma snapping her fingers together and proclaiming brightly "Jinkies!", just as she did whenever we had cracked a case wide open. And my parents, who I hadn't had much of a chance to think about during this whole journey. What would I say to them once we got home safe? I would probably fall into their arms, unashamed and unabashed, and tell them through a torrent of tears that I was so sorry for every fight we ever had, ever. And of course there was Daphne, who I had nearly lost on this journey as well, despite the fact that we were physically together for almost the entire time. Whenever I remembered how close the multiverse Fred had been to snatching her away from me, my heart stuttered and my breathing hitched in my throat and my eyes hurt as I strained to hold back the tears. I couldn't afford to lose my friends and family, not a single person, and I would make sure to fight like hell for them, always. I would hold all of these people close to me; I couldn't take anyone for granted ever again after this experience.

"I can't wait to be home," Daphne breathed, interrupting my thoughts. "What do you think we'll do about the Fred and Daphne who kidnapped us once we get home, Freddy? How will we ever convince Shaggy and Velma and Scooby that we're their real friends?"

I waved the wand over another door as Daphne spoke, and when the wand didn't illuminate with light, I continued to guide our way through the hallway. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure about that yet, Daph," I admitted. "I've tried to think about it while we were trapped in the multiverse, but it's been so hard. How can we face two people who kidnapped us and effectively convey to them all the hell they've put us through? I've been asking myself this question non-stop."

Daphne nodded solemnly, indicating that she understood. "I'm just worried we won't be able to reason with them to return home, Freddy," Daphne murmured softly. "If they were brutal enough to kidnap us at gunpoint, who's to say they're going to go home willingly?"

We moved past another few doors unsuccessfully before I offered up my response.

"The thing is, we really don't know what has happened since we've been home," I speculated. "My hope is that somehow Velma and Shaggy and Scooby have been tipped off to the fact that something isn't right – after all, they do solve mysteries for a living – but I'm not so sure what to expect. I think if we can persuade them it's us, then we'll be more effective at having the multiverse Fred and Daphne leave. I guess that will be our first mission. And then from there, hopefully it's – "

I paused, interrupted by the wand, which flickered, once, as I hovered over a door. Daphne looked at me, her eyes wide with hope.

"This has to be it!" I remarked, waving the wand over the door again; only this time, it didn't even flash for so much as a second. "But I don't understand. I thought Velma said it would light up once we find the right door?"

"Well, it did light up for a second," Daphne pointed out. "I saw it, but it was so brief. It wasn't a trick, was it Freddy? Maybe we're just being overly hopeful, or maybe – "

I felt the sudden tightening of pressure pounding behind my nose. Daphne must have felt it too, because she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and sighed. A second later, I heard a loud slurping noise coming from the other end of the hallway, and doors began to dissolve into thin air before us.

"Oh God, we're out of time!" Daphne yelped. "Freddy, what do we do?!"

I squeezed Daphne's hand as I reached for the door that had momentarily triggered the wand, gripping the doorknob beneath my hand. "Come on, we have no choice! It has to be this one!" I yelped. As doors disintegrated around us, I wrenched the door open, tamping down the fear bubbling inside of me when I saw nothing on the other side of the door. Without hesitating, I stepped through the door as the hallway shrank around us, pulling Daphne behind me as the door shuddered closed with a loud bang.

As soon as the door shut behind us I blinked, attempting to adjust to the blinding sunlight. Instantly, I felt beads of sweat stringing down my arms and sliding down my back, and as my eyes became accustomed to the abrasive sunlight, I could see that Daphne and I were standing in the middle of a wide, expansive desert. There wasn't a single person in sight, nor was there even any sign of an animal. The only sight I could see for miles was the door we had walked through standing right behind us, and the soft, golden brown sand, which seemed to stretch on endlessly.

"No," I murmur, looking around frantically. I gasp, trying to take a deep breath, but I feel as though all of the air has been sucked out of my lungs. "This isn't our home! Why-why didn't it work?"

Daphne gazed at the desert, her eyes forming a dozen questions that neither of us could answer. "But – I don't understand," Daphne said. "We did everything the multiverse Velma back in the tech world told us to do. We put your hair in the wand, and it did flicker for a second, so why didn't it work? Why aren't we home? And what are we supposed to try next if this didn't work? We're running out of options, and – oh shit Freddy, what's wrong?"

I only vaguely hear Daphne speaking as my ears begin to ring and my entire body starts to go numb. My head is pounding, or maybe it's my heart, or maybe my lungs, my veins, all of me, every part of my body reeling as I attempt to process the fact that I'm not going to hear Shaggy's laugh, nor Scooby's whine for more food, nor Velma's fingers snap as she proclaims "Jinkies!" I'm not going to be able to fall into my parent's arms and cry buckets of shameless tears because I'm never going to see them again. As these ideas tumble around in my mind like a centrifuge, my fingertips fizz and crackle, and my ribs feel as though they're about to splinter, bone dust filling me up.

"Freddy!" Daphne screeched, suddenly standing in front of me. She gripped my elbows with her hands and looked me in the eye. "Freddy, you're scaring me. Please talk to me; please don't shut me out again. It's me, Freddy. What's on your mind?"

The desperation and pain in Daphne's voice slammed into me, and my breath stuttered as a thousand thoughts bloomed in my mind. I remembered how I nearly lost Daphne a few worlds back by trying to keep her in the dark with my thoughts and my emotions, and when I remembered how that nearly crippled us and how it almost took her away from me forever, I felt the tension ooze out of my muscles. I sighed, inhaling a shaky breath, but nod my head at her as I place my hand on her cheek tenderly, and I traced her lip with my fingers gently. "You're right," I whisper. "Okay. I won't push you away again."

Daphne reached up to brush away a tear that I didn't even know had escaped out of my eyelids, and she nods, waiting patiently for me to speak. When I finally do speak, my voice comes out as a cracked whisper, as though my neck is being strangled, and all I can manage is, "I'm scared."

Daphne doesn't speak right away; instead, she rubs her hand in circles around my back reassuringly. "Just take deep breaths, and focus on my voice," she says, and I'm about to question why I need to take deep breaths when I realize that I'm hyperventilating, inhaling and exhaling as though I've just run a marathon, or as though I've run from monsters and creeps in cheap dollar store masks. I breathe in and out four seconds each, measured and controlled, synchronizing my body to match the way Daphne breathes. After a few minutes of deep breathing, once my legs have stopped shaking and my fingers have ceased convulsing, Daphne prompts, "What are you scared of, baby?"

I'm tempted to laugh, because the question itself sounds so loaded considering our circumstances, but I somehow know what Daphne means, and I know she doesn't intend to be patronizing when she asks.

"I'm scared," I begin to speak, my voice wobbly and weak, and for a second I don't even recognize myself when I talk, so I clear my throat and try again. "I'm scared because this was supposed to be it, the final door. When we got that wand from the multiverse Velma, I allowed myself to start feeling hopeful, ya know? I started thinking about my mom and my dad, and our friends, and just for one perfect moment, I felt this moment of safety and security. I was starting to hope that finally, finally, I could lead us out of this nightmare forever, but I guess that's never going to happen for us. I'm scared because we only have a few vials of the drug left, so that leaves us almost no chance of making it home safely, and if the wand failed us once before, then it's surely going to happen again, and then who knows what kind of world we'll find ourselves in once that happens. And most of all, I'm scared because I promised you when this whole thing started that I would protect you, but I'm not sure what this final world will take us too after this, and I'm scared that I'll just continue to be a shitty leader and a crappy boyfriend wherever we end up. Let's face it, Daphne; we are so screwed."

As I spoke, Daphne brushed her fingers through my hair, her gaze intense as she listened to me. Once I'm done and there's been a few moments of silence, and Daphne is sure that I'm all finished talking, she pulled me into her arms and held me so close against her that I could feel her heart beating erratically. As I cling to her, I sigh, relieved, feeling hollowed-out and emptied, but also full and whole.

Daphne pulled away from me and looked me in the eye, and she opened her mouth to speak, but then her eyes blinked rapidly and her forehead wrinkled together as she eyed something in the distance behind me.

"I don't quite believe what I'm seeing – " she gasped.

Confused, I spun around and turned towards where Daphne was pointing. Emerging from the wide desert, like a mirage, was some sort of vehicle, moving at a rapid speed. As I squinted my eyes through the sand that began to dance around the approaching vehicle, my heart began to hammer in my chest and my breathing came out in staggered huffs when I noted the bright, neon green and blue colors splashed onto the car with the psychedelic flowers stenciled along the sides.

"Oh my God," Daphne breathed. "Who do you think it could be?"

Any other time this would have been an obvious answer to her question, but considering the fact that we had just weaved our way through various doors with differing worlds and versions of ourselves and our friends, I knew exactly what Daphne was asking.

I shook my head incredulously. "I don't know," I admitted. "But be ready – the door is just a few feet away. If they seem hostile, we'll have to be ready to make towards that exit, and fast."

As the van approached closer and closer, I was unable to distinctly discern who was the driver, but it was obvious that whoever was riding in the Mystery Machine had spotted Daphne and me, because the car was rolling to a stop in front of us. I reached out to grab Daphne's hand in mine, and my hands flew defensively to the backpack slung around my shoulder. Already my heart was slamming into my chest and my palms were sweating, and I could taste the sharp, metallic forewarnings of the fight-or-flight reaction bubbling up inside of me and glazing the roof of my mouth. But when the Mystery Machine finally came to a complete stop in front of us, Daphne gasped, and as my eyes took in the man emerging from the driver's seat my mouth fell open in shock, and even though he no longer contained any trace of the long, snarled beard nor the unkempt hair, I recognized him in an instant.

"I can't believe my eyes right now," the Crystal Cove Fred gasped, rubbing his eyes with disbelief as he stared at me and Daphne, who no doubt reflected his surprise. "Gang! You gotta come out and see this!"

A second later the sound of doors flying open and voices exclaiming and squealing filled the still, stale desert air, and Daphne and I found ourselves standing face to face with the Crystal Cove versions of Mystery Incorporated. They look so much different from when we saw them last, and yet, they are so distinctly recognizable, as they now so closely resemble the Mystery Inc. I know from back home. Shaggy's hair, which had been cut so militaristically short when we last saw him, was now back to its, well, shaggy form, and he was dressed in his usual green shirt and denim ensemble. Velma had the same glasses and hairstyle as the Velma we knew back home, and Daphne resembled the girl standing beside me, with the exception of minor outfit variations, and even then, both were wearing splashes of purple and green. Scooby, of course, looked like the exact same dog we knew and loved. Perhaps the most jarring change since Daphne and I had last seen the Crystal Cove versions of ourselves was the fact that my counterpart was no longer disheveled and obviously broken. He stood before us with his posture straight and focused, and his eyes were glowing with a new aurora of confidence. And of course, he looked much more polished in terms of physical appearance; his hair was styled the same exact way I kept mine, and there was no proof that he had sported an embarrassingly dirty beard just a short time ago.

Daphne shrieked with delight beside me, and instantly everything became chaos as we all moved into hug each other and vocalize our disbelief over seeing each other once again. As the Crystal Cove Fred clapped me on his back, I grinned, unable to contain my excitement at reuniting with the version of myself who ended up being the one replication I had identified with so easily.

"It's so good to see you two again!" the Crystal Cove Velma said as she hugged Daphne again. "We were all just talking about you guys the other day; we have been through so much since we saw you two last!"

"I can see that," Daphne replied warmly as she eyed her counterpart, who had threaded her hand through the Crystal Cove Fred's hand. "And while we're absolutely thrilled to see you all again, we have to admit that we're also a little disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Crystal Cove Shaggy parroted. "Like, what do you mean? What's goin' on, guys?"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" The Crystal Cove Fred asked as he turned to me, concern flashing across his face.

I tried to smile, but it quickly wobbled, and I knew that my frustration was clearly etched across my face. "If you can help us get back to our home world then that would be amazing, but I'm afraid that there's no one in any world that can do that for us."

"Hold on," the Crystal Cove Daphne held up her hands in the air, as if literally forcing us all to pause. "I've heard about you two from the gang, but this is still so unreal. What if you explained it to me again, and you can tell us all what you've been up to since you've seen everyone while you're at it, as well?"

Daphne and I exchanged a look, both of us unsure of where to begin. "How much time do you guys have?" she finally asked.

Two hours later, we were all sitting in the back of the Mystery Machine, and Daphne and I had sat side by side, cross-legged, taking turns threading and weaving the story together for our long-lost friends. The gang had sat, enraptured, never once interrupting to ask a question, only punctuating our story at the appropriate times to gasp or sigh when we spoke of a particularly scary world or moment. When I spoke of how I nearly lost Daphne to the other Fred, I saw my counterpart widen his eyes and hook his arm around his Daphne unconsciously, as if he could lose his girlfriend just by listening to the story. Now my Daphne was close to concluding our story; she had just explained how we had received the wand from the multiverse Velma, and she had allowed them to pass the wand around in a circle, and for a second I smiled, feeling as though we were all in kindergarten and hearing Daphne tell a story during "show and tell."

"Well, needless to say, the wand didn't work," Daphne finished speaking, as the Crystal Cove Scooby handed me the wand back after he had examined it just as thoroughly as the rest of the gang. Daphne turned to me, waiting for me to conclude the story, but I wasn't sure how to end it. This wasn't like a traditional story with a neat, tidy ending; it was our life, and there wasn't a clear, concise solution anywhere in sight.

"What I don't understand is how we ended up back in the Crystal Cove world again," I sighed. "The wand was supposed to bring us back to our world, but somehow we found ourselves back here again. Daphne and I had just stepped through the door when we ran into you guys again. We're not sure what to do; we only have a few vials of the drug left, so we don't have any chances left to spare after this next try to get it right."

As I spoke, I saw the Crystal Cove gang cast each other different looks, and it was hard to decipher what exactly they were silently communicating with each other.

"Should we, like, tell them?" The Crystal Cove Shaggy whispered.

"What!?" Daphne asked, her voice rising with curiosity. "Tell us what?"

The Crystal Cove Fred cleared his throat before looking at us. "Well Fred, you aren't entirely correct about being back in the Crystal Cove world," he began. "I mean, this world does technically have a Crystal Cove a ways back from where we were just driving, but it isn't the Crystal Cove you and Daphne saw awhile back."

Daphne knit her eyebrows together. "I don't think I follow what you're saying."

A thought was brewing in my mind as my mind was filled with a sharp moment of clarity and goosebumps wafted over my arms. "Do you guys mean to say that…."

"We've left the world that was originally our home, too," the Crystal Cove Daphne spoke up. "After we defeated the Evil Entity, Velma figured out that we somehow got pulled into that project with the cat again, Shodiner…er, shroder – Velma, what was that called again?"

Daphne and I gasped audibly.

"Schrodinger's Cat," Velma clarified. "Yes, Daphne is right.

"I – I can't believe it," I stuttered. "How did you guys get sucked into the multiverse, too?"

"Well, we weren't necessarily sucked into it," the Crystal Cove Fred interjected. "Velma, why don't you explain what happened? You did a great job explaining it to us before we left home."

"Of course, Freddy," Velma began. "After we defeated the Evil Entity, we woke up and discovered that Crystal Cove wasn't quite how we remembered it. The town appeared untouched and unscathed from the harm and disasters that had wreaked havoc over the previous months, and the citizens of Crystal Cove appeared to have no memory of the conflicts we had all endured. The town sign switched over from 'Crystal Cove: The Most Hauntedest Place on Earth' to 'Crystal Cove: The Sunniest Place on Earth.' But the most telling sign was how our own lives had been so dramatically altered; Fred's parents switched over from malicious and selfish criminals to obstetricians, and Fred and Daphne's parents were happily coordinating a wedding for Fred and Daphne. Shaggy's parents were no longer embarrassed of their son, as they boasted of how Shaggy was President of the Chef's club and winner of the ultimate teen chef award. And finally, my friend Marcie was alive and well even though she had been mercilessly killed by Professor Pericles and his goons the last time we had seen her, and she was telling me about how we had to work together to win at the science fair as we always had, despite the fact that I had no memory of doing so."

My mind was reeling and my head felt as though it was drowning in questions, and I felt as though I had only processed half of what Velma had said. Daphne turned to the Crystal Cove Fred and Daphne, who were sitting before us with their hands clasped together still as Velma spoke. "You guys are engaged?" Daphne whispered, something like awe and maybe jealousy dripping from her voice.

"And as I took in all of the changes around us, I thought of you guys," Velma said, turning towards me and Daphne so she could acknowledge us. "I remember meeting you both during our mystery with the Crybaby Clown, and I recalled how you both had originated from a different world and you were travelling through various other worlds to find your home, and I recollected discussing Schrodinger's cat, and then it hit me. With no actuality of wave functional collapse," Velma continued on. "I realized that alternative histories and futures were real. When we destroyed the Entity, it was as if it had never existed, so everything the Entity touched, all the evil, all of the curse, all of the losers in rubber masks, none of it ever happened. By destroying the Evil Entity, the gang and I slipped from the world we had originated from, and created our own, alternate timeline!"

Velma beamed and sat back proudly after she finished talking, but Daphne and I just sat there, our mouths gaping in shock and wonder.

"So, let me get this straight," I clarified. "You guys never went into the box, never used a vial, and never had to go through different doors to find a different timeline? But how – but why – "

"And the world you guys stumbled upon is so much happier than your original home," my Daphne mused, her voice tinged with a hint of jealousy. "I only wish Freddy and I could be half as lucky."

"Well, it isn't as perfect as it sounds," the Crystal Cove Fred said. "You see, after Velma explained how we had slipped from our original timeline, we realized that, yes, we were technically in a peaceful world with no bad guys and no fear, but that also implied that there were no mysteries to solve, and a life without mysteries feels so empty to us."

I nodded, saying nothing, but I could fully relate to that claim; after all, wasn't a life full of solving mysteries with best friends the root of what caused the original multiverse Fred to kidnap me and Daphne in the first place? Apparently, that was what every version of ourselves was secretly lacking and craving.

"So to rectify a life without mysteries, we're actually on our way to Miskatonic University right now!" the Crystal Cove Daphne exclaimed. "We all have a free ride to study there, even Scooby. We're going to study and live happily at school while we solve mysteries together! In fact, we were about halfway there when we ran into you guys, so this is incredibly coincidental."

"I'm so happy for you guys; really, I am," I said. "But how did you guys defeat the Evil Entity? Maybe we can use that instead of the wand, and it will somehow help us find our way back home!"

Again, the Crystal Cove gang exchanged glances and smiles. Finally, the Crystal Cove Fred said, "Well, we thought it was the heart of the jaguar that would get us home, but really, the secret ingredient that we needed to defeat the Evil Entity was the power of our friendship."

Daphne scrunched her eyebrows together, and I couldn't help burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but that just sounds like some happy-go-lucky, hippy-dippy bullshit!" I said. "The power of your friendship? What does that even mean?"

"Well, we did technically use the heart of the jaguar," Daphne explained. "But what Freddy means is that we defeated the Evil Entity together. You see, at one point we realized that the real power was us, our love and our friendship for each other."

"And, like, when we figured that out, then it became, like, easier to take down the bad guy!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Rah rah!" Scooby bobbed his head up and down eagerly as his friends spoke.

I felt my heart sink as I listened to the gang speak. "Well, so much for my hope that we could somehow find our way back home by using whatever method you guys used," I sighed.

"I'm not so sure, Freddy," Velma said. "I know that you and Daphne are without the rest of your friends, but I still think you've had the power to go home all along. This whole time, you two thought that the answer was pure luck or a magic wand, when I think it's really been your relationship and your love and your combined desire to each other back home. I think that you will find once you combine those two things, you will be once again find your way home."

Daphne turned to me, her eyes glimmering and her face shining with emotion. She placed her hand over mine and said, "What do you think, Freddy? I know it may sound silly, but look at the Crystal Cove gang. It's worked so well for them."

I gazed at the faces of my friends around me, and as I took in the sight of their smiles, I can't help but feel a light, airy hope balloon behind my chest. I took Daphne's hand in mine and squeezed.

"I suppose we could give it a try," I said with what I hoped was conviction in my voice. Daphne planted a kiss on my cheek and the rest of the gang grinned, but I could tell that my counterpart was eyeing my suspiciously. As we all stood to rise and gather our things, the gang and I swooped in to exchange hugs and well wishes, wordlessly agreeing that Daphne and I had a mission ahead of us to accomplish. When the Crystal Cove Fred clapped his back on my shoulder, he brought me in for a tight hug, and leaned in to whisper, "I know you're skeptical, and I know you're scared; believe me, I was you once, too. But give it a chance, for her." I returned the hug with enthusiasm and nodded, thanking Fred and wishing him well on his adventures with the gang.

As Daphne and I tumbled out of the back of the van, the Crystal Cove gang waved good-bye and wished us luck, watching us walk resolutely towards the door. Just before I pried the door open, Daphne and I turned to face the gang, and before we shouted our final good-byes, Fred cried, "Don't forget what we told you! We hope you guys find your home soon." An unexplainable wave of emotion gripped me, and I could only nod silently as I watched this amazing version of me and my friends, and before I could second guess anything I tugged Daphne inside the door and we allowed the door to slam behind us.

Once the door had shut with a loud bang, Daphne and I turned to each other, and I gulped, and the reality of our situation hit me. I let the backpack slide off my shoulder and unzipped the bag, blinking at the three glass vials nestled at the bottom of the pouch.

"Daphne," I began, attempting to keep my voice as still as possible. "We only have three vials left, and there are two of us. That means that if we don't get this next door right, then – "

Daphne reached forward and clamped her hands around my own, willing me to stop speaking, as she no doubt knew what I knew; if we somehow screwed up this next door, we wouldn't have enough vials for us both to get home. Obviously, neither of us would be willing to take the last vial and go home alone, so that meant we had only one more chance to get things right, and it had to be perfect.

"Okay, so if it takes both of us to get home, I guess we can start by putting a strand of hair from both of our heads into the wand," I started. "And then after that, we'll – "

Daphne's face suddenly brightened as she grabbed the backpack from me and began rummaging through the pack. When she withdrew the notebook and pen we had taken from the world where we had slept together for the first time, I raised my eyebrows, asking a silent question.

"Freddy, I know what the Crystal Cove gang said about the power of our friendship getting us back home again, and I agree with them," she said. "But part of that friendship and love we have for each other has to be self-love and self-care, too."

I shook my head, confused. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're saying."

"What I'm saying is that I love and believe in you, Freddy, but this whole entire time, you haven't believed in yourself and your own ability to lead us," Daphne explained. "And part of what makes Mystery Inc., a great group dynamic is the way you lead us. I think you should be the one to guide us back home, Freddy; of course, it will still be both of us, together, but I think you should finish our journey and bring us full circle by acknowledging that you are a good leader and that you can help us get home. We never really got to try my idea of writing down our thoughts and feelings in this notebook before choosing a door. I propose that you write down exactly what you feel about home, and exactly what you're thinking, and once we have that all centered, we'll put our hair into the wand, take the last drug, and find our way home, with you as the leader of our group, just like back at home."

As Daphne spoke, I shook my head vehemently. "Daph, I appreciate the vote of confidence, really," I said. "But come on, you have to admit that we would have been home a lot sooner if it hadn't been for me, and I still think we wouldn't have been here at all if it hadn't been for my desire to find a world where I was perfectly happy and had everything I could ever want. What kind of leader does that?"

She pressed the notebook and pen into my hand and looked me in the eyes, and replied, "A human leader does that, Freddy. Now, humor me and try it – we have nothing left to lose. I'll sit in the corner of the box over there while you write. Once you've finished, I'll read what you've got, we'll take a drug, and then we'll start going."

Before I could protest any further, Daphne kissed me on the lips, softly, and then moved to the opposite side of the box and slid to the ground, waiting for me to begin writing. Slightly frazzled, I ran a hand through my hair, but then I considered everything we had been through, all the worlds with the versions of me that were hard to look at and all of the shit we had to endure just to get this far. I lowered myself onto the cold steel ground, and I mulled over everything Daphne was saying about how I didn't realize my own potential in the same way that she did. What if she was right? What if my own self-doubt and my own insecurities were somehow holding me back, and it was time to let everything go?

I tapped the pen against my teeth and thought about Coolsville, and everything I loved about my home. I thought about what the Crystal Cove Mystery Inc. had said about how Daphne and I could use our love and the power of our relationship to find our way home, as they had done to defeat the Evil Entity. And as I sat there thinking, I noticed Daphne smile at me slowly from across the box, and a warm, safe feeling blanketed over me.

And a second later, before I even realized what I was doing, I began writing.

It was about four or five months after I had met you, so freshman year. I was at the Coolsville High School dance, standing in the middle of the dark auditorium while all around me sweaty students bumped and grinded against their friends and significant others, much to the chagrin of the teacher chaperones watching on the fringes of the dance floor. I had gone to the dance alone, but I knew you would be there, and even though I knew it was a stretch, I had hoped that I could steal a slow dance with you at some point during the night. As I weaved my way through students tangled together, I finally noticed you standing in the far corner of the gym, and when I see you boxed in by a tall, lanky guy in tight jeans, I can instantly feel the jealousy and pain blossom inside of me as my cheeks burn, and I somehow know that my cheeks are blooming a crimson red color. The guy is another freshman, and I don't know much about him, other than that he enjoys being in the school art club. I don't even know his name, but when my buddy Kyle sees me standing with my mouth gaping open on the dance floor and he asks me what's wrong, he follows my gaze and chortles, "Oh, that guy fucks everyone, and it looks like your little friend is next, Jones."

Jealousy and hurt consume me, and I shove Kyle as he laughs like a hyena. He looks shocked that I pushed him, but then rolls his eyes and walks away, muttering how I'm so sensitive for speaking about you that way. I don't know this guy who supposedly fucks everyone, but the mere thought of him even intertwining his hands with yours makes me want to scream until my voice is raw, and I'm overwhelmed with the need to hit him. As I watch, something in your body suggest discomfort. You aren't smiling, your arms are crossed as this guy leans way too close towards your face while he speaks, and I can easily discern that you're trapped in a bad conversation based on what I've learned from watching you in just these few short months. Even though we haven't been friends for long, it's amazing how quickly we've bonded; a simple gaze shared wordlessly between us already conveys so much, and our new friends Velma and Shaggy joke that the two of us have our own language.

Just go talk to her, my mind urges. Save her, as if you're one of those women in the mystery novels we love swapping, as if you're a woman who needs saving at all when I know perfectly well how you're strong and capable and powerful and beautiful, all by yourself.

I found myself moving pushing past limbs and flailing students, and when I was just a few feet away from you, your eyes averted to mine, and it feels like something has sputtered and stopped in my chest, as if my entire world has literally paused. As I drew near you, the guy you're talking to stops talking and frowns as he most likely anticipates that his time with you is about to end. And then the fast, upbeat song that was playing ended abruptly. It was replaced by a top 40 song, the melody slow and sweet as the female lead singer crooned about her lover, and before I could even string together a cohesive thought, you stepped towards me, grabbed my hand in your own, and shouted to the guy, "Thanks Jordan, but Fred actually promised me this next slow dance! Talk to you later!"

As you lead us to the dance floor, you practically glide, moving elegantly and smoothly. Your hand in mine feels electric, as though sparks are shooting from your palms, and when we're finally in the middle of the dance floor you curtsey to me cheekily, and despite my nerves I laugh, and return the gesture. Then you lean into me and we begin swaying in time with the music, your arms wrapped around my neck comfortably, as though we've done this a hundred times before. For a second I'm unsure of where to place my hands, but then I quickly rest them on your lower back and bring you close against me, and I catch a whiff of your apricot scented hair. The feeling of being entwined with you and feeling your body as though it was soldered against mine is incredible, and I savor your light touch as you grip my neck. And as we dance to the song you smiled up at me, and I could feel myself melting, just as I did that very first time I met you, and you said, "Good instincts – thanks for saving me, Fred. That guy was so annoying!"

I'm grappling with how to respond when the song is suddenly cut short, and all the lights are cut in the gym. Students gasp, and a vampire cackles from the rafters of the auditorium, and he swoops from the ceiling and lands on the ground with a THUD, and he grabs the chest standing closest to the deejay, which contained a huge cash prize for whomever would have been voted king and queen by the end of the dance. In an instant Shaggy and Velma have suddenly materialized beside us, as though they were there all along, and the four of us exchange grins and wide-eyed looks as the vampire tears out of the gym.

You grip my hand and grin at me, the ecstasy written all over your face, and you ask me, "Want to go with me to solve a mystery with our friends, like one of those detective books the four of us love so much?"

And all I can think is: I will go anywhere with you.

Whenever I think of my home, that moment is the first moment that comes to my mind. For starters, it was the first time I held you in my arms, and immediately I had felt warm and safe and secure, and I always knew deep down that you were the one for me. And that was the very first mystery we had solved as a gang, and even though our mysteries could be scary, I always felt as though I was doing what I was placed on Earth for whenever I was solving a case with you and our friends by my side. Whenever I think of home, I think of the rush of unmasking another creep in a cheesy mask, or the melodious laughter of our friends as we drive in the Mystery Machine, or my parents' smiles whenever they see me walk in the door after school. But the thing no one tells you about home is that home isn't just a place; home can be a person, too. Even though this experience has taken us far from our physical home and our friends and family, I didn't realize that while I moaned about getting back home, I've been home this entire time, because I've had you right by my side, because you are my home. And when I silently pledged to follow you anywhere that day in the midst of the humid gymnasium, surrounded by clammy and anxious high school students, I meant it. I still mean it now as we've woven our way through door after door in the multiverse, and I am going to see that through until I lead us back to our physical home in Coolsville.

I set the pen down and sighed, feeling as though something heavy had been removed from my shoulders. Daphne looked up, sensing that I was complete, and we both stood, meeting each other in the middle of the box. Suddenly overcome with emotion after having recalled the memory of dancing with Daphne for the first time, I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"I think I'm ready to lead us back home," I said, and she beamed. "But I think the Crystal Cove gang is right; I need your help. Will you read what I wrote, and when you're done, will you put your hair in this wand with mine and then take my hand and follow me down the corridor?"

Daphne wordlessly took the notebook from my hands and started reading, and as she reads, I pulled the vials from our backpacks, prepared to take the drug once she's finished reading. I know that she has read everything when she starts tearing up and pulls me in for a warm embrace. I could feel her body shaking, and tears that aren't my own started wetting my cheek. She pulled away and kissed me on the lips, and I held her in my arms as she cupped my face in her hands.

"Oh Freddy, I would follow you anywhere, too," she whispered. "I love you."

I passed her the drug and we clinked our vials together. "One last time," I whispered to her. "Let's follow each other down this hallway and find our home, and then never look back."

We both threw back the vials and watched as the corridor expanded, and instantly we both moved our hands to our own scalp, pulling a strand of hair delicately. We both winced, but quickly rebounded from the pain as we shoved the hair into the wand. Once the wand blinked a few times and then went out, we smiled at each other, and I fought the panic and bile threatening to rise in my throat as I laced my hand in Daphne's and lead us down the corridor, the beam of our flashlight gliding off the walls.

After a couple minutes, something intrinsically pulled me towards a door about ten steps away from us, a door just like all the rest. Wordlessly, I lead us to the door, waving the wand over the other ones as we went, but the moment we stopped in front of the door, the wand illuminated a bright, icy blue, and the light never faded.

Daphne and I looked at each other, and she gripped my hand as I reached my hand towards this door, this last shot, this one in a trillion, trillion, trillion. I knew that no matter what lay on the other side, we would have each other, and as long as I had Daphne I would still have a home, but we both wanted our physical home, and our friends, more than anything. We wanted the mysteries and the guys in corny costumes and the complicated and unsure futures, and Shaggy and Velma and Scooby. We wanted Mystery Incorporated back, and nothing more.

Daphne squeezed my hand, and I drew in a deep breath, let it out, and then I opened the door.