Lately, for young Luna Stardust, she adjusted well to her new life with her brother Leo, Chedra, and the Extreme Dinosaurs, though every once in a while, she kept finding herself missing her parents, even if their deaths were a few years ago and the siblings had a family again. However, today seemed to be a very slow and sad day as she found herself feeling easily unhappy as she came out to meet her family to some breakfast, though she walked a lot slower than usual today.
"Hey, Luna." Spike smiled.
"Hey, Spike." Luna smiled back, though a bit soft and sad.
"Ya hungry?" Spike asked.
"Maybe a little bit," Luna shrugged. "Maybe I'll have some of those cheese rolls that Chedra makes for me sometimes."
Chedra and the others could tell something was up as Luna didn't look very happy.
"Why don't you go lie down and rest for a little bit?" Leo suggested to Luna.
"Okay..." Luna said softly and lowly as she suddenly went back to her room.
The others looked over at Leo.
"Today's a rough day for Luna," Leo told them all. "It's, more or less, the anniversary we became... A broken family."
"Ohh..." The Extreme Dinosaurs said, now understanding.
"Yeah..." Leo said softly. "She usually takes a nap to take the edge off. Sometimes it helps."
"It's so good how you look out for your little sister." Chedra replied.
"Hey, it's my job," Leo smiled sadly. "It's hard on me too, but I have to be strong for her."
"If only there was some way for us to help cheer her up." Bullzeye said.
"Yeah," Leo replied. "I wish we could talk to someone or visit somewhere else."
"Do you guys have any other living relatives?" T-Bone asked.
"I just know about Mom and Dad, sorry," Leo shrugged. "They were very private people, especially because of Dad's experiment to give me dinosaur DNA."
"What about any close family friends?" Chedra asked. "You know, like anyone that would come by for visits?"
"Hmm..." Leo paused thoughtfully. "Tara felt like an aunt to us, but I don't think she counts."
"Good try though," Bullzeye replied. "She sounded like a cool boss."
"Heh, she really was," Leo chuckled before he thought of someone else. "Maybe Auntie Fin."
"So... You guys have an aunt?" Spike asked, confused.
"Not a real aunt," Leo replied. "She was a good friend of our parents though, especially Dad: Professor Finola Svankmajer."
"I'm guessing since she was good friends with your parents that she's a paleontologist, right?" Chedra guessed.
"Yep!" Leo smiled. "...Now that I think about it, we haven't seen her in such a long time."
"Do you know what she's up to now?" Spike asked.
"...Huh," Leo said thoughtfully. "I guess I didn't think about that... Losing your parents in a fire and trying to find a home with your sister is hard work enough as it is. Excuse me..." he then said as he brought out his laptop and decided to look up his old family friend. "Heh, whatya know? She has her own website."
"That's helpful." T-Bone said.
"Sure is." Leo smiled before clicking on the link to Finola's website.
The Extreme Dinosaurs soon surrounded Leo as he decided to do a little research.
"Let's see..." Leo said as he looked further. "Well, it looks like right now she's in a place called La Serena Silver Mine."
"Then I guess that's where we're headed off to." Hard Rock smiled.
"Let's go tell Luna!" Bullzeye said, about to fly off.
"Whoa!" Leo said as he stopped the pterodactyl. "I love that enthusiasm, buddy, but you should let her rest first," he then suggested with a smile. "It should be a... A surprise."
"That's perfect." Stegz smiled.
"And luckily we have our own transportation." Chedra added.
"Yeah," Leo smiled. "Hopefully she'll still be there by the time we get there," he then looked over. "Chedra, why don't you make those cheese rolls Luna likes so much? I'm sure she'd love to wake up to see that."
"Can do, Leo." Chedra smiled back.
"This is going to be the greatest surprise ever." Spike smiled.
"Just remember to keep it quiet," Leo smiled back. "I'll wake up Luna in about an hour."
The others nodded from that.
Meanwhile, Luna was shown to be sitting on her bed as she held out a photograph of her at a younger age with Leo and their parents before she closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I miss you..." she said softly before she took off her glasses and got under her covers as she drifted off to sleep. Her dream soon showed her the two people she was missing. George and Cassandra smiled warmly at their daughter.
"Mom... Dad..." Luna said softly as she tried to run towards them. She soon began to see them getting further away. "Wait! Come back!" she then cried out.
"Tell us what's going on, Luna..." George said as his voice sounded echoey.
"Yes, yes... How's your brother?" Cassandra added as her voice sounded the same way.
"Please, don't leave!" Luna cried emotionally as she tried to run after them.
"Are you eating well?" George asked as his voice echoed.
"How are Finola and Tara doing?" Cassandra added as her voice echoed.
"Mom! Dad!" Luna cried out.
Suddenly, the dream looked dark and scary as Bad Rap's laughter was heard before he suddenly appeared with Spittor and Haxx as they seemed to grab George and Cassandra to take as hostages.
"Raptors!" Luna cried out before glaring. "You better leave them alone!"
"You can't stop us!" Bad Rap laughed at her with Spittor and Haxx. "You're just a little girl and your brother fights all your battles for you!"
"No! That's not true!" Luna cried out.
Bad Rap laughed at her.
"No! Stop!" Luna cried. "Mom! Dad!"
There was then suddenly a flash of bright light and Luna appeared to be alone in the old house where she and Leo used to live in before it caught on fire as she began to cry for both her parents and what Bad Rap said about her. A picture of one of the friends the family soon appeared next to her.
Luna looked over and soon took the picture in her hands and looked closely at it to see a blonde woman. "...Aunt Finola?" she then asked softly as she still looked tearful, but not as sad as she rubbed her eyes. As she looked at the picture, a memory soon changed the scenario around her to all the fun she and Leo used to have fun with her that any kid would have when they were the son or daughter or both of a paleontologist and scientist. And the kind of fun was learning about dinosaurs and fossils.
"Keep digging, kids!" Finola smiled at Leo and Luna. "You're gonna find real dinosaurs like the ones your dad and I study!"
"They look like rocks." Leo said to the woman.
"That may be so, but they were dinosaurs millions of years ago," Finola explained. "The dinosaur dies and is washed away in a flood. The body is buried in sediments, such as mud or sand, and eventually, the body is covered. The soft parts of the body are destroyed leaving only bones and they slowly and surely become fossils that you would see in today's world."
"Ooh, Auntie Finola, I think I found one." Luna smiled as she stopped digging.
"Let's see what you got there, Lunes." Finola smiled back as she soon knelt beside the girl to see what she found and she was very surprised to see that her goddaughter had found the skull of a baby T-Rex.
"Whoa..." Leo whispered as he came to look with his sister.
"Luna, that's amazing..." Finola told Luna as she came closer. "You found the skull of a baby T-Rex."
"Aww... Poor baby." Luna pouted.
They continued to investigate where Luna found the skull and began to find the rest of the bones of the baby T-Rex. Leo smiled as he picked Luna up over his shoulders as they looked around.
Finola brought out a magnifying glass and her kit just in case as Luna seemed to make a very special and important discovery at her young age, but then again, Luna was always very smart for her age which is how she entered and graduated high school when she wasn't even a teenager. "This is astounding." The blonde woman said with a smile.
Luna smiled bashfully.
"I'm impressed," Finola beamed at Luna. "You certainly are your father's daughter."
"Thanks, Auntie Fionla~" Luna beamed back.
This memory seemed to bring a smile on Luna's face.
Leo came into the room, but didn't wake Luna up yet before he smiled a bit and gently ruffled up her black hair as she smiled in her sleep which made him very happy to see, especially on a day like today. 'This surprise is going to be what Luna needs to be cheered up.' he then thought to himself.
Luna soon turned over in her sleep a bit. Leo flinched, but soon picked up Luna's stuffed bunny and decided to let it in bed with his sister as he smiled at her and began to leave her room to let her continue with her nap.
Meanwhile a local hospital, a certain adventure group was there as they heard a familiar scream going on longer than it ever did before.
"Incredible," The doctor remarked as Shaggy was screaming his head off. "How long has he been screaming like this?"
"Almost three hours." Fred said.
"Without taking a breath?" The doctor replied. "It's unbelievable."
"Seriously." Cherry added as she wore headphones after the screaming got to her quicker than the others.
"This is the longest he's ever screamed." Atticus said.
"Must be a world record." Cherry replied.
"Oh, definitely," The doctor replied. "I'm just wondering if it's a violation of the laws of physics," he then looked down to Scooby and Patch. "Are those dogs?"
"Broadly speaking, yes." Velma said.
"You can't have dogs in the ER." The doctor told them.
"Oh, don't worry; they're service dogs." Cherry lied.
Atticus nodded quickly with a huge grin on his face.
"See?" Cherry told the doctor as she brought out what looked like two ID cards with Patch and Scooby's pictures on them.
The doctor took the ID card before giving an unimpressed look on his face. "You just made this in PhotoShop, didn't you?" he then asked.
"No..." Cherry shook her head before pointing at Velma. "It was her."
"Please, Doctor; Scooby-Doo is Shaggy's best friend." Velma said.
"Also Patch is just here for emotional support." Cherry added.
Patch gave her a look before looking hopeful that the doctor would let them stay.
"Well, as long as they don't make a mess or break anything." The doctor soon allowed the dogs to stay during Shaggy's screaming.
"Right." Patch nodded before looking to see Scooby hide something he broke.
"Can you at least help Shaggy, sir?" Mo asked hopefully.
"Yes, please." Fred added.
"Hey! Stop screaming!" The doctor soon demanded and suddenly, Shaggy stopped screaming as that worked like a charm.
"Why didn't that work when Cherry tried it?" Daphne wondered.
"Eh, people listen to doctors," The doctor replied. "Now, tell me what happened."
"Well, it started off with a mystery which is pretty usual at times." Atticus said.
"We were just in the neighborhood, so we decided to help out." Mo added.
"We were investigating an old mansion haunted by phantom Naval officers." Velma informed.
A flashback was shown of the Mystery Inc gang along with the adventure group, exploring a very creepy mansion, but what else was new?
"So creepy," Cherry said. "I love it."
"I bet you do." Atticus teased.
The portraits' eyes seemed to be watching them as they walked down a hallway together.
"Hey, a stuffed bear, extra-large." Cherry laughed as she shined her flashlight on a stuffed bear in the hall which startled Shaggy and Scooby.
"Neat." Lionel smiled.
"Velma, Daphne, Atticus, Mo, and I will look around upstairs," Fred began. "Shaggy, you, Scooby, Lionel, and Cherry will check out the cellar."
"Zoinks!" Shaggy shivered from the door. "Like, why do we have to-"
"Great. We'll meet up back here." Fred said before going upstairs with the others.
"That might be a challenge." Cherry rolled her eyes with how cowardly Shaggy and Scooby could get sometimes.
"Well, this will be interesting." Lionel said.
"Guess you might as well come along." Cherry told him.
"Yeah, but I dunno if I'll be here for the whole adventure," Lionel shrugged. "Scooby adventures got really predictable after a while... And as long as there's no Scrappy-Doo bashing."
"I promise, no one will make fun of Scrappy." Cherry told him.
They soon came through the door and came down the stairs while Cherry tried to keep her balance without a hand railing.
"Seems a little too quiet." Lionel said.
"Some people like it quiet." Cherry replied.
"Ghosts are lighter than air, right, guys?" Shaggy said nervously. "So, they wouldn't be down here, like, rising up from the attic, right?"
"R-Right!" Scooby replied. "Like balloons."
"Sure, let's go with that." Lionel deadpanned.
Cherry rolled her eyes a bit.
"Guys?" Scooby asked as they went down the stairs. "Are balloons filled with ghosts?"
"Oh, man. I have no idea." Shaggy replied.
"No, Scooby, balloons are not filled with ghosts." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Except for maybe blood and spiders like in a Stephen King novel." Lionel smirked to Cherry.
As they made it to the bottom, Shaggy and Scooby looked both left and right while walking forward.
"It's quiet," Cherry commented. "Too quiet."
"A little too quiet if you ask me." Lionel remarked.
Suddenly, they were surrounded once they shined the light in front of them to see the Phantom naval officers floating right in front of them.
"Kill them!" One of the ghosts told the others.
"So run?" Lionel guessed.
"Yes, that might be a good idea." Cherry replied.
Shaggy and Scooby soon screamed and ran away. Cherry and Lionel shrugged at each other before they went to join Shaggy and Scooby for the heck of it. This only made the ghosts begin to chase them with swords.
"Well, at least there aren't any more ghosts to deal with!" Lionel told Cherry.
"Hm." Cherry slanted her eyes.
They soon ran down the other side of the hallway and opened a door to see another ghost there, waiting for them. Scooby tossed Shaggy up in the air before he ran down the hallway and Shaggy landed in the ghost's arms.
"What are the odds?" Cherry asked.
"I swear, these adventures get more and more formulaic." Lionel commented to himself.
Shaggy and Scooby kept on screaming and running, though Shaggy seemed to be having a much worse time than Scooby, especially Cherry or Lionel who seemed to just stand there.
"Jeez, Shaggy seems more scared than usual right now." Cherry commented.
"Yeah, I wonder if he'll snap." Lionel replied.
"He'll probably snap pretty soon." Cherry said.
"Serves Fred, Daphne, and Velma right for dragging him and Scooby on these mysteries without even asking if they wanted to," Lionel replied. "Also Velma is way too shallow for Shaggy. I saw a lot of chemistry between Shaggy and Daphne during that time with Vincent van Ghoul."
"I know what you mean." Cherry had to agree as Shaggy went to hide in a wardrobe closet.
Unfortunately, there were so many scary costumes in the wardrobe closet. Shaggy soon screamed which made the wardrobe closet shake as he was completely beyond scared.
"Dang..." Cherry and Lionel winced.
Meanwhile, Atticus, Daphne, Fred, Mo, and Velma had enough to be scared of on the top floor as Scooby joined them while the phantoms chased them. And where that was soon where Patch's bark's were heard from above the ghosts and where it seemed to startle them.
"Patch!" Atticus cried out.
Patch still barked and pouted from where he was.
"Oh, Patch..." Atticus said in worry before he did a double-take as he looked up. "Huh, that's funny... It looks like there are marionette strings hanging above the ghosts."
"Oh, really?" Fred asked before walking over and grabbed the marionette strings and pulled them down.
Patch soon hopped down into Atticus's arms. Atticus soothed Patch the best he could as he caught his pet dog. Two men were soon shown in the middle of the floor as Fred brought them down.
"It's Blair and Culhane." Velma remarked.
"Hey, where's Shaggy, Scooby, Cherry, and Lionel?" Patch asked.
They soon heard some screaming in the wardrobe closet.
"Did you guys hear something?" Daphne asked.
"Found them." Atticus and Patch sighed together.
Cherry and Lionel soon came upstairs to see what was going on.
"Well we found our 'ghosts'." Atticus said with air quotes in the end.
"That's good, now call the hospital." Lionel said.
"As well as some police." Cherry added.
"Them too." Lionel then said.
The police soon came to arrest the puppeteers while Shaggy was still in shock from tonight's experience.
"Once we'd scared everyone off, we could've bought this place for next to nothing," Blair complained as he and his partner were under arrest. "Anyway, that was the plan. And we would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for-"
Shaggy was heard screaming as he was being escorted into the ambulance.
"Could you get him to hold it down?" Blair complained. "I'm trying to confess here!"
"Sorry, can't get him to stop; all those scary costumes really made him snap." Cherry told him.
The Mystery Inc group looked a bit concerned before Shaggy was being taken away to the emergency room.
"Welp, I might take a break from this adventure," Lionel said as he decided to get going. "Good luck with Shaggy."
"Thanks, maybe the doctor will have better luck." Cherry said.
Lionel soon snapped his fingers to open up a portal and went through it before looking back. "I'll watch you guys on my inter-dimensional cable TV!" he then called out.
"...How does he do that?" Velma asked.
"Well, Miss Science Facts, he's from another dimension," Cherry rolled her eyes. "And yes, it's possible... Just ask Batman when he first met the little Bat-Mite."
"So, that's a normal evening for you, isn't it?" The doctor asked them.
"Yeah." Fred replied.
"Sure." Velma added.
"Pretty much." Daphne added.
"Try going to school with us." Mo smirked.
"I see... Well, let's get some X-Rays." The doctor said.
Luckily, Shaggy was somewhat calm, so he let the doctor get to work on him.
"It seems Shaggy is suffering from acute threat avoidance hypertrophy disorder." The doctor diagnosed.
"Sorry, was that in English?" Fred replied.
"It's a very rare form of overreaction to fear stimuli," The doctor explained. "It affects fewer than one in 10,000,000."
"Like, wow!" Shaggy remarked. "I'm special."
"So, what does it mean?" Mo asked the doctor.
"This means you'll have to give up anything even remotely frightening," The doctor told them. "So no more ghost-hunting, crime-busting, or mystery-solving shenanigans."
"So, basically Shaggy and Scooby no longer being pulled into mysteries where they would get scared every time they get encountered by a monster or ghost?" Cherry guessed.
"I'm afraid not." The doctor replied.
"Aww... No more shenanigans." Scooby pouted and shook his head.
"None," The doctor shook his head. "Shaggy, as your doctor, I forbid you to get in the Mystery Machine."
This caused the group to gasp after hearing that.
"But that means the end of the Scooby-Doo gang," Shaggy frowned with his friends before he hopped off of his bed with a hopeful smile. "So is there a cafeteria here or what?" he then asked.
"Cafeteria food is yummy, yummy, yummy." Scooby added as he licked his lips.
"It sure is." Patch smiled.
"Sure, as long as Granny Smith is preparing it and not Mrs. Crudup back in Greendale High." Cherry commented.
"Hey, I at least helped make the food edible, right?" Mo replied.
"Yeah, I guess you did." Cherry shrugged.
Shaggy and Scooby soon walked off to get something to eat while Fred, Daphne, and Velma were still in shock over what the doctor told them to do for Shaggy.