Arc 5: icelay -
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Shaggy looked around at his ghouls with a smile. Each one had helped solve the mysteries at one point or another. None of them had tried to upstage the others, well not much. It seemed to him that Thorn wanted to compete for something.
He was especially proud of Tanis at the moment. She was the most timid of the girls, and yet she had put herself in danger without a second thought in order to help her friends. This seemed to give her a confidence boost. She seemed surer of herself.
As he glanced around at the other girls his eyes landed on Sibella. Bella was the only one of their number who had been kidnapped, and yet she didn't seem reluctant to help anyway she could.
Thorn seemed to be the most cynical of the group, but even she had put herself in danger for all of them.
Debra was still the ray of sunshine he had met all those months ago. Though her interests lay within music, she was still quite smart, and Shaggy thought quite cute.
Crystal was the quietest of the group. Sure she had helped by spotting clues for them, but Shaggy felt that she didn't think it was enough. She was always lurking in the background, and she tried to not call attention to herself.
Snapping out of his thoughts Shaggy looked around at all of the girls. "I think it's time we got back to the dining room." Everyone nodded so they walked out through the previous blue door, then over to the door marked "exit". Opening the door Shaggy saw the bedroom they had started this adventure in.
As the group exited back out into the castle, Shaggy turned his head sharply toward the sound of running feet. Before he or any of the girls could react a figure dressed like a witch grabbed Tanis and ran down the hallway, turning to the right and sprinting out of sight. The group stood frozen for a few seconds, before Sibella and Crystal screamed in fury, and took off in pursuit, despite Shaggy calling for them to come back. Quickly the two girls rounded the corner and were out of sight. Debra, Thorn, and Elsa watched as Shaggy growling in fury slammed his right fist into his open left palm.
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Sibella and Crystal sprinted after the witch that kidnapped Tanis. Transforming into a bat, Sibella flew above Crystal as they entered a room full of lockers. The witch ducked into one just as the girls burst through the swinging doors.
Crystal started opening lockers 1 after the other while Sibella kept an eye on her. Crystal was opening and closing the lockers so fast, she completely mist seeing Tanis huddled in the corner, but Sibella didn't. Transforming back Bella was opened her mouth to tell Crystal what she had seen, when a hand was clamped over her mouth and the sweet smell of roses drifted into Sibella's nostrils.
The sound of a body hitting the floor caused Crystal to spin around with one of her devices pointed at a woman holding an unconscious Sibella. "Who are you?"
The woman laughed. "Ember may have failed, but we will get Shaggy back from you ghouls." With that the woman drew and fired a stun gun at Crystal.
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After Sibella and Crystal disappeared out of sight, Shaggy lead the other girls back toward the dining room. Walking in the group saw a piece of paper sitting on the table. Shaggy walked over to and leaned against the far wall while Elsa, Debra, and Thorn read the newest clue.
"At long last you near the end of my little hunt.
Now the real fun can begin.
Start by searching where you couldn't even punt.
Then seek that which has a fin."
All of the girls blinked at the poem.
"What does it mean where we couldn't punt?"
Meanwhile Shaggy was doing his best to calm down. He was finally ready to accept what Debra had told him during the time she was over shadowing him. He could finally admit to himself how much he loved how cute Tanis was. He could listen for hours while Debra played and Thorn sang. He had never really gotten over his crush on Crystal, nor how he felt for Sibella. If they ever got out of this mess, he was going to ask each of the girls if they wanted to live with him in Dracula's castle.
Shaggy was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a long drawn out scream above them. Jerking upright Shaggy looked around franticly. "Like did anyone else hear that?"
Thorn was about to answer when two figures appeared above the group.
"If you want those three back, hand over the clue."
Shaggy walked up to the figures and stared at them. After a few minutes the two started to fidget.
"Well!"
Shaggy smirked, just before punching the one dressed as a witch in the stomach. It was so unexpected the woman doubled over in pain, dropping a tome on the floor. Written on the tome was "tome of fire".
"You had all the time while we were preoccupied to read the clue, I have a different offer for you. Bring Tanis, Sibella, and Crystal here, and I won't tear you and your partner apart."
As he spoke Shaggy reached out and grabbed the witch. Thorn had her quickly tied up, and Debra looked ready to blast the other figure.
"Without us you will never find them", the figure spat. Shaggy just shrugged.
"You have my demands, either way you are not getting this clue." So saying Shaggy pulled a lighter from his pocket, and set the sheet on fire. The masked figure watched in stunned silence as the clue went up in flames.
"I refuse your demands. I will find the treasure on my own, and I will have you all to myself Shaggy Rogers."
With that the figure disappeared into smoke.
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An: YAY! At last I'm back and posting. I know this chapter is pretty short, but this chapter has been giving me trouble for months. On top of that, my computer decided to be a pill so I couldn't write even if I wanted to. I want to thank everyone who has waited for this story to continue, and hopefully my muse doesn't decide to take another vacation. For those interested the game reference in chapters 22 and 23 is the game "Dark Cloud", in fact the genie that Tanis finds is the fourth character to join the party in that game. Please if you have any questions, or suggestions feel free to PM me, or leave a comment. After all we authors can't put what you want to see in our stories if we don't know what you want. Until next time.