Chapter 7
Plan
Spook Museum, Crystal Cove
February 8, 2014, 11:30 pm
Hours after Marcie's dream in the sitting room...
"No, no, and no!" Winslow exclaimed towards Marcie. The elder was just informed about the plan that both Marcie and Alice had made with the Blake twins to get into the Destroido building. It was a good plan: just get in, get the stuff that Alice needs, maybe a few things they might take for protection, and get out without any trouble. Simple enough.
Her father didn't think it was 'simple enough'.
"I am not letting you go near that place, especially with what's been happening—no less with the person who almost killed your friends!"
"Hey, I'm right here! And again, I was just following orders." Alice said, getting the attention of both Winslow and Marcie.
"Not helping." He scolded the blonde.
"Right, sorry sir." Alice sat down, looking at her hands nervously as she twiddled her thumbs.
Marcie started speaking, "I understand your concern for me Dad, but this is the first step into finding Velma and helping her. This is the best way to know if she's okay. I can't just stay still while she's god knows where! I have to do something!"
He shook her head at this. "I don't want to risk it. I don't want you getting hurt and I certainly don't want you close to HER."
"May I just sa–"
"No."
"Yes sir." Alice gulped, staying still.
Marcie pleaded again, "Please, I want to help. I want to find her, but I can't do it just sitting here and doing nothi–" She suddenly stopped as she felt pain on her bandaged arm.
"You need to rest, we'll talk about this in the morning."
"Okay… Dad..." Marcie murmured defeatedly. She wanted to convince him that she would be fine, that she could pull it off. That she could find Velma and the others… but then again, Velma said they would come back…
Didn't she?
Winslow gave a soft smile before going to the back of the museum, leaving Marcie to her thoughts. Something that she has been doing more often than she should have.
"And you thought he was just going to let you go alone? Pathetic. Just like your dear friend Velma. No wonder she disappeared."
Marcie's bandaged arm turned into a fist, slamming into the table hard. She gave a small grunt of pain, not realizing that Alice was still there watching her.
For a minute, Alice could have sworn she saw something wrong with the way she was acting. 'Something is very wrong... I've never seen her this angry before…' Alice thought before she headed towards her former co-worker.
Marcie didn't notice the blonde's approach, she was staring at the cracks she had made on the table. Completely in trance, she thought of all the outcomes that the gang may have faced, one after another came and went through her mind—one worse than the other.
"Oh please, you know better than that. She isn't coming back and you know it. She hates this town more than you do… That's why she's gone. Just give up."
'No, she said she was coming back. She's probably captured, probably trapped somewhere…' Marcie thought, until Alice placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her out of her thoughts.
"So what if he doesn't want you to go? We have a Plan B."
"Plan B?"
"We are still going, whether he wants you to or not. This is important for all of us. Whatever Mr. E wants us to find might help us with the end of the world." Alice tried to persuade. The words that came out of her felt more like peer pressure to Marcie though.
'Is that what it's all about? The end of the world as we know it? Are we really that close to it? Velma and the others were supposed to stop it…'
"But–"
"No 'but', Marcie. We need to be prepared for anything. This is the best option we have right now." Alice pressured on.
Marcie sighed, and after a minute of thinking she slowly nodded her head. "We'd have to go after dark then, once everyone's asleep."
"Right, I'm glad you didn't back out. According to that dog, we need you." Alice said as she slowly went towards the room's exit. But before she could leave, she continued, "We're on our own in this, remember that. The police are no help, no one is going to help us."
"...Right… I guess…" Marcie only said before she was left alone in the library. The thoughts were slowly coming back to her. She frowned as she remembered the conversation she had in the sitting room.
"Your true malice is showing, Marcie. Maybe you should lay off this stupid idea of saving Crystal Cove. Velma isn't gonna come back. What more does she have to lose now? The Entity has the upper hand, they could cut out Velma's life in a minute..."
"Unless you do want to lose her…"
"You surprise me, Marcie, really… You're almost the same as her… it's unbelievable."
"Ah, you don't know? You will soon enough… if you're THAT intelligent, that is…"
She sighed; everything was coming down on her all at once. She needed to do something before she'd get overwhelmed enough to actually lose her mind. 'Velma, what the hell did you get yourself into? Did you really release it?'
"You know what she got herself into, quit acting like you don't know. It was for their own good."
Marcie frowned, her thoughts were getting the better of her and she didn't like where this was going...
"I see that you are in need of assistance?" the Cocker Spaniel asked, walking towards the brunette. The small dog gave a whine, "I understand that you are feeling overwhelmed."
"You do?"
"Yes. You have just found out that you were actually supposed to die. That you were a sacrifice for the Entity. That you and Velma were probably not destined to be together in this universe."
"The dog hits it right on the nail. Of course you two aren't destined to be together. One of you will always die and leave the other alone." Marcie sighed, "I don't think Velma likes me that way. I don't think she would want to be with someone like me."
"Why not?"
"I mean, come on, I was a criminal for god's sake. I-I-I worked for the paranoid CEO of a company that polluted the entire area of Crystal Cove… She… She wouldn't want to be with me. I–I've made so many mistakes."
Nova jumped onto the table and stared at the brunette closely. "You are not evil, Marcie Fleach. You were under the effects of the Evil Entity. You are a good person. You helped Mystery Incorporated to retrieve pieces of the Planispheric Disk and even stole them from your employer for them… You are genuinely a good person."
Marcie looked away from the small dog, "What's up with the sitting room? Why were they there?"
"The sitting room is a safe haven for the best parts of all Crystal Covians that were affected by the Entity's malice. When the Entity got out of its sarcophagus, Mystery Incorporated's best parts fled into the realm as a defense mechanism."
"And apparently ours too, eh, Marcie? I guess it kind of makes sense now that you think about it... "
"Do you know where they are now?"
"No, I do not. What I do know is that the Evil Entity has them captured, and hasn't let them go since."
"What do you think the Entity is doing to them?"
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that. Normally, the Entity is considered a glutton, eating everything in its path like it's nothing. I don't understand what made it change its plan to wait this long, but perhaps it may have something to do with you."
"With me?"
"You were the sacrifice, remember? You were destined to die at the hands of Professor Pericles, but he didn't end you. In fact, I saved you—I prevented your death from happening."
"Then… what's going to happen?"
The small dog frowned, "I don't know, and I'm afraid we'll have to find out soon enough."
The Crystal Cove Caverns,
Close to the door to the Air World…
"Angelo."Seraphim called out to the metal demon. Since Feralle's talk, she had been wanting to speak to Angelo about it. Now was the time to tell him… "I want to talk to you…"
"Yes, Seraphim. What is it?" Angelo asked.
"Feralle is planning to betray the Entity, I heard it from her." Seraphim quickly said, staring into Angelo's eyes.
"WHAT?! How could she?! After everything the master did for he–"
Seraphim shushed him, her finger disappearing into his hood as she stopped him from saying anything else. "Calm down! I don't know what's the reason for it. But I have a plan."
"A plan?"
"Yes, but I need your help with it. Can I trust you with this? Will you keep it a secret?"Seraphim asked, a smirk slowly creeping up on her face. This has happened before, they both know it from experience.
Angelo smirked back to her from under his mask and quickly nodded to the question. "Your plan is safe with me, you know that. Though, I must ask… What are you going to do about it?"
Seraphim chuckled darkly, "Don't worry about it, Angelo. Once the time comes, you'll know what to do. Just like last time."
"What is it Angelo will know what to do?" Sovrano replied to them. "I am intrigued."
"Ah, Sovrano. Nothing for you to worry about, unless you have something to say about the master's way of handling the situation he is in right now." The metal demon teased, "You always have something to say about it…"
Sovrano didn't say anything back, instead he turned around and walked away. "Do not pull me into your traps, nor into your schemes. I am not interested in this and you know it."
"And why would we pull you into our schemes? It's like you are begging for us to do it. You know we aren't like that." Angelo teased, laughing darkly at the water demon.
"What the hell is happening here? I thought you were looking for the teens!" Feralle demanded from them. "The Entity wanted them found yesterday! I can't believe you're slacking off again, Angelo!"
"We were just making teams, dear Feralle." Seraphim quickly replied, crossing her arms to her chest. "We thought that maybe we would find them faster if we split up."
"No."
"No?"
"Two of us have to stay here and prevent anyone from looking through the caverns, or prevent the new mystery solvers from finding Mystery Incorporated the Second."
"You are being paranoid, Feralle. I killed the twins, remember? There's no way a four-human group could resurface at this time." Seraphim said, smirking to herself as she remembered her handiwork on the Blake family. "Even if a new group were to resurface, they can't do anything about the end of the world. They are just going to make things worse for them."
Feralle stood still, staring at the fire demon as she thought of something to say. But she decided against it. If that was what Seraphim thought, so be it. She would die either way, sooner or later. "Of course, how silly of me. You handled them all by yourself, and all before the Entity even told you to do so."
"Exactly! So Angelo and I think it would be best if we split up and look for the real threats. You know, Mystery Incorporated the Second. They are the real menace."Seraphim persuaded, then continued. "You and Sovrano can stay for all we care, if you so desire. Just in case."
"If that's what you want."
"Great! Then it's settled! Let's get out of here, Seraphim." Angelo said quickly, grabbing Seraphim's hand and pulling her away from the two demons.
Both Sovrano and Feralle looked at each other, waiting for the other to say something.
"Feralle."
"Yes, Sovrano?"
"You lied to her face. You know what will happen if she finds out the twins are still alive."
"Dear Sovrano... If I told her that the twins are alive and that she failed to kill them—what do you think she would do?"
"Try again."
"Exactly. Let her think that the twins are dead. I have better stuff to do than to babysit an arsonist and a psychopath." Feralle admitted, turning around and walking away from Sovrano.
"Feralle."
She didn't react for a second, forgetting that Feralle was her actual name now. Once she did, she looked from the corner of her eye at Sovrano. Sometimes, she'd forget that she wasn't human anymore. "Yes, Sovrano?"
"What are you planning?"
"...It's none of your concern, Sovrano."
The remains of Crystal Cove Hall, Crystal Cove
The new mystery solvers go to one of the places Mystery Incorporated frequented...
"Alright, what's the plan?" Daisy asked, looking at the wreckage of the city hall. Both her and Delilah decided to search it for anything Mystery Incorporated may have left behind, but they were too late. "The city hall is no more."
"Obviously there's nothing in the mansion." Delilah muttered.
"Marcie already checked the Dinkley's."
"The Rogers are out of town, maybe we could check–"
"I doubt there's anything in there that can tell us where Daphne is." Daisy grumbled, "The only thing that might be there are tons of wasted food."
"Then let's go to Destroido." Alice said, walking to them. "We'll find something in there, I can feel it."
"That company that's out of town? What's that got to do with Daphne and her friends?" Delilah questioned, still having a grudge against the blonde. "This is probably a trap you're trying to get us in."
Alice sighed. "It's not a trap, my boss and Mystery Incorporated worked together for some time... " She sighed again as she continued, "Before I was ordered to attack them–"
"Aha! So you admit that you WERE trying to kill them!" Delilah accused proudly.
"No, I'm telling you that I was following orders–"
"That's still the same thing! You attacked them!"
"That's enough from both of you! I'm getting really tired of you two arguing!" Daisy snapped, noticing that Marcie was standing still, staring at them while they spoke.
"Hey." Marcie could only say to them, she kicked herself for being so awkward at the moment.
"Hey, are you alright with this? Do you really want to go to Destroido?"
"...The city hall was the only place Mystery Incorporated and I ever really met up. Where your sister and her friends last hung out. We have no choice." Marcie uttered, looking back at the redhead. "We have to go to Destroido, one way or another."
Crystal Cove, City Hall
The day the Krampus case began...
"Are you sure about this? Do you really want to do this, Marcie?" Velma asked, concern written on her face. She watched Marcie fix the exoskeleton armour which Mr. E had provided them a few months back while both Marcie and Velma were working for him. "Aren't you worried what could happen if they captured you?"
"Don't worry V, I've got a backup plan." Marcie responded, motioning to Velma not to worry.
"You know I'm not really into the idea–"
"V, trust me. I'll be fine. If something happens that makes the plan fail I'll get out as quickly as possib–"
Velma shook her head at this. "No, you're not listening to me. I'm worried about you."
"And I'm telling you to trust me on this."
"Don't do this, we can find someone el–"
"Why are you so insistent on stopping me?" Marcie snapped, trying to understand Velma's reasoning. This was the moment Marcie needed to prove to them that she was useful to them, to make something of herself after all the mistakes she's made.
She wanted to show Velma she could do good…
"I-I-I just want you to be safe!"
"V, I–"
"Like, am I interrupting something?" Shaggy blurted, standing in front of the doorway. "Cuz, like, I can come back later, once you're ready."
"No, no. What's up?" Marcie quickly replied.
"Fred wants to know if you're ready."
Marcie looked back at Velma, "We'll talk about this later."
"If there IS a later."
"V–"
"Just go, Fleach."
…
Both Shaggy and Velma sat in the back Velma of the Mystery Machine as it drove down to the haunted toy factory. Velma held on to her laptop, looking into a video feed of Mr. E's hideout through a small camera she had installed on Marcie's exoskeleton suit.
Shaggy held onto a remote control which both him and Fred would use to control Krampus—who was actually Charlie The Robot—while the real purpose of the mystery was underway. "Like wow, I sure am glad that Jason Wyatt agreed to help us with this."
"Yeah, I sure am glad…" Velma sarcastically responded, her attention glued to Marcie's feed. She held the laptop tightly in her hands, something that she had noticed lately. It was unnatural for her, she was always so careful with her stuff…
But when Marcie's around…
'She's fine, Velma. You just gotta trust her.' Velma kept saying to herself, the words almost coming out of her mouth for everyone to hear.
She knew she had feelings for Marcie for quite some time now, but what was she going to do about them? She didn't know if Marcie had the same feelings for her—and she wasn't going to ask any time soon.
No, not when the fate of the town and possibly the world is in their hands now. Once it was all over, she would tell her everything.
That's what she was going to do; nothing more, nothing less. It was foolproof. It was better than risking it. She would just have to suppress them for a little longer.
Just a little more.
…