Chapter 2: The discussion and the auction
That morning, Colton and Paula Rogers sat at the dining room table and looked on as Shaggy and Scooby continued to poke at their breakfast bowl.
The parents sighed as it has been ten minutes since the duo got up from bed and came down for breakfast, yet normally by that point, Shaggy and Scooby would've already finish their breakfast and head out for school.
It was clear that Shaggy and Scooby weren't eating as much as they often do, and the parents shared looks with each other before Paula decided to clear her throat.
"If you boys keep this up, you're both gonna be late for school." Paula said.
Shaggy and Scooby only stared at their breakfast in response, and Paula looked at Colton in concern.
The banker sighed before saying, "Look, you boys haven't been yourselves since you got yourselves dragged into that mess on Monday, not that it was your fault."
"And it's worrying." Paula added as Shaggy looked up. "What happened on Monday is eating away at the both of you, and your father and I can't just sit by and watch you boys relieving the memories from that day."
Shaggy sighed as he drew out a breath while Colton continued, "You boys and your friends need someone to talk to, because if you keep those painful memories bottled up, it's not going to end well."
Shaggy and Scooby both nodded, though it was clear to the parents that something deep down was bothering the boys.
With a sigh, Paula said, "If you boys don't want to talk about it, at least finish your breakfast or you're gonna be hungry the whole day."
"Not that it's gonna make much of a difference, since when has there been a time the boys were never hungry." Colton muttered.
Shaggy and Scooby shared looks with each other before they reluctantly began to dig into their breakfast.
Watching the boys finally digging in, Paula glanced at her husband and remarked, "Now that's more like it."
Later at Crystal Cove Central High School, much of the school day went by as usual, though it was clear that neither in the gang were in good spirits.
Since that showdown with the tampered Robot Hound, Fred and the girls haven't been meeting up together like they always do, nor have they met up with Shaggy and Scooby at all during lunch period.
It was clear that the trauma from the encounter with the Robot Hound has had a profound affect on each of the gang, on top of the nightmares they all have been having in the past couple of nights.
Fred certainly looked like he could use a good nights sleep, yet he has spent the past couple of nights pulling an all-nighter, digging deep into setting up a new design for a trap.
For her part, Velma hasn't been sleeping much either in the past couple of nights, instead spending most of the time in her room reading and studying various subjects, those that she deemed as not going to remind her of the trauma they all shared from that fateful Monday.
As for Daphne, well, it was apparent that the trauma from Monday's encounter with the Robot Hound has resulted in her not caring much about makeup and all of the usual stuff she usually cares about.
As a result, when Shaggy ran into the redhead at the lockers during lunch period, he almost didn't recognize her as she unlocked her locker door.
"D-Daphne?" Shaggy asked, and the redhead turned towards him.
Immediately, Shaggy can see the effects of the lack of sleep on the redhead. Her eyes looked more puffy, and it was clear that her hair looked more wrinkled instead of smooth.
"Shag." Daphne sighed as she opened her locker door, paused and turned towards him.
For a while, the two friends didn't speak a single word, though it was clear to both of them that they both have a lot in their minds.
It was Shaggy who eventually broke the awkward silence as he asked, "Like, I take it that you didn't sleep well last night, right?"
"You can say that." Daphne nodded. "And I sure can say the same to you."
"It's that Robot Hound." Shaggy sighed. "It keeps coming back into my dreams, and I kept dreaming that it hunted down Freddie, Velma, you and poor Scoob and I tried to rescue you guys, only to arrive too late for Sco-"
At that last sentence, Daphne held a finger up and shushed him with a firm nod.
"I can't say I'm surprised." Daphne said. "Especially when I've been having similar dreams lately."
Shaggy placed his right hand on his forehead as he said, "Like, since that encounter with the Robot Hound, I've been thinking about something lately."
"Like what?" Daphne arched her eyebrows.
"Do you really think we can continue on with our mystery-solving the way we always do, especially when what we've stumbled upon came close to killing us recently." Shaggy wondered out loud as he turned towards the redhead.
"Not to mention we've got an insane parrot on the loose." Daphne nodded.
There was some silence between the duo as they shared looks with each other.
"I honestly wouldn't wanna think about that." Shaggy finally said. "That parrot clearly is up to something, like, I just have this feeling."
"And it's already stressful enough to think about that." Daphne agreed. "When you bring in what we went through on Monday, we really need to do something to calm down and deflate."
"Yeah, though I'm worried that if we try to deflate, we may end up evoking the trauma from Monday's tangle." Shaggy said.
"Although by this point, we've been having enough nightmares that opening up and relieving those memories may be a walk in the park." Daphne said.
"But still." Shaggy sighed as he looked at Daphne in the eye. "I'm really worried about losing you and Scooby. Like, if there's something that tampered robot has taught me, it's that we sometimes need to step back and not take too many chances, especially when such chances could get us in danger."
"Though I'm not sure if Freddie and Velma has received that memo." Daphne turned around, and Shaggy followed her gaze, spotting Fred and Velma walking down the hallway with their binders.
Eying the way the two weren't interacting with each other, Shaggy remarked, "I suppose we're about to find out on that."
Fred and Velma soon approached their lockers and stopped when they saw Shaggy and Daphne watching them, then the blonde said, "Hey guys."
"Freddie, you sound like you could use a good night's sleep." Velma said.
"I could say the same to you, Velms." Fred said as he yawned.
"Don't mind me, I just needed to keep ahead of my classes if I want to get into Darrow University next year." Velma scoffed.
"A lack of sleep isn't gonna give you any favours." Daphne pointed out.
"Coming from someone who hasn't slept much herself lately." Velma pouted as she turned towards the redhead.
"Look, I know that you guys wanna move on from what has happened on Monday, but burying yourselves in your work or studies isn't going to help matters." Daphne said.
"I'm fine." Velma insisted.
"Yeah, sure." Daphne rolled her eyes. "Your puffy eyes and messy hair tells me otherwise."
"What's your point?" Velma grumbled.
"If there's something that I've learned from Monday's rampage, it's that there are some things that are too dangerous for us to take any chances on." Daphne said.
"What are you saying, Daph?" Fred asked.
"Like, I'm sure she's saying that we should take a step back and take a break from all of this crazy stuff, especially with that crazy parrot on the loose." Shaggy said.
Fred and Velma shared looks with each other, during which Shaggy continued, "I mean it, guys. Dealing with all of this crazy stuff is already stressful, and with what we've went through on Monday, there's no way the trauma is gonna go away if we keep ourselves in stressful and dangerous situations."
Fred and Velma continued to glance at each other, then they turned towards Shaggy and Daphne and they both sighed.
"I suppose the Shagster's got a point." Fred conceded.
"So it's settled, then." Daphne said. "We take a break from all of this mystery-solving for now while we try to figure a way out of these nightmares we've been having lately."
"Agreed." Velma nodded.
"Awesome, then." Shaggy said. "How about we hang out at the Clam Cabin after school and relax at the beach?"
Fred and the girls shared looks with each other, then they all nodded.
"Sounds like an awesome idea, Shag." Fred smiled.
The others all smiled in agreement, though little did they realize that something dark was about to happen that night.
That night, over at the Crystal Cove Community Center, a charity auction was well underway.
The auctioneer was standing on the stage with a painting on display while Nan Blake and her friend Shella Altoonian looked on at the side of the stage.
"Do I have $5600?" The auctioneer asked. "Going once! Going twice!"
When no one in the crowd responded, the auctioneer slammed the gravel onto the pad as he shouted, "Sold! To the lady in the light purple dress and wearing the brown beret for $5500!"
As the lady in question went onto the stage to claim the painting, Nan and Shella clapped their hands as they shared looks with each other.
"I sure can't thank you enough for helping organize this charity auction, Shella." Nan said to her friend.
"Oh, no need to thank me, Nan." Shella waved a hand. "That's what friends are for, isn't it?"
"Yes, but it's probably time for me to repay the favour, isn't it?" Nan asked as she turned towards her.
"You never need to repay any favours you 'owe' me, Nan." Shella sighed. "In my eyes, you never need to repay anything."
"If you say so." Nan nodded as they turned towards the stage, where the stage assistants were finished putting up a new painting onto the display frame.
"Alright, next up is the Full Moon in Transylvania, folks!" The auctioneer announced as the stage hand placed the painting onto the display frame.
The audience gasped at the sight of the dark and gloomy-looking painting, which featured a large castle painted with a bright full moon in the background.
As the auctioneer explained the background behind the painting, Shella glanced at her wristwatch before turning to Nan.
"Can you hold the floor for me, Nan?" She asked. "I need to tend to something very urgent."
"Sure." Nan nodded, and Shella nodded back as she took her leave.
Nan turned back towards the auctioneer as he continued, "Bidding starts at $100. Do I have $150?"
Seeing no response from the audience, the auctioneer leaned forward and asked, "Anyone?"
Nan sighed as she looked on, and as she turned towards the crowd, she can tell that some of the audience members were getting bored.
Not that she blamed them. The building, which was built and opened in the early-1970s, certainly looked boring on the inside, and she can tell that some of them had dozed off and fallen asleep.
Nan sighed as she noted the time. It's getting late and there are still a few more paintings to be auctioned off.
"Anyone?" The auctioneer asked. "Come on, there's gotta be someone who would be interested in the Full Moon in Transylvania, folks!"
However, nothing in the creation of mankind could prepare anyone in the room for what was to come, as at that very moment, a very loud shriek can be heard from the other end of the room.
Everyone looked up towards the source of the shriek, and they all gasped when a creature in a cape and with pointy ears, without warning, began swooping down.
The auctioneer ducked down as the creature swooped low towards the stage, during which he exclaimed, "Everyone evacuate!"
Instinctively, the audience members all rushed over towards the main exit doors, only for the lights to suddenly go out!
"This painting is mine!" The creature exclaimed. "Give it to me!"
As the lights went out, the auctioneer fumbled for the flashlight before turning it on and rushed over to the light switch.
When he flicked the lights back on, everyone gasped when the creature was nowhere to be seen!
"It's gone!" The auctioneer exclaimed.
Nan, who was still on the stage when it all went down, turned towards the display frame and gasped.
"So is the painting!" She added.
There was some murmurs from the audience members as they all pondered what to do next.
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