Daphne simply looked at her blonde friend in shock.

Isabel nodded to confirm that what she said was indeed correct, then quickly swiveled around to see the apparition upon them. The man wore a Redcoat outfit from the American Revolutionary War, and pointed at them, waving a lantern in its hand.

"Do not invoke the secrets of this mansion!" it moaned.

Though incredibly scared, Daphne wished she had brought her camera so she could document this on the show. This would have been a perfect opportunity for an episode.

"S-s-s-says who?" Daphne stuttered.

"Ghosts of the past own these parts! Strangers are not welcome! Gooo!" the lantern-wielding phantom replied.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Daphne quickly ran into the other room, as the ghost followed to chase her. She didn't even look to see what Isabel had done or which direction she had gone in.

Daphne quick made a circle around the house (quick being a relative word...she knew the house was huge!) and ran back up the stairs, not glancing to see if she was being followed. Quickly running into her room, Daphne slammed the door behind her and locked it. Short of breath, she peeked under the door crack to see if there was still imminent danger. The ghastly glow began fading down the stairs.

Isabel.

Daphne's heart sunk when she realize her friend was not in the room, and could be still chased by the ghost. Out of immense fear and newfound uncertainty about the blonde's identity, Daphne guiltily took off her robe and nestled herself under the sheets, her head completely submerged in the sea of cotton that surrounded her vision.


Unable to fall asleep, the redhead continued worrying, staring up at the sheets which covered her face. There was only silence for about an hour. Until she heard the noise.

The loud noise startled Daphne and caused her to flip around her line of sight to the wall, in which she saw a small hole which was not there before.

"Damn it!" a deep voice shouted.

Suddenly, a large man climbed through the window. He was a beastly man, who clearly hadn't missed any meals. He was only slightly taller than Daphne, but nonetheless was intimidating with his rugged look and bald figure.

Daphne didn't even have time to think before her legs began aiding her in escaping, dodging the bullets which were shot in her direction. She was certain someone would have heard such a loud sound, but no one was in the hallway when she sprinted by. Having no time to change out of her pajamas, she felt more vulnerable than ever in the thin fabric which left part of her shoulders exposed.


Running. Nonstop running.

That was all she had been doing for what felt like hours, running through the house and into the basement where she could make an easy escape if needed. She only knew she wanted two things. To feel relatively safe, and then to have a good cry. This had quite possibly been the scariest night of her whole life. Daphne realized that no matter how strong you are, sometimes you just need to get out a good cry. Though, of course it didn't help that she was already emotional from the loss of Velma and confusion about Shaggy. So this is what it means to be an emotional mess, Daphne thought internally.

The internal monologue instantly stopped when she heard footsteps around the corner. And a light. That damn light. She braced herself for the fact it was probably the ghost again, but took a glance just to make sure.

All the weight of the world instantly dropped off of her shoulders when she saw a familiar face. Not even thinking, Daphne ran up to Isabel and started to cry on her shoulder whilst hugging her. She didn't even quite understand why, she just had the feeling she needed the release of emotion. Though still crying, Daphne felt a slight bit of relief when she felt her friend's arm hug her currently vulnerable body back.

After a few good minutes of crying, Daphne looked up, but saw a slightly different face than she had before. Although she was still in the same friend's presence, it felt like Isabel were different now that she had revealed her big secret.

"You. Saggy. Thelma." Daphne tried to hold back her unstoppable tears as she struggled for words. For a minute, she gave up and resumed the eye waterworks on Isabel's shoulder.

Isabel stroked Daphne's red hair in attempt to comfort her, and whispered "It's okay if you need to cry."

For whatever reason, that made Daphne cry a little harder because she didn't understand why she was still crying. Isabel patiently waited for her friend to stop crying and asked if she needed anything.

"Can you," Daphne paused to sniffle, "explain why you left? The mystery group? And why did you pretend you didn't know them! And why…"

The blonde interrupted "Slow down! I may seem like someone who's shallow, but you know, I am quite a complex person once you get to know me. Now, where do you want me to start?"

Complete seriousness in her teary eyes, Daphne looked up. "Why did you leave?"

"I didn't lie to you, I just avoided the details." Isabel explained. "I wanted to become a journalist, but later I decided I didn't. I wanted to work as a big time TV host, not be stuck in some job I don't like anymore. Saggy, Dred and Thelma discouraged me, telling me I was throwing my life away and that I was just the stereotypical female who wanted to be some big pop culture star."

Daphne tried to imagine how Saggy could possibly discourage anyone with his comical "dude" catchphrases.

As Daphne started to calm, she realize she hadn't said anything in response. She felt she at least owed a response to Isabel, since she was no longer unable to speak. "That's such a sexist thing of them to say!"

Just as Daphne ceased crying, Isabel's face began tearing up. "I...I hate being a girl!" she blurted, before reversing roles and crying on Daphne's shoulder. Unlike Daphne, she quickly redeemed herself and wiped away the tears.

"Sorry, just a sensitive subject. I changed my mind in college last-minute, in senior year, on what I wanted to major in. My friends didn't support me, just bashed me and told me I was never there for them. I was, understandably, busy with college work and couldn't always be a part of the mystery group as my life moved on. I was too busy finding myself and unmasking my own identity to find clues or unmask some creep in a costume." Isabel continued.

"So you just left?"

"No, I tried to stick around. The bashing and self-esteem destroying only got worse as I finished my senior year. I don't give a fuck what they think. I'm just going to be the best damn person I can be, and be myself."

Daphne was taken aback by the blonde's profanity. Even the "new" Isabel didn't seem like the swearing type.

"But why did you pretend Saggy, Thelma and Dred didn't know you?"

"Well, we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms." Isabel said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad? What could they have possibly have said to someone they liked as a friend for years?" It sounded cheesy, but Daphne just wanted to reassure her friend who was obviously struggling and emotional.

"How about 'fuck off Isabel, you snarky bitch'?"

Daphne's mouth unintentionally dropped open.

"But…" Daphne spoke but couldn't think of how to articulate what she wanted to say.

"What?"

"I don't know. It's just, I feel like you kinda lied to me. You know, you could have told me in private."

Isabel's usual perky smile quickly turned into a disgusted glare.

"I lied to YOU? Do you even know how much courage it took to tell you that? I just poured my heart out to you, and you don't even care! I just cried on you!"

"But...but…" Daphne couldn't think of a comeback to let Isabel know she still wanted to be friends.

"Save your buts. I'll be up in our room. You know, I actually thought we had something real. A real friendship, which I haven't had since I left California three months ago. Some friend you are."

"But there's…" Daphne tried to warn her of the deranged man who just shot a hole in their wall.

Isabel gave her a glare as cold as ice, and slowly said "DON'T. Push me."

Isabel stormed off in a huff, making a big sigh which Daphne presumed was supposed to be noticeable.

Daphne felt the urge to cry again, but she didn't feel she had any tears left to lose.

The redhead stayed in the cold basement thinking, until eventually she came up to her room and saw Isabel, fast asleep, in bed. Awkwardly, there was only one bed so Daphne had to crawl alongside the angry blonde. Whilst doing so, she actually bumped something which she believed to be Isabel's leg. Isabel let out a disappointed huff and pulled the covers further over her head.


Daphne hated mornings. And she hated this morning most of all, because she knew when she fully awoke she would have to contend with the angry person she used to call 'friend'. Once she lifted herself out of bed, she and Isabel made a conscious effort to avoid each other whilst getting ready. At one point, she attempted to make eye contact while Isabel brushed her hair, to which the blonde looked away in disgust. If anyone would have asked her yesterday, the Isabel she saw before her this morning was something Daphne would have said was impossible.

Though she presumed she would get an aggressive "I don't care" response, Daphne felt the urge to let Isabel know she was going down to breakfast with the others.

"Isabel, I'm going down to breakfast now."

Silence overtook the room.

It was worse than she thought. Isabel wouldn't even speak to her anymore. She missed the blonde's cheery voice that came with her previous presence.


Daphne walked down the stairs in depression, and was greeted by Thelma.

"Good morning Daphne! How did you sleep?"

"Good!" Daphne lied, as she felt it too exhausting to explain what had actually happened.

"Oh good. Saggy and Dred are downstairs. Is Isabel coming?"

Daphne paused for a moment after Thelma's comment. "Umm...she was in the bathroom when I came down. I don't know how long it will take her."

As she made it down the stairs, Daphne saw a slew of different faces of the fellow mystery solvers who she did not recognize.

She glanced around the room, which was interestingly furnished in Victorian style and had several birchwood tables set up for everyone. Daphne quickly caught a glimpse of Dred, who was at the table with Sabrina the cat. She immediately thereafter saw Saggy going up to the buffet line and getting breakfast.

"Good morning, Saggy!"

Saggy simply nodded and said "Mornin', my dude!"

As he responded to Daphne, the cook put a stack of pancakes on his plate.

"Thanks, food dude!" Saggy said.

Even if she didn't have Isabel's cheery voice to grace her presence, at least Saggy and his "dude" comments would keep her amused.

After all five of them had gotten their food (Sabrina had also gotten a special bowl of cat food prepared specially by the cook), they all sat down at the empty section of a table which no one had occupied.

The conversation was average yet relieving to Daphne, the friends just talked about what a great time they had the previous day and what they were going to do today. Daphne still found it odd that Isabel was taking an extraordinarily long time upstairs. She wondered what Isabel could be doing up there, all alone and by herself. She quickly dismissed the thought and continued with the conversation.

"So, you guys want to go find a ladder and climb up on the roof?" Thelma asked.

"Sure." Dred replied humbly.

"That's cool, my dudes." Saggy affirmed.

The three continued talking, while Daphne glanced over at the food line, debating on whether to get more coffee. A dark blue-haired woman, appearing about all of their age, caught Daphne's eye. The woman appeared to pleasurably getting her morning breakfast with her back turned to Daphne. She wondered who the woman was as she hadn't seen her yesterday, at least not that she noticed.

"Let's do that right after breakfast." Thelma responded to a comment Daphne didn't hear.

All of a sudden, Daphne heard another chair slide out. Daphne caught the blue-haired woman sitting down by them in the spot that would have been Isabel's, and was interested to make a new friend in this friendly individual who sat at their table. Daphne glanced over in the woman's direction to say hello, and nearly spit her remaining coffee out when she saw her new blue haired friend was none other than Isabel.

No one said a word for a second, until Saggy blurted out in an outrageous sounding manner "WOAH MY DUDE, WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?"

Isabel, appearing to be minding her own business and oblivious to what the big deal was, replied in a quiet voice. "I dyed it."

Daphne was shocked by her friend's strange arbitrary decision to dye her hair. Just a half an hour ago, the blue hair which she gazed upon was a light shade of blondish-yellow. Despite the fact that everyone in the group was staring at their friend's drastic transformation, Isabel acted as if she didn't notice and continued eating.

"Ready to go, my dudes?" Saggy asked when it appeared everyone was done.

"Ready to go, my Saggy." Daphne responded with a giggle.

"Ready to go, my blue dude?" Saggy directly looked at Isabel.

Isabel looked almost unaffected and just nodded.

Saggy shrugged and kept moving.


As they walked, no one said a word but the atmosphere was still awkward.

"So, Isabel, why'd you dye your hair blue? Was it because you were feeling a little BLUE?" Dred once again elbowed Daphne. "Get it? Get it?"

"Yes!" Daphne pushed his elbow off of her stomach and gave an annoyed glare.

"Just wanted a change." Isabel replied, calmly. Yet she was calm, this cold, bland version of Isabel was nothing like the one Daphne knew and liked only a short day ago.

"Isabel, you seem different. What's the matter?" Thelma asked, seeming concerned.

"Nothing."

"Did you and Daphne have a fight?"

"No."

"Wait a minute, does she know that we used to be…" Dred blurted obnoxiously.

"Shhh!" Thelma said. "I don't think she does!"

"I know you guys used to be friends." Daphne said, in a disgruntled manner.

"Isabel, you know we just wanted what's best for you right?" Thelma continued pushing.

Daphne was in anticipation of a huge blowup from Isabel.

"Yes." Isabel answered plainly, and then looked down towards the dirt.

"Isabel, you're not yourself. We're not going another inch further until you explain yourself!" Dred commanded in an authoritative yet goofy voice.

Daphne was instantly uncomfortable with the group of people she was walking with. She knew this was the moment Isabel was about to either blow or running away crying.

"Daphne and I had a fight. I decided to dye my hair. I ate breakfast. Saggy said 'ready to go my blue dude'. I walked with you. Dred asked me to explain myself." Isabel sounded so cold and unaffected by their comments it was bizarre. It reminded Daphne of a programmed robot.

"Ok, that's about the extent of it." Dred shrugged and continued walking toward the garden shed, where they immediately spotted a blue ladder leaning up against a tree.

"Hey, look, it's just like Isabel dudes!" Saggy pointed to the blue ladder.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. That is so funny to every-one." Isabel said in the most robotic voice she could.

"Guys, would you stop acting like babies and treat Isabel like she's actually a human?" Daphne was fed up with her friends' disrespect of Isabel.

Isabel didn't even flinch as Daphne stood up for her.

"I'm not acting like a baby! I'm acting like a man!" Dred said in a silly voice.

"If you were really a man, you'd stop antagonizing this poor girl!" Daphne shouted. "It's my turn. We're not moving another step until you explain why you stopped being friends with Isabel."

"To be honest...we felt bad ever since we told her off. It was never our intent to stop being friends. We were just disappointed in the career path she chose." Thelma explained.

"Excuse me? She's a grown woman and choose whatever the hell career path she likes!" Daphne asserted, astonished at Thelma's lack of consideration.

Though Isabel was still pretending like she didn't care, Daphne thought she caught a glimpse of an impressed look in the blue-haired girl's eyes.

"But...Isabel had, like, worked so hard at journalism. She seemed, like, passionate about it my dudes! Then, man, she suddenly came up to us dudes and said she wanted to, like, be a TV host, man!"

Daphne tried to follow Saggy's comments through his constant addition of superficial buzzwords.

"What Saggy's trying to say is that Isabel seemed so passionate about journalism, but then said she hated it and wanted to go into TV hosting. We just wanted to make sure she wasn't making a mistake." Thelma added.

"Yeah, she was gonna do some TV show about poaching endangered apes in the jungle. I had to stop her!" Everyone's eyes turned to Dred, as his comment made no logical sense. "Oh, wait, that was me! I call it 'All the Apes DRED Poaching.' Get it? Get it?" Dred elbowed Saggy.

"Yes, my dude!" Saggy shouted in annoyance.

"Then why did you tell her to go...you know…" Daphne didn't want to say the actual word used.

"She was being stubborn. She said she was going to quit the mystery group if we wouldn't let her follow her dreams. It just seemed like what she wanted wasn't right for her. We just didn't want her to make a mistake she'd regret." Thelma said, as calmly as possible.

Daphne began thinking that though Thelma and the others were misguided, their intentions weren't all bad. Daphne looked back at her blue haired friend, and Isabel returned the gaze and came over to her.

"Daphne, thank you." Isabel's voice moved from a robotic tone to something which sounded more like the Isabel that Daphne remembered. "I'm sorry I was irrational. I was just...scared. We seem so much alike, and I didn't want to lose you as a friend. So I pushed you away to make it seem like it was my idea to end the friendship. I couldn't stand the thought of losing another friend because I upset them."

Isabel extended her arms, to which Daphne physically responded by hugging her friend.

"Friends?" Daphne asked after Isabel loosened her grip.

"Of course!" Isabel's voice let out a tiny, yet noticeable squeak. Daphne knew Isabel was truly back, at least slightly.

Daphne paused for a moment, and waited for the three friends and Isabel to rekindle their own friendship.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we're sorry. We tried to make you do something you knew you didn't want to do, and we were wrong."

"Sorry." Dred replied, humbly.

"Sorry, man. Will you be my dude again?" Saggy replied playfully.

"No." Isabel's happy tone dropped to one full of contempt.

"But...we forgive you!" Thelma continued pushing, despite Isabel's discomfort.

"C'mon...I'll let you shoot an ape on my TV show! Right in the butt!" Dred smiled, surprising Daphne with the fact that he may actually be serious. Everyone looked in Dred's direction, shocked by the abstract and utterly bizarre comment that came out of his mouth.

Isabel ignored Dred's oddness and replied seemingly to Thelma and Saggy. "IF I were to trust you again, it would take a long time. You really hurt me, and made me feel like I somehow wasn't good enough as a person. Friends like Daphne understand how important it is to be yourself."

Daphne nodded in agreement, as Isabel made a great and thought-provoking point.

"That's fair. Anything we can do?" Thelma said.

"Just give me my space. I'll talk to you if I want to, otherwise just leave me alone." Isabel sounded both relieved and authoritative. The idea of Isabel not even allowing them to talk to her unless she was up for it sounded so forceful to Daphne.

Thelma and Saggy looked taken aback by Isabel's strong request. "O-okay Isabel, whatever you want." Thelma vocalized.

"So, Isabel, where should we go next?" Saggy said (oddly without any superficial "dudes").

Isabel just blankly looked at them.

"I think this is one of those 'leave me alone' times." Daphne responded.

"I'm kidding!" Isabel smiled. "Let's get the ladder and get up to the chimney. And yes, Saggy, it's blue. Like my hair."

"You know it, my dude!" Saggy cracked a smile, apparently excited with the possibility Isabel might be speaking to him again.


The friends got the blue ladder and climbed up to the chimney. Isabel, who was already on the roof, lifted Daphne from a narrow rung, and brought her the rest of the way onto the roof.

"Thanks, friend." Daphne laughed.

"You're welcome, friend." Isabel smirked.

"Oh come on, don't rub it in dudes!" Saggy said in a surprised voice, since he had just been scolded about treating Isabel poorly himself.

"Can we please go back to normal like yesterday, instead of this weird thing we're doing now?" Thelma requested.

"Yes!" Daphne quickly blurted, not realizing that she was eager to forget this odd incident which had transpired in the last hour.

"Here's the clue." Isabel grabbed the clue out of the chimney.

"What's inside that physically sustains, is outside but musically remains." Daphne glanced over the blue-haired girl's shoulder.

"An organ?" Isabel asked, as if she were unsure.

"Isabel, you're a genius!" Thelma raised her voice in excitement.

"Quick, let's go back to our room. We have a church organ in our bedroom." Dred remembered.

The friends all helped one another lift themselves off of the roof and quickly hustled to the threesome's bedroom.


The Mystery Inc. cover group's room was a pigsty, various belongings and clothing were thrown all over the floor and forced everyone to step over their possessions. Isabel looked at the ground trying to see where the organ could possibly be in this mess, but only found several dirty clothes.

"Who's are these?" Isabel asked curiously, pointing towards a pair of boxer shorts with unicorns all over them.

"Those are Dred's, dudes!" Saggy said, trying to keep a straight face.

"I just like unicorns is all." Dred replied sheepishly, his face visibly reddening with embarrassment.

Ignoring Dred's odd choice of underwear, Thelma pointed towards the organ which was located in the walk-in closet.

"Over here."

"I don't see a clue though." Daphne pointed out.

"Where's the professor? She could assist us in this horrific dilemma!" Dred asked, referring to Sabrina.

"Look. There's a piece of paper sticking out from under this key." Isabel gazed at the misplaced white object. "2, 4, 6, 8, you'll find your next clue which below awaits."

"They know my safe combo! Everyone, hide your money!" Dred shouted.

"No one knows anyone's safe combo!" Thelma said in a frustrated tone, tiring of Dred's off-the-wall ridiculous antics. "Well until now."

"What's in there exactly, dude?" Saggy inquired.

Dred sheepishly drew his straight face into a smile, barely able to contain himself. "Embarrassing stuff." He blurted before bursting out in laughter.

"Can someone give him a chill pill? Please!" Thelma glared in Dred's direction as his sides metaphorically split.

"Enough silliness!" Daphne rolled her eyes, clearly not amused. "The clue probably means the basement."

"Well, that's kind of vague." Thelma commented.

"Not all the clues can be instant finds. We're mystery solvers, remember. Nothing comes easy." Daphne replied.

"Let's hit up the basement, yo!" Saggy asserted.

Whilst walking down the damp staircase into the mansion's spooky basement, Daphne suddenly remembered her encounter with the ghost last night. So much had happened last night and today, she had nearly forgotten.

"Wait. I forgot to tell you guys, we saw a ghost last night!"

"A ghost?" Thelma asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It told us to go away and leave the mansion before something happened to us. Spooky, isn't it?" Daphne alerted.

"It's probably just part of the Mystery Weekend. Probably that Joe guy trying to scare us." Thelma immediately dismissed Daphne's idea.

"Looked pretty real to me." Daphne countered.

"Where did the ghost chase you last night? He might have been leading you away from a clue." Thelma tried to respond kindly, showing she respected Daphne's belief.

"It was upstairs. I ran downstairs into the hallway to avoid another run in."

"Let's look there first then." Thelma responded, "Keep an eye out for anything."

Dred walked over into the other direction, hoping to find the clue near an area marked "storage."

"Dred, they don't want us to go in here!" Thelma scolded.

"Ok. I'll just drop this paper then." Dred said seriously, before Thelma stopped him and spoke again.

"Wait, that might be the clue!" Thelma read the paper. "Congratulations. You've nearly ended the chase. The treasure you seek is in the fireplace."

"The fireplace? That's upstairs, in our room!" Daphne said, in excitement.

"Wait a second, we don't even know what fireplace. There's one down here, one in the main room next to the dining area, and one in our room too." Thelma instructed.

"Let's check 'em all, Team Dude!" Saggy said boldly.

"Wait, wait, wait. We're not splitting up. Let's check together. Daphne's ghost could be anywhere." Thelma sighed.

"Oh my god, Daphne's a ghost! Quick, run!" Dred yelled, in shock.

Thelma rolled her eyes. "Dred, we don't have time for this!"

"Yeah, ain't nobody got time for that, dude!" Saggy scolded in unison.

"Let's check the one in our room first." Thelma suggested.


Little by little, the gang made progress up the steep stairs which led from the basement to the first floor of the mansion. With exhaustion, all five mystery solvers made their way up the second batch of stairs and into Thelma, Saggy and Dred's room.

"Did we find it yet?" Dred asked.

"No, Dred." Thelma rolled her eyes.

"What about now?" Dred inquired.

"Dred, you look for it!" Thelma shouted in Dred's face, exhausted with his tiresome antics.

"Hey, I found something. It says, 'wrong fireplace, dudes!'" Saggy tried to hold back to revealing smirk which alerted the group to his lie.

"It doesn't say that!" Daphne said.

"No, but Saggy has a point." Thelma hypothesized. "We've searched the place for a half-hour and haven't found anything yet."

"We can look in our bedroom next." Daphne offered.

"Okay, dudes, but if there's any unicorn boxers in there, I'm out man!" Saggy joked.

Trying to change the subject from Saggy's awkward joke, Daphne asked "where's Sabrina?" half-expecting to hear Dred's abysmal "cat nap" joke again.

"Probably napping or sunning herself somewhere. One thing you sure got right Daph, if you want a mystery solver that actually helps, get a dog!" Thelma snarked.

"Hey, what've you got against cats? I know some pretty cool cats, man." Saggy replied, causing Isabel to giggle.

Daphne had almost forgotten Isabel was following them, she had been so quiet these past few hours.

The group entered Daphne's bedroom, and looked around the fireplace. The room was incredibly neat compared to the other three's and had no visible imperfections other than a bit of blue hair dye on the counter which Isabel must have accidentally spilled.

"You havin' a party in here last night, dudes?" Saggy pointed towards the bullet hole in the wall.

"No, some weird dude tried to kill me! I had forgotten with everything else that's been going on."

Thelma gave a look of shock as Daphne spoke. How exactly would you "forget" someone shooting at you?

"It was probably Joe, trying to scare you." Thelma reassured.

"Not unless Joe put on about 100 pounds." Daphne responded.

"Maybe all those Joe Momma jokes got to him?" Dred laughed.

"Or maybe Joe hired a dude? You know, to scare you?" Saggy chimed in.

"Maybe. But I don't see anything by this fireplace, either." Daphne said in a discouraged manner.

"There's probably fireplaces in other bedrooms." Isabel mentioned.

"Why would Joe have us go in other people's bedrooms? That would be weird." Thelma said.

"Exactly, he wouldn't. So it can't be in any of our rooms. It's either in the basement one or the one near the dining room." Daphne said, her voice getting higher in excitement.

"Let's check the dining room one first. That's the most likely option." Thelma responded in a questioning voice, trying to see if anyone agreed.

"Yeah, let's head down there." Daphne agreed.

As everyone else nodded their heads, the five friends made the trek down to the dining room in which Isabel had surprised everyone with her aloofness this morning.

Saggy searched around the fireplace, finding nothing but dirty napkins and food scraps which people must have left from earlier. Seeing a piece of bread tossed on the ground, it reminded Daphne how none of them had eaten since breakfast despite it being nearly 6 o'clock in the afternoon. She just figured everyone was having so much fun that no one was hungry, and dismissed the thought. Continuing to rummage, Thelma finally spoke up after nearly an hour of searching. "Let's check the basement one. That's the only one left, unless there's a fireplace we don't know about."


While walking into the basement, Daphne glanced out the window and saw it was completely dark. She couldn't believe how fast the day had gone, in fact despite the silliness of Dred and Saggy, it was the most fun she'd had in a long time.

"Dudes, what's that light up ahead?" Saggy stared in awe.

"That's the same light I saw last night." Daphne's stomach sunk, knowing they would probably find one of the two assailants which haunted her last night.

The group continued closer, as the lights flickered. Suddenly, the lights completely shut off, leaving everyone in utter darkness. The only light remaining was the one up ahead, coming from an unknown source.

"Who are you, dude?" Saggy blurted, much to the fright of the rest of the gang.

"I am a spirit of the past." The voice moaned, and instantly took shape in front of the frightened group. "Gooo away, you do not want the curse of what this treasure will bring."

In an instant of bravery, Daphne knocked the lantern out of the apparition's hand, leaving the lantern on the ground and under her control as she picked it up and walked towards the fireplace, leaving the ghost and the rest of the gang in darkness. She could barely see, but she somehow knew the treasure was the key to the mystery. If she had learned anything from the strange events today, it was that she could let nothing stop her from her ultimate goal.

Stumbling towards the fireplace hoping the ghost wouldn't have enough light to see the rest of the left-behind group or follow her, Daphne tried to feel around for a piece of paper. All she felt was dust and ash, which quickly covered her hands. Holding the lantern directly up to where she felt, she saw a half-burned piece of paper in the woodpile next to the fireplace. Elated, she quickly read the paper. "The key to the mystery is what you know, the ghost's identity is none other than…"

All the clues rhymed, and the only name that made sense was "Joe?"

The lights suddenly flickered on.

"Joe Momma's the ghost?" Daphne asked, surprised despite Thelma's guess earlier.

"Hahahaha!" Dred burst out in an obnoxious slew of laughing. "Joe Momma's the ghost, Saggy!"

"No, JOE Momma's the ghost, Dred!" Saggy parroted, though in a slightly irked tone.

"You solved the mystery! Congratulations!" Joe replied, ignoring the Joe Momma jokes which Dred and Saggy exchanged.

"That's it?" Isabel said, feeling like the solution was a bit lackluster. "What about the guy who died in the beginning?"

"Oh, no, that was just to scare you! No one EVER died!" Joe's voice boomed once again like a radio announcer. "I was the ghost of this house, and tried to add a little scare into our little mystery fun! And you all just won a fantastic prize!"

Though Daphne was excited about winning the prize, her mind lingered to the strange figure she saw while her and Isabel initially drove to the mansion. Could that have been Joe, too?

"Joe, did you ever leave the house? As in scare us outside?" Daphne asked out of curiosity, hoping to get an answer that would settle her mind.

"No, I was only the ghost inside the house. My two rules were never leave the house and never invade your privacy by going into your rooms!" his voice carried with excitement.

That completely unsettled Daphne, as it left the possibility that the strange figure outside and the man who shot at her were still at large.

"You didn't hire anyone to come and shoot us?" Daphne continued questioning, hoping she could set her mind at ease.

"No...that would be illegal!" Joe laughed.

So either Joe was lying, or someone else did actually try to kill her. She tried pushing the disturbing thought from her mind, but couldn't.

"Well...then what's our prize?" Daphne tried to clear the awkwardness.

"$1,000 cash for each of you OR...you could take…THE MYSTERY PRIZE!" Joe's voice echoed throughout the basement.

Everyone looked back at each other and whispered amongst one another, hoping to come to an agreement.

"We'll take the mystery prize. We are mystery solvers, after all!" Thelma said with a bit of pride in her voice.

"Excellent choice my friends! You win…" Joe paused, presumably to create suspense. "Five tickets to Tombstone Manor...the scariest mystery location on Earth. You know, some say there are even REAL spirits in there!"

"That will be great for my show!" Daphne said, incredibly excited at the idea of going to a new destination. Most of all, she was excited that this wasn't goodbye for Saggy, Dred, Thelma and her and Isabel. She had come to like their little group and would have missed seeing them if they had simply said goodbye when they returned home tomorrow.

"What's there to do now?" Thelma asked, wondering as she was expecting some big finish that didn't yet occur.

"Dinner?" Joe offered in a sheepish manner.


After a nice dinner, Daphne said her goodnights to her friends and walked upstairs with Isabel, who continuously yawned due to not eating very much at dinner and because of the stressful events of the day. Though she enjoyed the day heartily, she still couldn't help the thought of that creepy man coming into her room again and shooting at her. She realized there wasn't much else she could do other than hope the guy wouldn't come again. She didn't want to make a fuss and Isabel didn't seem overly concerned about it, oddly, so why should she be?

Daphne had been so lost in her head she hadn't noticed they had already reached their bedroom. Isabel quickly changed in the bathroom and climbed into bed, looking once again (besides the blue hair) back to normal and happy again.

"Night, Daph."

"Good night, Isabel!"

It felt amazing to lay her head down on a soft pillow after all the walking they did today. Within minutes, she fell asleep.


The first thought Daphne had upon awakening is that the previous night's assailant hadn't come back. That relieved her, a bit, though she still felt odd about doing nothing about the matter. She should at least report it to the police, or Joe, or at least someone.

Pushing the thought out of her mind, Daphne was about to go take a shower just as Isabel woke up. Isabel glanced outside, and did an exaggeratedly long stretch in bed which Daphne found somewhat adorable.

"Good morning, Daph! You sleep well?"

Before responding, Daphne paused and thought for a brief moment about the comparison between this morning and yesterday morning. At this time yesterday, Isabel wasn't even talking to her.

"Yeah, you?"

"I slept great!" Isabel answered, her voice as perky as ever. "You going to shower now?"

"Yeah, if you don't need to."

"Be my guest! Take all the time you need!" Isabel smiled. That was kind of an odd comment, Daphne thought. It's not as if she would be taking an indefinite amount of time showering. Not giving the comment further thought, Daphne dug through her suitcase and picked out her clothes for the day before going into the bathroom.

Daphne quickly undressed and got in the shower, to which the hot water sunk into her. The heat felt amazing and made Daphne feel like she never wanted to get out. Just as she was about to nearly fall asleep due to the fantastic feeling heat, she heard Isabel call "Daph, I'm going down to get breakfast! Are you coming?"

"Yes!" she yelled out of the shower, so Isabel could hear her. She quickly turned off the blissful water and dried herself.

"Daph, are you coming?" Isabel asked again after several minutes had passed, to which Daphne was very slowly drying her wet hair and body and putting on a pair of jeans.

"Sorry, yes!" Daphne quickly dug through her pile of clothes on the floor and grabbed a white lace bra and a t-shirt which she had received from the studio.

"Took you long enough!" Isabel joked, as Daphne opened the door looking frantic and rushed.


The two girls walked down the staircase with their suitcases that they had trekked up and down so many times, but realized it was their final time doing so. The two both felt a bit of emptiness after enjoying the time with fun and friends which had consumed the weekend.

After an uneventful trip out to the car to put their suitcases away, the two friends walked into the dining room where Saggy, Dred and Thelma were waiting.

"We thought you'd never get here, dudes!" Saggy blurted as soon as they were in hearing distance.

"Yeah, we wanted to say goodbye!" Dred said, in a cheerful manner.

"It's not goodbye forever. I'll give all of you my phone number before we leave, so we can keep in touch about that Tombstone Manor trip in a few months!" Daphne said, trying to lighten the ever-dimming mood.

"Sounds great! I really enjoyed spending the weekend with you guys!" Daphne thought that was the first time she had ever heard Thelma say something non-formal. She disliked Thelma's impersonal way of talking to people, and was glad to see her finally open up. Maybe this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

As the group all finished their plates, Daphne spoke up and said "It's really been a pleasure to meet all of you guys! Keep in touch! And good luck going back to California tonight!"

"Yeah, it was great meeting one of the people we based our mystery group off of!" Thelma agreed.

"But, the real question is, will you Mystery dudes ever get back together? Like, the real Fred, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne?"

Daphne didn't know how to respond for a moment. "Umm, I guess that's just going to have to remain a mystery. For now."

Isabel giggled and joined in as everyone began hugging each other.

"Bye, Thelma!" Daphne said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"See you Daphne. Thanks for sorting out everything with Isabel. If not for you, we never would have been able to apologize to her."

"Of course!" Daphne replied to Thelma. "It was just a misunderstanding. But people change, and ultimately it's Isabel's choice if she wants to remain friends with you."

Thelma nodded, and moved on to hug Isabel.

"Bye, Dred!" Daphne said.

"Oh, phew. So you're not a real ghost. I was getting pretty worried!" Dred responded in a completely serious tone.

Daphne laughed, as she had completely forgotten about Dred's comment before they saw the ghost, or rather Joe.

Dred waved goodbye as Daphne moved on to Saggy.

"Bye, Saggy!"

"Bye, my dude! Keep it nice and cooool, man!" Saggy said in a very hippieish voice.

Daphne looked over to Isabel, who was talking to Sabrina.

"Who's a pretty kitty?"

Sabrina meowed in response.

"Awww! You're a pretty kitty! Bye, pretty kitty!" Isabel squeaked.

"Bye, Sabrina." Daphne said, though not in an as affectionate of a tone as Isabel had.

Sabrina meowed once again, making Daphne wonder if she did actually comprehend what was going on.

As the friends walked out together one last time, Daphne and Isabel and Dred, Thelma, and Saggy each got into their respective cars and gave one last wave to one another before driving off.

Daphne looked at Isabel who was clearly daydreaming. "Good trip?"

"For sure!" Isabel concurred.

"Where to next?" Daphne asked.

"Home. Then, wherever the road of friendship takes us I suppose." Isabel smiled.


Author's note:

Who doesn't like a feel-good ending like that one?

Well, hopefully this was a fun chapter! It was great for me getting to see the characters develop themselves and become more fully-formed, particularly Isabel.

Not as many references in this chapter, so I suppose I'll just lay them out here. This chapter was intended as a mix of two of my favorite Scooby creations out there, Boo Brothers (all the clues, particularly the chimney, organ and fireplace ones) and "The Lochness Mess" from The New Scooby-Doo Movies (the redcoat ghost, even his phrase "Ghosts of the pasts own these parts, strangers are not welcome, gooo!" is a direct quote from the episode. The lantern is also something the ghost in the episode carried as well.) And really the only other reference in this is Tombstone Manor, which is where the Gruesome Family (essentially an Addams Family parody) lived in another Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The Flintstones.

I enjoyed how this chapter turned out, despite it once again not being all that paranormal. The interactions between everyone were great, particularly both Saggy and Isabel were very fun characters to write for. Though I feel Dred did get a bit sillier than I wanted him to in places. Hopefully it didn't intrude on the story too much.

One other thing I wanted to talk about/mention, though I'm not sure if it was noticeable. I tried to make the characters seem a bit more like real people, so as such I tried to write more details than were necessary for the story development in places, such as the Daphne shower piece and the long crying scene. I feel it makes the characters a bit more relatable if we can see the everyday feelings the characters have, and makes them seem more realistic rather than simply reading only about the exciting things they do.

But I do see the counterargument to that as well, so hopefully I did it well (as always, let me know in the reviews if you feel I didn't do something well). I'll always remember my college English professor's tireless speech about how we only want to see characters doing exciting things, and not doing boring everyday things because they don't further the story at all. Specifically, she used the example from the popular book (and now movie) series The Hunger Games, and argued that no one is interested in the main character (Katniss) going to the bathroom because it doesn't further the action in any way. Though that example doesn't really work in this case, as there is actually is a part in the book (nothing gross or anything like that) where Katniss goes to the bathroom. Seriously, read it, there actually is lol.

My point being hopefully it enhanced the story by making the characters seem more realistic and relatable, though if it didn't or seemed out of place/ odd, please let me know! And of course, I'm always open to suggestions on really anything, if you feel there's something that could be improved. Thanks for reading once again and chapter 9 should be coming hopefully soon!