Like a Comet Pulled From Orbit

by LuckyLadybug

Growing up, Daphne hated attending business dinners with her family, until she met a special friend at one who made it worthwhile. Now, seven years after their last such meeting, Daphne learns that he has suffered a cruel fate and drags Mystery Inc. to a small town to find out what fully happened.

Scooby-Doo and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds

Like a Comet Pulled From Orbit

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I don't quite remember how the idea of this crossover friendship happened, but the idea wouldn't go away and it finally became insistent enough that it had to be written. It mostly follows the Scooby-Doo side, so anyone not really familiar with 5Ds should be able to follow along through what the characters are saying. I'm drawing from the present-day projects and Daphne's 80s leader and modern characterizations, a mix of Velma's characterizations, and Fred's original characterization. I find it fascinating that in the original episodes, Velma seemed to believe in ghosts! So completely opposite from her current personality. And I get frustrated that Fred is often portrayed as an idiot in modern projects. I won't acknowledge that. Shaggy and Scooby seem to stay pretty consistent with characterization no matter the era. On Daphne's parents, her relationship with them seems to change depending on what era or series it is. I'm basing things solely on the No Thanks, Masked Manx episode and depicting a good relationship based on that—even though I'm otherwise not acknowledging that era when the gang isn't all together. Daphne is 17ish here and the others are similar in age to her. For anyone who is familiar with 5Ds, Radley is 25 and is depicted here as a nice guy. That is how I honestly see him and I don't think I could write him differently if I tried.

It always felt good to wrap up a mystery. The gang typically liked to celebrate by visiting their favorite malt shop and ordering their favorite foods. But tonight as they did this, Daphne took occasion to examine the evening paper. She gasped, the paper falling back to the table as it floated out of her hands.

The others jerked to attention.

"What is it?" Velma frowned. She reached for the paper, but although the story was shocking, she couldn't see any reason for it to have affected Daphne so deeply.

"It's Radley!" Daphne exclaimed.

Shaggy stared at her. "You mean the guy who was nice to you at some of those business dinners you were dragged off to?"

Daphne nodded. "Yes!" She looked down. "He was like a big brother, so kind and always trying to make things fun when it was so boring there. . . ."

Fred took the paper to read the article over. ". . . It says a mining slavery operation was just broken up in Crash Town, Oregon," he said. "These two gangs were fighting for control of the town and each put up a willing Duelist to fight for them every night by playing the Duel Monsters card game. The loser would go to work for the boss of the winner. One of the gangs tortured their miners, but the other gang didn't and was really trying to protect the town from the cruel gang."

"Radley is the one heading the nice gang," Daphne said. She pointed to a picture of a smirking young man with straight black hair and jewelry.

"He rooks scary," Scooby exclaimed.

"Oh, he's not!" Daphne insisted. "He was so nice. . . . The business dinners were so dull, but when he was there, they weren't. I started looking forward to going because I wanted to see him and I hoped he'd be there. But then he went away to college and his family said he'd gone to Spain after that. We messaged for a while, but then we stopped and I never heard any more about him." She took the newspaper from Fred. "How did he end up here, like this?"

"People do change, Daphne," Fred said. "You were just a kid when you were going to those business dinners. Maybe he was nice to a kid, even if his morals were lacking otherwise."

"He didn't change," Daphne insisted. "Well, his looks, sure, but he's still the same person! It says he was trying to protect the town. The Radley I knew would do that."

"It also says he's dead," Velma said.

"Killed in the mines after being humiliated by his rival's brother," Daphne said angrily. "I want to go there and talk to people firsthand about what happened. This article doesn't say enough. Radley was my friend. I need to know more about what happened to him."

The rest of the group looked at each other.

"The mystery really seems mostly wrapped up, so there wouldn't be much for us to do," Velma said. "But finding out more of what happened is a good idea when it means a lot to Daphne."

Fred nodded. "I think we should do it."

Shaggy gulped. "Do you think there'll be anything spooky there?"

"It says a lot of people died from the torture," Velma frowned. "Traditionally, restless spirits tend to come around if they died violently or suddenly or from malice."

Scooby wailed. "Ghosts!"

"Very likely," Velma admitted.

"I still want to go," Daphne said. "Maybe Radley . . . maybe he would still be there too."

Velma gave her a sympathetic look. "We'll go," she said.

Daphne was already pulling out her phone. "I'm going to make sure one of the family's jets is ready to take us," she announced. "We can bring the Mystery Machine too." Daphne's wealth was the main way they were able to travel so often. They would never have the money or the means otherwise.

Shaggy and Scooby were already trembling in each other's arms. This was not a trip that they were looking forward to. But they would go, as they always did. They wanted to support Daphne.

"I'll start packing," Fred said. "We can go tomorrow."

"Why not tonight?" Daphne exclaimed.

"We really should get some rest first," Velma said.

Fred nodded. "We don't know what we're going to run into. We should be at our best."

"Like, I'm never at my best to meet ghosts!" Shaggy said.

"Me neither!" Scooby barked.

Velma sighed and gave them a look. This was hard enough for Daphne as it was. They had all heard her talk about Radley, her friend from the business dinners. None of them had ever been at those fancy events and Daphne had always hated them until Radley's friendship had given her reasons to be happy to go. To suddenly learn that he was gone could not be easy for her at all.

"If Radley is there, he's nothing to be afraid of," Daphne said. "He was always gentle. This article says he was trying to protect the town. That's the only thing that makes sense! He wouldn't have been involved with something like that for any other reason!"

Fred sighed. "I hope you're right. We might learn something that will leave you disillusioned about him. He looks like a punk."

"His hair is longer and he's wearing jewelry, but that doesn't mean he's changed," Daphne insisted.

"I'm willing to give him the benefit of a doubt," Velma said. "He's a motorcycle gang leader, but even though on the surface he seems to fill the stereotypes, something doesn't seem to fit. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"His clothes are clean, not torn or stained at all," Daphne said. "And he's knowledgeable about business. He was running the town diner and part of the mine. These townspeople being interviewed say he was the closest thing they had to law enforcement or a leader."

"Most of that is different from your average motorcycle gang leader, it's true," Velma said. "Of course, there's always exceptions in everything."

"His gang members all say he treated them like equals, too, and that he was like their big brother or even their father," Daphne said. "That's just like with me. He was someone special."

"And like, now he's a ghost," Shaggy quavered.

"And still special!" Daphne retorted.

Velma sighed sympathetically. "Of course he is." She got up. "We'd better all start packing for tomorrow."

The others stood too.

"Let's go as early as we can," Daphne pleaded. "You guys all want to sleep, and normally I would too, but . . . I don't think I'll sleep tonight."

Shaggy was still scared thinking of the possible supernatural meetings on the morrow, but something in Daphne's plaintive tone got to him.

"Me and Scoob could keep you company until you nod off, Daphne," he suggested.

Scooby nodded. "Yeah yeah yeah!"

She gave them a genuine smile. "Thanks, you two. I'd like that a lot."

"Okay, Velma and I'll pick all of you up at Daphne's house tomorrow," Fred promised. "And we'll come early, so remember that!"

"Like, we will!" Shaggy said with a mock salute. ". . . I don't know how we'd ever forget it."

xxxx

After the trio was dropped off at Daphne's house, Fred headed for Velma's. He was gripping the steering wheel, frowning and seeming unusually quiet.

"You're worried about Daphne," Velma deduced.

Fred sighed. "Yeah, I am. Those business dinners were always another world to us. Maybe I was always a little jealous that that was one place where we weren't allowed to follow Daphne. She hated that we couldn't come too. She had that Radley guy until he dropped out of sight. I always wondered what happened to him, but at the time there was no reason not to believe what his grandmother said. Now it looks like he dropped out of sight because he was sick of the rich lifestyle and rebelled. I can't blame him for that, but he really does act like he's changed, going by that article. And with everything that was going on in that town, I can't help wondering if he's dangerous and not someone Daphne should still think of so highly."

"He's dead, though," Velma said.

"Maybe she'll learn something about him in that town that will hurt her even more than him being dead," Fred said.

"Daphne's strong," Velma said. "Whatever the truth is, she'll deal with it."

Fred looked resigned. "I know."

"But you'll still worry anyway, huh?" Velma said with a knowing smile.

"Probably," Fred said. "Maybe it's not logical, but it's hard to always be logical in cases like this."

"Yeah," Velma mused as they turned onto her street. "It is."

xxxx

The night was long. Daphne definitely didn't feel like sleeping for ages, so she sat up with a big bowl of popcorn and watched part of a late movie with Shaggy and Scooby. Her mind was wandering and Shaggy muted the TV during a commercial break.

"We can just turn this off if you're not into it, Daph," he offered. "I guess it's pretty hard to concentrate on anything right now. . . ."

"It is," Daphne sighed. "But it's fine, Shaggy. I don't think I'd be able to focus on anything else either. I just . . . can't believe he's gone. . . ." Her eyes darkened. "And when Mom tried to call his family to give our sympathies, his grandmother acted so cold, like she didn't even care!"

"Maybe it's just her way?" Shaggy offered. "Like, I mean, you always said she was a stuffed shirt."

"It's not just that," Daphne insisted. "She acted like she didn't even want him to be brought up!" She slumped into the couch, folding her arms. "I'm starting to think there's more going on than meets the eye!"

"Like what?" Scooby wondered.

"Like maybe how Radley dropped out of sight wasn't just because he went to college or because he went to Spain," Daphne said. "Maybe they threw him out!"

Shaggy gasped. "Would they do that?!"

"I'll bet his grandmother would if she saw him with long hair and jewelry!" Daphne exclaimed. "And the rest of the family would just go along with her because they're afraid of her!" She got off the couch.

"Like, what are you going to do, Daphne?!" Shaggy asked. "I mean, he's dead! What does it even matter now what happened?"

"It matters!" Daphne insisted. "I'm going to talk to Dad and see what he might be able to find out, or what he might already know!"

"Nothing, I'm afraid, Honey," Mr. Blake sighed from the doorway as he overheard. "Lucia Ramon is a powerful woman, but not just that—she's also really dignified and completely opposed to scandal." He brought his hands to his chest and then swept them outward, cutting through the air in a No Way gesture. "She would never tell anyone if there was some kind of a falling out with Radley. All of those stories she's told—if they're really not the truth—were made up to protect the family name from controversy. Confidentially, I'll admit I think she probably cares more about the family name than she does the family members. But I could be wrong. Maybe it just seems that way because the way she handles her family is so completely different from ours."

"Maybe," Daphne sighed, not placated.

"Maybe she was grieving so hard she just didn't want to talk to anybody," Mr. Blake continued. "We really can't know. I can't imagine her not caring at all when her grandson is dead."

"I don't want to think that, but all the pieces put together really look like something's missing," Daphne said. "Radley really did look different, and she acted so strange, and I always thought those stories about where he was sounded a little fishy."

"Well . . ." He kissed her on the forehead. "I hope you'll find your answers tomorrow, Honey, and I hope they'll help you heal. I always liked Radley too. I thought you'd probably keep in touch with him and that maybe he'd even be an honorary member of your gang, even though he was eight years older than you."

"If he hadn't dropped out of sight so soon after that last business dinner, I think I would have asked him to join," Daphne said softly. "Now it's too late." She started to turn away. "I didn't hear anything about him in all these years, and now suddenly he's dead."

". . . I'm really sorry, Honey," Mr. Blake said sadly. He exchanged a look with Shaggy, but it was of helplessness. There was nothing that could be said or done to make this better.

"Like, we are too," Shaggy said, and Scooby nodded.

"And that means a lot," Daphne said. "But I'm sorry too, and none of it can bring him back." She sadly left the room and headed upstairs.

xxxx

Daphne scowled as she watched the adults continuing their boring conversations. She hated these dinners so much, aside from the food. She couldn't bring her friends here and there was really nothing for her to do except walk around and listen to all the assorted discussions on businesses. None of that meant anything to her.

"Hi there."

She looked up with a start. Radley, the teenage heir to the Ramon wineries, was standing nearby, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall. He looked bored too.

"What do you want?" she asked. Radley was kind, kinder than she usually saw from rich kids. She had wondered what kind of an angle he had, but the more she had watched him, the more it had seemed for real. By now she was quite sure he really was nice, like her parents, perhaps. She had been cold to him in the past, but he was still reaching out anyway. Now she felt like gravitating to him.

"I think we both want something to do," Radley replied.

"There's nothing to do here," Daphne said in frustration. "That's the whole problem!"

"We could just talk," Radley suggested. "Everyone else is."

Daphne made a face. "I don't want to talk about business!"

Radley outright laughed at that. "Yeah, me either! What do you like to do for fun?"

"I like to solve mysteries with my friends," Daphne said.

Radley's look said he didn't understand. "Mysteries, huh? Like what happened to the missing lunchbox?"

"No! Real mysteries! Like why someone's business is being sabotaged!" Daphne was annoyed, but she didn't stamp her foot or otherwise act out. She had to be on her best behavior or it would reflect on the family. She didn't want that.

Radley still looked skeptical. "Really? Your families let you?"

"We've helped a lot of people," Daphne insisted. "We're in the news all the time!"

"That's pretty impressive," Radley said, opting not to question it further. "I don't live around here, so I haven't seen your local papers. Tell me about some of your cases."

And so she did. Time fell away as she described some of their most baffling and complex cases while Radley listened. Though at first he looked like he wondered if she was reciting book plots, eventually the look in his eyes changed and she could tell he believed her. It felt wonderful, so satisfying, to have that validation from an older kid instead of being looked down on by one.

It was only after finishing up the story of a third mystery that she finally remembered her manners. "I've been talking about me and my friends all this time," she realized. "Why don't you tell me something about you?"

"It's more fun hearing about you," Radley smiled. "I don't get to do much except for these dinners. Mostly I'm home on my family's property. I play with the animals who hang around the grapes, I explore everything . . . but I've pretty much got every nook and cranny memorized by now."

"Don't you even go to school?" Daphne said in disbelief.

"I have a private governess, so school's right there too," Radley said. "I don't know if I'd like solving mysteries, but just getting to see more things, being around more people . . . that sounds great to me. I envy you."

Daphne had certainly been the envy of other kids because of her wealth, but it was a new experience to be envied for things that the other kids seemed to have too. "Don't you like it where you are?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, but the sadness and longing in his eyes said he wanted more. Still, he didn't speak of it. He was the type to bear his sorrows alone. He certainly wouldn't confide in a young child. "I'll tell you, though, never take anything you have for granted, especially your friends. They sound amazing. Not everyone is that lucky."

"Don't you have friends?" Daphne frowned.

"The animals," Radley said. "The kids I've met . . . they all just seem to want my money. The poor ones wanna get rich and the rich ones wanna get richer."

Daphne didn't like the sound of that. Radley was so nice. Why wouldn't kids genuinely want to be friends with him? Were they really that mean? Now that she knew him better, she felt guilty for all the judgmental things she had thought about him after seeing him from afar and having a couple of cold exchanges on her part at previous dinners.

". . . I could be your friend," she offered.

Radley smiled, deeply touched. "I'd like that," he said.

"I'd like it too!" she declared.

"Then it's settled," Radley said. "We're friends."

They only got to see each other at the business dinners, but that was enough to cement their friendship. Radley made it happy to attend the once-dreaded events, and from his genuine smiles, Daphne made it something he looked forward to as well.

He was 17 the last time she saw him, although at the time neither knew it would be the last time. He smiled and greeted her and they talked, as always. Then he gave her a mischievous smirk and leaned down to whisper to her.

"You know, this event center they're using this time is an old mansion that's very well-known in the city. A lot of people think it's haunted."

That piqued Daphne's interest immediately. "Really?"

He nodded. "I can't prove it, and no one else has either, but do you wanna look for clues about it?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

They quietly slipped out without being seen and began to explore the fascinating old manor and its many rooms. They didn't find any proof of ghosts, but it was a fun time and much more enjoyable than staying in the room with all the adults. Eventually they ended up out on the balcony.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

Daphne nodded vigorously. "It's amazing here! There's so much to see and do! They should have all their dinners in big old houses!" She twirled and grasped the balcony railing, staring out at the night sky.

He smiled and came over, resting his arms on the railing as he bent over and clasped his hands. "Good." He hesitated. "I . . . might not have as much time for these outings in the future."

She started. "What?! Why?!"

He stared out at the night lights too. "I'm going off to college soon. I'll finally see more of what the world's like outside my family's villa. Sometimes I might not be able to get away to be here for the dinners."

She gripped the cold metal in her hands. "But . . . you always come," she protested. "You're the only reason I like coming!"

"Daphne . . ." Sadness filled his eyes. "You're the best thing about these dinners for me too. I'll make every effort to come so I can see you, but I'm just warning you it might not work out for a while. After I'm done with college, I'll be taking over the family business and then I'll definitely be at all the dinners again."

She bit her lip. "Promise?"

He smiled kindly. "Of course."

She hesitated. ". . . Do you think you're going to like college?"

"I hope so. But I know I'll miss everybody."

"Including me?"

"Definitely you!" Radley straightened and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Daphne rushed him, hugging him around the waist. "I don't want you to go!" She didn't typically cry, but she was crying now. She had never lost a friend before. She didn't want to lose one now.

Radley just held her close, surprise and sadness in his eyes. His family was all excited for him to go to college, although at least his mother had expressed some sorrow for him to not be around. He wasn't used to people wanting him to stay this badly at all. It was strange and new, and although he was sad for Daphne to be sad, it felt so good for someone to care this much.

". . . I might be too busy to answer a lot, but how about we stay in touch?" he suggested. "I'll give you my email and my phone number."

Daphne looked up, hopeful now. "I'll give mine!" she declared. With this new idea, she perked up much more and soon their information was exchanged. "Text all the time!" she pleaded.

Radley laughed. "As much as I can. We can video chat sometimes too."

"That will be so neat!" Daphne said.

The rest of the evening was enjoyable for them both. But as time went on after that, life grew busy and Daphne found there wasn't always a lot of time for keeping in touch. School and mysteries took up so much of her attention. Still, she tried to text Radley daily, or several times a week. And while he had started out telling her a lot of things about college and what it was like, after some time his messages grew very vague. There was a lot he wasn't saying. Daphne wondered at that, but her attempts to learn the whole truth did not go much of anywhere. Radley insisted he was fine, just busy. When the messages eventually stopped altogether, Daphne was too wrapped up in her own life to care as much as she ordinarily might have.

Now there was no chance to ever pick up the threads of their quietly unraveled friendship. Radley was gone.

xxxx

Shaggy and Scooby at last fell asleep in their usual guestroom. Daphne had a very fitful and restless sleep, tossing and turning as she dreamed of some of the old business dinners and then of Radley's life cut short. It was a relief when morning came and brought Fred and Velma and the Mystery Machine. They could get on their way and start finding out what had happened instead of sitting and fretting about it.

Even so, it was still several hours before the plane landed just outside of Crash Town on a landing strip by the mine and they could get out the Mystery Machine from the cargo hold and start looking for answers. Daphne was fairly ready to bite through metal by that point, and she took the wheel herself to drive them into town. Fred rocked back in shock, but just let her take it without a fuss.

Crash Town was basically the Old West in modern times. The buildings, the wooden sidewalks, the dusty roads, all looked very 19th century. But there were modern features such as water towers, motorcycles, and a small hospital. The mountain looming over the Southern part of the town felt cold and ominous. Perhaps that was just their imaginations because it housed the mine, or perhaps there was actually something to be concerned about.

The gang was surprised when they started looking around. It was not exactly what they had expected.

"It actually looks really nice here," Daphne said. "They even have stores!" She smiled wanly. "I bet Radley had a lot to do with that."

"So like, where are we going first?" Shaggy was completely tense, staring at every building as though expecting something to pop out at them.

"Food?!" Scooby pleaded.

"For once, that's a good idea," Velma said. "The article said Radley owned the town diner. We'll probably find a lot of information there."

The diner, in contrast to a lot of the buildings, looked completely modern. The two-story design was blue-and-white, with neon signage and plenty of motorcycle parking. Daphne headed up the steps, running her hand over the railing and the thin pillar as she did. Radley had likely designed this place. . . .

The room inside was large, well air-conditioned, and mostly empty at the moment. A ceiling fan turned overhead while a jukebox played quietly in the background. And to Daphne's utter shock, Radley was laying on a black leather windowseat to her right, one arm up over his eyes.

"Radley?!" she gasped.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy shrieked.

"Zombie!" Scooby leaped into Shaggy's arms.

Radley took his arm away, looking vaguely put-out. "I'm not a . . . Daphne?!" He sat up, stunned.

Daphne rushed to sit down next to him. "We heard you were dead," she said tearfully.

Radley hesitated, clearly debating what he wanted to say. Finally he sighed and took a deep breath. ". . . I was," he said. "I came back. Not as a zombie, but really me."

Shaggy and Scooby still looked scared. Velma was intrigued. "So you were clinically dead and the doctors revived you?"

". . . No," Radley said. "It's . . . complicated." He looked awkward. He knew Daphne, but not any of these others.

It was easy to see that he wasn't comfortable sharing the story. Daphne just smiled, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," she said. "I don't need to know the details. Just knowing you're alive is enough for me."

Radley smiled. "You came all this way for me?"

"Of course!" Daphne said. "You meant a lot to a poor little rich girl. I wasn't really nice to you the first times I saw you. I thought you must have a secret motive for being nice. But then you started to get through to me with your kindness and I was so glad any time I got to see you! You made all those dinners so fun, helping me look for mysteries and just talking with me when we couldn't leave the room. When I saw the paper last night, I was crushed."

"I'm really sorry." Radley looked guilty. "I guess the paper went to bed before they got the news that I'm okay. I'll have to see about them printing a retraction."

"Yeah, like, you probably wanna fix that," Shaggy quavered, his knees knocking.

"What about the other things the paper said?" Velma asked.

Fred nodded. "It said you lead a gang here in town . . . but that you were trying to protect the town from a cruel gang."

"That's all true," Radley said. "My gang doesn't hurt anyone. They're really only a gang in the loosest sense of the word. We're just a group of friends . . . like you guys."

"It doesn't seem like the same thing," Fred said. "You know motorcycle gangs are intimidating and feared. You're milking that imagery."

"We all happen to like motorcycling," Radley said calmly. "And when we came here, we found we needed to look tough to get any ground at all. But the danger's passed, so we won't have to do that anymore. Most of the town knows it was just a facade anyway."

"You were brave to hold out so long against those creeps," Daphne smiled.

Radley smiled, but he looked sad. "We tried our best. But in the end, we weren't enough. We weren't the ones who brought Malcolm and Lawton down."

"You still prevented a takeover for four years," Velma said. "That's not a small thing. Who knows how much worse this town would be if you hadn't been here."

Radley sighed and nodded. "I try to think of it like that. But so many died because of what Malcolm was doing. . . ."

". . . Like, are they still here?!" Shaggy quavered. "You know, as ghosts?!"

". . . At least some of them are," Radley admitted. "But they're not malevolent. And they seem to stay around the mine."

"You're sure they're ghosts and not a cruel trick?" Velma asked.

"I'm sure." Radley's voice was firm, but he didn't sound ready to explain how he was sure.

"We don't know how to handle real ghosts," Daphne said. "If we did, we could help you."

"That's okay." Radley studied Daphne with a thoughtful smile. "I haven't seen you for years! I've heard about you and your friends, though. All the mysteries you solve . . . that's pretty cool. It's not just local anymore."

"No," Daphne laughed. "Not anymore at all."

She hugged him close. She had come out here thinking she would find answers about a tragedy. Instead she had found a miracle.

Radley returned the hug. "As long as you guys are all here, you might as well have something to eat," he said. "And later the Bunch is planning a party. We'd love to have you here for that."

"Are you well enough for that?!" Daphne exclaimed. "You looked so worn-out when we came in."

"I was just resting and listening to the music," Radley said. "I'm okay."

"If the papers didn't exaggerate about the torture you went through, you surely can't be 'okay,'" Velma remarked, still fishing for answers.

"I don't think they exaggerated," Radley said quietly. "They probably didn't even tell it all."

"You don't seem like you're hurt now," Fred said.

"Right now it's more emotional than physical," Radley said. "That's why I was resting."

"How can we know that everything is the way you're saying?" Fred asked. "Maybe you weren't really hurt at all."

"Freddie!" Daphne admonished.

"He was hurt."

Everyone turned at the new voice. A blue-haired man had just entered the room from a back hallway. His voice was completely serious, haunted. His eyes matched his tone. He walked through the group and over to Radley, then turned to look back at them again. "If Radley doesn't feel comfortable telling you, then I'll tell you."

"Kalin . . ." Radley laid a hand on his shoulder.

Kalin reached up, resting his hand on Radley's. "He was tortured to death by vicious, angry men. I found him. I tried to revive him and I failed. I carried him back to town and others saw he was dead as well."

Daphne gasped in horror. "No! . . ."

"The only reason he's alive now is because of a miracle. I prayed for him. Others were praying too. And he came back like Lazarus." Finally a bit of light showed in Kalin's eyes and he drew Radley close. "If you don't believe me, anyone in town will back up my story."

Radley hugged him and looked up with an awkward smile. "You see why it's not really something I wanted to talk about with people I don't know."

"Of course," Daphne said. "That would be hard even with people you do know!"

"Pretty much," Radley agreed. "It's all true, just . . . hard to talk about. I was planning to tell you in private, though, Daphne . . . or to tell all of you after getting to know you a little bit better.

"This is Kalin, by the way. He's a dear friend."

"We read about him in the paper," Velma acknowledged. "He helped bring down the villains in town."

Kalin looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't.

"He did," Radley said firmly.

"Yusei did too," Kalin said. "And if it wasn't for what we did to you, you would have been there."

"Kalin . . ." Radley looked pleadingly into Kalin's eyes. He didn't want Kalin to put himself down. He wanted Daphne and her friends to like him.

"What does he mean?!" Daphne demanded.

Radley sighed. "It's . . . really complicated. Kalin was working for me, pushing back against Malcolm as my top Duelist. Yusei, his friend, came out here and was understandably upset at the danger Kalin was in. We were all eventually carted off to Malcolm's mine. Yusei blamed me and was worried about Kalin because he was suffering from depression. He escaped with Kalin, but I was left behind."

Tears filled Daphne's eyes. "And that's how you ended up tortured?"

"Yeah," Radley said quietly. "But in all fairness to them, I wasn't where they could see me. Yusei had to get Kalin out when he had the chance."

"When I found Radley dead, I wanted to die too," Kalin said. "I would still feel like that if he hadn't come back."

"You obviously love him very much," Velma said. "As he does you."

Radley nodded. "We've had a lot of ups and downs. But we finally understand each other and we're happy now. Or I hope we'll be happy." He gave Kalin a worried look. "I know he'll always blame himself for what happened to me."

"I will, but at the same time I want to move forward with you and the others." Kalin finally smiled. "For the first time in years, I have a future I'm looking forward to."

"Good!" Radley draped an arm around Kalin's shoulders and hugged him. Kalin returned it wholeheartedly.

"I'm glad," Daphne said, relaxing now. "You both deserve for things to go right for you now."

"I think so too," Radley said with a wink. "And if you wanna eat, the diner is open!" he added grandly. "It's just a slow time of day."

"Yeah!" Scooby jumped up to the nearest table and grabbed a menu.

"Like, that's the best idea ever!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Oh, and did I mention that Radley cooks?" Daphne smiled.

"I'm the head chef here." Radley looked proud. "Most of the recipes are mine."

Scooby perked up more. "Really?!"

"One of my friends will make your meals today, but he'll probably be using my recipes," Radley said.

"If your food is good, I can definitely get used to this!" Shaggy said. "And I know when food is good!"

"Good," Radley smirked. "You'll be satisfied."

Soon everyone had ordered and some of the Bunch was coming in to chat with the newcomers. They were friendly and personable and clearly loved Radley a lot, as he did them. They had nothing but good things to say about each other and the Bunch quickly established themselves as happy, fun-loving guys who enjoyed karaoke and video games as well as motorcycles. Fred, who had still seemed tense and unsure, finally started to relax.

After the initial meal, Daphne quietly slipped away with Radley while Shaggy and Scooby called for seconds. "They're going to be occupied for a while," she laughed. "I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes, just the two of us."

Radley didn't look surprised. "I'm really sorry about everything, Daphne," he said. "It was so crazy around here. A friend of Kalin's is writing a more detailed account of everything and she'll tell it right, but this other story went out when everything first went down. I wasn't in any condition to stop it."

"I understand. It's fine! I'm just glad you're okay." Daphne hesitated. "Does your family know?"

Radley hesitated too. "I'm not sure. . . ."

Daphne sighed. "Mom called them last night to offer our condolences. Your grandmother . . . really wasn't very friendly. I mean, she never was, but we'd thought she might be polite or gracious under the circumstances."

". . . Yeah, about that . . ." Radley rubbed the back of his neck. "I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for kindness from her."

Daphne's heart sank. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to; I know we haven't seen each other since I was 10 and I'm probably not someone you'd be comfortable confiding in. But . . . I started thinking about everything and worrying about you . . . wondering if she actually cut you off and if you're welcome back with your family. She just acted like she didn't want anything to do with you. And I remembered how vague some of your last messages got. I don't think you were just busy, like you said. I think something terrible happened."

Radley sighed. ". . . My family is here," he said. "The Bunch and Kalin . . . the town too. . . . This is where I'm loved and wanted. You still speak your mind, Daphne, and you're good at solving mysteries. You're right."

Daphne looked down. "I wish I wasn't in this case. . . ."

"Hey." Radley laid his hands on her shoulders. "It hurts, and I wish it wasn't the case too, but I'm okay. I'm happy here, with all of these guys. Family isn't just the people you're born with. It's more the people who want to be with you. If you've got that with your biological family, that's great. But as long as you have it with someone, anyone, that's the most important thing."

Daphne managed a smile. "I guess that's true. . . ."

"You and your friends here . . . I see that with you. You all love being together and sharing whatever comes your way, as long as you can stay together. I hope you don't lose that."

"We won't," Daphne said, smiling more now. "We're already planning to keep going with this and be detectives full-time."

"Great. All the news stories I've read show that you guys are really providing a good service to people. That's never going to go out of style." Radley smiled too. "And you're welcome to come visit me any time you feel like it. Now that I have control of the town, it's going to be something amazing."

"With you here, it already is," Daphne said, and hugged him close.

Radley smiled and wholeheartedly hugged back. ". . . I'm sorry I stopped writing," he said. "When we came here, after a while my rival Malcolm locked communications. I'm never going to let that happen again. They're still undoing the damage Malcolm did, and meanwhile, I'm getting satellite phones for everyone."

Daphne looked up with a start. "You couldn't write?! I thought you'd probably stopped because I wasn't keeping up with your messages like a good friend should. . . . Or because you were busy, like you said. . . ."

"No, that wasn't it!" Radley looked at her earnestly. "I kept writing long after my family disowned me. I only stopped when I couldn't get any more messages out."

"If I'd only looked into it more, maybe we could have helped you before things ever got this bad," Daphne said regretfully. "Why didn't you tell me about your family?! I would have helped!"

"I was afraid that a lot of bad publicity would get stirred up thanks to my family and you'd be right in the middle of it," Radley sighed. "I couldn't do that to you and your family. So I just found ways to get by on my own."

"You were always so thoughtful." Daphne sighed too. "And I wasn't so much."

"Hey." Radley smiled kindly at her. "You were always really mature for your age, but you were still a kid. You had a lot to do that was right in front of you. I wouldn't have expected you to really keep up with all of my messages and figure out that something more was going on than what I said."

"I should have, though," Daphne frowned.

"It's all over now," Radley said. "We have another chance now that we're both sadder and wiser. So let's take it, okay?"

Daphne finally smiled again. "Yes," she said. "Let's."