The brutal battle had been cut off. Smoke rose from Hank and Dale's burnt, unconscious bodies. On the outskirts of the battlefield, Velma and Peggy hid behind a glass spike with a large, green duffle bag. Peggy unzipped the bag slowly and silently, withdrawing a large rifle and passing it to Velma. She removed a scope from the pocket of her orange sweater and fastened it to the top. She then loaded it with two tranquilizing darts.

"These darts," Velma said as quietly as possible, looking up to Peggy with a stern expression, "hold a tranquilizer strong enough to knock out even the largest beasts. We used them once to take down a monster that would come through children's closets at night to make them laugh."

"Now why would a monster want to make children laugh?" Peggy whispered back to Velma while grabbing a second rifle from the duffle bag.

"They came from another dimension… their technology would harvest the children's laughter and convert it into an unstable power source…" Velma replied, handing Peggy a second scope. Peggy fastened the scope to her rifle and loaded it with two darts.

"What were they powering?" Peggy said, turning the safety off. She took aim at the cyan light.

"That was the mystery. We had a few theories: weapons of mass destruction, or maybe they just wanted an efficient power source, something they couldn't get from their home," Velma turned her safety off and took aim at the green light.

"Peggy Hill's putting three-hundred on a weapon of mass destruction," Peggy replied.

"It was sort of that, they called it the light switch. When it had enough power, it would transmit a signal throughout space-time. A frequency called the anti-life frequency, one that instantly counteracts and shuts down any consciousness it meets. They wanted to end all life, including their own. They believed consciousness was a plague, and that the only way to escape suffering was to turn off the lights," Velma and Peggy shot their darts, which hit the necks of both glowing figures. They dropped to the floor, and the light seeping from their bodies dissipated.

"And maybe they're right," Velma said with a frown. She stood up.

"Well little lady, maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are," Peggy said, standing up with Velma, "because those monsters have it all wrong."

"What do you mean, Mrs. Hill?" Velma replied.

"Life's not a light you can turn off with a switch… no… life is a blazing fire, one that will fight back if you try to put it out," Peggy said, staring at Velma with a grin. The two turned back to the grim scene. They tossed their rifles into the duffle bag, which Velma threw over her shoulder.

"If that's true… if life's like a fire… then how come so many people come in and out of the world silently, without a chance, without even a spark. The gang and I have faced countless crooks and criminals, some of which killed innocent people. Those people couldn't fight back. They were turned off like a switch," Velma replied. The two began walking.

"It's true. Many fires go out quietly; they run out of fuel, but that's where we come in," Peggy said. The two had made it to the coil holding Hank and Dale. Peggy ran her hand across the steel, still hot from Scooby's jutsu.

"I'm not sure I follow," Velma said with confusion.

"If I could just find a weak point…" Peggy said, closing her eyes.

Velma looked the coil over, she could easily tell where it would be the weakest. "Here, let me help," she said, pointing to a spot in the middle of the phone pole, "the coil's weakest right here."

Peggy took a step back, breathed in deep, and kicked the coils' weak point. "Ho-yeah," Peggy exclaimed in victory as the coil shattered to pieces, "we're the fuel, Velma. The people who care. It's support from our loved ones that keep our fires burning bright." Peggy caught Hank as he fell from the coil, "I'm sure of it, as long as you have people who love you, your fire can't be put out without one hell of a fight."

Velma smiled, dropping the duffle bag and grabbing Shaggy off the ground, "you're the real genius, Mrs. Hill."

"I know," Peggy replied with a grin.

...

Shaggy slowly opened his eyes, which were sensitive to the light. The first thing he heard was the panging of rain outside. He felt something warm and soft wrapped around him. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he bolted up.

"What's, like, goin' on here? I was out like a light, ha-hoo," Shaggy said, looking around the room. The room had a warm yellow wallpaper with vertical stripes and simple wood furniture. Shaggy's hand sunk into the plush, teal couch he sat on. He had been covered with a heavy blanket.

"No you weren't, how else did you an' yer dog take Dale and me down so easily?" Shaggy heard from behind him. He turned around and met eyes with Hank.

"Like oh yeah, where's Scooby-Doo?" Shaggy said, turning to Fred who sat in a green sofa chair with Daphne squeezed in next to him. Fred didn't react.

"Fred's temporarily deaf. So is Daphne. Scooby woke up thirty-six minutes ago, he's with Mrs. Hill and their dog," Velma replied from the green sofa chair next to Fred and Daphne's. She moved to the teal sofa and sat next to Shaggy, in her hands, a green notebook and a pencil.

"The last thing I remember was going into the van and having some Scooby-Snax… after that-" Shaggy said, looking down. He concentrated hard, but couldn't draw up any memories.

"After that, you kicked me and my friend's ass; well, my idiot friend more so than me. Your dog's lightning-style jutsu knocked us both out. My heat resistance kept me from sustaining any serious burns. Dale on the other hand…" Hank rubbed the back of his head, "well he got what was comin' to him I suppose."

"I'm sorry mister, but I don't remember any of that, and like, what happened to Fred and Daphne?" Shaggy asked, turning back to Velma.

"We don't know yet. Something seriously damaged their ears. I gave them antibiotics in case of infection, they'll need some more time before they can hear again proper-"

"HEY DAPH LOOK, SHAGGY'S AWAKE," Fred yelled at a volume unsuitable for indoor environments. Daphne didn't react, so Fred nudged her and pointed to Shaggy.

"HEY FREDDY, I THINK SHAGGY'S AWAKE," Daphne loudly announced. A teenage boy sauntered in from the hall.

"What's all that yelling? A boy needs his beauty sleep," the boy said, stretching out his body and yawning. He quickly noticed the strangers in his house and looked to Hank, "Dad, who're all these hippies? I thought you hated hippies…"

"Now Bobby, I don't hate hippies, I just feel a strong sense of disgust in their presence," Hank awkwardly replied, looking away from Shaggy.

"Like, hey little man, we aren't hippies, we're mystery solvers," Shaggy said, turning to Bobby. Velma nodded in agreement.

"Mystery solvers, sure, and I'm the Dali Lama! Hey… wait a minute, I know you, you're Shaggy Rogers! That must mean… oh my God, Velma Dinkley, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake… where is he? If you guys are here-" Bobby ecstatically said.

"Scooby-Doo's in the kitchen with Ladybird," Velma replied, pointing to the kitchen with the pencil in her hand. Bobby ran across the living room and into the kitchen, letting out a squeal of excitement.

"Kids always love to meet Scooby," Velma said to Hank, who smiled.

"H'yep, seems like Bobby and Ladybird are both getting along with him nicely," Hank replied, turning his gaze to Fred, "sorry 'bout that van of yours. The guys and I should be able to fix it up in about a week. Normally it'd be faster, but h'wat with all those fancy gizmos an' all… an' fixin' all those houses we destroyed."

"Oh, it's no problem, really. We just appreciate your offering to fix the van. In the meantime, we can hull up in a hotel and do more research on the mystery we're heading to investigate," Velma replied.

"Like, what happened to the Mystery Machine?" Shaggy asked.

"Right, I should probably fill you in. You and Scooby took those new Scooby-Snax, but they had some interesting side effects. It seems that the two of you blacked out during it, or maybe you just don't remember. At some point during the whole ordeal, the Mystery Machine took more damage than its repair system could handle," Velma explained, "Mr. Hill offered to fix the van since Fred's gonna need some time to rest and recover."

"H'welp, Dale and I caused this mess, so it's the least we can do. And on top of that, you and your friends are welcome to stay in mah den until it's fixed," Hank said, unfolding his arms. Velma opened the green notebook and scribbled down what Hank had said, then held it out for Fred and Daphne to read. The two nodded.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Hill, if there's anything we can do to help out," Velma kindly offered.

"Well actually, in one week, on Halloween, we have a big haunted house competition here in the neighborhood. While you and your friends are here, y'all could help us make and set up the decorations," Hank responded.

"Like sure thing, just one question, when's dinner?" Shaggy asked, grabbing his stomach.

"Mah wife Peggy's in the kitchen makin' it right now, it's her classic Frito pie," Hank said.

...

In the kitchen, Peggy's home staple was nearing completion. Scooby-Doo sat at the kitchen table with Bobby, telling him stories of past mysteries and snacking on a pack of cold hotdogs. Ladybird sat patiently under the table, waiting on the slim chance to gobble Scooby's wiener if he let his guard down. A kitchen timer went off, ending the tales.

"Peggy Hill's famous Frito pie is ready," Peggy exclaimed with joy. She slipped two oven mitts on with the skill of someone who had done the same motion for decades. As the pie was removed from the oven, its smokey haze caught Scooby's nose. He'd never smelt anything so glorious in his life. Peggy set the pie on her pristine countertop and pulled a pack of Fritos from her purse, then she perfectly poured them over the pie – Peggy style.

Scooby hopped off the chair and sauntered over to Peggy. "R'ow Mrs. Hill, that smells incredible…" he complimented.

"Why thank you Scooby, it's nice to get some credit every once and a while," Peggy said, opening a cupboard, "you have no idea how many times I've saved Hank's butt, but does Peggy ever get a thank you? No. Maybe sometimes a 'h'wow Peggy, you sure are a good wife,' but-"

"R'I know how you feel…" Scooby interrupted, putting a paw on her large foot, "r'eople always say 'Scooby is the least r'important member of Mystery Incorporated'. R'hey say I'm just a mascot. A dog." Peggy pet Scooby on the head, ruffling his fur.

"Well, that's just nonsense. You're so much more than a dog. You're a talking dog! You know, you remind me of an old friend I used to have. An orange Persian cat," Peggy looked up with a reminiscent smile, "you and he are a lot alike."

Scooby sniffed the Frito pie, inhaling as much of its delicious odors as he could. "R'is he still around?"

Peggy's reminiscent smile changed to a more somber one, "Oh, I hope so. My parents rehomed him when I was little. Said they couldn't afford to keep up with his appetite," she patted Scooby's head again.

"I'm sure he ended up with a loving family," Scooby reassured her.

"You never told me about that cat mom," Bobby said from the kitchen table.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Bobby, I'm full of surprises," she remarked back, "everybody, I have prepared your meal," Peggy yelled into the living room. People began filtering in one by one. Shaggy first, followed by Velma and then Hank. Scooby sat between Shaggy and Bobby on one side of the table. Hank took a seat at the end of the table. As Velma went to take her seat, she remembered Fred and Daphne were deaf, so she went back to bring them in. She followed shortly with Fred and Daphne, who she sat together across from Scooby and Bobby. Velma sat next to them, across from Shaggy.

"Hank, go get Luanne please," Peggy commanded.

"But I just sat down for mah meal," Hank replied.

"I don't care, Luanne is a part of this family and she will join us for dinner," Peggy rebutted.

"But the table's full, where's she gonna sit?" Hank argued in return.

"We will bring in a lawn chair and she'll sit next to me. Now march your tiny butt across the street and get your niece," Peggy said, pointing to the door. An embarrassed expression grew on Hank's face.

"Peggy," Hank pleaded.

"Now."

"What about Lucky, shouldn't she be havin' dinner with him?" Hank threw out as a final attempt.

"You know well and good that he's out of town with Gracie to visit their aunt Mryna for the week. I said march," Peggy finished with a harsh point to the door. Hank got up and left.

"So," Peggy said, taking a seat and setting the pie on the table, "tell me about yourselves."

"Like, we travel the world solving mysteries, we even went to college for it," Shaggy said, looking the pie up and down. Shaggy's mouth uncontrollably salivated.

"That's just lovely, you know I'm something of a mystery solver myself," Peggy excitedly said.

"Really? What kind of mysteries do you solve Mrs. Hill," Velma asked her.

"Well for starters, I'm the best Boggle player in Arlen, and playing Boggle is basically a more advanced way of solving mysteries," Peggy boasted.

Bobby piped in, "oh gawd, mom, don't you know who these guys are? They're Mystery Incorporated, the Mystery Incorporated. Their mysteries are way cooler than Boggle."

Peggy frowned at Bobby's remark. Fred and Daphne were engaged in a friendly game of rock, paper, scissors, seeing as they couldn't hear what anybody was saying.

"Actually, I quite enjoy Boggle. The rest of the gang don't play so I never get anyone to play with," Velma said to Peggy, whose frown was restored to a smile, "maybe we could play some tonight after dinner?"

"Ho-yeah, Peggy Hill is down to Boggle," Peggy said, pumping her fist in excitement.

Hank and Luanne came in through the sliding glass door in the dining room, both soaked head to toe from the rain. They dried themselves off.

"Oh, uncle Hank, you didn't tell me you had guests over," Luanne said, setting up the lawn chair next to Peggy at one end of the table, "Oh my goodness, I love your hair," she said to Daphne, who didn't react. Luanne seemed really confused.

"Luanne, sweety, that's Daphne; she's temporarily deaf," Peggy said, scooping warm Frito pie into bowls and distributing them. Each receiver met their bowl with glee and was quick to dig in.

The Scooby gang and the Hill family indulged in the hot meal together.