"Dueling Stomachs"
When the sun peeked up over the clouds that morning, Astro arrived at the Best Western. He had gotten up at five in the morning, when his sixth sense began buzzing. Something told him to walk down the road until he reached his goal. When Astro saw the Greyhound parked in the Best Western parking lot, he knew his goal had been reached.
Without a word, Astro lazily opened the bus doors (which were accidentally unlocked), walked down the aisle, and fell asleep in the rear of the bus. He didn't get much sleep the night before.
Later that morning, the bus was far past the Mississippi River and was heading towards Indianapolis. The pack of dogs in the rear of the bus saw Astro asleep, but no one wanted to wake him. They came up with all sorts of theories as to who he was. Even his breed was unfamiliar to them.
It wasn't until the bus stopped at a mall for lunch that Astro woke up. He was met with six pairs of eyes staring at him.
"Good morning," said Dog, calmly.
Astro shook his head, trying to shake out the sleepiness that still plagued him.
"Hey, what's your name, big grey doggie?" asked Gir.
"R…rast…ro," yawned Astro.
"Who?" asked Cat.
Goddard noticed the collar around Astro's neck. His name was written on it, so Goddard posted the name on his screen.
"Astro, huh?" said Dog, who read the name on Goddard's computer screen.
"Duh, where did you come from?" asked Runt.
"Da ruture," mumbled Astro still trying to shake himself awake.
"Where?" asked Dog.
Goddard posted the words 'the future' on his screen.
"Well, of COURSE he's from the future!" blurted out Cat, sarcastically.
Astro growled.
"Alright! Alright! You're from the future. Sheesh," said Cat quickly.
"What time period in the future are you from?" typed Goddard.
His answer was a growl, but this time it came from Astro's stomach.
"Foooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!" shouted Gir at the top of his robotic lungs. "I'll take a cheeseburger and some curly fries!"
Eyeing Gir oddly, Cat agreed. "Yeah, I think we'd better get out and get something to eat."
Cat then caught sight of Courage in the corner of the bus. That dog hadn't said a word since last night. "You coming?" Cat called out.
Courage nodded and followed everyone out the door.
Everyone stepped out of the bus and headed toward the mall.
You can imagine the look on every dog's face when they entered the food court. There were fast food stands, vegetarian stands, restaurants, and kiosks as far as the eye could see. Runt and Dog's tongues were hanging out of their mouths and drooling. Courage looked like he was about to cry. Astro, who had never seen anything like this in his life, fell to his knees in astonishment. Only Cat, Goddard, and Gir maintained their composure.
One of the bus passengers walked up to the dogs. He had finished his lunch and carried a backpack on his back. His name tag read "C.G.", and he looked at the bewildered canines. "Well, this town's my stop," he said. "It's been nice seeing all of you. Take care now." And with that, he exited the building.
The dogs could now see Pam and the other passengers eating in a restaurant. They were about to head in their direction, when they happened to spot another dog sitting in the food court. He was a big brown Great Dane who was just about to eat two huge towers of food in front of him. None of the dogs could believe a single dog could eat that much in one sitting, so the canines walked towards him.
Scooby Doo looked at the two towers of food in front of him. Giant as his appetite was, he had last eaten only thirty minutes ago. There was no way he could eat both towers; maybe one of them, but not both. He had ordered two of everything, but it was only when he sat down that Scooby realized Shaggy wasn't with him. Scooby sighed sadly. He and Shaggy always ate together.
But, Scooby assured himself that he was on vacation. He would have to make do with what he had. Scooby was about to take his first bite, when suddenly, a voice spoke up.
"Betcha I can eat that tower of food before you can eat that other one."
Scooby peered between the two towers and saw another dog staring back at him. He had tan colored fur, big eyes, and an even bigger nose! Dog smiled a teasing smile.
Scooby smiled back. "Yer ron," he said.
The next three minutes were a blur of food and arms as Scooby and Dog made the two towers of food disappear. Cat lounged underneath the table and shuddered when he imagined what must be going on over his head. The robot dogs began rooting for Dog as Runt, Astro, and Courage ate any piece of food that fell on the floor.
Finally, Dog leaned back in his chair and belched as Scooby ate the last two hot dogs on his plate. A group of onlookers had gathered around the table and cheered for Dog when it was over.
"Row!" exclaimed Scooby, wiping his chin. "Roo rav an arazing rapparite!"
"A what?" asked Dog.
"He says you have a big stomach," whispered Cat from below.
"Oh. Thank you," said the bloated Dog.
CatDog rolled off of the chair. "Roah!" cried Scooby when he caught sight of CatDog. He was so startled he actually hid behind the chair he previously sat in. No one was more surprised by this act of cowardice than Courage. It was gratifying to see such a big dog get scared over something like that. Of course, if you looked at CatDog for the first time, you'd be a little startled too.
"It's okay," said Cat. He was beginning to feel tired of everyone treating him and his brother, Dog, like a circus side show. "We won't hurt you."
Just as Scooby was beginning to calm down, two mall security guards appeared at one end of the food court. "Hey!" said one to the other. "There's that Great Dane! The one who keeps stealing the entire mall's food!"
"Let's get him!" said the other guard.
Fortunately, both guards were within earshot of the dogs. The canines ran for the exit. Scooby got up and ran right into Astro.
"Rorry," apologized Scooby.
"Rat's rokay," answered Astro.
Both dogs stared at each other for a moment, surprised by the fact that they spoke so similarly. But then they heard the guards' footsteps coming closer and they started running again.
By now, the bus passengers had finished their lunch and were heading out the door when they saw the oncoming mob. Needless to say, it didn't take long for everyone to get back on the bus.
Pam gunned the engine just as Scooby and Astro ran up the steps. When the bus got back on the highway, Scooby and Astro spent over an hour explaining who they were and where they had been.
At Cape Cod, dark figures poured food into the dogs' cages. Upstairs, the Dogcatcher happened to catch the evening news. With a start, he turned up the volume as he watched the report.
"As investigators continue to remain baffled, the nationwide dognapping crime wave continues. From Bluffington to Springfield, canines from all around are still missing. This young boy from Bluffington had this to say."
Inside his cage, Porkchop sat up as he heard his master's voice echo from upstairs. "I don't know where he is, but I just want him to come home." Doug sounded devastated. Porkchop howled with worry.
As several other people, including the Simpsons and the Pickles' (from the Rugrats), were interviewed, their respective dog howled until, eventually, the howling drowned out the broadcast.
Annoyed, the Dogcatcher took out a bullhorn and a dog whistle. He blew the whistle into the bullhorn. Every dog on the building stopped howling and put their paws over their ears.
The reporter continued talking. "Eyewitnesses reported a middle-aged man in a grey van was responsible for the crime, but he has yet to be identified. This has been…"
The TV turned off. "Yeah, well, you haven't found me yet, have you?" He laughed to himself. "I hope you never do, either."
Every other living thing in the building thought the exact opposite.