Chapter Eight: The Ultimatum
"Look at this, Freddie!" called Daphne as she turned towards a small room. Freddie appeared behind her. What they saw was an old wooden chair, and two lengths of rope lying nearby. Freddie rushed forward and picked up one of them.
"Hey, this one looks like it's been chewed," he said, handing it to Daphne.
"Eww!" she cried, dropping it on the floor, "it's still soggy!"
"I'm betting Scooby was in here recently, maybe Velma and Shaggy too."
"But where did they go?" she asked, wiping her hands on her dress.
"I'm not sure," he replied, "we'll just have to keep searching."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Velma opened her eyes and woke up. Again. In the confusion of the fight, she had obviously been knocked unconscious. Again.
'I'm gonna have a lot of bumps on my head by the time this is over,' she thought. She tried to rub it, but found that her hands were chained to the wall. She peered at the shape in front of her, and was suddenly aware that someone was standing over her and sliding her glasses onto her face.
As her vision cleared, she found herself looking straight into the horrid, grinning face of the humanoid rat, his red eyes glowing with delight.
"About time you woke up," he growled, "because now you have a real reason to read out that spell."
He stepped aside, revealing a large aquarium some five metres away, and Shaggy and Scooby were hanging over it, tied together and dangling from a rope!
"Like, there's piranhas down there, man!" Shaggy yelled.
"Reah, rig ones!" added Scooby.
Velma gasped with shock and turned sharply towards the rat fiend. "Do you think you can get away with this?! When they find us, you'll be sorry!"
"No one's going to find us," he said calmly. Approaching Velma, he reached inside his cloak and whipped something out. Velma cringed and turned away protectively. "Here," he said, dropping it in front of her. She was still crouched on the floor, and could read it quite easily from her position.
She eyed him warily, still not seeing the sense in the situation. "But why couldn't you have made anyone read it? Why go to the bother of finding me? I mean Latin is easy enough to just read out --"
"But you have to know what you're saying!" he snapped. "And you were one of the people present when he was banished!"
The rat fiend barred his teeth menacingly and moved over to the pulley that operated the length of the rope Shaggy and Scooby were on. He twisted it back a full turn, and the boy and the dog plummeted a foot closer to the surface of the water, stopping with a jerk, and yelping in fear. Velma's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe the ultimatum she was faced with.
"Now READ."
"Look at this, Freddie!" called Daphne as she turned towards a small room. Freddie appeared behind her. What they saw was an old wooden chair, and two lengths of rope lying nearby. Freddie rushed forward and picked up one of them.
"Hey, this one looks like it's been chewed," he said, handing it to Daphne.
"Eww!" she cried, dropping it on the floor, "it's still soggy!"
"I'm betting Scooby was in here recently, maybe Velma and Shaggy too."
"But where did they go?" she asked, wiping her hands on her dress.
"I'm not sure," he replied, "we'll just have to keep searching."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Velma opened her eyes and woke up. Again. In the confusion of the fight, she had obviously been knocked unconscious. Again.
'I'm gonna have a lot of bumps on my head by the time this is over,' she thought. She tried to rub it, but found that her hands were chained to the wall. She peered at the shape in front of her, and was suddenly aware that someone was standing over her and sliding her glasses onto her face.
As her vision cleared, she found herself looking straight into the horrid, grinning face of the humanoid rat, his red eyes glowing with delight.
"About time you woke up," he growled, "because now you have a real reason to read out that spell."
He stepped aside, revealing a large aquarium some five metres away, and Shaggy and Scooby were hanging over it, tied together and dangling from a rope!
"Like, there's piranhas down there, man!" Shaggy yelled.
"Reah, rig ones!" added Scooby.
Velma gasped with shock and turned sharply towards the rat fiend. "Do you think you can get away with this?! When they find us, you'll be sorry!"
"No one's going to find us," he said calmly. Approaching Velma, he reached inside his cloak and whipped something out. Velma cringed and turned away protectively. "Here," he said, dropping it in front of her. She was still crouched on the floor, and could read it quite easily from her position.
She eyed him warily, still not seeing the sense in the situation. "But why couldn't you have made anyone read it? Why go to the bother of finding me? I mean Latin is easy enough to just read out --"
"But you have to know what you're saying!" he snapped. "And you were one of the people present when he was banished!"
The rat fiend barred his teeth menacingly and moved over to the pulley that operated the length of the rope Shaggy and Scooby were on. He twisted it back a full turn, and the boy and the dog plummeted a foot closer to the surface of the water, stopping with a jerk, and yelping in fear. Velma's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe the ultimatum she was faced with.
"Now READ."