"The Truth Comes Out"
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After the mystery was concluded, Ben escorted Mystery Inc. and the Hex Girls back to his house where they could rest up and unwind from the stressful night.
Davey had collapsed on the couch while Veemon and Impmon curled up beside her, both Digimon falling asleep quickly as they used the werecat as a pillow.
Thorn was amused by this as Daphne watched over her cousin who had fallen asleep while Ben made tea and fixed a plate of cookies for everyone to enjoy.
While everyone was relaxing, the Hex Girls took notice of the portrait of a beautiful dark haired woman in a puritan dress that was hanging above the fire place.
Ben proudly stated that the woman was his ancestor Sarah which awed the three Goth girls.
"So, she was a real wiccan?" Thorn asked.
"That's right." Ben confirmed.
"Oh, so cool!" Dusk exclaimed softly.
"She's beautiful." Thorn said as she stared at the gentle face of the dark haired woman in the painting.
"Yes, I think so, too. And that's why I get upset when people accuse her of being a witch." Ben stated.
Fred then spoke up making the Hex Girls turn to look at the sheepish blond and redhead who were smiling gently at them.
"Uh, I think I owe you girls an apology for thinking you were… Well, uh…" Fred trailed off, feeling silly.
"Witches. We saw you perform some kind of ritual in your shed." Daphne explained.
The word "ritual" woke Davey and Veemon up.
Davey's eyes were glowing honey gold, feeling a bit agitated.
Daphne was quick to take notice of this and she smiled gently over at her cousin.
Instead of being insulted by what Daphne said to them, the Hex Girls all appeared amused.
"Witches? We just pretend that stuff. It's just a gimmick for our band." Dusk told the group.
"We're Eco Goths, kind of like wiccans. Just ask Thorn, she is one." Luna smiled and gestured over to the raven haired girl.
Thorn giggled at that.
"Yeah, right. Sally McKnight, a self-taught wiccan in training. All I know about Wicca is from my mother's journals. She was one and I kept her books, reading up on some of her herbal recipes. That ritual you saw was just peppermint and cloves to soothe my vocal chords. You think its easy singing this stuff?" Thorn winked.
"Thorn's herbal vapour is awesome. We all use it before and after every show." Dusk stated.
"But what about your fangs?" Shaggy asked as he pointed at their teeth.
"My dad's a dentist." Luna said.
She then took the fangs out of her mouth, revealing ordinary teeth that were hidden.
"He outfitted the band." Luna said as she showed off the fangs to Scooby, making them move in a snapping motion.
Scooby yelped and jumped into Shaggy's arms.
To show that Luna was telling the truth, Dusk and Thorn took out their own fangs, showing off their human teeth.
It seemed obvious to Davey that being friends with someone who has a dentist for a father helped them keep their teeth in perfect condition.
"Like, we knew it all along, eh, Scoob?" Shaggy chuckled.
Secretly, Scooby had taken Luna's fangs and placed them on over his own teeth.
Turning to face Shaggy, the dog hissed, showing off his fangs as he made a scary face.
Shaggy yelled at the sight and tossed Scooby on the floor before jumping into Luna's arms for protection.
Realizing what he had done, Shaggy gave a sheepish grin and chuckle as Luna rolled her eyes in annoyance and dropped the hippy on the ground.
Scooby then chuckled at Shaggy who scowled at his dog.
A knock at the door startled everyone as they turned to see Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight standing in the entrance to the study.
"Mayor?" Ben asked in surprise.
"We've been ringing your doorbell for some time and..." Corey informed with a friendly smile.
"Oh, sorry about that. I've been meaning to fix that thing for years. What's up, Mayor?" Ben asked as the two men walked into the room.
"Well, Ben, I feel real bad about everything and I wanted to apologize for using your ancestor in our little publicity stunt." Mayor Corey said.
"The tourist trade was so slow, we were desperate." Mr. McKnight added.
Both men looked repentant for their actions as Ben kept his arms crossed and frowned at them.
He hadn't been amused by their stunt and was highly offended by the fact that the whole town agreed to dishonour his family just so they could attract tourists.
"Right and you once told me that the supernatural phenomena always attracts people." Mayor Corey reminded.
"It was just natural to use Sarah because…we accidentally dug up her grave." Mr. McKnight revealed.
This shocked Ben whose eyes grew wide at the revelation.
Everyone was shocked by the news, staring at the raven haired man.
"What grave?" Ben demanded.
"I'm sorry, Ben. But, you see, I lied to you when you asked me if we found anything of Sarah's while we were building the puritan village." Mayor Corey explained looking remorseful.
"We did. It was her grave marker. We found it in a bulldozed pile of dirt and rock." Mr. McKnight said, glancing down at Velma who moved to stand beside him.
"We didn't want to upset you." Mr. McKnight said to Ben.
"But that's all we found. No bones." Mayor Corey said.
That struck Davey as odd.
From the way Ben reacted, he seemed shocked that Sarah had a grave marker.
Did that mean Sarah wasn't buried in Oak Haven when she died?
If so, then why was there a grave marker for her here?
"No book?" Ben asked.
Eyes narrowing thoughtfully, Davey became even more suspicious.
Why did Ben seem to care more about the lack of a book rather than the lack of a body?
Something very odd was going on.
"Nothing but that grave marker. We swear, Ben." Mr. McKnight held up a hand, swearing he was being honest.
"We don't even know where her grave is." Mayor Corey stated.
"It's true. It could be anywhere between Miller's Creek and the big tree stump." Mr. McKnight said.
Velma then gasped as a thought came to her.
She began making her way to the portrait of Sarah and everyone moved away, curious over what was going on in her mind.
"Shaggy, do you still have that little shoe buckle Scooby found today?" Velma asked.
"TODAY?! You mean it isn't tomorrow yet? Oi!" Veemon groaned in exasperation and collapsed on the couch.
No one could blame the Digimon for being so tired.
It had been a long and stressful day.
"Like, this one? Here." Shaggy pulled the buckle out of his pocket and handed it to Velma.
Looking over the buckle, Velma took notice of how familiar it appeared.
Holding the buckle up towards the portrait, everyone stared at it and realized something.
The buckle matched the one that was on Sarah's medical journal.
"Scooby, can you show me exactly where you found this?" Velma asked the dog.
"I think so." Scooby nodded.
With that, everyone rushed out into the chilly autumn night, following the brown and black dog as his nose was to the ground; sniffing for the area he found the buckle.
As she was walking by Ben, the raspberry haired werecat could sense the excitement and hope that was rolling off of him as he eagerly following Velma as she lead the group to the puritan village.
"So, do you guys do this often?" Impmon asked Veemon.
"Not really. The last time, Davey and I joined the group, we ended up meeting a voodoo cult that worshipped a cat goddess and spent hundreds of years sacrificing people to stay immortal. We all almost got sacrificed, too." Veemon explained.
Impmon stared at Veemon with wide eyes while Thorn, Dusk and Luna gasped in horror.
"Are you serious?" Impmon exclaimed.
"Wish I wasn't." Veemon sighed sadly.
Thorn then took notice of how Daphne pulled Davey into her side, trying to comfort her.
What had these people been through?
"There!" Scooby lifted his paw and pointed at the tree stump.
It was the same stump that Scooby had chased a gopher to that afternoon.
Carrying a lantern, Velma walked over to the stump and kneeled down to look it over along with Ben who was in disbelief.
"All these years I was searching around the wrong oak tree." Ben said.
"Right. I believe this is what's left of the tree that Sarah did her healing. You never even noticed it because it was cut down hundreds of years ago." Velma informed.
Both of them stood and Velma turned her attention onto Scooby.
"You've gotta dig deeper, Scooby." Velma said as she walked over to the dog.
"Ruh uh." Scooby shook his head.
"How about for a Scooby Snack?" Velma offered.
"Nu uh, no way." Scooby denied once again.
"Hey, I have a great idea. Why don't we just get some shovels and dig it up? Why force Scooby to do the manual labour?" Davey cut in.
She didn't know why, but something inside her was encouraging her to make sure Ben wouldn't get his hands on the book.
There was a strange light in Ben's eyes that was making Davey feel nervous.
"Because it will take too long. Scooby would be able to dig faster than all of us. So, what do you say, Scooby? Would you do it for two Scooby Snacks?" Velma held up the orange and yellow box.
"Okay!" Scooby perked up.
Taking the treats out of the box, Velma tossed them in the air and Scooby happily caught them, munching them down before he eagerly started digging.
Everyone cried out of clods of dirt started flying through the air and they ran away to avoid getting hit.
"What did you find?" Ben asked when he heard a "thud".
"Rox!" Scooby called.
"Rocks?" Ben questioned.
Scooby then climbed out of the hole he dug and clenched between his teeth was an old wooden box.
"A box!" Velma exclaimed.
Smiling widely, Ben rushed to the box and dropped to his knees in front of it.
He exhaled loudly as he lifted the box while everyone began to gather around him.
"Ben, are you okay?" Velma questioned.
"Just a little excited." Ben said.
There was a change to his voice that had Davey's eyes flashing gold while her cat ears and tail popped out.
Seeing this made Veemon tense up, preparing for what was to come.
On the front of the box was a demonic figure and when Ben lifted the lid, it revealed an old leather bound book that had a skeleton's face on the cover.
Davey hissed at the sight, sensing the dark magic that radiated from the book.
Hearing the sound their friend made, Shaggy and Scooby were quick to duck behind Davey and Veemon, scared by what was going to happen.
Impmon was quick to jump in front of the startled Hex Girls, being able to sense the evil radiating in the air now that the book was revealed.
"Looks kind of evil to belong to a Wiccan healer." Daphne commented.
Ignoring everyone around him, Ben smirked as he dropped the box to the ground and eagerly flipped through the pages.
Stepping closer, Velma peered over Ben's shoulder and saw the strange symbols on the pages and was confused.
"Ben, that doesn't seem to be a journal at all." Velma stated.
"Because it isn't, Velma. It's a spell book." Ben smirked.
Velma gasped as everyone took a step back from the man whose friendly and gentle demeanour had quickly changed.
"You see, Sarah wasn't a Wiccan. After all, Wiccans didn't exist during that time. She was indeed, a witch. A dark witch." Ben revealed.
Everyone gasped in shock at this news.
All these years Ben had swore his ancestor was a good and kind woman, but it had been a lie.
"A real witch?" Thorn asked as she and her sisters shared shocked expressions.
"Heavy." Dusk breathed out.
"And since Sarah's blood runs in my veins, I guess that makes me a warlock." Ben proudly proclaimed.
"Warlock?" Scooby repeated as Shaggy whimpered.
"The white witches imprisoned Sarah in her own spell book and you helped me find it." Ben mocked as he walked by Velma.
"You lied to me, Ben!" Velma glared.
"Well, gee, I had to, I've been searching for years. Then I read about your exploits. I knew if anyone could help me find the book, it was you and your friends." Ben informed.
"The museum!" Davey exclaimed.
Everyone turned to look at the werecat.
Mayor Corey, Mr. McKnight and the Hex Girls were stunned to see Davey with cat ears and a tail.
The trio of girls thought it was a costume, but now they realized they were real.
"You were behind that. I thought that whole mystery seemed off." Davey frowned.
"Ah, Davinia. It appears that you're the only one with common sense. Tell me, how long have you suspected me?" Ben asked.
"The second I saw you. The way how you just happened to be at the museum. How you knew so much about the team. And then you invite us all to your home town. Everything about it seemed off to me. I didn't say anything because when I told the others how I thought the mummy mystery seemed off and unusual compared to the others, they didn't listen. Fred actually said I was being paranoid." Davey said.
With that, Davey turned to glare at Fred who shrugged.
He thought the girl was still feeling sensitive over what happened to her in New Orleans and wanted to assure her that something like that was never going to happen again.
How was he supposed to know that an evil warlock would appear out of nowhere and manipulate them into finding his dark witch ancestor's spell book?
"My, it appears you have much better instincts than the others. But, you're right. I orchestrated the whole mummy scheme, paying off the archaeologists and the security guards just to lure you to the museum so we could meet." Ben confessed.
Turning his eyes away from the glorious creature standing before him, something from the occult that he was quite eager to learn about, Ben then looked down at the glaring Velma who reminded him far too much of a jilted lover based on her expression and body language.
He couldn't help but be amused since he knew the girl in the orange sweater had a crush on him and he easily used it to his own advantage.
"Yes, Velma. I tricked you into helping me and it worked." Ben chuckled.
"And you were in on Ben's plan too." Fred accused Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight.
The two men were stunned by the accusation the angry blond made against them.
"Oh, uh, no! We're just as surprised as you are! Honest!" Mayor Corey swore.
Daphne made her way over to Velma, wrapping her arms around her friend to comfort her.
"For once, he's telling the truth. That stupid fake ghost was the town's idea. But it did work to my advantage." Ben mused.
"Nice going, morons!" Vemeon and Impmon sniped at the two older men.
"You know what? I felt bad about how badly Shaggy, Scooby and Veemon gorged themselves at Jack's because I knew it was probably going to empty out Ben's bank account. Now? I feel like it was justified." Davey sassed.
"Don't tell him that!" Shaggy whispered harshly, scared over what the deranged man would do to them.
"Why go through this elaborate scheme? Why not just ask us to find the book?" Daphne questioned.
"I know why. Because if we knew what that book was, we would never have helped him." Velma declared.
"But even you can't imagine the real power of this book. No mere mortal can." Ben sneered as he turned his back on the group.
"You've been reading too many of your own horror stories, Ravencroft!" Fred pointed at him.
This didn't bother Ben as he flipped through the book, reading over the pages.
"A typical mortal response. But I am descended from a superior breed. I shall unlock the power of the imprisoned Sarah Ravencroft!" Ben declared making everyone reel back.
"Like, I don't like the sound of this." Shaggy whimpered.
"Me neither." Scooby agreed.
The wind then began to blow around the puritan village as Ben began to recite the spell in the book.
"Together we shall reign supreme! Let the evil from the past breath again with fiery blast!" Ben chanted.
Dark clouds formed in the sky and began to circle around Ben as green light flashed from the book.
"No!" Velma cried over the high winds and thunder.
Shaggy and Scooby covered their eyes, too scared to see what was going to happen.
Davey and Veemon were trying to keep themselves grounded as the wind began to blow fiercely against them, creating a dust and leaf storm.
"Let the dark wind whip the night. Let it blow away the force of light!" Ben continued.
"Like, I know what comes next, buddy. Big trouble!" Shaggy called over the wind.
This reminded him far too much of the time the zombies were brought back to life and rose from the earth.
The wind was so powerful that it ripped a tree out of the ground right beside the cowardly duo causing them to race away in fear.
"Now I summon ancient power!" Ben raised a hand into the air.
The Hex Girls tried to brace themselves while Impmon clung to Thorn's leg.
Davey was kneeling on the ground, digging her claws into the earth so she wouldn't be blown away.
Veemon was holding onto his partner.
Nearby, Velma was sitting on her knees along with Daphne and Fred was sitting down, all three of them had their eyes closed to stop the dust blowing around them from blinding them.
"Ben! Please, stop!" Velma cried.
The wind then knocked the brunette, redhead and blond away.
"This is evil's finest hour!" Ben laughed manically.
Green light then launched out of the book and swirled around through the air before it zapped Ben, the light blinding everyone for a moment.
It quickly settled and green electricity crackled around the newly empowered warlock.
"No!" Velma screamed as she rushed to her feet while Fred held Daphne protectively to his chest.
"What's the matter, Velma? Don't you like the new, improved Ben Ravencroft?" Ben laughed as he removed his glasses.
The magic had improved his eyesight and he no use for glasses.
"No, frankly, I don't!" Velma glared.
"Well, get used to it." Ben said.
Then, Ben caught sight of Davey making her way over to the Hex Girls.
His dark eyes narrowed as he took in the two Digimon who were glaring at him, prepared to protect their partners.
"Oh, I don't think so. We'll have none of that Digivolving of yours!" Ben declared.
Raising a hand, green light flashed out of it and two streams sailed over to Veemon and Impmon.
Davey and Thorn cried out in horror when their Digimon partners were hit by the light.
Crying out, the two Rookies felt their bodies beginning to transform.
"Vee/Impmon!" Davey and Thorn yelled.
When the light faded away, everyone gasped and stared in shock.
To be continued…