Chapter 2

Arriving in England

At four in the morning, The Mystery Gang's plane landed at the airport. They got off and went through security, then to the rented van and drove off to town. They had been invited to an annual Halloween festival by Shaggy's uncle. They received the message right after they finished a case and decided that they should go.

Thankful they had got just enough sleep on the plane so they weren't too tired when they reach the country.

"I really don't understand why people drive on the left side of the road here?" Fred said as he drove the van.

"It's just an old law, Fred," Velma said.

"Really?"

Velma nodded in response.

"It was nice of your uncle to invite us," Daphne said to Shaggy.

"It was but, like, did it have to be a Halloween festival?" he nervously chuckled.

"You're not scared are you?"

"It's a Halloween festival, which means there'll be vampires, werewolves, and witches."

"Yeah, ronsters," Scooby added.

Velma rolled her eyes before speaking to the cowardly duo. "You two have seen the supernatural debunked over a thousand times. How can you think there are any real monsters?"

"Recause rone day rit could re real."

"Last week you saw a man, pretend to be a swamp monster being unmasked," she pointed out.

"I know but Scoob still has a point, one day it could be a real one," Shaggy said.

She let out a groan, seeing that this was going nowhere.

"You know, Velma's got a point. You did see him being unmasked," Daphne offered. Shaggy and Scooby hummed in agreement.

"I remember the look on his face when unmasked him," Fred chuckled.

"Oh yeah, and you remember the way he said, 'I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids and your stupid dog, too'," Daphne imitated the man.

"R-I'm not rupid," Scooby responded in a moody tone.

"Oh, 'course you're not, buddy," Shaggy said as he patted Scooby's head.

"Rhanks, Rhaggy."

"By the way, when did you know he wasn't a real swamp monster?" he asked directed to Velma.

"When we discovered the fake slime where we found Daphne tied up in the basement," Velma confidently stated.

Daphne looked down in embarrassment, remembering how she had been kidnapped by the criminal and had to be saved by her friends again. It bothered her when they talked about it or when they called her by her nickname 'Danger-Prone Daphne' or some variation of her being a damsel-in-distress.

"Well, it won't happen again," she promised them.

"You said that after we had rescued you from the shed when you got kidnapped by the ghost," Shaggy reminded her.

"Rey, remember the rime re round rer ried up in rhat rag in rhe abandoned at rheme rark?" Scooby recalled.

"Oh yeah, or the time she was in the closet under the stairs in that haunted house?"

"Or when we solved the case of the rusted knight and she was tied up in the back of a truck?" Velma added.

Daphne was getting frustrated as her friends talked about the many times she had been kidnapped. Since she was facing away from them, they didn't see that she was quite annoyed by what they were saying. Fred on the other hand did and tried to change the subject.

"So, Shaggy, remind me again what the name of the town is?"

"Oh, it's North Town," he said then returned to the discussion of Daphne's many kidnaps.

Daphne sighed quietly and looked out the window. Fred tried to think of another way to change the conversation, however to his and Daphne's luck, he saw the town's sign.

"Hey guys, we're here," Fred interjected.

"Finally, like, we can start our taste test on British food," Shaggy said.

"Mmm, Ritish rood!" Scooby licked his lips and let out a chuckle.

Once they reached the motel, Fred parked. Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby got out of the van with their respective luggage. Fred turned to Daphne, who was looking down with a sad expression.

"Are you ok, Daphne?" Fred asked in concern.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she responded.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Ok then," Fred said, although he wasn't convinced.

They got out of the van with their luggage and joined the others who were already in the motel lobby. They got the keys to their rooms; one for Shaggy and Scooby, one for Velma, and one for Fred and Daphne. After they had finished unpacking, they made their way to Shaggy's uncle's place. It was a small blue one-story house. Shaggy knocked on the wooden door and a tall grey-haired man, With him was a woman who looked a dressed similar to him.

"Shaggy, welcome," the man greeted.

"Uncle Casey, like, it's great to see you again!" Shaggy exclaimed as he shook his uncle's hand.

"So, are you going to introduce us to your friends?" the woman asked.

"Sure, aunt Mindy," Shaggy said then he introduced his friends to his uncle and aunt.

"Is she the one you called "Danger-Prone Daphne?" Mindy asked.

"Rep," Scooby confirmed.

Daphne blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Seeing this, Fred decided to change the subject. "Nice house you got there."

"Why thank you, young man. Why don't we continue this conversation inside?" Casey offered. The gang entered the house. Inside a black cat was trying to catch a bird that had flown into the house through an open window. The bird landed on the window sill. Just before the cat grabbed him, the bird shut the window on the cat's paws. It yowled in pain as the bird flew away.

Once the cat pulled himself free, he fell onto the wood floor. Just then his owners came into the living room with the gang. They took their seats and Mindy went out to get refreshments. The cat looked nervously at Scooby.

"Purust pureat pua pogs?." the cat said.

Scooby noticed it. "A rat," he growled.

"Scoob, don't chase it," Shaggy urgently whispered. Scooby let a small groan and just glared at the cat who did the same back to him. As they continued to stare at one another, Mindy came into the room with a tray of tea and biscuits. She placed it on the table and took her seat.

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr. and Mrs. Messick," Velma said.

"Oh, it's our pleasure," Casey said as he picked up his cup.

"We thought you would like a break from you're mystery solving," Mindy added before taking a sip of her tea.

After an hour of polite conversation, they finished their tea and biscuits. The Messicks decided to take them site-seeing. North Town wasn't too large, so it didn't take very long to see everything. They arrived at a small café where Shaggy and Scooby decided to stop for a bit to eat while the others continued on to the checkout where the fair grounds.

The last preparations were being done. These included putting up the last of the Jack o' Lanterns and other Halloween decorations. Several people were working as the Gang and their hosts looked around the area with the former separating from the rest of the group.

"Looks like the town's going all out on this," Daphne commented.

"Well, it's a big event for us," Mindy said.

As Velma looked around she accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry I didn't see you there." a man apologized.

"No, no it was my fault," she said.

"I don't think I've seen you around town before?" he mentioned. He looked around the same age as Velma and wore dark neutral colored clothes.

"Oh, I'm here with my friends to check out the festival. We're staying with some relatives."

"Well lucky for you, this is our biggest festival yet."

"I'll say. So, why does North Town have the festival this big?"

"It's a celebration of the end of the Witches' terror." the man explained.

"The Witches terror?" Velma questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"A thousand years ago, three 'Witches' terrorized the town, until one day a "Sorceress" turned them to stone," he informed her, rolling his eyes as he told the supernatural tale.

"Well, no offense, but that sounds like a bunch of nonsense."

"Tell me about it. There are no such things as witches or sorceresses," he agreed.

"You don't know how many times I've had to say that," Velma smiled.

"Really?" he asked. Velma nodded "So, what's your name?"

"Velma Dinkley, yours?" she asked with an outstretched hand.

"Tim Roald," he introduced as he shook hands with Velma.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tim."

"Same to you Velma," he nodded with a smile.

"Well, I better get to my friends," she segued, before leaving "I hope to see you again soon."

"I hope to see you, too," Tim agreed with a wave goodbye.

Velma rejoined her friends and they continued to walk around the grounds.

As the day came to an end, the gang returned to the motel. Shaggy and Scooby were completely stuffed from eating fifteen helpings at the café and had gone straight to bed. Velma was reading a book in her room and Fred and Daphne were in their room getting into their pajamas. When she had finished putting her clothes on, Daphne sat on her side on the king-size bed and looked down at the floor. Fred, who had also finished putting his nightwear on, noticed this and went over to her and sat next to her.

"Are you sure you're okay Daphne?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Freddy," she tried to assure him.

"If there's something wrong, then you can always tell me?" Fred offered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, but I'm fine, really."

"Okay," Fred warily nodded. Then an idea came to him and a smirk came to his face. "I know what will cheer you up."

"What?" Daphne said in confusion.

"This," Fred said. Then he tickled her stomach.

"Fred, no. You know I'm ticklish there." she giggled.

Fred stopped so she could catch her breath.

"So, feeling better now?" he asked her.

"A little," she said. Then a smirk came to her face. "Although there is something I need to do to you."

"What's that?" Fred asked.

"This." Daphne pounced on him and the two fell on the bed.

Fred smiled at her. Then he pulled the covers over while Daphne turned out the light as they kissed.