Sponge: Welcome back, folks! Last week's chapter was a song by Billie Eilish. Congratulations to Terrence, , complikated, and iamacliche for getting the answer right. This week's chapter is a little on the long side as well, so let's get right to it! Warnings include language, kissing, and some angst. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera. There's also a spoiler for the Harry Potter series in this chapter, so my apologies if you haven't read the books or seen the movies.

Chapter 13: Helpless

"Okay, somebody better explain what the fuck is going on," Fred stated. His head whirled with confusion.

"Like I thought you were both dead!" exclaimed Shaggy, gazing in bewilderment through the phone's screen.

"We did our jobs well then," said Ricky solemnly.

"Please give us a chance to explain ourselves," Cassidy requested.

"Why should we believe anything he has to say?" asked Judy, pointing angrily at Ricky. "He betrayed us once before!"

Daphne realized for the first time that Judy and Brad both looked stony and kept shooting malevolent glances at Ricky and Cassidy.

Ricky turned to face Judy. "I only did that so I could get Pericles to trust me," he said. "I knew you were in danger after what he'd done to those dogs, and I couldn't let him hurt you too. I only pretended to be close to him."

Fred furrowed his brow. "So what, you were a…triple-agent?"

"Like Snape in the Harry Potter books," added Shaggy.

Everyone in the van turned to stare at him in amazement.

"What? I read," said Shaggy indignantly.

"Listen," Tony interrupted, taking the phone politely from Ricky. "These two went out of their way to come find me at the restaurant. They know I'm your friend – they know a lot, actually. And I understand why you're wary, but I think all of you are gonna wanna to hear what they have to say."

Tony turned away from the phone and looked purposefully at the others in the room, particularly Brad, Judy, and the mayor.

After a few moments of silence, the mayor sighed. "Fine," he relented. "But if you –" he pointed at Ricky, "– step one toe out of line…"

"I'll be on my best behavior," Ricky promised, his voice slightly sardonic. He held out his hand for the phone, which Tony deposited back into his outstretched palm.

"All right, so here's the deal," he began, but Velma interrupted.

"How are you alive?" she demanded. "Better yet, how is she alive?" She pointed in Cassidy's direction. "I thought you died in that lab explosion when you were in high school."

"I was hurt," Cassidy explained. "Badly. But I was able to make it out without Pericles realizing. I knew I had to go into hiding though, otherwise he'd come back and try to finish the job. Thankfully I had enough strength to make it to the woods and hide under the oak tree. Pericles couldn't get in there without us – he wasn't strong enough to pull on the root that opened the door by himself, so I knew I'd be safe. I hadn't been there very long before Ricky found me and nursed me back to health."

"We've been on the run together ever since," Ricky added brusquely. "Now no more questions. Unless you don't want to hear what I have to say?"

Everyone nodded dumbly, prompting Ricky to continue.

"Cassidy and I have been keeping tabs on Pericles for the last eighteen years," he explained. "Following him around the country in secret. In the beginning, we'd hoped to get Brad and Judy to join us but when we found out they were expecting a child –" here he glanced pointedly through the phone screen at the back at Fred's head, "—we realized we couldn't involve them. We thought that Pericles would leave them alone, but he didn't. After everyone left Coolsville, we did too, trying to stay one step ahead of Pericles."

"So like, you've been following Pericles all this time?" asked Shaggy. "Like, why didn't you ever do something to stop him?"

"Don't interrupt," Ricky snapped. "And we couldn't do anything to stop him. He didn't know that Cassidy was alive, and I wasn't about to jeopardize her safety until we knew for sure what our plan would be. I wouldn't have revealed myself to Brad and Judy in New York at all if I hadn't realized what Pericles had been doing to those dogs."

"Is that how you got Pericles to trust you?" asked Nova. "By telling him that you could help him find Brad and Judy and gain access to the serum?"

"Stop interrupting!" Ricky exclaimed. "But yes. That's exactly what we did. I planned to suggest that Brad and Judy hide the serum, then come back with Pericles after it was gone. I didn't expect that he'd follow us, and I certainly didn't expect Brad and Judy to try to blow up the place."

"What did you expect?" Brad snarled. "You'd brought that maniac into our workplace. What were we supposed to do?"

Even through the video feed, the gang could feel the tension between the adults. Everyone waited awkwardly as Brad and Ricky stared maliciously at each other.

Cassidy cleared her throat. "It worked out, though, in the long run," she pointed out. "It gave Ricky the opportunity to fake his death, like I'd faked mine. Then Pericles wasn't searching for either of us." She sighed. Then, almost in an undertone, she said, "It was easier when he didn't know he was being followed."

Velma's eyes widened behind her glasses. "Wait…does he know now?"

There was a pregnant pause from Ricky and Cassidy.

"Well?" asked Fred impatiently.

"Yes," Cassidy admitted. "It was our own fault…he only found us after we followed y'all to New York."

Fred whirled his head around. "You followed us New York?!"he exclaimed.

"Freddie, the road!" Daphne shouted.

Fred turned back to look out the windshield. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Why don't I take the phone?" Daphne suggested to Velma.

The bespectacled girl nodded and handed her phone up to the front seat. Daphne held it out in front of her while Shaggy, Velma, Scooby, and Nova gathered behind her seat to face the screen. It was much easier to see everyone this way, and it was easier for Fred to focus on driving.

Once everyone was settled, Fred asked, "Why did you follow us?"

"We were stopping Pericles," Cassidy replied. "Or, trying to, anyway. We had a plan, but y'all nearly got caught in the crossfire."

"What are you talking about?" asked Fred.

But Daphne gasped as she was struck with sudden understanding. She remembered it so clearly, the bright headlights of the dark gray sedan as it careened towards her. Roy Jacobson had been right that evening. The car was from out of state.

And Ohio didn't require front license plates.

"Farmingdale!" she exclaimed. "The car that almost ran me down!"

"Hold on," exclaimed Fred, his chest tightening. "You were the ones who almost hit Daphne?"

"If it's any consolation," said Ricky in a wry tone. "We were aiming for Pericles."

Velma leaned closer to the phone. "Pericles was there? We didn't see him."

"Of course you didn't," Ricky retorted. "He's a dark gray bird, and it was almost ten-thirty at night."

Cassidy shot him a look. "He stayed close to the ground," she explained. "So he could blend in with the darkness of the road. We took a shot, and we missed. We never meant to hurt you, Daphne. We're so sorry."

Fred gripped the steering wheel tighter. The memory of that night, how close he'd come to losing Daphne, washed over him like a cold wave. Accident or not, Ricky and Cassidy had nearly killed the love of his life. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to forgive them.

"Apology accepted," Daphne said.

The juxtaposition between his thoughts and Daphne's words made Fred relax his muscles. He let go of the steering wheel with one hand, placing it instead on Daphne's thigh.

"So was that how Pericles learned you were both alive after all?" asked Velma. "Because you tried to turn him into roadkill?"

Cassidy sighed. "It was reckless," she admitted. "We shouldn't have done it."

"Like hold on," said Shaggy, staring wild-eyed at his friends. "If Pericles was in New York the same night as us, does that mean like, he's been following us all summer?"

"Longer than that," Ricky told him. "He's been following you ever since you became Mystery Incorporated."

Daphne's chest froze. "Why?" she murmured.

"Why do you think?" Ricky gestured towards Fred through the phone. "Because of him. Because Professor Pericles knows that Fred is actually Brad and Judy's child, and he's been wanting to use him to get to them for almost twenty years."

"So then like, why is Leon Berger involved?" asked Shaggy "He doesn't have anything to do with any of this."

"He didn't at first," said Julie from behind Cassidy. The gang had almost forgotten that Leon's former friends were there too. "But according to Ricky and Cassidy, Pericles has been following your cases for the past two years, looking to recruit one of the villains you took down to join him in his cause. Evidently, he found the sort of sick psychopath he was looking for in Leon."

Velma shuddered despite herself. Shaggy put a hand on her shoulder.

"So, they've been working together?" asked Daphne. "For how long?"

"We think it must have been since the night you caught Leon in the fine arts library," Joey replied. "After Tony brought Ricky and Cassidy here, we were all able to fill in some blanks for each other."

"We lost track of Pericles the night of May 21st, the night that y'all caught Leon," Cassidy explained. "That's why we followed you to New York three days ago – you were easier to find than he was, and we knew that wherever you went, he was bound to show up too."

"And he did," Ricky continued. "We were able to start tailing him again once we found him in Farmingdale. Even though we exposed ourselves in the process, it was worth it."

"And almost murdering Daphne?" Fred growled, his voice tight. "Was that worth it, too?"

"Freddie," Daphne murmured, gently squeezing his hand, which was still resting on her thigh. "They said it was an accident. I believe them."

Ricky glared at them through the phone. "We still have more information we need to share," he said acidly. "So if we're through playing the blame game, we'd like to get on with it."

"What else is there?" asked Nova, She stood on her hind legs, leaning her front paws against the back of Daphne's seat to gaze into the phone screen.

"After we found Pericles in New York," Cassidy replied, taking the phone from Ricky. "We tailed him back to Ohio. That was when we learned that he was working with Leon Berger. When we figured out that he knew Brad and Judy were in Chicago, we decided that one of us should stay in Coolsville to keep an eye on Leon, and the other would follow Pericles out of state. I stayed, Ricky went."

"Wait…" Daphne gazed at Cassidy. "Pericles followed us to Chicago too?"

"Does he also know that Brad and Judy are in Coolsville now?" asked Nova in a whisper.

Cassidy nodded solemnly. "And," she added, sounding reluctant. "He knows that the last of the serum is in Stanford."

Fear spread through the gang like cold fire.

"Row?" asked Scooby, speaking for the first time.

Ricky snorted, "What do you mean, 'how?'" he asked. "He eavesdropped on you in Chicago, that's how. He followed you to Brad and Judy's place from Navy Pier after you rescued Nova from drowning."

Nova suddenly went rigid. "Oh my," she whispered. "The bird that frightened me and knocked me into the water…" She gazed wild-eyed at Brad and Judy through the screen. "It was Professor Pericles?"

Brad and Judy stared at Ricky aghast, but it was Cassidy who nodded, confirming their fears.

"Did he do it because he knew I'm their dog?" asked Nova. "And that I had taken the serum?"

"We're not sure," Cassidy said. "We can't figure out how he would have known that you'd taken the serum. We think that he just knew you were their dog and pushed you into Lake Michigan so that the gang would have a more organic reason to run into Brad and Judy."

"It was only because we heard Scooby speak that we invited the gang to our home in the first place," Brad pointed out. "Pericles must have guessed that Scooby would be the one to rescue Nova, and then he followed us home and eavesdropped on our conversation."

"And that's how he figured out where the rest of the serum was," Daphne murmured.

"Where is Pericles now?" asked Nova.

Ricky and Cassidy shared a look. Everyone waited.

"We're not sure," Cassidy finally admitted after a while.

"Is that why you came out of hiding?" asked Velma. "Why you tracked down our friend at his workplace and had him bring you to the mayor's house?"

"That's part of it," Cassidy insisted. "But it's not the…whole reason." Looking hesitant, as though terrible news was about to be delivered, she glanced over at Ricky.

He sighed. "Do you want to tell them, angel? Or should I?"

Cassidy blushed, though no one could tell whether it was because of the pet name, or because she didn't want to divulge the other information.

"What is it?" asked Daphne.

Ricky glanced at her through the phone. "We're not sure where Leon Berger is either."

Everyone turned to look at Velma, who felt as though her heart was being squeezed by icy hands.

"What do you mean you're not sure where he is?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ricky shrugged. "Exactly as I said," he replied. "The sheriff was doing a courtesy sweep through the Oak Pond neighborhood and decided to check on him. He found his ankle bracelet, but no sign of him anywhere. They've put an APB out – that's how we learned about it; we listen to local police scanners – but he could have been long gone before they even realized he was missing."

"Wait…so you've known that Leon's been missing since you went to find Tony at the restaurant?" pressed Daphne.

Cassidy answered. "Yes. As soon as we heard it on the scanner, we rushed to Moretti's to tell him who we were and why we were there. Then we had him bring us here, and we told everyone else."

"And you didn't think to say anything to us until just now?" seethed Velma. Fear had given way to anger, and she was absolutely livid. Leon could be anywhere. He was already violating the terms of his house arrest by detaching his ankle monitor. What was stopping him from coming after her? Or worse…coming after her sister?

"Calm down," Ricky said, which of course, had the opposite effect on everyone in the van. The entire gang tensed as one, but he continued. "The good news is we have an idea about where he – and Pericles – are headed."

"And where's that?" asked Fred through clenched teeth. He was angry as well.

Ricky grinned. "That's the better news," he said. "You're headed there, too. Or so I've been told."

Of course. Obviously, Leon and Pericles were on their way to Stanford to find the serum. Where else would they go?

"We'll never beat them there," Velma muttered listlessly. "We're still almost a full day's drive out. I'm sure they disguised themselves and hopped on an airplane. They'll get there before us. There's no way around it."

"That's true," Ricky agreed. "They probably will get to Stanford first. But they don't know where the serum is. You, however, do."

"He's right," Nova pointed out. "Even if they get there first, they won't know where to search for the serum."

"That may be true, but they'll probably just wait for us to arrive, and then follow us to wherever the serum is," Velma argued. "We'll lead them right to it. Just like we led them to Brad and Judy."

"Not necessarily," Cassidy spoke up. "Ricky and I had an idea."

"This should be good," Fred muttered.

If Ricky heard, he didn't show it. "Cassidy and I can be live bait. Like how Scooby and Shaggy usually are."

The duo glanced at each other. "Like what are you talking about?" Shaggy asked.

Ricky continued placatingly. "The two of us will fly out to California, find Leon and Pericles, and distract them while you find the serum."

Fred scoffed out loud. He couldn't help himself. "What, as if we're just supposed to trust you all of a sudden?" he said.

Evidently, the mayor felt the same way. "What proof do we have besides your word that you won't betray them?" he asked.

Ricky looked annoyed. "Would you rather us not go to Stanford and send the kids straight into the lion's den all alone?"

"Listen," Cassidy interjected. "Even if you don't trust him, would you at least trust me?"

"Quite honestly, I'm not sure if we can trust either one of you," said Judy icily.

"Agreed," said Brad, nodding his head. "Which is why I think Judy and I should also fly to Stanford."

Everyone in the Mystery Machine began raising objections.

"But that's a terrible idea!"

"Like that doesn't make any sense!"

"The whole reason we're the ones going to Stanford was so that you didn't have to!"

Brad held up a hand, and everyone fell silent at once. "Listen," he said when he had everyone's attention. "I know this is not an ideal situation. None of us planned for this. But sometimes plans have to change. I always thought that sending you kids to Stanford alone was an irresponsible choice, and it looks now like I was right. I believe that if Judy and I fly out, it will be the best way for us to keep all of you safe." He glanced over at his erstwhile friends. "I'm sorry, but I don't trust you. Either of you. Judy and I will feel much more comfortable if we go too."

Ricky shrugged. "Fine by me," he said. Cassidy said nothing, just nodded compliantly.

"We'll be on the next plane out," Judy promised. "And we'll keep Pericles and Leon busy so you can collect the serum. Hopefully they'll be so preoccupied with us that they'll forget all about you."

"Like what if it doesn't work?" Shaggy asked. Daphne whirled around to glare at him, but he couldn't help himself. He was nervous, and he didn't want to put the gang in any more danger than they were already in. "What if they like, come for us anyway?"

Judy inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said, her voice very quiet.

Through the phone, the gang shared anxious glances with their friends. Tony, Marcie, Julie, Joey, Priya, and Felix all had the same worried expressions on their faces. The gang had never faced such real danger before, with such high stakes.

The mayor spoke up then. "How far out from Stanford did you say you were?"

Daphne checked the GPS. "About eighteen hours," she replied.

Velma's stomach dropped in despair. She had known they still had a long drive ahead of them, but she hadn't realized just how long it was. How on earth were they going to make it in time?

Fred clenched the steering wheel. "If I drive through the night, we should make it there by tomorrow afternoon," he said.

"No, Fred!" cried Brad, Judy, and the mayor all at once. The three of them looked at each other, wonderstruck by their similar parental instincts.

"They're right babe," Daphne said quietly. "You need to rest."

"But it's the only chance we've got," Fred replied. "We'll never make it otherwise."

"Then like, we'll take turns," Shaggy suggested.

Everyone looked at him, rather dumbfounded. It was common knowledge that Shaggy did not like to drive, especially large vans like the Mystery Machine. In fact, it had even started out as his car – he'd given it to Fred because driving such a big vehicle made Shaggy too nervous.

But he was even more nervous thinking about what would happen to the gang if they didn't get to the serum before Pericles found it.

"Freddie's right," Shaggy murmured. "There's like, no way we'll get to Stanford before Leon and Pericles. But if Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy are all running around with Pericles and Leon chasing them, then like, we might have a shot at finding the serum first. And our only chance to do that is like, to drive through the night so we can get there as soon as possible." He made eye contact with Fred in the rearview mirror. "So, you and me, buddy…we'll take turns driving. When one of us gets tired the other one will like, take over. Sound good?"

Fred swallowed and nodded stoically, touched by Shaggy's offer.

Shaggy looked back at the phone. "All right then. I guess like, that settles it."

Love for Shaggy exploded in Velma's heart, engulfing her like flames. She felt her eyes brimming with uncharacteristic tears, and she blinked them back. She wanted to embrace Shaggy, throw herself into his arms, but she knew if she did, she'd certainly start to cry. So she held herself steady, and concentrated on the next words out of her mouth.

"I can drive too," she murmured. "For a while." As the youngest member of the gang, she'd only had her drivers' license for a few months, so she wasn't terribly comfortable behind the wheel yet. But she'd do what she could.

Daphne wiped a few tears from her lashes. "So can I," she volunteered. "It shouldn't come down to just a few of us. We'll all switch off."

Scooby swelled with pride and compassion for his friends. "Rye'll stay rawake with roo, Raggy," he offered loyally.

"So will I," Nova added. "With Fred." Even though she'd only met him yesterday, she had spent her whole life hearing about him from Brad and Judy, and she felt a certain maternal instinct towards the young man now.

"Well," said Ricky brusquely from the phone. Daphne had nearly forgotten she'd been holding it. "It sounds like you have a long night ahead of you. We'll head to the airport to see if we can catch a flight."

"We'll call you if we run into any trouble," Judy promised.

"Thank you," Fred told her, clearing his throat.

Ricky held the phone aloft. "Who belongs to this?" he asked.

Marcie raised her hand and took the phone from Ricky. "Are you going to be okay, V?"

Velma nodded as placidly as she should. "Yes," she told her. "We all will."

"We'll keep an eye out for Leon," Tony volunteered. "Just in case for some reason he didn't go to Stanford."

"That's a good idea," said Daphne. "Keep a special watch on Velma's sister, will you? I think Dottie and her family are still in town. Leon's already violating his house arrest – it wouldn't surprise me if he violated the restraining order as well."

Touched by Daphne's thoughtfulness and empathy, Velma leaned over the seat to affectionately squeeze her friend's shoulder.

The mayor cleared his throat, and Marcie held the phone out to him. "I'm hesitant to let you go," he said – indeed, reluctance colored his tone. "But I think this is the best option. I may not trust Ricky Owens or Cassidy Williams," here he paused to glance over at the pair before his eyes flickered back to the phone. "But I do trust you."

Fred's Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat as he swallowed his tears. "Thanks," he murmured hoarsely.

Mr. Jones looked through the camera seriously. "Be safe," he implored them. "All of you."

With that, the call ended, and silence enveloped the group.

No one had realized how dark it had gotten until just that moment. It was as though the walls of night had closed around them. Only the moon and the headlights from the Mystery Machine illuminated the empty ribbon of highway that stretched before them.

"What do we think?" Velma asked, breaking the silence.

"About what?" Nova replied.

"Ricky Owens and Cassidy Williams." Velma adjusted her glasses. "Can we trust them?"

Daphne looked at her seriously. "I don't think we have a choice," she said, her voice quiet.

"We're in danger either way," Nova pointed out. "All of us. It couldn't hurt us to trust them."

"But it might not help us either," Velma sighed.

Fear and despair crushed Fred's chest, like he was being pressed with stones. They were in danger. All of them. And it was all his fault. The reality of their situation, every terrifying piece of information from the last twenty-four hours, suddenly crashed into Fred like a brick wall. It overwhelmed him.

He had to pull over.

Without warning, Fred jerked the steering wheel to the right and veered onto the shoulder of the highway. The gang shouted in alarm, grabbing for anything stable. Daphne gripped the safety bar above the passenger side window, but there was nothing in the backseat, so Shaggy, Velma, Scooby, and Nova ended up in a pile of suitcases.

Fred screeched to a halt and slammed the Mystery Machine into park. Before anyone had time to process, Fred had wrenched open the door of the van, lurched out, and fallen to his hands and knees on the side of the road.

Without a word, the rest of the gang quickly followed.

"Freddie?" asked Daphne as she approached him. Fred was still crouched on the ground, heaving deep breaths. They were alone on the highway. All there was for miles around was road and barren fields.

"Freddie," said Daphne again, kneeling beside him and putting a delicate hand on his shoulder.

Unable to help himself, Fred reached for her, clutching her to him like a ragdoll. He held her against his chest in a fierce embrace, but she made no move to escape. In fact, he felt her wrap her slender arms around him. It made Fred's chest tighten and his eyes well with tears.

He'd never had such a visceral, emotional reaction before. Up to this point, Fred had been proud of his poker face. He'd felt that he'd acted maturely, bravely, despite all they'd experienced on this trip. The mayor had even said as much this morning when they'd spoken on the phone. But now, Fred felt anything but brave.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into Daphne's hair. "This is my fault – it's all my fault."

"Shh," Daphne soothed him, though Fred could feel her tears dripping down onto his neck. "What are you talking about? None of this is your fault."

"Yes, it is." Now that the tears had started, there was no stopping them. It was like a dam had burst. Wracked with hopelessness and despair, Fred tightened his embrace around Daphne and sobbed. "I never should have suggested this trip. We're all in danger now, because of my stupid idea. I put all our lives in jeopardy, plus the lives of our friends and family."

"Fred, stop." Daphne pulled away slightly, just enough to look into Fred's eyes, but she didn't release him. "The road trip isn't the reason for the danger. It's Professor Pericles. You heard Ricky Owens and Cassidy Williams – whether we trust them or not, we know now that he's been watching us for years. Maybe by leaving Coolsville, we kept our friends and family safer from him." She blinked, releasing a few tears that had been caught in her lashes. "You took care of them. Just like you're taking care of us, like you've been taking care of us."

Fred bit back another sob and reached out to brush away Daphne's tears with his thumb, though his own tears were still coming fast. "I'm…I'm scared, Daphne," he confessed in a low voice.

The rest of the gang had been standing a few feet away to give Fred and Daphne some privacy, but upon hearing these words, Velma's heart shuddered. It was exactly how she'd been feeling – she'd admitted it to Shaggy just last night. He'd told her they all felt scared, but Velma hadn't realized just to what degree they shared that fear.

"I feel that way too, Freddie," Velma murmured, finally going to approach them. Fred and Daphne glanced up at her –they'd momentarily forgotten that the rest of the gang was still there. Velma continued as she knelt beside them. "I can't remember I time I felt more afraid, or more helpless. And, I'll admit…I feel a certain sense of responsibility for this situation, too. If not for me, Leon wouldn't have targeted us, and then he never would have hooked up with Pericles."

Fred looked at her sympathetically. "Velm, you can't blame yourself for that," he told her.

Velma nodded. "I know," she replied. "But you can't blame yourself for this either. I mean you said it yourself before we left – we can't resist a mystery, none of us. And the siren call of this one was too strong for any of us to ignore. We all said yes to this road trip, to this mystery. Just like we all said yes to each other two years ago." Velma looked around at her friends. "I said it at graduation, and I've already almost forgotten. But I'll say it again – my strength comes from you all. Even when I'm frightened down to my very bones, like I am now, I know I can face my fears as long as I'm with you all. We're not alone in our fear, none of us. We're all going though it together."

With a jolt, Shaggy recognized these words. They were the ones he'd said to Velma last night. He stared at her, feeling dazed. He'd always felt he didn't bring anything to the gang – Fred was the leader, Velma was the brains, Daphne was the personality, Scooby was the emotional support. What was he? The comic relief? Not very helpful. But hearing his own words used by Velma to provide comfort made Shaggy's heart soar.

Struck with a gratitude that was greater than any he'd experienced, Shaggy knelt down, put an arm around Velma and squeezed her to him. With his other arm, he reached out to pat Scooby on the head.

Scooby nuzzled his hand, and then turned to look meaningfully at Nova, and beckoned her forward.

In moments, the six of them were sitting together on the dusty ground in front of the Mystery Machine, holding each other in the face of the greatest adversity they'd ever experienced.

They were all frightened. They were all helpless.

But they were also all together.

And from that, they derived their strength.

After what seemed like an eternity, they all finally let go, still feeling frightened, but a bit stronger too.

Shaggy held out his hand to Fred. "Like can I get the keys, man?"

Fred looked at him. "You sure?"

"That's like, why I offered," Shaggy told him. "Besides you've been driving for like, days. Let someone else have a turn."

"You really should rest, babe," Daphne agreed.

Fred looked into her eyes. The others had released from the embrace, but he hadn't let her go yet. "Will you stay with me?" he whispered, almost shyly.

Daphne nodded in an instant. "Forever," she told him.

They kissed softly under the vast and starry Wyoming sky.

After a while, everyone slowly got up and made their way back into the Mystery Machine. Fred and Daphne climbed in through the rear doors, where they got out their sleeping bags and snuggled up together amid the luggage.

"I'll stay with them," Nova offered.

"Rokay," Scooby agreed. He looked at Shaggy. "Rye'll ride rith roo."

"So will I," Velma volunteered. "If you guys don't mind."

"Like, why would we mind?" asked Shaggy.

Scooby shot Velma an incredulous look, as though minding her presence was the silliest thing he'd ever heard.

The three of them squeezed into the front bench seat, Shaggy at the wheel, Scooby in the passenger seat, Velma between them. Shaggy rolled down the window so Scooby could hang his head out, and turned the key in the ignition.

He checked the gas gauge. They were fine for a while. He adjusted the rear and side view mirrors – he was slightly taller than Fred. Even though there was no one else on the road with them, he turned on his indicator to signal he was pulling off the shoulder and back onto the highway.

"Wait," said Velma.

Shaggy turned to face her. She put one warm, soft hand on his cheek, and pulled herself up to kiss him deeply. She'd been wanting to do this for a while, ever since Shaggy had first offered to take turns driving the van. But it hadn't seemed right to do it while they were on the phone with everyone back in Coolsville – especially since doing so then would have made her burst into tears – and it certainly hadn't seemed right to do it while they'd all been clustered together outside just a few moments ago. She wasn't sure it was right to do it now either, right before Shaggy had to drive. But she didn't want to wait anymore. She couldn't find the words to explain how proud she was of him, how very much she loved him, so she put it all into this kiss.

Shaggy kissed her back fervently, and his anxiety about driving dissipated somewhat. He wasn't sure what would be waiting for them in California – if the adult's distraction mission would be successful, or if Leon and Pericles would follow them after all. But he felt less afraid with Velma in his arms, and her lips on his.

When they broke apart, he said it first, before she had a chance to. "I love you." Soft. Sincere.

She gave him a small, trembly grin. "I love you too," she replied.

"Rye love roo, too," Scooby remarked.

The trio chuckled and shared a three-way embrace. In the back, Nova curled into a small ball. Fred and Daphne held each other close.

Shaggy put the Mystery Machine into gear.

And he drove.

Sponge: Thanks for reading! We're getting into the action next week, folks! So review if you please, and don't forget to guess where the chapter title comes from! I'll give you a hint: it's a musical I've used before!