Sponge: Thanks for reading! Last week's chapter was a song by David Bowie. Congratulations to iamacliche for guessing correctly. Here's chapter 16! Warnings: language, peril, some angst. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera. The restaurant mentioned is apparently a real one near the Stanford University campus, but I've never been there.
Chapter 16: The Parting Glass
FWOOOOOOSSHHHHHH!
Daphne, who'd been buried deep in her phone for the past several minutes, looked up at the sudden loud noise, and felt her heart stop. Smoke and orange flames leapt up from the labyrinthine shelves.
"What the hell happened?!" she shrieked, rushing over to the adults. The rest of them were still on the ground but they were slowly coming to, carefully watched by Ricky.
"I have no idea," he said now, gazing terrified at the blaze.
"Jesus Christ," Brad moaned, trying to sit up. "They immolated the serum."
"What?!" exclaimed Daphne, horrorstruck.
"I don't know how," he continued. "But I guarantee it was Nova's idea. She knows how flammable the serum is."
"The serum is…flammable?" Daphne felt dizzy with confusion.
"Why do you think we blew up our office at Columbia?" Judy mumbled. "It was the most efficient way to get rid of everything."
"We have to get out of here," Cassidy muttered, rubbing her head.
Daphne stared at her aghast. "What about my friends?"
"If they're smart, they'll follow us," Ricky retorted.
Daphne looked down at her phone. "Help should be arriving any minute," she told them, praying that it was true.
"Fantastic," said Ricky bitingly. "I'll just tell the fire to wait, then."
Daphne glanced at the adults. They all still seemed pretty out of it. Ricky was the only one who was awake enough to handle this. "You get the others out," she commanded him. "I'm going after my friends."
The adults looked stricken. "Daphne, no!" Judy exclaimed. "The fire will spread – we need to get out now!"
"You have to come with us!" Brad agreed.
"I'm not leaving Fred behind!" Daphne shouted.
They all stared at her, stricken. She felt pretty shocked herself. She'd never raised her voice to any adults besides her parents. But times were desperate. The flames were rising. What if Fred was hurt? Or Velma, or Shaggy, or Scooby? Or even Nova?
She wouldn't be able to live with herself if anything happened to them. If she could have saved, them but did nothing.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But I have to try. I love him. I love them all. I'm not trying to be a hero, I just…"
"We understand," Ricky assured her, scooping Cassidy up in one of his massive arms. He handed Daphne his pocketknife. "Brad, Judy, lean on me. We'll wait outside, and we'll see all the kids in a few."
Brad and Judy seemed reluctant to go. Daphne looked at them imploringly. "Please," she begged.
After a few tense moments, Brad and Judy both nodded brusquely. They leaned heavily on Ricky as they ambled towards the main door, but Daphne didn't watch them exit. She turned on her heel and sprinted into the shelves. Crates towered over her, and smoke billowed up in the direction she was heading, but she barely paid attention. She dashed through the shelves, pausing only when she got to a fork. Her heart pounded. Which way should she go?
Suddenly, from the left, she became aware of the sound of footsteps slapping on cement. Daphne whirled her head in that direction. It must be the gang. She couldn't see them yet, but she could hear them running.
"What about Daphne?!" Fred was shouting. "We have to get her down, we can't just leave her here!"
Velma's voice came next. "Fred of course we're not leaving Daphne behind!" she shouted.
"How are we going to outrun the flames and get her down in time?!" Fred yelled. "You should have thought about that before you set the serum on fire!"
"Like you're welcome for saving all our lives," Shaggy muttered, sounding a bit sarcastic.
"Reah," Scooby agreed petulantly.
Moments later they rounded a corner and found themselves face-to-face with Daphne herself.
Everyone stared at each other flabbergasted for several moments before Fred and Daphne sprinted towards each other leapt into each other's arms.
Terror and anguish and relief mingled in Fred's chest as he clutched her close and buried his face in her sweet-smelling hair. He felt the same way he had in the moments after Daphne had nearly been run down in New York – but now, his feelings were magnified tenfold.
"How…?" he began, trying to muffle the relieved sob that threatened to break from his throat.
"Ricky Owens," Daphne explained. "He woke up sooner than the others because the sedative wasn't as strong for him. He set me down, but we didn't know what to do. We thought it was a bad idea to call for help in case Pericles overheard, so I texted Tony Moretti and told him where we were and what was going on. He said he would call someone for us to come to our rescue. I heard back from him a few minutes ago – he said help was on the way."
Velma furrowed her brow. "Who does Tony know in California who could help us?"
"I don't know," Daphne replied. "I was about to ask when I saw the flames shoot up. What happened?"
While she quickly cut through their bonds with Ricky's pocketknife, Fred, Velma, and Shaggy explained Nova's discovery of the matches and Scooby's heroic feat setting the crate on fire.
"The minute the match caught, the crate exploded," Fred finished. "Taking everything else with it. As soon as we saw the flames, we just turned tail and ran."
"How did you get away without getting hurt?" asked Daphne.
"Nova," Fred replied. "She warned me to run – it was the last thing that happened before the crate exploded. Good thing too – she and I might be goners now otherwise."
"Scooby was near Shaggy, and he threw the match from there." Velma concluded. "We were all far enough away that we weren't hurt either."
Someone was conspicuously missing from this narrative. "Wait a minute," Daphne exclaimed, shooting her friends a worried glance. "What happened to Pericles? Where is he? Did he escape again?"
"I'vegothim," came Nova's muffled voice.
That was when Daphne noticed that the cocker spaniel, who'd been standing near Scooby, had the limp body of Professor Pericles clenched in her teeth.
"Oh my God…what happened?" asked Daphne, stricken.
"He was closest to the crate with the serum when Scooby threw the match," Fred explained. "Like I said, Nova and I were able to get out of the way in time, but he wasn't. I don't think he wanted to – I think he was trying to save the serum. When it exploded, he got knocked into another crate and I guess the impact was too much for his body to handle."
"Jeepers," Daphne breathed. "Is he…?"
"He's alive," Velma assured her, though she sounded annoyed about it. "He's breathing, anyway."
"Speaking of being alive," Shaggy spoke up. "Can we like, get out of here, please?"
"Reah," Scooby agreed, glancing around at the continually rising smoke. "Rhis doesn't feel safe."
They sprinted through the warehouse, staying as low to the ground as possible, until they emerged from the maze. Then they dashed out the door into the late afternoon sunlight, where they were promptly swarmed by people.
"Oh, thank goodness," Judy exclaimed, launching herself at her son. She and the other adults seemed to have recovered fully – at least in a physical sense. Emotionally, everyone was a bit of a mess, the gang included.
"We're so glad you're all safe," Brad added, clenching Fred's shoulder. "We've already called 911…the fire department should be here any minute."
As if on cue, two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car came careening down the gravel drive, parking haphazardly wherever they could find a space. As firefighters entered the building, the paramedics rushed to the group.
"Is anyone critically injured?" asked one.
Each of the adults had been dosed with sedative an hour beforehand, and Nova had hurt herself falling into that crate. Fred had a bruise around his throat from the choking attempt. But Pericles was still unconscious and sported a nasty scar over his left eye, so his condition was clearly worse. Nova approached a paramedic and deposited the parrot into his waiting hand.
Daphne felt she should warn him about Pericles. "He's a criminal –" she started to say, but the paramedic interrupted her.
"We know, miss," he assured her. "Don't worry. We'll be taking him to the local hospital's prison ward. In fact, all of you need to come with us so the doctors can check you out."
"But we're not hurt," Fred protested, seemingly forgetting that less than twenty minutes ago, Professor Pericles had nearly choked the life out of him with his own ascot.
"It's standard procedure," another paramedic told him. "We need to assess your physical well-being, make sure you didn't inhale too much smoke."
"And then I'll need to take your statements," said a voice from behind them.
The gang turned. Standing beside the police car was a large, beefy Black man who, to everyone's surprise, had broken out into a huge grin.
"I always thought I might run into you kids again," he said as he walked towards them. "Just never thought it would be on the opposite side of the country."
It took the gang a few moments to place him. They hadn't seen the man in over two years. But at last, they recognized him.
He was the FBI agent from their very first case. The one who had taken the Reynolds' into custody. The one who had first called them "meddling kids."
The gang exclaimed his name in one voice.
"Lewis Jacobson?!"
x.X.x
The next few hours were an absolute whirlwind. Everyone was brought to the hospital to be checked out in full (Professor Pericles was the only one admitted – Fred and Nova weren't badly hurt and after a brief checkup, had been given clean bills of heath with the others) while the local police and Agent Jacobson questioned them. Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy had all been dosed with a sedative though, so the doctors took a bit longer checking them over for any lingering effects. While that was going on, the gang all sat in the hospital's waiting room with Agent Jacobson and explained everything that had happened over the past several days – the mayor's revelation, the mysterious text messages, the discovery of Brad and Judy, and the realization that Professor Pericles had been behind all of it – culminating in the showdown at the warehouse this afternoon. Once they'd each told their stories, they asked Agent Jacobson for his. It turned out that he had an even more intriguing tale for them.
"When I was in Coolsville two years ago," he explained. "My mission was multi-faceted. My first assignment, the one I'd been given by the Bureau, was to uncover the counterfeit ring that the Reynolds' were running while they hid behind the legend of the Wendigo. The second assignment was a personal one. I was trying to find the place where that mineral in the serum was first discovered. I knew the room in question was under an oak tree in the Willow Springs Woods, but I didn't know anything more specific than that."
Velma blinked rapidly, feeling dumbfounded and confused. "Wait…how did you know about the serum?" she asked. "Or the mineral? Or the room under the oak tree?"
Agent Jacobson chuckled. "It was a story my brother had told me several years ago," he replied. "A story that he himself had heard from a couple who had lived with him once."
There were a few moments of silence while this information caught up with everyone.
"Hold the phone," Fred spoke up at last, digging a forgotten business card out of his pocket. "Does that mean that your brother is…Roy Jacobson?"
"Like the dog breeder from Long Island?" Shaggy was flabbergasted.
"The very same," Jacobson confirmed. "He told me all about Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves – or, as he knew them, Chad Biles and Ruby Jeeves – and their experimental serum. He explained to me what the serum did – the longevity, the heightened intelligence, the power of speech – all of it."
"And you just…believed him?" Velma asked. Even though she'd known Scooby for a long time, she'd never on good faith alone automatically believe someone who told her that talking dogs existed.
"Well, I was a lot less skeptical after the puppy I adopted from him started talking to me," Jacobson admitted. He glanced at Nova. "Your sister. Her name is Star."
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
"Anyway," Jacobson continued. "Roy warned me that I needed to be on the lookout for a bird who might want to hurt my dog. Brad and Judy – or, Chad and Ruby – had told him that much, but didn't elaborate, so he asked me to look into it. I spent the next few years researching 'Chad and Ruby,' and eventually I learned that before they went to New York, they'd done their undergraduate studies at Stanford – and before that, they'd lived in Ohio under completely different names. That was how I learned about Professor Pericles, and when I was assigned to go undercover for the Reynolds' counterfeit case two years ago, I jumped at the chance. I hoped to spend any free time I had searching for the mysterious room where the mineral had been discovered." He laughed. "Imagine my surprise when I realized it was the same room the Reynolds' were using for their counterfeit operation!"
Daphne shook her head incredulously. "So, you've been chasing Professor Pericles all this time?" she asked.
Jacobson nodded. "I was never anywhere close to catching him, though. At least until this summer when I finally found him here."
"How did you know he'd be in California?" Fred asked. "How did you know we'd be in California?"
"I didn't," Agent Jacobson replied. "Not until I got a call from your friend. Moretti, I think?"
Daphne furrowed her brow. "Wait…you were the one Tony called? How did he even have your number?"
"Our case files!" Velma gasped. "Jinkies, I forgot! We gave those to him and Marcie for safekeeping, remember?" She looked back to the agent. "He must have found your contact information in the file on the Willow Springs Wendigo."
"But how did he know to call you?" Fred wondered. "Did he know that you knew about the serum?"
"Nope," said Jacobson. "I think he just wanted an adult with contacts all over the country. FBI agents are usually good for that sort of thing. But coincidentally for him, I was already on Pericles' trail anyway, after my brother called me a few days ago. The night you visited him, and he told you where Brad and Judy were living, he'd also noticed Pericles outside his home. He was afraid Pericles had overheard your conversation, so he asked me to go to Chicago, just in case that's where they were hiding the serum. So I did, and I found them – or rather, I found Sternum and Sternum – but I didn't find any evidence of the serum. Then I remembered that that they'd done their undergraduate studies at Stanford, and I wondered if they'd hidden the serum there. I flew out here on a hunch, just to see if Pericles would try to come here too. I was already on my way to the campus when your friend Moretti called me. He asked me if I remembered you, which…of course I did. You practically did my job for me with the Reynolds' two years ago. Anyway, he told me you were in trouble at a warehouse near the campus and asked if I knew any local FBI agents who could help you out. As it happened, I was already in Stanford and en route to your location, so I told him I'd take care of it myself." He glanced at his watch sheepishly. "You may want to give him a call after we're done here. He begged me to let him know the moment you were out of danger."
Velma suddenly gasped again. Hearing the word danger had reminded her of something. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Is my niece okay? Leon Berger had kidnapped her and was holding her hostage until we told Pericles where the serum was!"
Jacobson held up a reassuring hand. "She's just fine," he told her. "I've been in contact with Sheriff Stone – I let him know that we had apprehended Professor Pericles, and he told me that they'd captured Leon Berger and collected your niece. Lorelei has been returned to her mother. Everyone is okay."
Velma exhaled a sigh of relief and sat back in her chair.
"What happens now?" asked Fred. "To Leon, I mean?"
"Well," said Jacobson. "Since he violated his restraining order, escaped from house arrest, and added another first-degree kidnapping charge to his rap sheet, he'll be going away for a very long time. Sheriff Stone thinks Berger's lawyer will advise him to plead guilty…which means there won't need to be a trial."
Everyone's shoulders felt considerably lighter at this news.
"And like…what about Professor Pericles?" asked Shaggy.
Jacobson's face hardened. "He'll be coming with me, son," he replied. "The federal prison in Lisbon just opened a ward for criminally insane animals. I think he'll be quite comfortable there."
The door of an examination room opened at that moment, and all four of the adults exited, accompanied by a doctor.
"They're free to go," the doctor said.
"Terrific," Jacobson responded. "So are they." He jerked his head at the gang before standing up. "I'll keep you posted on anything that happens with Professor Pericles," he promised the adults. "But now that we have him in custody, it looks like you won't have to be in hiding anymore."
Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy all exchanged awestruck glances. Fred felt his heart lift. He couldn't imagine how they must feel, to have been on the run for so long, and finally be free again.
"We should celebrate," he said. "Right gang?"
"Like yeah," Shaggy agreed immediately. "I say we all go out for pizza."
"Rmmm! Rizza!" Scooby exclaimed.
Brad chuckled. "We'll be happy to take you to dinner. There's a great pizza place nearby that we used to frequent when we were students here."
"But first," Judy added. "You all should make some phone calls. I'm sure your friends and family back in Ohio are worried sick."
x.X.x
It took another hour for the gang to call their friends back home, plus each of their parents to explain that yes, they were okay, and no, they were no longer in any danger. Even with added input from Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy, it did little to quell their parent's anxieties. They all demanded that the gang return to Ohio immediately, even Daphne's mother. In fact, in a rare show of maternal affection, she'd offered to pay for everyone's airfare.
Fred looked scandalized. "And leave the Mystery Machine behind?" he'd exclaimed.
In the end, the parents agreed that the gang could drive back across the country as long as they made it home in a week. That meant no long stops and no detours, which the gang were fine with. They felt like they'd been on the road for a long time.
"So when do you think you'll leave?" asked Ricky. They were all settled in a booth at a restaurant near the med school called Pizza My Heart, sharing several dishes of pizza between them.
"Probably tomorrow afternoon," Fred replied, taking another slice. "I think Shaggy wanted to show us around Vista Heights, plus we have to visit Stanford's science department with Velma."
Judy turned to the bespectacled girl. "Well, I have nothing but good things to say about the science department here."
"Me too," Brad agreed. "We were very happy here. I'm sure you will be, as well."
Velma smiled modestly.
"So," Daphne said, turning back to the adults. "You know our plans. What are yours?"
"Like yeah," Shaggy agreed, swallowing an enormous mouthful of cheese. "What do you think you'll do now that you're not on the run from Pericles anymore?"
"I'm getting my GED," Cassidy said immediately. "I was just a few months away from finishing high school, but I never got to graduate because of that damn bird."
"I want to travel," Ricky spoke up. "See the world without constantly having to look over my shoulder. It'll be nice to have options again."
Daphne turned to Brad and Judy. "What about you?" she asked.
The pair of them looked at each other. "Maybe we could go back to school ourselves, Brad," Judy said after a few moments. "We always wanted to be obstetricians."
Fred frowned. "Don't you already have PhDs?"
"In molecular biophysics," Brad told him. "But I like your idea, Judy. Now that we don't have to worry about the serum anymore, maybe we can finally follow our dreams."
Fred hesitated for a moment. Something was bothering him, and he was afraid if he didn't get it out now, it would never be said. "I'm sorry," he apologized at last.
Judy raised her eyebrows. "Whatever for?"
"We destroyed the serum," Fred went on. "After we promised to bring it back to you. You could have studied it, made it safer. Used it to stop Pericles."
"But it was used to stop Pericles," Brad insisted. "By you."
"That's right," Judy agreed. "Pericles had an evil plan for the serum. He would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids and your dogs. By destroying the serum, you stopped him. He'll never be able to use it now, thanks to you."
"You did the right thing," Brad assured Fred. "Destroying it was the only way to protect it from Professor Pericles. I'm proud of you. All of you."
"We both are," Judy added.
There was a short, comfortable silence as the gang let the praise wash over them.
Ricky checked his watch. "We should get going," he said to Cassidy. To Brad and Judy he said, "We can drop you off at the airport if you want."
"You're not flying anywhere?" asked Daphne, puzzled.
"Not right away," Ricky replied. "First we're going to do a little of that travelling I mentioned. We want to explore everything we've never had a chance to see."
"Jinkies, that sounds incredible," Velma spoke up. "Where's your first stop?"
"Well, there's this little town on the coast that claims to be one of the most haunted places on Earth," Cassidy replied. "It's called Crystal Cove."
Fred raised his eyebrows. "Most haunted place on Earth, you say?"
"Nope!" Shaggy interrupted loudly. "Nuh-uh. Like no way. We've already spent way too much of this trip scared out of our minds. I refuse to visit a place that like, expressly advertises just how frightening it is."
"Reah, reah!" Scooby agreed, nodding fervently.
"Besides," Daphne reminded Fred. "We promised our parents that we wouldn't stop for any detours. That was the deal if we don't want to get grounded for the whole summer before we go away to college."
Fred sighed, defeated. "All right," he relented.
"We'll send you a postcard," Ricky deadpanned.
That made everyone chuckle.
After they paid the bill, they began walking back towards the med school, where they'd all parked. The sun hadn't set quite yet, but it was beginning to dip below the horizon, and the sky was turning brilliant shades of orange and pink.
"So," Brad spoke up as they ambled along together. "How long do you think it will take you to drive back to Ohio?"
Fred and Daphne, who were holding hands, walked closest to him.
"Um…" Fred stammered. Truthfully, he hadn't really thought about it. He knew he could get them back in a week, but he didn't know if it would take less time than that.
Velma did some quick math in her head. "If we average eight hours of driving per day," she replied. "And we don't stop for any long detours, we should make it back to Coolsville in about five days."
"Is Chicago very far off your route?" Judy inquired.
Velma took out her phone and pulled up a map. "Not too far," she replied.
"In that case, can we ask a favor of you?" Brad asked.
"Of course," Daphne said immediately. "What do you need?"
"We didn't bring a kennel for Nova to fly in," Brad continued. "Would you mind terribly if she rode part of the way back with you? Just until you got to Chicago, obviously?"
Of course, none of them minded. In fact, everyone was thrilled with the aspect that Nova would be with them a little while longer. No one was eager to say goodbye to her. Least of all Scooby.
"We'd love to," Fred said sincerely.
Nova and Scooby exchanged shy smiles.
When they arrived at the parking garage, the first thing Fred did was scoot under the Mystery Machine to find, remove, and dismantle the cellphone jammer. It didn't take very long, and everyone was relieved to find that they all had reception again near the van.
Brad and Judy turned to Fred. "If you'd like us to keep in touch –" Brad began.
"Yes, definitely," Fred interrupted. "I'd like very much to keep in touch. I think it would be cool to have…you know. A relationship of some sort." His brow furrowed, suddenly unsure. "I mean…if that's something you'd like."
"Of course we'd like that," Judy assured him.
"We both would," Brad agreed.
There was a long pause.
Judy inhaled shakily. "My goodness," she breathed, dabbing at her eyes. "It really feels like…the filling of the parting glass, doesn't it? To have to say goodbye again so soon."
"It's not goodbye," Fred reminded her, though right at this moment it felt very much like one. "We'll see you in Chicago in a few days."
"Yes," Judy agreed, wiping away a few flecks of tears. "Of course."
Brad cleared his throat. "Drive safe," he said, and clapped Fred on the shoulder.
"Thanks," Fred replied. "For everything."
Judy shook her head and gave him a watery smile. "No dear…thank you for everything," she said emphatically.
The gang all bid farewells to the adults as they piled into the rental vehicle with Ricky at the wheel. With one final wave, they watched as the car pulled out of the parking garage and disappeared.
Fred took a shaky breath.
Daphne squeezed his hand. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked in a whisper.
Fred swallowed. How was it that less than a week had passed and so much had changed in his life? He'd always come from a single-parent home, believing he'd been abandoned by a mother he'd never known. Now, of course, he knew that wasn't the case. And instead of having just one dad…he had three parents who all cared for him deeply. But even if he didn't, even if Brad, Judy, and the mayor had all turned out to be evil or conniving, it would have mattered less to him as long as he still had the gang. As long as he still had Daphne. They would always be his true family.
And he knew that was something that would never change.
He nodded. "Yes," he replied, pulling Daphne close to him. "I'm going to be just fine." He planted a gentle kiss on her temple.
Nova glanced up at Velma, who was nearest her. "What time is it?" she asked.
Velma checked her phone. "It's about seven-thirty," she announced. "Do you think we should turn in for the night? Find a hotel to check into somewhere?"
Shaggy cleared his throat. "Actually," he spoke up. "I like, had an idea…"
Sponge: FINAL CHAPTER NEXT WEEK! (Not counting the epilogue). I hope you'll enjoy it! In the meantime, review if you please, and don't forget to guess where the chapter title comes from.