Mei Ling had almost dropped the phone when Fred mentioned a gunshot wound, she certainly wasn't expecting that response. She pinched the skin on her hand tightly to check she wasn't dreaming, satisfied when she felt the tiny ripple of pain.

Fred freakin' Jones!

What a blast from the past that name was! Sure, she had loosely kept in touch with him since those awful events on her American adventure, and there would always be a place in her heart for him, but never in a million years did she ever think he would actually initiate contact again.

He hadn't gone into extreme detail over the phone but the gist of it was, that he and his girlfriend, Daphne, were in Hong Kong trying to track down her missing brother. Apparently he was mixed up in shady stuff, and as a result someone was now pursuing THEM and Fred had been shot in the shoulder.

Her every instinct had been screaming at her to say 'no', to not get involved in what was clearly something incredibly dangerous but she couldn't forget what he did for. She could never forget that brief but intense relationship they had shared together. So, instead she had found herself saying 'yes' and was currently waiting for them to turn up at her door.

She lived a little off the beaten track, just outside the city and she knew it would take a while for them to reach her. She always kept a fully stocked first aid cupboard and she raided it now in anticipation of his arrival. She pulled out some gauze, bandages, sterile dressing and tape. She grabbed a couple of towels and then walked into her kitchen and selected a bottle of gin. She poured herself a neat shot, swallowing it quickly, then put the bottle aside, continuing to wait nervously for the knock at the door.

She was extremely worried for Fred's health and had given Daphne some basic first aid advice over the phone but it was difficult without being able to see the wound herself and she found herself anxiously agonising over exactly what state he was likely to be in.

Nearly an hour after Fred had first called her, there was a light knock, and she jumped up to answer, flinging the door open, almost holding her breath in anticipation of exactly what would be standing on the other side.

Fred Jones was standing on her porch looking like a grown up version of the boy she once adored, only now he was even more muscular, his features more defined and he had added a good few inches to his height. She felt a tiny smatter of butterflies in her stomach as she took in the sight before her.

Mei was temporarily blinded by the sheer surreal event of her long ago ex actually turning up at her door, but the circumstances of his appearance quickly set in. Appreciative at first of 'adult' Fred, she would have loved to tell him he looked well, but in truth she realised he looked absolutely awful. His skin was flushed, pale and clammy and he wasn't even able to stand on the porch unaided, he was heavily propped up by his girlfriend in fact.

"Hi Mei," he offered weakly, trying to smile.

Her eyes had naturally been initially only drawn straight to Fred, but Mei Ling found herself actively and curiously studying his eye-catching red headed companion now. She was holding rags over the shoulder wound, and Mei noted with alarm, they were already soaked red.

Mei Ling shook herself to stop staring at Daphne and ushered them inside urgently. Once the door was closed, she guided the pair over to the couch and Fred slumped down, his teeth gritted.

Her mind was bursting with questions but she forced herself to focus on the immediate concern. She snapped on gloves and nodded at Daphne to remove the makeshift bandages. Daphne gingerly peeled them off, while Fred whimpered softly in pain as she did so and Daphne stroked his hair.

Mei felt a little bit of relief when she was able to examine the wound properly. There was no doubt Fred's shoulder was a mess but it would heal in time. The bullet had missed the vital part of the tissue and cartilage and importantly had not actually become lodged in. It looked like it had skimmed the very top of his shoulder and out. Undoubtedly painful but he would live.

"It's a through and through," she announced to them, but was met with blank faces. "It means the bullet passed all the way through," she explained patiently. "That's a good thing. It needs cleaning up so it won't get infected and it will feel pretty numb and useless for a while but you'll be fine Freddy," she smiled.

Daphne breathed a huge sigh of relief and then felt a tiny twinge in her stomach at Mei Ling jumping straight in with Fred's nickname. She knew she was being silly, they had been close once, he admitted as much, but still, she knew she wasn't actually comfortable with this startling new development to their adventure in China.

Mei guided Fred to the sink in her kitchen and immediately set about cleansing the wound thoroughly, rinsing with water, and Fred had to to grit his teeth again from the unbearable pain, as she did this none too gently.

"Sorry," she said, though she didn't seem it from her brusque manner. "I need to be completely thorough to minimise the risk of infection."

Daphne watched the river of blood pouring down the sink as Mei cleansed Fred's shoulder. When Mei was satisfied it was clean, she started to apply a large dressing which completely covered the top of Fred's shoulder. She noticed Fred was wearing a blood smeared T-Shirt and a half ragged, half destroyed black hoodie and was shivering now., Daphne slid Fred's leather jacket back over his shoulder gently while Mei went to find the strongest painkillers she had in the house.

She returned clutching a bottle of pills and a glass of water.

"Take two, every four hours," she instructed, offering him the tablets and water.

Fred chased down the pills with the water quickly. "Thank you."

Mei nodded before jumping up again, "I should get you some clean warmer clothes, be right back," she said before Fred could even protest.

She quickly came back with a bundle of clothing in her arms.

"Mei, I appreciate the offer," Fred said, eyeing the bundle uncomfortably, "but I don't think you'll have anything that fits me."

Mei smiled a little coquettishly, "these are not mine Freddy, they are men's."

The statement was simple but it implied so much more. Both Fred and Daphne did well not to visibly react; Fred simply muttered his thanks, accepting the fleecy zip up hoodie gratefully. With Daphne's help, he was able to awkwardly and painfully manoeuvre his injured shoulder into it and after this task was accomplished, the three were plunged again into uncomfortable silence. It lasted two minutes before Mei shot up from her seat once again.

"I'll get us some tea, shall I?" she announced brightly, not waiting for a response before scurrying back to her kitchen.

Now that she knew Fred was no longer in immediate danger, Daphne took a little more notice of her surroundings, and saw the giveaway signs that Mei Ling didn't actually live alone.

Several pairs of shoes were lined up neatly by the front door, a pair of wine glasses were set aside on the drainer and most tellingly, a selfie photo of Mei, beaming at the camera in the arms of a sunglasses wearing man, was framed on the wall opposite.

"She's a lesbian hey?" Daphne whispered, eyebrows raised in silent question and Fred shrugged in response. Mei dating a man was obviously news to him too.

Mei returned then, setting down a tray of steaming Chinese tea in delicately patterned mugs and Fred and Daphne each took one politely.

"So, are you ready to tell me a bit more about what the hell is going on guys? It was all a bit vague on the phone."

Having helped them when she didn't have to get involved, Fred knew he owed her the full explanation and he began to tell Mei Ling everything. He started with their ordeal with Devon four years ago, their adventures that had taken place since, and finished with the attack on Coolsville, Ethan's disappearance in Hong Kong and exactly what had happened to them today.

"My word Fred," Mei offered by way of first response. "Life certainly didn't get dull for you when I went back to China did it?"

"It does sound pretty wild when you lie it all bare like that," Fred admitted.

"You guys should definitely write a book."

"It's funny, you're not the first person to tell us that," Daphne noted, studying Mei surreptitiously over the top of her cup as she sipped.

Daphne certainly didn't know what she had been expecting Mei Ling to look like. This was a woman who had once successfully convinced dozens that she was a boy and who Fred had led her to believe was a lesbian now. There was however, nothing 'boyish' about Mei Ling's figure any more. She was petite but well proportioned, even dressed casually in sweats, she filled out in all the right places. Her skin was simply flawless, setting off her almond eyes perfectly. She was in short, simply beautiful.

And Daphne felt feelings stir within her that she hadn't experienced in a long while. Jealousy. Insecurity.

She knew she was being ridiculous but she felt herself lean in just that little bit closer into Fred's good side as they chatted with the Asian doctor.

"It's been very frightening," she reflected truthfully, recalling the terror they had gone through since landing in China, and she felt Fred hug her back in reassurance.

"Oh, I don't doubt it Daphne! It all sounds absolutely terrifying. I do think there's one thing I'll say that might be of some reassurance to you, " Mei responded mysteriously.

"What's that Mei?" Fred asked with great interest.

"Well, whoever is after you, I don't think this truly could be the work of Chinese Triads."

"What makes you say that?" Daphne enquired.

"Well, speaking very frankly, if they, or someone working on their behalf, wanted you dead, well you'd be dead," she said seriously, looking straight at Fred. "They don't mess around and they definitely don't miss," she nodded towards his messed up shoulder.

"But what about all the other incidents?" Daphne asked, not convinced. "It sure felt like someone has been trying to kill us since the moment we got here."

"Exactly." Mei nodded, her face showing no humour. "Trying. Not succeeding. I'm not being funny to you guys but if all of these incidents were attempts to kill you...there's no way this is the work of the Triads. I don't mean to alarm you any further but if they have an order to kill, they kill."

Daphne outwardly shuddered at the bluntness of Mei Ling's words. Fred considered what she said before looking thoughtful.

"So who could they have been, if they weren't assassins?"

"My best guess? I'd say someone was trying to scare you. Only you will know who and potentially why."

"I still think the laptop will give us some answers," Daphne suddenly exclaimed. "Certainly as to who targeted Ethan and why." She retrieved the slightly battered laptop from where she had left it by the door when they arrived at Mei Ling's.

It was sleek and modern and she luckily had no problem carrying it while she and Fred had ran for their lives.

Daphne opened it up, keying in the passwords again and prepared to open up Ethan's email. She was dismayed to see a flashing icon in the corner indicating a low battery and she moused over it to reveal '36 minutes remaining.'

"Shit," she cursed aloud before turning to Mei Ling, a hopeful expression on her face. "I don't suppose you have a charger?"

"For a laptop like that? I don't think they're even on sale to the public yet."

Daphne nodded disappointed, "okay then, let's make these 36 minutes count. Why don't we start with this series of emails from..."she scrolled down the page to find a prolonged conversation and then read the sender's details, tapping a fingernail against the screen. Her heart rate quickened in alarm as she read the name aloud

"Stella..."

Meanwhile on the other side of the world in Coolsville...

"Well this went well," Shaggy whispered sarcastically to Velma as they climbed out of the car, hands held furtively in the air. "Captured by the enemy within seconds of arriving back in town."

Scooby whimpered in fear and followed the two humans as they walked reluctantly towards the man brandishing the gun.

"Slowly, slowly!" the man urged and although he appeared he was fully in command of the situation with the gun he held on them, there was a clear hint of apprehension and nerves present in his voice. On the one hand, it meant that they might be able to take advantage of his lack of conviction, but on the other hand, that nervousness might lead to him panicking and making a really bad decision, like shooting one of them. "Drop your weapons!" he commanded and Velma could really feel that nervous energy now.

There's no way this is Devon at least, she realised. As they moved nearer the figure, she squinted, able to make out a little more of their body shape, the man was fairly slight in build, wearing a dark wool hat and dark clothing.

DEFINITELY NOT Devon she decided quickly. In fact he does actually look a little familiar she thought as she saw his more youthful appearance visible in profile now, he looks very familiar in fact...

"Rory?" she blurted, causing him to falter considerably. "Rory, is that you?"

Shaggy's jaw dropped now as he too saw what Velma did as they stepped closer to him, still with their hands in the air.

As they stepped out of the dark shadows and into the light that was bathing the pavement from the street lamp, the identities of all of them were revealed to each other.

Seeing the boy, girl and dog in close up, the man holding the gun, wavered at first, then dropped it completely by his side. "Velma? Shaggy? Scooby?!"

Officer Rory Dewhurst stood gaping back at the trio with an amazed look on his face before it broke into an anguished smile and he moved forward to greet them, hastily tucking away his weapon.

The dread and fear that had coursed through Shaggy and Velma completely dissipated now and for the first time in a long time, there was genuine joy on both of their faces.

Officer Rory had first encountered the gang as a junior police officer on the night the whole Devon Blake debacle had culminated. Devon had kidnapped both Ethan and Fred, and brought them to an old abandoned factory and silo. With Fred's help, Ethan had managed to escape and secretly brought the police back with him in a timely cavalry charge. While Shaggy was inside the building, finding and rescuing Fred; Daphne and Velma were recovering from a tussle with Devon. Rory was on his first major police operation, having only recently graduated from the police academy and had been charged with looking after Daphne and Velma while the 'big guns' went in search of Devon Blake who had fled.

In the coming days and weeks after the events at the factory, Rory had been assigned as a liaison officer for the gang, and despite the fact it was frowned upon to form attachments to your 'charges' , Rory found himself becoming friends with the whole gang. When the gang formed Mystery Incorporated and began solving mysteries in Coolsville, although it was usually Stella and Will Barnum that were called upon, often it was Rory as the local cop who was first on the scene and when Stella and Will weren't available, he made it his purpose to assist the kids.

When they left Coolsville to take their mystery solving brand global; Rory had stepped up to support Stella and Will in bringing down Devon Blake. (As Shaggy and Velma were about to find out, Rory survived the bombing by the most fortunate of circumstances.)

"Rory!" Velma rushed forward into his arms and Rory heartily embraced the brunette, followed by Shaggy.

Rory looked completely overwhelmed to see them.

"Velma, Shaggy, I can't believe it's really you, it is SO good to see you again!" he gushed warmly before feeling a small tugging down by his right side.

"Rehem," the Great Dane said crossly, looking momentarily miffed.

"Oh! You too Scooby Doo," Rory hastily added, reaching down to scratch the dog behind the ears fondly.

"Rhat's retter."

An unwelcome thought obviously crossed Rory's mind and he looked worried again. "But where's Daphne? And Freddy? They're OK right?"

He watched Velma and Shaggy exchange glances which worried him further still before Velma spoke reassuringly.

"No, they're fine...Daphne just had some, erm stuff to sort elsewhere and Fred decided to go with her. They're hoping to be here soon."

What Velma had said wasn't a lie as such but it was a very, very flimsy version of the truth that she didn't want to share with Rory just yet.

"Man it's great to see you too Rory, we wasn't sure we were going to be able to see any familiar faces, you know, after like, what happened the other night."

Rory nodded grimly at Shaggy, his jaw set in a firm line. "There's so much to tell you but not here, we need to get off the streets, they seem to have eyes everywhere."

He opened his own car parked on the street as a silent invitation and Velma, Shaggy and Scooby had no hesitation getting in. Shaggy clambered in the front and Velma and Scooby hunched into the back.

Rory drove off slowly, checking his mirrors continuously and glancing out of the window at the deserted streets around them.

"Where were you, when you heard?" he asked. "Stella told me you had been all the way across Europe recently. That's crazy!"

"We had," Shaggy nodded sagely. "As far as Romania but we were actually in Hawaii. What happened man? This is so fucked up, why has everyone left?"

"Things have slowly been getting worse," Rory revealed timidly, "and then we all finally thought we had a handle on it. Stella was so sure. It was set to be the biggest take down Coolsville had ever seen. God that backfired so badly."

"Were you there, Rory? You don't seem to have a scratch on you." Velma observed from the back seat, causing Rory to smile sadly.

"No," he said quietly, "no, I wasn't there, I should have been, I was determined to be, I begged and begged Stella to let me go but she's so stubborn. But, then she actually agreed and I was so excited, I was all set, I was going to be part of Will's tactical unit. I was proud, I'd come so far in just four years...but then Matilda's babysitter got sick..."

"Matilda?" Velma interjected, "you have a daughter, Rory?"

"Yeah," Rory smiled, "I have a daughter," he confirmed, causing both Shaggy and Velma to beam in delight. "A lot has changed around here since you left huh?"

"Congrats man," Shaggy said sincerely, genuinely happy for the young cop who had proven to be such an amazing ally in their early years of Mystery Inc.

"Thank you," Rory said, his eyes misting over as he thought of his baby daughter and how close he had become to being torn away from her. "My wife Felicity was stuck in a meeting so I had no choice but to drop out from the raid...I was putting Matilda to bed when I heard what happened..." Rory carried on driving but his expression was strained now.

"How many," Velma asked quietly, unsure she wanted to know. "How many did we lose?"

"Officially? We still don't know, very few bodies have actually been recovered yet it was such a damn mess but unofficially? We think we're talking upwards of about 18 to 25. There are 22 missing from the teams that went in."

Shaggy made an inexplicable guttural sound and Velma tried to let that news digest. 22 missing. Twenty two brave men and women who had gone in to bring an end to a reign of terror over a town only to lose their own lives.

She caught sight of Rory hastily chasing away the tears that had appeared on his cheek as he spoke about those lost.

"We got this so wrong," he continued, "they should never have...well, you'll find out, unless you already know?" he asked with a sideways glance at Shaggy. "You know about Devon right?"

"Know that he's behind all this bullshit and has been for a while? Oh yeah we know," Shaggy replied venomously.

Rory nodded, seeing the equally murderous expression on Velma's face in his mirror.

"For the record, it never sat right with me, and I told them that, after what happened at Oakland and then at the rehab place with Fred..."

He immediately saw the shock on Velma's face and knew this was obviously not part of the Devon knowledge they were privy to.

"Rehab?" Shaggy said questioningly.

"Ah shit," Rory sighed, "look we're here now guys, someone else will give you better answers."

Velma peered out into the darkness, unsure exactly where 'here' could be and was now feeling incredibly shaken by Rory's statement. They passed a couple of dark buildings and eventually a small booth, where a man in full combats leered at Rory.

"I.D." he barked emotionlessly and Rory produced some papers that appeased him and let the car further in where Rory eventually parked.

"Where are we Rory?" Velma asked a hint of worry creeping into her voice, "why have you brought us here?"

"To get you all the answers," Rory replied mysteriously, "it's an old military base, we've been using it for a while and since the bombing, it's been our only secure base...Come on."

Rory exited the car quickly and headed to a door, giving Shaggy and Velma little choice but to follow him. They jumped out of the car and caught up to Rory just as someone opened a slit on the iron door panel and a pair of eyes peered out suspiciously at Rory.

"Dewhurst," he identified himself and the door swung gratuitously open, revealing another darkly clothed man and a long corridor stretching beyond him.

"Rory?" the man said curiously, eyeing Shaggy, Velma and Scooby.

"Don't you recognise them Bill? It's Mystery Incorporated, well partial anyway."

The man's eyes widened at Rory's statement before he nodded and let them pass.

Rory marched down the corridor at quite some pace and the others scrambled to keep up with him.

"Rory! You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not say anything else!" Velma berated him furiously as she followed him. "What about what happened at Oakland?! What do you mean by the rehab centre?!"

Rory didn't say anything, just carried on walking, letting Shaggy and Velma's fears build. Rory was an old friend but it suddenly occurred to Shaggy, he could have been turned, could he be leading them into the hornet's nest, was he actually taking them to Devon?

"Rory, please," he begged, "how do we know we can even trust you? Where are you taking us?!"

Rory turned around sharply but with no menace on his face, instead he clasped Shaggy's shoulder gently but firmly. "You can trust me Shaggy."

Rory stood before another wrought iron door and knocked loudly three times. This time, instead of being opened by someone in dark combat military gear, it was opened by someone in scrubs and surgical gloves, who merely nodded at Rory in acknowledgement.

Velma peered beyond the man to see the room, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the multitude of beds that were in the room and the team of medical staff present with them. A secret makeshift hospital?

She barely had time to take in the harrowing sight of several men in varying states of injury in the beds; About five or six, some heavily bandaged, some completely unconscious, other's visibly missing limbs, it was absolutely horrific but Rory was intent on hurrying them on, eventually bringing them to what looked like more of a private bay.

He pushed the door open but did not venture inside himself, instead beckoning to Shaggy, Velma and Scooby to go in whilst he stood aside.

The room was a little darker but lit up by the machinery that was hooked up to a patient in the bed. The heart rate monitor was beating steadily indicating the patient was stable but there was little movement from whoever lay in the bed.

Scooby curled up in fear immediately, sitting by the door leaving Shaggy and Velma to walk towards the bed.

Their movement was punctuated almost perfectly by the 'beep beep beep' of the machinery as neither wanted to move too quickly. As they overlooked the bed, Shaggy found his hand reaching for Velma's to offer reassurance, and she gratefully took it. The patient was still, hooked up to every part of the machine, a mask over their mouth. As they got nearer, the person's gender became clear, one heavily bandaged hand above the blanket, the other not visible. Dark hair fanned out on the pillow beneath their head, what looked like burns on the visible arm and on their face. The identity completely clear now, Velma choked back a sob and squeezed Shaggy's hand hard. Shaggy reached out to lay a hand on the patient's arm, utterly devastated by what he saw.

"Oh my god, Stella..."

In Hong Kong...

Fred immediately squinted at the screen to check Daphne wasn't mistaken. "Stella?" he blurted loudly, "OUR Stella? Messaging Ethan?!"

"It's Detective White," Daphne confirmed hollowly. "They've been in contact since..." she began clicking through to find the earliest contact. "Since not long after we left Coolsville," she said, her mouth feeling terribly dry.

For Fred, all he could feel was a terrible sense of betrayal building and an ominous feeling of doom.

"Well what does it say?" he demanded abruptly.

Daphne swallowed before reading aloud to them both from the most recent email entitled simply: Tonight: Personal

"Ethan, I cannot thank you enough for all your help, everything you have sacrificed. Without your sources, and everything you have done, I'm quite sure he would have eluded us for much, much longer. You know once the threat is neutralised, it's still not going to be the end of it. There will be reprisals. You know how big the network he has built both here and in Hong Kong. You need to look after yourself Ethan, I mean it! We're cutting the head off the snake but there's still work to do but that's for us, the professionals! The countless lives you've helped save, you should be very proud but this is it for you now Ethan, you promised you would quit when we got him. Well we've got him and I'm going to hold you to your promise Ethan! Get out. Go back to regular journalism. Call your sister, the rest of the gang; the news will break soon, you should all be together when it does. It's not going to be easy explaining what we've hidden for so long but she'll understand in time, they all will. What we did was for the best. Remember that. Go and enjoy the rest of your life, live it to the fullest."

Daphne's face immediately crumpled when she reached that last line, Fred was deathly pale as he tried to come to terms with the ramifications that email had. "They've been working together, all this time...all these years!" he choked out.

Daphne was reeling, and felt like she couldn't breathe. Mei quickly sensed the severity of the situation and rushed to get the young girl some water.

She handed her the glass before awkwardly turning away, "I think you guys need some time, I'll be in my room," she announced leaving the devastated couple alone in her living room.

Daphne began doggedly reading through some more emails, struggling to take it all in as she broke it down for Fred as her own heart was breaking.

"He's been helping Stella from here, he's the source...he put himself in danger." Tears streamed down Daphne's cheeks and Fred reached over to hold her as she shook in his arms.

"They're talking about Devon right? This whole fucking nightmare here is because of him too? Oh god..." She broke down and Fred held her tightly.

An unwelcome thought suddenly came to Fred, "did he come to Hong Kong to investigate Devon from the very beginning? It sure sounds like it..."

"How could they lie to us?" Daphne sobbed, clicking on another email. "I mean look at this one from not long after we left to go to London."

Yikes Stell, things are definitely ramping up in Coolsville. It's selfish to say it but I'm glad he's a presence there at least it means he's not going after Daph and the others...we need to keep it that way. Keep me updated."

"Fred, she said, her voice cracking, "they've been protecting us from the truth all this time. Ethan, Will, Stella...while we've been running around solving silly little mysteries thousands of miles away they've been keeping us from that psychopath...how dare they...it wasn't their choice to make...God I feel so..."

Her voice was becoming more angry now and she even turned on Fred a little unfairly. "You've been speaking to him recently, he must have told you something, have you kept it from me too?"

Fred was wounded by her accusation, "Daph, I promise you, I didn't know, of course I didn't know! You don't think I would tell you?"

"I don't know what to think Fred, this has just knocked me for six. It's one thing for Stella and Will to betray us but Ethan..."

"They didn't betray us, they did this for us..."

"They had no right!" Daphne snapped through her tears, "they had no right...and now they all could be..."

The realisation hit Daphne hard and she ran to the back door, closely followed by Fred, "I need air."

Fred caught up to her on the porch and sat down next to her, an arm around her shoulder but she shook it off, suddenly unable to face him.

"We still don't know what's happened to any of them for definite," Fred gently reminded her but Daphne still couldn't look at him, instead staring straight ahead into Mei's tiny garden, a haunted look on her face now.

"You don't understand Fred," she said quietly, "this is all my fault."

"Daph, you beat yourself up over this a long time ago," he said reaching for her hand and firmly taking it in his. "You are not responsible for that monster."

"I could have stopped all this," she continued, staring blankly, "I could have stopped him."

"He was a powerful man Daphne even if you had gone to the police sooner, you had an uphill task to be believed."

"I'm not talking about then Freddy," Daphne said, finally turning to face him again. "I had a chance to stop him...to stop him hurting anyone else and I didn't. I let him go." She looked utterly traumatised now but she had Fred's attention, and he held back a little from comforting her, still holding her hand but in just a little looser grip now.

"You let him go? What do you mean Daphne?" He asked confused.

"He's been free to kill people, to destroy our home town...hurt people we love because I gave him a chance to live," she declared brokenly.

"Daphne..." Fred was bewildered.

"Because of you Fred..." she revealed, tears wet on her face, turning to face him.

"Because of me? I'm still not following Daphne. You'll have to help me understand."

"That night, that awful night at the factory, even before Shaggy and Vel got there...I managed to get a gun on him, he had just told me he killed Ethan and my parents and I was ready...I was so ready to kill that son of a bitch but then he played his final card..."

"No..." Fred said quietly, anticipating what Daphne was going to say now. "No Daphne...please say you didn't...not for me..."

"What choice did I have?" Daphne shot back angrily. "He was going to kill you!"

Fred dropped her hand abruptly and stood up coldly.

"You barely even knew me, I had done something terrible to you, the worst thing I could possibly have done. I didn't deserve for you to hesitate for one single second!"

"I had to Fred," Daphne explained, pleading for Fred to understand. "I knew, even then I knew what you meant to me. I had to save you...I dropped the gun."

"Daphne no..." Fred moaned.

"I'd do the same again, even knowing what he's done since, I would always save you Freddy."

"The man was a monster though Daphne, you should have just killed him when you had the chance."

"Not when he had you," Daphne said fiercely.

"My life wasn't that important!" he nearly shouted now.

"It was, it is... to me!"

"God Daphne, I can't deal with this..." Fred said, walking away from her now.

Daphne jumped up too. "Where are you going?!"

"I don't know," he said dismissively, "I just need some time to myself, I'll see you later."

"Fred, don't" Daphne said behind him. "You have no idea where we are, it's dangerous to be alone!"

"I'll be fine, Daphne, just...give me some time please," he appealed, "this is..a lot to deal with."

Reluctantly Daphne let him leave and went back inside Mei's house. Mei hovered awkwardly in the hallway when she saw Daphne's red rimmed eyes and the fact she was alone.

"I heard shouting, I just came to see if everything was OK, I'm not meaning to intrude on you guys..."

Mei, I'm sorry we've brought all this on you. It's so grossly unfair..."

"Where's Fred?" Mei cut in, her voice full of concern.

"He took off," Daphne admitted and quickly filled in Mei on their argument. "He just needs some time, he'll be back..."

"Come sit down Daphne, you look like you need a drink," Mei Ling offered kindly.

Daphne allowed Mei to sit her back on the couch. "I knew he would react like this, it's why I've never told him," she sighed while Mei poured out two large gin and tonics.

"You can't blame him I guess," Mei offered, "but, for what it's worth...I would have done exactly the same in your position."

"Yeah?" Daphne was a little surprised but then she understood why.

"He's pretty special isn't he?" Mei Ling said, before she could stop herself.

"Yes, he is."

An awkward silence settled over the girls that was suddenly shattered by the sound of tyres squealing hard on the tarmac outside. Doors slammed hard in the darkness, followed by the sound of a car accelerating. Daphne and Mei Ling looked at each other in terror, before sprinting for the front door.

Daphne was outside first and she raced into the road just in time to see the car as it screeched away. She began to shake, rooted to the spot, utterly terrified of the implication of a speeding car in the previously quiet suburb, so soon after Fred had left the safety of the house.

Please don't be in there, she silently prayed of the fleeing car. I can't do this again.

"DAPHNE!" Mei's cry was strained and fear filled and Daphne whipped around to see the young woman on her knees further down the road, where the car had come from.

She hurried back towards Mei, uttering her fears aloud to her as she did so.

"God Mei, I think someone got him! We have to..." but her helpless pleas stilled in her throat as she saw exactly why Mei was knelt on the ground and saw her own terrified expression as she looked up at Daphne wordlessly.

Daphne didn't even have a moment to celebrate her fears about Fred being kidnapped again, were unfounded.

Instead, her eyes travelled beyond Mei to take in a far worse sight. Obviously dumped from the speeding car, Fred was now lying in the road, blood and mud caked on his still face as he lay absolutely motionless in the once again quiet road, punctuated only now by the sound of two desperate women's cries of anguish.

To be continued, please rate and review!