Chapter 5
After having left the magic Shoppe of the friendly and kind Mr. Gibbles behind, the five members of Mystery Inc. along with the brother and sister sorceress they had met at the carnival now stood in a clearing as they prepared to embark on one of the biggest and quite possibly most frightening adventures of their lives.
"Well Fred, now that we know what we have to do, like how are we going to split up?" Shaggy asked.
"Simple Shaggy, you, Velma, Scooby and Linda will take the Grim Reaper Railroad to the magic world to find the Goblin King's scepter and try and keep it out of the hands of that messed up magician, meanwhile William, Daphne and I will try and track Krudsky down at the carnival and get back the princess" the blond young adult replied.
"Like I was afraid of that" Shaggy commented with an audible gulp.
"Afraid of what Shaggy?" Linda asked.
"Yeah, Linda and I can't wait to get started on this mystery, after all we're big fans of all of you and we've always wanted to solve a case with the five of you and now we get to, plus all the magical and supernatural stuff involved are things that we've been involved with all our lives and we wouldn't be scared of any of it, so why would the two of you be nervous?" William added, looking towards Shaggy for an answer to his question.
"Like no offense Linda and William, but the two of you are witches and warlocks and are more used to stuff like ghosts, monsters, fairies and supernatural creatures; whereas Scooby and I, well we're kind of chicken when it comes to the supernatural" Shaggy remarked.
"Reah, re ron't like rhosts and ronsters at all" Scooby added.
"We kind of guessed that" Linda commented while chuckling a bit.
"What's so funny?" Shaggy inquired, clearly unhappy with the young woman.
"Never mind Shaggy, never mind" Linda replied with her arms folded.
"Shaggy, I know that Linda and William are our friends and you're not afraid of them, but don't tell me you're afraid of all the ghosts and ghouls that we might encounter?" Velma asked.
"That's exactly what I was thinking" the cowardly young sleuth replied with a gulp.
"You know, I think Shaggy and Scooby need some encouragement," Velma explained.
"Like a couple of Scooby Snacks? Fred responded.
"Actually Fred, I think this calls for some other encouragement" Velma remarked, looking over at the cowardly young adult.
"I've heard of Scooby Snacks Fred, but what kind of other encouragement could Velma possibly be talking about?" Linda asked in a whispered tone as she looked over at Fred.
"Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that myself" William added.
"Don't worry William and Linda, something tells me you're about to find out just exactly what Velma has in mind" Fred replied.
"Okay, if you say so" Linda remarked.
The bespectacled young adult then walked over to the frightened Great Dane and gave him a kiss on his right cheek, which surprised Scooby a bit, but he looked like he enjoyed it nonetheless; next Velma walked over to the equally frightened Shaggy and planted a kiss on his quivering lips, which surprised the green shirted youngster as well.
"Zoinks, like Velma, why did you do that?" the cowardly teen asked.
"Yeah Velma, I mean we all knew you liked Shaggy as a friend but I never figured you would ever kiss him" Daphne added.
"Me too, I mean I had heard that Shaggy and Velma were dating, but I had no idea that they were going to kiss" Linda replied.
"Like it's not a big deal if we kiss is it Linda?" Shaggy inquired, looking over at the young sorceress.
"No, not really; what about you brother dear? Is it a big deal if Shaggy and Velma kiss?" Linda asked, looking towards her brother.
"Nah, it's not a big deal for me either; after all, if two people are dating, they should be able to show that they're in love, and what's the best way of expressing love? Kissing of course" William replied.
"Cool, like do the two of you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?" Shaggy asked.
"Actually Shaggy, we don't" Linda replied.
"You're kidding, how come Linda and William? If you don't mind us asking," Fred remarked.
"Well, I had a girlfriend back in high school, she was a wonderful girl, and I really liked her, only problem was when I told her about my being a warlock, she, well didn't quite understand; when I tried to explain things to her, calmly and sensibly I might add, she decided to dump me, just because of me being a warlock" William replied.
"What about you Linda?" Daphne asked, looking over at the young sorceress.
"Same with me, I had a boyfriend back in high school too, but when I told him I was a witch and cast spells and practiced witchcraft, he didn't really understand, and he dumped me, I was so upset I didn't know what I was going to do, but thankfully William was at home, and we got to tell each other about our dating woes" Linda replied.
"Cool, like it's great that the two of you were able to speak with each other about your dating woes, and about your love lives; like it's nice to talk to someone about love and dating and all that, especially when you have a brother or sister" Shaggy remarked.
"It is isn't it? Especially when you have a brother like mine" Linda replied, looking over at her brother and smiling.
"Thanks sis, and it's cool to have such a great sister like the one I have" William remarked, looking over at his sister and smiling.
"You know the two of you are really friendly, actually would you guys mind if I brought up kind of a weird question?" Fred inquired.
"Thank you Fred, we are pretty friendly; what kind of question?" Linda asked.
"Well, for instance, if you two weren't brother and sister, would you date each other?" Fred inquired.
"Hmm… what do you think sis?" William asked, looking over at his sister.
"Fred, it is an interesting question; and I think if we weren't related, I think we might consider dating each other, after all we might make a pretty compatible couple" Linda replied.
"I think so too sis, I think so too" William remarked.
"Well, hopefully each of you will find someone special someday, after all there's plenty of guys out there, and one of them has to be right for you Linda" Daphne stated, looking at the young sorceress.
"Yeah, and there's plenty of girls out there too, you just have to find one that's right for you William" Fred added, looking over at the young sorcerer.
"Thanks Fred and Daphne, hey if you guys don't mind, if we can get out of this without anything happening to us, would you mind helping us find a date or a boyfriend" Linda replied.
"Or a girlfriend in my case" William added.
"Sure you two, actually we know a warlock who might be able to help you out" Fred replied.
"You're kidding! You know a real warlock, well other then me?" William asked.
"Sure, we met him years ago and he lives in the Himalayas, or lived there when we knew him; so I think he might be able to assist the two of you" Fred replied.
"Cool, we wouldn't mind meeting him someday" Linda remarked.
"Don't worry guys, you will" Daphne replied.
"Well now that we've taken care of that, there's one thing I'm curious about; I know, or have read and heard you and Shaggy are dating Velma, so is it true that you're together?" Linda asked, looking over at the cowardly sleuth and the brunette.
"Who told you that? I'm only kidding, yes Shaggy and I are dating, and quite frankly we couldn't be happier," Velma explained, looking over at the sandy haired young adult.
"Like thanks Velma" Shaggy replied, looking over at the bespectacled young woman.
"Cool, so what about the two of you kissing? I mean I've never seen that before" Linda remarked.
"Well Linda, I know Shaggy and Scooby usually get frightened of things very easily and I'll admit sometimes I get frightened easily too; so I figured they could use some special encouragement from me" Velma explained.
"Velma, I never knew you got frightened of things too; usually you're pretty calm during mysteries" Fred commented.
"Yeah, every time Linda and I read about you guys adventures, I never figured you to be afraid of anything Velma" William replied.
"Well, it's true; and to tell the truth for the longest time I've wanted to be like Shaggy and Scooby; I mean whenever they're scared or hungry or whatever, they always manage to be themselves and sometimes being themselves solves a mystery or two" Velma replied.
"Like that's very sweet Velma, and tell you the truth Scooby and I have always wanted to be like you; you're so intelligent and smart and you always think of the solutions to our cases just like that, and most times your smarts solve a mystery that we're working on" Shaggy remarked.
"Shaggy, that was very sweet of you too, but I like you two for who you are: friendly, hungry and a little cowardly, that's what makes you two so great and why I love you Shaggy" Velma replied before giving the teen a warm friendly hug.
"Velma, that's exactly why I love you also, you're never afraid to be who you are: a really smart girl, a great friend and overall, just being yourself; why other guys besides me, Scooby and Fred don't understand that is beyond me, I mean other guys would try and use you for your smarts, but Scooby and I would never do that, you're our friend and that means more than anything in the world" Shaggy said as he reciprocated on Velma's friendly hug.
"Shaggy, you know something, when this is over I might just take you out to dinner and maybe we can bring home the biggest Doggie Bag you ever saw for Scooby" Velma said with a smile before scratching Scooby's chin and ears.
"Raww, rhank rou Relma" the Great Dane replied with a smile.
"Like that's very generous of you Vel, and I think I'll take you up on that offer of yours" Shaggy commented.
"It's no problem Shaggy, and I'm glad you accept" Velma replied with a giggle.
"You know I think the two of you make quite the magical couple, if you'll pardon the pun" Linda remarked, chuckling as she spoke.
"Don't worry about it Linda, and I think we make a great couple too" Velma replied.
"Hey, since the two of you seem to know something about romance, would you mind helping us find someone special? I mean Fred and Daphne already agreed to, but maybe the two of you can help us as well Shaggy and Velma" Linda asked, looking over at the young couple.
"Like sure, we would love to help the two of you find someone special, right Velma?" Shaggy inquired, looking over at Velma.
"Sure, after all we do know a warlock and like we said, I think he might just be able to help the two of you find the perfect matches for the two of you" Velma added.
"Thanks you guys, you really are the best friends a witch and warlock ever had" Linda said as she walked over and hugged Fred, Shaggy and of course Scooby Doo.
"I'm with my sister, you really are cool friends" William said as she walked over and hugged Daphne and Velma.
"No problem guys, and we're always happy to help our friends" Daphne replied.
"I hate interrupt this friendly talk, but it's getting late; we better get going on our respective treks" Fred remarked as he looked down at his watch.
"True, if we don't get going then we might never get the princess back, and we might not find the Goblin King or his scepter" Linda replied.
"Right sis, and if the Goblin King is anything like what his scepter is like, we're going to need all the magic we can get" William added.
"I guess it's a good thing we have Mr. Gibbles magical artifacts then, after all the five of us are mortals, and we can't do magic like William and Linda" Daphne replied.
"Right, however with a witch and warlock on our side, like we can't fail in our missions" Shaggy remarked.
"I hope so Shaggy, I hope so; now come on you two, and Linda let's get going" Velma said.
"Coming" Shaggy and Scooby replied.
"Right, and I'm right behind you guys" Linda remarked as she followed the bespectacled young woman and her cowardly friends.
So with that Velma, Shaggy, Scooby and Linda continued to walk through the strange area beyond Mr. Gibbles Magic Shop, hoping that the friendly magic shop owner was right about the magical railroad, while Fred, Daphne and William started the long walk back to the Coolsville Halloween Carnival to try and track down their magical foe.
Considering they had a long ways to walk before reaching the carnival Fred, Daphne and William decided they had to pass the time doing something other than walking, so they each decided to chat about various things, including the gang's romances, and what the two magical siblings lives were like.
"Fred?" William asked.
"Yes William?" Fred responded.
"What's it like being a detective, and investigating all the supernatural mysteries that you guys get involved with?" William asked.
"Well William, it's an interesting job; actually it's not so much of a job as it is a hobby that turned into kind of a full time job for us" Fred replied.
"A hobby? I never knew that, so how exactly did you guys solve your first mystery and was it in high school or earlier?" William inquired.
"Well William, I think our first case was back when we were in elementary school; we originally just solved cases around Coolsville and our school, usually just small things, then we started to solve bigger cases in junior high locally, and once we were in high school, we had gotten enough experience and our cases became really tough, like solving bank robberies, trying to crack a counterfeiting ring or two, trying to stop a couple of crooked lawyers from taking over an inheritance, and a lot of others" Fred replied.
"Wow, I had no idea you guys cases were so difficult, did anything really major ever happen to any of you? Like did you guys get injured any times?" William asked.
"Thankfully we haven't had any major injuries, although I did get kidnapped several times; then there were the times I fell into trap doors, the time I was turned into a werewolf, and the times that I was hypnotized and that one time I was put into a trance" Daphne replied, shaking her head as she spoke.
"Hypnotized? Turned into a werewolf? How did that happen?" William asked.
"Trust me William, it's a long story" Daphne replied.
"I bet, by the way how did the five of you meet? I mean I know how you met the two of us, but how did the five of you meet at first?" William inquired.
"Well William, we first met in pre school as I recall; I was living in town with my parents and Shaggy was one of my best friends, Scooby of course was purchased by Shaggy's parents when he was a puppy from a puppy farm and he and Shaggy have been inseparable ever since" Fred replied.
"Cool, how about Daphne and Velma, how did you, Shaggy and Scooby meet them?" William inquired.
"Let's see: well William, Velma and I both moved into Coolsville when we were in 5th or 6th grade, I forget which, and when we started talking to Fred, Shaggy and Scooby, we discovered that we had a lot in common, like all of us really enjoyed solving mysteries, so one day we discussed mysteries and ended up founding our own little mystery solving club, and the rest is history" Daphne explained.
"Very cool, it must be awesome to have such great friends; Linda and I had a few friends in middle school, or junior high but they moved away before we started high school; however, we met a couple more people who thought we were cool in high school so we had more friends then" William replied.
"Cool, what about college? Did you have any friends there?" Daphne asked.
"Not really, although thankfully we both attended the University of Washington, so we hung out a lot back then" William replied.
"That's cool" Fred responded.
"You know there's one thing I've always wanted to know about the five of you, Linda too for that matter" William replied.
"What's that William?" Fred inquired.
"Well, the five of you have been friends for so long, and have solved so many mysteries that you've probably become pretty famous right?" William asked.
"Right" Fred answered.
"So, how in the world have you guys been able to keep all that from getting to your heads? I mean you all seem really down to earth and you don't at all seem really mean, plus your fame seems to be really not such a big deal, at least to the five of you, so how do you guys do it, what's the secret of your success?" William asked.
"That's a pretty tough question William, but I think we can answer it right Daphne?" Fred inquired, looking over at the red headed member of their group.
"Sure, well first of all, the five of us play a huge part in our investigations: I'm a calming influence, and I use my family's wealth to help the group whenever possible, but even though I'm good looking, I can still help out when I'm needed, and with my purse and makeup kit, I can whip up something that can open a locked door or a disguise that can get us out of trouble really fast" Daphne replied, looking over at the unofficial leader of the group and smiling.
"You sure can Daphne; as for me William, I'm a pretty good leader, but I don't flaunt my abilities any" Fred remarked.
"Sure Freddie, sure" Daphne replied with her arms folded and looking quite annoyed with her boyfriend.
"Oh come on Daphne, I'm a good leader and I'm not that bossy am I?" Fred asked.
"Well…" Daphne said, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
"All right, I guess maybe I am a little bossy, but I don't do that any more" Fred replied.
"True, I guess you don't" Daphne commented.
"Thank you Daphne; now, as for me: other then being the unofficial leader of the group, I really like having my friends around, I can be a calming influence and can come through in times of crises, or terror, or can ease everybody's nerves, I'm really a friendly person basically" Fred replied.
"That you are Freddie, that you are" Daphne said as she smiled at the young adult.
"Thanks Daphne, that means a lot to me" Fred replied, smiling back at the pretty red head.
"So Fred, what about Velma, Shaggy and Scooby?" William asked.
"Well, Velma's the most intelligent member of our team, she can figure out complex problems and situations rather easily, like anything associated with science, math or botany; Shaggy's a bit of a chicken, but can really come through in the clutch, whenever one of us is in trouble, he or Scooby or both are able to over come their fears and act really brave, actually for a while now whenever Velma's in danger, Shaggy's like a whole different person, he's totally different from what he once was" Fred replied.
"Wow, I knew Shaggy was a bit of a chicken and a coward, but I never knew he could be brave, I guess that's what happens when you're in love huh Fred?" William asked.
"True, very true" Fred replied.
"So what about Scooby?" William inquired.
"Well, he's like Shaggy in a lot of ways, he's a bit of a chicken, and like Shaggy he eats a lot, but believe me he's a great dog, and in a way he's more then just our pet; he's pretty much like our mascot, he helps us out when we're down, he can be serious when the need arises, he can be silly when the need arises, basically he's a lot more then a mere man's best friend" Fred replied.
"That's cool; and Scooby Doo sounds like a really cool canine, I wish I had a pet like that" William remarked.
"By the way, do the two of you have a pet, like a cat?" Daphne inquired.
"Not really, well actually…" William replied.
"Yes?" Fred answered.
"Well, we had a cat in high school named Martin, he was a Persian cat if I'm not mistaken; we really liked him, problem was he happened to run out in the street one day and well…" William replied with his head down, looking towards the ground.
"Oh, that's too bad; did you ever think about getting a new cat?" Fred inquired.
"With us being in college and then the Salem Magic Institute, we just couldn't see getting another cat, but who knows, maybe we will some day" William replied.
"That's good, something tells me you two would make great cat owners" Fred remarked.
"Thanks guys, by the way it looks like we're getting close to the carnival grounds again" William replied, noticing that the lights and the familiar buildings of the Coolsville Halloween Carnival were getting ever closer.
"Hey I think you're right William, looks like we'll be getting back to the carnival sooner then we thought, I just hope we can stop that magician before it's too late; not to mention I would sure hate to be that fairy princess right now, that poor thing" Daphne commented, sighing sadly at the thought of the small winged creature now being held captive by the Amazing Krudsky, which caused Fred to walk over and place a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry Daphne, we'll rescue her and she'll be okay, I guarantee it" Fred replied, smiling at the young woman.
"Thanks Fred, I know we can rescue her too; I just hope that Velma, Shaggy, Scooby and Linda can get to the Goblin King's scepter before Krudsky does" Daphne remarked.
"Speaking of which, I wonder how the rest of the gang is doing in their quest?" Fred wondered aloud.
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews and thanks to everybody who reads my stories as usual; I know I say this a lot but I cannot thank everyone enough for their support of my works, I greatly appreciate it.