Chapter 1
"Oh man, the library?" Shaggy whined.
"Come on gang! I saw him run in here!" Fred exclaimed.
It was just another mystery, someone had been stealing jewels from the jewellery store in the town, and the gang had been on look out all night.
They did not see anyone entering the building, and they were almost ready to give up for the night. But then, Scooby saw someone creep out of the jewellery store. The masked individual saw the gang watching him and ran from the scene with a priceless Crystal jewel in his possession.
They chased him through the town and to the library, where he climbed in through a window. One by one, the gang climbed in through the window.
When they were all inside, Fred saw the jewel thief running up the large wooden staircase.
"Come on gang!" Fred exclaimed, and they followed him.
"Zoinks! Of all the places this guy could go, like why would he come here?" Shaggy asked.
"We'll find out soon Shaggy!" Velma exclaimed.
"Freddie, where did he go?" Daphne asked.
"Through here!" Fred exclaimed, he led the gang through the halls where he saw the thief running.
The gang heard a door slam shut and they ran to it.
"He went in here!" Fred exclaimed. The gang ran to the end of the hall, and Fred pushed open the door.
He was expecting it to be locked, but he was surprised when it swung open.
The jewel thief was there. He smiled when the gang walked in, they got a good look at him.
He was tall and slim. He had thick greasy hair and a curly moustache. He was wearing a purple pinstripe jumpsuit under a black trench coat, and he wore a black fedora on his head.
"We've got you now!" Fred exclaimed.
But the man laughed, "Oh I don't think so!"
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed.
The man pulled a book out from under his coat, along with the Crystal jewel he had stolen from the jewellery store.
He opened the book, and suddenly the gang were blinded by a bright light. They could hear the man laughing maniacally.
Daphne's eyes were closed tightly, as she felt herself falling through the air.
She quickly opened her eyes, and she screamed when she saw what was happening.
She was falling, but she had no idea where she was.
All around her was dark, but she could see things flying past her, a grandfather clock, an armchair, a small table, along with various other items. Then she noticed something else, she was not wearing her purple dress.
In fact, she was wearing a shorter blue dress, under a white apron.
Finally, she landed on an armchair. She looked around her and saw a fireplace with a roaring fire.
It was strange as there was nothing else there. She looked up and saw complete blackness.
Where was the rest of the gang? Where had the jewel thief gone? And where was she?
"Gang?" She called. "Freddie?"
Then she heard a scuffling sound, "Who's there?" She asked.
She looked around, and saw a figure turning around the corner.
She realised she should probably follow the figure, "It is a dream after all." She muttered.
That is what she told herself when she was falling. Back in the library, the jewel thief blinded them, and Daphne realised that she probably fell and hit her head. She decided to go along with it, she is bound to wake up soon anyway.
She jumped off the armchair and ran after the figure. There was a large brown door ahead of her. She pushed it open, and it creaked eerily.
When she walked through the doorway, Daphne found herself in another room.
There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling above a small round table.
Out the corner of her eye, Daphne saw a door close. She ran to it and pulled it open, but here was nothing but a wall behind it.
She sighed, "What?"
She looked down and saw a small door. It looked like a little door for a mouse.
Not caring if she got her dress dirty, she got onto her knees. She reached for the doorknob, but she suddenly heard a loud voice.
"Stop! No, don't do that!"
"Who said that?" Daphne asked, she looked around the small room.
"Me! Down here!" The voice shouted.
Daphne looked down at the door, "That's impossible." She muttered to herself.
"Actually, it's quite possible."
Daphne's eyes widened, and she fell backwards, did the door just speak?
It did, and right now it was laughing at her. And Daphne remembered something, she had seen this before, in a book and several movies; Alice in Wonderland.
Daphne sighed, "I forgot, this is just a dream."
"You tell yourself that, girl, I've had many come through this door saying the same thing, I can tell you it's not a dream."
Daphne rolled her eyes, "Doors can't talk!" She exclaimed.
"Then how do you explain me?" The door asked.
"Simple, I must have fallen and hit my head, and now I'm dreaming." She replied.
The door tutted, "If you say so." It said smugly.
"Anyway, how are others supposed to come through this door, it's tiny!" Daphne exclaimed.
"Look up on that table, what can you see?"
Daphne got to her feet and stepped to the table in the middle of the room. On top of the table, Daphne saw a single bottle filled with some liquid, and a small box.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Drink from the bottle."
Daphne picked up the bottle and examined the contents.
"Drink this?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Alright, it's only a dream." She muttered.
"Wait!" The door exclaimed, "Before you do, don't forget to grab that key on the table."
Daphne looked down at the table, but there was nothing there, "What key?" She asked. She gasped, a golden key appeared onto the table, out of nowhere. Daphne kept reminding herself that she was dreaming.
She picked up the key and took a swig of the liquid.
She did not feel right, not at all. Could you feel sick dreams?
"Oh great." She muttered, she thought the liquid in the bottle might be making her faint as she saw the table go above her, but then she realised she was not fainting at all; she was shrinking!
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Ah, you'll fit through the doorway now!" The door exclaimed.
Daphne, now the size of a mouse, dragged the heavy key across the floor, to the door. She lifted the key up and pushed it into the lock and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't turn.
"Oh, silly me." The door laughed, "I'm already unlocked!"
Daphne narrowed her eyes, and she growled at the door. Angrily, she grabbed the door and turned it harshly, "Oh!" The door screamed.
"Oh, shut up!" Daphne shouted, and she pulled the door open, and stepped through the doorway.
She gasped when she stepped out to the other side. She did not know where she was, but she was standing in a field, and she seemed to be normal size now.
She looked around her and noticed the door was gone. But the field was filled with wildflowers.
"This is definitely a dream." She whispered to herself. She heard noises in the distance and decided to follow them.
She ran through the field, and she saw a faint glow in the distance.
She kept running and heard the noises getting louder and louder, until she realised, she was hearing singing.
She ran closer and closer and saw that the glow was in fact a fire. She had come to a clearing in the field and saw various animals dancing around a fire.
It looked innocent, but Daphne thought it was a ritual. She kept back away from them in case they were to see her and attack her. She listened to their song, and tried to remember the one from Alice in Wonderland
Forward, backward, inward, outward,
Come and join the chase,
Nothing could be drier
Than a jolly cactus race!
She slowly stepped closer to them, maybe they won't see her?
Backward, forward, outward, inward
Bottom to the top
Never a beginning
There can never be a stop!
She watched the animals running around the fire; two crows, a blue bird, a sparrow, a robin and two brown rabbits. What was even stranger, if that was possible, was a dodo bird was orchestrating the 'ritual'. And he was the only one of them wearing clothes, a purple blazer, and a blue waist coat.
"This is definitely a ritual." Daphne muttered.
From the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She looked at it, she did not know what to expect to see, but it was only a black mist. And it was floating away from her, towards the trees.
Daphne thought it must be the figure she had seen in the…wherever it was, so she followed it.