LATER...
The group pulled up outside of a house, and headed over, with Thorn and Luna now dressed like preppies. As the door flew open, there was someone standing in the doorway, wearing a big paper-mache skull mask with glowing red eyes, and making spooky noises. The Mystery Gang jumped back, surprised, but luckily, it was just Dusk.
"Dusk?" asked Daphne. "What're you doing here?"
"I was hoping to scare the curse out of Thorn and Luna," replied Dusk. "Did it work?"
"You gave me such a fright." said Thorn, or in this case, Sally McKnight.
"And this mask is way too scary," added Luna. "It'd be nicer if he was smiling. Maybe some rhinestones?"
Sally nodded, but Dusk looked mortified. "RHINESTONES?!" she exclaimed. "It's the curse! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she ran off.
"Poor Dusk," sighed Scrappy.
"Yeah," Lionel nodded. "...I wonder where people go when they run off-screen like that?"
"I always assumed a door or something." Atticus shrugged.
They soon came into the house to explore a little.
"Well, this house certainly doesn't appear to be lived in." Fred said as the house looked dark and empty.
"That's strange. A mixing board," Velma observed. "This is definitely a clue."
"Pretty gloomy in here... How 'bout we turn on the light?" Sally suggested as she flipped a light switch.
Suddenly, the fireplace began to move from that and a secret downward staircase was then shown.
"Whoa." Atticus said as he didn't expect that.
"A thick wall hiding a creepy stairwell?" Daphne blinked before looking at Sally. "Nice work, Thorn."
"Thanks, Daph," Thorn smirked before she gave a toothy grin. "The simple compliments are the best; they can really brighten your day."
"Man, I don't know what's spookier, guys," Shaggy said to Scooby, Scrappy, Patch, Lionel, and Atticus. "The creepy house or watching Thorn be so sweet."
"Let's just call it a tie." Lionel replied.
"Works for me." Patch shrugged.
They then came to go downstairs and as they did, the fireplace moved back in place behind them. The door to a spare room creaked open once they reached the bottom of the steps and they saw something glowing in the corner that looked like a secret door through the brick wall.
"What is that?" Mo wondered. "Some kinda secret dressing room or something?"
"In the boiler room? It feels a bit... unfitting." Lionel replied as he got closer.
"Looks like whoever owns this room is obsessed with the Hex Girls!" said Shaggy. "In a REALLY creepy way!"
"It's almost like Stephen King's Misery," Mo said nervously. "Though hopefully not that intense."
"No, no. This picture's from our early days before The Hex Girls." Sally said as she picked up a framed picture of how she and the other Hex Girls used to look like, more or less when she and the others met Atticus and Cherry along with Mystery Inc.
"Back when there were four of us." Luna added.
"And this picture makes me look so dower and goth," Sally complained. "That saddens me."
"And those haircuts!" Luna smirked. "Did we even OWN a mirror?"
"I actually like those old looks," Mo commented. "Though, I guess they do kinda scream 1999."
"Let's take a nicer photo of us to replace it." Sally smiled hopefully at Luna.
"Hey! I can pose with my new clubs!" Luna beamed as she swung a golf pose in excitement to that. "I got a new model in mind. I'm into golf now."
"We're aware." Patch replied.
"I love it! And I'll give a cheerful smile like this!" Sally nodded before she gave a big grin, though she still had her fangs in her mouth.
"It works... and yet? It's disturbing." Scrappy replied.
"Ooh... Maybe we will have to cancel the make-up concert." Daphne shivered.
"We can't let anyone see them like this." Fred nodded in agreement.
"You said it." Sabrina added.
"But... But... But... But that concert is the most important thing!" Sally cried out as she grabbed Fred's ascot emotionally. "It's for our fans! Without them, we're nothing!" she then began to cry before blowing her nose into Fred's ascot.
The others grimaced in disgust at the nose-blowing.
"Hey, it's okay, Thorn," Fred said as he clutched his ascot. "Don't worry; we'll fix this."
"We promise." Atticus smiled at his cousin.
"Hey, everyone, look at this!" Velma called out as she stood and leaned against the wall. "I found another secret passage! Come on!"
When her hand was placed in the right spot, a secret door soon opened up in the wall, leading them to a brand new corridor.
"This sure is an expansive boiler room." Patch commented.
Of course, Sally and Luna didn't expect to have someone following behind them... more specifically, Esther Moonkiller!
"Come get it, ya rock star reject!" Scrappy shouted as the gang ran off through the tunnels. "I'll clip your strings but good!"
Esther soon hissed and snarled at him.
"Yeah, yeah, come and get me, bet ya won't!" Scrappy taunted as he kept on running.
"And here comes the hallway full of doors scene." Lionel noted as he checked it off a "list of obligatory Scooby-Doo bits".
"As well as random cameos... Maybe..." Cherry shrugged.
"Like us?" Snooper Dog and The Clue Crew asked as they came out of one door.
"Get OUT!" Cherry glared as she took out Luna's golf club and suddenly swung it, kicking them out of the story. "Now stay off of this story account until the Toonyverse's adaptation of Channel Chasers comes into print!"
"Well, that was confusing," Lionel shrugged. "Let's just keep watching and see what else comes out of these tunnels..."
"Fine by me." Cherry replied.
Atticus, Mo, and Patch joined in on the chase scene as Esther chased after the Mystery Inc gang.
"All we need now is an original, dated song for the chase scene and we'd be good," Cherry commented. "Like Sabrina's friends from Riverdale."
Sabrina pouted.
"Oh, no offense." Cherry grinned bashfully.
"Hmph," Sabrina shrugged and crossed her arms. "None taken."
"Whoa, is that an alligator?" Lionel pointed out, like a commentary.
"I used to fight those back in New York!" Scrappy replied.
"Sewer Gator... Classic legend..." Cherry commented. "I think Timmy Turner and his dad believe in those."
SPLASH! Suddenly, the area filled with water as everyone floated around and held their breaths. Esther soon looked around for the group who had gone missing until they came out of the pipes, not in scuba gear anymore as they held their breath before she swam after them in a huff. Eventually, the water suddenly drained away as Esther was alone in the middle of the pipe maze and a drop of water landed on her and they were all dried up.
"All right, time to keep going." Cherry soon told the others that she waited with.
The group scrambled up a manhole ladder and closed the door on their way out.
"Wait, we're backstage at the Hex Girls' concert!" Velma exclaimed. "These clues are really starting to come together."
"Then c'mon, gang!" Daphne told the crew. "We've got a lot of work to do!"
"Work..." Cherry groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess it's better than just sitting around and blinking for watch time."
"Also, time to redo some make-up." Daphne said as she eyed Luna.
Luna stepped back before she tried to escape.
"We've got a runner!" Mo called out.
Atticus soon brought out his crystal magic to make crystal spikes appear in front of Luna to block her way out.
"Sorry, Luna, but this is for your own good." Patch told the redheaded Hex Girl.
Soon, Luna was strapped down into a make-up chair and was in her old clothes as Daphne had the make-up ready.
"Don't struggle, Luna," Sabrina advised. "Daphne has to make you glamorous again."
"It's for the best," Lionel added. "For you AND your fanbase."
Sally smiled as she began to write something down on some paper, still looking as perky as ever.
"Please tell me that's lyrics for a new song." Atticus begged his cousin.
"Actually, Dusk, Luna, and I have been going over the lyrics for our #1 hit song 'Love's Curse'," Sally replied. "This whole 'I put a curse on you' thing, it just seems so negative. How about 'I put a blessing on you'."
Atticus soon anime fell in the background.
"I love that idea!" Luna beamed as she came over to Sally.
The two then practiced saying "I put a blessing on you" to each other before they fell on the couch together and laughed.
"You two are really freaking me out!" Dusk complained.
"You're not the only one." Cherry remarked.
"That's pretty creepy, I admit." Lionel replied. "And I thought your hit song was 'Hex Girl'... I liked that one better."
"Yeah, that one really gets me pumped up for the Halloween season." Cherry added.
"At least you guys are still talking some sense." Dusk said with a groan.
"Somebody has to!" Lionel replied.
"Tell me about it!" Dusk groaned. "I think I'm gonna lose my mind if I keep hanging around these two much longer!"
"Well, don't make like The Beatles and break up," Cherry advised. "We'll get through this together."
"I sure hope so," Dusk sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, The Hex Girls might end up deader than disco."
"I need a few more minutes," Velma said, while working on something. "Scooby, Shaggy, you go out and stall them!"
"We're on it!" Shaggy replied as he took off with Scooby.
"Oh, man..." Cherry groaned. "This is gonna be a disaster."
"Okay, let's try to be positive." Atticus advised.
"I'm sorry, Atticus, but I don't see a way to stay positive at this rate with your cousin and her bandmates losing their coolness factors by the minute." Cherry retorted.
"I'm positive alright," Lionel replied. "Positive that Scooby and Shaggy will be booed off-stage or beaned with something."
Atticus sighed and shook his head at them.
"Hi! I'm Scrappy Doo!" Scrappy smiled as he came on stage then.
Several people then began to throw rotten food at him just at the sight of him.
"...You set me up for that, didn't you?" Scrappy glared at Cherry.
"I'm sorry, Scraps," Cherry said as she knelt down and wiped him clean before glaring at the audience. "For Celestia's sake, people, he's just a puppy! I don't care if he's annoying, obnoxious, or irritating, he's still just a kid!"
"We want Hex Girls! We want Hex Girls!" The crowd yelled.
Scrappy just rolled his eyes and stormed backstage, muttering under his breath.
"Dirty pool, dirty pool." Lionel sighed as he shook his head.
"Uh... Um... Helloooo, Cleveland!" Scooby soon called out to the crowd.
"Wrong city." Cherry told the Great Dane.
"THIS IS CINCINNATI!" A voice called out from the crowd.
More food was soon thrown from the crowd.
"Incoming!" Cherry warned.
Instead of ducking and dodging though, Shaggy and Scooby decided to take some food that they could get so that they could eat it up.
"Mm... Not bad," Shaggy smiled as he sipped a drink. "Say, could someone throw us a little salt?"
Suddenly, a tomato was thrown and splatted Shaggy right in the face.
"START THE SHOW! START THE SHOW! START THE SHOW!" The crowd demanded while Scooby dragged Shaggy away since he fell on the stage from the tomato throwing.
"Okay... Uh... So..." Cherry cleared her throat as she walked up to the microphone, trying to make a joke. "A Sandwich, a Rabbi, and Yo Mama walk in to a bar..." she then began to say.
The crowd was getting antsy. "WE WANT HEX GIRLS! WE WANT HEX GIRLS!" they shouted, even angrier.
"Guys? You about ready back there?" Cherry called to backstage.
"I think we're good to go." Atticus said as he poked his head out from the curtains.
"Very well," Cherry nodded before clearing her throat. "Ladies and gentlemen... Boos and ghouls of all ages... I finally give you... THE HEX GIRLS!"
The crowd soon began to cheer in excitement and anticipation as the curtains drew back and Cherry bolted off stage as the Hex Girls were shown to be at their respective instruments.
"I'm still really unsure about this." Cherry then said to her friends.
"I can see why," said Lionel. "Sally is holding a ukulele instead of her usual guitar."
Sally began cheerfully strumming at her ukulele, while Dusk boredily tapped on a cymbal, and Luna played on her keytar, which sounded like a toy piano.
"Every time I speak your name, you're gonna think of me and go insane~" said Luna.
"This isn't the Hex Girls!" said one pissed fan.
"BOO! BOO!" And the crowd joined in the jeering and yelling.
"Aw, jeez..." Cherry groaned and complained.
"How's it going, Velma?" Sabrina asked, checking on the smart girl in Mystery Inc.
"Almost got it... And... AHA! Finished!" Velma said as she finished her work and ran off.
"Go, Velma, go! The fate and future of The Hex Girls depends on you, but no pressure!" Sabrina called out.
"Nice advise and help for your friend." Salem smirked snarkily.
Sabrina rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. Sally and Luna continued to play sappily and sweet until Velma activated her device and suddenly, everything began to change. Sally now had Esther Moonkiller's guitar and began to shred as Thorn as the crowd soon cheered in acceptance. Dusk beamed at that and began to bang around on her drums while Luna played more properly this time too.
"Now that's more like it!" Cherry approved.
"The rock universe's order has been restored!" Lionel declared as he and Scrappy were headbanging.
Atticus and Mo cheered together before they began to dance along to the music. Thorn then began to sing "I Put a Curse on You" the proper way with Luna and Dusk. However, the lights went out and the celebration was cut rather short.
"How dare you?!" A hauntingly familiar voice scowled from behind the smoke that appeared suddenly.
"Oh, great," Mo complained. "Just what we need."
"My demonic guitar was supposed to curse The Hex Girls forever!" Esther glared as she dropped down to the floor. "You will ALL pay!"
"Looks like it's time for another mandatory chase scene." Salem shrugged at the others.
"In the words of Richard Horvitz, circa 1993: ay-yai-yai-yai..." Lionel sighed as the chase scene began.
Esther soon chased after the group while the Hex Girls continued to perform their little song. "Augh! No! Not the crowds!" she then cried out once she was face-to-face with the cheering crowd. "Anything but the crowds!"
"Wow." Atticus said.
"Now, Fred!" Velma soon signaled.
Fred then let go of some rope which dropped giant heads of Dusk, Luna, and finally, Thorn and the Thorn head soon dropped right down on top of Esther before she could escape as the song was ending. The Hex Girls then ended their song with fire effects all over the stage as Mystery Inc caught up with Esther and went to stop her and find out who she really was while they still had the time.
"Now it's time to see who the demon ghost of Esther Moonkiller really is." Atticus remarked.
And so Scrappy went over, and pulled off the mask.
"Xander?" exclaimed the group.
"Xander, the president of our fan club?" asked Thorn.
"Xander, the president of-" The crowd began.
"STOP! JUST STOP!" Lionel yelled.
"But why?" asked Mo.
"Yes! Why?!" The crowd added.
Cherry flashed the crowd a "shut up" look, nearly hissing which scared them into being quiet.
"You see, before they were The Hex Girls, Xander used to be in a and with Thorn, Luna, and Dusk," Velma began to explain. "But her fear of performing in front of crowds made her break out in hives and she was forced to quit the band."
"Man, talk about an extreme case of stage fright." Sabrina commented.
"As the Hex Girls rose to fame, Xander became increasingly jealous," Cherry then continued from there. "She vowed to break up the Hex Girls and destroy the band forever. She gave them the guitar which wasn't really cursed; it held a small soundwave emitter that played frequencies like brainwaves."
"This made Thorn, Luna, and their roadie go crazy!" Velma added. "It was only when I found the right frequency that I could reverse the effects."
"Ohhhhh!" Lionel replied. "So that's how it happened!"
"Well, that's the most rock 'n roll thing I've ever heard." Luna commented.
"Heh. Wicked." Thorn smirked.
"Clever." Cherry remarked.
"And here comes the famous line in 3, 2, 1." Atticus cued.
"And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids and The Hex Girls!" Xander pouted firmly.
"Y'know, this whole thing turned out pretty great," said Luna. "We caught a demon, got our fans back, and the Hex Girls returned to being the greatest band in the history of the world!"
"It was pretty adventurous, I'll say." Cherry nodded.
"YEAH!" The crowd cheered. "HEX GIRLS! HEX GIRLS! HEX GIRLS!"
"Know what? We promised our fans a full concert. Whatya say, Thorn?" Luna smirked.
"The Hex Girls are back, baby!" Thorn smirked back.
"Let's rock 'n roll!" Thorn and Luna cheered together with their audience.
"Scooby-Dooby-Doooooo!" Scooby added.
"Now that was excellent." Lionel beamed.
"Quite a great show!" Scrappy added.
"I gotta say, that's probably the best concert I've ever seen in my lifetime." Salem nodded.
"Wow, Salem, that's nice of you to say." Sabrina remarked.
"Hey, I can be a nice guy when I want to be," Salem smirked. "Just don't expect it all the time."
"I'll hold my breath." Sabrina rolled her eyes at him then.
And in short, the group enjoyed the concert.
Eventually, the show ended.
"So great to see you again." Thorn smiled as she hugged Atticus.
"So, you two are related, huh?" Lionel asked.
"Yep," Thorn nodded. "My mother is Atticus's father's sister."
"Though I guess my Wiccan blood is a bit stronger, especially after that mess with Ben Ravencroft." Atticus remarked.
"Well, okay." Lionel shrugged.
"Are you going off on a new adventure after this?" Thorn asked Atticus.
"Yeah, for a little bit," Atticus smiled. "I dunno where we'll go this time, but we're just hanging around Sabrina, Salem, and Mystery Inc for a little while."
"Such is the case." Mo replied.
"Well, wherever you go next, I hope that it's a lot of fun," Thorn smiled. "Keep us posted."
"You know I will." Atticus smiled back.