Part 12

Velma walked through the downstairs area, her stomach in knots the whole time and her nerves were sky rocket high. A part of her really wanted to bolt out the door right now and not spend time trying to find him. She had this sinking feeling that she wouldn't be as lucky as last time when she finds him. Last time he wanted to talk, but this time he might skip the words and not hesitate to go ahead and stick a knife through her. The thought made her sweat from fear and she knows that she shouldn't be working herself up so much right now, it might distract her from the task at hand and make give up this whole operation and that was not an option. She must continue on and find this guy…hopefully everything works out…

Velma walked all through every room in the first floor but it felt like everywhere she went she was getting further and further away from him. She couldn't seem to find him anywhere and she was starting to get frustrated. It seems that whenever they didn't want to find him he was always right there and now the one time she wanted him to show he was nowhere to be found. At the same time though, she also felt that he was always right behind her, watching her, waiting to strike at the right moment when she least expects it. Velma needs to calm herself down and focus. She would know for a fact if he intended to do just that, something was wrong. None of this was right, something felt very wrong and Velma decided to end her search and head back towards Daphne to talk about what to do now. She walked into the living room and looked up to see her friend at the top of the balcony patiently waiting for her cue.

"Did you find him yet Velma?" Daphne asked unammused by all the waiting.

"No, I haven't. I honestly have no idea where he is," Velma admitted crossing her arms. "It's like he has just disappeared!"

"He couldn't have just disappeared! This is his house, why would he leave us here alone?"

"I have no idea, but I have looked everywhere for him and he is nowhere to be found. Something is not right about this and I'm staring to get a bad feeling about it."

Daphne sighed, "Alright, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know, I guess just go ahead and come down here and we will discuss what the next best option for us is," Velma rubbed her temple.

"Alright, I'll head down." Just as Daphne spoke, Velma looked up and her eyes spotted someone standing behind Daphne. Velma gasped and her eyes became wide.

"Daphne watch out!" Velma yelled panicked. Before Daphne even had a chance to fully turn around she felt herself being pulled away from the balcony. Her heart began to race.

"Velma!" she yelled out before she completely disappeared from Velma's line of sight.

Velma's heart began to race and she immediately bolted for the staircase. She had to get to Daphne in time before it was too late, before she found her dead. How could she be so stupid! She should have known that he would know what they were planning and she should have known that he would have something planned to stop it from happening. He has been one step ahead of them this whole night and as soon as she couldn't find him downstairs she should have known that he was upstairs. This must have been his plan all along…she was right, he was watching them, waiting to make his move when the moment was right, though not on her but on Daphne. Why didn't she see it before? He knew Daphne wasn't dead yet because he didn't mark her like he did Fred and Shaggy. Velma should have picked up on that, she was too happy to see Daphne alive to catch that small little detail. Amazing…genius…he knew that when she found Daphne that she would be too distracted to notice and they would play everything out like he wanted. He gave them that last glimmer of hope only to rip it away again. He was one twisted person and needed to be put away as soon as possible.

Velma raced up the stairs calling out Daphne's name on the steps hoping to hear some type of response but her heart was beating too fast and her breathing was too heavy that she wouldn't be able to hear anything if Daphne actually did respond. Her adrenaline was pumping and her nerves were running haywire. Velma reached the top of the landing and turned to see Damien holding Daphne tightly with a knife to her throat. Velma froze in place and studied him closely. His face was different from when she saw him a few minutes ago. When she met him, he looked very suave, confident, and even cocky, now he looked truly mad, his eyes had a crazy look to them and face had an expression on it that would make one think he was close to going over the edge. She tried to keep a straight face as she looked at him.

"Okay, let's just calm down Damien," Velma held her hands out as she spoke.

He gave her a chuckle, "Ah, I knew you would figure it out. You truly are the smart one Velma, never doubted that for a minute."

"Please, you don't have to do this," Velma tried to coax him down. "We can talk about it, just let Daphne go a-."

"Really? You really think I want to sit here and talk to you? You really think I am going to fall for the oldest trick in the book? I know what you are trying to do and very clever, it's what most people would do in your situation so I don't blame you for trying." Velma was caught was off guard. She didn't know what to do now…maybe with the right words her plan would still work and she could get Daphne away from him.

"Look Damien, I'm sorry about your dad," Velma finally said. "I mean, there was nothing we could really do for him."

"You could have not sent him to jail!" he yelled back at her. "He was the only family I had left and he was great to me, never could have asked for a better father. You and your gang took him away from me and it's only fair that I return the favor."

"You don't have to continue doing this! You can find a better way to cope with your anger! Listen, I'm sorry we put him in jail, we were just doing the job we were hired to do and nothing else. We can't control what happens to him after we catch him and that's the truth," Velma paused thinking of what to say next. "How about I make you a deal?"

Damien perked his head up at the statement and shrugged, "Alright, I'll humor you, what did you have in mind?"

"I feel bad for you, I really do, but me feeling bad isn't going to keep you out of jail and keep you from suffering the same fate as your dad. You let me and Daphne go free and I promise that we will not go to the police about this. They will never know that you are the one who killed Shaggy and Scooby or Fred. We will say that Fred went away for personal reasons and if they ask about you I will tell them that you have an alibi and you are in the clear. They will never find out about you," Velma offered and Daphne shot her a look that disapproved of what she said but she was open to anything that got the blade away from her neck. "Do we have a deal?"

"Ha, you really think I am going to believe that you won't go to the police the first chance you get?" Damien snickered at her words.

"I give you my word that we won't," Velma said straight faced although she was completely nervous because he was right, she was lying.

"Hmm…you know as tempting as that sounds your pities come too late Velma. I'm already half way done with the job so I might as well go ahead and finish my work now," he flashed her an evil smile and Daphne felt like crying. She was about to die.

Before Velma could say anything in retaliation, she saw a figure come from behind Daphne and Damien and they looked to be holding some sort of bat. Velma watched as the person flung the bat down onto Damien's head and he fell hard to the ground. Velma watched him fall and looked back up to see who their mysterious savior was. Her eyes lit up with pure shock and also extreme joy when she made out the face. How was that even possible...?

Daphne felt Damien's hold on her loosen and she looked at him only to see him fall on the ground. She was confused and looked up at Velma who she was shocked to see her looking behind her with a small smile. Daphne turned around and her face let up with happiness and her eyes wallowed up tears. She brought her hands up to her mouth and gasped into them. She has never been so joyous in her life.

"Oh my god…Freddie!" Daphne cried and she jumped into the blonde's arms. Fred wrapped his arms around her tightly so happy to have her in his arms again, so happy that she was alive. "I thought you were dead! I thought I had lost you forever! I'm so happy you are alive!"

"Not as happy as I am to see you alive, Daph. I was so worried about you, and besides, I'm Fred Jones, leader of Mystery Inc., you can't take me down that easily," Fred tried to be lighthearted but he still couldn't stop the tears from escaping his bright blue eyes when a smile appeared on his face.

"Of course not," Daphne chuckled and wiped away a tear. "Please just don't scare me like that again…I can't ever lose you…"

"Don't worry, you will never lose me again Daphne," Fred took hold of her hands and looked straight into her eyes.

"Oh Freddie, your hands," Daphne could feel the scars on his palms.

"Oh don't worry about that, it's just a scratch is all," Fred cocked a smile and then Daphne pulled him back into a hug which he gladly accepted.

Velma looked at the both of them, a smile appeared on her face at the love and happiness they shared. She was extremely happy that Fred was alive and that the agreement they had wasn't truly the last thing she said to him. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if that was how she said goodbye. Now there he is standing right in front of her alive and only minorly hurt which was great. Surprisingly, Velma is most happy that Fred and Daphne were now back together again. When she looked at them she saw herself with Shaggy and she was happy that her best friend didn't have to go through the pain she has gone through. It is the worst pain she has ever felt and she would not wish it upon these two. Everything was working out at last.

Fred noticed Velma looking at him and Daphne and he gave her a warm smile. Even after everything he couldn't be mad at her for the moment, he was so happy to see her alive and well also. Velma gave him a warm smile in return and Fred motioned for her to come join him and Daphne in the hug. Velma lightly smiled and joined in with her two friends.

"I'm glad to have you back Fred," Velma said wrapping her arms around Fred and Daphne.

"Glad to see you are okay Velmster," Fred answered using the nickname he gave her.

Velma giggled and the three remaining Mystery Inc. members enjoyed their moment of reunion but they only got to enjoy it for no more than a minute before suddenly Velma felt something go into her back. She let out a gasp as she went limp in Fred and Daphne's arms. She felt her vision begin to fade as her body fell completely lifeless onto the ground and she was dead. Fred and Daphne looked up and saw Damien no longer unconscious on the floor but standing over Velma with the knife in her back. Daphne gasped in terror and Fred's eyes were wide as Damien pulled the knife out of Velma and looked up at the two with angry eyes and a crooked smile.

"Run…" Damien's voice was low and threating.