Shaggy stood in shock, unable to move as he stared at the bandaged great Dane bounding out of the window. Sibella carefully disentangled herself from his lanky arms as Scooby launched himself into the air…
And landed in her arms, licking her purple face. Sibella couldn't hide a laugh as she carefully set the energetic dog down on the roof beside her. His tail was busy wagging away, which was a good sign after what he had been through.
"Easy Scoob, you don't want to hurt yourself."
Shaggy stood there dumbfounded. Not only was Scooby alright, but here he was standing right in front of them.
Well, right beside Sibella, rather. But he looked alright. Wait a second, did Sibella call him…
"Scooby, what are you doing here?" Shaggy shook his head as Sibella knelt down beside the big dog to talk to him. She seemed to have caught the look in Shaggy's eye and didn't want to dive into that just yet. She would have to be more careful.
"Rell, I roke rup rin a rosrital red rith Red, Raphne, and Relma riling rat re." (Well, I Woke up in a hospital bed with Fred, Daphne, and Velma smiling at me.) Suddenly Scooby seemed to get distracted. He jumped up, placing his paws on Sibella's shoulders. "Roh reah, Red ris rehe! Ret's ro ree rim!" (Oh yeah, Fred is here! Let's go see him!).
Scooby was bounding toward the window, but at a slower gait. Apparently rushing out of the window had hurt him. Sibella came over to help him through the window. Shaggy was still rooted to his spot, dumbfounded. Sibella turned to look at him.
"Shaggy." She looked at him imploringly. This seemed to snap him out of his confusion. He took a few large steps over to the window to help. As he reached out, he wasn't sure if he should actually touch his best friend at first. After a second's hesitation, Shaggy leaned down to help Scooby through. There was a bit of a flinch from the dog, but it passed nearly as soon as it appeared as Shaggy gently lifted the Great Dane over the window sill. With tears in his eyes, he turned back to face Sibella.
"He's…but then….and I…" As he mumbled through his words, Sibella pulled him gently into a hug. After a quick peck on the cheek, she pulled away and took his hand.
"Come now, Mr. Rogers, let's follow Mr. Doo to see Mr. Jones." She offered him a comforting grin. After Shaggy offered a pitiful attempt to laugh at her, she sighed and pulled him through the window.
This was going to be a long night.
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Fred sat patiently down by the van at the gate. He didn't want to intrude, but he wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with this situation. It had been over a month since he had learned about Shaggy, but it was still shocking. The timid coward he and his friends had found annoying, yet endearing, was apparently far more than met the eye. More than that, here Fred sat on the door of a place that, according to Scooby, proved the mystery solving team wrong that monsters were always a man in a mask.
Fred shook himself from his thoughts as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked toward the gate to see Scooby walking gingerly accompanied by a beautiful, tall woman with purple hair. She walked with a grace which almost led him to think she was floating, kind of like a dream. But as Fred turned to see who was behind them, he knew this was no dream.
A couple of feet behind the dog and young woman walked one of Fred's oldest friends. The lanky teen had grown up since their mystery solving days. He had grown very tall and even for having been so lanky, his gymnast days had helped him build some decent muscle tone. Of course as he took in his old roommate's slumped shoulders and defeated look on his face, Shaggy suddenly looked far smaller than Fred remembered him ever being. Of course all the memories of the Wolf Man Shaggy attacking him and his friends and what Shaggy had done to Scooby came back to mind. Fred felt a bit confused if he were being honest.
"Rey Red!" Scooby shouted to the blond man as Fred pulled himself off of the Mystery Machine.
"Hey Scooby!" he turned to face the woman beside the dog. "Fred Jones, pleasure to meet you miss….?" Fred extended his hand.
"Sibella." She stated it simply. Not curtly, but Fred could feel the ice behind it. She did not move to take his hand. Instead she gently scratched Scooby behind the ears.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Sibella. Scooby has told me a bit about this school. I'm just glad to see him happy again." As he said this last bit, he saw Shaggy perk up a bit. Of course Sibella remained stoic. Scooby was smiling, but was lost in the feeling of Sibella's long nails finding that perfect spot behind his left ear. As his leg and tail began to twitch, Shaggy offered Sibella a glance. He thought he was the only one who knew about that spot. Maybe she had found it by accident.
Fred went on, trying to break the ice. "So Miss Sibella, are you a teacher here?"
"What I am is of no concern right now, Mr. Jones. What are you doing here?"
Fed sighed as he knew he wouldn't be getting much further just yet.
"Well, Scooby woke up. His first question was obviously for some food, but after that, he just kept asking where Shaggy was. Well, none of us knew. We were all still a bit shaken from…the situation." Here Fred cast his eyes over to Shaggy. He saw shaggy tense at the mention of the situation, so Fred quickly moved on.
"So Scooby told us about this place. A school for exceptional people. He thought someone here might know where Shaggy was for some reason. We weren't too sure, but there was no stopping him. So as soon as Scooby was well enough to travel, He and I jumped into the Mystery Machine to make our way here. He also told me a bit more about the school on the way. I'll be honest, it…throws me off a bit. But Scooby wanted to find Shaggy and honestly, so did I."
Here he stopped to face Shaggy. "Shag, I didn't react in the best way when everything happened. I'm not going to lie, I was scared shitless. To be honest, I am still a bit scared. But you are one of my oldest friends, and I shouldn't have reacted that way. I'm sorry buddy."
Shaggy dropped his shoulders from the tense position they had been in previously. "Like, It's alright Fred. I don't blame you. It was only natural. We spent, like, years chasing fake monsters, like, always talking about how real ones didn't exist."
Sibella had been watching this happen. Seeing the relaxation in Shaggy, she went over and placed her had on his shoulder, taking a deep breath.
"Mr. Jones, thank you for brining Scoob to see Shaggy. I and the rest of the women here would greatly appreciate it if, for the sake of the girls, you didn't share what you know of this place with anyone." This time Shaggy didn't miss it. She called him Scoob. Of course Sibella did not give him time to dwell on this.
"Shaggy, dear, are you ok?" Shaggy nodded at her mutely. She turned to Scooby who had not left his spot between Shaggy and Fred. His tail had stopped wagging and was standing straight up as he faced Shaggy. Slowly he stalked toward Shaggy. Shaggy wouldn't even look up as he felt Scooby's eyes on him.
"Reach, are rou rok Raggy?" Shaggy tensed as Scooby asked him that. It was the first time Scooby had spoken to him since he had arrived. Well, almost. There was that small comment after he had kissed Sibella. Ahh, that kiss. Wait, attention to Scooby. He looked up with tears brimming out of his eyes.
"Scoob, I am soooooooooo sorry. There is no excuse for what I did. Especially after everything you have done for me. I'm sorry." Here, looking completely crestfallen, Shaggy fell to his knees. Scooby suddenly started wagging his tail again. Even bandaged, he sprinted over to his friend.
"Reah, rou rould re. Rafter rall I rent rough, Ri rust ranted ro ree rou and roou reren't rere. Ri rissed rou Raggy." (Year, you should be. After all I went through, I just wanted to see you and you weren't there. I missed you). Here he jumped up on Shaggy, licking his face. The tears in Shaggy's eyes suddenly began to glisten with joy.
"Like, I missed you too buddy."
Fred let out a breath he had been holding. "Whew, wonderful. So can we grab something to eat or…" He trailed off as Sibella got a dangerous glint in her eye. In the blink of an eye, she was standing uncomfortably close to him. She offered a toothy smile and Fred could have sworn he saw fangs.
"Mr. Jones. Welcome to Grimwood's. Please don't ever do something like that to my Shaggy again. He has been through a great ordeal. He and Scooby both." She softened her stance here. "Now Fred, please join us for a late night snack if you will."
She turned and sauntered off. Fred gaped. Her Shaggy? This was a lot to take in. And did she really have fangs or was the light playing tricks on him?
She slowed as she stood beside Shaggy and Scooby. "Coming dear? You too Scoob?"
Shaggy took her hand and carefully stood up. It had been a very long night and he wasn't sure what would happen next. Of course she had called him hers, so there was that. And what was this with her calling Scooby Scoob?
He would have to ask about that one.
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Fred sat staring at the food before him. It was slightly less shocking than everything else he had learned in the past hour. Of course, when a fly and peanut butter sandwich on rotten bread was less shocking…
He chanced a glance up at the room around him. He was met by four pairs of staring eyes. Through the window he could see a the dragon's tail. Wow was this a lot to take in. Shaggy was on the other end of the table, collapsed into a large plush chair. The Purple lady was beside him. Sibella, that's right. The…vampire?
The blue girl who was floating started first. What was her name? Phanty? The was the ghost, the phantom.
"Ok Mr. Jones. Now you know about us. We are the children of the monsters you read about growing up. We actually exist." There was not a hint of laughter in her voice. The mummy looking one went next. She was…Tammy? Tan…? Tanis! Right? Sounded like an old Egyptian City?
"Now we need to know, can you be trusted? This school is a very special place. It means a great deal to myself and the rest of these ladies."
The taller woman with the bolts in her neck was next. She came to stand beside him. Even Fred's 6'4" frame was nothing compared to her. She had to be at least 7' tall! He knew she was related to Frankenstein. Her name was…Elsa? Ok, he had to do a better job on this name thing.
"Mr. Jones, do not cross us. You have heard the terror stories from our fathers. I promise you we are a great deal worse when threatened."
Here Shaggy stepped in. Regardless of how Fred had acted, he was here and had brought Scooby with him. Shaggy rose to his feet, calling in a commanding voice. As he did, Sibella just watched him.
"Ladies, please. Fred is a good guy. You can trust him."
"After the way he reacted to you?!" It was a biting remark from the young orange haired lady in the middle of the table. She followed this with a howling laugh. There werewolf, Winnie, Fred reminded himself. Shaggy stood now. He seemed far more confidant that Fred had ever seen him before.
"To be fair, Winnifred, I kept a secret from him as well. Yet here he is and he brought Scooby to us." At this, Scooby moved from his spot in the middle of the table where he had been devouring food and walked over to Fred. He snuggled his head up underneath of Fred's hand, which had been hanging over the arm of the chair he occupied.
"Reah, Red's Ralright."
As they heard Scooby speak for the first time since they had all arrived in the room, the rest of the ladies relaxed. If Coach and Scooby said he was ok, they would trust it.
"Excellent! Now, back to bed everyone. The rest of those girls will be up and very energetic in just a few hours." Shaggy watched as the ladies just stared at him. No one even attempted to move. He continued softly. "Please?"
As the word fell from his mouth, the ladies begrudgingly stood to leave. They each gave Fred a smack on the arm or back before strolling over to hug Scooby and Shaggy. Finally, it was just Scooby, Shaggy, and Fred in the room. Sibella hesitated in the door way, waiting to catch Shaggy's eyes. He turned to see her staring at him and smiled. It was a real smile that reached all the way to his eyes. She felt her heart flutter. Ugh, being an ice cold vampire princess was so much harder when he did that.
"I'll see you later."
It wasn't suggestive, just a simple statement, but it made her stomach do flips. The way he said it, meant just for her….mmmm…
She turned to leave the room, trying to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. Plus she had her own plan to get on with.
Scooby looked up wimpering a bit at Shaggy. Shaggy smiled back.
"No worries old buddy. It's the same room and the bed is just waiting for you." He offered with a smile. Scoob returned it and took off to catch up with Sibella before she reached the stairs. He knew he would need some help navigating those again.
As Scooby left, Shaggy returned his attention to Fred. After an uncomfortable silence between the two old friends, Shaggy started.
"Fred, I'm sorry."
Fred looked up from the plate his attention had returned to.
"Me too. I shouldn't have run…and more than that, I shouldn't have told you to."
He was interrupted as Shaggy laughed.
"Fred, you have nothing to apologize for. I literally attacked you, your friends, and your family. You did what any good friend would have done. It hurt when you told me to leave, but I understood. You saw the monster in your friend, and it was a monster I couldn't control."
"But I should have known better. We all should have." Fred stepped in. "Shaggy, you have been my friend nearly our entire lives. I should have been there to help, not there to push you away."
Shaggy felt himself flinch at the word friend. After what he had done to Scooby, he had given up on ever hearing that word again. But he had to admit that it felt nice. "Thanks Freddy." He stood up to and came around the table to sit near Fred.
"Also, before you ask, no the others aren't scared either. Well, no more than me. Daphne and Velma are watching Jasmine, waiting to hear from me. We figured it might be easier if…one of us saw you at a time rather than you getting all our questions at once."
Shaggy smiled at the thoughtfulness. Friends. It felt good.
"Thanks Fred. Let's talk." Shaggy and Fred stayed up for a few more hours as Shaggy laid out his entire story before Fred. It was much easier knowing that Sibella was there for him, even if not in the room right then.
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This time it was Sibella sitting outside waiting for him. Since he was not quite as graceful as her, she didn't have to smell him to know he was coming. She heard the roof creak as he moved onto it.
"Hey Shaggy."
He smiled. It really sounded nice when she said his name. It also made his heart race for some reason.
"Hey Sibella. Mind if I join you?"
"Only if you don't sit close enough for me to kiss you. Our last one was interrupted…though I don't mind all things considered."
Shaggy dropped himself down beside her. With a wicked grin on his face, he turned the slim vampire to face him, pulling her into his lap. All of this was done with more grace than she realized he possessed and caught her quite off guard. Then his lips were against hers. They were gently, passionately seeking hers. She could feel him pouring all he had into that kiss, every last ounce of what and who he was.
And she melted into it. The cold Vampire Princess didn't exist, not with him. When his arms held her, when his lips were there, none of that mattered. All that she knew was that she needed to feel him against her.
After a few minutes, both rose from the kiss breathless. After a few deep breaths, Shaggy broke the silence.
"Wow."
She giggled. Wait, what? She hadn't giggled in…well, years. What was happening to her? As she turned and looked up into his face, she saw how the light played on his jaw. She was entranced. She carefully nuzzled her nose deep into his neck, feeling the warmth of his blood flowing. It felt amazing. And she felt his arms wrap tighter around her, holding her close. It felt..perfect.
The couple sat there for hours. Not another word was spoken. They just held onto one another. Nothing else mattered. Just being together.
As dawn began to rise, the Wolf Man and the Vampire Princess slowly, reluctantly, let one another go and returned to their rooms, knowing everything was different.
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Shaggy stretched as he walked through the top of the stairs. It had been a long, emotionally draining day, but it had been a good day. He had taken the girls out to play soccer that morning and he had to admit they were pretty good. Maybe he would try volleyball next. That could make for an interesting debate.
The ladies seemed to have calmed down toward Fred. He was glad. It wasn't really Fred's fault anyway. Fred had just been trying to protect his family from a ravenous beast, not knowing it was his friend. And more than that, he had apologized and called Shaggy his friend. Everything would be alright.
Then there was the rest of his thoughts. His heart was still heavy, but the past few days had started to brighten things up for him. Fred was back, and seemed to be slowly adjusting. Scoob was back in his life and seemed to be ok with being around him.
Then there was Sibella. That was where his thoughts centered. She had grown into quite the woman. He and Scoob had checked in on them from time to time and Miss Grimwood had given them updates. Of course most of that had ended just before the girls graduated.
He had missed them, but for some reason he had missed her more than the rest. Considering the past few days, he knew why, or he thought he did. He wasn't sure, but she had been there, in her own way.
And then she had called him Scoob? What had that been about?
Shaggy had gone out running, trying to escape his thoughts. They were peaceful, yet stressful. The longer he spent dwelling, the more confused he became. It was all he could take, so the Wolf Man had gone out and burnt off some energy. He had run through the swamp, not even caring when he ran through a spider's web. Well, heck, what could a spider do to him anymore? He just kept his feet churning, pushing him step after step farther forward.
After about an hour, he had found himself back at the mansion. Not that it mattered, it seemed his thoughts were there to stay. But that was life. So he stole quietly into the house. It was late when he had returned and he didn't want to wake anyone up. As he made his way toward his door, he stopped at the window. As he looked out, he could already see her there, waiting for him. He smiled at that. It felt good. No one else had ever cared about him that much except for Scooby.
Shaggy slid the window up and moved his long body through to meet her. As he got close, one thought came to his mind which had been gnawing at him all day long.
"Scoob, huh? Not Scooby or Mr. Doo?" He smirked as he came to sit down beside her.
She looked over at him, a look of shock on her face. "Oh. Yes. That." She stopped.
He pulled her into a hug. "I'm not mad…just confused. Care to share?"
Before she could stop it, she was staring into his eyes. Those eyes which she always managed to get lost in. This wouldn't end well. Ugh!
"Ok, Shaggy. If you really want to know, I will tell you. Just…promise not to get mad at…anyone?" As she said this, she offered a nervous glance back toward the window. He gently pulled her chin back to face him before laying a kiss on her lips. It was done before she registered.
"I promise Sibella." He held her stare, waiting. It took a minute for her to shake herself from his trance.
"Ugh, OK! So this is about you and Scooby…and all…though I didn't know it was you at the time, and now…and…let me start from the beginning." Feeling herself blush, the young vampire shifted herself deeper into his embrace, preparing to tell him of her tale.
"So a few years ago, I got some mail. The writing was scribbled and it took some time to read, but it was from Scooby. He said you and he were having some problems with a creature. He said he knew I had some knowledge in dealing with this particular type of creature and was hoping I could help him out. Well I sent him my number and we set up a time to meet.
"When we met, I thought it was weird that you weren't around, but Scooby was so happy to see me and I was happy to see him as well. We went for a walk and chatted. We caught up about life and what was going on. It was about four years ago. He talked about the gang trying to get back together. As I went to ask him about you, he suddenly changed the subject. He asked me about werewolves. Said there were some issues near you all with on transitioning and that he was trying to help him. We talked about the history of it for a bit, but Scoob just kept saying he wanted to help the guy."
She stopped here, letting Shaggy take it all in. He gave her an impassive look, but gestured for her to go on. "We talked a lot over the next few months. We talked about what the transition was supposed to be like and steps he could do to protect himself and others. Scooby kept asking how to protect the guy and how much he would remember. I told him that until he claimed it, the guy would never control it, nor would he remember everything if he was ever fully wolf. It was apparently a long process, but Scooby was always so positive. I offered to talk to dad to see about reversing it for the poor guy. I even offered to 'control him' to see if that would help. Scoob brushed it all off. Scoob said he was having a hard time and was losing friends left and right. I asked Scoob if he would leave the guy and he told me never, not even if the guy attacked him."
She paused here as a single drawn out sob emitted itself from Shaggy's body. After a few deep breaths of fighting back tears, Shaggy squeezed her to get her to continue.
"Well, apparently things started getting better. Scooby was brighter. Said his friend was doing much better and even around other people now. I kept asking about how you and he were doing, but he would always answer to say you all were fine. Still best buds and running from trouble. I should have known better." She laughed a bit at herself on this one. "You two may have been 'cowards' to everyone else, but we Grimwood girls always knew you were heroes." She wrapped her arms around her wolf man, now crying against her. He didn't try to hide it anymore.
"Well we last spoke about a month and a half ago. Scooby mentioned that you all had family visiting. Didn't talk about his friend. Seemed everything was going well."
She stopped and turned to face Shaggy. "That was the last time I heard from him until you arrived. We had gotten close. I kept asking to talk to you or if you could come to one of our meetings. Scoob never gave me more, just that you were alright and still as hungry as ever. I never knew we were talking about you the whole time."
Her eyes fell from his as she stated the last line. Then fury took her once again. Sibella jumped to her feet.
"Sibella, where are you going?" She stared at hime and he could feel the anger burning in her eyes.
"To see my idiot father. No one should have to go through this Shaggy, especially not someone as kind as you."
"Please don't Sibella."
"No, I'm going and don't try to stop me!" Sibella shouted. She turned on her heel, attempting to move away when she slipped. Had she been in her usual state of alertness, she would have turned into a bat and all would have been fine. Instead, with caring and anger burning inside of her, she felt herself fall, going over the edge of the roof. She screamed like she never knew she could scream. For a second she was terrified.
Then, as soon as it began, the falling stopped. She found herself rightside up in a warm embrace, softly on the ground. She stood, shocked. Shaggy was holding her, though he seemed bigger than before. She could see his canine's clearly bared. His chest was heaving as he set her down gently. Then the teeth receded and was replaced by his smile.
"Don't do that to me Sibella. I wasn't kidding when I said I couldn't lose you." She suddenly found her anger fading in the face of his eyes. She melted into his embrace, coming as close to him as their clothes would allow.
"Besides, If you got me changed back, imagine how much more complicated this would be." He offered, squeezing her for good measure.
"Now then, do you trust me?" She stared at him, nodding blankly. "Good, now hold on tight, my Queen." With that, he wrapped his arms around her and jumped. In a second they were back in their spot on the roof. In her fear (wait, a vampire afraid? He really was messing with her.) she had wrapped her legs around his waist. For his part, he had moved his hands to the only place available to make sure she did not fall, her perfect ass.
In this position, they stared at one another for a moment before their positions suddenly hit them. Losing her legs, Shaggy carefully set her down. Their argument was forgotten in their embarrassment.
"Like, sorry Sibella."
"No, I'm sorry Shaggy."
They stood their staring at one another's feet. Sibella thought to herself that she had really screwed it up. He was hurting and here she was yelling at him.
"Actually, I'm not sorry." Before she could react to what he had said, Sibella felt Shaggy's hands on her again as he pulled her into an embrace.
"You already said I am yours, and that is what I want to be." With that, Shaggy brought the lips of the dumbfounded vampire princess to his, kissing her passionately. Soon she was kissing back and they felt their lips part in order to explore one another. If that first kiss had been amazing, it held nothing on this kiss.
Soon, Shaggy pulled himself away. "MMMM, but not tonight." He caught the crestfallen look of shock on Sibella's face. "Trust me, it is not that I don't want to. I would do anything for you and my body tells me I could certainly take you tonight. But I care about you too much. I want to be with you Sibella, and I want to do this right."
Here he offered his lips to hers for one last gentle kiss before pulling away and slipping through the window.
"Goodnight, my queen."
He was gone almost before she realized it. She was lost in her own world at the thought of everything he had just said. Smiling to herself, she began to sway on the roof, dancing to the music in her head and the thought of being Shaggy's. Well, she had already said he was hers, so it only seemed fair. She was his…queen? Hmm, she liked the sound of that.
In her haze, she did not notice the shadow closing in near her. It enveloped her completely before she could utter a sound. She faded into the shadow.
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Sibella woke a short time later. She looked around her to see dreary stone walls surrounding her bed. The bed itself was and old four poster which was draped in black and covered in fur. Well this certainly couldn't be good. What now?
From her side rumbled a laugh. She tried to turn, but found that she was chained to the bed, particularly on her side. The voice went on laughing as she felt the figure more into her sight. As he did, she felt dread catch her. Not him, not now. This wasn't what she needed!
He voice boomed out with a thick Transylvanian accent. "Vy hello my daughter. It vould seem you have been making friends. Ve shall have to correct this."
Dracula stood before her, in all of his gory glory, laughing.