Chapter 3

A Supernatural Surprise

Fred, Daphne, and Velma were now following Tara down an old footpath that serval cracks, surrounded by overgrown scrubs and unsettling-looking trees. The three looked around nervously as they went deeper and deeper into the woods. An owl hooted nearby, a fox scurried passed in the vegetation and a snake slivered in the undergrowth.

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Velma asked casually.

"Absolutely," Tara responded.

"Is it ok if I can ask you something?"

"Oh sure."

"I know it sounds crazy, but when I saw you running off at the carnival, I saw that you had what looked like a blue scale. What was that?"

"Oh um, nothing. Just a harmless rash." Tara fibbed.

"Ok," Velma sceptical said.

"Gees, this place gives me the creeps," Fred whispered to his girlfriend, earning a nod.

"So Tara, how much farther?" Daphne asked.

"Not long now. Just this turn and we're there."

Once they had turned the corner, they arrived at a large old bar metal entrance. Behind was a strange-looking old fashion building.

Fred read the sign above. "Mr Gibbles' Genuine Magic Shoppe."

"Looks a bit creepy," Daphne stated to herself.

Velma went to open the gates, only for them to open them by themselves. She gasped as the rusty gates slowly moved forward.

Tara walked forward. "Come on, it's safe." she comforted. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"It's just more Halloween hogwash." Velma reminded herself.

Nervously, the three walked through the gates and began to head to the shop. Once they were on the front porch, Tara opened the door. The inside of the shop was filled with nicknacks, quirky objects and more spooky embellishments than a megamall during the Halloween season.

"Uncle Gibbles, are you here?" Tara called. She then shifted her attention to Fred and the girls. "Wait here." She then went off to see if she could find her uncle. As they lingered, they decided to have a look around.

"Talk about a creep-show convenience store," Fred stated.

Velma came to the counter and picked up a purple sorceress hat with yellow stars. "Hey guys," she called as she put on the hat. "Just call me

Merlinena the Magician." she joked earning giggles from the others.

"Well, at least we got a few good laughs tonight," Fred stated.

Daphne caught sight of her reflection in a mirror and began marvelling at her beauty, puffing up her hair. When her eyes shut, her reflection began producing faces in disgust at the sight in front of her. Daphne opened her eyes to see one of these presentations of revulsion. "Huh?" Daphne leaned closer only to witness her reflection do the same.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked as he came over.

"Oh nothing, I just thought I saw something."

"Looks like an ordinary mirror to me."

"Hum, I could have sworn that I saw something," Daphne remarked as she rubbed her chin.

They began to head back to the counter. Fred passed a jar filled with eyes. He had to do a double-take, checking to see if the eyes were following him. "You know, there's something screwy about this place."

"Thank goodness Shaggy and Scooby aren't here. They would be screaming at everything." Daphne stated.

"Those two are scared of their own shadows." Velma dryly remarked as she put back the hat.

Suddenly the lights flickered off, and a thunderclap of lightning flashed.

"Jinkes!"

"Who dares speak of the shadows on Halloween night?" Boomed a voice.

The trio turned the other way. From the back room appeared an old man with white hair, bushy eyebrows, large pointy ears, and two chains, and was dressed in a purple shirt, a maroon vest, a yellow necktie and glasses.

"Creatures of the supernatural must be mindful with their words."

They gulped.

"Sorry, our bad." Fred apologised.

"We're new here," Daphne added.

"Always delighted to meet new customers. Always, always. Welcome to Mr. Gibbles', where the magic is real at prices that are unreal." He greeted.

"Excuse me Mr. Gibble but you wouldn't by chance have a spare tire," Velma asked.

"A tire, that's an odd request for Halloween."

"Oh, it's not for that, it's just our van got a flat," Fred stated.

"Well, I might be able to help." He got out a large book and blew off the dust causing the others to cough. "Now let's see here." He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Aha, here it is. Give a tire without a mubber, make sure it's made of rubber." In a flash, a large tire appeared.

The trio gasped in shock at what they had just witnessed.

"Here you go," he said causally, rolling the tire to them.

"Um, thanks but it's too big." Fred politely stated.

"Oh, there you are, Uncle Gibbles," Tara said as she reentered the room.

"Tara, it's wonderful to see you again. How have things been at the lagoon." Gibbles welcomed with a hug.

"Oh, you know same old, same old."

"Lagoon?" Fred and Daphne asked in confusion.

"Why, haven't you ever heard of the mermaid lagoon."

"Mermaid?!"

"Doh," Tara whined as she realised her mistake. "Uncle Gibbles, their mortals. I was going to tell but..."

"Oh, no need to apologise. It's my fault I should have checked first," he admitted.

"What's going on?" Velma asked.

"Well, you see we're beings from the land of Halloween spirits," Tara explained.

The gang looked dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right?" Velma asked.

Tara shook her head. "My uncle's a wizard and I'm a mermaid."

"Prove it."

"He already did when he made the tire appear." Fred pointed out.

"Ok but what about her being a mermaid? She can't possibly prove that."

"I can." she declared. She whispered in her uncle's ear.

"Wavish, water." He cast his spell creating a large barrel of deep water. Tara jumped in and then remerged as a beautiful blue-scaled mermaid. Her red hair had turned Navy blue. Along her back were a membrane fin sail and two gills on either side of her ribcage. Her eyes were pure indigo with no sign of iris and pupil and her horizontal tail was slightly see-through.

"Is that proof enough for you?" She smirked.

Velma's jaw hang open as tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

"Wait a second," Daphne interjected. "If you two are supernatural beings, this means everything in the shop is too."

"Yep," Tara said.

"So that means I could have seen my reflection making faces." She stated, pointing to the mirror.

"Why yes, that's what mocking is made for." Mr. Gibbles clarified.

"So those eyes were following me," Fred stated, earning a nod.

"Everything in this shop is pure magic. Take a look around and tell me if you see anything you like." Gibbles encouraged.

"We've got everything from magic books to enchanted objects," Tara added.

"This can't be real." Velma finally said in complete disbelief.

"Guess she's going to be a werewolf now," Daphne whispered to her boyfriend.

Velma looked over her shoulder to see an old wooden red door that had a picture of a human next to a monster with two-way arrows.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

Before either could explain, there was a frantic banging on the window.

"Mr. Gibbles. Mr. Gibbles, please." They turned around to see who it was. "Please open up. I need your help."

"Galloping ghosts. Goblin Princess Welma." The old wizard rushed over to the window.

"Goblin Princess?!" The three meddling mystery solves exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he opened the window and the princess climbed in.

"Please listen. There isn't much time. An evil magician has stolen my goblin powers. You must close the shop before he finds me here." She pleased.

"Close my magic shop? On Halloween night? Heh-heh. Oh, another one

of your pranks."

This is no prank. Please, you must hurry before it's too late."

"She sounds like she's telling the truth, Uncle Gibble," Tara stated.

"Alright, quickly hide in here." He opened the door of the Grandfather clock. She quickly got inside, and he latched the door.

"You three, follow me," Tara instructed the gang. They quickly followed her to the back of the shop.

Shortly there was a roar of thunder, and Krudsky and his assistants arrived.

"Mr. Gibbles' Genuine Magic Shoppe. My, what an impressive emporium.

Mind if I have a quick look around?" The shop owner

"I'm sorry. We were just closing for the night. Uh, perhaps you can come back next year?"

"Oh well, we tried," Jim stated before he and his sister began to turn around, only for their boss to stop them.

"I've waited long enough." He coldly remarked. He headed over to a different mirror. "Mirror, mirror, tall and sleek Show me the fairy that I seek," he commanded. The mirror did as it was bid. Purple smoke swirled inside until it revealed the location of the princess.

"Ah. There you are."

Grusomeickle goblin. Thought you could escape while my back was turned?"

"Ugh. Typical mortal. Stealing my goblin magic isn't enough?" she rhetorically asked. "Once you have a little power, all you want is more, more, more."

"I know. Isn't it marvellous?" he chuckled darkly. "Now, obey your master."

"No!" Gibbles grabbed his wand and chanted in a foreign dialect, casting a spell to free the goblin.

"Old fool. Ears of fuzz, tail of cotton. Powers of good, meet the powers of rotten."

Gibbles screamed in discomfort as he was transformed into a little white rabbit and his powers vanished.

"Now, hop along. I'll just pick up a few things while I'm here." Krudsky began to use his powers to gather some enchanted items. Gibbles hopped away to safety. During the commotion, the siblings were caught in the swirling vortex and were catapulted through the red door. They came out now transformed into demons with long horns, long tails and hellish red skin and their once blue shirt and pink dress had turned into crimson red loincloths.

"Jeepers!" Daphne quickly gasped.

"Well, this is an interesting development," Kath stated.

"JIM! KATH!" Krudsky ordered.

"Just coming." They quickly followed as their master flow off with the trapped goblin in tow.

Tara and the gang come out from the back. The mermaid went over to her uncle. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, I'm fine Tara," Gibbles reassured.

"Look like the "Not-So-Amazing" Krudsky just got his act together," Velma stated.

"And that poor goblin. She must be scared stiff." Daphne added.

"Don't worry. We may yet save the Fairy Princess and Halloween. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"But Gibbles, how can you stop him if you don't have your magic?" Tara questioned.

"I can't but you four can."

"Us?" the trio asked.

"We must act quickly." he hopped off before returning with a book about enchanted items. "See for yourselves. The magic sceptre of the great Goblin King himself."

"Goblin King?!" They nervously gulped.

"He already has some goblin magic. Now he only needs the dark magic of the Goblin Scepter to complete his power. If he does, it would destroy the very balance of the supernatural order."

"This world would fall into chaos, and the powers of Halloween night would rule here forever, turning everyone into horrible Halloween monsters," Tara added.

"You must travel to the land of the Halloween spirits. There you will seek the hidden castle of the great Goblin King. Sneak into the castle undetected, grab the Goblin Scepter, and make your escape before the stroke of midnight." Gibbles clarified.

"But we're just mortals, how can we help?" Fred asked.

"Don't worry, I'll guide you," Tara reassured.

"But won't we draw attention?" Velma asked.

"Not if you go through the monster changer." Tara pointed to the red door. "Go in there and you'll be given a monster makeover."

"So that's why those two became demons," Daphne said.

"Exactly, you'll be able to go into the spirit world without suspicion."

The three looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we'll do it," Fred stated.

"Wonderful. Now hurry there isn't much time." Gibbles instructed.

The three entered the room. After thirty seconds they came out in their new forms.

Velma had become a werewolf with shaggy brown fur, a Wolf-like tail, massive paws, pointy wolf ears, a dog-like nose and sharp teeth and claws. Her clothing was now an orange middle-class Victorian-era dress with serval rips and tears that revealed her fur.

Fred had become a vampire with pale blue skin, spikey well combed hair, long sharp fangs, vast arched eyebrows and sharp claw-like nails. He was dressed in a black Victorian-era suit with black shoes, a white shirt, and a blood-red vest and cape.

Daphne had become a witch with sickly green skin, a long pointy nose that donned two warts and wider nostrils, a large outwards chin that also donned a wart on the left side, sharp dark pink talon-like nails, unnaturally arched eyebrows and her orange hair now grow over her shoulder in a scruffy wiry mess. She was now dressed in a revealing black Victorian-era witch outfit with a matching witch which donned an indigo stripe.

The girls looked at their reflections in an ordinary mirror.

"Well, I must that I'm surprised how well I pull off the witch look," Daphne said in a scratchy voice.

"I told you, you would make a lovely witch." Fred teased in a Transylvanian accent.

"And told you, you would make a hot vampire." she flirted.

"Wish I could see what I look like."

"Oh trust me, Freddy you're one handsome hunk of a vampire."

Velma meanwhile had quite a different opinion of her new appearance.

"A werewolf. Of all things why did I have to be a werewolf?"

"Not a fan of werewolves?" Tara asked.

"More that, she now can no longer deny the exists of the supernatural." Daphne cackled.

Velma growled and bared her teeth.

"Easy Velma, she was only joking," Fred stated with a hint of slyness in his voice.

"Alright, that's enough," Tara said getting between the vampire and the werewolf. "We've got no time to waste. Let's go."

They headed off to begin their dangerous quest.