See end for author's notes.
Chapter 4. Survive the Night
Shaggy woke up around one the next afternoon, and instantly wished he hadn't.
He had a headache in his brain that could put a marching band to shame. It felt like there were two monkeys and only one banana in-between his ears, making him knit his eyes closed against the afternoon light trying to filter through his bedroom windows. And his back was positively killing him, either from the breakneck running he had done last night or because the entirety of Scooby-Doo was lying on him. But he was grateful for the weight of his best friend, taking solace in the steady breathing of the still sleeping hound. Scoob's heartbeat was almost over his, the dogs head lying by his left ear with his chin resting on the pillow.
Shaggy hauled an arm that had been hanging over the side, and pushed his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose, rubbing it vigorously as he tried to make a mental list of all he had to do today before…
The next night shift.
Moaning, Shaggy pushed one arm under him.
"Rise and shine, old buddy old pal." Shaggy mumbled as he rubbed his eyes with his fists. Scooby mumbled and slipped off him onto the sheets, yawning and stretching his mess of limbs as he shook himself awake.
"Rornin'." The dog greeted.
"Mornin', Scoob." The beatnik sat up, cracking his back a couple times as he followed. "I gotta shower, vacuum, do the dishes and make something for Nor—jinkies!" He squawked, startling Scooby so bad he stumbled getting off the bed.
"Rhat?!"
"Poor Norry, we just came home and dropped into bed, didn't even make her breakfast! She must be starving Scoob, c'mon, let's get the lead out." Shaggy instructed, getting dressed lighting quick, running a comb through his hair (for all the good it did) and taking the stairs two at a time with his long legs. Scooby followed, big paws skidding as he came right after his human. He was hungry too, in all honesty, and he wasn't looking forward to another night at that pizzeria.
Nora was in the living room watching some old film that was playing on the television when she heard a clattering down the stairs. Her uncle and his dog ran right by the couch she was sitting on and were nearly to the kitchen when she turned and yelled, leaning over the back of the couch to keep them in her sights. "Hey, shouldn't there be a rule about not running in the house or something?"
"Like, there is! But it's only if you've got scissors with ya! Can't stop to talk we gotta feed yo-" Shaggy swung his head around the corner, one side stained with grease and sporting a nice bruise on the other side, trying to overtake his cheek bone.
Scooby's head joined his, though lower, and the dog whined in confusion.
"Norry? Like, we're so sorry kiddo, we didn't make ya breakfast, you must be starved!"
"I'm fourteen. I can scramble eggs and make myself a sandwich," Nora shrugged.
She had slept quite soundly and hadn't even heard her uncle or Scooby drag themselves in through the door. In fact, she slept just as soundly as they were up until quite recently. She had already showered and tip-toed her way down stairs and fed herself both breakfast and lunch. And currently she was enjoying a snack of popcorn as she channel-surfed.
"It's not like I was going to wake you up to do what I can do mysel...uncle Shaggy?" Her brows furrowed. "What's up with your face?" She got off the couch and approached him when she saw the bruise and grease. She had thought it was a trick of the light but upon closer inspection,
"What did you do?!"
"Uh...up with my...?" He touched the bruise, masking his wince with a sheepish, crooked smile.
"Oh, like, nothin'! Your old Uncle just, tripped. That pizzeria gets pretty shady at night, turns out." He kept his strained smile, pushing the thoughts of that heavy paw swinging at him, the unholy shrieks that left a ringing between his ears.
"Right Scoob?" He asked, tone of voice calling for back up.
"Ruh...reah! Rumsy!" Scooby agreed, eyes focused hopefully on the popcorn bowl. His own fur looked scuffed, his collar backwards and spots of dirt on his fur, but it wasn't like he'd rolled.
"Oh...okay. Just, be careful awright? It looks like you were in a bar room brawl."
Nora stepped back and went back to the living room and picked up her bowl so she could protect her popcorn from Scooby and his slobber. "Um, do you want me to make you something? I mean, when did you even get home? You can't tell me you aren't tired." At Scooby's hopeful eyes set on her snack, Nora held the bowl up a little higher and mouthed, 'No.'
The Great Dane's ears sank at the 'n' word and he sank to his belly, head on his paws and lower lip jutting pathetically as he gazed up at her.
"I wish..." He muttered softly under his breath as he went back into the kitchen, wincing at the protesting sting of muscles he didn't think he had. Apparently he did, and apparently they got overworked last night.
"Like, I'm okay Norry. We got home around 7 or so. Plenty of time to rest up." He managed a smile and kept his tone light; deciding all he could stomach was a bowl of cereal and milk. Every time he thought about eating that stench from those kooky bots came back to him.
"If you're sure," Nora shrugged once more. Effectively ignore Scooby and stepping over him, she placed her bowl on the kitchen counter.
"Sooo, how was it? Is it everything you could ever dream of? Do you get to eat leftover pizza?" She was sarcastic but tried to keep her tone light, maybe even get Shaggy to smile? Usually she wouldn't try too hard but he was being far less cheery than usual and it was weird...
He tossed her a little smile over his shoulder for her questions, either not noticing the sarcasm, not caring, or simply too tired to pick up.
"We, uh, were pretty busy the first night." That was true. "Had too good a time to bother with pizza!" That was most certainly not true. He was relieved Freddy wasn't here. He could spot a lie a mile off. Shaggy's smile slipped by the time he turned back to the counter, putting effort into keeping his hand steady as he drowned his cheerios.
"C'mon Scoob, chow time." He called, and the dog came trotting in. Shaggy jumped at the noise but covered it with a shaky laugh.
"Busy? Really? What do they make you do that you're so busy?" Nora eyed her strange uncle, who seemed very skittish but that wasn't too out of the norm for him. He was equal parts laid back and running for the hills, if anyone could be such a thing.
Crap. The question seemed to caught him off guard, even Scooby lifted his head from his bowl as they shared a sudden look.
"Oh, nothing too much Norry. It's a lot different than being a cook, yanno? I guess me and Scoob weren't prepared for it. We, uh, just watch cameras and—look out for the place. Night guard stuff." Look out for themselves, too. Even Shaggy wasn't used to 24 hour terror.
"Okay," she said, already stepping through the threshold. "Lemme know if need help," she called over her shoulder. Nora plopped down back onto the couch ungracefully, as she tried to get comfy amongst the pillows and a blanket. She umuted the television and caught the popcorn her tossed into the air in her mouth with a satisfying, crunch!
'No way, it was her summer!'Shaggy thought to himself as he got up from the table.
"C'mon Scoob. Chore time." He paused, cracking his back as he straightened up. "Ah-first painkillers. Then chores." He grimaced, and Scooby shot him a sympathetic look before the dog trotted upstairs to the medicine cabinet.
He came back, and was given the job of vacuuming. It didn't make the best noise but he just needed to do two rooms, so the Great Dane pushed the yellow monster into the living room and over to an empty outlet. Like anyone else who had to vacuum, he found himself humming.
Nora just stared at the dog who had interrupted her movie with his chores...wait, what? Her mouth hung open in disbelief. She didn't know dogs could hum? "What are you doing?!" She shouted over the sound of the machine.
Scooby's unfolded ear flicked and he twisted at her voice.
"Rhat?!" He shouted back, cocking his head in confusion. He couldn't quite hear her, what was she yelling in about? The vacuum whined as he pushed it over the dated carpet.
"WHAT ARE YOU-" she shook her head, "I am not shouting at a vacuuming dog," she muttered to herself. She hoped up to her feet and unplugged the plug out from the wall. The vacuum's humming and whirling faded painfully with its power cut off. This time, without having to yell, Nora demanded,
"What are you doing?"
"Raccuming." Scooby supplied cheerfully. "Ralmost done, Rora." He added, as if that were the problem. In any case, he stood there expectantly, hoping she put the plug back in.
Nora gave the dog s strange look before plugging the cord back into the power socket. She grumbled to herself about weirdo dogs before hopping back onto the couch and out of Scooby's way. After a moment, she flicked a piece of popcorn onto the floor, curious as to whether he would eat it or vacuum it up. Unfazed by any of that, Scooby happily went back to his task. He pushed the noisy thing a second time over the carpet, blinking at the sudden appearance of the popcorn piece.
"Rora, be rareful." He corrected mildly as he shooed the piece into the monster's jaws. He'd just gotten this carpet clean, after all! But he whined at the loss of a snack either way. Oh well.
Nora furrowed her brows. Scooby had most definitely been eyeing her popcorn since he realized she had the snack. "Why didn't you eat it?" Nope, no way she was talking to this dog. Let alone asking it questions and awaiting answers.
Scooby looked at her as if she were the dog vacuuming the living room.
"...rou raid no?" He reminded, wondering if she was alright.
Nora blinked up at him, looking less like a bitter teenager and more like a curious child.
"But...you wanted it. And, it's not like I was going to eat it. It was on the floor."
Scooby forgot sometimes, not all humans made sense like his best friend did.
"Rah-huh. Rou still raid 'no.'"
Nora let her head cock to one side as she studied at the Great Dane for a moment. "If I hadn't said no, would you have eaten it?"
He had gone back to vacuuming, humming contently. "Reah?" He told her honestly. It was popcorn after all!
"But you didn't...because I said 'no.'" Nora watched the dog as he continued to vacuum until he finished. He was so strange! He slept on the furniture, he ate at the table, but wouldn't eat a piece of popcorn off the floor because she told him no? Nora wondered about the dog but not for long, for dogs weren't exactly her favorite subject. She almost considered offering a handful or two of the treat to him. Almost. Instead, she just resumed watching T.V. for another hour.
Scooby-Doo just went back to his chore, and when he was done with that he went by the door frame with what looked like a mop and bucket. He and Shaggy finished everything they needed to around four, giving them plenty of time to rest. Or in their case, silently worry about what was going to happen tonight at that spooky pizzeria.
"But like, I got no choice Scooby." said Shaggy as he dug around the freezer for something for dinner. He was sure Norry was upstairs or something, and couldn't hear them.
"Raggy..."
"It'll be cool, Scooby-Doo. Hey, how about hot dogs and mac n cheese for dinner? Like, try not to think of it as a last meal."
The dog threw a paw over his face and whined.
"Hey, you got everything?" Nora asked her Uncle, trying to keep her tone light. It was odd...her Uncle and Scooby were being uncharacteristically quiet as the evening wore on. And now they seemed to be dragging their feet now that they were heading out to work. 'I guess this job is more of a bummer than I thought.' Even Nora was trying to be extra nice to them. Shaggy, still drying dishes, didn't answer. Scooby was lying on in the hallway floor looking nervous and jumping at every little noise.
Well, that was unusual. Nora entered the kitchen and bit the inside of her cheek. In a tone that was far more unsure she asked, "Uncle Shaggy?"
"Gya!" He spun, the dish towel went flying, the cup plinked back into the sink and narrowly avoided shattering to the floor.
Scooby came running in with fear in his big doggy eyes and bee-lined for his master-where he promptly jumped into the beatnik's arms and they shook together.
Shaggy paused.
Nora also jumped and yelped at their sudden reactions, closing her fists while also jumping into a crane pose. "Jeeeez," she complained, dropping her arms, willing her heart and breathing to steady. "Calm down, wouldja? You're acting like I'm the boogey man."
"Oh-oh!" Breaking out into nervous laughter, Shaggy and Scooby reluctantly parted.
"S-sorry kiddo! Like, of course you're not!"
"Yeah," Nora forced a chuckle, "how 'bout that..." There was an awkward tension that hung heavy in the room. Nora shrugged, "I asked you if you had everything for work?"
The response was instantaneous. "Oh, right..." He gulped, sparing a depressed glance at his dog, who whined. "Work.Y-yeah. We're, uh, almost...ready."
He felt like he was going to his death. Could they last a second night?
An uneasy feeling coiled in Nora's stomach. Even in the worst situations, Nora has always known her Uncle and his dog managed to remain somewhat positive and goofy and...themselves.
A troubling thought occurred, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. "...is everything okay?" Despite the growing concern that, no, everything was not.
Scooby and Shaggy shared a quick look, but came to a joint decision.
"Yeah, Norry. It's just, we've never worked a night shift before, yanno? The odd hours are putting us off our stomach!"
Well, they weren't lying.
"Oh, okay," Nora answered quietly. When Shaggy finished up the last dish and headed towards the door, she followed. All three were quiet, as if they were part of a funeral procession.
Finally, Nora spoke up, "Whatever it is...I'm sorry."
Her words made him halt, Scooby colliding with his legs but he didn't mind. He turned at her little voice, mouth falling open and blinking at her.
"Norry...no, no, it's not you, kiddo!" He worried, closing the space and pulling her into a little hug. "Hey, we'll be back t-tomorrow morning and, and we'll go to the movies. Like, I'll buy the snacks, okay?" He says with a tired smile, trying to cheer her up.
Surprised by his hug, Nora's first reaction was to squirm away. She stopped herself and she wrapped her arms around Shaggy's thin waist. She looked up at him and his tired smile. 'He already can't afford to keep me around. He can't afford to take me places on top of that.'
"Yeah, that sounds great, Uncle Shaggy...we'll see, okay?"
"Great!" He manages to draw himself up, taking a deep breath before turning down to smile at Scooby.
"Ready, old pal?"
"Ri rink ro." Scooby said, drawing on Shaggy'a confidence, no matter how fleeting it was.
"We'll see ya later, Norry."
"Yeah, I'll see ya," Nora replied. She stood in the doorway until he pulled out of the driveway, waving goodbye.
As soon as they were down the street, she closed the door and quickly pulled on her converse. Pulling a page of hastily scrawled notes out of her pocket to scan them over one last time, committing them to memory. "Not that difficult...and I know these streets so the dark won't slow me down too much." Nora retrieved the little packed basket she prepared and took off for the garage where Sugey's old bike was stored.
Nora looked left and right as she knelled before the entrance to the pizzeria. She took out a hair pin to release the lock on the door, hoping that this would work as well in real life as it did in the movies. However, she found that when she put the slightest pressure on the door it creaked pushed open. Nora sighed, Night guard who can't even lock the door to the place?
She rolled her eyes but picked up her little basket she packed. She ducked into the building. Not exactly sure where to go, she ended up running through to the other side of the building before hearing her uncle's voice. She tip-toed down the hall, biting her lip as she imagined the looks on her uncle and Scooby's faces. Finally, she jumped out, facing the open doorway and yelled,
"Hi Uncle Shaggy!"
Shaggy took one look at her and screamed.
His hand came down on a button, a great grinding and sliding of metal followed as a thick industrial strength sheet of steel shot down in-between them, blocking her off from the tiny room.
There was a pause, and then suddenly Shaggy (and now Scooby) were screaming for all different reasons. Nora, left out in the dark, should not have been surprised. In fact, she should have felt more surprised if something like this didn't happen. Nora wasn't afraid of the dark but she didn't appreciate her greeting after sneaking here with a kind of picnic she made for herself and Shaggy. Nora stepped over to the window and knocked on it. "Stop screaming, it's just me. Please open the door?"
"Raggy! Rits Rora!"
But Shaggy was having his own problems.
"Grnhh-like I know, I know! But I can't open the door. I think it's like, jammed!" He whined fearfully, now just punching the button with a fist in a vain attempt to get the door to go back up.
Something clicked quietly, but the door refused to budge.
It was Scooby who had the decency to hit the light with a paw, but he almost turned it back off when he saw the outline of a pair of ears.
"Raggy!" But Shaggy had seen, and was already looking at his watch.
12:03.
With her focus on the two fools in the security office, Nora was too distracted to notice the mechanical sounds approaching from behind her. She didn't notice anything at all until after Scooby had turned on the overhead light. She squinted to protect her eyes from the sudden light. "Relax guys, could you just—" she noticed the strange reflection in the window. She wiped around and nearly screamed like her uncle and Scooby.
There was a…a giant mechanical rabbit leaning over her. It was huge. And it was staring. Or, well, it would be if robots were capable of that, she distantly told herself.
Bonnie leaned over the girl thrumming quietly, eyes flicking fondly as he considers her. Gee, they hadn't been free roaming enough to meet any new kids! His ears bobbed and flicked, but mostly he was focused on the girl.
Nora stared up at the giant, metal bunny. She let go of the breath she wasn't aware that she was holding in out of fear. She could swear it almost seemed like...like it might be regarding her kindly? No...that has to be a stretch. But it didn't seem too keen on doing much of anything besides standing there creepily/
She swallowed hard.
"H-heeey big guy! I didn't see you there. You must be…part of the pizzeria, right?" Nora went for friendliness, hoping the rabbit would reciprocate. It was probably attracted by all the noise they were making! The tech here for a pizzeria must have been top-notch, because she could hardly believe this was a robot. But there were gears, servos clicking and whining. Nora did her best to ignore the oddly bright red gaze of the red-eyed wandering rabbit.
"Like—h-hey!" Both of them jump, actually. Nora at the sound of her Uncle, the rabbit at the sound of the Adult.
The flickering of a flashlight and her Uncle's terrified antagonizing of the machine drew her attention. Then the light hits and Nora watched the robot's eyes dilate and go black with white pinpricks, laying furious eyes on the scrawny night guard at the end of the hall.
It's like a switch is hit.
Bonnie screeched and stormed toward the man.
As luck would have it, right when Bonnie takes off the door behind her lifts open. Something grab's the back of her shirt and hauls her hard, releasing her only when she's behind him. At the same time as nails skittered across the cheap linoleum, and the giant Great Dane scrambled down the hall, hackles raised and obviously terrified out of his wits. But he collided with Bonnie anyway, clumsily knocked him away from Shaggy even as the bunny reared around and grabbed Scooby triumphantly by his collar. The dog yelped, but out of fear rather than actual pain it seemed as the bunny gave a roar of its own.
"H-hey! Like-l-let him go you cr-reepy r-rabbit!" Shaggy trembled, taking a step forward. Bonnie's arm shot out carelessly, finding purchase and sending the thin man colliding heavily with the opposite wall. He slid down it, and landed in a heap. Shaggy did not get back up. The flashlight went rolling, the foggy light beam bounced around the hall as Bonnie grabbed the thrashing Scooby and tugged.
The next thing the dog knows, he's being heaved clear off the ground with one hand, and Bonnie is lumbering away. In the dark light of the hall, and with the flashlight long gone, it's impossible to see the two as the rabbit lumbers off into the pitch black.
Soon, the mechanical sounds fade, and so do Scooby's doggy whines and yelps.
The pizzeria fell deathly silent.
The bile was rising in her throat and she wanted to scream but Nora was terrified that, that thing will come back and hurt her uncle worse. When Bonnie is rounded the corner, Nora moved. She scrambled towards Shaggy and ungracefully collided his with unconscious form. Tears poured down her cheeks as she dragged him into the office. She cried, trying to figure out the button and closed the doors and turns on all the lights. Anything to keep that rabbit away, in case it returns. As desperately as she wanted to follow to save Scooby, but Uncle Shaggy was in worse condition. Probably. Her fear boiled in her stomach and she felt like a little kid again. This, this was horrible. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't stand feeling helpless. One look at her too still Uncle, and she scoots closer on instinct. Seeking comfort even know, despite how useless it all was, and felt.
She was on the floor before she realized it, rocking back and forth and all she can do is cry out some of her fear. She checked her uncle's phone but it isn't getting any reception within the cement walls of this old building. Last night, when she had called...it made sense now.
Why had he come back here?
"Uncle Sha-Shaggy..." She tried, her voice warbling.
"I need-hic- need to call 911," she thought out loud. Nora noticed the old phone and even older message machine with its blinking red light, informing her that there were two messages recorded. She reached for the receiver but her hands were shaking too badly. She knocked it from its cradle and pressed the play button on the message machine.
"Hello, hello!"
Shaggy finally stirred after what seemed like an eternity, one hand rising to clutch his throbbing head as he gingerly sat up. He leaned heavily on his arm as he called wearily for his niece and for his dog.
"N..Norry? Scoob?"
Nora jumped at Shaggy's voice. She spun away from the monitor and went to him, sliding the last foot or two to him. Despite his injuries, Nora pulls him into a tight hug as she tried so hard not to cry, "You wouldn't wake up!'
"Grnhh," He winces, but, oh man Norry sounded scared and Shaggy doesn't ever remember a time she's sounded like this. Not even during a thunderstorm. He tried to smile; it's tired, and hauls her into a one armed hug, rubbing her back a little.
"Don't worry, kiddo, I'm right here. You're okay, o-okay?" He promised, even if he's not sure these are promises he's allowed to make. "Like, Scoob and I'll will figure a way to...uh, Scoob?" Silence. Shaggy swallows. "Heh...old buddy old pal? Hiding under the desk again?"
Nora pulls away to look at her uncle with red eyes, swollen from crying. Her lips are pressed into a thin line. She shakes her head in the negative,
"It-it got him," she whimpers. She hiccuped, "It took him away—" The sound of metal clanking made her jump and gasp. She looked up at the monitor. "Oh-oh nononononono!" Chica wasn't on screen anymore. Nora jumped to her feet and shut the door.
"Kiddo?" Oh man, she's just a bundle of nerves, he can see her shaking from here. He can't blame her. That's part of what gets his aching body up as quick as he does. That and…
"Scooby's...what?" He hits the light and swallows, wincing at the stare from the chicken. He swallowed, and leaned shakily over the cameras and flicking through them to try and spot the Great Dane.
"Like, Scooby-Doo...where are you?"
No answer.
Nora yelped a little at the sight of Chica, turning the light right back off. "We won't have enough power using it like that," she near-scolds him. She immediately softens though at his question, and then realizes from his look that he knows this.
That he's done this before already, at least once. Last night.
"I-I'm sorry. Earlier, Scooby took on Bonnie. He was protecting us and...he saved us."
Maybe any other adult would have told Nora she shouldn't have been here in the first place but...Shaggy had bigger things on his mind. He swallowed thickly, and nodding, still rubbing his head every so often.
"Scoob's a really amazing dog. H-he'll be okay, Norry." Shaggy tried to convince her, and he refused to use the past tense.
"We—I'll—go look for him after the shift's over. Nora, let me take care of the bots, you need some rest, c'mere." He pulls her into another hug.
She sniffled and tucked herself under his chin. She swallowed again, trying to get a hold of nerves but one miserable thought tugs at her. "But...what if he doesn't have until the shift is over, uncle Shaggy? What if he's already really hurt, or worse?"
Like that horrifying thought hasn't occurred to him. He saves face though, tried to keep the shake from his voice.
"Who—like, Scooby-Doo? Nora, if I know him, a-and I do, he's hidden somewhere not even we'll be able to find him. Without a couple scooby snacks anyway. Why, I bet Scoob's just hiding somewhere waiting for the hullabaloo to cool down, uh, yeah!"
Nora sniffed again, looking up at her uncle with wide eyes, "Are you sure?" She wanted to believe him. Even if she knew it was probably too far-fetched to be true, she wanted to believe Shaggy was speaking with confidence instead of trying to fill her with false hope. "He might be safe and hiding away somewhere?"
"Like...yeah, kiddo. I believe he's okay. He always is." And god, isn't that true.
"You know...we've faced a lot worse than this. I only ever told you some of the adventures with the gang, I never told ya about the...other stuff."
"...the other stuff?" She asked, eyes wide. It was strange, to see her goofy uncle being serious and actually assuming an adult role. To think of him and his weird dog doing something other than being the comic relief among their friend group was something Nora could not imagine.
"What's the other stuff?"
"Ah—we don't really have the time to get into that right now. But, your Great Uncle left me a mansion that's now a safe house for ghosts, I might have been a werewolf for half a month, and I was also a gym teacher at an all girls' school for legendary monsters. You'd be surprised how cute the mummy's daughter is." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. The rambling helps him keep his mind off the fear. "Then there's the Chest of Demons, I think that's still kicking around in the basement somewhere. Mr. VanGhoul was a pretty cool—if kooky—kind of warlock."
Nora gave in enough that the corner of her mouth quirked into a small smile. "Aw, yeah right, Uncle Shaggy. All the monsters you guys have faced were all people in masks. You didn't really face ghosts and ghouls and...turn into a werewolf?" Nora scrunched her nose, "That's just silly."
He turned in the old chair, reaching over and ruffling her hair.
"I was kinda hoping I could keep you believing it was fake for a little while longer. But, Nora? That stuff is as silly as this situation right now is. Okay?"
The tone of his voice was just so unlike Shaggy that it was eerie. Nora frowned, all her momentary humor leaving her completely. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. No sense in arguing. Then, "If this is really real, then that means Scooby Doo is in really real danger while he's out there."
"And like, it means Scooby-Doo knows what to do. This isn't out first time in a sticky situation with 'real' danger, and like, it won't be our last." He says, getting to his point.
"It'll be okay, Norry. ...Trust us." The 'us' was said so automatically it seemed to surprise even Shaggy.
Shaggy went back to the cameras, head tilted down and leg bouncing in anxiety as he flicked through the angles quickly. Bonnie was in the dining room, which left him to have to find that creepy chicken lady...thing.
Who was, in fact, leaning in by the window and noticing for the first time a child standing by the window! The chicken's facial features brightened-somehow-and she leaned over to wave at the girl quietly, blinking once.
Nora looked over and jumped. Her jaw dropped but no sound came out. When Chica leaned in closer to the glass and waved again, Nora closed her mouth and blinked back. Last time she checked, murderous robots did not wave and smile...if that's what you could call Chica's expression. Nora stepped closer to the window and raised a shaky hand back.
The animatronic had eyelids, they shifted down a bit, softening the chicken's stare to an almost affection gaze, leaning in a little more and tilting her head.
"Nor—AHHH!" The sound of the door slamming followed her Uncle's unholy shriek, and Nora had a first seat view to the way Chica twitched and jerked her head at Shaggy, eyes turning to pinpricks as her maw opened in a silent scream, showing too many rows of teeth as her jaw swung loose and her head jerked wildly. Her hand moved to a fist and banged on the glass, still glaring at her Uncle like he'd done some unspeakable horror to her.
Nora jumped from all the noise and actions happening around her. But in those few short seconds in which Chica's demeanor transformed, something made the cogs in Nora's mind start to turn. She looks from her uncle back to Chica and begins waving.
"Hey girl, over here! Over here!" Getting the chicken's attention, Nora smiles a forced, toothy grin and waits to see her reaction.
The eyes followed her movements, and then her head turned, jaw pulling back up to hide her endoskeleton's teeth. Her eyebrow plates shifted, clasping her beak a couple times like she might if she was standing on the stage and she was able to speak to an audience.
Her fist was gone, leaning against the window as she held gazes with the child.
For his part, Shaggy remained quiet and white-knuckled in the crappy computer chair, leaning out of the way and trying to swallow his heart back into his throat.
Keeping her gaze locked on the animatronic, Nora spoke around her smile, "Uncle Shaggy, I might have an idea."
"L-like, shoot." He whispered back, keeping his spine pressed against the chair.
"You stay in here and watch the monitors, okay? I'm going to leave the office and look for Scooby Doo," she said calmly.
"Y-you're what?" The word was spoken in a stressed whisper, unwilling to make any sudden moves and catch that chicken's attention again.
"I-I'm not sure but I don't think these things mean me any harm. Look at how nice she seems towards me in comparison to you?" Nora turned to Shaggy then, "It was the same thing with that purple bunny earlier. It—before you got there, all it did was pat me on the head. It seemed...gentle. It didn't get aggressive until you rounded the corner."
At her uncle's horrified and disbelieving look, Nora sighed. "Look, I know this isn't exactly conclusive evidence or anything, but I think I can make it. Besides, Scooby is still out there. And you said that I had to trust you, right? Well then you oughta trust me some in return," she said, speaking with all the confidence and wisdom of a kid whom could barely claim fourteen years of age.
"Nora..." But if Nora was right, she might be the edge they needed, maybe? And the chicken was acting a lot differently, it was almost...strange. Well, in all honesty, this entire situation was strange. And getting stranger.
For some reason, his Velma senses were going off. He wondered if this was a clue.
"Like, be quick. Really, REALLY quick. And if you don't feel safe you get out of here, o-okay? Go wait the in the van, anything. P-promise me, kiddo?" He whispered quietly.
It's not like Nora had never seen her uncle scared before. Actually, she was embarrassed at how many things frightened her uncle. But this time was different. She nodded, "I will, I promise." She took a deep breath and looked at the open door to her left. "Where is everyone?" She asked before stepping out into the darkness.
"Jinkies kiddo don't call 'em." Shaggy moaned quietly, flipping up the little laptop to check it, the ancient machine choking a bit.
"I just want to…I want to be prepared," she mumbled.
There was someone—something—making an awful racket in the kitchen that she could mistake for the ruckus her foody-Uncle often made. Except he was sitting in the security room and there only logical explanation for someone in the kitchen was one of the robots was doing it.
"Freddy's on the stage. Uh...Bonnie's in the dining room...so I guess Chica's in the kitchen?" Nervous laugh. "Look's like she's getting something to eat, eh-heh."
"Hey, as long as it's not one of us," Nora laughed nervously, hoping to alleviate some of the tension but inadvertently adding to it. Nora turned back to the open doorway. "Um, say...I'm not scared or anything...but can I borrow your flashlight, uncle Shaggy? Is that cool?"
No, she's totally not scared, nope. "Mhm." He smiles gently and wordlessly hands over his only source of light besides the door lights.
"...be careful, Norry." He whispers, wincing at the clanking coming from the camera feed.
Nora gratefully took the flashlight. She stepped close to give Shaggy a quick, tight hug before taking off out the door and down the hall before he could hug her back. When she reached the corner, she slowed to a stop, very conscious of how loud her running footsteps echo in the grimy, empty hallways. Her mouth felt dry when she swallowed. She peeked around the corner and down the hallway. In a squeaky voice she called, "Scooby Doo?"
Something moved out behind her, something big and metal and distinctly not Scooby-Doo, even if he was taller than her hip on all fours. She had stopped outside the kitchen, and Chica had wandered out at the sound of her voice, holding a paper plate with a reheated, if sad looking, piece of pizza.
Nora turned around slowly at the sound, her stomach dropping, and she held up her flashlight in a shaking grip to see the animatronic. Nora had to crank her neck a little to look at Chica in the face. She opened her mouth but only a high pitched squeak sounded at first. "H-h-h-hell-lo th-there-e, miss...ducky chicken thing?"
Aw-she was shaking! Chica supposed she couldn't blame her. This place got so dark at night, and lonely…
Chica cranked a few gears, forgetting Nora wouldn't understand her clicks of servos to form rudimentary syllables. When she remembered that wouldn't work, she held out the pizza quietly, as a sort of peace offering.
Nora flinched when Chica's gears were winding, making strange and ominous noises. She jumped again when robot moved to hold out the food. Nora tried to swallow her fear and she spoke in the most pleasant tone she could manage, even if a little more higher-pitched that usual.
"Oh, did you make me a snack? H-how, how thoughtful. I-I really like pizza," she said. Nora was a little afraid to find out if she declined to food so instead she accepted the plate and smiled awkwardly. "I, um, you didn't have to go through the trouble, really." As she and Chica stared one another down, Nora felt she had to do something. So she picked up the slice with one hand and took a bite. It wasn't the greatest but it didn't take like motor oil or grease, so that was a plus.
"Mmmmm," she over-exaggerated her response, "Mmhmm, very good."
Chica tilted her head, giving a few clicks curiously. Then she made a swallowing motion, shifting her jaw a bit to mimic the motion that Nora should do. She was glad it was good but kids needed to swallow their food, silly!
Nora followed Chica's lead and swallowed the food. And, actually, it wasn't bad. And...she hadn't eaten since dinner, which was several hours ago in the evening...Nora looked up at Chica and weighed her options. What, was the robot chicken going to poison her via leftovers? And really, there were worse ways to go, considering the place and the circumstances. Nora sat down with her back to the wall, setting her flashlight aside. She continued eating her pizza while also wondering if bringing up Scooby would at all offend or anger Chica.
Now that their new kid was eating, Chica felt comfortable stepping by, though she took slow careful steps. She touched the top of Nora's head twice, rather amicably, as she walked the short distance to a room. She leaned in, giving a devoted number of noises that apparently meant something to someone because a second later someone came around the corner, and that was Bonnie, his ears shifting as he scanned the area and his eyes found Nora. Chica pointed excitedly.
Nora was halfway through her pizza and chewing gratefully when she looked over and saw the red of Bonnie's eyes looking at her. Her chewing slowly to a stop. Oh, brilliant Nora! You're sitting cross-legged on the floor, your flashlight is on but out of your hand and you're mouth is too full to call for help. You. Idiot.
She remained very still and her eyes went very wide as she stared at Bonnie during his exchange with Chica. She placed the paper plate in her lap so she had a free hand to offer a small wave. From their gestures and expressions she was guessing that they were not looking to attack her as Chica was about to attack Shaggy earlier, had she been given the chance. Oh please just let that be the correct assumption.
Bonnie's mouth opened a little at the wave, nodding as once and returning the wave with a crinkle of those rusted eye plates. The rabbit seemed less interested in getting into her personal space, but he still watched her quietly, body grinding as he moved to another part of the hall, saying something to Chica as her jerked his head toward the red blinking light in the corner.
Just because Nora didn't understand their strange language of whirling gears didn't mean she could venture a few guesses. Nora's head whipped around to follow their line of vision. It was a camera. Whatever they were talking about or planning, it had to do with Shaggy. She was sure of it! And they probably weren't planning on delivering him some pizza to thank him for his good job as the night-watch. So, she swallowed her food a little under chewed, coughed and said a little rushed, "Hey, wait!" Getting their attention she gulped, "Um..I..I never got to come here before. What..um, what...can you show me around?"
Chica and Bonnie turned as one, halting to watch the little thing run up to stand between them. Bonnie hummed, as if thinking about something, while Chica clanked her beak eagerly and touched Nora's arm with surprising care, as if ushering a tiny toddler who could walk on their own just fine...but often wobbled precariously. After some debate Bonnie gave in and turned, following them as Chica motioned for Nora to follow her down the hall.
Relief washed over Nora like a wave. She had to keep these guys away from Shaggy while also looking for Scooby. From what she had observed and experienced, she had to guess that the animatronics liked her because she was a kid. It was kind of hard to ignore how Chica had seemingly been treating her like she was a youngster. I...am older that I think she is guessing…but if I play up the part, maybe they'll be too focused on me to get to Uncle Shaggy she thought.
She took hold of one of Chica's hands, which was cold and a little sticky. She fought a grimace and smiled up at her guide, "Thank you! I bet you know all the most fun places," she chirped. "I can't wait to see more of this place!"
Nora was very aware of Bonnie behind her. She chose to look forward rather than to spare the rabbit a glance. It would feel traitorous to offer the animatronic that hurt her uncle and stole Scooby away any kindness. She felt anger boiling up but she kept her smile in place.
In hindsight it was probably a good thing Chica couldn't feel the hand holding her, or the way it was tightening briefly when Nora thought about Bonnie.
Chica lead her down the hall, right past the storage and around the corner, where a section of the hall was devoted to a wide door was a purple curtain hanging listlessly.
Nora eyed the small stage but took a step towards it but almost stumbled when Chica continued to walk passed it. I gotta check that stage! Scooby might be there! Nora slipped her hand out of Chica's grip and moved quickly to the small performance area. She hopped onto the small stage and reached for the purple curtains. Pulled them apart and took only a step forward before she gasped and threw herself backwards, landing on her rump. Her heart was racing as she stared up at yet another animatronic, whose broken jaw, eye patch and hook made it look terrible and menacing. Her mouth hung open as she told herself not to scream and pleaded her heart to slow down. She was not expecting Foxy to be right behind the curtain.
Neither was Foxy—if the startled squawk was anything to go by. The robot jerked, jaw swinging as it ducked purposefully behind the curtain, it's matted tail swinging as it shied away from the light, and Nora. And like that, the fox was gone. Only a gently shifting curtain betrayed that there was anything behind there after all.
She had half a second to react, before a purple paw came down onto her shoulder. Bonnie's gears slid together in what he apparently hoped was a soothing noise, though that had a lot to be desired. Chica was at her other side, but she was gently rearranging the curtain in front of her and looking rather sad, her eye plates lowered half mast and her head swinging back and forth. Negative.
Nora got to her feet and calmed her breathing trying to discreetly duck away from Bonnie's paw. "Um…oops?" She says once Chica turns back to facing her. "Wha-what was that? It...ran away," she pointed out rather unnecessarily. "I'm…oh, okay," her voice was quiet as Chica held a finger to her beak.
Nora stepped off the stage and shined her light on the sign above the curtain that read: Pirate Cove. She then pointed the light on the sign she failed to notice before: Sorry! We're Closed! The cogs in Nora's mind were spinning. I've gotta check this place out again.
She look up at Chica and Bonnie and dared to ask, "Doesn't this one like kids?"
Both robots shared each other looks, then turned back to Nora and nodded vigorously as if to say 'of course!' And that was the truth. But they offered no more assistance or help on the mystery that was the fox animatronic. If anything, they seemed to try and usher Nora pointedly away from the little shrouded stage. The whole stage was gritty, dusty and Nora realized vaguely her hands were now covered in a thin layer of grime from that little escapade. Sure, the rest of the restaurant, what little she could see, wasn't in any better shape. But this place seemed…more so.
Like clean-up in this section had stopped much earlier than the rest of the pizzeria.
Chica pointed to the door down the hall, wide and with large pothole shaped panes of glass. Those had some semblance of cleanliness. They weren't mugged up anyway, at least not horribly. The two robots pointed to the door, trying gently but firmly to herd the small girl.
The more eager the robots got the more hesitant Nora became. She would be in the room furthest from her uncle once she passed through those doors and that unnerved her. But she would also be the closest to the doors to exit the building. Even still, Nora felt just a bit anxious to continue on just yet. Feeling the need to stall, she looked left and right to find something that could provide a proper distraction. That's when she saw a door painted black. She pointed to it, "Hey, what's in that room?" She made her way towards it.
A short burst of static alerted her to Chica's arrival as she lumbered over, waving her hands and shaking her head. Bonnie joined her, pointing to the little plaque near the top of the door. Like everything else in the dark pizzeria, it was covered in a layer of dust so thick that even when the rabbit attempted wiping it away, it didn't do much good. ' ase nt' read the sign after a few swipes, and the rabbit just looked sadly at his covered paw before trying to clean it off one of the walls. This left a horrible looking streak that left way too little to the imagination.
Chica hummed a bit distractedly, shaking her head at Bonnie's hopelessness. Her hand came next, rubbing a little firmly. Now, a little faded, the sign read Basement in slightly bolder letters.
Shining her flashlight at the sign to read it once Bonnie wiped it cleanish, Nora hummed. I'm not afraid of a basement she scoffed. When she tried again, Bonnie stepped in front of her, blockading the door. He stared down at her in a way that made her skin crawl. Nora shrunk back. She squeaked in surprise when Chica's hands came down on her shoulders. Nora craned her neck to see Chica, who looking down at her with a less severe expression than Bonnie, and pointing insistently towards the doors they were leading towards before.
Nora whined a little in the back of her throat but let them led her across the room and through the doors.
The dining room was neatly organized in terms of layout, with the stage at the back of the room and the kitchen across the stage and the rows of table between them. The rest of the place was a disaster area, like the night crew that came in before lock up was only worried about making sure the chairs were remotely close to tables, and said tables only quickly wiped down. And there was the doors, large glass angels into freedom where a single light lit up the walkway to the parking lot. If she squinted, she could make out the Mystery Machine sitting by itself out there. The only source of light was Nora's flashlight, the lamp post outside and the red blink of the security camera trained on the stage. It swept the area slowly, tracking. For now, the animatornics seemed too focused on Nora worry about the cameras or Shaggy right now.
The dining room was just as dark as the rest of the halls and rooms. But the problem was is it wasn't dark enough to hide the tall figure looming in the corner. Before Nora could say or do anything else, Bonnie and Chica made enough metal noises to wake the dead, let alone the animatronic standing there holding a mic.
And with a whine of servos and a click of gears, Freddy Fazbear opened his eyes, and turned to stare in their direction.
If her hands weren't clasped in the hands of two animatronics Nora would have split. She looked around, finding the blinking red light of a surveillance camera. She cast a panicked look at it before whipping her head around to look at Freddy, who had at this point turned his body towards his company. I can't these guys near uncle Shaggy but-but-I don't—She felt her heart pounding harder with each step towards the performance stage.
Freddy's jaw moved, only to slide open a little bit, the speakers giving a crackle of life. That was where it ended though, half a word of 'H-hey kids—' before the faulty equipment gave out with an eerie whine. All looked a bit disappointed, even Freddy, though he quickly masked it with an attempt at a smile and a wave, pointing to her.
Tears were springing to her eyes in her panic but she made her best effort to blink them back. Before she could truly brace herself, Nora was standing before the stage. Freddy was staring down at her with his supposed smile and waving. Both Bonnie and Chica let go of her hands. Bonnie gave her a little nudge when she didn't response.
Nora held up a shaking hand but couldn't wave back. It was hard not to feel like she might be a human sacrifice. These feelings didn't exactly improve when Chica picked her up to place her on stage beside Freddy. Finally she squeaked, "H-h-h-hi—a-are you Fr-Freddy?"
The robot nodded eagerly, tilting his head to see her a bit better, his jaw sliding up on its hinge. He watched the others clamber back onto the stage, Chica on his right and Bonnie on his left. Bonnie picked up a fallen guitar quickly, its strap swinging uselessly as it locked into place on his paws. The whole gang struck a pose—which might have been more awesome if there was sound, and also might not have been so scary if they weren't animatronics with blotchy stains that had several inches of height on her.
Of course, this was a pizzeria. And this was a place to entertain kids. It seemed that, despite the muck and mildew, the darkness and the creepy atmosphere, all the animatronics were still trying to do their jobs.
And then finally, with much static and a large boom and pop, the speakers managed to strain to life with music and singing. 'Hey kids,' he repeated as he gave his introduction to their show, 'Nice to meetcha! Know what goes great with your Fazbear pizza?'
A feminine voice broke in and Chica turned to Freddy, her beak moving out of sync with the words, 'Oh! I know! It's music!'
'Chica,' whined another male voice, Bonnie's head swiveled to his left and his ears bobbed up and down. "You need to give the kids a chance to guess!"
Freddy's head moved along with the laughing through the speaker, "That's alright, Bonnie. Their mouths are full anyway. How about we play them a song while they eat?"
During this entire exchange Nora stood completely still, taking in this act that they were programmed to perform. She grew a little less terrified and a little more incredulous.
Across the pizzeria and in the little security room, Shaggy wasn't sure what to make of this.
This whole night was a disaster from start to finish—well it was calming down now, at least. It seemed. But he still didn't know where the hell Scooby-Doo was, and Nora was doing such a good job distracting those creepy robots it didn't look like she had a chance to look around anymore. He should have just been grateful she was still on the camera feed, and he was. She had gotten off it only a handful of times, usually between switching rooms he noticed, and once when she was near that Pirate's Cove joint. Shaggy kept a vague running list of the blind spots the cameras had, stomach in his throat every time he had to flick between views to spot his tiny niece.
The man reluctantly hit a button, letting the screen flip to the camera in the hallway, and saw nothing. He switched through the cameras once more, but ended back up on the main room where the robots and, thankfully, Nora still were. Leaning uncomfortably back into the old swivel chair, he pushed a long leg out and rubbed his face tiredly, shoulders twitching when his fingers brushed against the aching bump under his hair.
Man, did his head hurt. It probably wasn't anything serious, and besides, he had bigger worries on his mind right now than a little headache. The biggest worry beeped faintly—the power was at an uneasy 27%, and it was dropping steadily. Was it dropping faster than usual, or was it his imagination? With this throbbing headache, it was a wonder he wasn't seeing pink elephants at this point, honestly.
"What a mess." Shaggy moaned softly, talking to himself for two reasons. One, it filled the silence and two, Scooby-Doo wasn't here to talk to. That was the second biggest problem, and Shaggy felt the anxiety crawl up his spine with jagged talons and sink into the back of his head. Now, there was the ringing in his head from the possible concussion he had—or something else altogether? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. It took Shaggy several breaths and several blinks to rid the black spots in the corner of his vision. By the time he could think again with the dull ringing in-between his ears, those creepy musicians were still singing, and Nora was still with them. The camera turned slowly in place, falling on her smiling but slightly strained face. She wasn't running for the exit, so he hoped that weak smile was a good sign.
In a feeble attempt to garner some knowledge of their current situation, Shaggy ran through what he already knew. It was a trick he'd seen Velma and Freddy do so many times; it had to work for them. Fact, he was the night guard. Fact, Scooby was MIA and possibly in trouble, but, also fact: the animatronics were all with Nora. Fact, Scooby was an ace hider. He wouldn't move if he thought there was a chance of getting caught again. The dog also knew that at 6am, the robots went off. Er, except for that one in Pirate's Cove. Which he hadn't seen hide nor hair of. Uh, let's see. Fact, these robots thought he was an endo-skinny something and would, if given the chance, shove him into one of the suits in the back room.
Shaggy shuddered.
But some of the pieces just weren't fitting. This was the job of a sleuth, Velma always reminded him. Find the piece that doesn't fit, and dig until you come to the correct puzzle. They weren't trying to stuff Nora in a suit, not at all. They were looking and acting like the beloved kid's entertainers they apparently were in the day time. So, what was the deal?
What made him so different? And what were these kooky bots trying to hide from him, but not Nora?
His head throbbed again, but from over-thinking or physical injury, Shaggy couldn't be sure. "Like, maybe some music will take my mind off this disaster of a night." He bemoaned to the empty room, devoting one hand to rubbing the lump on his skull.
"In a cavern, in a canyon…Excaaavating for a mine…" He sang off key poorly, knee bouncing a little harder as he flicked through the security feed. No sign of that pirate's cove guy yet. Phew. "Dwelt a miner forty-niner….and his daaughter Clementine." Shaggy paused. "Like, jinkies. That just makes me think of that spooky old Miner. All I need, one more monster coming after me."
Letting himself only whistle the refrain of the song this time, he trailed off as he glanced at the power.
"12%? Swell." He moaned, clapping a hand over his face before he dared look at the clock. That he did by sliding a finger down his face, staring at the modest little clock on the edge of the desk.
5:51. His heart leapt to his throat. They could make it.
In fact…
Shaggy flipped through the screens just one more time, before closing the laptop slowly and softly. The fan was the only noise in the room as he backed up the chair, putting some distance between him and the desk and incidentally, closer to the door.
He leaned out, staring down the hall, and waited quietly.
The band was wrapping up their next song and joke bit as Nora tried very hard to cover up a yawn. She glanced towards the glass doors and noted the sky lighting up. Boy did her eyes hurt from how much she was rubbing them. Distantly she thought to herself that surely it had to be at least after five...maybe almost six? That would be nice.
She pinched one of her forearms to wake herself up some. She hadn't been able to leave the dining room which meant that she couldn't look for Scooby and she was getting increasingly anxious, which only served to wear her out more.
Nora wondered what the chances were that she could excuse herself without having to worry that any of them would go after Shaggy.
Yeah. Right.
They must have had internal clocks themselves, or something, because they seemed to notice either Nora's grogginess or the sky getting lighter.
Bonnie lowered his guitar, and Freddy raised his microphone and other arm, waving with the free one.
After a burst of static, the voice finally chugged through.
"I think that's all for now kids! Don't forget to stop by the Prize Counter and use those ti-ti-tickets!"
"Take ho-home some pizSSHZRTza!" Chica's electronic voice chirped in what was supposed to be a pleasant manner.
Freddy took the stage once more,
"Thanks for coming to Freddy Fazbear's! I'll see you next time..."
Nora winced at the glitches in the sound system. She slowly stood up from her seat when the animatronics did seem like they were really finished and weren't approaching her. Her back cracked as she did so. 'Wait, are they really done? This is it! If they just stay put I can probably go look for-'
That when she heard a familiar screaming coming from down the hall. "What in the-?"
In retrospect, it was probably a good thing who ever designed the doors into the dining hall made them swinging. That meant that instead of blowing clear through them—which he had done and could do—Shaggy only burst through and shot straight for Nora.
"Six o' clock! Time for us to make like chains saws and bug out!" He yelped, not bothering with grabbing her arm, no. Norry was little and Shaggy was so, so scared for her, he just scooped her right up, something crashing to his left, and flat out sprinted for the exit.
Nora yelped, not expecting Shaggy to pick her up and run with her, dropping her flash light in the process and watched it skid across the floor. But, wait! She still hadn't found Scooby! She barely got to look for him at all!
Shaggy didn't even respond, which was a good testament as any as to how petrified he was for the both of them, maybe more so for his baby niece.
He was out the door and into the safety of the van in under twenty seconds, a new record.
Scooby-Doo would have been proud.
The echoing noise of the vehicle as it drove away was a noise all too familiar to the Fazbear gang. Blue glass eyes lowered from the now shut front doors, following the abandoned flashlight as it rolled in a bid for freedom under the table, where it vanished. Gone. Just like those little kids. Just like that little girl, just now.
Taken.
His eyes darkened, and Freddy and the others reluctantly fell into their locked mode.
Tomorrow, they would come down on that cursed guard once and for all, and avenge the little child they couldn't save. Yes, tomorrow...
Tomorrow was another day.
Honey: The delay in posting is very much my fault, as per usual. I took my sweet time editing my portion of the chapter. Again. Now I feel bad, bad llama.
Charlie: Miner 49er is of course, in reference to that one episode of SDWAY? I needed a song for Shaggy to sing off tune, and it was fun to bring up hold ghosts. What. Too soon?