AN: I OWN NOTHING OF THE SCOOBY DOO FRANCHISE!!!!

Chapter Twelve: Surprise

Fred braced himself and stared into the masked man's eyes. The man cocked his head, the mask still smiling it's never-ending, crooked grin. He put the gun in front of them and shot. Fred groaned and fell to the floor.

"Harry?" She asked sitting up. "What are you doing down here?" Harry looked down.
"Oh, Melinda! I'm terribly sorry, here." He said offering her a hand. She took it and he helped pull her up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but you haven't answered my question."
"I'm lookin for my uncle, he still hasn't shown up and I'm getting rather worried that he won't."
"Well, we found your uncle, but here's the thing, he's dead." Melinda looked to the floor. Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby caught up to them.
"Oh, it's you." Shaggy said staring Harry down, Velma folded her arms and looked t him skeptically. Scooby just sat down and stared between the two groups of humans.
"Dad, not now, I just told him about Mr. Harrison." Shaggy's stare became much less stern, yet it still held incriminating glances. Velma's arms dropped back to her side, but her stare remained firm and unmoving. After a while, Melinda looked back into his eyes. They were clouded, as if a sudden fog had occured.
"Harry, if you ever want to talk, I'm always here." She said as her parents continued to walk on with Scooby.
"I'd like that very much, thank you." He said, giving her a weak smile.
"Before I leave, I have to ask you, have you seen my younger siblings, or my cousins by chance?"
"No, I'm sorry. Have they disappeared?"
"Just recently."
"Were they in here?"
"No, they were at the door to the 'pantry' and somehow got it open and they were pulled inside."
"The same thing happened to your cousins?"
"No, Danny and James were taken when my Aunt and Uncle weren't looking and Kylie only just recently disappeared about half-an-hour ago." She explained.
"I'd love to help you look." He said, taking one hand in his own.
"I'd appreciate that." She smiled and they went to follow Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby. Only there was one problem, where were they?

Fred groaned. Where were they? He opened his eyes and saw that he was chained to an old-style brick wall. He looked around. No sign of Daphne. 'Daphne....' What could they have done with her? Fred tried to move his left arm so that he could see the door on the opposite side better, but instant pain shot through his muscles. He looked up and saw that he had bloodstained bandages on his arm. He remembered the gun. 'I must have been shot.' The door on the other side flew open with a bang and three masked men walked in followed by an all-too familiar looking ghost.
"Surprised aren't you?" The ghost of Sir Lawrence asked coming in front of Fred. "Who'd have thought, a Frenchman, a Britian, and an Italian ghost. If you'rethinking that it is I who came to use Guy Fawkes as a cover, you are correct. You see, there's something hidden in this house, a treasure of sorts. I intend to find it, and I don't care if I have to kill off every member of Mystery Inc. one. By. One." He said as he came closer. "Oh, and don't worry, I've been taking good care of that little red-headed child of yours, she'll make a fine feast for my crows."

Harry and Melinda continued to walk, hoping that the others were somewhere ahead of them.
"What was that purple light I saw back there a few moments ago? Your flashlight?" Harry asked as they kept walking.
"Umm, yea." Melinda said hoping the subject would drop. She was lucky, they came to a cross-section that split off in six different directions. They listened, but heard no clues as to whhich the others chose. "Looks like we'll have to take our chances. Which hall should we go down?"
"Middle-left." Harry said pointing in the direction. They walked towards the hall, still holding hands.
"You know, you're awful beautiful for a girl who belittles herself." Harry said looking down at her.
"I don't belittle myself."
"Yes, you do. I don't think you trust yourself."
"I do."
"Then tell me the truth about the purple light."
"I did, it was my flashlight."
"No, it wasn't. Everytime you say that, you stiffen."
"Look, can we just drop it? It was a purple light that's all."
"A glowing, orb-like, ball of purple light. I do know a magic orb when I see one Melinda." Melinda stopped dead.

Me: Ugh, Exam Week!