Author´s Note: Oh, dear! This is going great! Hehehehehe! Poor Scooby, time is running out. Will he save his friends in time? And as for Pike and Pericles, we can say that they are distant cousin but do know each other (which doesn´t mean that they like each other). More than family meetings, I imagine those two playing chess just like Sherlock and Moriarty in Game of Shadows. Pike would sound much like Stephen Fry. (Can almost picture that)
Lyrics belong to Daughtry.
Let´s go!
4. Hide Away
15 Hours before
When Scooby finally opens his eyes the sun is up in the sky. The room is in chaos. Pike is trying to put his feathers in place while Cassidy sees to Ricky who has gone absolutely pale, many of the tubes and other equipment are being put back by a nurse while Ed Machine keeps a hand in his abdomen. The Dane gulps. The gang is gone, not a sign of them.
"Hey, you´re awake! U ok, Scoob?" Cass kneels before him.
"Rhere´s rhe gang?"
"The Freak and my good for nothing cousin took them away seeing that they couldn´t have Mr. E or Cass. Pair of vultures!" grumbles Pike. "I bet, old chap, that tonight they shall go to the caves"
"Re must rescue them!"
"Indeed, my fellow sleuth, but now we must leave this place"
"Rhy?" they all hear Sheriff´s voice thundering. "Oh, rokey!"
"Cassidy, will you meet us at the beach near the caves at sunset?"
"With pleasure. Will you two be OK?"
"We are two clever mates, we will manage. Ricky?"
"A bit battered but he is all right. Ed?"
"Am fine. If you have to leave, do it now"
"You heard them, old chap. Let´s high tail out of here" they go to the corridor where they see a police man. They wait until is gone. "We need stealth mode here. Hmm" the parrot looks around and spots an empty gurney with a large cloth on it. "I got an idea but we´ll need something from inside the room"
Some minutes later, a nurse is pushing the empty gurney towards the entrance. Sheriff Stone does see it and makes sure but there´s nothing unusual about it. Once at the door, the nurse goes to attend a patient and both the dog and the parrot come out of their hiding place. Pike knew that they would register the gurney so they waited for the nurse to leave the room and hid them shelves with the cloth.
"Rhat was a rood plan"
"Always think ahead, old boy. Chess rule. Sheriff might be stupid but is was obvious that every gurney was being registered. So, now, let´s find a safe place to think and plan our move" they leave the hospital and go to the K-Ghoul where Angel has plenty of food and a computer. "Ah, this is the spot. Now, let´s think"
"Raves"
"Yes, they will be waiting for us at the caves, my lad. That is why we must see into this carefully" Scooby points his collar with the WAAT communicator. "Best not worry the doctor for now. This is a mission just for two or three people, chap. We can´t drag Cassidy inside the caves cuz that is what Pericles wants so we need another plan. But with all this stress, I can´t think properly" Pike looks through the shelves until he finds a chess board and the pieces. "Not much a player you are, I guess"
"Rot really. Rhaggy roesn´t play"
"I see. Well, I´ll make it simple. The goal of this game is capture the king, this one. To put it easy, this is Pericles"
"Rockey"
"The Queen, here the Freak, guards the King and can move in all directions while the king can´t"
"Ra ha" he understood.
"This horse is the Knight, moves in L. Our knight, you for example, is close the King and the Queen"
"Ricky and Rangel"
"See? Smart as paint you are. The bishop, who moves in diagonal, that´s me, next to the knight. The tower, Ed Machine, in the corner, who moves in horizontal or vertical. And the pawns, brave little pieces in the first row"
"Rokey" he nods.
"Our mission is to get pass the enemy lines, capture the king and free our friends that are on the other side of the board. A difficult task" Pike plays with himself. Scooby sighs. "Pericles and I used to play chess years ago. He was good but I´m better. He will be watching the entrances, waiting for us to get close to the kids, we need a move to break his lines... Even if it means discover check" Pike opens wide his eyes. "I think I know just the thing"
"Really?"
"I hope it works and my spoiled parent hasn´t played much chess these years" grins Pike. A sudden hiss startles the dog and over the sofa, appears Nazo. "How nice of you to drop in"
"I see you two are busy"
"A little. What is the pleasure that brings you here?"
"I just came to warn you. Pericles is in the caves and since, he pretends to lure the piece there, Nidhogg is going there to have a snack. Do you know what that means?"
"I´m afraid, yes. It will be parrot a l'ast or all trapped inside the mirrors. How lovely!"
"Rait, rhat?" Scooby winks.
"Let´s put it like this. Nidhogg, the eel, wants to eat Pericles, something I´m not against, of course. Is my cousin but he´s gone too evil for my liking. So, the eel wants to eat the parrot to prevent any kind of further damage. If that doesn´t happen, he will trap all those inside the caves into the crystal walls, is called the crystal method"
"Roverer?"
"Not always. If he by accident traps your friends, they will eventually be released, although with a bit of amnesia, I´m afraid"
"(Whines) Re rust save them!"
"We will, my lad, yes we will"
"Well, you better be quick cuz when the midnight bells strikes, he will reach the caves. Ta!" Nazo vanishes.
"The problem is that we also can get trapped in there"
"Ri don´t care. Ry riends are there"
"That´s the spirit! The only problem is that we will need the disk piece"
"Ris in my home"
"Really? Why, mate, that surely helps but again. We must avoid being seen at all cost. The sheriff is right now their bishop so we must be very careful"
"Ri. Ruh, ro you rnow how Gard and Ricky ret?"
"Ouh, how did E and the white snake met? Yes, I do. And since we have plenty of time and it might help a lot, I shall tell you" Pike places the pieces on the board. "It all started twenty years ago, on a dark night. When all hope was gone and only sorrow was left"
"When I say I'm sorry
Will you believe me?
Listen to my story
Say you wont leave me
When I say I'm sorry
Can you forgive me?
When I say I'll always be there
Will you believe
Will you believe me?
If I told you
I've been cleaning my soul
And if I promised you
I'll regain control
Will you open your door
And let me in?
Take me for who I am
And not for who I've been?"
Yes, the next episode will finally reveal how Ricky met Jormungard.
What has Pike planned?
Will they be able to get the disk piece?
Will they get trapped inside the walls?
Next Clue: Hangman´s Tree