"All right, Scooby-Doo. We've got a food court to find. Is your sniffer ready to roll?"
"Ruh huh! Ret's ro!" Scooby barked.
Nose to the ground, Scooby set a course to the food court. The great dane clambered aboard a nearby escalator and rode down to the first floor. Then, sniffing madly, he clambered onto the up escalator and rode up to the third floor before climbing onto the down escalator again and riding it all the way down to the basement.
"Is your nose losing its touch, Scoob?" Shaggy puffed, weary from following his pet from escalator to escalator. "Or are you just doing this for fun?"
"Rheee!" Scooby yipped happily, riding down the escalator's banister like a roller coaster.
Shaggy snickered at his silly pet's antics. "You're gonna get us thrown out," he admonished.
"Roilsport!" pouted Scooby as he reluctantly began to sniff out the food court.
On the way to the food, the dog-and-detective duo passed one of the security robots on patrol. "Like, those robots are, like, uber-creepy," Shaggy murmured as the robot surveyed him with unblinking eyes.
Scooby shuddered as the robot's gaze fell on him. Suddenly, the robot snatched up Scooby by the tail and a siren began to blare! "No pets in mall! No pets in mall! Dog alert! Dog alert!" the robot droned in a mechanical voice. Scooby yelped in fear and tried to run, but the robot's grip was too strong.
Maria Webb, attracted by the robot's blaring siren, rounded the corner with a very reluctant Brock in tow. She released the robot from duty and it wandered off to terrorize another mall guest. "I am terribly sorry about that. Please accept these gift cards as an apology."
Shaggy and Scooby waved the cards away before returning to their search for the food court. Maria turned to her long-suffering boyfriend. "Brock, we need to find Dr. Iverson and get this robot situation all straightened out before I'm ruined! I've given out over a thousand dollars in apology gift cards just this hour!"
"So, it...can't wait until...tomorrow..." Brock moaned, but Maria shushed him with a look. "Okay, fine," he grimaced. "Lead the way."
Over on the other side of the mall, Fred, Velma and Daphne exited Nerdstroms empty-handed. "You wouldn't think he'd be so hard to buy for," mused Daphne.
"He isn't," Velma replied. "But you can't exactly gift-wrap a seventeen course meal," she quipped, causing the rest of the group to chuckle.
"Hey, look," Fred exclaimed. "It's one of those security robots from this morning." The metallic man clomped down the hallway, surveying everything with its unblinking electronic eyes.
"Jinkies, it's a little creepy-looking, don't you think? Especially those glowing eyes…"
"Well, if they keep the mall safe, they're okay with me," Fred replied. "Even if they are a little eerie."
"You're going to HAVE to shut them down!" came a voice, causing Fred, Velma and Daphne to jump in shock as Maria Webb and Brock Knight, accompanied by Dr. Iverson, rounded the corner. "There's been false alarms non-stop since this morning. And they're dangerous! One man was pocketing his wallet and the robot grabbed him and turned him upside down, shaking him until the wallet fell out! By some miracle, we didn't have to send him to the hospital!"
"My programming was flawless!" the doctor countered furiously. "The robots are incapable of such behavior!"
Maria's voice suddenly grew dangerously soft. "What are you insinuating?" she hissed. "Did you forget who works for whom?! Shut. Them. Off. Now."
Muttering furiously, Dr. Iverson withdrew the remote from his pocket and sullenly pressed a few buttons. Within minutes, the army of robots clomped towards the doctor and silently fell into formation, their glowing eyes dimming as they shut themselves down.
Dr. Iverson made a cursory count of the robots. "There's one missing!" he shouted, pressing a few buttons on his remote. "Robot X23-45, respond!" He looked up into Maria's worried gaze. "It's not responding! It's gone rogue!"
"A rogue robot?" Maria parroted. "We have to find it!" She and Dr. Iverson split up and took off into the mall to search for the robot.
Brock sighed deeply. "I think I'll just…sit this one out," he said to no one in particular. "…go grab some Chinese food." With another long-suffering sigh, he ambled towards the food court.
"Hmmm…what on earth could have made the robots go haywire?" Velma asked.
"Well, if you ask me, we've got another mystery on our hands," Fred remarked. "Let's find that robot!"
While Fred, Velma and Daphne scoured the mall, Shaggy and Scooby trekked blindly through the mall until Shaggy suddenly dropped to his knees and raised his arms skyward. "Oh-ho-ho! This is it, Scooby!" he exclaimed. "The mother lode, itself! Yes, old buddy, it's the promised land!"
Indeed, Scooby and Shaggy had found the food court. Its heavenly bounty called out to them: steaming hot pizzas, fresh baked sourdough bread piled high with deli meat and crisp, mouthwatering vegetables, piping hot noodles tenderly sautéed in soy sauce and garlic, sizzling all-beef hamburgers nestled beside crispy, golden-brown French fries. "Where to start?"
"Rith rone rof reveryring!" Scooby barked matter-of-factly, grabbing a tray in his mouth and making a beeline towards Mamma Vincita's Pizzeria.
"I always knew you were a smart dog," Shaggy quipped, following his pet around the food court.
As the dog-and-detective duo loaded up their trays, they noticed one of the security robots clomping through the food court. "Look, Scoob, another robot."
Scooby shuddered involuntarily as the metallic monster clomped over towards them. "Intruders!" the creature droned in an expressionless tone. "INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" A siren began blaring loudly as the mechanical man began flipping over tables and chairs, screeching loudly.
Panic reigned in the food court. A mad rush ensued for the exit as people attempted to get away from the mechanical menace as quickly as possible. Trays filled with food scattered everywhere as the robot, screaming like a banshee, continued its deranged rampage of the food court.
By the time the rest of the gang stumbled upon the wreckage of the food court, the robot had vanished.
"Jinkies, what a mess!" Velma gasped.
"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock. "Did the robot do THAT?!"
"Only one way to find out," Fred announced. "Let's look for clues!"
The gang split up to search the wreckage of the food court. "Look at this," Velma called, holding up a mess of wires and circuits. "I found it over by the pizza place."
Fred strode over to examine the clue. "Robot parts?" he murmured. "But what does it mean?"
Velma pocketed the circuits. "I have my suspicions…" she replied. "Let's see if we can find some more clues…Whoa!" The trash can Velma was standing by suddenly shook violently before tipping over completely, causing a garbage-covered Shaggy and Scooby to tumble out. "Jinkies! What were you two doing in there?"
"Like, robot!" Shaggy gasped fearfully. "Like, trashed food court! Oh…the carnage! All those delicious French fries…"
"Rhe ramrurgers!" Scooby yelped skyward. "Rhink rof rhe ramrurgers!"
"The robot was here?" Fred asked.
"And, like, it tore up the place, screeching about intruders!" Shaggy finished.
"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" came a shout.
Shaggy turned to Scooby. "Exactly, Scoob! Good impression!"
Scooby eyed his owner with bemusement. "Rhat rasn't re!" he barked, confused.
Shaggy gulped. "Well, if it wasn't you..."
"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" the robot screeched, its siren blaring loudly as it clomped towards the gang.
"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Rogue robot dead ahead!" With shouts of horror, the gang split up and raced away.