April 26th, 2022
I was distracted by an endless report when my cellphone rang. For the tenth time. The interruption made me sigh, and I didn´t need to get the phone to know that Daphne was calling me again, to talk about the same thing. I waited 1 or 2 minutes until the phone stopped, but 1 or 2 minutes after, Shaggy messaged me saying: "Damn, Velma, stop being a cranky bitch and help her!" Unfortunately, the phone rang again in less than a minute, and I had to accept the call, or she would be very upset with me.
Velma: I don´t know if you and Shags are aware of it, but we the ordinary people don´t own a bank and a famous app, so we need to work hard for a salary at 2pm of a Tuesday… and we don´t have free time to phone others…
Daphne: We are… but seems like you´re not aware of the fact that you´ve promised me you would do that!
I sighed again and rolled my eyes, hoping that my impatience would make her give up on that crazy idea, but instead of it, she smiled and begged like a child.
Velma: Daph, I would love to help! Really! But you simply can´t understand that the world doesn´t revolve around you!
Daphne: I´m not asking the world to revolve around me, I just want your help! C´mon, Vel, you can do it, you work for Interpol!
Velma: I work FOR Interpol! I don´t own Interpol! I can´t use an International institution to pamper you and make your will!
Daphne: Oh, but it´s something cute and inoffensive! Please, Vel!
Velma: No, it´s something particular, specific and NOT RELATED TO INTERPOL, no, no and no!
Daphne: Pleeeeease, it´s for a good reason!
Velma: It´s for YOUR PARTICULAR REASON! Jinkies, Daph, we deal with human and drug trafficking, we´re not actors!
Daphne: But you´re my best friend! And you know all the agents at the airport, awwwww, please Vel, it will be so nice!
Velma: I´m your best friend, but our friendship CAN´T AFFECT THE WORK OF AN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTION! Jinkies, I would love to help, but that´s corruption! I don´t want people to think I´ve only done that because you´re a Blake…
Daphne: Oh, they won´t! They will think you´ve done that because we both survived a horrid massacre and we have the right to celebrate our lives… people love overcoming stories, they get inspired by them!… and I bet they will love the good news too… it´s a beautiful end to Squid Game case, just like when you adopted the kids…
Velma: Holy crap, Daph, you really can´t understand the difference between public things and private things, don´t you? I´m not saying it´s a bad thing! I´m just saying it´s fucking inappropriate to use Interpol agents and America´s most important airport as your private venue! People around the world will criticize us… and I can lose my job for that…
Daphne: People around the world will love it and they will praise you for being such a humane agent… and they will certainly want to copy us…
Velma: And that´s the problem! Kidnappers will feel safe to act if they see Interpol agents doing stupid, instagrammable things for socialites… IDK, why don´t you ask Delilah´s help and mobilize the army?
Daphne: Because I don´t want!
Velma: Dorothy could do something nice at Daytona 500!
Daphne: Daytona 500 was on February!
Velma: What about Dawn?
Daphne: I don´t even talk to her!
Velma: Daisy can mobilize an entire hospital, you know?
Daphne: Boring!
Velma: Shags can make an app…
Daphne: Boring too!
Velma: Maybe you father can do a…
Daphne: Velma, I want the airport!
Velma: Jinkies! Why don´t you just tell your mom? If she mobilizes her tongue and gossips as much as she usually does…
Daphne: VELMA!
Velma: Sorry, just kidding… well, in fact, I´m not really kidding…it´s a simpler way, don´t you think?
Daphne: NO! I WANT THE AIRPORT! I have everything in mind!
Velma: Jinkies, your parents really have failed on teaching that you can´t always get what you want…
Daphne: Awww, Velma, please! PLEASE! You know I can´t go through stress… and you´re turning the things stressful for me…
Velma: Don´t you dare to try to use it to manipulate me!
Daphne: I won´t! I´m just saying that if I pass out, you…
Velma: If you pass out, he will finally know, case solved! Now, have a lovely honeymoon and please let me finish my work! Call me when you arrive at Bora Bora, ok?
Daphne: You´ve never talked to me like this, why are you being so mean?
Velma: Because you´re being selfish!
Daphne: Aww, Vel, pleeeease! You know I´ve always dreamt of this moment…
Yes, I knew. And that´s why I sighed out loudly once more.
Velma: Ok…
Daphne: Awww, thank you, I knew you would help me!
Velma: …but it´ll be in a very, very, small, tiny section of customs at Reagan Airport, ok? With only two agents… no camera, no films, no photos, no clue that this fact ever took place! And no evidence that I have done that… understand me?
Daphne: Conditions accepted… at 10pm, don´t forget!
Velma: I really wish I could…
Daphne: VELMA!
Velma: Just kidding…
My clock showed 9 pm while I was being the kind of despicable person I hate most: the one that orders fast-food meals for kids under 12. Then, I texted Marcie saying that food would be there in 15 minutes and I would arrive home late – and hoped she would see the message in less than 2 days. When the screen showed 9:10 pm, I messaged Daphne in the kindest way as possible ̶a̶c̶c̶o̶r̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶c̶h̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶o̶d̶.
Velma: Your booking at Reagan Airport is waiting for you, your majesty, I thought you were aware that you need to arrive hours early for an international departure… where the hell are you?
And she answered immediately.
Daphne: My pilot knows well that I can´t go through stress! And you too!
Velma: But the air traffick controller doesn´t… and he will not let you take off if you if you take so long to arrive… sorry, there are a lot of plebeian flights using the airport too…
Daphne: Instead of hurrying me up, why don´t you set everything up?
Velma: Everything is set up, only one thing is missing: YOU!
Daphne stopped texting after my last message, and I assumed that my words were stressful enough. 15 minutes after, she sent me a photo at departure area, and before I could text anything, she just texted: "I would love to have it recorded…but, unfortunately, I´ve accepted your conditions". I rolled my eyes and laughed before answering: "yes… good try, anyway".
Then, I left my room with a "mission accomplished" feeling… but with a heavy heart. On my way to my car, my mind reminded me about the past months and the past years, and all the good and the bad things that I lived with my friends. Suddenly, I was taken again to that night at Squid Game, in which we were all at the death´s door, begging for more time together… and I realized how wrong I was for leaving that airport. So, I ran as fast as I could to reach that terminal. I was having another chance to be with my friends. And I couldn´t let it go. Nevermore.
My cellphone screen showed 9:40 pm when I arrived at the correct place – and I could barely breathe after running so much. I behaved like another kind of despicable person that I hate – the one that performs and films stupid short videos for social networks – but I was still the good, old friend to both my friends. Daphne smiled when she saw me, and I was silly enough to let some tears run down my face way before than the correct moment. Fred smiled too, then he looked at me confusingly.
Fred: Good to see you, Vel. Can you help us? Seems like there´s something wrong with my suitcase… and they won´t let me board…
Two of my subordinates looked at me, expecting my orders on how they should behave, but instead of letting them play their roles, I intervened.
Velma: Yeah, that´s why I am here. We´ve found a baby inside your suitcase, Mr. Jones. Now, seems like you´re a daddy!
April 8, 2023
When I returned from the beach, I quickly looked at the clock on my cell phone screen and my heart skipped a beat. By my mental calculations, I was late. Immediately, I called Marcie and the kids, we gathered our belongings and returned to the hotel. I felt so guilty for forgetting Shaggy and Crystal's baby reveal party that I started clicking on the meeting link again and again while we were still in the elevator. When we finally entered the online meeting, Crystal accepted my request with a smile, while Shaggy sulked beside her. Scooby and Amber jumped onto the table and looked at the camera when they heard my voice, and I greeted them. Sugie, Crystal´s and Shaggy´s parents were also at the meeting as live guests (just like us), and they greeted us. Many other people were watching the broadcast on youtube, including Marcie, who had opened the live video on her laptop, so the kids could watch it.
Crystal: Hi Velma! Hi Marcie! Hi kids! Thanks for coming, it's good to have you here in this very special moment! Our meeting is being recorded and broadcasted, ok?
Shaggy: YOU MEAN: HI VELMA, THANKS FOR FORGETTING ABOUT OUR MEETING LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! AND, LIKE, THANKS FOR MAKING ME WAIT FOR YOU FOREVER!
Crystal: Oh, c´mon, honey, she´s only 15 minutes late...
Crystal rolled her eyes and laughed disconcertingly, while Shaggy impatiently crossed his arms and scowled at the camera.
Crystal: Sorry about that, girls… Shaggy is a bit eager to cut the cake, and you know how his mood is affected when there's food involved...
Velma: Oh, I've known this jerk for years, I'm used to it...
Crystal started to talk to me, but she was suddenly interrupted because she accepted Flim Flam´s request to join the meeting, and that made Shaggy feel angrier.
Shaggy: SEE! FLIM FLAM HAS FORGOTTEN TOO, AND NOW WE´RE 20 MINUTES LATE!
Flim Flam: Hi everyone, sorry for the delay, I had to walk down about 3000 meters to find a village with wi-fi… it's good to see you again, even on a video call in different time zones, just like the old times…
Crystal: Hi Flim Flam, nice to have you here! Our meeting is live, ok? Well, I guess we just need to wait for Daphne and Fred now?
Shaggy: OH, FUCK DAPHNE AND FRED! THEY FORGOT ABOUT THIS SHIT, LET'S CUT THIS CAKE SOON, FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Velma: They would never forget it, Shags… they must be too busy with the baby…
Marcie: …or making another baby…
Velma: Argh, Marcie, damn, too much information! We´re in a live!
Shaggy: Totally unnecessary! And you know what's totally unnecessary too? WAIT FOR DAPHNE AND FRED TO CUT THIS FUCKING CAKE!
Shaggy sighed angrily, and Scooby also showed his apprehension by looking at the cake and whimpering.
Crystal: Could someone call them and hurry them up?
Marcie immediately grabbed her cell phone and dialed Daphne's number, and nobody answered. Soon after, she did the same with Fred's number, and also got no response. At each attempt, Shaggy's frustration increased, and Scooby-Doo whimpered more and more while he looked at the cake. Suddenly, anxiety made Shaggy use his finger to swipe some whipped cream from the cake, but Crystal slapped his hand immediately, and his bad mood worsened. At the tenth attempt, Fred's cell phone answered, but to our surprise, what appeared on the screen was a chubby, red-haired face with big blue eyes. Marcie showed her cell phone screen to the live camera, and after the initial image melted our hearts, we started calling Daphne´s and Fred´s names out loud. However, all the attempts to call the baby´s parents were in vain, and while we called them, her little hands full of bracelets grabbed the cell phone and put it inside her mouth. For a fraction of a second, I saw the image of Fred sleeping right behind the baby, and when the camera's image focused on the lonely small tooth in that mouth, Shaggy lost his patience and left his place beside Crystal. Crystal caught him by the wrist, and Scooby took advantage of her distraction to lick a dollop of the cake´s whipped cream. The cuteness of Daphne and Fred's baby and the guesses about the gender of Crystal's baby created a chatter that lasted a few minutes, until it was interrupted by the image of Daphne's hands removing the cell phone from the baby's mouth and ending the call. After a few seconds, Daphne's face appeared on Crystal's live meeting. While we greeted her, she woke Fred up tenderly, took the baby in her arms and repeated several times "did you answer daddy´s phone, dear?" in a high-pitched, childish voice.
Daphne: Hi darlings! Sorry for the delay, I'm busy with the baby's first Easter… and another monthiversary coming next week… my God, time flies!
Crystal: Aww, Daph, she is so beautiful! I can't wait to see my baby´s face... thank you for being with us at this moment!
Velma: Oh, damn, I miss you guys so much! Now I want to return to Crystal Cove! I can´t believe she´s already sitting by herself! She´s growing up so fast! How are you doing?
Daphne: Well, we´re both eager to find out how to turn this girl off... but we're fine!
Fred: … and sleeping only three hours a day... but we're happy!
Velma: I see! Why don't you try classical music? It will calm her down and help her sleep… plus, it improves the intellectual development of babies…
Fred: No, thanks, I'm scared to death she'll be just like you...
Fred's comment made everyone laugh, while the baby looked at her parents tenderly and Scooby took the opportunity to lick another dollop of cake.
Daphne: And how are the kids doing? And your trip? Are you having fun?
Shaggy: THE KIDS ARE GREAT, HER TRIP IS WONDERFUL, DAPHNE AND FRED'S BABY IS BEAUTIFUL, NOW LET'S CUT THE CAKE, DAMMIT!
Shaggy's angry comment silenced everyone. So, Crystal took the knife to cut a piece of cake and show the color of the cake's filling (and, consequently, reveal the baby's gender), but at the moment she plunged the knife into the cake, Scooby-Doo bit a generous portion of it and showed the filling was blue. Shaggy got angrier, and scolded the dog, while using a spoon to quickly eat the small amount of cake that remained. We smiled and applauded the revelation, while a visibly-embarrassed Crystal tried to clean up the mess.
Daphne: How lovely, Shags, you're going to be a daddy to a boy!
Velma: I hope you stop acting like a baby now that you're having a baby...
Daphne: It didn't work with Freddie...
We all laughed, and that made Fred and Daphne´s baby laugh too, which made us laugh even more.
Velma: It didn't work with Marcie either… and we have three! Mentally, she is younger than all them…
Marcie: It worked with Velma because mentally she is 75 years old…
Fred: Velma is 75 since kindergarten!
I rolled my eyes, and they laughed at me. Fred encouraged the baby to laugh again, and she did.
Daphne: And… have you chosen a name?
Shaggy: Yes! Norton!
The revelation of the unusual name baffled us and no one could pretend it was a beautiful choice.
Sugie: Norton? Is this serious?
Crystal: Yes! Shags chose it! Beautiful and unique, isn´t it?
None of us agreed.
Sugie: Uhh… maybe it was a beautiful name, like… during the Civil War…
Velma: I think it was already unusual during the Civil War…
Sugie: Damn, where the hell did you get it? Is it from a character or something?
Shaggy: Norton! "Nor" from Norville, "ton" from Colton, daddy's name, Norton! NORTON!
Sugie: Like, you´re aware that it's not a dog you're naming this time, right?
Marcie: …and the baby will use this name for the rest of his life…?
Sugie: …and even the dogs names you´ve chosen suck… "Scoobert Cornelius Doo"… poor dog…
Velma: Shags, don´t do it, he will hate you so much for this!
Marcie: He´ll be bullied!
Sugie: He´ll need a counsellor…
Flim Flam: Just a question… it will be "Norton", like… the antivirus?
Flim Flam's sarcastic comment made everyone laugh, and only Shaggy was serious.
Shaggy: Like, thanks for the advice, Liang, Marcie, Margaret and Velma, I can see you guys have morals to talk about different names, uh?… but it will be Norton anyway! NORTON! Ok?
We continued laughing, while the parents of Crystal and Shaggy were silent, baffled by the decision.
Colton: Well, I guess Paula and I are the ones to blame… after all, we called him Norville… it must be some kind of trauma!
We laughed once more, and Flim Flam left the live without saying goodbye. Right after, Marcie nudged me and looked at me scared. Then, she pointed to the notebook screen, and in that direction, I saw a small ad at the bottom of the video. As I got closer, I saw that it was about an online game platform that offered money to users who played its games. Apparently, they were simple games like tic-tac-toe, dice and… a Korean game called DDakji. My heart skipped a beat, even so, I kept looking at the words that appeared on the ad. My anxiety was so great that I looked at her questioningly, hoping to hear from her mouth what the hell was going on.
Marcie: No, don't look at me, watch it until the end!
The scared way in which Marcie spoke made me shudder, and I continued to watch the sequence of words and images that appeared in that small ad. Crystal and Daphne started calling me on the live, but fear didn´t let me take my eyes off that screen. At the end of an endless sequence of images, the ad acquired a frighteningly familiar brown color, the words "Coming soon" appeared and, shortly after, three black geometric shapes appeared in the center of the ad, along with a button written "Learn more". The image of the old Squid Game card made me scream and slam my laptop shut, and that scared not only the kids, but also my friends who were on the live.
Crystal: Velma? Are you ok? What happened?
Velma: No, nothing, everything is ok, sorry, I accidentally dropped my laptop, I'll be right back!
I ended the call on the cellphone as soon as I finished my nonsense speech, then I angrily threw my phone against the bed. Even though I didn't mean to, I burst into tears of rage and fear, and Marcie hugged me, even still being scared. When she saw the kids looking at us with concern, she tried to distract them and led them to the other room. When she returned, I was still freaking out, and she tried to calm me down again.
Marcie: The only thing I have to say is: HOW BIZARRE! What the fuck was that? It must be some kind of joke!
Velma: I can't believe it! How is it possible? The entire world has been warned about the horrors of this game! Police depts all over the world have been alert since 2021, Interpol and big tech companies are watching the internet... how is that possible? This is so, so… unfair! And scary!
I sank into my despair again, and my hands were shaking so much that I could barely hold Marcie´s. My cell phone received dozens of concerned messages from Shaggy and Crystal, asking if I was offended by something said during the live, and also from Daphne and Fred, asking the reason of my quick exit. While trying to control my short of breath, I was answering all them slowly, pretending everything was fine, until a call from Flim Flam interrupted me.
Flim Flam: Velma… well, I don't even know how I will tell you this, buuuuuuut… you won't believe what I saw in an ad during Shags´ live…
Velma: You don't have to tell me anything, Flim Flam. We saw it too... and that's why I'm in tears right now...
Flim Flam: Well, apparently Shaggy and the others didn't see anything, otherwise, they would have mentioned it… and freaked out just like us…well, do I tell them? Or you will do it?
Velma: No! None of us! We won't mention anything, hear me?…they are living their own dreams and they don't deserve to be taken away from them… did I make myself clear Flim Flam? Plus, it must… it must be some kind of joke… some kind of geek kid playing a horrid joke on us…
Flim Flam: Some kind of very smart kid, because he´s playing a joke on Interpol members and tricking Youtube security system at the same time… and surely he has a lot of money to do it…don´t you remember some people who had a lot of money and who never paid for their crimes? Some people with secret identities?
Those words increased my anxiety so much that I could barely find words to continue.
Flim Flam: …if someone can do it, Velma, it won´t be a problem to track Shaggy, Fred and the others… specially now that both them are out of police, thinking they are safe and everything is over… they're in danger anyway… we all are…you know it…
Flim Flam was silent, and all that could be heard during the call was my anxious breathing and my sighs of anguish. When Flim Flam sighed, I realized he was just as nervous as I was.
Flim Flam: Look, Velma, it's fine if you don't want to tell them right now, but I think ignoring what we´ve seen is something stupid… we have to do something! I don't know, let´s click on the ad, let´s report it to YouTube, ask Google about it, report Interpol, hunt the VIPs anonymously, call Batman, WHATEVER! Anything but pretending that nothing happened!
A long, uncomfortable silence filled with deep breaths came. Until I sighed and decided to intervene.
Velma: Look… don't say anything to anyone right now, okay? Don't even click on anything… I'm returning to Washington immediately…
Flim Flam: Ok… and I'm taking the next flight out to Beijing. See you at Interpol.
Final Notes:
And that was the final chapter of this story! :( This was my first fanfiction, and I am very happy to conclude it!
Thanks so much to everyone who read and posted reviews during all these months! Thanks for your patience with my long chapters and for bearing with my language mistakes.
As you must know, Squid Game Season 2 will be released in 2024... so, I´ll wait until Season 2 to make the second part of this story. I am really motivated to continue "Scooby-Doo: Wicked Game", but unfortunately I need to watch the series first to get some inspiration for my story.
Right now, I have 3 requested fanfics to write – I have to finish Girl, Pitstopped and I have to write two new fanfics in which readers asked me to write by Daphne´s point of view. I am sketching them, and I will write and post all them until the middle of September.
After it, I will start another long project called "All I want is my future back". As "Wicked Game", it will also be inspired by a famous series, but this time, the series is Netflix´s "Dark". Also, the Scooby universe used in this fanfic will be "Where are you?", since the plot will show the 60s time. But it will have the same characteristics of "Wicked Game": Long chapters full of details, characters as if they were real people, and maybe some language mistakes too hahaha. The protagonist will be Judy Jetson – that´s why the story will be posted as a crossover with The Jetsons – but all Hanna-Barbera characters will be there, and the gang will have a very special part in this story, as always. It will be my ̶a̶t̶t̶e̶m̶p̶t̶ own version of a "Hanna-Barbera Riverdale", since I always wanted to see Hanna-Barbera characters together in a serious live-action series. When the story starts, I will put a note at the end of Wicked Game and the other stories, to let you know about it.
Anyway, thank you so much for your support and encouragement! :) Without them, my writing dreams would not be possible.
K. Kelnick