Sponge: Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you enjoy this week's chapter! Warning: some mild body horror. Also, if you have arachnophobia, proceed with caution! Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera.

Chapter 10: The Red Spot

Back in Ben's van, the gang were silent. Velma gazed listlessly out the passenger side window while Daphne rested her head on Fred's shoulder. The afternoon was giving way to evening, and the streets were fairly deserted.

Shaggy sighed and glanced at the dogs, who sat sullenly on the floor of the van. He knew there was no chance that the gang would let this mystery go, no matter what Officer Johnson had said. The gang had certainly had experience with annoyed law enforcement who warned them away from police business. But to Shaggy's recollection, no one had ever threatened to arrest them before.

"Why'd he call me Cornhusk?" Fred wondered, as though he'd been thinking about the nickname for a long time.

Daphne lifted her head to look at him. "Because we're from Ohio," she offered.

Fred furrowed his brow. "But the Cornhuskers are Nebraska." He sounded confused.

Daphne smiled kindly. "Something I've learned going to school on the East Coast is that to a lot of the country, the Midwest is all interchangeable."

Shaggy nodded. He had grown up in a town called Vista Heights, California, and had only moved to Coolsville when he was sixteen. "As a person who spent my formative years outside of Ohio, I can like, confirm that."

"It's true," Velma agreed. "I had a professor who called me 'Cleveland' for a whole semester, even though Coolsville is nowhere near it."

Ben nodded thoughtfully from the driver's seat. "It's near the West Virginia border, isn't that right?"

Velma swiveled her head to look at him so fast that she nearly cricked her neck. "How do you know that?" she asked. "No one's ever heard of Coolsville before."

Ben kept his eyes on the road, but a faint blush crept up his neck. "I er…looked it up," he admitted. "After we met last night. I was unfamiliar with the town, so I wanted to learn more about it." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "I suppose that was a bit weird of me, wasn't it?"

"Oh no, not at all!" Velma gushed, eyes shining.

Shaggy shifted in his seat behind her. He certainly thought it was weird, and from the look on her face, so did Daphne. They exchanged an uncomfortable glance. What kind of adult looks up the town a college student is from? Shaggy wondered. It gave him an icky feeling that had nothing to do with jealousy. At least, he didn't think it did.

Ben still seemed embarrassed, but smiled gratefully at Velma. They had arrived back at the beach house now, and the gang climbed out of Ben's van. Ben got out too, walking them as far as the front porch.

"Here," Velma said, reaching into her messenger bag for the Book of the Dead. "I've had this all afternoon. You can have it back."

But Ben shook his head. "You should hold onto it, " he told her. "Your instincts were spot on this morning. I should have listened to you. You keep it for now, and be sure to let me know if any more mysterious stories appear in it." He frowned, serious. "I don't know how the stories are being written, but they clearly have something to do with the disappearances of Ethan and Gary. Something strange is going on in this town and if anyone can get to the bottom of it, it's you."

Velma felt herself prickle with gratification at his praise.

Scooby glanced at Shaggy, then at Nova. "Rut that rolice officer…" he started.

Ben waved a hand apathetically. "I'm sure you've had your fair share of experience dealing with unhelpful law enforcement."

"Yes," Fred admitted. "But none of them have ever threatened to arrest us before."

"I'll take care of Officer Johnson," Ben promised. "You all just worry about solving the mystery."

Velma nodded obediently. "Of course," she replied.

Ben glanced at his watch. "I should be going," he said. "I'm way behind on my writing schedule after all our adventures today. I ought to get back to it."

Velma grimaced. "Sorry we keep distracting you from your work," she said.

Ben smiled, his eyes twinkling. "It's worth it," he replied. He held out his hand for hers. Velma obliged, thinking he was going to shake it. But instead, he brought her hand to his lips and planted a soft, chaste kiss on her knuckles.

Shaggy thought his heart may have actually stopped from shock and rage.

"Make sure to call me if anything else happens with that book," Ben called over his shoulder as he walked back down to his car. He drove off, leaving Velma feeling breathless with exhilaration. Flushed, she let herself into the beach house, with her friends following close behind.

Daphne pushed forward, intent on talking to Velma. The situation with Ben was getting too real now. Plus, she thought Shaggy was liable to strangle someone if this continued. "Velma –" she began, but stopped short at the sounds of Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy laughing together on the back porch.

"Is that you, kids?" Brad called. "Come on out here!"

The gang walked out to the patio, where the adults were sitting around the picnic table.

"We were just talking about what to do for dinner," Judy explained to the gang. "We were thinking of staying in and making homemade pasta. Would you like to join us?"

Fred looked around at the gang, about to accept the invitation. But he noticed Shaggy's stony silence, and it struck him as odd that he had nothing to say about food. "Shag?" he ventured cautiously.

"Huh?" Shaggy blinked as though coming out of a trance. "Oh, like dinner." His face twisted in consternation, as though he was trying to decide something. Then, he seemingly made up his mind. "Actually, I can't make it." He looked directly at Velma as he said, "I have to get ready for a date."

The high spirits Velma had been in suddenly evaporated. She'd forgotten all about Shaggy's date with Mai Le, and felt herself deflate like a balloon.

"Oh!" Judy just seemed pleasantly surprised. "Well good for you two!" She grinned between Shaggy and Velma and, with a sickening twist of his stomach, Scooby realized that Judy thought Shaggy and Velma had a date with each other.

Shaggy realized it too, and flushed scarlet. "It's with Mai Le," he explained in a rush. "We're like, going to the Bloody Stake."

Judy's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, of course," she said, looking away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry…"

"It's all right," Shaggy assured her, determinedly no longer looking at Velma. "I should like, start heading over there."

"We can give you a ride," Ricky offered, gesturing to himself and Cassidy. "We have to stop at home for our pasta roller anyway."

Shaggy nodded. "Okay, like thanks," he murmured, still averting his gaze from Velma.

Judy, still seeming flustered, turned to the others. "What about you all?" she asked. "Do you have dinner plans?"

"I don't think so," Fred said, feeling a little awkward. "We could stay and eat." He gestured to himself and Daphne.

Daphne nodded in agreement, and reached out to touch Velma's arm. "How about you, Velm?" she offered quietly.

Velma, who'd been clenching her jaw since Shaggy had announced his date, forced herself to loosen. "Sure," she said at last. "That sounds great, thank you."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

At last, Shaggy cleared his throat. "I think I'm like, gonna go shower and change clothes," he said.

"Of course," said Ricky brusquely. "We'll be on the front porch when you're ready."

The gang went back inside, but Fred reached out to stop Shaggy before he went any further.

"Shag…" he began. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner here?"

Shaggy fixed Fred with an annoyed stare. "Like yes I'm sure, Fred," he said through gritted teeth. "I can't leave Mai Le hanging."

Velma gripped the strap of her messenger bag and turned away. She thought she might scream if she heard Shaggy say Mai Le's name one more time. "I'm going to go study the stories in the book some more. Maybe there's a clue somewhere about who wrote them." Her tone was unconvincingly apathetic. "Let me know when dinner's ready." With that, she headed down the hall and closed her bedroom door.

Scooby gazed soulfully at Shaggy, who pretended not to see. "Like I'm going to wash up. See you guys later," he said to Fred and Daphne, before shutting himself in the bathroom.

Fred, Daphne, and the dogs glanced at each other tensely.

"This is not going well," Nova sighed.

Scooby shook his head. "Rou're relling me," he remarked.

Daphne shot Fred a nervous glance. "What are we going to do?" she asked. "They're getting worse."

Fred sighed. It appeared that Daphne had been right on the drive from New York – Shaggy and Velma were clearly not yet over their break-up.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But maybe the mystery will give them something else to focus on?"

"Not likely," Nova said. "Have you noticed the way Velma acts around Ben Ravencroft? I don't think that's going to endear him to Shaggy any time soon."

"Rhere's romething ruspicious rabout him," Scooby added. He would be remiss if he didn't bring up his misgivings to Daphne and Fred, and he felt their opinions would be unbiased. He knew Velma would oppose because she admired the author so much, while Shaggy would unquestioningly agree with Scooby's suspicions because he was very anti-Ben. Fred and Daphne, Scooby figured, would be good intermediaries.

Fred frowned thoughtfully. "There's definitely something suspicious," he concurred. "But I think it's more than just Ben. I think there's something fishy about the whole town."

Daphne furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Fred began pacing, waiting for his thoughts to arrange themselves into words. When they did, he spoke. "Officer Johnson told us to back off," he began. "That's nothing new. Local law enforcement often doesn't want our help. But the police in this town don't seem to be very intent on finding Ethan or Gary. We searched that vineyard for what, an hour this morning before calling it quits? Johnson even said that the evidence of Gary's disappearance was inconclusive. Does that sound like a police force that wants to help find two missing college students?"

"No," Daphne admitted. "But what are you suggesting?"

"Police corruption," Fred said bluntly.

Daphne's eyebrows shot up, aghast. "Freddie!"

"I don't know what for," he continued. "But based on Officer Johnson's behavior, I have to believe that there's some kind of cover-up going on in this town that the police are trying to keep quiet. Maybe…something to do with a wealthy or powerful family."

Daphne understood Fred's hunch now. "You think the Laddertons are involved somehow?"

"Possibly," Fred said. "I mean, you heard Rung last night. His family practically owns the town. I wouldn't be surprised if they have the police force in their pockets."

Daphne suddenly remembered something. "You know, this morning," she said. "Brenda told me that the Laddertons are also big on the pharmaceutical drug scene." She recalled Brenda's remark about the roofie and shuddered. "What if they're not all legal drugs?"

Nova blinked up at them. "Let me make sure I understand what you're saying," she said, her voice quiet. "Do you think the Laddertons are running an illegal drug ring?"

"Rhat is this, Breaking Rad?" Scooby remarked.

Fred ignored him, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "That's possible," he said. "And the police are helping to cover it up. Maybe Ethan and Gary got too close to the truth, and that's why they disappeared."

Nova shook her head, her fluffy ears swinging slightly. "I still don't understand how Ben Ravencroft or the Book of the Dead are involved," she said.

"Me neither," Fred admitted. "But maybe Rung can shed some light on the subject." He looked at Daphne. "Do you think Brad and Judy will let us borrow their car?"

x.X.x

They asked Ricky and Cassidy where the Ladderton's lived. Fred wasn't sure if they would know, but it turned out they did. Crystal Cove, like Coolsville, was a small enough town that everybody knew everyone else. Fred and Daphne had also invited Shaggy and Velma along, but had been declined – as they'd assumed they would be. Shaggy left with Ricky and Cassidy, determined to go through with his date, and Velma stayed holed up in her room, determined to read the stories in the Book of the Dead over and over, and act like she didn't care about Shaggy's date. Nova stayed behind with Brad and Judy but Scooby, who hadn't been around the previous evening when Rung had been harassing Daphne and wanted to do whatever he could to lessen her involvement with him, decided to go with her and Fred.

"We never do things just the three of us," Fred said from behind the wheel. Daphne sat in the passenger seat and Scooby stuck his head out the window behind them.

"Rye know," he said.

"It's nice," Daphne added, grinning. As they drove away from the beach house, she glanced back at Scooby. "It must be hard for you to see Shaggy acting this way." Her voice was kind, non-judgmental. But Fred heard the question behind it: why was Shaggy acting this way? Was it truly about his break up with Velma? Or was something more going on?

Scooby sighed and brought his head back into the car. "Re's…ruggling," he admitted.

"Struggling?" Daphne inquired.

Scooby hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. He knew there were things about Shaggy and Velma's breakup that Fred and Daphne didn't know, but he felt that it wasn't his place to explain. "Roo should really rask him rabout it," he encouraged them.

Daphne and Fred shared a look. They truly did feel that Scooby belonged to all of them, but he had a special bond with Shaggy, and was loyal to the last. Daphne understood she wouldn't get anything more out of Scooby – at least about the Shaggy and Velma stuff.

Soon they arrived at the address that Ricky and Cassidy had given them. It was in quite a ritzy neighborhood, and Fred couldn't help feeling mildly impressed. The Ladderton's house was much larger than his own, and much fancier than Daphne's. A matronly housekeeper answered the door when they rang the ornate bell.

"Good evening," said Daphne, always polite. "We're so sorry to drop by unannounced like this. We just wondered if Rung Ladderton might be home?"

"Oh, certainly," the housekeeper said, inviting them in. "He should be in his game room. Just up the stairs, turn left, walk down the hall, then make another left. A quick right, and there will be a short staircase. Go down it, and then take another left. It'll be the third door on your right." She bustled away, leaving Fred, Daphne, and Scooby standing bewildered in the large ornate foyer.

"Did you…catch any of that?" Fred whispered.

Daphne shook her head – the rapid-fire instructions had come so quickly she hadn't had an opportunity to absorb any of them.

Scooby glanced to their right, where a person-sized coat rack held several long jackets. He recognized a dark green one that Rung had been wearing at the party last night, and gave it a casual sniff. "Rye've got ris scent," he announced.

"Good boy, Scooby!" Daphne said, patting him on the head. He led the way upstairs, his nose to the ground the whole time.

Fred took Daphne's hand as they walked down the hall. He wasn't exactly keen to see Rung again, especially after last night. But if he knew what had happened to Ethan and Gary, it would be worth it.

Eventually they found the game room. The door was slightly ajar, and a bluish glow emanated from the crack. Daphne knocked cautiously.

"Enter," came Rung's voice, sounding cool and detached.

Fred, Daphne, and Scooby pushed the door open and found themselves in the most massive game room they'd ever seen. Arcade cabinets lined the entire room and in the center sat several tables for pool, foosball, ping pong, and air hockey. A massive TV screen took up a whole wall and multiple state-of-the-art game consoles were plugged into it. Rung sat on a massive leather couch in front of it, a controller in both hands as he directed the first-person shooter on screen. He glanced over at his visitors and immediately sat bolt upright. He was clearly surprised to see them. But then his eyes met Daphne's and his surprise relaxed into something more like a sneer.

"Why Daphne," he drawled, pausing the game and rising from the couch. "Fancy seeing you here. And yes, before you ask, I accept your apology for last night. That is, if you agree to come to the anniversary celebration with me on Friday." He approached them and made to reach for Daphne's hand, but she yanked it away before he could touch her.

"In your dreams, Rung," she said, derision lacing her tone. "I stand by everything I said to you last night."

"So do I," Fred agreed through clenched teeth.

Rung continued to grin lecherously at Daphne, but Scooby growled and raised his hackles, which was most unlike him. There was no way Rung was going to touch Daphne while Scooby (or Fred, for that matter) had anything to say about it.

Daphne smiled softly at them both, grateful for their willingness to protect her. But she could take care of herself.

"We have some questions for you," Daphne said firmly.

Rung scoffed and leaned casually against the back of the leather sofa. "Ask away, princess," he said.

Daphne fixed him with a glare. "I'm sure you've heard that Ethan and Gary are both missing."

Rung shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah, I heard," he said. "And?"

Fred crossed his arms. "We just wondered if you knew anything about it."

Rung scoffed again. "I've been confined to the east wing of this mansion since last night," he told them. "All I know is that they're missing, and I only know that because the police questioned me this morning."

Fred furrowed his brow. "Are you under house arrest?" he asked, confused.

Rung laughed. "Something like that," he replied. "My father grounded me after I got home last night. He's a teetotaller, and he doesn't like it when I lose control of my inhibitions. Or get others to lose control of their inhibitions." He leered at Daphne. "Let's just say this isn't my first offense."

Daphne's breath caught. She knew he was talking about what had happened last summer with Brenda. But then she registered another part of what Rung had said. "The police were here?" she asked. "And they questioned you?"

Rung frowned. "Didn't they question you? They said they talked to everybody who was at that party."

"They did," Daphne replied. "We just…" she hesitated, unsure of how to continue. She didn't want Rung to know that they suspected him of being involved with potentially dirty cops. So she tried another tack. "What can you tell us about the police force in Crystal Cove?"

Rung shrugged. "Incompetent. Rotten. Shady."

Daphne, Fred, and Scooby shared a glance. So the Crystal Cove PD was corrupt.

"And how do you know that?" Fred asked, careful to keep his tone casual.

But Rung saw through him and narrowed his eyes. "What are you insinuating, Pretty Boy?" he snarled, advancing on Fred.

Scooby growled again, and Rung backed off. But he still gave Fred and Daphne a threatening stare.

"If either of you think the Ladderton Ladder and Pharmaceutical Company would do any dealings with crooked cops, you're way off base," he told them. "Besides, everyone knows the police here are too deep in Janet Nettles' pockets to care about anything else."

That threw Fred, Daphne, and Scooby for a loop. "The mayor?" Fred murmured.

Rung nodded knowingly. "If you were really as good detectives as Ricky and Cassidy say you are, you'd have known that already." He hopped back over the couch and resumed his position. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some zombies to kill."

Scooby sighed. They clearly weren't going to get any more information out of Rung tonight. The three of them turned to go, but Rung called over his shoulder.

"I'll leave my plus-one spot open for Friday, Daphne," he jeered.

"Fuck you, Rung," Daphne replied, flipping him off as she left the room, Scooby and Fred close behind her.

x.X.x

Velma hadn't gotten anywhere with the book. Admittedly, she wasn't concentrating very hard. She could hear the sounds of Brad, Judy, Ricky, and Cassidy laughing together in the kitchen while they cooked. Fred, Daphne and Scooby were probably still at Rung Ladderton's. And Shaggy…

She didn't want to think about Shaggy. Or what he was doing.

She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling exhausted and irritated. Maybe a shower would clear her head.

In the bathroom, Velma peeled off her clothes and stepped into the steamy shower. She let the hot water run down her back and tried to focus on it instead of the debilitating bouts of jealousy that rippled through her. She thought back to last night, of the way Shaggy had looked at her after she'd fallen in the pool. Or the way he'd stood up for her this morning, before Ben realized they were innocent. Eventually she shut the water off, unable to be alone with her thoughts anymore. She firmly wrapped a towel around herself, trotted back to her room, and opened the door.

In the doorway, she stopped short.

The Book of the Dead was on her bed, where she'd left it. But it was open to a new page. One that Velma was sure had been blank before.

Her heart raced. How long had she been in the shower? No more than thirty, forty minutes tops? The sounds of the adults' laughter wafted from the kitchen. Fred, Daphne, Scooby, and Shaggy couldn't be back yet.

She decided she'd worry about logistics later. For now, she had to read what the story said. She flew to the bed and sat down abruptly, yanking the book toward her. She gasped as she read the title and the first sentence:

The Red Spot

While Mai Le slept, a spider crawled across her face…

x.X.x

Shaggy could have sworn that Mai Le hadn't had a pimple earlier that morning.

He didn't like to think of himself as a guy who only appreciated women for the way they looked. Of course, attractiveness was often the first thing he noticed when it came to women, but that was how it was for just about every red-blooded, heterosexual man. There were other things that attracted Shaggy in a potential partner: intelligence, kindness, sense of humor, ability to cook. He was not a superficial guy.

But he also could not stop staring at Mai Le's zit.

It was on her cheek, just below her left eye, bulbous and red.

Shaggy thought he would have noticed if it had been there before.

It didn't help that she kept touching it, her fingers drifting toward it seemingly involuntarily. She winced whenever she touched it, as though it was somewhat painful.

Shaggy forced himself to look away and study the menu in front of him. He didn't register a single thing on it.

"Um…I'll be right back," Mai Le murmured, excusing herself and sliding out of their booth.

Shaggy watched her disappear into the ladies' room, and breathed a sigh of relief as the door swung closed behind her. They had been sitting in awkward and uncomfortable silence since they'd arrived, and he was glad for the opportunity to relax. And to not have to try to avoid staring at that huge red spot on her face.

His phone, which he'd put facedown on the table, suddenly buzzed, making the cutlery vibrate slightly. He picked it up, perplexed to see Velma's name lighting up his screen. Why on earth was she calling him? Was she trying to get in his head during his date?

"Like, hello?" he said cautiously.

"Shaggy, are you with Mai Le right now?" Velma's voice sounded urgent.

He rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Velma?"

"Answer my question!" she snapped.

Touchy, touchy. "We're at the restaurant," he told her. "We're like, about to place our orders. She just stepped into the restroom."

"So she's not with you right at this moment?"

Velma must have been so worked up about Shaggy and Mai Le's date that she'd called him in order to interrupt it. Shaggy smirked, feeling a little gratified by Velma's urgency. "Jealous?" he asked, unable to help the smugness of his tone.

"She's in the book, Shaggy!"

That stopped Shaggy in his tracks. "What?" he asked when he was able to speak.

"I found a new story in the book just now," Velma explained, her voice becoming frantic. "It's called The Red Spot, and it's about Mai Le." She hesitated. "I hate to ask this, but does Mai Le have any acne right now?"

Shaggy's blood went cold. "What happens in the story?" he breathed.

But before Velma could answer, a shrill, terrified scream rang out from the ladies' room. Diners around the restaurant swiveled their heads toward the sound and Shaggy shot to his feet. "Like uh-oh," he said.

"What? What's happening?!" Velma sounded frenzied now. But Shaggy ignored her, dropping the phone on the table as Mai Le burst out of the restroom.

"Get them off! Get them off!" she shrieked, hysterically swiping and clawing at her face. Tiny specks fell from her cheek onto the restaurant floor, causing everyone in the nearby vicinity to gasp and clutch their chests with fright. One of the waitresses looked as though she might faint dead away.

And Shaggy couldn't blame her.

Because the red spot had burst. And thousands of tiny spiders were swarming out of it.

Sponge: See you next week!