Episode 4:
"Where-Oh-Where is the Werewolf?"
Part One of 2
A full moon hung over Crystal Cove as a howl echoed throughout the night. Apart from that, everything seemed relatively peaceful.
A man in his 20s was on his way home from work; as he drove down the street, he whistled a jaunty little tune to himself.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, something ran into his path, and his car just BARELY swerved to avoid it. "YEEOW!" he exclaimed as he managed to swerve out of the way. "...holy cow! I wonder what the heck THAT could've been?"
Once he had swerved out of the way, he brought his car to a halt, and left it idling on the side of the road as he went over to take a look, carrying his phone which had its flashlight on.
The only other sound—apart from his heartbeat—was the distant rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl.
Curiosity mingled with caution as he scanned the area, his eyes narrowing to discern any movement. There, under the shadow of gnarled branches, he saw a silhouette. It appeared to be a figure, hunched and shrouded in darkness. The man squinted, trying to make sense of the shape.
Suddenly, a low growl pierced the silence, causing a shiver to run down his spine. The figure began to shift, and the man's breath caught in his throat as he realized the source of the disturbance. A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at him from the darkness.
The man shrieked in terror as he turned and ran for his car; he didn't know how close behind the werewolf was, but he wasn't interested in glancing behind to check!
After all, all he could make out were glowing eyes and fangs that glistened in the dim moonlight.
He saw his car just ahead of him, and felt a rising sense of hope in his chest. Just as it seemed he wouldn't escape, he made one last leap into his car door window and started it up!
As the car screeched off into the night, the man couldn't drown out the sound of the werewolf's horrible howling. It was one of the sounds that would follow him for the rest of his life.
[END OF COLD OPEN.]
[Featured intro music: The Original Scooby-Doo Theme by Ted Nichols.]
A crack of thunder is heard as a ton of bats fly out of a decrepit-looking house. Out of the house emerge wispy, ghostly-looking letters that form into words.
SCOOBY-DOO!
Tales of Crystal Cove
SHAGGY: "Scooby-Doo, where ARE you?"
We see a shot of the dog, given a terrified look to the screen. Cut to the gang, walking down a creepy hallway.
A bookshelf in the hallway slid open, revealing a mysterious spector watching as the gang walks past.
We see Daphne smiling before walking away from a painting that slid away as a hand tries and fails to grab her.
Fred suddenly falls backwards as a passageway opens behind his chair.
Scooby yelps out, as a ghostly figure floats in front of the gang, cackling wickedly.
The gang runs off as fast as they can as we cut to a frightening witch doctor!
Scooby and Shaggy tremble in fright; the Gang runs once more, then we see Shaggy on jet-powered rollerskates as he crashes through a doorway, landing in a bathtub whose showerhead sprays cold water down his back.
Cut to Scooby chuckling before cutting to Velma and Fred giving shocked looks at something.
Shots of a disembodied skull and the face of the Space Kook, as Scooby holds Shaggy this time.
Captain Cutler raises his arms; Scooby, inside a barrel, runs until he slams right into the blankly-staring face of Charlie the Robot.
Shaggy's hair spikes out in fright, and Scooby makes a "shhhh" gesture.
We see a close-up of the Black Knight Ghost, and a pair of glowing yellow eyes before Scooby jumps out of a large pot and runs off.
In a library, the Gang is gathered around a laptop, with the silhouettes of multiple monsters surrounding them, and then they look up.
Another shot of the logo, but at the bottom of the screen is
"© 2024 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc."
Shaggy: "Scooby-Doo, where ARE you?"
Cut to a final shot of Scooby-Doo, licking off the ice-cream around himself.
Scooby: "Mmm~!"
He smiles at the camera as we FADE OUT.
TITLE CARD:
SCOOBY-DOO! Tales of Crystal Cove
in
"Where-Oh-Where is the Werewolf?"
Underneath the title, we see the shaking silhouette of Scooby in front of a gigantic full moon, with the dark-red, more feral silhouette of the werewolf right behind him.
The next morning, it was almost like nothing had happened...but the news was all over town.
Eventually the keen ears of Mystery Inc. caught onto the chatter while looking at their laptops at their favorite hangout spots.
"Hey gang, listen to this." Fred suggested as he found an article about the werewolf. "Another werewolf sighting happened last night, which makes for the third time this month that it's been spotted."
"Another?" asked Shaggy as he rolled a piece of pizza up, burrito-style, and ate it. "I swear, this town's like a magnet for spooky stuff!"
"Reah! Ragnet!" Scooby nodded as he reached for the rest, but it was yanked away by Shaggy.
"What do you suppose a werewolf would want with our sleepy little burg?" Daphne pondered.
"Well, according to witnesses, it's been skulking around a food processing plant." Velma replied. "It says something about making unbelievably similar foods that you almost can't tell the difference between."
"Like, I dunno," replied Shaggy. "I've got some pret-ty discerning taste buds! And like, they take that as a challenge!"
"Then let's go and check the place out." Daphne suggested.
"Good call, Daph," agreed Fred.
And after paying for their food, the gang left and headed over to the processing plant. Once they arrived they got out and started looking around.
As the group started searching, Velma soon found a few clumps of hair from the werewolf.
"Jinkies..." she murmured as she put them into a plastic bag.
"Find something?" Fred asked.
"Just these hairs," Velma responded, as she held up the bag.
"I'll check them out." Daphne suggested as she took the bag. "I know plenty about fur to see if it's real or not."
"Good thinking," said Fred as a door opened behind him.
"What's going on?" asked a weary old voice. "What're you kids doing in here?"
"Hi, we're a gang of mystery solvers and we're trying to solve this werewolf mystery." Fred explained.
The speaker, a middle-aged man in a suit and holding a flashlight, lowered it. "I see," he responded. "I'm Francis Matthews, and I work security around here."
"I'm Fred and this is Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby." Fred introduced while pointing towards each waving member. "We're Mystery Incorporated."
"Wait, like since when did we decide on that name?" asked Shaggy.
"I'm trying something new and maybe more professional." Fred admitted while scratching the back of his head.
"...well, alright," said Mr. Francis. "You seem a bit young for this, especially with that werewolf. It could be dangerous."
"Despite our age we have solved a multitude of mysteries prior to this one." Velma explained as she pulled out clippings of their past solved cases.
"...sure, it's only been three so far, but still!" Daphne chimed in.
"Well, three is enough to convince me." Mr. Francis replied. "If you want to try, then fine, but remember that I did give you a proper warning about this."
"Thank you, sir," responded Velma.
"Let's look for clues." Fred suggested.
"I'll check the fur." Daphne mentioned.
"And that means splitting up," said Velma.
"Like, here we go again." Shaggy complained.
"Reah, rhe ronster is ronna rome after us." Scooby mentioned.
"The more things change, I guess," Shaggy shrugged as he and Scooby went off on their way while Fred, Daphne, and Velma went the other way to check for more clues.
"We gotta, like, negotiate this sorta thing sometime, Scoob," said Shaggy as they walked. "I mean, sure, we're fast runners, but this seems kinda dangerous. After all, this IS a werewolf we're talking about. As in, teeth and claws, snarl and howl, probably rip-you-limb-from-limb."
They passed by said werewolf as they kept walking; it snarled under its breath while it continued watching them.
"Rokay, re'll regotiate...ras soon as re learn how to," Scooby responded. "Rin the reantime, re're doomed to be monster bait."
"Like, it bites," Shaggy said with a sigh, before they heard a growling from behind them. "Scoob...was that your stomach?"
"Nope," said Scooby.
"...then like, we're in trouble, aren't we?" Shaggy gulped.
"Reah," agreed Scooby.
Turning around, they saw the werewolf, standing at full height and snarling fiercely. Both dog and boy shrieked like panicked chimpanzees, and then made a run for it as the fanged fiend came after them.
They ran around the processing plant as they kept going at high speed. They went upstairs, downstairs, and even took the elevator before going into various doors.
And in spite of all this, the werewolf kept right on their tails, never too far behind.
Eventually, they made it into a room full of grills. As the Werewolf prowled around, it bumped into Shaggy and Scooby, both of whom were dressed like chefs.
"Have you ever wondered what werewolf meat tastes like, sous chef?" Shaggy asked.
"Rhe thought has crossed my mind," Scooby replied. "Ro time rike the present!"
And they both pulled out large, sharp cutting tools.
The werewolf let out a whimper before running away in fear. After they were sure it was gone, the pair breathed a sigh of relief. Then they caught a whiff of something in the air.
"Hey...you smell that, ol' buddy?" Shaggy asked.
"Reah! Reah!" nodded Scooby.
They followed the aroma and found a company chef cooking up some of the products for testing.
"Like, hi there!" commented Shaggy. "What're ya making?"
"I'm cooking up some of the products for taste testing." The chef replied. "Wanna try some?"
"Reah!/Sure!" Scooby and Shaggy responded.
"Have a seat." The chef suggested. "I'm almost done here."
Shaggy and Scooby both sat down in some nearby chairs.
Then the chef handed over the burgers.
Scooby reached into Shaggy's backpack and brought out a bag of hamburger buns, as well as a ketchup bottle.
They each got out 4 buns, then sprayed and coated the burgers with ketchup, cheeses and pickles before putting them between the buns, and taking big bites.
"You two carry burger supplies with you?" The chef asked.
"Rever hurts to be prepared!" Scooby declared.
"Like, yeah," Shaggy agreed. "Never know when you're gonna need a snack!"
"Okay." The chef said as he left.
"You know, Scoob...do ya think he could be the werewolf?" Shaggy asked.
"Raybe," replied Scooby.
"We'll keep the possibility on the board," Shaggy responded as they continued eating.
The burgers were pretty good, but they had a different flavor profile.
"Hmm...something about these seems a little...different," commented Shaggy as he swished the burger bite around in his mouth. "Like, I dunno WHAT, but it's something!"
Suddenly Shaggy's phone rang. Shaggy picked it up. "Hello?" he asked.
"Hey, where are you guys?" Fred asked, over the phone.
"Our search for clues lead us somewhere," replied Shaggy. "I'm not saying it's a kitchen, at least."
"We're in the security room checking footage and we see you in a test kitchen, small difference from a regular kitchen." Velma explained after taking the phone. "What you're eating are burgers made with a meat substitute."
"...that would explain the small difference in taste," noted Shaggy.
"Reah, rue." Scooby agreed.
"We think the werewolf has been trying to get something from the main office, so we need to regroup." Velma advised.
"Okay, we'll be right there," said Shaggy.
And so after taking any burgers they hadn't eaten, he and Scooby-Doo left the test kitchen.