Chapter 6:
The Morning After

LATER THAT NIGHT...

The remnants of the gang watched from the shadows, as the lanky monsters prowled about, either carrying the other college students over their shoulders, or on the prowl for other targets.

Once the demons had concluded their raid on the resort, they headed off with their victims, passing by some large, ornate-looking vases.

After they passed by, five heads—Shaggy's, Daphne's, Mary Jane's, Scrappy's and Scooby's—rose from the vases, watching as the demons left.

Scrappy growled quietly, baring his teeth. "...those slimy creeps...!" he fumed.

"I have a sinking feeling these dudes aren't brainwashed cult members," commented Shaggy.

"Plus, they must've taken Fred and Velma to wherever Izzy is!" added Daphne. "...and they seem to only show up at night. I think we should wait until morning to look for wherever they're keeping them."

"We need to call the authorities," said Mary Jane. "We've got to tell them people are being kidnapped here!"

"Reah! Reah!" nodded Scooby.

"Alright, but where are we gonna hide out while we do it?" asked Scrappy.

"Is there anyplace we COULD hide?" Shaggy wondered.

"What about the docks on the beach?" Mary Jane suggested.

"Good idea," nodded Daphne. "We hide under the docks and call the police."

So once they were sequestered away, MJ proceeded to call 911.

The phone rang for a moment before someone answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, me and my friends are on Spooky island!" Mary Jane said. "People are getting kidnapped! We need the authorities to come and help us!"

"Don't worry, we'll send someone right over first thing in the morning," the man on the other end replied.

Mary Jane looked relieved. "Oh, thank you...please hurry!" she begged.

As the man hung up, he looked to the man next to him. "Some of the targets are still on the run," he informed.

The other man was a portly fellow. "I'll tell Dr. Phibes to send two of the Imposter monsters to get them," he replied. "And while I'm at it...I'm gonna ask if Taco Tuesday is still a thing at work. Just wanna be sure, y'know?"

The other man smacked him upside the head.

THWACK!

"Oww..." groaned his portly companion.

"Just tell them to send the imposters..." grumbled the first man.

Meanwhile, the group managed to get under the docks and sat together.

"Alright, we gotta start lookin' for the others as soon as the sun comes up," said Shaggy.

"I'll look for Velma," Daphne said. "Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Mary Jane, you guys can look for Fred and Izzy."

"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think those creeps are gonna come skulking around again," Scrappy spoke up. "Unless you guys feel like sleeping outside."

Scooby let out a yawn.

"I'll keep watch," said Daphne. "You guys rest."

"Well, alright..." Shaggy responded with a yawn. "G'night, Daph..."

Daphne gave the best smile she could. "G'night, guys. Things'll get better in the morning," she replied.

And so, underneath the light of the full moon hanging overhead, what little remained of the gang went to sleep...

After what seemed like an eternity, Daphne had drifted off. And eventually, the sun rose into the sky.

Daphne, naturally, was the first one up. As the others were still sleeping, she gazed out at the bright blue sky. With the advent of morning, it was time to find their friends.

Before she could think further, a volleyball smacked into her head, jolting her out of her trance.

To her surprise, she heard...music. Wait, MUSIC? After last night? Inconceivable!

She also saw that more guests had shown up on the island, unaware of the kidnappings and monsters.

This doesn't make any sense... she thought to herself. Everyone else got taken away last night! So how could there be more people here?

After everyone was woken up, Daphne filled the others in on what she could hear.

"Like, none of this makes sense!" Shaggy yawned. "Why would MORE people be comin' here?"

"Well, we're not gonna get answers just standing here!" Scrappy said as he sat up. "C'mon! Let's go find Velma and Fred!"

Scooby nodded as they headed back towards the hotel.

As they did, they saw teens and college students spraying each other with sodas, playing rock music on their radios, and basically doing regular teen things. But throughout the entire experience, things seemed...off somehow.

"We better split up and look for clues," Daphne instructed. "Shaggy, Scrappy, Scooby—you search around here with all these people around. I'll look around at the locker rooms. Mary Jane, you see if you can find anything out."

"Okay," Mary Jane nodded. "I'll do what I can!"

And with that, she and the others dispersed.

With that in mind, Scooby put his nose to the ground, and began sniffing about while Shaggy and Scrappy followed behind. Soon Scooby found a piece of orange fabric, and pulled it out of the sand.

"Wait a second...I know this!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Like, it's Fred's ascot!"

"But he doesn't go anywhere without it!" Scrappy replied. "Even when he's not wearing it, he always has it on hand!"

"Then something is completely wrong!" Shaggy exclaimed.

Scooby sniffed the ascot again, and began following the scent to, (hopefully), Fred. As they followed, Shaggy and Scrappy couldn't help but notice that the teenagers were moving a bit stiffly.

"You the ones who called in about a kidnapping?" asked a voice, jostling them out of their curiosity.

"Yeah. But who are you?" asked Shaggy.

"Lt. Emilio Raimondo," a gruff-looking man responded.

Shaggy, Scrappy and Scooby glanced at one another.

"We're, um, looking for our friends," said Shaggy.

"So what exactly happened?" asked Lt. Raimondo.

"Ronsters!" exclaimed Scooby.

"Yeah, some freaky things came and kidnapped our friends!" added Scrappy.

"And they trashed the hotel!" Shaggy added.

"Riiiight," remarked Lt. Raimondo, looking back at the hotel, which looked like it hadn't even been touched since last night.

"Officer, what my pals are saying is true!" Scrappy insisted.

Shaggy nodded. "Like, yeah. These monsters captured my cousin and our friends!"

"Hmm...we'll see," remarked Lt. Raimondo as he and the group followed Scooby as he let his super-sniffer lead him. "Any names on those people?"

"Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley and Izzabelle Rogers," replied Shaggy.

"Izzy was taken a few weeks ago," explained Scrappy. "Fred and Velma were taken last night."

"I saw 'em at Dead Mike's a few minutes ago," said a guy in a mummy suit.

As they went to Dead Mike's, the music of "True" by Spandau Ballet could be heard.

Fred was singing melodramatically into the microphone, but he had shorter hair, and his ascot was gone (but we know why). Velma joined him onstage, with her hair in a bun, wearing makeup and a sun dress.

Shaggy and the others were shocked, to say the least.

Last night, they had seen Fred and Velma get dragged off by monsters, and now, they were up on that stage?

Something didn't add up.

"I...I'm gonna go use the restroom..." Daphne said, utterly dumbstruck.

As she left, Scrappy rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I figured Velma would be nursing a hangover from last night if she weren't captured," he mused.

Shaggy nodded. "Yeah, and like, where's Izzy? We still haven't found any trace of her yet."

Scooby put his nose to the air, and gave a few sniffs...before his nose started blinking on and off like a car light!

"Rover here!" he exclaimed, pointing at a pretty, blonde-haired young woman who was clapping and singing along.

Out of the whole group, Shaggy was the most bewildered.

"...ISABEL?!" he exclaimed in shock.

As Shaggy and Scooby were about to run towards her, Scrappy grabbed them both. "Hold it, fellas!" he exclaimed. "I don't think that's Izzy."

"Like, what do ya mean, Scrappy?" asked Shaggy.

"Think about it!" Scrappy replied. "When was the last time you EVER saw Izzy with her hair blonde, and smiling like a ditzy blonde?"

Shaggy and Scooby glanced at one another. "...third grade," they replied.

Scrappy nodded. "Exactly!" he said. "Velma, Fred and Izzy aren't acting at ALL like themselves. But we gotta prove this hunch. Maybe we should ask them questions only our real friends could answer!"

"So, like, what should we ask her?" asked Shaggy.

Surprisingly, Scooby was the first to reply. "Runcle Ralbert's rickname!" he exclaimed.

"That's right!" Scrappy nodded. "Izzy likes to call Uncle Albert, 'Uncle Al!'"

"So, maybe we should ask her, 'have you heard from Uncle Bertie?' And if she acts like she knows the nickname..." began Shaggy.

"That means she's not Izzy!" the three whispered in unison.

"Uh...maybe you should ask her about the day you first met Uncle Scooby!" Scrappy suggested. "She was with you when it happened, right?"

"Hey, good idea, Scrappy!" Shaggy beamed. "Well, here we go..."

"Oh, hi!" Isabel smiled as she saw Shaggy approaching her. In addition to her hair being blonde, straight down and conservative, her makeup was some tasteful eyeshadow, and her clothes were a colorful sweater-skirt combination.

"If you're here, then why did you leave that terrified phone message?" asked Shaggy.

Isabel giggled. "I just thought the show was real for a minute, and, whoopsie!" she chirped.

"But what happened to your hair? Your clothes?" Shaggy queried.

"It was time for a change," Isabel returned. "I mean, golly-wolly, I'm a teenager! We change all the time!"

"...'golly-wolly'?" Scrappy mouthed, bewildered.

"So, that call from Uncle Bertie...it wasn't anything big?" asked Shaggy, trying to ignore the bewilderment he felt.

Isabel chuckled. "Of course not! You shouldn't worry so much~" she replied.

Scooby, Scrappy, and Shaggy each shared a glance.

"I got a question, Izzy..." Scrappy spoke up. "Do you remember what it was like when you first met Uncle Scooby?"

Isabel giggled. "Oh, do I?" she asked.

"Do you?" pressed Shaggy and Scooby.

The trio noticed Isabel growing nervous. "O-of course I remember!" she managed to say.

But before they could continue pressing her, Fred came over to them. "What up, dog?" he asked Shaggy, before looking at Scooby. "...and also dog!"

Scooby gave an unsure peace sign. "Keepin' it real," he replied.

"Like, what happened last night?" asked Shaggy.

"Man, we got beats like it was the lizz nizz on Earth!" Fred replied. "If you didn't get a fat Mack on you needed to smack on, smack off, G. Know what I'm sayin'?"

"...no," Shaggy replied despite shaking his head in affirmation.

Meanwhile, Daphne was making her way through the women's locker room, which was crowded with scantily-clad young ladies—almost like a women-only version of the outdoor party. Young women in bikinis and towels were dancing and strutting on the benches while music played on a radio. But what was REALLY shocking was the sight of Velma—minus her glasses, rocking a bikini, dancing on a bench with the others.

"Velma!" exclaimed Daphne. "What the heck is going on? Are you still drunk?!"

Velma didn't seem the least bit upset; she just flashed a smile and kept on dancing. "I'm gettin' my swerve on," she replied. "Am I right, ladies? Give it up!" she called, putting her fists up.

The other girls whooped in support. "You go, girl!"

"What about those demons?" insisted Daphne.

Velma strutted back and forth on the bench. "I got your demons right here!" she called. "Yeah, yeah! Do I hear it?!"

Daphne couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was the Summer Solstice party from 5 years ago, all over again.

Just then, Velma stopped, as though she were thinking. "Hold up. There is one thing about those demons I remember...the naff scream," she responded.

Daphne's eyes brightened. Now Velma was starting to sound like her old self. "Scream?" she prodded.

"Uh-huh," nodded Velma. "It was something like..."

And then her eyes started to glow red. As this happened, Daphne noticed the same thing was happening to the other girls around her as well.

Velma opened her mouth, and let out a nightmarish screech! Proof enough that whatever this was, it wasn't the real Velma.

With that in mind, Daphne quickly turned tail and ran towards the door as the girls began to chase her. She quickly rushed out of the room and barricaded it with a broom, hoping to stall them.

Feeling satisfied, she turned and ran straight into Zarkos, who effortlessly flipped her and pinned her in an elaborate wrestling hold.

"No fair! This doesn't count!" griped Daphne. "I didn't have time to summon my chi!"

Meanwhile, Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy heard the screaming.

"Hey, Fred, did you hear—" began Shaggy, but as he glanced back, he saw the blonde giving him a nasty dead-eyed glare.

Isabel was doing the same.

"I told you they weren't Izzy and Fred," Scrappy whispered.

Isabel leapt onto a nearby table, crouched like a panther. She, along with the other people, let out a haunting screech.

"Rixnort caal ene, topara!" Fred bellowed. "Ekenchumen, riko!"

Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy immediately made a break for it.

"Wait, you're running?" asked Shaggy.

"I'm gutsy, not stupid!" Scrappy replied. "I know when ta hold 'em, and I know when ta fold!"

Scooby grabbed Scrappy into his arms, while Shaggy ran along with them.

Soon, they found a warehouse to hide inside, and Shaggy and Scooby quickly barricaded the door with a large dresser.

As the Fred double smashed his head through the door, Scrappy quickly grabbed a frying pan and hit them over the head. For a second, the double looked like it was wearing a mask before pulling back.

"OK, we need a plan of some kind!" Scrappy said.

Looking around, Scooby spotted some nearby tarps and ran over to them. He peeked under them. "Rikes!" he exclaimed.

Shaggy nodded. "I know, yikes!"

Scooby shook his head. "No! Rikes!" he said, pulling the tarps back, showing two dirtbikes!

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Scrappy exclaimed. "Helmets on; it's time to rock...and RIDE!"

All three put on some helmets and got on the bikes. The helmets each had different designs: Shaggy's had flames on it, Scrappy's had a skull on it, and Scooby's... had flowers on them. He looked up at it and chuckled.

Scrappy hopped into a sidecar on Scooby's bike.

They revved the engines, and drove off as the imposters raced off in hot pursuit.

There's the new chapter. Sorry it took so long, this isn't the only story I have in production.