Chapter 3:

The Big Trip

While Scrappy made to disguise himself as a little kid in a hoodie, shades, and cap, the others tried to make small talk.

"So...how have you been, Fred?" Velma managed to work up the nerve to ask.

"Great," Fred replied. "I've been on a lecture tour with my new books, ESP/Schmee-SP, and Fred on Fred: The Many Faces of Myself. How about you?"

"I've been working at NASA, designing hydro-powered missile defense systems," responded Velma. "I've also been on a journey of self-discovery."

"Really? That's great!" responded Fred, before he looked to Daphne. "And what about you, Daph? Where did you go after getting sick of getting captured all the time?" he asked.

"Martial arts academy," Daphne responded.

"Seriously?" asked Velma in disbelief.

"Over the course of 2 years, I've turned my body into a dangerous weapon," Daphne smirked proudly to herself.

Velma and Fred began snickering while Shaggy started blushing.

The purple-clad girl scoffed. "Go ahead and laugh if you want," retorted Daphne. "But you're gonna feel really stupid once I save you guys!"

"I believe in you, Daphne." said Scrappy.

"At least SOMEBODY does," Daphne smiled as she adjusted Scrappy's hat.

"By the way, we're gonna need to disguise Scooby," Velma stated. "I did some reading, and they don't allow dogs over 15 pounds on the plane."

"Well, then you're in luck," responded Shaggy. "Scoob and I have tons of experience disguising ourselves!"

AND SO, LATER AT THE COOLSVILLE AIRPORT...

The group made their way into the building. Scrappy had on his little kid disguise, while Scooby was disguised as an old man with a huge beard.

"Whaddyou think?" Daphne asked Velma, holding up a picture for comparison. "Does he look like my grandpa?"

Velma just said nothing in response, just staring.

Fred shook his head. "I doubt this is gonna fool anyone."

"Mommy, what's with that old man?" asked a little boy nearby, pointing.

"Don't point, Jimmy," replied his mother as she pushed his arm down. "He's got a disorder."

Scooby chuckled in his usual cheeky manner.

Meanwhile, Shaggy was playing on a skill crane game, and he'd already racked up a neat pile of plushies to start with. So, he gave one to each of his buddies.

... ... ...

"Flight 3774 to Spooky Island, now boarding," announced a voice on the intercom.

"Hey, let's do that thing where we put our hands on top of one another, then lift 'em up and go 'whoo-hoo!'" suggested Shaggy.

"Okay!" Scooby beamed as he put his paw on Shaggy's hand, then lifted it up. "Roo-hoo!"

"Wait for everyone else, Uncle Scooby," Scrappy advised. "That's the courteous thing to do!"

"...only if Fred and Velma do it," said Daphne.

"People are watching, Shag," replied Fred, shaking his head.

Velma rolled her eyes as she was the first to head onto the plane.

Scooby looked on at the others as they just boarded the plane.

"...whoo-hoo?" he asked, halfheartedly.

Shaggy sighed. "C'mon, fellas," he advised. "The plane's gonna take off soon."

Scooby and Scrappy nodded as they followed onto the plane; they weren't feeling as enthusiastic as they had been a few minutes ago.

... ... ...

Soon, the group was in each of their seats on the plane.

There were a LOT of college students on there, and luckily they chose not to pay attention to the funny-looking old man on the plane with them.

Scooby sat with Shaggy, Velma looked irritated as she sat next to Fred, and Daphne looked pleased to sit with Scrappy.

Shaggy got an airline sandwich, and was about to join Scooby in eating it when he saw that a really pretty girl was walking down the aisle. She had mustard-blonde hair, smooth skin, blue eyes, and bright pink lips; there seemed to be a sort of glow about her, in fact. Shaggy was dumbstruck, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

While Shaggy was distracted, Scooby took the chance to snatch his sandwich out of his hands.

"You mind if I sit here?" The girl asked Shaggy.

"Like, no problem!" Shaggy smiled at her.

The girl smiled as she sat near the window.

"So, like, what's your name?" asked Shaggy.

The girl gave an embarrassed smile. "My name is Mary Jane. I know; go ahead and laugh, everyone does, I'm used to it." she replied.

"Oh, like the girl from the Spider-Man comics," Shaggy smiled. "But you're blonde, like Ghost Spider. Neat!"

Mary Jane was surprised for a moment, but giggled at Shaggy's statement.

"Sorry, where are my manners?" asked Shaggy. "Like, my name is Norville William Rogers, Jr. but my friends just call me 'Shaggy'."

"As in, THE Shaggy? Of the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency?" Mary asked. "That is so cool!"

Shaggy chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah. You've heard about us?" he inquired.

"How could I not?" Mary smiled. "First, there was that Black Knight caper...then that case with the coin and the mummy...that one with those life-sized puppets...and that weird one with the hypnotist clown...the 10,000-Volt Ghost—point is, you guys are super-huge! And then there's you—you've got an appetite that could match up against a lot of anime characters!"

Shaggy chuckled. "Well, a high metabolism goes well with it," he responded. "And, well, it's always nice to meet a fan...even if, ya know...I wasn't exactly the smartest member of the team."

"Don't sweat it," Mary smiled at him. "You've got plenty of heart, and that's what counts."

"Like, thanks," said Shaggy. "You're very sweet."

"You're welcome," Mary replied.

Scooby was busying himself with a portable videogame system, when someone's cat, who was a few seats away, started hissing at him.

Scooby bared his teeth and started to growl, but Scrappy put a hand up. "No, Uncle Scooby," he whispered to him. "Be the bigger dog, don't stoop to his level."

Scooby tried to hold himself together as Shaggy noticed Mary Jane's confused look. "Huh? Something wrong, MJ?" he asked her.

"Is your, um, Grandpa, okay?" asked Mary Jane.

"Sure," Shaggy responded. "He, like, just kinda had a bad experience with cats a while back that he doesn't like talking about."

Scooby was barely holding it together as Mary Jane said, "Well, I do have something that usually calms me down."

"What's that?" inquired Shaggy.

Mary Jane suddenly pulled out a small bag of Scooby Snacks! [cue the fanfare~!]

"You carry Scooby Snacks?" asked Shaggy, surprised. "I didn't know you had a dog of your own."

Mary Jane blushed. "I don't, yet. I know they're mostly for dogs, but I can't help but love them." she replied.

"Yeah, same," smiled Shaggy. "They're kinda like peanut-butter cookies, y'know?"

Mary Jane smiled. "Totally!"

"Okay, then pass 'em over, please," responded Shaggy. Mary Jane smiled warmly as she passed some Scooby Snax over to her new friends.

Scooby took a few in his hand and ate them. "Mmm...mmm...MMM~!" he gushed, as he rocketed into the air! Then, he floated gently back into his chair, still in his disguise. "Ahhh~...okay, I'm better now."

"Good Scoo—er, Grandpa." said Shaggy.

"Yep!" Scooby nodded as he felt more relaxed.

A little while later, the plane landed on Spooky Island, and it certainly lived up to the name.

A big, creepy statue with terrifying eyes stood on the airfield before it spoke.

"WELCOME TO SPOOKY ISLAND, ONE OF THE TOP 5 SPRING BREAK VACATION SPOTS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS!" a voice boomed, before being followed by scary music. "NOW YOUR SOULS ARE TRAPPED IN A WORLD OF UNRELENTING HORROR! MUA-HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As the door opened, the gang and many others descended from the plane, while Scooby discarded his disguise.

"What happened to your new girlfriend?" Velma asked.

"One, she isn't my girlfriend...she's just a new friend," Shaggy blushed. "And she said she needed to go find a friend. I'll probably catch her later."

"Alright, gang, let's spread that photo of Izabel around, see if anyone knows her," Fred told the others. "Then we'll see if we can locate the hypno-wheel."

"I'm not so sure it's a hypno-wheel," stated Scrappy. "It might actually be something like a monster this time."

Velma rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it's obviously some sort of scam." she insisted.

"Regardless, whatever's been kidnapping these people must be around the park somewhere," stated Daphne. "We should keep a lookout in case we become targets."

"Right." Shaggy nodded. "Let's fan out."

So, each member of the gang each took a copy of Izabel's picture and shared it around the island to the residents living there.

Strangely enough, nobody recognized Izzy. And the only people who seemed to show any suspicions were the staff.

The last person they went to was N'Goo Tauna, a large friendly albino in a slick-looking suit.

"No, I have not seen her," he said when he checked the picture...and then he caught a glimpse of Scooby. "Is this your dog?"

Shaggy nodded.

"It is, unarguably, the most beautiful animal I have ever laid eyes on." N'Goo replied without missing a beat.

Shaggy and Scooby gave each other uneasy looks. Most people liked to pet Scooby and Scrappy, but this guy... his interest in the dog was very creepy.

"May I pet your dog?" asked another native.

Another glance was traded between the beatnik and his dog.

"Uh...sure," replied Shaggy, trying to play it cool. "Go for it."

Some of the natives gathered around, petting Scooby on the head, utterly fascinated by the experience.

Scooby and Shaggy were officially freaked out, and were thankful as they spotted Daphne and Scrappy nearby.

"I am N'Goo Tauna, the proprietor of this island's hotel," the albino introduced himself. "You come along in my cart. I drive the Werewolf!"

"Heh...driving, werewolves..." Scrappy commented. "Sounds almost familiar, doesn't it?"

Shaggy and Scooby swallowed heavily, remembering one of their crazier escapades that involved a certain road race. (All guesses for which movie I'm talking about go in the comments, below your actual chapter reviews!)

"Uh, sorry, sir," apologized Daphne. "We're just looking for a friend of ours. Her name is Izabel."

N'Goo nodded in understanding as he led the gang to his cart. "I see. I'll be certain to notify the staff to keep a lookout for anyone matching that description," he replied.

A line of golf carts was at the end of the walkway; each cart had a different monster theme: Mummy, Dracula, King Kong, a Smurf, etc. They were represented by a paper-maché monster head on top of the cart.

N'Goo drove the cart down a cobblestone pathway, which had gaudy animatronic statues on either side. "You come here to face the demons?" he asked.

"Yes, and afterwards we're going to Pirates of the Caribbean to stop the horrible mutilation going on there," Velma responded dryly.

N'Goo guffawed. "Ahh, one who is doubting!" he beamed.

"Yeah, it's kinda our thing," Scrappy replied.

"We've come here to disprove your demons; I'm an author, Fred Jones," Fred smiled.

"Mm...rings no bells," N'Goo responded.

The others chuckled as Fred blushed a little, feeling sheepish, before he spoke up again. "Regardless, we know you're pulling some sort of scheme with these fake monsters and stuff."

Scrappy, Scooby and Shaggy glanced at one another. They seemed to be the only ones who thought these monsters were real. After all, they'd had their share of encounters with real monsters...but at least most of them were friendlier than they expected.

"Just relax, Scoob...those animatronics are just that—machines," said Shaggy.

Scooby peered up and saw an animatronic Frankenberry, chomping on a bloody arm, then screamed at the top of his lungs.

"...isn't that the cast of 'Friends'?" asked Daphne, pointing off to the side. There was a group of animatronics resembling the main cast of 'F·R·I·E·N·D·S'... eating a dog.

"So, Mr. Mondavarius invited you here?" asked N'Goo, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

Shaggy was about to say no, but Velma spoke sooner. "Er, yeah. He wanted us to take a look around," she stated. "Find out what's going on and what's happening to his guests."

"Splendid; he'll be quite delighted to know that this is being looked into," N'Goo responded.

A little while later, the group arrived at a moped rental stand beside a giant stone altar. Then, a creepy-looking bald man with an arrow-shaped goatee, clad in flowing purple robes, and a large key hanging from his belt, and a few papers in his hand, approached a podium with a microphone. Next to him was a burly-looking luchador with a cape.

"Welcome to Spooky Island," the man read. "My name is Mondavarious J. Crawford. Locked away, in my castle of horrors…" he gestured to the colorful fiberglass castle on the mountain. "…I have dedicated my life to the study of demonology, and have found them to be very…" he stopped, before turning the page over. "…frightening. I'd like to introduce my bodyguard—his name is Zarkos. You may recognize him from Telemundo as a famous luchador. Good luck, and I hope your stay here is a frightening one."

But before he left, he turned back to the crowd and said this last bit with feeling. "Oh, and be sure to return to your lodgings by midnight. Demons prowl the forest after midnight, in search of fresh young souls." he grinned.

The audience gulped in fear—except for the Mystery Inc. crew.

Even Shaggy and Scooby weren't afraid. OK, they were a little afraid, but then they saw something that got their brains in gear.

They had noticed a strange badge of some kind pinned to the cloak Mondavarious wore. The symbol that it bore looked like a bronze skull with red eyes, nose and teeth, with black outlines. For some reason, it seemed incredibly familiar, but the two of them couldn't quite place it yet.

Suddenly, a bunch of natives stood up in lines on the platform, and flames shot up from the bowl in the middle. Some of the natives started drumming nearby, while others began to dance in synchronization while chanting some weird song.

Then, a huge demon goddess appeared from the flame; she had an evil hawk head and the body of a voluptuous woman, and she began wailing a creepy song. The other college kids stepped back in awe, and Shaggy and Scooby screamed in horror, this time with Shaggy leaping into Scooby's arms.

Scrappy leapt to his feet and put his dukes up. "Bring it on, you evolutionary disaster!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna turn ya from a has-been to a never-WAS!"

Daphne scooped up the pup. "Calm down, Scrappy. It's just a projection in the flames," she informed him.

"She's right," said Velma as she leaned over to point out the projectors. "There's several in the trees."

At this, Shaggy and Scooby began to calm down and laughed in relief.

"Like, I wasn't scared for a second," chuckled Shaggy. "How about you, Scoob?"

"Re? Ruh-uh!" Scooby added, shaking his head. "Ro ray!"

"Aw, ruff and double-ruff!" Scrappy snapped his fingers in mild disappointment. "I was hoping I'd REALLY get to throw down!"

Daphne gave a light giggle and petted him.

Finally back, and with another update. At the time I write this author's note, I'll be taking a 2-week break from my Ranma story to focus on other projects. Like this one.

And if you intend to leave a review, please say something more than "great new chapter", okay?
That goes for all my stories...at least, for the ones which I'm still updating.