The Yowling

by OmegusXIII

The Mystery Gang doesn't know it yet, but there were many legends of Moonscar Island. But only three of the island's inhabitants knew its true history. Jacob Brice was one of those "lucky" souls to know. And he was about to bring them to the root of the greatest mystery of all. What is the story behind his stay at Moonscar Island?

1. A Lonely Soul (Part 1)

A/N: Hello. For those of you who are familiar with Zombie Island, you must also be familiar with Return to Zombie Island... as well as its heavy flaws. the main one being at the end. You can rest assured that monsters are real in my story. But not all of them are as bad as some make them out to be. This story exemplifies that. And you can bet that there'll be more where this one came from. And also, I took some inspiration for Mystery Incorporated (the most amazing series of its time), the crossover of it and Supernatural, and another gem, The Howling by Joe Dante. Granted, it was a werewolf movie as opposed to Werecats, but I digress. I'll explain some of my OC, Jacob's story here, and the rest will be revealed in the next chapter.

Chapter 1: A Lonely Soul (Part 1)

"Jacob!" A voice called out. "Breakfast is ready!" A young man stirred from his bed, turning the soft blue blanket off of him as he slowly woke up. His eyes were shining green like emeralds. When he sat up, his dirty blonde hair was messy, unkempt in a wolf-cut style. He had nothing on him save for his undershorts. Although groggy, he put his hand near his face to act as a megaphone.

"Coming down, Lena!" Jacob called out. He got up off of the queen-sized bed. It was a canopy bed, crafted from mahogany wood and decorated with a face of the sun. There weren't any curtains around it, though he wished there were… the room was decorated with a blue color with a picture frame hanging near the door. The building in the picture was the same mansion he was living in: Moonscar Mansion.

He got dressed in his clothes, wearing a dark green-brown jacket with elbow patches, a white shirt, and plain blue jeans. After which, he walked down the stairs and headed to the dining room where two women were already eating. One of them was a slender, middle-aged woman, with chin-length blonde hair and green eyes. She wore a long blue shirt over a white dress, deep red lipstick, square-shaped blue earrings, blue high heels, and a green necklace shaped like a cat's head. The other was a tanned, adult female with black hair and brown eyes. She wore a red tie headband, a red vest over a lavender t-shirt, and a red skirt with matching high heels.

"Good morning, Jacob." The middle-aged woman said with a sincere smile as she stroked the back of a white cat with blue eyes on her lap. Her voice was in a French accent. "I trust you rested well?"

"Well enough, Simone." He answered, sitting down at the wooden table. The dining room was overlooked by a glass door with blue curtains hanging near it, fixed so that it wouldn't cover them completely. And it also had a fireplace with firewood inside it. There were also several more pictures hung on the walls.

There was a bowl on the large table where Jacob sat down. His meal was a plate of waffles with syrup and butter. He took a whiff of it, letting the fresh scent of steaming waffle in his nose… but he didn't budge. The women saw his far off look, and they became puzzled. He'd never acted like this around them before, but as they thought it over, it must've been a gradual change.

"Is something the matter?" Lena asked. Her voice was a thick southern accent with only a hint of French. Jacob saw the concern Lena had and tried to help her feel better. In truth, he was grateful for them taking him in. It was a far better treatment than he ever received from his old "friends".

"Oh. Sorry, Lena. I was just thinking." Jacob answered.

"About what?" She asked. "About how I ended up here…" he answered with a bitter tone. It had been a long time since the last Harvest Moon. It was when he first came to Moonscar Island. But he didn't come alone. In fact, he had unpleasant company.

---

"Hey, Brick! Why are you spacing out?" a boorish young voice said. He was being scolded by a young man with a blue letterman jacket with white sleeves and a letter B at the forefront of it. His pants were dark blue jeans, and his blonde hair was slicked-back. They were on the boat headed for this very island. And Jacob was not happy with his nickname.

"First of all, Brad, it's 'Brice'". He said. "And second, call me Jacob. Is it really that hard for you to get my name right?"

"Chill out, man. I thought it was Brick." Brad tried to explain, but he did it with a mocking voice to poke fun at him, which left him very angry.

"Worst apology ever. If you'd even call it one…" Jacob grunted, turning his head away from him and out to the island. They were surrounded by a whole swamp of water with moss all over the tree branches that surrounded it. But it didn't seem to matter to Brad's friend. She had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail that stopped at the middle of her back, and she was wearing a pink crop top over her bust, along with white pants and high heels.

"Relax, Jake." she said. "He's just having fun with you. You could use more of that."

"At my expense, Judy? I don't think so!" Jacob said. "I never asked to come to this stupid island in the first place! We're only here because you dragged me here from my house, under the hot sun, without my consent, I might add, to trash some haunted island like we own it!"

"Don't you get it, man? This is our time!" Brad said, trying to cheer him on. "You've gotta do at least one dare before we go to State University."

"Why do I need to?" Jacob griped. "I've done your dares the whole school year, and what did that get me? A gaping black hole on my permanent record!"

"So?" Judy asked. "It's their fault they can't have any fun."

"Fun?! If ruining my future is your idea of fun, then I'm not spending one more minute with any of you!" Jacob walked away from Brad with a bitter look, walking to the captain's deck where Lena watched the whole argument.

"Ooh… that's some bad blood, there, no?" the ferry driver said with a soft tone in his cajun accent. He was a chubby, middle-aged Cajun male with a pale skin tone, and grayish-white hair and blue pupils. He had a gray hat with a blue shirt over him and dark gray pants. Jacob walked into the boat's deck and grumbled to himself, smashing his fist on his seat with an angry grunt as he sat down to vent his anger.

"That's the last time I'm going anywhere with those, those… criminals!" Jacob muttered. "I swear, they'd end the whole world, and they wouldn't care…" Lena had never seen anyone so angry at that time. But it wasn't just anger she picked up on. It was fear. Fear that his life will forever be out of his control.

---

In the present, Simone and Lena knew full well how he'd struggled to have any life with friends like his. The mistress of the mansion spoke to the young man to put him at ease.

"You really mustn't dwell on them." Simone advised. "They lacked the proper respect towards you to begin with. To give any of them your time of day is to let them take control again."

Jacob sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he tried to drown out the mocking voices in his head.

"I know, Simone." Jacob said with a soft tone. "I just… my life wasn't always out of control. Before that point, I used to know someone in my life. Someone who meant a lot to me."

"You have?" Lena asked. He'd never openly spoken about that person before today. How sentimental was he feeling exactly? Since coming to the island, Jacob had been like a son to her and Simone, so to hear of that was definitely a first for her.

"Yeah. We used to go to class together." Jacob answered, starting to brighten up with a smile. "She had long red hair, she was nice to me, she was considerate, and…" But before he could go on, he abruptly stopped himself, blushing a deep shade of red on his cheeks. He shook his head and sighed to himself. What would she think of him if she saw where he was now? What would she think of who he had become? "Never mind…" Lena never could stand to see him upset, not since that day when he first came to Moonscar Island.

"Ms. Lenoir, could Jacob come with me to buy the groceries from the market?" Lena asked with concern. She thought that a trip to the market would help him move on from his funk.

"Of course, Lena. I'm sure a visit would do him some good." Simone encouraged. She wasn't quite the doting mother figure to Jacob like Lena was; she was strict at times. But all in all, she cared about Jacob's wellbeing, physical and mental. But he wasn't quite up to it like Lena was. He had a feeling about what it was about.

"Uh, that's a nice offer, but…!" Jacob tried to protest.

"No buts about it. You're going with me, young man." Lena sternly spoke.

"But what about feeding Mittens?" Jacob asked with concern. "Shouldn't we do that first?"

"I'll bring some breakfast for him on the way." Lena assured.

---

In a short moment, Lena and Jacob were already in the truck. Simone was seeing them off as she stroked her white cat as they took off from the mansion. They made their way to the ferry driver, Jacques, who previously picked Jacob up from Louisiana to get to the island. He took them and their ride onto the ferry and drove to the town with Jacob at the driver's seat while Lena sat in the shotgun position, holding a small box with a small orange tabby kitten on her lap. The box had room enough for it and a small plate of cat food for it to eat out of. The kitten meowed delightfully as it ate the food, making Lena smile. She showed Jacob her own smile through the front view mirror hanging from the middle of the truck.

"You know, it's nice of you to offer to drive for me, all things considered." Lena spoke gently, slowly beginning to frown when she saw his faroff look again.

"Yeah. It's just who I am, you know?" Jacob replied, keeping his eyes focused on the river. But she was well aware of the tone of resentment in his voice. If they were to keep going, they had to lay it all out on the table. Otherwise, it's likely to cause problems in the long run, on or off the road. …Except she couldn't.

It'd been a year since he stayed with her and Simone. His friends gave him no reason to stay at all. But these two… they were like family to him. So it made her worried that what she'd say next would break their bond. So, she went with an alternative. "Jacob… could you tell me more about that friend of yours?" For a moment, he said nothing. But, he started to smile again as he thought of her.

"Well… like I said, she was nice, considerate. And we used to hang out together all the time." Jacob answered. "But after we moved to different High Schools, we've been… busy."

"How busy?" Lena asked curiously.

"I don't know, it's like… whenever I tried to talk to her, the universe would basically get in the way. Sometimes I wonder if she'd remember me at this point." He explained glumly. Then, he felt a soft scratch on his head. Lena was rubbing his head with her nails.

"If she means that much to you, I'm sure she will, Jacob." Lena said with empathy. He smiled warmly at her and looked down at Mittens. The kitten looked at him with a faroff gaze in her own eyes. He couldn't resist it, so he gently picked her up and stroked her soft back as the kitten purred. "Thanks, Lena. It's nice to hear that, all things considered." Lena petted Mittens in the head as it mewled gently, getting a massage from two people.

"I wonder what the odds are that I'd see her again…" Jacob wondered to himself. But little did he know that this time, the universe was on his side.

---

"I can't believe this…" a young woman bemoaned. She had long flowing red hair that went down to her shoulders and blue sapphire eyes. For her outfit, she had a purple three piece business suit consisting of a long sleeved jacket and skirt, a sleeveless green tank top and purple high heels. She was accompanied by a girl with chin-length auburn hair and freckles. She was somewhat obscured by her fashion choices, wearing a baggy, thick turtlenecked orange sweater, with a red skirt, knee length orange socks and black Mary Jane shoes, along with square-rimmed glasses. And with her was a man with blonde hair. His outfit was a light blue shirt with a tan jacket overshirt with pockets, blue jeans and brown shoes. "Bad guys, mechanical masks, magnets, hologram projectors."

"Just like the good old days." the other girl said with a bright smile.

"Too much like the good old days." she countered. "I've got a show to do. I need a real live ghost."

"That'd be an oxymoron, Daphne. Ghosts can't live." she replied.

"You know what I mean, Velma!" Daphne said, getting flustered with her points. The blonde man tried to help calm her down by offering her a treat from his box of sweets.

"Does anyone want a beignet?" he offered.

"Thanks, Fred." Daphne said, taking one from the box. "But what I want is a house that's really haunted." As Daphne flipped in the pages of the guide book for any sign of what she was looking for, Lena and Jacob came down from the center of the market to the shaded parts near the street. Lena was carrying a bag of groceries, including two large breadsticks, bananas, milk, cheese, and many other necessary items. Jacob was carrying his own bag to lighten the load while having one hand open to pick for other food. Mittens was riding in the bag he held to keep her in his sights. Plus, it looked so darn cute with the other food! He picked up an apple from the fruit counter and took a closer look at it.

"Well… it's definitely fresh." Jacob said to himself. He set it next to Mittens in the bag, who played with it with its little paws. "Well, Mittens, I think we got all we need from–" He suddenly paused when he saw a familiar face. His heart skipped a beat when he met her. "No way…" Lena saw his befuddled expression and turned over to see Daphne, Fred, and Velma. His eyes were fixed squarely on Daphne. "I-It's her…!"

"Pardon?" Lena asked.

"The girl I was telling you about. It's her!" Jacob pointed to Daphne with excitement in his voice. Lena didn't expect him to be so eager to see her so quickly. He was almost like a lovesick puppy.

"Well, I'll be." Lena smiled. "Would you like to bring her along?" Lena offered.

"Yes! Wait, no! I mean… Oh, I don't know anymore…!" Jacob answered, flustered over meeting her after such a long time. Never in his dreams did he imagine that he'd see her again in the same town he's living in now. "It's been so long."

"Well, I think you should invite her and catch up." Lena suggested.

"W-What? Really?" Jacob asked, puzzled by her reply.

"Why shouldn't you see your old friend after such a long time? Besides, I'd like to get to know them, too." Lena answered with a motherly smile.

"Really?" Jacob said with an eyebrow raised. "You sure you won't… take care of them?" Jacob phrased that with suspicion. He had a feeling she'd get rid of her for being close to him.

"No! Not if she means that much to you." Lena swore, feeling as though the idea was absurd to begin with. "I'll put in a good word with Ms. Lenoir on her behalf, even."

"You would do that for me?" Jacob asked, still baffled by her generosity.

"It is the Harvest Moon." Lena said. "The least you could do is spend it with someone you love." Jacob's whole face turned beet red once the phrase came out. Just the thought of being close to Daphne the way she thought was enough to send his heartbeat to overdrive and burst out of his chest if it could.

"T-Thank you!" Jacob said almost too excitedly. He stopped and corrected himself with a cleared throat. "I mean… thanks, Lena."

"Of course, Jacob." Lena beamed.

"I mean, there must be one somewhere in Louisiana." Daphne said aloud to herself. It was at that moment when Jacob spoke up to her.

"Uh, excuse me." Jacob spoke up. "I heard you were looking for a Haunted House?" Daphne looked up from the guide book to see a surprisingly familiar face herself.

"Jacob?" Daphne asked, her eyes widening with pleasant surprise. Fred and Velma were altogether surprised by his arrival themselves. "Jacob?" They said simultaneously. Daphne was the first to get up and hug him tightly, catching him completely by surprise. He almost dropped the bag in his hand.

"It's so great to see you again!" Daphne said, longing and excitement bubbling up inside her the second she saw him.

"It's great to see you, too, Daph." Jacob said with a grin. She really did remember him after all… "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for a haunted house to investigate." Daphne answered. "What about you?"

"Well, I live here now." Jacob answered. At that point, Mittens popped out of the grocery bag and meowed at her sweetly. "And I've got a little friend to keep me company, too."

"That's great." Daphne said, feeling proud of him, and very fond of Mittens. She stroked her back gently, making the kitten purr sweetly. "Yeah. Turns out I'm a cat person." Jacob replied. Then, it occurred to her that Fred and Velma were out of the loop on their meeting. "Oh, right. Where are my manners? Guys, this is Jacob Brice. Jacob, this is Fred…"

"Hey, there." Fred waved.

"And Velma." Daphne continued.

"Nice to meet you." Velma held her hand out to him, which Jacob shook.

"Likewise." Jacob replied. "So, you guys are looking for a haunted house?"

"We are. But every one we turned up at turned out to be fake. Just like in the old days with the gang." Daphne said with a slight frown.

"The gang?" Jacob asked with curiosity.

"After Junior High, I was a part of Mystery Incorporated." Daphne said. "We solved mysteries and unmasked a lot of bad guys together."

"Really? That sounds great." Jacob said, feeling proud of her.

"Thanks, Jacob." Daphne said with a slight grin. But as much as she appreciated it, she was more ready for the supernatural stuff. "But for once, I'd like to see a real haunted house." Daphne said. Jacob sighed with a smile. She was as bold as ever, that much hadn't changed.

"There is." Lena spoke up. "I work in it. Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I work as a chef in a house on Moonscar Island, a place that really is haunted."

"Jinkies!" Velma said with surprise. "Is that true?"

"You'd be surprised." Jacob answered. The trio were confused, but Jacob took the liberty of introductions with her.

"Oh, yeah. Guys. I want you to meet Lena Dupree. She's a good friend of mine." Jacob introduced.

"Nice to meet you all." Lena bowed for a small moment.

"Lena, this is–" Jacob was about to do the introductions, but Fred beat him to it.

"Fred Jones. This is Velma Dinkley and Daphne Blake." Fred introduced.

"Charmed." Lena said with a flattered tone.

"Don't know if I'd say that, but…" Jacob spoke to himself. "Anyway, it's great to see you again, Daph." Daphne smiled warmly at Jacob. She saw the way Fred looked when he introduced himself and the others to Lena. She looked down at the guidebook with curiosity.

"Moonscar Island? Where's that?" She asked.

"It's in the Bayou not far from here." Jacob answered. "That's actually the place where I live these days."

"Really?" Daphne asked with interest.

"You'd really live in a place that's haunted?" Velma asked with suspicion.

"Not by choice. It's actually started to happen a lot recently." Jacob fibbed. He wasn't aware of any mysteries as of late, at least, not the kind they were looking for. But there was one he was trying to figure out himself. And if she was right about them being experts, he'd take any help he can get.

"Not that I'd be surprised." Lena interjected, rolling with what he had in mind. "A pirate named Morgan Moonscar died on the island, and his spirit still haunts the place."

Fred nodded his head with crossed arms, believing he knew where it was going. With every "haunted house" they visited, it always turned out to be a fake, most of them being bad guys in a mask trying to steal the land or come across a big fortune. "Well, no offense, guys, but it's probably just some guy in an old pirate suit trying to scare off the local kids." Fred dismissed.

"Trust me, Fred. The ghost is real." Jacob warned, playing along with Lena's act. "I mean, unless you're scared to find out for yourself…"

"Scared?" Fred stammered, as if he was outraged. "Me? No, I-I don't think so."

"If you wanna check it out, you're welcome to come by." Lena said. "We'll be leaving as soon as we finish shoppin'." Lena walked away from the group with Jacob puzzled with how she walked away. Jacob turned back to Daphne with a soft smile on his face and waved to her. She waved back to him and grinned as Jacob walked with Lena while Fred answered. "Well, uh, we'll think about it."

Fred turned to Daphne and wondered what she thought about them.

"Well, what do you think?" Fred asked.

"What do we have to lose? It's the best lead we've had all day." Daphne said with an uplifted smile. "Plus, Jacob is kind of cute." Fred looked at Jacob and Lena, seeing the two of them talking together as he glanced at them curiously.

During that time, Jacob turned to her and spoke softly. "I didn't get carried away, did I…?" Jacob asked.

"No, Jacob. You did just fine." Lena said with a pat on his head. "I'm sure they'll come along with us."

"Thanks, Lena. You're the best." Jacob grinned. Lena was happy to hear it from him. But she hadn't forgotten what she was here for…

---

"The Harvest Moon is drawing near, Lena. No matter what must be done, we need to complete the ceremony and continue to exist. How else could we live to see our way of life thrive?" Simone commanded with respect.

"But Jacob… he's not willing to go through with this." Lena said with worry.

"And yet, he must." Simone replied with an understanding tone. "As do we."

---

Lena's face softened into a frown as she looked upon the young man. He knew what they really were by now. And he knew that he's one of them. But even now, he still wanted to be with the one he loved. Could Simone allow it? She hoped with all her heart that she would. It wasn't right to let the young man suffer their fate… and she won't let him. Like it or not, Simone was right about the ceremony. It was the only way they'll survive…

After some consideration, Lena and Jacob had finished their shopping and went into the truck. Jacob had once again taken the driver's seat with Lena holding onto the bags, one of which held Mittens inside. Just then, they heard honking behind them. Jacob peeked out the window and saw Daphne waving to them. Jacob smiled and waved back at Daphne, turning to her with a big smile.

"Looks like they're in." Jacob said. He started the truck and began to drive down the road out of the town with Mystery Incorporated following close behind.

After ten minutes in, they're already in the midst of the swamp, close by where the Bayou was said to be. It wasn't long until they found Jacques and his ferry again. Jacob stopped his truck on the bridge to speak with Jacques.

"Ho-ho, Ms. Lena. And Mr. Jacob." Jacques greeted them. "I see you've brought some company, eh?"

"Yeah, Jacques." Jacob said. "They came a long way to see a real haunted house. So, we're giving them one."

"Well, if they want haunted, they've come to the right place." Jacques said. He walked up to Daphne, setting his hand on the car door as he gave Daphne a dire warning. "Peoples go into that bayou, and they don't never come out." Any other person would shake at that warning and turn around. But Daphne and the others didn't seem to scare easily.

"Uh, so we understand," Daphne said. Jacques walked back up to Jacob and smirked, seeing the way he looked at her with such affection for her. "Oh-ho-ho, I see you've got the hungry eyes for her, ami~" Jacques teased, making Jacob blush madly. "Please shut up, Jacques…"

Be that as it may, Jacques nonetheless got the ferry ready for the cars to board onto. "Go on in!" Jacques called out. Jacob drove the truck onto the ferry's deck with Daphne following suit. Once they were inside, Jacques went up the ladder to start the ferry. Jacob and Lena got out of the truck just in time to see two additional passengers, most likely another set of Daphne's friends.

"Like, do you sell food on this ferry? We're starved." The man said. He was a lanky, teenage man; he seemed fairly light for his age. He'd bet even Velma could pick him up with her own hands. He also seemed to have a very long neck and whiskers on his chin that formed somewhat of a goatee. He was wearing a green V-neck shirt, brown bell-bottom pants, and black platform shoes. And the other was… a dog. More accurately a Great Dane, but in any case, he was a concern for Jacob and Lena.

"Who's that?" Jacob said with alarm.

"We didn't know you had a dog." Lena added.

"Dog? Where?" The mutt responded. Daphne showed her concern to Jacob.

"Oh, that's right. You told me you were a cat person." Daphne recalled.

"I am. And on that note…" Jacob said just as Mittens peeked out of his grocery bag and mewled cutely. Needless to say, the dog noticed her and was throttled.

"RAT!" The dog shouted. It snarled, ready to pounce, only for Jacob to get in the way. "Easy, boy! Easy!" Jacob shouted. "Mittens is not going to hurt you, okay?" The dog still growled with suspicion, leering closely at the bag, only for Mittens to put her paw on the dog's nose. "Reow~" Mittens mewled. The dog stood dumbfounded, staring closely at the cat as the hostility faded away like it never happened.

"Aw…" The dog immediately fell in love with Mittens. And no sooner had he fawned over her did Mittens get on top of his snout and up on his head to purr gently on top of him. The owner sighed with relief. "Like, that was too close, man…" said he, feeling as though he would faint from the suspense. Daphne tried to lighten up the situation with the introductions.

"And this is Shaggy and Scooby." Daphne said, gesturing to the owner and his dog, in that order. Scooby smiled at the little kitten as it rested on top of him. "Turns out, he's a cat person, too."

"Sometimes, I wonder. But I'm just glad he didn't hurt Mittens." Jacob said with a soft smile. He picked Mittens up from his head and patted him. "There's a good boy." Scooby giggled from Jacob's gentle pat on the head. "Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but we have… a lot of cats back home."

"Like, don't worry about it. Scoob's great with cats, right?" Shaggy said, vouching for his dog.

"Yeah!" Scooby nodded to agree with him. He certainly did prove himself when it came to Mittens. However, on an island full of cats, the true test remained. For now, though, he passed.

---

One long boat ride later, Jacob, Daphne, Lena, and the others had arrived at Moonscar Island. On the way there, Shaggy and Scooby went overboard, only to be saved by Snakebite Scruggs. He didn't like anyone being in there, least of all tourists. To him, they're too noisy to let him get Big Mona, a feat that was said to be impossible. And he didn't like anyone telling him that. Besides that encounter, the rest of the trip was smooth-sailing… apart from the bumpy road.

They had to go slow to keep their cars from going crazy on the drive. Thankfully, the bumpy ride was short when they came across the mansion Jacob now lived in.

"Wow! There's our haunted house." Daphne said, taking quite a fancy to the mansion. It was a two-story mansion with three windows on the roof, four on the second floor, a double-window set on the bottom floor on each side, and a wooden mahogany doorway in-between them just in front of the stairs. On the front lawn was a roundabout, a tree in the center of it, and a gardener near the tree.

The gardener was an adult male with a tall, thick and muscular build, with left-sided curved brown hair and hazel eyes. He wore work clothes consisting of a white tank top underneath a thick long-sleeved brick red denim shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his biceps, both of his shirts were tucked in his tight gray denim pants pulled up to his waist, the first button on his shirt was undone, his belt and shoes matched with his hair, and he wore dull yellow gloves. He was shoveling in the ground near the plants as the cars drove around him.

"Are you getting all of this, Fred?" Daphne asked. "Yep. Got it, Daph." He was holding the camera up at the house, showing a bunch of cats staring at them with particular contempt. "Lena wasn't kidding. This place is crawling with cats." That fact wasn't something that Scooby would take lightly.

"Rats?" Scooby snatched the camera from Fred and aimed it at the cats to get a good look. Not one of them was as nice and innocent as Mittens. And he already hated them. "Rats!" Immediately, Scooby jumped out of the Mystery Machine (Fred's aptly named van) and chased after them, much to Shaggy's chagrin.

"Come back, Scoob!" Shaggy shouted. Fortunately for him, the chase was over before it started. Scooby screeched to a halt when the car door opened with Jacob and Mittens getting out of the truck. He stared at the little kitten, fawning over her all over again. Jacob looked at the other cats, who glared in particular at Scooby.

"Maybe it's not the cats I should worry about…" Jacob said to himself. Mittens got on top of Scooby's head and purred gently as it rested upon him. The Great Dane hummed sweetly as the kitten laid upon him like a soft bed. That was when Simone came out and saw the visitors for herself, cradling her white cat. Lena became concerned about what she'd think of them.

"Ms. Lenoir!" Lena spoke aloud. She joined Lenoir's side when she caught sight of Scooby fraternizing with Mittens… and Jacob at the center of it!

"Oh, boy…" Jacob muttered to himself.

"Who brought this… dog?" Simone demanded to know the answer, filled with disgust.

"Rog? Where?" Scooby asked. Mittens heard Simone's contempt tone and slid down behind Scooby to hide from her, feeling very nervous around her. Scooby was puzzled by Mittens' behavior around the owner. Daphne walked to Simone to cover for Jacob and Lena. She hadn't counted on Scooby acting the way he did before he saw Mittens. It's almost like Mittens wasn't like the other cats to begin with.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. We should've held onto him better." Daphne apologized.

"And who is this?" Simone's glance turned to Jacob, who began to sweat with nervousness.

"So, uh… you know that girl I was telling you about this morning? Well, you're looking at her." Jacob explained.

"Oh, really?" Simone asked, becoming interested. "What a coincidence."

"I'm Daphne Blake, of 'Coast to Coast'". She introduced herself. But Simone didn't budge. "You know, the TV show?"

"Wait, you have your own TV show?" Jacob asked with surprise. "We really need to catch up."

"Huh?" Daphne asked with confusion. She'd have thought he'd at least heard of it.

"Forgive him." Simone said. "We do not have television on our island."

"How long have you been here, Jacob?" Fred asked curious about his lack of knowledge of her show.

"About a full year last week." Jacob answered.

"Wow, you're right. We really do need to catch up." Daphne said with an interested look. Little did they know that the Gardener was listening in on the conversation.

"But before that…" Simone interrupted, glancing at him and Lena. "...what are they doing here?" They were busted. He felt really bad, like he did something awful.

"Simone, I…" Jacob began, only for Lena to speak up. "It's all my fault, Ms. Lenoir. We heard these folks say they wanted to see a real haunted house. So I thought…"

"You might show them mine." Simone finished.

"But there's more to it than that!" Jacob piped up.

"Really, Jacob? At least learn to behave." Simone urged.

"Oh, but your house is simply beautiful, Ms. Lenoir. Isn't it, Fred?" Daphne insisted to her.

"Picture perfect." Fred concurred. "Just how old is it?"

"It has been in my family for generations." Simone answered. "It was a pepper plantation. Some of the hottest peppers in Louisiana grow on this island." Hearing this, Shaggy laughed with joy.

"We've hit the proverbial chili pepper jackpot!" Shaggy yelled excitedly.

"Well, that is until Morgan Moonscar started haunting this place." Jacob said. Shaggy and Scooby became frightful at that mention with Mittens scurrying up to Jacob's legs. He knelt down and picked up his kitten in his hands.

"Oh, yes. It is an old house with restless spirits." Simone replied. "So I can't advise on good conscience that you–" Suddenly, Lena put her hand on Simone's shoulder.

"Please, Ms. Lenoir. Jacob's been through so long without his friend. Don't you think he'd want to show her around?" Lena asked. Simone considered it for a moment, taking the time to look at Jacob's glance of longing towards Daphne, who in turn looked away with a slightly bashful look. After a short time, Simone gave her answer, "Very well. You're welcome to look around, if you'd like."

"Would we ever!" Daphne said excitedly. "Do you mind us taping?"

"No, of course not." Simone said. "In fact, I'd be most flattered." Daphne, Velma, and Fred walked up the stairs, but not before Daphne gave Jacob another hug, making him blush beet red. Of course, Simone hadn't forgotten about the dog on the lawn.

"But you'll have to do something about your… dog." Simone glanced at Scooby's direction. Shaggy stood next to his old pal to his defense.

"Like, food always keeps Scooby occupied." Shaggy suggested. In truth, that applied to him as well.

"If it will keep him from chasing my cats, you're welcome to my kitchen." Simone agreed, giving Shaggy reason to be happy.

"Groovy! Come on, Scoob!" Shaggy said. As they walked up the stairs, Jacob turned to the gardener, who kept his vigil on the group. He knew how hard he'd been working. Several months ago, he was hired, if he recalled. And he always thought to ask about him, but he was usually reserved.

"Do you need any help, Beau?" Jacob asked.

"No, I'm fine." Beau answered. "Just let me do my job."

"Okay. Just let me know when you change your mind." Jacob replied. When he walked into the mansion, Beau's face glanced with suspicion.

---

While Beau continued to do some digging, Jacob, Simone, and Lena showed the gang their mansion. Of course, Shaggy and Scooby occupied themselves in the kitchen. And it was there that they learned firsthand the spiciness of their Ghost Peppers. Simone didn't exaggerate when she said they were the hottest in Louisiana. Though it irritated Jacob that they made a mess on the floor with the pitcher of orange juice shattered to pieces. Lena was more than willing to clean it up, of course. When they left the hungry duo alone again, however, that's when the Haunting started.

When they got inside, there was a written message on the wall saying "Get Out". Jacob seemed to be caught off-guard by the fact that it actually was haunted. It was just something he and Lena came up with to get them to come to the island. Knowing her, Jacob knew she had something planned to help sell the lie. Within a moment, Velma was suddenly flying off her own feet! But Fred wasn't entirely convinced.

"We've been levitated before, and there's always a magnet or wire somewhere." Fred said.

"No wires here, Fred!" Velma shouted. As she was suddenly lifted higher into the air near the ceiling of the kitchen, Jacob went to her to help get her down while Daphne showed excitement.

"Wow! A real case of levitation!" Daphne said. "This just gets better and better."

"Maybe from where you're standing." Velma held her hands on her skirt to keep Jacob from seeing underneath it. "Anyone wanna try getting me down?"

"I got you, Velma." Jacob said, holding his hands out. Suddenly, Velma dropped from the air and right into Jacob's arms. He set Velma back on her feet and checked on her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Velma spoke with gratitude.

"Looks like you're quite the catch, Jacob." Daphne smiled. Jacob blushed bashfully again as he rubbed the top of his head. But there was still a mystery on their hands. He couldn't enjoy himself with her, not yet.

Back in the library, Jacob, Simone, and Lena were looking in the camera for any clues about who caused the writing to appear. As it turned out, they were dealing with a ghost. The Ghost of Morgan McReight, otherwise known as Morgan Moonscar. But where others were scared of that dire warning, Daphne was thrilled.

"A real pirate ghost! Fabulous! I can't thank you enough for opening your haunted house to us, Simone." Daphne thanked.

"So, you're not going to heed Moonscar's threat?" Simone asked curiously.

"Daph, I'm glad you're happy to find a real haunted house, but are you sure you can handle that?" Jacob asked with concern. It wasn't to suggest that he viewed her as a damsel in distress. With her thirst for adventure, he feared it may come back to bite her. Or worse…

"Are you kidding?" Daphne replied. "We don't scare that easily."

"Like, we do." Shaggy contradicted.

"Besides, it was probably just some guy in a pirate suit." Fred added.

"If that's true, how come he only appeared in the camera instead of real life?" Jacob asked with more than a few doubts about his theory.

"That's the mystery." Velma said.

"But there's always a logical explanation for these things." Fred said in a matter-of-fact way. But Jacob wasn't buying it.

"Maybe so far." Jacob spoke in opposition. "But what's your plan if there is no logical explanation?" As if to answer, a large growl came from the house. Simone, Daphne, Jacob, and Velma were caught unawares of this strange growling.

"What's that?" Simone asked.

"Like, there's a logical explanation for the growling in our stomachs. We're hungry." Shaggy explained. "And we're gonna get some food to go!" Shaggy and Scooby hurried back to the kitchen. With those two, it's likely that they'll leave the island and never come back. It had him on edge. How long would it be before he could see Daphne again? He couldn't take that chance.

"Daphne, I think I know a place where we can look." Jacob offered. "Uh, if you don't mind, Simone." Simone smiled at the young man with the grace of a hostess.

"But of course." Simone said. "Anything to deal with this haunting. But be wary. The haunting gets worse after sunset."

"Okay. We won't take too long. So, Daph, are you ready to look around?" Jacob offered, holding his hand out to her.

"Am I ever?" Daphne smiled. As she took his hand, he and Daphne walked together down the library. Fred looked at the two of them together closely, his eyes narrowed as Velma smiled at them.

"Honestly, I'm surprised with how well you're taking this, Fred." Velma said. "I thought you'd go nuts by–" Before she knew it, hse saw Fred eyeing Jacob suspiciously. "Oh. You have."

"You have to admit, Velma, there's something about Jacob that I just can't trust…" Fred said.

"I'm pretty sure that's just romantic rivalry talking." Velma quipped.

"Well… I mean, we weren't dating, but… I just want to make sure he's doing right by Daphne, you know?" Fred insisted.

"I get it." Velma said. "But didn't she tell you about Jacob before?"

"Yeah, she did…" Fred admitted. "But-!"

"Okay, Romeo." Velma said. "If you're that worried, I'll keep an eye on them."

"Really? Thanks, Velma." Fred said with a sigh of relief.

"Just try not to get too close to Lena while you're at it." Velma said with a smirk, making Fred double back with a blush as Velma went up to Jacob and Daphne. "Hey, guys! Room for one more?"

---

Some time had passed since the trio went to look for a place with another clue. They were following Jacob's lead down the forest outside the mansion. Velma, for one, was getting curious.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Jacob?" Velma asked.

"Trust me, Velma. I do." He said. "I think I have a feeling about why the hauntings are happening the way they are."

"And what's that?" Daphne asked. Jacob had to do a lot of looking into the island's history when he first came to the island and stayed with Simone and Lena. He had to call upon every knowledge out of the nook and cranny of his brain to gain their trust. Now that he knew the island really was haunted, it was a matter he had to take seriously.

"Do you know why this place has a lot of cats?" Jacob asked.

"Well, I was wondering…" Daphne admitted.

"But what does that have to do with the mystery?" Velma asked, naturally getting suspicious.

"Well, a lot more than you'd think." Jacob said. He parted the bushes for them to pass by. What Daphne and Velma saw was not what they expected. It looked like a large cave.

"Jinkies!" Velma said in astonishment.

"Jeepers…! What exactly is in there, Jacob?" Daphne asked.

"Follow me. You'll see when we get inside." Jacob said, getting out a flashlight from his pocket. He packed it with him when the trio left the mansion to begin with. He turned it on and went ahead, looking around the rocky formation. Daphne and Velma followed closely behind him, Velma especially.

Play Damien Salinas Music: "Emperor Belos' Theme (Orchestrated)"

Using the flashlight, the trio saw a glowing candlelight up ahead, where Jacob turned off his flashlight. He went up ahead to the chains where he rotated it up, moving the manhole cover above it to show a skylight with the sun shining down on a large moondial and the marbled statue of an anthropomorphic cat creature gazing down at it.

"What is this place, Jacob?" Daphne asked.

"It looks like a place for Voodoo rituals." Velma guessed.

"You'd be right, Velma." Jacob nodded. "This island's history goes a lot deeper than you'd think. Morgan Moonscar came to this island a long time ago to bury his treasure. But back then, there used to be people who lived in peace here. They used to worship a Cat God, like this guy."

"A Cat God?" Daphne and Velma asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Every Harvest Moon, they'd look to him in the promise of a good harvest. And for a lot of that time, they were… happy." Jacob said, a sad look on his face.

"What happened to them?" Daphne asked, worried about how it ended.

"Think about it. A village of settlers, or an army of pirates. Who do you think won?" Jacob asked with a dead serious look. It was more than enough for Daphne to know that it didn't end well, at all.

"I… I had no idea…" Daphne said with utter distraught.

"It's okay. It wasn't like you knew what happened to begin with." Jacob assured, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. "But anyway, I think someone must be using this place to cause the hauntings in the mansion."

"But who would even use this to haunt the mansion anyway?" Velma asked.

"That's the mystery." Jacob said, quoting what she said before. "One that I'm still trying to find out." Daphne felt bad for Jacob. Who knows how long he had to look here without any trace for an answer? To think that he'd been here all by himself for a year… She held onto his hand. Jacob felt the warm touch and turned to her.

End Damien Salinas Music: "Emperor Belos' Theme (Orchestrated)"

"We'll help you solve that mystery, Jacob." Daphne promised. "Right, Velma?" At that moment, Velma was taking a closer look at the Cat God statue, perplexing the two of them. She had her own flashlight near the statue, examining it for prints. "Velma? What are you doing?" Jacob asked as the duo approached her.

"I'm taking a closer look at the statue." Velma answered. "No offense, Jacob. Your theory is sound, but there's really no such thing as ghosts, demons, or any of the like."

"You haven't been on the island as long as I have, Velma." Jacob said. "I used to think that, too, and trust me, that's gonna fly out the window."

"I highly doubt it." Velma said. But she had no idea how badly she'd regret saying that. Not given the chance to realize it, the statue's eyes glowed a bright teal color, staring right at Velma and Daphne, making the reporter gasp with shock.

"Velma, the statue!" Daphne shouted. Velma looked up at the statue, seeing its eerie, greenish glow fixated on her. Before she could react, she and Daphne were blasted by the dark green surge of spiritual energy, knocking both girls to the floor. After going right through them, it shot straight up through the skylight and into the air with a crack of thunder.

"Daphne! Velma! Are you guys okay?" Jacob asked with fear in his voice, afraid that he'd got them hurt. The girls moaned, recovering from a sudden backlash of energy that went through them.

"Just fine, I think…" Daphne said, moaning from the fall. Jacob checked up on Velma next, though he held Daphne in his arms. "And you, Velma?" But when Velma opened her eyes, she gasped with surprise. "I'm… I'm blind!"

"What? How?!" Jacob asked. But Velma took the glasses off of her face. When her green eyes opened up, she was met with a bigger realization. "No, wait… It's the opposite. I can see! I can see without my glasses!"

"Really? T-That's great!" Jacob said with relief. "But how did that happen?"

"You think the light from the statue did that?" Daphne guessed.

"It is a bit sudden…" Velma theorized. "But I still doubt that there's concrete evidence that–" Suddenly, the trio heard Shaggy and Scooby screaming for the hills not too far away.

"Shaggy!" Daphne shouted.

"Scooby!" Velma yelled out.

"It sounds like it came from the woods. Come on!" Jacob insisted. He, Daphne and Velma rushed outside of the cave. A few minutes of searching later, they found Scooby and Shaggy, along with Beau, the Gardener. And at the same time, Fred arrived with Simone and Lena, them being the first to arrive.

"What happened, you guys?" Jacob asked.

"We could hear you screaming from the other side of the woods." Velma said.

"Oh, it's you guys." Shaggy said with relief. "Like, it was horrible. That pirate Moonscar was like nothing but bones!"

"Bones?" Jacob asked, afraid of what happened. That light show that struck Daphne and Velma was starting to sound like more than just that. Scooby, meanwhile, was doing a near-perfect emulation of a zombie impersonation, slowly walking towards Velma.

"And then, and then, he got worse! Like a zombie!" Shaggy finished.

"Oh, no…" Jacob said to himself. "Where did all this happen, you guys?" Shaggy and Scooby pointed to the deep side of the woods, where everyone investigated it. When they got there, however, what they found was an empty grave site. It looked like it had been dug up by someone. Fred looked deep into it for anything, but there wasn't a clue.

"Well, there's nothing here now." Fred said.

"Did you guys find it like this when you fell in?" Jacob asked.

"Like, yeah! It was worse than being buried alive!" Shaggy nodded.

"Yeah! Buried alive!" Scooby added for emphasis.

"And you're sure you saw a zombie?" Jacob asked once more.

"Like, we know a zombie when we see one." Shaggy stated seriously.

"Yeah. Zombie." Scooby spoke.

"And then we ran into him." Shaggy pointed to Beau, who leaned against the tree with a displeased look. "Beau…" Jacob began, worried about what he saw. "Can you tell us what you were doing when they ran into you?"

Beau grumbled to himself with a grouchy demeanor before he answered, "Oh, this is too much… My job. I was doing some planting, I got thirsty, went to get a drink, and came back to find these two."

"Geez, grouchy much?" Jacob asked. "I know it wasn't ideal for them to bump into you, but it was an accident." On the subject of Beau's job, Velma became suspicious as she eyed the dug-up grave site. But on account of her newfound vision, Velma began to notice something else, too.

"Hold on…" Velma said. She got close to the grave site and went down on her knees. Fred became puzzled when he saw the lack of her glasses thereof. They were now hanging by the collar of her shirt with one of the handles attached to it to keep it from falling.

"Velma, what about your glasses?" Fred asked.

"Actually, Fred, I won't be needing them today." Velma said, greatly puzzling him. He looked up at Daphne and Jacob, both just as much in the dark as he was. When Velma looked at the grave site, she looked at the small crevice where the zombie was said to come out. To Velma's surprise, she could see the same residue from the light that struck her and Daphne.

"Oh… the guys weren't kidding." Velma said. "Guys, did you happen to see anything out of the ordinary before then?"

"Like, yeah!" Shaggy adamantly answered. "There was a spooky green glow around him!"

"Hold on. Spooky green glow?" Jacob asked. This confirmed it. The statue must've triggered this when Velma was looking at it.

"Like the same glow me and Velma were struck with." Daphne added.

"Green glow?" Fred asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive, Fred. We don't know how it happened, but someone clearly doesn't want us on the island." Velma confirmed.

"Like, all the more reason we need to get going, pronto!" Shaggy insisted.

"Get going? No way!" Daphne said. "This place gets more interesting by the minute."

"You're still saying that after what happened?" Jacob asked with concern. And yet, he couldn't help but be drawn to it. "I don't know whether to be worried or impressed."

"Either way, it is getting close to sunset." Simone interjected. "And the ferry doesn't run at night."

"Like, we do." Shaggy spoke, more than ready to hoof it out of the island.

"Hold on, guys." Jacob said. "Simone's right. The ferry's already on the other side of the river by now. And even if you swim to the other side, you'd get eaten by alligators."

"Like, I'd rather take my chances with them than on the zombies!" Shaggy shouted.

"Really?" Jacob raised his eyebrow. Shaggy rethought his stance and began to see the point. Zombies were slow-moving while the alligators were swift, and they could tear into their flesh in seconds faster than they'd eat the biggest sandwich.

"Okay, good point. But what are we supposed to do?" Shaggy asked.

"We have plenty of rooms." Simone offered. "You could stay for the night."

"Really?" Daphne asked, once again feeling grateful for the hospitality Simone gave them.

"Oh, I couldn't let you leave without offering some of our famous southern hospitality. That is, if Jacob and Lena don't mind some extra guests." Simone replied. Jacob felt his heart skip a beat when Simone addressed him.

"R-Really?" Jacob asked. "Y-Yeah, of course we wouldn't mind!" Jacob said, a little too excitedly as a big blush came on his face.

"Oh, sure thing, Ms. Lenoir. I'll start dinner." Lena offered. That part got Shaggy and Scooby interested right away.

"Dinner?" Scooby asked.

"Like, why didn't you say so?" Shaggy asked with a shrug. He was right on one thing: food always keeps them occupied.

---

Twenty minutes later, Lena was showing Scooby and Shaggy their room. It had a firm bed with a nightstand on each side of it, along with a window and a full-sized mirror. There was also a chest at the foot of the bed. Jacob was carrying Daphne's handbag for her at the time.

"And this is your room. I hope you'll both be comfortable." Lena said.

"Thanks, Lena." Shaggy said as he walked into the room with Scooby. "Like, what time's dinner?" Lena chuckled at his question warmly. "Well, I have never met a pair who ate so much."

"Like, being in a state of constant terror makes us constantly hungry." Shaggy explained.

"Yeah, ronstantly." Scooby concurred.

"That actually explains a lot." Jacob said aloud. Lena walked out of their room to show Fred, Daphne, and Velma their rooms.

"Your room is this way, Fred." Lena told him, gesturing her hand down the hall. The group followed her to Fred's room, where she opened the window curtain, letting in the beautiful sunset. It had a dresser at the end of the room near the foot of the mattress, as well as a small nightstand with a lamp on it.

"You'll have a beautiful view of the Harvest Moon tonight. I hope you'll be comfortable here." Lena said warmly.

"U-Uh… thanks, Lena. I-I'm sure I will." Fred said as she walked out.

"And this is your room, Ms. Blake." Lena said, opening the door to her room. But when she and Jacob walked in, Jacob began to realize something. It was the room he slept in!

"Hey, wait a minute, Lena…" Jacob began, but when he turned around, Lena was gone! A massive blush came over his face when he realized what she was trying to do.

"Lena…!" Jacob muttered under his breath.

"Thanks, Ms…" Daphne said, only to find out for herself that Lena was gone, save for the flustered Jacob.

"Uh… about that… looks like we're sharing the room tonight, Daphne." Jacob said with a bashful expression.

"Oh. That's sweet…" Daphne responded, blushing just as badly as he was. Just then, they heard a faint mewling. It was from Mittens, who slept all snug in Jacob's bed.

---

"And this will be your room, Ms. Dinkley." Lena said. "I hope you'll be comfortable here." While Daphne and Jacob were getting used to each other's company, fawning over Mittens, Lena was showing Velma her own room. She walked inside and sat down on the mattress.

"Thanks, Lena." Velma said with a smile.

"Of course. If there's anything else I can do for you, just let me know." Lena said. But before she could walk out, Velma had one thing to ask. She'd had food for thought since the incident with the statue that restored her sight.

"Actually, there is one thing I'd like to ask." Velma said.

"Really? What's that?" She asked.

"Jacob told us about the settlers who used to live here before Moonscar came here. I'm wondering if Simone's library had anything for them here, too." Velma answered. Lena was intrigued by her request.

"Oh, naturally." Lena nodded. "I can show you, but we'll have to hurry. Ms. Lenoir needs me to make dinner." Lena walked out of the room and went downstairs with Velma following her. All the while, Velma had an air of caution about her. After a moment of walking, they were back at the library. Lena was pickling a book off a shelf and showing it to Velma.

"You can take this to your room and study it from there," Lena suggested. "It is pretty long. You might not finish it before dinnertime."

"Oh, thanks for the concern, Lena." Velma replied. "But I'll be fine studying here. Knowing Daphne, it's probably gonna be loud sooner or later. It's nice to have some peace and quiet for a while."

"Fair enough." Lena said. "See you at dinner." Lena walked out of the library with a soft grin and a hum to herself. Velma was puzzled for a moment before she opened the pages and read into it.

"Alright. Let's get a good look at some mysterious history…" Velma said to herself.

---

Meanwhile, Daphne became curious about Mittens as she brushed her fur gently.

"How long have you had her, Jacob?" Daphne asked, taking a fascination with the sweet little kitten.

"Almost two months." He replied, smiling at his little kitten. "She grew up on the island, but she never learned to hate dogs like the other cats did."

"That's sweet." Daphne complimented. Jacob held his hands out to her, and she understood it was so he could hold Mittens. He brought her to his dresser and pulled open the drawer. A little makeshift bed was made in that drawer with a small blanket and a pillow. He gently put Mittens in the drawer and gently closed it to let Mittens sleep in peace.

"Again, I can't thank you enough for inviting us to your haunted house." Daphne said with a soft smile.

"You seem really excited about those lately. When we were growing up, you used to be more worried about your clothes than ghosts." Jacob quipped. Daphne laughed gently from that memory. Not the fondest, but looking back, she realized how silly she was.

"Yeah. Really silly, isn't it?" Daphne spoke more gently than before. She was staring out into the sunset. It appeared as though she was reminiscing on the good old days she had with Jacob. She thought back on how close they've been when they were near each other.

He was far from the most popular boy in school, but being with her actually made him feel happy to be alive. And she felt the same way. But being gone from his life since middle school, she had no idea what he'd done with his life in High School since then. If only she was there with him…

"You know, I really missed you," Daphne said, "when we went to different High Schools."

"You have?" Jacob asked. "I didn't think that you'd remember me."

"I do. But I didn't think I'd see you in Louisiana, settling down with Simone and Lena." Daphne replied. "I'd like to know what you've been up to since we left." Jacob was blushing up a storm. He had no idea where to begin. "Really? Well, uh…" Before he could say a word, Daphne leaned close to him, her face smiling at him with a lustful look of desire.

"But I can wait a little longer for that mystery~" Daphne seductively said.

"Y-You sure?" Jacob asked, noticing how close her lips were to his. He also noticed how she was unbuttoning her purple jacket to show off her green top.

"The truth is… I love you, Jacob." Daphne said. "And whatever I'm feeling right now, I just want to spend the night with you. If you're okay with it…" Jacob's heart grew three times that very instant. If it could, it'd bounce right out of his chest!

"W-What about Fred?" Jacob asked with worry. As much as he wanted to, he didn't want to get in the way of any relationship.

"We weren't dating. But I'm sure he only wants me to be happy with a guy I can trust." Daphne stated. That might be why Velma went along with them to begin with. "And after today, you've definitely earned this~" Suddenly, Daphne leaned close to Jacob's mouth and kissed it!

The reporter's mouth moaned deeply into Jacob's, making him so flustered, he grunted in surprise. But he couldn't hold himself back. He welcomed the kiss and hummed along with her. As if moving on its own, Jacob's hand trailed along her waist to her thighs, resting firmly against one of her posterior's cheeks. Daphne felt his hand and moaned louder before she pulled her mouth off of him.

"Hmm~ You're bold tonight, aren't you~?" Daphne chuckled.

"You don't mind that, do you?" Jacob asked.

"If it were anyone else, Jacob, yeah. But from you? I'd love to see what you got~" Daphne flirted with a faint yellow glow in her eyes. She leaned close to Jacob and planted a hard kiss on his lips, which he returned, along with the same glow on his eyes. They got closer to each other, groaning in unison until they parted their lips in the span of a minute. At that point, Daphne felt a strange feeling. It wasn't like anything she'd felt before. Was it what love, genuine love, felt like? No. It ran deeper… Jacob saw the confusion on her countenance; he had a gut feeling as to what it was, but he had to be sure.

"Something wrong, Daph?" Jacob asked.

"I… don't know." She answered, utterly stumped about it. "I can't explain why, but I have this feeling."

"Feeling?" repeated Jacob.

"Yeah. It's about that room. The one with the statue… I don't know why, but… I feel like…" Daphne continued, not entirely sure where it came from.

"That you should go back to it?" Jacob guessed. Daphne gasped quietly. How did he guess that?

"Yeah." she nodded. "How did you know?"

"I know the feeling." Jacob answered. "For a long time, actually." Daphne was getting more and more astonished. How much did he actually go through? He sat up from the bed and looked her in the face. "Let's check on Velma and see if she's getting that feeling, too. Is that alright with you?" Daphne answered with a nod.

---

Back at the library, Velma was digging up quite a find on the Cat God and his followers. The statue that was in the room Jacob showed her must have been thousands of years old. And more to the point, the followers themselves were said to prepare a harvest for their god every Harvest Moon. And coincidentally, Lena mentioned the Harvest Moon not too long ago when they were being shown their rooms. How would she have known about them, she wondered. But the bigger mystery is, what did they have to do with the hauntings taking place?

"Hmm… Nothing about this is making sense." Velma said to herself. "Those rituals to the Cat God. They didn't mention anything about the voodoo magic at all. But the shrine we saw in the room… There was an altar dedicated to it. And that moondial. It looked like a clock for something. But what kind of ceremony would need that? Not to mention, not a single thing about ghosts. Don't know why I thought it would–" Before she could continue further, Velma felt a strange feeling in the back of her mind.

She glanced out the window far away and walked closer towards it. When she looked out, the sun was beginning to set down. Where she looked was in the direction of where Jacob took her and Daphne earlier that day. "Whatever the answer is, I think I'll find it if I went back to that statue. Something there made me able to see clearly. And I'm going to get to the bottom of what."

"So we're not the only ones, then, huh?" Jacob spoke up behind her, making her turn around with surprise. She hadn't expected them downstairs so quickly.

"Jacob, Daphne, I know this is weird, but–!" Velma began.

"I know. We're going to check out that room again, too." Daphne said.

"We were just going to bring you along, actually." Jacob added.

"...Oh. Great minds think alike, I suppose." Velma said with a shrug. But even so, she still had her doubts. "But I still don't believe this would be a supernatural cause."

Velma walked ahead in front of them, heading out of the library. But Jacob had a look that showed he knew better than to discard that possibility.

"Not yet…" Jacob said to himself.

---

After a few minutes, the trio had found their way back to the cellar of the Cat God. Out of the three of them, Jacob seemed the most anxious. Velma, ever the skeptic, was taking another look at the Cat God statue that zapped her and Daphne. She and Jacob were cautious after Velma's earlier attempt to examine it.

"Velma, are you sure that's a good idea?" Jacob asked.

"I admit, I should've been more careful, but there has to be more to this place than supernatural rituals." Velma insisted. "There has to be a rational explanation for why those ghosts wanted us off the island. Or as I call it, guys in masks."

"Velma…" Jacob began, trying not to get too worked up on her theory. "Suppose you're right, and they're not ghosts. What explanation do you have for that statue that blasted you and Daphne?"

"It could've been special effects." Velma quickly guessed.

"Set up by who?" Jacob continued. "Those guys in masks? What for?"

"I've got a lot of theories." Velma answered almost proudly. "They could be after Morgan Moonscar's treasure, or covering up a smuggling operation, or dare I say it, there may be oil under the island!"

"Oil?! That's your theory?!" Jacob asked, seemingly flabbergasted by her theory. Daphne saw how worked up he was getting. Irritated as she herself was with those rational explanations, she wasn't that upset.

"Really, Velma. For once, can't you accept that maybe there are some mysteries that have no rational explanation?" Daphne crossed her arms with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"But I'm onto something here, Daphne…!" Velma said with a small gripe. The tone she spoke with, however, belied a crumbling sanity. "Something's been driving me nuts since that statue went off. For almost no explanation, my eyes started working, and I started to see things I've never been able to. There has to be something there that would explain it. There has to be!"

Neither of them had seen Velma that worked up before. She seemed scared. And the lack of a "rational" explanation thereof was eating away at her sanity. Jacob took a deep breath and spoke up to the girls. He wasn't going to let poor Velma suffer like that. Sooner or later, she needed to adjust her reality and accept this new truth.

"Guys…" Jacob began. "I know why Velma's eyes are working again. And I know why you've had this feeling to come back." That reminded Daphne of what he said earlier.

"Oh, right. You said you felt that feeling before. Is that why you spent a year with Simone and Lena?" Daphne asked.

"Sort of…" Jacob said. "But listen. There's a whole lot more to this. Have you guys heard of the Cat God's curse?"

"The Cat God's curse?" They asked simultaneously.

"Yeah." He nodded. "It wasn't exactly written in the books, but… it would be easier to show you first."

"Show us what?" Daphne asked. Jacob started taking off his jacket and his shirt, much to the bashfulness of Daphne and the confusion of Velma.

"Oh, Jeepers…!" Daphne said, staring at the well-toned six-pack abs he hid underneath his shirt.

"That's not it, Daph." Jacob said. "It's just to show you there's nothing under my sleeve. Watch." Jacob held his arm out and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he began to growl, his arm growing claws in place of fingernails and a small patch of brown fur on his skin. On top of that, his head also grew two pale cat ears on his head. And the next time he opened his eyes, they were just like a cat's, and he had sharp teeth to boot. Daphne and Velma were utterly aghast over this newfound revelation.

"Jinkies!" Velma shouted.

"Jeepers!" Daphne yelled next.

"Yeah. That." Jacob said. "It's the Curse of the Cat God himself. And I know that because what happened to you guys today? It happened to me, too."

---

1 Year Earlier

Jacob, Brad, and Judy were looking at the cave entrance Jacob showed Daphne and Velma earlier. Jacob was understandably the most timid, if not the most cautious, of the group. It was practically spelling out death for him back then.

"About a year ago, I came with a couple of people from my High School, Brad and Judy." Jacob explained. "They usually dragged me into stuff that got me into trouble, whether I looked for them or not… And their dares didn't help. Not one bit."

"Are you sure we should be doing this, Brad?" Jacob asked with caution. "It looks creepy."

"This is a simple dare, Jacob." Brad said. "Just walk in, look around, and head back out."

"See? Simple." Judy added. She always did take his side.

"And if I die before I even walk out alive?" Jacob asked with a glare of suspicion.

"You're not gonna die." Brad said, shaking off his friend's concerns. "You'll be fine, I promise." But Jacob only rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…" He muttered. "I'm only doing this so I don't have to put up with you two ever again…" Jacob walked down to the cave, against his better judgment. He took a look in the cave, and he traveled down in it. Once he got inside, he was admittedly stunned to see the altar. He'd never imagined that he'd see anything like this at all.

"I took a lot of Brad's dares back in the day." Jacob said. "For a few months, I thought they were helping me be brave. But that luck ran out, and I ended up getting in deeper trouble instead. The more of them I did, the more trouble I got into, and the more doubts I started having about them actually caring about me. But this one? It definitely took the cake."

Jacob glanced over at the moondial and the statue underneath the skylight and got closer. He was a bit petrified of the statue at first, but as he got used to the sight of it in the moonlight, Jacob didn't feel so scared anymore.

"Whoa… it's a little scary, but… kinda cool at the same time." Jacob said. "If I were a cat-person… thing like you, I'll bet Brad and Judy wouldn't walk over me so much anymore."

But poor Jacob had no idea back then what such a wish would do. The statue's eyes started to glow green, and fixed its gaze on him. And just like Daphne and Velma, he was blasted with that same green glow they were. He fell on his back as the surge of green light shot up into the air through the skylight.

Outside, Brad and Judy saw the green glow shoot out of the skylight and heard Jacob's blunt, pained screams. They gasped with terror when they saw the glow and ran off to get away from the worst-case scenario.

"Come to think of it… I think that was the last time I've ever seen them." Jacob said.

"So those two just ditched you?" Daphne asked.

"Some friends they turned out to be." Velma crossed her arms.

"Trust me, Velma. That's hardly the bad part." Jacob said. "That's when the curse kicked in."

In the cave, Jacob groaned in pain as he laid on the ground in a fetal position, clutching onto his head. His pale ears grew out and so did the brown fur on his arms and legs. It tore out most of his clothes as he grew claws, and his feet turned into hind legs. And his shadow was depicting the transformation of a monster as he roared at the skylight with pain.

---

1 Year Later

"If it hadn't been for that dare of his, maybe I wouldn't have been cursed." Jacob finished. Daphne and Velma were stunned to have heard his story. Daphne was more empathetic towards him, having been away from him for as long as she had. "Jacob…" she said with sorrow. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not really your fault, Daphne." He shook his head. "It couldn't be helped to begin with." Velma, on the other hand, was struck with a realization that his story gave clarity of.

"So, everything you told us, it's true?" Velma asked with a quiver in her voice.

"Yeah." Jacob answered.

"Werewolves, vampires, demons?!" Velma asked further.

"And Cat People." Jacob nodded. "Well, maybe not all of them are real, but… well, I think you get the picture by now." Indeed, she did. In fact, she may have gotten a rude awakening.

"I thought I was blind without my glasses, but I was just blind…" Velma said with dejection. "How could I be so stupid?! The answer was in front of me the whole time!" Jacob went close to Velma and set his hand upon her shoulder to help her get a grip.

"Velma, it's okay to be skeptical." Jacob assured Velma. "I didn't believe in them either until a year ago, if it helps."

"...A little." Velma said. But Daphne was just as unnerved as Velma was.

"If what you're saying is true, then… that means me and Velma are cursed, too." Daphne realized.

"Yeah. But I can…" Jacob began, only for Daphne to start freaking out.

"And if that's real, that means the ghosts are, too!" She said in panic. "And if there are ghosts, that means there's an afterlife! Heaven, Hell! Am I going to Hell?!"

"Daphne!" Jacob shouted, trying to get her attention. Daphne looked back at Jacob, seeing a dead serious look on her face. His hands were grasped on hers to help her process it all. "Calm down. Please." Daphne stared into his eyes and took a deep breath. "Right. Sorry, Jacob. It's just… this is way more haunted stuff than I really wanted."

"I know." Jacob said. "And I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I didn't mean to get you both cursed like this at all." Jacob showed remorse over how things happened the way they have, but Velma knew he wasn't entirely at fault.

"Well, it wasn't like you deliberately told us to look at the statue." Velma said with a sigh. "And besides, even if you did tell us about it, I still wouldn't have believed." It was somewhat reassuring to hear it from Velma. She always was the most logical.

"And you, Daphne?" He asked. Jacob was worried about how she'd see him now that the secret's out… and especially now that she's sharing it with him. But Daphne could tell that Jacob was sorry about how things had gotten to that point when they did. Looking at him, she felt more than certain that they would've left the room if Velma hadn't stuck long enough to look at the statue, not that she could be blamed for it, either.

"Well… it may be less than ideal for us to be cursed, but you seem to have a good handle on it compared to me and Velma." Daphne said. "If you can help us through that…"

"I plan to." Jacob affirmed to her with a nod.

"Then it's okay." Daphne finished with a soft smile. "And I meant what I said. We'll still help with this mystery, and I still love you." Jacob blushed bashfully from her words.

"Even… as a Cat Person?" Jacob asked.

"Even as a Cat Person." Daphne answered lovingly. Jacob and Daphne smiled lovingly to each other, and before they realized, they kissed each other on the lips lovingly. As they kissed, Velma began to blush redder than a tomato. After a few seconds, they stopped the kiss and noticed a big blush on Velma's face.

"You okay, Velma?" Daphne asked.

"We can stop if you need us to." Jacob said, hoping he wasn't stoking any jealousy in Velma.

"Oh, no, it's fine." Velma said. "But I am wondering… Can I join you guys?" Daphne and Jacob were not expecting to hear that from the normally level-headed member of Mystery Incorporated.

"R-Really?" Jacob and Daphne asked in unison.

"Yes, really." Velma answered with a nod. "And before you say anything–"

"It's fine, Velma." Daphne interjected.

"Huh?" Velma paused, stumped by her reply.

"I've been wanting to catch up with you since we got back together." Daphne said. "The least I can do is compromise. If that's okay with Jacob, that is." Jacob glanced between the two girls. It occurred to him that he didn't precisely know who Velma was, either, at least not enough of her. And the last thing he wanted was to get in the way of their friendship. All he wanted was to be closer to Daphne. If that was what it took, so be it.

"As long as we can all get along, I don't think I'd mind at all, Daphne." Jacob said with a smile.

"Great." Daphne beamed. "Then it's settled." With that, Daphne held her hand out towards Velma, who eagerly accepted. And the trio were hugging each other close, just as the sun had fully set down on the horizon, the orange sky fading into the black of night.

---

LEMON BEGIN

After a moment of silent hugs, Daphne and Velma hummed sweetly and pressed themselves closer to Jacob. At the same time, he was placing his hands on their backs to keep them as close as they were. Driven by this instinct, Daphne, Velma, and Jacob opened their mouths and kissed in the open air. Their tongues mixed and mingled as if they were trying to tie them up together. Thankfully, the science was impossible on that matter, or it would've been very awkward to say the least.

Jacob and the girls moaned and mewled together as his hands trailed down smoothly from their backs and to the bottoms of their skirts. He'd kept in mind that he still had long fingernails, so he tried a more delicate approach. After parting their panties from their lower lips, he gently rubbed them, keeping the nails from scratching them.

Daphne and Velma moaned louder like animals in heat, quick to welcome his touches that stirred up their loins. Velma was especially new to this sensation, so it was easy for her to ride it out. His teasing was doing the trick for her, at least for the time being. As for Daphne, she was slowly moving her haunches to and from Jacob in an attempt to amplify the pleasure that coursed through her body. But as good as it felt, it still wasn't enough. They craved more…

To that end, Daphne and Velma moved their hands closer to Jacob's pants and pulled them down smoothly, along with his underwear. Once it was pulled all the way down, Jacob's lengthy 8-inch meat rod stretched forth, albeit hairy in the pubic area. The girls broke the kiss and eyed the organ with interest as they took their breath.

"Jeepers…" Daphne breathed out.

"Jinkies…" Velma said in conjunction with her friend. A big blush appeared all over her face. She had no words to express how she felt, mainly because she had no idea what to feel. Daphne, on the other hand, seemed especially thirsty for it. She licked her lips, salivating over the girth and knelt down.

"Look at this, Velma~" Daphne chuckled lustfully. "It's so long and hard~" She cradled Jacob's cock in one of her hands, holding it up in a way she could close her hand on it and pump him. Jacob felt her tapping fingers and shivered.

"D-Daphne…" Jacob moaned.

"Aw~ What's the matter, Jacob~? Is this making you hard~?" She teased, making certain that he felt every tap of her fingers on his skin near the mushroom tip. Velma was getting just as stirred up from seeing his sensitive prick in Daphne's grasp. She stared at its pulsating, twitching mass with a blend of desiree and anxiety. Daphne saw the look for herself and became curious, albeit a little concerned. "What's wrong, Velma?" Daphne asked.

"N-Nothing!" Velma answered, snapping out of her temporary stupor. "I-I just haven't seen anything that big in my life, with or without glasses!"

"That's what makes it so exciting, Velma." Daphne assured her. "Besides, you did want to join us." Daphne reminded. "Or was that just a knee-jerk reaction?" Velma got down on her knees and affirmed her decision. "Of course not!" Velma declared. "I meant every word."

"It's okay, Velma." Daphne said, holding her other hand up to signal her to calm down. "We just need to lube it up first. You know how to do that, right?"

"Well… one way." Velma admitted. "But I happen to know a few other tricks myself~"

"Like what?" Jacob asked, genuinely curious about what she had in store. To demonstrate, Velma simply took off her shirt and skirt, casting both aside to the floor. Her Double-C bust wobbled the very instant she was fully undressed. Jacob's eyes went buggy with lust, and the red on his cheeks became more prominent. Daphne, on the other hand, was already liking where it was going.

"I see what you're getting at, Velma~" Daphne smirked, following suit in her undressing, discarding her purple jacket before taking off her green top. Both of the girls were now completely in the nude. "For something this big, it'll take two to tango, right?"

"Something like that~" Velma said with a smirk. With that, the girls put their lips on the base of his hard wood and licked at it with deep moans. During which, they cupped their hooters in their hands and swirled their nipples against each other. The motion stirred up the women even more than before. Likewise, Jacob was in a state of bliss, feeling his pecker being pecked with sloppy kisses. Before he knew it, he ended up moving his waist on his own.

In doing so, Jacob's wood was slipping through Daphne and Velma's tongues, as if they were cleaning him. Muffled or otherwise, the trio groaned together in ecstasy.

Velma had to admit, for her first time, his cock tasted magnificent. And it made her curious as to what treasures his nutsack would yield to her. "So this is how his dick tastes." Velma lewdly thought to herself. "It's so good… so good, I wanna taste his cum~"

Daphne was continuously stirred by Velma's erect nipples rubbing against hers, along with the taste of Jacob's dick in her mouth. It wasn't a mushroom tip, but it's making her crave it all the more. "M-My mind… is going blank…" Daphne thought. "I can't stop thinking about his dick…~ I want to drink his cum so much…~"

Eventually, the girls stopped their suckling and caught their breaths, puzzling Jacob.

"Huh? What's wrong?" He asked, a little sad that they stopped the massage of their mouths.

"Oh, nothing." Daphne answered. "We're just taking a different approach~"

A short moment later, Daphne was on top of Jacob, her rear end planted firmly on his face. Not that it bothered him; he was gorging himself on her donut-shaped hole, sliding his tongue into it. In conjunction, Daphne was licking all over the mushroom tip with Velma, who laid herself down on the ground to join her. They even kissed each other on the lips, swirling their tongues all over the tip. At the same time, they fondled the base with their tits to prompt him into a release.

"Jinkies… this feels so great… I never thought I'd think that way, but… maybe I don't need to think so much after all~" Velma easily melted in Daphne's kiss. She'd forgotten all about the mystery, about the bad guys in masks, about the curse. She couldn't find anything to describe this feeling other than… freedom.

"This is the best feeling I've ever had. Jacob… Velma… I don't want that feeling to ever go away… I want to stay with you… forever…~" Daphne hummed lustfully, feeling her anal walls being penetrated by Jacob's tongue. Speaking of whom, he was moaning deep into Daphne's ass, enjoying the taste she had to offer him.

"I didn't think you'd want me this badly, Daphne." Jacob thought. "But I'm really glad tonight. Glad that I could share this night with you. I want you to stay with me, forever~" Jacob moaned louder and louder into her glutes as his balls began to clench and unclench themselves. He was about ready for his climax. But he didn't have enough will to let her know. He kept duckling on her bottom until finally, his prick secreted his seed into Daphne and Velma's mouths!

The girls moaned as they tasted his white spunk in-between their lips and gulped them down with gusto. All the while, Jacob breathed in the musk from Daphne's posterior, moaning sweetly into her as he rode out the waves of pleasure. After a few minutes of ejaculation, Daphne and Velma parted their lips and released his mushroom tip. They both had trails of cum hanging on their tongues as they panted for air. That's when something unexpected happened.

Daphne and Velma closed their eyes and smiled with open mouths as they themselves began to change. Their heads ended up growing two pale cat ears within their hair and stuck out like sore thumbs. And their eyes had changed to those of a cat's, slit pupil and all. They also grew fangs in their mouths, and their noses seemed to scrunch upwards as a result of the change. Jacob gasped with awe when he saw the change where he laid.

"Daphne…!" Jacob gasped with awe. "Your ears." Jacob pointed at the cat ears above her head, which Daphne took notice of. She tapped her hands upon her cat ears with caution.

"Jeepers." Daphne said in astonishment. "The curse must be kicking in now." Glancing down towards Jacob, Daphne began to wonder what he thought of her. She moved her haunches off of him and turned herself around to lean close to him, planting her boobs upon his chest.

"So, how do I look?" Daphne flirted.

"Like a Cat Goddess~" Jacob answered with a gentle smile.

"Aw, you're so sweet~" Daphne said. "But you know, Velma's not so bad, either~" She gestured to Velma, who laid down on the ground and moaned with delight, stroking herself with her finger. Jacob sat up to see her shameless look for himself.

"Looks like she's having a lot of fun to herself. Wanna help a couple of girls out~?" Daphne offered. Jacob smirked back at her with renewed vigor and desire. "I think I know how to help a couple of ladies like you~"

The next thing Daphne knew, she was feasting on Velma's pink lips like a voracious animal while also being pounded in her own clit by another voracious animal: Jacob. Daphne agreed to a doggy style that could let her suck on Velma's pussy while her own was being pumped into. As a result, their minds had dwindled further and further into the escapes of pleasure.

There was no need to think about how they're feeling. What they had was the warmth of their bodies. And for now, that was good enough for them. It's become what they'd cherish for the length of their lives. The trio moaned at the top of their lungs, as if possessed by some rather dirty and hungry spirits. Daphne's breasts bounced to and fro, smacking against themselves at the cleft of her chest while she desperately tried to taste Velma's juices.

Velma wrapped her legs around Daphne's head to keep her there and have her go deeper. The smell of her pussy was so intoxicating to Daphne, her mind went blank on nothing but her clit. And Jacob's thrusts added another layer of depravity that she'd come to enjoy. He was being rough with her, but thanks to the curse, it'd become something she craved more than almost anything. But the fun wasn't going to end just yet.

As his mind succumbed to his desire to breed, Jacob's grunts turned into growls of satisfaction. His skin grew brown fur that coated his entire body, and he grew a long tail that dangled behind him. When he fully transformed, it was as if he'd become a catlike hulk of a man. He let out a sharp yowl to signify the completion. But he wasn't the only one that changed.

Daphne could feel his organ shifting inside her body, becoming something else entirely, something addictive. And it made her crave more. She popped her mouth out of Velma's tuna to moan, only to come out as groans and yowls of ecstasy as her own body grew brown fur all over her, along with Velma's.

On the wall, the shadow of their bodies transformed and shifted into the same catlike being Jacob was now. With their transformation complete, the new Cat Creatures of the island howled to the skylight, where outside, the Harvest Moon rose into view. It seemed as though that they've embraced this new destiny of theirs, to become the new Werecats of Moonscar Island. But how will it play out? Only time will tell… in a few hours.

LEMON END

---

A/N: And that was part 1. You can expect part two to come in the next month, just in time for Halloween. See you soon... ;)