Chapter Fifteen

2019

Daphne, Fred, Velma, and Shaggy had all finished their university degrees and had one thing in common. Finding work was proving to be impossible. None of them could understand why employment was elusive. They had all graduated at the top of their class. There was nothing they couldn't accomplish in university. It was a dream come true. But the real world proved to be a nightmare.

No matter how hard they tried, unemployment was their only destiny. But Fred had an idea to help them, and their only option was to return to Coolsville. None of them could afford a house, so they had to move back in with their parents, but not Daphne. She moved back in with Velma's parents, and they all decided to meet for dinner to see if they could attract any attention from anyone eating there the night they did. They met at the Malt Shop that night for old time's sake. Daphne sat next to Fred, and Velma sat next to Shaggy. Scooby-Doo was stuck in his usual spot outside.

"We all know why we're here, and I'm wondering if any of you have any ideas on how we can help each other out?" Fred asked.

"I think we only have one option," Velma said. "We become Mystery Inc. again,"

"Like yeah!" Shaggy said enthusiastically. "I miss the old days, and I know Scooby does too!"

Fred was happy to see that most of them were pleased, but Daphne was the one person who hadn't said anything. It wasn't like her to be so quiet, which worried Fred.

"Daphne," Fred said. "How do you feel about the idea?"

Daphne looked at Fred and the others wide-eyed as she didn't know what to think.

"I, I don't know," Daphne said honestly. "What we did was so long ago, and I don't know if I can do it again,"

"What do you mean you don't know if you can do it again?" Velma asked, confused. "I thought you loved what we did,"

Daphne loved what they did, but there was one problem. The afternoon Daphne and Fred had when they were alone in the shower and how much danger they were in. Returning to Coolsville made Daphne feel very nervous because of the Warden and the sick game he enjoyed playing with her. She knew she couldn't discuss it with the others and had to think of a lie fast.

"I did, but we were kids back then," Daphne said. "I don't know if I can go back to being a kid again,"

Fred reached over and held Daphne's right hand. Daphne loved how that felt as it was comforting but not comforting enough.

"Daphne, I know we were kids back then, but we made good money," Fred said. "Until we find jobs, I don't think we have any other options,"

"So, we ask the Mayor if we can get our jobs back?" Daphne asked, trying not to sound cynical. "That's the big plan? What if he says no?"

Fred frowned a little as he couldn't understand why Daphne was so against the idea.

"If the Mayor says no, then we'll have to keep looking for jobs," Fred said. "But if he says yes, then wouldn't it be good to be financially secure for a while?"

Daphne didn't say anything at first as she thought about their situation and came to the following secret conclusion. If she didn't join Mystery Inc. again, she would be alone and in danger from the Warden. So, she decided to take Fred's suggestion seriously.

"Okay, I'll do it," Daphne said. "I'm sorry for being a pain. It's just that being back in Coolsville has been a little overwhelming,"

Fred knew Daphne was thinking of their son, and he thought about him too. But Daphne had decided to help bring Mystery Inc. back to life; the others couldn't have been happier. What they didn't know was that it was the Warden who had prevented them from obtaining careers through his connections. The Warden wanted Daphne back in town through any means necessary.

XXXXX

When Fred made the appointment to see the Mayor, he couldn't have been more nervous about it. It had felt like a lifetime ago, but when the Receptionist knew who Fred was and the memories of Mystery Inc., the Receptionist was very accommodating. Daphne, Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo were in the Mayor's office three days later. The Mayor was especially pleased to see Scooby-Doo again.

"It's really great to see you all back in Coolsville but to be honest, I'm a little confused," the Mayor said. "When you all left for university, I thought this town would never see Mystery Inc. again. What happened?"

The four of them looked very uncomfortable, and they didn't want to lie to the Mayor.

"We've all had a lot of difficulties getting jobs," Fred said.

"None of us can understand why," Daphne said, lying a little.

"So, if it's okay with you, we thought we'd bring Mystery Inc. back again and see if the town of Coolsville would need our help," Velma said.

"Like, Scooby Snacks ain't cheap, man," Shaggy added without thinking.

The Mayor smiled at Shaggy's remark while the others looked embarrassed.

"Shaggy!" Daphne, Fred and Velma said disapprovingly in unison.

The Mayor couldn't help but laugh as he loved moments like this.

"It's okay, and you better believe Coolsville needs Mystery Inc. back!" the Mayor said enthusiastically when he was done laughing. "In fact, there are more cases than we know what to do with. So, if you're all free, can you start tonight?"

"Yes!" Daphne, Fred, Velma and Shaggy said in unison.

The Mayor smiled happily as it was great to have Mystery Inc. back in town.

XXXXX

It didn't take Mystery Inc. long to get the necessary information about the haunted house in the uptown area that day. Velma could access the blueprints so they could study the house's layout. Daphne, Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo were in the Mystery Machine in their usual seats as they prepared themselves for what was inside. They all had their tasers and flashlights ready, and Daphne was happy to have her camera. Fred parked the Mystery Machine down the street, and they waited for the Sun to go down. Daphne was nervous, but Fred could see it.

"Daphne," Fred said. "Are you okay?"

Daphne looked at Fred quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "I just wish we could get inside already,"

"There's only a minute or two left until sunset," Fred replied. "Don't worry,"

A minute or two went by quickly. They all decided walking to the house was the best option to not draw attention to themselves. They all felt nervously excited as they walked to the house's front door.

"So, who wants to go in first?" Daphne asked, trying to keep things light.

Fred looked at Daphne and smirked at her. Then Fred walked to the front door, followed by Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. Fred put his hand on the doorknob and surprisingly opened the door quickly.

"Like wow!" Shaggy said, amazed. "You'd think people in this neighborhood would learn to lock their doors,"

They all walked into the house. Fred tried to turn on the light, but there seemed to be no electricity in the house. The four turned on their flashlights, and Daphne took her camera out of her case. Having the camera in her hand gave Daphne a thrill. They all walked up the hallway, and a dark blue glow came their way. Once the "ghost" came into view, Daphne took a photo, and they all ran, pretending to be scared. The "ghost" didn't give much chase, but Velma found the bookcase they were looking for in another room.

"Over here, gang!" Velma whispered.

The four of them moved the bookcase away from the wall, and sure enough, there was a door behind it. Velma opened it, and they all walked in. Daphne began taking photos very quickly with the flash on.

"Jinkies!" Velma said. "The missing rare books from the library!"

"Let's go and find the 'ghost' Fred said,"

The four returned to the hallway and found the "ghost" again. They all chased her and cornered her in the bathroom. With no means of escape, the "ghost" took off the mask to reveal themselves to Mystery Inc.

"The Coolsville head librarian for nearly fifty years?" the four asked in unison.

The Librarian rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Who else would it be, you darn meddling kids?" the Librarian asked.

Daphne wasted no time in taking her picture.

XXXXX

In less than an hour, the members of Mystery Inc. were standing in front of the cameras and being interviewed by the same Female Reporter who had interviewed them the first time years ago. It was exhilarating for Daphne, Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. A Detective and the police were leading out the Librarian in the background.

"And here we are again live with Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo after a long hiatus," the Female Reporter said. "How does it feel to be back?"

"It feels better than we could imagine," Fred said.

"It's so great to be back to solve mysteries," Daphne said.

"I missed the thrill of the challenge of solving a mystery," Velma said.

"Like, it's great to make our town safe again," Shaggy said.

As the female reporter continued to interview them, the Warden sat in his office, furious about how Fred had his arm around Daphne.

"YOU FUCKING PRICK!" the Warden yelled. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

The Warden picked up the empty bottle on his desk and threw it at his television. Naturally, the television broke, but the Warden didn't care. No one had the right to touch Daphne as far as he was concerned, and he knew that one day Daphne would only belong to him.

XXXXX

A few days later, Daphne was lucky enough to have a day to herself and borrowed Velma's car to drive around. She avoided her old home as that was the last place she wanted to go to. Where Daphne ended up driving was where she met Michael and Katherine Ballard. The people that were raising her son. She hadn't heard from them since they sent her a card and a photo that her mother tore up without a second thought. Daphne didn't know what she would do when she got there. All she knew was that she had to see her son and ensure William was okay and happy. Daphne parked the car across the street, and she was very nervous as she crossed the street and knocked on the front door. After Daphne knocked on the front door, she knew it was too late to back out now. As the door opened, Daphne expected Michael, Katherine, and, most importantly, William. But that wasn't who opened the door, and Daphne was shocked by her appearance.

"Hello, Daphne," Mrs Blake said.

Daphne felt all the blood drain from her face, and Mrs Blake loved how shocked she looked.

"You didn't call me or your father the entire time you were at university," Mrs Blake said. "You never came to visit us once. You just lived in Chicago, having the time of your life. Did you have any other bastard children while you were away?"

Daphne still couldn't talk and couldn't believe she was face-to-face with her mother.

"Answer me!" Mrs Blake shouted.

"No, I didn't have any other children," Daphne said. "Where are the Ballards?"

Mrs Blake couldn't help but laugh as she had been waiting for this moment for so long.

"The Ballards moved away," Mrs Blake said when she finished laughing. "I bet you didn't see that coming, did you?"

"Where did they move to?" Daphne asked, already knowing her mother wasn't going to cooperate.

"There's no way in Hell I'm going to tell you because a sinful bitch like you doesn't deserve to know," Mrs Blake said.

Daphne began to cry, and Mrs Blake rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Mrs Blake said. "Do you really think that's going to work on me? When the Ballards put their house up for sale, I made sure I was the one who bought the house because I just knew when you returned from university, you would come here to be reunited with your bastard son. Well, guess what? I will never let that happen!"

Mrs Blake closed the door, and Daphne cried some more. She couldn't believe there was no way she could find her son. She had no idea what William thought of her, and she desperately needed him to know that she loved him. But as that wouldn't happen, Daphne walked across the street and drove back to Velma's house. Once Daphne was there, she went into the guest bedroom and cried her eyes out with inconsolable tears.