Reunions are usually a time for cheerful homecomings. A time to celebrate friends finding long-lost friends. A time for happiness full of celebratory hugs and tears of joy.
For the friends of Mystery Inc., it was a time of apprehension and suspicion.
It had been several tumultuous years since the Mystery Inc. team became divided and unable to reunite. On that dark and stormy night, a massive horde of undead, the largest they had faced, split their team in half. Truth be told, they hadn't been wholly together since the events of that long past first night. Mistrust and doubt slowly filled the spaces in what had once been an inseparable bond between best friends. Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma began spending more time together as Fred and Daphne estranged themselves from their friends.
Still, tonight, they were reunited.
Somehow, Fred and Daphne had found the Mystery Machine II hidden in the dirt lot behind a deteriorated library. As Fred and Daphne entered the dilapidated structure, they made sure to make their presence known, though Scooby knew someone was coming the moment the library door opened. The big dog's hackles raised as he lowered his head and silently bared his teeth, alerting Shaggy and Velma to someone's approach. They all took cover behind the collapsed metal bookshelves. Shaggy and Velma waited with raised weapons for whatever came through the door. A white cloth on a long stick poked around the corner, "Hey, gang." The words caught Shaggy and Velma off guard and shook them to their core.
Shaggy lowered his weapon, unable to believe his eyes. Slowly making their way around the doorframe was a disheveled Fred and Daphne, "Like... we thought you... were dead." The words trip from Shaggy's mouth.
"We saw you fall," Velma interjected. Scooby cocked his head to the side, his nose sniffed the air relentlessly, and his tail twitched.
Fred looked forlornly at his friends, "Hey Shag. Hey Velm," Fred moved further into the room, palms up and eyes scanning every inch of the room, "I'm sorry," he looked around uneasily, "We tried finding you. We never gave up."
"We saw you fall," Velma repeats more vociferously.
Fred answers, "We did. Right into a raging river. It swept us downstream." He reached back and squeezed Daphne's hand as he spoke, "We went miles before we could get out of it."
Daphne finally speaks, "We tried to follow it back, but that horde, THEY just..." she shivers, remembering the event, "They had us completely cut off."
"How'd you find us?" Velma asks.
"We followed the stories about Scoob." Fred leans down and extends his hand, "Hey, Scooby, how've you been?" Scooby meekly walks over, smelling Fred's hand before sheepishly letting Fred pet him. Velma looks at Shaggy. She gives him a look that speaks volumes between the two. All they've been through, seen, and now this.
"How'd you find us?" Velma repeats, skepticism dripping from her words.
"Sheesh, Velm, I told you we followed stories about Scooby," Fred responds, "There aren't that many Great Danes left." The pain caused by her distrust is undeniable.
That was three weeks ago. Since then, they have spent time retelling their most harrowing tales of survival. Shaggy and Velma are always careful not to mention what happened in that small town two years prior about what was born from their unholy union. Slowly, a few strained laughs returned, yet they all remained apprehensive. Each pair was unsure of the intentions of the other.
Despite their best attempts, they became unable to avoid human habitation. Their encounter all those years back had made Shaggy and Velma experts at hiding their tracks and navigating the dead wastes without interacting with others. That expertise made Velma suspicious of Fred's claim about following stories of Scooby because there shouldn't be any. More and more, they found themselves around survivors, as if they were being intentionally led towards people. Then, the whispers began. At first, it was just one crazy LAMOE survivalist, then small enclaves. It felt like people were seeking them out just to tell the tale of the coming end of the world. The stories were of total and complete death of existence. Blood would rain from stygian skies. The ground would heave, splitting the world asunder, releasing the Old Gods.
At the mention of the Old Gods, memories of the town flooded into Shaggy and Velma's psyches like a burst dam. Shaggy could sense that Velma was keeping something from him, but he said nothing. Instead, he offered as much comfort and support as he could for his companion while trying to maintain civility with the reunited Fred and Daphne.
__________________
Updating Mystery Inc and finally making the Mystery Machine II is high on the list of things I want to accomplish this summer.
Comments