sonderling || mystery incorporated

008 THE GRASP OF THE GNOME

Lydia adjusted the chest plate to her costume, awkwardly trying to fix it as the gang piled out of the Mystery Machine. "If I knew pirates were on the table, I would've been one." She grumbled, glancing over at Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, both dressed as pirates. Daphne was in a princess dress and cap, and Fred was in full knight armor. Velma hadn't dressed up, while Lydia wore a metal chest plate and some generally medieval clothes. It was something similar to a knight, so if anyone asked, that's what she was. She got most of the costume from the school's drama club, but Daphne had been excited to get her a proper chest plate.

The gang walked into the Royal Knights Faire, excited to have a night off of school things and mystery solving. "Peg-leg Shaggy says, 'Arr, shiver me timbers, and, like, break out the barbecue turkey legs and the mutton kebabs'." Shaggy smiled, patting his stomach while his dog nodded, "Aye-aye, Peg-leg Shaggy, sir!" Scooby smiled, saluting to him.

"You pirates best be careful, they weren't exactly favored or accurate in medieval times." Lydia piped up, reaching a hand to poke at the toy bird stuck to Shaggy's shoulder, "Nay, no need to worry, o-brave-knight." Shaggy grinned, lightly swatting her hand away from the bird. "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Root Beer." Scooby cheered, the two wandering off as Lydia moved to throw an arm over Velma's shoulders. "And you had no wish to dress for the occasion, Lady Dinkley?" She asked.

Velma shook her head, making a face, "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with. . . 'No way I'm putting on those dumb clothes'." She grumbled, arms crossed. "Not even to impress people? Like a pirate?" The blue haired girl asked, making Velma pause, confused, "Who do- Oh! No." She stammered out.

Lydia raised a brow, dropping her arm from Velma's shoulders while Fred and Daphne continued to walk off, "So you're saying you and the peg-leg aren't dating? You send some very mixed signals, fair lady." She shrugged, and watched Velma as she struggled to speak, then noticed something over Lydia's shoulder.

"Hey, guys, look at this!" She called out, Fred and Daphne coming to join them as Lydia turned around. There was an ambulance with the back doors open, two paramedics wheeling a stretcher with a paralyzed man on it. Sheriff Stone was there with the mayor, taking notes on a notepad as a woman dressed as a princess cried and spoke with them.

The gang, now with the two pirates back, walked over, Daphne taking an extra step forward, "Mayor Jones, Sheriff, what happened here?" She asked, the two adults moving away from the crying girl, the sheriff tucking his notepad away. "Nothing unusual. Just a standard scary gnome attack." He explained as Lydia budged past them to reach the girl, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Gnomes? People put those up in their garden? Supposed to be used for protection-" Lydia jumped a bit as the crying girl sobbed louder, now turning to cling onto her and hide her face in Lydia's chest piece. "And knights are supposed to not have funky hair." She glared back at the sheriff while Mayor Jones shook his head, "Posies and pinwheels, those gnomes are peaceful creatures. Scary gnomes are something very different, and good for tourism. So stay out of this."

Both the mayor and the sheriff then walked away, talking between each other as the gang turned to look at Lydia and the crying girl, the blue haired one giving a confused glance as she awkwardly gave a few pats to the girls back.

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"Hear ye, hear ye. Get your cotton candy clams, just like King Richard used to eat." Skipper Shelton shouted from Ye Olde Clam Cabin before grumbling and walking back inside. Lydia was sitting at a picnic table with the rest of the gang and the girl. She was explaining what had happened to her boyfriend, luckily able to get through it without crying again. "I thought it would attack me, but then it waddled back into the shadows. It never made a sound." She sighed, taking a piece of cotton candy clams to eat before grimacing, pushing it away, "This is surprisingly bad. . ."