Ruby Rose in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Chapter 9

The next day, Ruby, Daphne, and Velma were minding their own business walking down the sidewalk having a chat, discussing what happened last night. That's when Fred came up behind them.

"Hey, wait up!" Fred called out as he finally caught up to the three girls

Daphne out of nowhere hugged Fred, making Velma and Ruby both share a confused look.

"You're okay." Daphne said, relieved Fred was actually okay. "I was gonna call you last night but I didn't know your last name."

"Really?" Fred asked, seeming surprised. "You were gonna call me?"

"Yeah, I didn't- I thought if you got stuck in the school, then we'd all get in more trouble, I didn't want that so-" Daphne said, trying to explain the reasoning of what she said

"YEAH, that's why you were gonna call." Fred said, seeming suspicious. "My last name's Jones, by the way."

"Mine's Blake." Daphne explained

"Before a single one of you asks, my last name's Rose." Ruby stated

"Dinkley." Velma states

"Pardon?" Fred asked, not sure yet that was in fact Velma's last name

 "My surname" Velma explained. "It's Dinkley"

""Right." Fred said, finally getting what she meant and as the four started walking. "So, Dinkley, Blake, Rose, any of you hear from Shaggy and Scooby?"

"I was hoping they got out with you." Daphne said

They all looked at each other, realizing they were still in the school.

"Oh no." Ruby said

"This isn't good." Daphne added

"Let's go!" Fred stated

They all then ran to get to the school, in hopes Shaggy and Scooby weren't found yet. Once they got there, the school was covered in burn marks and burnt letters saying, "BEWARE! STAY AWAY!"

"Wow." Daphne said, staring at all the damage

"That's what I call a ghost edition of an extreme makeover." Ruby added

"These paranormal poltergeists  aren't pussy-footing around." Velma stated

"What are we gonna do?" Daphne asked

"The same thing they do in our mystery books." Fred said as he turned to the three girls. "We have to examine the clues."

"Way ahead of you, Freddie." Velma said as she pulled out a small journal and opened it. "I analyzed that residue from the gym floor. And guess what it is? Magnesium chlorate. Can you believe it?"

"What's Magnesium chlorate?" Ruby asked, confused

"Of course!" Daphne exclaimed. "Magnesium chlorate is a highly-combustible substance that can be used to create an explosion IDENTICAL to the third ghost's smoke screen."

"How did you..." Ruby started, seeming confused

"I can read upside down." Daphne explained

It was at that moment Velma realized her small journal was in fact upside down. But due to magnesium chlorate having already been explained, she put the journal up. 

"That's great." Fred said. "But why would a ghost need a smoke screen?"

That's when Ruby got a realization.

"Maybe cause it isn't a ghost at all." Ruby stated as she turned to Velma and Daphne. "Remember, you two, we THOUGHT we saw the third ghost but it was really just a Greek Chorus costume from Julius Cesar."