Scooby Doo! Meet Ellie Machine

Revenge of the Man Crab (Part 2)

I woke up in Angel's lounge. I groaned and rubbed my head. "What happened?" I asked, looking around. Angel, Shaggy, and Velma were all sitting around the lounge. "Ellie!" Shaggy exclaimed and moved next to me, so I was leaning on his shoulder. "You've been out for hours. Like, how's your head?" he asked me. "Like I got hit by a truck. Where's Daphne?" I asked, looking around for her. "Like, um, Daphne got taken by the man crab," he said sadly.

I sat up quickly, and even stood up. "What? Why aren't we out searching for her?" I exclaimed, though pain overcame my head and I even felt nauseous. I sat back down and put a hand against my head. I looked at Fred. "What's up with him?"

"He's been digging like that since we lost Daphne," Velma told me. "There's nothing but torn carpet all over the back of the Mystery Machine."

"Like, this is all my fault," Shaggy cried. "If I never tried to be healthy, Daphne would be all right. Scooby-Doo, more!" he called, and Scooby marched in with a plate of junk food and poured it into Shaggy's mouth. "Someone needs to make a plan. Why isn't anyone making a plan?" Fred exclaimed in a panic, ceasing his digging. "That's usually you, Fred," Velma told him softly. "You're right. What's wrong with me?" he cried and resumed digging.

There was a sudden ring of the doorbell. "Uh, I'll get it," Scooby said. I looked at my clothing and saw that I still had on my bathing suit. "Um, Shaggy? Are my clothes in the Mystery Machine?" I asked. "I brought them in for you," he said, pointing to a bag near the door. "Great, thanks," I said and stood up again.

"Woah wait, careful," he warned, shooting to stand up next to me and holding my arms as I swayed, a little woozy. "I'm good, I'm good," I assured him with a smile. "Thanks."

Scooby walked in with an envelope that held the infamous insignia of Mr. E. Velma grabbed it and tore it open. "Jinkies! Get a load of this," she exclaimed, and we all gathered around her. "This articles from years ago. It says four kids disappeared exploring the Crystal Cove caverns," she said after some quick reading.

"Let me see that," Angel said, snatching the article and looking it over. "Is something wrong, Angel? Do you know them?" I asked her gently. "No. Sorry. It's nothing," she said and handed it back to Velma as a tape fell out. "Zoinks. Like, it looks like the article comes with a soundtrack," Shaggy said, making me chuckle just a bit. Fred took the tape and tried to put it on the record player. "It's not working," he panicked. "It's an 8-track, Freddie. Old school, baby," Angel explained, and put it in her player.

"Hello, children," Mr. E.'s raspy voice rang through the room. "If you've read the article, you know this volleyball tournament isn't the first time kids have disappeared from Crystal Cove. Worth researching, don't you think?"

We all looked at each other. "Let's go to the library then," Velma said, picking up on the hint. I quickly got changed into my clothes and put my hair down. Fred wasn't in the right state of mind, so Shaggy drove with Fred next to him, and Velma next to him to make sure he stayed stable. I was in the back with Scooby.

It was a long and silent drive before we finally arrived at the library.

"Welcome to where the library keeps its old newspaper articles. They call it the Morgue," Velma said as we entered. "The Morgue? Like, why do they have to call it that?" Shaggy asked nervously. "Yeah. They're old articles, not dead," Scooby agreed, and I chuckled a bit.

We made our way to the computer in the back of the library. "There's a book over here. Daphne read a book once. And this chair. Daphne liked to sit in chairs. That card catalog over there-," Fred was lamenting, and I grasped his shoulder.

"Not helping, Fred," I told him quietly. "I know. What's the matter with me?" he asked, grasping his hair.

Velma sat at the computer and did a bit of typing before something came up. "Hmm. Here's a piece on the founding of Trickell's Triquid. And here's one about the city moving the Clam Cabin the year those kids vanished," Velma told us. "Listen to this. Skipper threatened the whole town. He swore he'd take drastic action."