Scooby-Doo! Tales of Crystal Cove [Season 1] - Chapter 12 - SparkyFan - Scooby Doo (2024)

Chapter Text

One quiet, clear evening, a young couple was out on a date at Lookout Point, which was apparently a really popular place for couples.

"Sheena, I'm not sure about this," said the boy. "I've been hearing stuff about a vampire being sighted...what if it's all true?"

"I doubt that there's a real vampire out there, because they're not real." Sheena replied.

"...okay, if not a vampire, probably something else," said the boy, Nathan.

"Probably a raccoon or an opossum." Sheena suggested.

"I guess you're right," Nathan replied as Sheena got closer to him.

They got closer and closer until they were just about to kiss when an even louder noise stopped them.

"OK, I know I heard something!" Nathan exclaimed as his head jerked in the direction of the noise.

"Same," Sheena agreed.

Suddenly, something sprang from hiding!

It looked like a man in a loosely-flowing shirt and tight pants with long blonde hair and a handsome face and red eyes.

"...still having doubts about vampires...?" asked Nathan.

"Greetings, my lady...I have sensed your desires and have come to satisfy them." The vampire said, in a rather hypnotic tone, as he held a hand towards Sheena.

Sheena reached out and took his hand, much to Nathan's shock. "Sheena! No!" he cried out. "Don't do this!"

The vampire scooped Sheena up and carried her away from Nathan. Now, Nathan could have probably done something. If it was a mugger, maybe he probably could've fought back...but this was a vampire here!

Once the vampire and Sheena were out of view, Nathan drove away from the area in fear.

"Great...no fond memories, and no girlfriend either!" he muttered as he drove off.

[END OF COLD OPEN.]

TITLE CARD

Episode 9:

LOVE AT FIRST BITE!

(The vampire's teeth are shown in a smile on a shadow, while Scooby trembles in the corner of the title card.)

At the Crystal Cove Public Library, the gang was in the middle of conducting research. As to why they did so, was because they were doing it for a group project...which they hadn't exactly found a focus topic for.

"A school project where we get to pick the topic and we're drawing blanks." Velma said in distress. "There are times when even being blessed with a high intellect can be a pain."

"Plus, there's so many topics that we can't decide on one!" Fred added.

"All too true." Daphne agreed.

"Like, find anything yet, Scoob?" asked Shaggy.

Scooby pulled his head from between a bookshelf. "...nope," he responded.

"Well. this is difficult," Fred huffed, before he spotted a newspaper. "But that might not be." He mentioned as he saw the front page.

All at once, the gang gathered around Fred to get a look at the newspaper.

"Another 'vampire kidnapping' happened last night and that makes it the 14th kidnapping to occur in three weeks." Fred said as he read the paper.

"Sheesh, that many?" Shaggy asked. "Maybe more people oughta stock up on garlic!"

"There's a convenient shortage," Velma pointed out after checking the garlic market in Crystal Cove.

"...well, shoot," remarked Daphne.

"Well, how about we go look around the last spot for clues? Maybe while we work on the mystery, we'll figure out our project," Fred suggested. "Also the assistant, Janet Figwig, is currently doing checkouts, so let's at least take out a few books for possible inspiration."

"Well, alright," replied Velma. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. We need all the inspiration we can get."

"No kidding," Daphne replied as she gathered a few books.

So after they gathered some books, they brought them to the front counter.

"Have a nice day," Janet said as she checked out the books.

"Thanks, we'll try to," replied Shaggy as he accepted said books.

"Reah, re rill." Scooby agreed as he had to sneak out. After all, dogs weren't exactly welcome in the library. And an exception wasn't going to be made, even for a talking dog.

Once they were all in the Mystery Machine, they headed off to Lookout Point to search for clues.

"Lookout Point," commented Fred. "I never thought I'd be up here, y'know?"

"How come?" inquired Daphne.

"Well, couples usually come up here to make out and...whatnot," replied Fred. "And, you know, I've never really had one of those moments."

"Likewise," Velma admitted.

"Ditto." Daphne revealed.

Then they all looked at Shaggy as he looked away.

"Who, me?" he asked, his face red. "W-well, I mean, I've had some of those moments...but, like, I've never been up here before!"

Sure, he'd kissed Sadie-Mae a few times...but that was all it was! And never up here! After all, her brother regularly made sure of THAT.

"Okay." The others said as they kept looking around. Shaggy gave a sigh of relief, and continued to search with Scooby.

Eventually, something was found. "Hey, I found something!" Daphne called out.

Within seconds, the group gathered around her to see what she'd discovered.

Daphne held up a strange tube of lipstick. "I know a lot about makeup, but this one is actually a mystery to me," she admitted as she checked it out.

Scooby sniffed it and raised a brow curiously.

"If only we had someone to consult about this," commented Fred.

"I know someone," Velma revealed as she grabbed the lipstick. "Let's go."

The others followed and got back into the Mystery Machine.

"Just tell me where to go," said Fred as he started the engine.

"Crystal Cove Cosmetics," Velma replied. "I've got someone working on the inside."

Fred gave a nod, put in the directions for the GPS, and drove off to the place in question.

A while later they arrived and found themselves in front of a large hospital like building.

They disembarked from the Mystery Machine, and headed into the building.

Velma revealed her visitor badge and got them into the building. Soon enough, they entered a lab and saw someone familiar. She was a skinny teenage female with messy brown hair, in loose oily waves held back with plastic barrettes, and wore red-rimmed, armless glasses with yellow lenses.

"Oh, hi Velma!" Marcie, formerly known as Hot Dog Water, greeted.

"Hey, Marce," Velma replied. "Long time no see, yeah? How have you been?"

"So much better." Marcie replied.

"Glad to hear," replied Velma with a smile as she handed over the lipstick they found. "Could you look over this? My friends and I found it up at Lookout Point."

Marcie smirked a little at that.

"...on business!" Velma insisted, her face red.

"Never said it wasn't," Marcie replied, never losing her smirk. "Who's your friend?"

"Hi, I'm Fred Jones; you can call me Freddie, or you can call me Frederick, or if you're feeling festive, you can call me Frederico!" Fred replied, giving Marcie a hearty handshake. "Just don't call me late!"

"And I'm Daphne; I'm the one that found the lipstick and I think it's not for girls." Daphne mentioned as she butted in.

"...I already know about you; the Blakes are a pret-ty big deal," Marcie replied as she took the lipstick to look it over.

"I actually try to downplay my family name a bit." Daphne admitted. "Being the daughter of a rich family isn't as great as people may think."

"I've seen enough TV to know that's true...anyways, excuse me," Marcie nodded before she left to analyze the lipstick that had been found.

"...so!" Fred commented. "She seemed pretty interesting!"

"Didn't she use to smell like hot dogs?" Shaggy asked.

"Mostly because of her dad saving and using the hot dog water at the hot dog stand for bath water and it left a smell," Velma revealed. "She eventually left home and got a job here at Crystal Cove Cosmetics, where she was able to not only get rid of the smell, but also put her chemistry skills to work."

"Hey, that's great!" Fred beamed.

"I'll say." Shaggy agreed.

"Rou raid it." Scooby replied.

After a few more minutes, Marcie came back outside.

"So...what did you find out?" asked Fred.

"Daphne's guess was right: this lipstick is a special type that's used to make girls look like men for plays and performances," Marcie explained. "Sadly, the person using it was extremely careful with applications and avoided leaving any trace."

"So this belongs to someone who's into acting!" Fred remarked.

Marcie turned to Velma, giving her a deadpan glance.

Velma nodded in response while rubbing her forehead.

"Then again, this person is a girl pretending to be a guy!" Fred added on. "...I think."

"Sounds like one of those role-reversal actors," Shaggy mentioned. "After having to pose as a girl quite often I picked up on a few things."

"And that would be?" Marcie inquired, prompting him to continue.

"Mainly how to look as close as the opposite gender as possible." Shaggy admitted.

"I see," Marcie responded.

"I don't like it; I just feel that if I have to do a job, then I might as well do it right." Shaggy pointed out with a shrug.

"Well, we do appreciate the information, so thanks," Fred replied as he jotted down the info.

"So we're definitely looking for a girl that's dressing like a man," Daphne pointed out. "That's a bit of a help."

"Sure thing," replied Marcie. "And Velma...do drop by sometime, would you?"

"No problem, I'm actually going to be free this Saturday, so how about lunch?" Velma suggested.

"I should be free," Marcie replied, before she lowered her voice. "...and don't hesitate to bring your friend. He's got a whole 'golden retriever' thing going that I kinda like."

"I'll see what I can do," Velma replied with a smile.

Marcie gave a wave and a wink as the gang left the building.

As they headed back to the Mystery Machine, Daphne's cellphone rang.

"Hang on, guys," she said as she checked the caller ID. "It's Jenkins. I gotta take this."

"We'll wait," Fred assured her.

With that secured, Daphne answered her call.

"Hi, Jenkins," she greeted.

"Salutations, Miss Blake," Jenkins replied. "Your parents request that you return home at once, for they have urgent news to share."

"Ugh, no doubt something that I have no interest in because they're trying to force me into something for 'the good of the family' nonsense that they just won't let up on," Daphne complained. "I'll be there in a few."

"Of course, Miss Blake," Jenkins responded. "My deepest apologies."

"It's alright, I don't blame you, Jenkins." Daphne said before hanging up with a deep sigh.

"Trouble at home?" Fred asked.

"As usual." Daphne replied. "Please bring me home, but no rush, so let's get some drive-thru."

Shaggy and Scooby each shared a high-five at that.

And so, after getting drive-thru fromMessick's Munch Hut[formerly known asDon's Diner], the gang pulled up to Stately Blake Manor.

Outside were Daphne's older sisters:

-Daisy was a doctor.

-Dawn was a model.

-Delilah was part of the Marine corps.

-and Dorothy was a racecar driver.

Not only did they all look like Daphne, but they also sported some of Daphne's fashion sense.

The gang got out and Daphne went over to her sisters.

"Hey, what do mom and dad want now?" Daphne asked.

"You'd better go in and ask them yourself," responded Dawn. "I didn't get the whole message, but it was something about an arrangement."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Daphne said as she headed inside to speak with her parents.

And so, she headed into the main hall, where she found her mother and father sitting, accompanied by a young, dark-haired man in fancy clothes.

The rest of the gang stood far behind her so she could speak with her parents, and hoped that there wouldn't be any problems.

"Alright," said Daphne. "What's this about?"

"Daphne, this is quite important," explained Nancy (or Nan for short). "Personally, this could very well concern your future."

"I highly doubt that," Daphne replied in disgust. "What plan do you have for me now?"

Her father, Benjamin, sighed. "This young man is Alexander Smythe-Fitzcaraldo," he introduced, and the boy waved. "He happens to be the heir to the Fitzcaraldo Paperclip Company, which has been doing splendidly in profits this year."

"Noduhit's profitable, it'spaperclips." Daphne retorted, rolling her eyes. "EVERYONE needs paperclips."

"True, and sales keep getting better." Alexander said with a smile, as he seemed like the salesman type.

"To put it simply, we've been thinking, we've talked with Alexander's parents," responded Nancy. "And we've decided that Alexander would be a great fiancee for you."

Shaggy suddenly felt a pang of fear, but not in the usual way after hearing that.

"Really, you're going to be those types of people?" Daphne asked in annoyance. "Forget about it, I'm not going to be engaged to him."

"But Daphne, you must be reasonable," insisted Benjamin. "What are you going to do to ensure you're set for later on?"

"I'll make my own way—and with my friends," Daphne said, stepping over to the gang and clutching Shaggy's hand.

Shaggy was surprised by that, but went with it as the gang left with Daphne. As they did Daphne's parents were dumbfounded while her sisters were both concerned and curious.

"Honestly...why must the youngest be so rebellious?" asked Nancy.

"I certanly don't know, dearest," replied Benjamin.

Daphne's sisters decided to speak amongst themselves for a bit.

"This is definitely the most rebellious I've seen Daphne." Daisy mentioned.

"Usually such behavior is worthy of time in the stockades." Delilah syated.

"Can you blame her?" asked Dawn. "Being engaged to someone she barely knows, and for what? Profit."

"Maybe we should follow her and see what all she does with her friends." Dorothy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," replied Delilah.

With all four of them in agreement, they headed out to follow Daphne.

"Like, you okay, Daph?" asked Shaggy while they drove away from Blake Manor. "I mean...afterthat."

"Trust me, I'm much better now that I'm away from there," Daphne assured him.

"Well, that's a relief," replied Shaggy as Scooby wiped his brow. "So now what're we gonna do?"

"Back to the mystery." Fred suggested as they were driving off. "Next stop is one of the other known spots where the vampire struck."

"Where's that?" inquired Scooby.

"A quiet corner in the park that's quite literally known as Lovers' Lane." Fred revealed while checking a list of locations that girls were kidnapped from. "It's said to be the most romantic spot in the park."

"Alright," nodded Velma as they continued on their way.

Once they arrived at Lovers' Lane, they immediately started looking around.

As they did, they didn't notice that Daphne's sisters had shown up in their own transportation—Dorothy's casual convertible which she liked to drive on her days off.

One by one, each sister poked their heads out of the windows, in disguise, while the gang continued to search the area.

"This feels a little bit—okay, a LOT—wrong." Dawn admitted.

"I know, but it's important to gather intel," Delilah advised.

The others nodded as they continued their stakeout.

Meanwhile, Scooby continued sniffing around the area to see if he could find anything.

Suddenly he found a piece of fabric. Thinking quickly, Scooby barked as loudly as he could to alert the others, and they gathered around him to see.

"Good going, Scooby!" Fred said as he took a look at the fabric. "It must be from someone's clothes...but what kind of fabric could it be?"

"Hmm, it seems to be an expensive silk-and-cotton blended piece of fabric usually used in stage clothing." Daphne said after examining the fabric.

"Then we definitely know it's someone who's into acting," said Fred. "Someone with plenty of experience...and access to stage costumes! But who?"

"Good question." Velma said as she tried to look into possible suspects.

However their train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a horn being honked.

"I know that honk," Daphne said as she and the others ran towards the honking.

"Yeah? Like, who could it be?" asked Shaggy.

"My sisters." Daphne replied as they managed to get there to see two of them being taken away.

"And it looks like the vampire had them targeted!" Velma exclaimed, seeing the bloodsucker leaving with his latest captives.

Soon they were gone, and the gang checked on the remaining two, Dorothy and Delilah.

"...what were you doing here, anyways?" Daphne asked her remaining sisters.

"We decided to spy on you and see how you do things." Delilah admitted.

"It was mostly her idea and our curiosity prevented us from refusing." Dorothy revealed.

"That would explain how the vampire was able to target and capture two of you," Velma responded.

"Indeed." Delilah agreed. "A tactical error on my part."

"So...what exactly would you and your friends do at a time like this?" asked Dorothy.

"With what we have so far, we start looking for suspects," Daphne explained. "So far we know that it's a girl with access to acting supplies."

"But that could beanyone," commented Delilah. "Who exactly do you know that fits that criteria?"

"There's only one place that has the lipstick and fabric that we found," Velma explained. "The school drama club and there's only three girls currently as members."

"So then one of those girls has to be our culprit!" Shaggy finalized.

"But we also can't rule out the possibility of someone sneaking in and stealing what they needed, so we go to plan B," Velma advised. "Specifically, we examine this next clue that I just found." She said as she picked up a book that was near the car.

"...a vampire novel?" asked Fred.

"Like, I've heard of literature you could sink your teeth into," said Shaggy. "But, this is ridiculous!"

"Rou raid it." Scooby agreed.

"No name, but it definitely came from the library." Velma replied as she examined the book and noticed something else. "It also has some sort of dirt on it, specifically not from this area."

"Then maybe it says whoever checked it out, on the inside," Fred suggested as he gingerly opened the book.

"Sadly, it doesn't," Velma replied as she looked under the registry. "Whoever took it probably avoided signing it out, but the dirt can help us."

"Alright, we'll analyze it," Fred decided.

"Got the equipment in the van," Velma declared as they went to the Mystery Machine.

So they popped the Mystery Machine open, and got the equipment ready for analyzing. Velma examined the sample and found a few things that told her about where it came from.

"...so, what did you learn?" Dorothy inquired.

"The dirt is from a cave not too far away," Velma revealed.

"Rhen ret's ro!" Scooby exclaimed.

"Onward!" Delilah exclaimed, only for everyone to turn and stare at her. "...sorry." she apologized, bashfully.

And so, they went on their way to the mysterious cave.

Once they arrived at the cave, they found footprints leading inside.

"If that's not proof, I don't know what is," remarked Fred as he got a flashlight. "Let's get in there."

As they went into the cave, they discovered it led into a cave system located under the town. To say this was a surprise would be nothing short of an understatement.

"Oh, my stars and garters..." Delilah exclaimed. "It's an entire underground tunnel system!"

"And like, a whole lot more." Shaggy said as he pointed towards a set of doors. Gingerly, the group approached them. Opening the doors, the gang found an old bunker.

"This place was built during the Cold War and apparently it's been in use," Delilah pointed out, while using her military knowledge.

One by one, they headed into the bunker. As they looked around, they found another clue.

"Hey, a book about hypnosis." Daphne said as she picked it up.

"Look that over," Fred suggested. "Could be important."

Velma opened the book and then remembered something. "Jinkies, I know who's responsible!" she declared.

"Yeah?" Fred inquired.

Before Velma could respond, the gang all heard a loud hiss. Whirling around, they saw the vampire standing in the doorway. "You will never defeat me!" he said before giving chase.

And so, off they ran, through the tunnels with the vampire in hot pursuit. Over, under, in, out, above, below...everywhere they ran, the vampire kept up the chase.

Then they came across a series of booby traps. Fortunately they were able to avoid them, but it wasn't easy. Eventually, after several minutes, they lost the vampire.

[Apologies for this lackluster scene.]

"Alright...we lost Vlad the Impaler..." panted Shaggy. "Now if only we could find the girls he grabbed!"

"We'll be able to do that after we catch that vampire," Fred declared. "And he left us plenty of useful traps that we can utilize."

"So how're we gonna lure him?" asked Dorothy.

"By giving him what he wants," Velma declared before she, Fred, and Daphne looked at Shaggy and Scooby.

"Ruh?" Scooby asked.

Shaggy gave a light sigh. "...no point in complaining, Scoob, it's to save Daphne's sisters," he replied.

Scooby groaned. "...roh, ralright," he relented.

AND SO...

"You sure this'll lure him out?" inquired Dorothy. "I mean, the saying is 'blind as a bat', but...even fangs isn't exactly blind."

"Just wait." Velma advised as they let Shaggy and Scooby do their thing.

"Okay, so what do we do?" asked Shaggy. "Just, like, walk around to get his attention?"

"Greetings, young beauties." The vampire said as he came out.

Wow, that was fast,thought Shaggy as he cleared his throat. "Who, us~?" he asked in a high-pitched voice. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Roh, rou smooth-talker!" Scooby added in a high-pitched voice.

"Why isn't it working on you?" The vampire asked before realizing something. "Wait, you're not girls!"

"Well, you're no prize yourself," Scooby retorted, turning his nose up.

Angrily, the vampire hissed, baring his fangs.

"Well, we'd love to stick around...then again, no we wouldn't!" Shaggy said as he and Scooby tossed their disguises off and made a run for it. They ran in the direction of the traps, all of which had been reset to fit Fred's plan.

The vampire continued his pursuit before he ended up stumbling into his own repurposed trap, and fell into a pit that was laced with a net.

"And that's how it's done!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Scooby high-fived.

"Nice job, you two!" Daphne complimented as the others pulled the vampire out of the pit.

"Like, thanks," said Shaggy. "But now it's time to unmask this guy!"

"More specifically, wash the face of this clownish excuse for a vampire." Velma said as she pulled out a spray bottle full of water and a rag and cleaned the face to reveal the culprit.

"It's...wait, who is it?" asked Dorothy.

"None other than the library assistant, Janet Figwig!" Velma said.

"But why?" asked Fred.

"I think what's behind this fake wall should explain it." Delilah advised as she found a lever and made the wall spin to reveal all the captured girls making clothes.

"A knockoff sweatshop!" Daphne, Delilah, and Dorothy exclaimed together.

Quickly, the gang came inside and freed the captives, which included Daphne's sisters.

"Looks like Janet had everyone here making knockoffs to sell." Fred pointed out.

"Okay, but WHY would that be?" inquired Shaggy. "Seems a little out of nowhere."

"Jealousy," Velma replied. "She was jealous of never being popular or at the very least, attractive due to her boyish appearance," Velma explained before adding. "Plus she apparently needed the money due to outstanding debts."

"That's right," fumed Janet. "I did research on what I could use to lure girls in, and at the top of the list was vampires. And thanks to some extra research, I was able to figure out a sound frequency that would be downright hypnotic."

"But it only worked on females, which is why it didn't work on Shaggy and Scooby." Velma pointed out.

"So how long was this going to go on?" Fred asked. "What kind of plans did you have for after?"

"I'd upgrade to a better place and more equipment after paying off my student loans." Janet declared. "I grew up poor and had to work three jobs just to get through college while pretty girls like them had all that money, so I had plans to show them that real life is anything but sunshine and rainbows."

"Well, there's better ways to go about it," said Daphne. "Besides, money's great and all, but I'd sooner make it on my own merits than just because my parents made a generous donation."

"The cops and a couple of ambulances are almost here." Fred mentioned. "Let's get everyone out of here."

"And if the old maps are right, we're right under the library." Delilah said as she climbed a ladder and opened a panel into the library.

A few minutes later, the gang headed out of the panel, followed by the formerly captive girls. And after that, the police and medics arrived and took the girls along with Janet.

"Well, that's another mystery wrapped up, gang," declared Fred.

"And I think I know what subject our project should be about." Velma mentioned. "The greatest crime busts in history."

"Hey!" Daphne beamed. "Now THERE'S an idea!"

"Not too bad for a day's work, we solved a mystery, rescued some girls, and we have the perfect topic for our project." Fred declared in an excited tone.

"Yeah, and best of all, Daphne and Velma are okay!" Shaggy added, clutching Daphne's hand.

Upon seeing this, Daphne's sisters decided that she'd be okay. After all... she had some good friends looking out for her.

"Maybe we ought to help keep Mom and Dad off Daphne's back?" suggested Dawn.

"It's the least we can do," replied Delilah. "It'll be tough, but us Blakes are nothing if not determined."

As for Daphne, she decided to talk to Shaggy on the side.

"What'd you wanna talk about, Daph?" Shaggy asked.

"I've been having these feelings for a while now and I'd like to act upon them." Daphne admitted.

"Yeah?" Shaggy raised a brow.

"I'd like to date you, to see if this goes anywhere." Daphne revealed.

Shaggy's face lit up. "...you know what? I'd like that too!" he responded.

"Great!" Daphne said excitedly.

"So...should we...?" Shaggy started, nervous at the thought crossing his mind.

"We should." Daphne agreed.

So, puckering their lips, they both leaned in, closing the gap between the both of them.

"Rell, rit's rabout rime," Scooby smiled to himself.

"Way to go, Shag!" Fred cheered.

Velma gave a whistle and snapped her fingers a few times.

To the side, in the gathered crowd, Rachel saw what happened between Shaggy and Daphne, and got miffed by what she saw.

She'd been hoping to get with Shaggy...and this had seriously thrown a wrench into things for her.

So she turned and left. Things would be different—she'd make sure of it.

A few days later, the gang had completed their project and got an A+.

"SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOO!" howled Scooby happily.

LIKE, CASE CLOSED, MAN!