Chapter 10: The Mystery Solved or Prelude?

"Just as we suspected!" Velma said after she unmasked the Slime Mutant.

"Before you go through this whole garbage of the tourist attraction covering up a crime, kids, you'd better explain what are you doing here at this time of the night." The sheriff said. "We received a noise complaint from the residents of this neighbourhood a few minutes ago and they demanded the noise to be stopped."

"Like, it will be harder to explain all of this if we don't go through 'this whole garbage of the tourist attraction covering up a crime', sheriff." Shaggy replied, adding quotation marks as he quoted the sheriff's recent remark, earning a giggle from his friends.

The sheriff frowned when Shaggy made the remark, but he nodded as if he was asking the gang to go through the explanations.

"Mr. Raffalo dressed up as the Slime Mutant to scare people away so he could rob the city's National Bank." Fred Jr. began.

"Our first clue came when Scooby started eating the sample of cocoon we salvaged from Mr. Raffalo's 'cocooned' body." Velma explained. "It tasted like the smoothie from Fruitmeirs, and we figured that something fishy must be going on here, especially after Mr. Fruitmeir mentioned that his smoothie is made from a secret recipe the day before when I asked him about the recipe."

"Then, after entering the restaurant during the night, Shaggy, Scooby and I discovered a hole in the storage room that led to the Crystal Cove Caves below, a hole that was covered by a carpet." Daphne added.

"And, like, once we were down in the caves, near where we initially discovered those three 'cocooned' construction workers, we discovered another hole in the ceiling of the caves, which led up to the main safe of the city's National Bank." Shaggy continued. "It didn't take long for us to figure out that someone was robbing the bank."

"In the meantime, Freddie and I discovered that Mr. Raffalo were business partners once and that he was the one that developed the secret recipe for the smoothie." Velma said.

"However, their partnership was terminated a few months ago due to some disagreements." Fred Jr. added before turning to their science teacher and asked, "Is that right, Mr. Raffalo?"

"Yes." The now-former science teacher replied. "I just couldn't stand the way Franklin took the credit for everything while I did the hard work, including the development of the famous-smoothie. Then, I figured that I could get even with him by framing him for the robberies at the National Bank."

"That's right, by dressing up as the Slime Mutant and scaring anyone that could be suspicious of what you're up to." Fred Jr. said.

"And, the green slime used to 'cocoon' the victims were developed from the recipe for the smoothie from the restaurant." Velma added. "Which will be easy for us to cast suspicion on Franklin Fruitmeir since his recipe for the smoothie is a secret."

"By dressing up as the Slime Mutant, Mr. Raffalo can scare away anyone who can get suspicious on what he was up to and 'cocoon' anyone that may have discovered his secret, while robbing the National Bank and frame his former business partner for the crimes." Fred Jr. concluded.

"Yeah, and I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling students!" Mr. Raffalo said frustratingly as the two sheriff deputies handcuffed him.

Just then, the sheriff asked, "One question: How is it that he got himself cocooned but then he turned out to be alive and well, dressed up as that 'monster'?"

Shaggy thought for a while before his mind flashed back to the day before when he and the gang discovered the three "cocooned" construction workers in the caves.

SHAGGY'S FLASH VISION

Standing in the caves, Shaggy watched himself and the gang making the discovery.

As Scooby exclaimed in fear upon discovering the three "cocooned" construction workers, Shaggy paused his flash vision and grabbed a ladder to climb up to the top so he could get a closer look of the three "cocooned" construction workers.

With a large scoop, he scooped some of the slime out before using a stick to poke the body cocooned inside the slime.

The body turned out to be harder to poke than he realized, and when he touched the "skin", he realized that it was more of a cloth rather than the skin of a person.

"So these bodies are really dummies!" He thought to himself.

Thinking about the scene of Mr. Raffalo being cocooned in the green slime, Shaggy figured out how the science teacher was able to escape after being "cocooned"

END OF FLASH VISION

"Like, he didn't get himself 'cocooned', sheriff." Shaggy quickly said. "Those 'bodies' inside the slime were actually dummies dressed up as bodies to give the impression that the victims were 'cocooned'."

"Oh, is that so?" Sheriff Stone replied. "If that's the case, where are those construction workers that were supposedly 'cocooned'?"

The gang thought for a while before Fred Jr. suddenly said, "You know, sheriff, I believe I may have the answer."

A few moments later, the gang and the sheriff and Franklin Fruitmeir were upstairs, where Fred Jr. and Velma then proceed to open a closet door.

"When Velma and I were up here, we thought we had heard something around here." Fred Jr. said.

"It sounded like someone groaning, but before we could figure out what that was, there was a crash in the storage room downstairs and we raced downstairs to check and see." Velma added.

"And if I'm not mistaken, I believe that groaning came from this closet." Fred Jr. said as he and Velma proceeded to open the closet door.

Sure enough, inside were three figures tied up and gagged.

"Well, Mr. Raffalo, looks like you're going to be facing charges of kidnapping as well." The sheriff sighed as two other deputies quickly untied and freed the three workers before escorting them to the waiting ambulance outside.

After wrapping up the case, Fred Jr. asked his father, "See, Dad? That 'tourist attraction' of yours is another example of how someone takes advantage of the city's haunting legends to cover up their illegal activities."

"Yeah, yeah." The mayor replied with an uninterested tone in his voice. "Just get home and be ready for school tomorrow!"

As Mr. Raffalo, now handcuffed, is lead away to the police cruiser, Daphne asked, "Wait a minute, why did you leave behind this key-shaped locket in the cave?"

"What locket?" Mr. Raffalo asked bitterly.

Daphne reached into her purse and took the locket out and showed it to Mr. Raffalo as Shaggy and Scooby looked on.

Shaking his head, the former science teacher said, "I've never seen this locket before, Daphne. You're only wasting your time asking me this question."

That statement confused Daphne as she and the gang watched Mr. Raffalo being led to the cruiser.

March 19, 2012

The Crystal Cove Times had the following headline the next day:

"MEDDLING KIDS FOIL MONSTER SCAM

Crystal Cove Central High School science teacher Emmanuel Raffalo arrested for robbery after being unmasked as the Slime Mutant"

The day went by as usual for the gang, although Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby were still confused about what their former science teacher had said when Daphne asked him about the key-shaped locket she discovered in the caves two days ago.

That afternoon after school, the trio met together at the Mystery Machine, waiting for Fred and Velma to arrive.

"You know, Shag, this locket really doesn't make any sense." She remarked.

"Yeah, like, if it wasn't owned by Mr. Raffalo, then who left the locket there?" Shaggy wondered out loud.

"Reats re." (Beats me.) Scooby replied.

It was then that Fred and Velma joined them in the Mystery Machine.

"Still wondering about that locket you found the other day, Daphne?" Velma asked.

"That's right." Daphne nodded as she stares at the locket.

Fred Jr. didn't say much as he hopped onto the driver's seat while the rest of the gang took their seats.

As he started the engine, Shaggy happened to be looking towards the front when his keen eyes noticed something.

"Like, who left this envelope, man?" He asked as he grabbed the envelope.

"What envelope, Shag?" Fred Jr. asked.

"I think Shag's talking about this one, Fred." Daphne said as she took the envelope from Shaggy as he and Scooby leaned over to examine it. It had a sticker labelled "E" sealing it.

Looking over, Fred Jr. and Velma took a moment to examine the envelope before shaking their heads.

"It wasn't any of us, Shag." Fred replied.

"Well, if it wasn't any of us, then who left this envelope inside the Mystery Machine?" Velma asked.

"Or better yet, how did that person manage to get the envelope inside the Mystery Machine?" Shaggy asked as Daphne flipped the envelope and saw a note written on it.

"To Mystery Incorporated. Urgent information inside." She read.

"Ruh? Rhat rurgent rinformation?" Scooby asked.

"Beats me, Scooby." Fred Jr. replied as Velma took the envelope from Daphne and opened it. It contained a CD, also with an "E" on it.

"I wonder what message there is in this CD?" Velma wondered.

"We'll soon find out, gang." Fred replied as he inserted the CD into the CD player.

The CD player soon started playing the message.

"Greetings, Mystery Incorporated. You can call me Mr. E." A sinister-sounding voice said. "You have just made a terrible mistake in bringing that locket out of the cave. A mistake that could lead to your dooms. It should've been left there. You kids don't know what you had just uncovered."

"Uncovered?" Daphne asked. "Uncovered what?"

"What you had uncovered is a truth that should have remained hidden. A truth related to the curse of Crystal Cove. You kids may have solved the mystery of the Slime Mutant, but the real mystery has only begun." The message then ended.

Staring at the van's CD player, the gang were speechless as Shaggy took another look at the locket. What curse? What kind of truth will be required to remain hidden? What did they uncover?

Those questions continued to remain in their minds for the rest of the afternoon.

So this is it, folks! My revision of the SDMI premiere Beware the Beast from Below!, as part of my reboot of the series, now completed!

What kind of secret did the gang really uncover? Stay tuned, and please read and review!