Back at the opera house, Fred and Daphne were navigating the darkness with Pavari, Hitch and Pipp right nearby, searching for their own clues about the phantom. “And ever since we started our careers,” said Pavari, “Breena has treated it like it's the most important thing in the world… and she used to treat US like we were the most important thing. It just... it hurts, you know?”
“Awww, I’m sorry, Pavari,” Hitch apologized with a frown. “That does sound hard.”
“As a pop star myself, I know that your career and your fans should be important,” Pipp said, “but… maybe there’s another reason as to why Breena is acting like that with you and your other sister?”
“Well… maybe,” Pavari shrugged sadly. “But… she doesn’t really talk about it much.”
Pipp and Hitch looked at each other sadly before they moved into another room with Fred and Daphne leading the way. “Fred, why do ghosts and monsters and stuff turn up wherever we go?” Daphne asked the ascot-wearing leader of Mystery Inc. “Is it something about us?”
“No,” Fred responded casually. “This happens to everyone.”
“Uh… what?” Hitch looked surprised at this. “What makes you say that?”
“It would be too much of a coincidence if this only happened to us,” Fred explained. “So logically everyone must run into ghosts and monsters all the time.”
“Really?” Daphne questioned in surprise. “Sure,” Fred nodded. “It’s simple math. They must be everywhere.”
“...in a way, that kind of makes sense,” Pipp said in thought. “In all our quests, we’ve faced villains that were literal monsters, or they were monsters metaphorically, so…”
Suddenly, there came a loud crash from the next room over, causing Pavari to gulp nervously. “It’s coming from over there…”
“Stay behind us,” Hitch told her. “We’ll take care of it… or at least, I hope we can…”
The group slowly approached the door on the other side of the room, and when Fred opened it, everyone screamed when they saw an obese Caucasian male with reddish-brown hair on the other side, and the group screaming caused the unknown man to scream as well.
After the screaming had settled down, the man decided to get some answers out of them. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Fred demanded in return. “I'm Mel Richmond. I own this building and I have a right to lurk in it,” the man said before looking at Fred and Daphne. “You must be from the show, right?”
“Yeah. Fred and Daphne are contestants,” Hitch answered. “Right… well, good luck to ya,” Mel told Fred and Daphne. “You make a cute couple.”
“We're not a cute couple!” Daphne said nervously, causing Mel, Pipp, Hitch and Pavari to look at her rather strangely. “I mean, heh, we're not a couple... So we can't be a cute one, although we would be if we were. Which we're not. I mean, it's not like we don't like each other, we just don't like-like each other. It's just not likely. Right, Fred? Or do we? We don't right? Do we? Why are we talking about this so much? Can we just change the subject now, please? This is none of your business!”
“Uh… okay then,” Hitch cleared his throat to clear the silence. “Mr. Richmond, do you know anything about the phantom?” Fred asked, causing Mel to groan and sit down. “That business again,” he said irritably. “Look, that was all way before my time. I inherited this place a few years ago when my father passed away.”
Pipp immediately felt sorry for the man, since she knew what it was like to lose a father, and her ears flattened in sympathy. “Oh, we’re so sorry.”
“Well, me too. It’s costing me thousands of dollars a week,” Mel spoke. “I can't do anything with it. People are still spooked by that phantom nonsense and that was 35 years ago.”
“What was 35 years ago?” Fred asked curiously, leading Mel to sigh before he explained what he meant. “It happened back in the 70s,” he began the story. “Before that there had been some oddities, but, you know, nothing scary. But when my father turned the place into a disco, all heck broke loose. The phantom wreaked havoc every night, but people thought it was part of the show.”
“Huh… I guess some people back then didn’t scare as easily,” Pavari said quietly to her friends. “Despite the phantom, the club flourished,” Mel continued. “Customers looked forward to seeing him, even though it was said his mask hid a terrible deformity.”
“What kind of deformity?” Hitch asked nervously. “No one really knew for sure,” Mel told him mysteriously, causing Hitch to gulp. “No one was ever really hurt. But then the Phantom became
more destructive-- he even set fires. Then one night… he destroyed the disco ball.”
Pipp gasped dramatically at that. “No!”
“Oh, yes,” Mel nodded grimly. “After that, no one came back. Finally, my father had to close the place down. I hadn't been able to rent it at all until the Talent Star people came around. Now they say the phantom's back.”
Pavari whimpered nervously, her ears pinning. “Well,” said Mel, having a thought, “maybe I'll get lucky and he'll burn the place down so I can collect the insurance money, eh? Heh, heh. Or maybe I should put on a cape and mask and do it myself! Ha ha…”
However, this remark led Pavari to sink further to the ground in fear, and Fred, Daphne, Pipp and Hitch looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What?” Mel asked innocently before realizing his error. “Ah, now, don't look at me like that. You see, that's why I don't make jokes.”
“Well… thank you for your help anyway, Mr. Richmond,” Hitch cleared his throat. “We’ll be on our way now.”
The group bid Mel Richmond farewell before they walked out of that storage room and out of Mel's earshot. “If I may say so,” Pipp said, “that guy is a few music notes short of a song... and definitely a worthy suspect.”
“You're definitely right about him being suspicious, Pipp,” Fred pointed out, “but we better head to the hotel and meet up with the others to see what they found.”
Pavari sighed reluctantly. “Do we though?”
“Yes, we do,” Daphne told the young leopard. “I'm sure you can talk things out with your sister, but you won't know unless you try.”
Pavari sighed and nodded, knowing her new friends were right before following them out of the room.
XXXXXXXX
Eden was quiet while she walked with Misty, Sunny, Shaggy and Scooby, trying to not say anything to stop herself from saying the wrong thing.
But as they navigated the streets of Chicago, Misty noticed Eden's quiet behavior and became concerned. “You okay, Eden? You haven't said much since we left the opera house.”
“...I just didn't wanna say anything that would make you mad at me too,” Eden said quietly with her head held low. “I seem to do that all the time with Bree.”
“Hey, you're not gonna say anything to make us mad,” Sunny said. “I understand that sometimes during an argument, you need space from your friends. But it doesn't mean that you're growing apart from each other.”
“Yeah-- Scooby-Doo and I love time that we have to ourselves,” Shaggy interjected his thoughts into their conversation. “Like for instance, do you know what I like best about going to the library, Eden?”
Eden took a guess after a moment. “The books?”
“Nope. The fact that it's far, far away from that phantom guy.”
“You said it,” Scooby nodded with a smile. “And,” Shaggy added, “it's nice that Velma trusts us with such an important assignment like...”
Suddenly, a very similar aroma stopped Shaggy, Scooby and Eden in their tracks, and they looked across the street and found exactly what food was creating this aroma. “PIZZA!!”
Shaggy, Scooby and their new leopard friend raced down the street as fast as their wings and feet would go, causing Sunny to sigh. “Come on, Misty... we better go after them before Shaggy and Scooby cause anymore trouble.”
XXXXXXXX
Shaggy, Scooby and Eden burst through the door in excitement, Shaggy laughing in excitement. “Gimme eats!”
“Right this way, sir,” said the waitress of the restaurant, and Shaggy and Scooby linked arms and walked off with Eden trotting after them, and Sunny and Misty managed to catch up to them at the table. “Gee... you guys are a lot faster than I remember!” Sunny said as she and Misty sat down. “But, we're supposed to be looking for clues, remember?”
“We can always look for clues later, Sunny,” Eden told her new friend. “Besides, I haven't had pizza in ages! We have to figure out which kind we want!”
“Do you have anything bigger than the extra-extra-large?” Shaggy asked the waitress. “Yeah,” the waitress nodded, “but it's not on the menu. Oh, and you have to sign a release form saying we're not responsible if you die.”
Sunny looked at Shaggy and Scooby, who both looked equally excited, but then she realized that any minute now, they were gonna look at her with desperate eyes, causing her to sigh. “Oh, what the heck… we’ll take it.”
“Alrighty,” the waitress nodded in compliance. “But I'll have to move you to another table.”
“Why?” Misty asked, but then, the waitress gave quite the surprising answer. “Because this one is smaller than your pizza.”
“Awesome…!!” Shaggy, Scooby and Eden high fived before they followed the waitress to the largest table in the restaurant, completely all to themselves. But, looking up at the chandelier and walls around them, Eden hummed in thought. “Something’s missing…”
As she closed her eyes and spread her wings, she gave one mighty stomp of her paw, causing green magic (similar to an earth pony’s magic abilities) to spread all over the walls and ceiling, and causing vines and flowers to grow around the table and on the chandelier. “Wow, Eden! That was amazing!” Misty smiled. “Heh, thanks,” Eden chuckled, sitting down at the table with her friends. “It took a lot of practice to master my powers to the extent that I have, but it really adds visual effect when me and my sisters perform.”
Suddenly, a siren coming from the kitchen went off, causing all eyes to turn that way, and two muscular guys wheeled a pizza that was at least as long as a school bus (the biggest pizza Sunny and Misty had ever seen), and the waitress pressed a button that slid the pizza off the tray and onto the table.
Shaggy and Scooby were beyond ecstatic, laughing and giggling excitedly, and even Shaggy went as far as hugging the pizza. “If you don’t mind,” said Shaggy to the waitress, “we’d like to be alone with the pizza.”
“Okie-dokie,” the waitress smiled. “Uh, we can wrap up the leftovers for you.”
“Left… overs?” Shaggy repeated before he and Scooby burst into immediate laughter. “Uh oh!” Misty exclaimed, realizing what was about to happen. “Eden, you might wanna duck!”
“Why would I-- WHOA!!” Eden yelped as soon as food started flying, and she ducked under the table with Sunny and Misty to avoid getting food on themselves. Shaggy and Scooby devoured that whole pizza in at least 45 seconds, much to the shock and bewilderment of all the patrons… who were unlucky and got pizza remains all over them.
After the pizza was devoured, Shaggy and Scooby licked the pizza off their faces before the ponies and Eden got out from their hiding spots, and as the crowd glared at them angrily… they actually started applauding at the feat that Shaggy and Scooby had displayed. “I’d just like to say,” said the amazed waitress, “that it's an honor to be in your presence.”
“Like, I’m sure it is,” Shaggy grinned. “Gee,” Eden whispered to Misty and Sunny, “being a bit modest much?”
Misty only giggled at the leopard and her question. “You have no idea.”
Suddenly, the door to the restaurant burst open, and in came several men dressed in black came in through the door right after an extravagantly dressed woman with extremely long nails, and many people were crowding around her, hoping to get a picture or get an autograph.
However, Scooby tilted his head in confusion. “Who's that?”
“That's Lotte,” Eden responded with a smile. “She's on Talent Star, and she's already won a bunch of other talent shows.”
The waitress, who appeared to be a big fan, nodded in agreement. “She was great on America's Got Singing... and Sing or Die... and Singetty-Sing-Song-Sing!”
“So... she's a singer?” Misty guessed out of innocence. “You could say that,” Eden shrugged. “But, she's also a major diva who's... well... I think you're about to see how heartless she can get.”
Sunny, Misty, Shaggy and Scooby looked to see a little girl, probably around Emma's age, approach Lotte for an autograph, but Lotte looked in disgust at the tights-and-shorts combo that the young girl was waiting. “Mmm-mmm,” Lotte responded sassily. “I do not sign for anyone wearing tights and shorts... because it's wrong.”
This was obviously not the answer that the girl was expecting, because the next thing she knew, she was running off in tears. “Yeah yeah, you better run!” Lotte called after her. “Oh boy...” Misty gulped nervously. “She’s got the same kind of cocky attitude as Posey and Opaline put together!”
“I hate to agree with that part, but... I think you might be right,” Sunny spoke. “Have you and your sisters met her before, Eden?”
“Not personally,” frowned Eden, “but we've seen her around enough to know that she's pretty stiff competition and will do pretty much anything to win.”
“And, uh... not to make anyone nervous,” said Sunny, “but... she's coming this way!”
Indeed, Lotte was walking in their direction, and the waitress lifted a notepad up to her. “Would you...?”
“Leave us!” Lotte quickly demanded, and the waitress immediately backed off. “Um... hi, Lotte,” Eden greeted as casually as Lotte turned toward her and her new friends. “I'm Eden SirenSong, o-one of the SirenSong sisters, and these--”
“I already know who you are!” Lotte interrupted, piercing her long nails into the wall and causing the others to shriek in surprise. “And I want you to take a message to Daphne and Fred-- Tell them they don't stand a chance. I will crush all who oppose me. I will feast upon their blood. Their families will weep over their smoldering corpses. I will leave nothing but their scarves. So swears Lotte!”
That's when she began to carve her name into Shaggy’s shirt and Scooby’s chest, spelling out each letter as she did so. “L... O... T... T... E! Lotte...”
Shaggy and Scooby screamed and bolted toward the door with their friends in pursuit as Lotte cackled victoriously. “Here you go!” Misty gave the waitress some money. “Keep the change! Thanks for everything!”
And just like that, she and Sunny bolted after their friends in the direction of the hotel, hoping to catch their friends before they landed in some sort of trouble.