//------------------------------// // The First and Second Phantoms Unmasked // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// There was no doubt about it… whoever this phantom really was knew how to get what they wanted. And if our heroes didn’t do something fast, something worse may happen during the live performances! As soon as the phantom’s image disappeared from the main stage, security was immediately called. “Don't worry. We'll find him,” one of the security guards said reassuringly. “Let’s split up.” But when he and his partner went to ‘split up’, they ended up colliding right into one another. “Okay,” the security guard groaned, “the other way.” But then, the two security guards fell right off the stage and onto their faces, causing everyone to wince. “Find him,” Dewey whimpered. “Now, now, now, now!” “Jeez, I get everyone is worried, but Dewey needs to take a SERIOUS chill pill,” Pipp rolled her eyes. “And speaking of which,” said one of the Girlasaurus Rex members, “we’re out of here.” But, as soon as they started to leave, Brick stood in their way. “Heh, ladies, where are you going? Come on.” “Dude, someone busted our instruments,” said the guitarist with a sneer. “What's next, our heads?” “Think we can catch up with Waldo?” the pink-haired band member asked, and Cathy walked away, pulling Waldo’s card out of her pocket. “What do you mean we?” “Come back here!” the other band members cried and chased after her. “Zipp and Sunny were right before. We gotta do something,” Fred told the others. “Velma, you've seen all the acts, right?” “Yeah.” “Who do you think the frontrunners are? I mean, of the ones that are left?” “Honestly?” Velma shrugged. “You guys, the violin girl and Chrissy.” “Yes!” Pipp pumped a hoof. “I knew Fred and Daphne were frontrunner material!” “Pipp!” Zipp scolded. “Not the time for your manager cred!” Pipp blinked a moment before blushing in embarrassment. “Oh, right… sorry.” “So,” Daphne hummed in thought, “if the phantom wants Chrissy to win, he'll try to get rid of Emma and us!” “Breena,” Fred turned to the eldest leopard sister, “can you and Emma’s parents take her someplace safe?” “You got it!” Breena saluted before she flew off. “We’re gonna set a trap for the phantom,” Fred explained to the others, “and Daphne and I will be the bait.” “Oh, good!” Daphne smiled before the others glanced at her. “I mean, yeah, whatever.” “And when the time is right,” Misty said, “the rest of us will leap out and grab the phantom so we can get this mystery over with!” “Okay, guys,” Sunny said, “we just need to get into position, and then, as Fred likes to say… it’s trapping time!” XXXXXXXX A while after all the contestants had gotten done rehearsing, a janitor was sweeping the stage when he saw Fred and Daphne walk out onto the stage so they could start their plan. “Well, uh, we're gonna take a nap now,” Fred spoke loudly so the phantom could possibly hear. “In our dressing room!” Daphne agreed. “Uh… no one cares?” the janitor said in confusion, but that didn’t stop Fred and Daphne from proceeding.  “Yeah, so, uh, we'll be asleep and napping. Just totally unprotected.” “In our dressing room. Asleep.” “Unguarded!” “In our dressing room!” “Unguarded!” And by the time they walked off, the janitor looked so confused-- what the heck were they doing? XXXXXXXX A few minutes later, back in the dressing room, Pavari and Eden and Hitch and Pipp were going to pretend to be asleep so they could leap out and get the phantom whenever he came in, and the rest of the ponies, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were going to be hiding in the closet. “Hang tight,” Fred told them. “Something’s bound to happen.” “To you, right? Not to us?” Shaggy asked curiously, causing the ponies and Velma to look over at him scoldingly. “What? I'm just asking.” “Hey, it’s a fair question,” Scooby agreed, just before Fred shut the closet door, leaving the group inside to only have light coming from Izzy and Misty's horns. “It’s only a matter of time now,” Pipp told her friends before turning off the light, and they all closed their eyes, pretending to sleep while they waited... ...and waited... ...and waited... ...and waited some more. Before our heroes knew it, two hours had passed and there had been absolutely no sign of the phantom. “This is ridiculous!” Shaggy muttered in annoyance from inside the closet. “We've been waiting forever. And, Velma, would you get your elbow out of my ribs?” “Uh… she’s over here with me, Shaggy,” Zipp whispered with a raised eyebrow. “Hold on a sec,” Misty said, lighting her horn and shining it in Shaggy’s direction. “Then whose big elbow...?” But before she could finish speaking, the phantom poked his head out and growled at them from a rack of clothes, causing Shaggy, Scooby, Velma and the remainder of the ponies to scream and burst out of the closet, causing the others to sit up in alarm. “Guys?” Eden looked alarmed. “What happened?!” “Ph… ph… PHANTOM!!” Shaggy shrieked in terror. “He was in the closet!” Misty exclaimed. “Who knows how long he was in there with us!” Fred looked into the closet, shining his flashlight into the back of it before noticing something. “He must have gone through there!” Zipp looked inside the closet and gasped at what Fred was shining his flashlight at. “A secret door built right into the closet! I gotta admit… that’s impressive, even for a villain.” “Well then… that’s where we have to go,” Sunny said. “We gotta follow him before he gets too far away!” “Awwww…” Shaggy whined as the others crawled into the trapdoor. “Like, I hate hidden passages! They never lead anywhere good.” “Too bad, so sad!” Pavari nudged his rear end to get him to move. “Let’s move it before the phantom gets too far ahead!” XXXXXXXX After the group finished crawling through the trapdoor, they ended up in a dark tunnel, to which they lit with their flashlights and lit horns. However, Shaggy hated the fact that they were heading through a secret passageway. “When's the last time we were in a hidden passage and it led to, like, miniature golf?” “Is he like this all the time?” Eden asked her friends, causing Pipp to chuckle. “You have NO idea.”  XXXXXXXX A little while later, after a while more of walking, they reached a wider section of tunnels, with water flowing all throughout, like some sort of underground river. “We must be in the sewers below the opera house!” Hitch realized. “The perfect place for a phantom of an opera house to hide out when he isn’t scaring us half to death.” “Wait... the sewers?” Pavari stopped in her tracks. “The part of the city that's like an underground river?” “Uh... I never thought about it like that, but yeah,” Sunny said as the others stopped in confusion. “Why do you ask?” “Uh... I'll be back.” And before the ponies or their friends could say a word, Pavari leapt into the air, a swirl of light turning her wings into fins and her back legs into a tail before she dove right into the water. “What in Equestria?!” Hitch said in shock. “How did she do that?!” “It kinda comes with her powers,” Eden said just before Pavari popped her head up. “I can change between mer-leopard and regular form at will-- pretty cool, huh?” “Other than the fact that you transformed in the sewers,” Velma shuddered at the fact, “then yeah.” “Oops, sorry! When I see water,” Pavari said with a nervous chuckle, “I can’t help myself.” The young leopard leapt right out of the water, turning back to normal in the process before the others pulled her up onto solid ground. “Like, these sewers have so many passageways,” Shaggy told the others. “How are we gonna find--?” “Shh!” Pipp silenced him, her senses tingling. “Do you hear something?” The others silenced themselves in order to listen, and discovered that Pipp was right-- there was definitely something in the air... and it sounded just like organ music! And whoever was playing the organ? They were pretty good. “Where is it coming from?” Izzy asked, looking around. “I think it’s coming from this direction!” Eden said, pointing in a certain direction before running off. “Come on!” The others immediately flew/ran after her, but as soon as they rounded the next corner, they stopped in their tracks immediately-- dozens and dozens of rats were coming out of a nearby pipe and heading straight for them! “RATS!!” Shaggy shrieked, but as the group moved out of the way of the rats, Shaggy nearly fell off the path, causing Scooby and Eden to quickly grab Shaggy before he fell… and it was a good thing they did, otherwise Shaggy wouldn’t have liked getting wet like Pavari did. Shaggy sighed in relief before rubbing Scooby and Eden on the head, allowing the former to whimper in pleasure, and Eden purred at the touch. “That was too close,” Zipp said in relief. “We really need to be careful going forward.” “Especially…” Pipp shuddered, “...if there are rats in the picture. Eww eww eww!!!” Nevertheless, the group continued walking down that path until they reached a section where a cave-in seemed to have occurred, but rocks were blocking their path. But while the pegasi and the winged leopards could fly over it, the others had no choice but to climb over the rock pile. Scooby whimpered as he climbed after his friends, his paw almost slipping on a rock, but Sunny was able to hold him steady. “Whoa! Careful, Scooby! We don’t want you to take an unwanted bath.” Sunny and Scooby proceeded to follow their friends up the rock pile, but when they got to the top, something caused them to stop, little red eyes, and a lot of them, I might add, were glaring right at them. “Huh? What’s that?” Scooby wondered. “Hang on,” Sunny said. “I have an idea.” Quickly enough, Sunny shifted into her alicorn form and proceeded to shine some light into the cavern… but she and Scooby screamed at what the light revealed. “BATS!!” The bats screeched and flew out of the cave right at them, causing them to scream and brace themselves. However, the bats were able to startle the group so much that they fell right off the platform and onto a long slide, screaming at the top of their lungs. But, as they continued to slide, Sunny suddenly got an idea. “Ponies! Try and stop yourselves and the gang will stop right behind you! Quick!” Quickly enough, the ponies slammed their hooves onto the ground or spread their wings wide while doing so, stopping in their tracks and causing the gang to slam into them, stopping as well… …well, all except one gang member. Velma was still sliding right toward the edge of the slide, causing Pavari and Eden to leap over their halted friends and grab Velma’s sweater, their paws digging into the slide with their wings spread wide for balance. Velma sighed in relief… that was way too close. “Good thing this sweater is a cable-knit!” “Good work, everypony,” Hitch said with a sigh. “That was way too close.” “Hang on!” Sunny said as she lifted her friends up in her magic. “We’re getting everypony out of here!” She flew up in her alicorn form and lifted everypony back onto solid ground, causing them to sigh in relief… just before the same organ music was heard once more. “There it is again!” Daphne exclaimed. However, the music seemed to be even louder than before... ...and this meant that they were getting closer. Scooby and the leopards used their keen ears to try and pinpoint the source of the sound, but Scooby was able to figure out where it was coming from first and pointed down a nearby tunnel. “This way!” Everyone darted after Scooby into the tunnel, and the further they got down the tunnel, the louder the music became. As they rounded the next corner, they appeared to be some sort of large room with an organ at the end of it, and you may be wondering... who was so expertly playing the organ at this time of night, far below the streets? Well, you'll never believe this, but... it was the phantom! When the phantom quickly turned, it caused the others to gasp and flinch, expecting him to attack... but this was not the reaction they recieved. He almost seemed... happy to see them. “I suppose it was only a matter of time until someone found me. Welcome to my home!” the phantom told them as he left the organ and got closer to them. “I have lived here in the dank, reeking sewers all my life… forced to hide from society to conceal the hideous, twisted mass of flesh that is my face. But now, I can hide no longer. Behold! The Phantom of the Opera!” The ponies braced themselves when the phantom ripped off his mask, expecting to see something hideous like he said, but... the phantom just appeared to be a normal, Caucasian male with blonde hair... not really anything to be afraid of. Daphne was the first to speak after a moment. “Um… you look fine…?” “I… what?” the man questioned in surprise. “I mean, you’re no Brad Pitt or anything,” Pavari agreed, “but… you look okay.” That’s when the man, in confusion, approached a mirror, still obviously ashamed. “But look. Gaze upon my foul, deformed visage! I'm hideous! Hideous!” The man sobbed sadly, leading Izzy and Misty to frown at each other as they approached with Shaggy, who noticed something about the mirror that the man never noticed before. “Dude, this is a funhouse mirror.” “I… it is?” the man blinked in surprise. “But this is the only mirror I've ever looked in. I mean, I don't have any others, and when I go out, I always wear the mask.” Daphne pulled a hand mirror out of her pocket and gave it to the man, who smiled at seeing his true face. “Hey! I look good!” he said before giving the mirror back to Daphne. “Well, this is embarrassing. Wow, uh, heh… I wish I had the last 40 years back. Uh, so it's super awkward right now. I, uh... anyway, yeah.” “Um… Mr. Phantom?” Misty spoke up cautiously. “Steve,” the man stuck out his hand. “Steve Trilby.” “Uh… Steve,” Fred cautiously shook their new friend’s hand. “Why have you been sabotaging the talent show?” However, Steve was drawing a blank to the whole thing. “The what now?” “Talent Star? The TV show whose finale is tonight?” Pipp tried to remind him. “Yeah,” Daphne nodded. “You wrecked instruments and set fire to a dummy, and…” “Not me,” Steve denied. “I haven't been up at all lately, except to get food.” “So that’s what you were doing in the dressing room?” Zipp asked in confusion. “Going to get food?” “Yeah, that’s the secret door to the vending machines. I like those burritos. The bean and cheese ones?” “Ooookay, somehow I buy that,” Hitch said with an eye roll. “But, back in the 70s…?” Pavari tried to ask, leading Steve to sigh and try his best to explain. “Oh, yeah. I mean, I did some stuff back then. Stuff I'm not proud of. It was when they turned the opera house into a disco. I had loved the opera so much. I can hear everything from down here, you know. But that disco music made me crazy! And those ridiculous outfits the people wore. You know, the little neck scarf thingies and the mini-skirts and…” But when he saw that Daphne and Fred wore those exact same clothes, he quickly tried to correct himself. “Oh… b-but on you guys, they work,” he said before going to sit down on a nearby sofa. “Anyway, that was when I was young and impetuous. I haven't bothered anyone for almost 40 years now. Could I, um… could I see that mirror again?” “Here, take mine,” Pipp handed him a mirror. “I have plenty at home.” Steve admired his reflection with a pleased smile. “Look at me. I'm an Adonis!” At the same time, the others were pulled into a private discussion. “Guys, I’m pretty sure he’s telling the truth,” Misty said. “Steve never really wanted to hurt anybody, even back all those years ago.” “I agree,” Sunny said. “I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” “That may be true, girls,” Fred told them, “but if he isn't behind everything that's going on, then who...?” Suddenly, there came a shriek from back at the opera house, and it could be heard all the way down in the sewers. And fearing that there might be something horribly wrong, Eden and Pavari led their friends out of the sewers below to investigate. XXXXXXXX Collette was on the stage and looking up at something while she shrieked, and the others raced on the stage to check on her. “Collette!” Zipp cried. “What’s wrong?!” “We heard the shriek,” Misty agreed, “and came running!” Suddenly, the group looked up and gasped at what they were saying-- someone was hanging from a cord on the ceiling, and they weren't moving! To prevent anyone from thinking the wrong thing, Fred flicked on the lights, and they saw the Great Pauldini hanging from a harness on the ceiling, indeed alive, much to the ponies' relief. “Hellooooo!!” the Great Pauldini cried. “Uh, kind of stuck up here!” “...oh,” Collette deadpanned before she walked off. “So,” said the Great Pauldini, “could someone get a ladder, or something?” “Great Pauldini, what happened?!” Sunny asked in alarm. “The harness is part of my disappearing trick,” the magician explained. “I was working on it when the phantom shoved me off the catwalk!” “I guess this mystery isn’t over yet,” Zipp sighed in frustration. “We gotta keep an extra eye out for anything suspicious.” Breena then flew into the room, panting and out of breath. “I heard Collette screaming! Is everyone okay?!” “There’s more than one phantom, sis!” Eden exclaimed in worry. “We met the first phantom from the 70s, but he isn’t really a bad guy, but there’s another phantom on the loose somewhere!” “Hey,” Steve said, pointing up to the top of the stage. “What’s that up there?” When the others turned their attention to where Steve was pointing, someone else in a phantom costume was trying to set the curtains ablaze. “Oh no!” Breena cried. “It's the phantom!” The ghoulish phantom laughed devilishly and made a run for it down the catwalk. “I’m going after him. Watch the exits” Fred ran for the ladder, and Eden ran after him along with Pavari and Zipp. “We’ll put out the fire.” Shaggy said, and Scooby quickly agreed. “Yeah!” Shaggy, along with Scooby, Hitch, and Sunny went to get the fire extinguisher off the wall, While Fred, Pavari, Eden, and Zipp climbed up the ladder to chase after the phantom. “Hey! Get back here!” Zipp demanded and flew after him while Pavari and Eden stayed behind with Fred for support, and just as Fred made it up a flight of stairs, he saw the phantom holding a sandbag. “Look out!” Pavari gasped as the phantom threw the heavy bag at them. Luckily, the two leopards went airborne while Fred ducked. Then, the phantom ducked underneath Zipp as she tired to tackle him and watched as he ran off. “Darn it! Almost got him!” “Just don't let him get away!” Eden shouted. XXXXXXXX Meanwhile, Shaggy, Scooby, Hitch, and Sunny clambered up a set of stair to the catwalk that led to the burning curtains. Shaggy shook the extinguisher and pressed the release button, but nothing happened. “Come on! Work!” “I don't wanna be a backseat sheriff here, but I think you’re supposed to pull the pin,” Hitch pointed out, just before Scooby took initiative and pulled out the pin. “Thanks, Scoob-- AHHH!!!” Shaggy pushed the release again and a gush of foam sprayed out of the nozzle, and the sudden force was enough to push Shaggy over the railing. Thankfully, before he could fall, Sunny and Hitch grabbed a hold of him and pulled him back on the catwalk. “You okay, Shaggy?” Sunny asked in concern. “Yeah. Like, double thanks.” Shaggy said, and sprayed down the fire. XXXXXXXX Back with the Fred and the others, they chased the phantom down the catwalk, refusing to let him get out of their sights again. Nearing the end, the phantom leapt off it and onto another catwalk. Zipp, Eden, and Pavari, being winged creature, took flight and flew after him while Fred was forced to make the jump. However, he miscalculated and undershot, and was just barely able to grasped the catwalk’s edge. XXXXXXXX From down below, Daphne squealed and squeezed Velma’s arm. “Ow! You’re squeezing my arm!” Velma complained. “Come on, Freddy!” Misty cried. “We believe in you!” “You can do it, Fred!” Izzy said with a face full of popcorn, and this caused the rest of team to look at her with annoyed looks. “What?” “Read the room, Izzy!” Pipp reprimanded. “I am! It has my on the edge of my seat!” Izzy stuff another hoofful of popcorn into her mouth. XXXXXXXX At the same time, Fred was struggling to climb back up onto the platform, but Eden and Pavari noticed this and swiftly came to his aid. “Don’t worry, Fred! We’re coming!” Pavari grabbed ahold of his arm and starting pulling. “Um... small problem with that, sis!” Eden watched with dreaded eyes as the phantom walked up to them, letting out a demented laugh. But as the sisters gasped, Zipp's voice caught them offguard. “Oh no you don't!” The white pegasus grabbed the phantom’s cape and pulled it over his head, just as Fred quickly untied his ascot. “Get away from here, girls. I need a clear shot.” “Are you crazy?!” Eden strained. “You’re about to fall off the edge!” “Trust me!” At that moment, the phantom flipped the cape off and lifted his foot to crush Fred’s hand. The two leopards and pegasus moved out of the way just in time as the phantom’s foot came down. Fred swung back and wrapped his ascot around the phantom’s leg, causing Fred to pull back hard, sending the phantom onto his back. Once this was over, Pavari and Eden pulled Fred back onto the catwalk. “Whoa!” Pavari cried. “That was crazy!” “Yeah!” agreed Zipp. “Crazy but awesome!” However, the phantom wasn’t done yet and sinisterly pulled out the acetylene torch out of his coat. “Look out!” Daphne squeezed Velma’s arm even tighter. “Hey! Quit it.” The phantom swung the metal canister at the four of them. Fred was now backed up to the edge again. Zipp acted first, delivery a buck right to the phantom’s chest. The phantom tumbled to the ground and growled at them just before Eden and Pavari swooped in to attack. The phantom stepped, narrowly avoiding getting scratched, but then, the phantom elbowed Eden in the chest and back-handed Pavari, sending them backwards onto the catwalk. He tackled Fred, forcing him to catch him by the wrists, and Zipp was pinned behind him. Zipp and Fred pushed back, but the phantom was strong and had them pinned against the railing, causing him to laugh and ignite the acetylene torch. Sunny gasped in terror at this. “Oh no!” “Zipp!” Pipp cried out to her sister. “I can’t look!” Breena looked away. Fred and Zipp struggled to hold back the phantom, and it seemed like the bright, blue flame of the torch was inching closer and closer closer to them. Suddenly, they heard a battle cry, and the phantom turned to see Steve swing toward on a rope. And before he could do anything, Steve kicked him away and onto another catwalk. The rough landing was more than the catwalk could handle and the support beams snapped. The catwalk dropped and the two men and two of the leopard sisters crashed onto the opera stage while Zipp was able to get away. With the phantom down for the count, Velma grabbed the mask and yanked it off, revealing the culprit to be… “Mel Richmond?” The dress tore away, freeing Richmond’s constrained stomach, just as the others approached to check on their friends. “Oh my stars, are you both okay?!” Breena asked as she checked her sisters over. “Are there any wing feathers out of place?!” “Oh, yeah. We’re fine.” Eden said, making Breena sigh in relief. “Yeah,” Pavari agreed. “One strike to the gut isn’t enough to take me down.” “Speak for yourself,” Steve wheezed. “I think I'm dying...” “Uhm, actually I’m pretty you’re okay,” Pipp said. “But, look! I’m all bloody!” Steve pointed at his reddened reflection on a mirror, and Daphne inspected the mirror a bit more closely. “There’s just some red paint on the… do you understand how mirrors work at all?” “Give me a break. I grew up in a sewer,” Steve replied. Just before anything else could be said, Hitch, Zipp and Sunny approached Mel Richmond with a glare. “So,” said Hitch, “you were gonna burn the place down for the insurance money.” “Yes,” Mel scoffed. “And I would have gotten away with it too... if it hadn't been for you meddling kids, those freaky horses and your nosy dog.” “Dog?” the security guard from earlier looked around. “Where?!” “Zoinks!” Shaggy shrieked, and he and Scooby quickly ran off with Misty and Sunny in pursuit. But, as the others watched the security guard chasing Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny and Misty, Mel tried to sneak away, causing Zipp to plant her hoof firmly on his cape and making him fall to the ground. “Relax, Richmond,” she sneered. “You’re not going anywhere.” That's when Dewey, accompanied by the leopard sisters and the police, walked onto the stage. “Is this the guy?” one of the officers asked. “That’s him, officer,” Dewey sneered. “Mel Richmond.” But, as the officers put Mel under arrest, Pipp suddenly had a puzzling thought come into her mind. “Wait. This still doesn’t make sense.” “Pipp’s right,” Daphne agreed. “If you wanted the insurance money, why didn't you just burn the place down? Why all the other stuff?” “I didn’t!” Mel shook his head. “But whoever did gave me the idea to put on this costume. Stupidest idea I ever had…” Suddenly, the phantom’s laughter echoed through the opera house again, and all the lights went out, causing everyone to gasp in terror. “Christine must win!” “What the heck?!” the second police officer cried. “Otherwise,” the phantom continued, “I will rain death and destruction down upon this place! So swears the phantom! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!” Breena and her sisters screamed and leapt out of the way just as one of the stage lights fell, crashing to the floor, but luckily, the sisters were able to get away unharmed. “Now will you take this seriously?” Dewey asked the officers. “I want as many officers as you can spare here for the show tonight.” “I was thinking the same thing, buddy,” the female officer nodded. “We’re on it.” “So you’ll do it?” Dewey asked optimistically. “You'll put all your men on this? And can you keep that dog out of here too?” With that, the others went their separate ways… unaware that they had forgotten the Great Pauldini up in the rafters again. “Hellooo!! I still need a ladder! Helloooo?!” he called. “The Great Pauldini is not pleased!!”