G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery

by ponydog127

Splitting Up (Part 2)

Spaceman and Rose were leading Velma, Izzy and Zipp to the grounds where Chikara did most of her work, and Zipp and Izzy were interested in learning more and more about Rose and her family.

Rose was the oldest, and Topaz was actually the second oldest. But Rose wasn't much of a pony to take charge, and left that duty up to her younger sister, who was doing amazing at the job.

And she couldn't imagine their family any other way.

But... Zipp did feel like there was something else that Rose nor her sisters were telling them, but decided to wait till they had all the facts.

Soon, they arrived, and Spacsman pushed past the wind chimes Chikara had hung up to approach her. “Chikara, we need to talk.”

“Ah... Princess Rose, Spaceman,” Chikara smiled from atop her chair. “I sensed your approach.”

“You mean, you heard the wind chimes,” Velma answered, and Chikara scoffed at the fact that she and two Equestrians were here too. “Why do you bring these ones with you?”

“Topaz and Starchild seem to think they're okay. The Equestrians seem to wanna make amends after what happened so long ago,” Rose explained before chuckling. “Plus, they've got a talking dog, which is kind of wild. So--”

“Starchild cannot see as deep as I can,” Chikara interrupted. “He has but one special eye, whereas I have two.”

Velma adjusted her glasses with a smirk. “Some people think I have four.”

But, Izzy merely blinked in confusion. “I don't get it-- everyone has only two eyes.”

Zipp chuckled before whispering back to her unicorn companion, “Just a figure of speech, Iz.”

“I know you think this is a joke, Miss Smarty-Pants...” Chikara pointed at Velma accusingly, “but your ignorance will cost us all.”

“Okay then... I'm game,” Velma challenged. “Tell us what we need to know.”

“How serious is the threat?” Spaceman inquired. “The danger grows, Spaceman,” Chikara said, approaching a book on a nearby pedestal. “The Crimson Witch senses the Rock of Kissteria is near.”

“Rock of Kissteria?” Zipp stopped taking notes to look up in confusion. “What's that?”

“It's the key to holding evil at bay,” Chikara opened the book to a certain page. “This began on a Halloween night on another world in a cosmic realm known as... Kissteria.”

Rose took a deep, quiet breath as Zipp, Velma and Izzy came closer to hear Chikara tell the tale. “An evil sorceress, called the Crimson Witch, created a gigantic horror known as... the Destroyer!” said Chikara, showing them a giant red monster emerging from the top of a giant volcano. “She sent the Destroyer to spread devastation throughout the land... the first step toward infecting the entire realm with evil, after a colony of bat ponies saught refuge in this distant cosmic world.”

Izzy could have sworn she heard the roar of the Destroyer in her ears, and seeing her friend's discomfort, Zipp wrapped a wing around Izzy to soothe her. “But the warriors had a weapon,” Chikara continued. “Cosmic power crystals-- the Kissteria crystals! Each crystal sounded a musical note.”

Zipp made an effort to take a picture of the crystals in the pages of the book for future reference. “The warriors used the music of the crystals to force the Destroyer to retreat... and once the monster was back inside its volcanic temple, they transferred the musical energy of the crystals... into a single, powerful... rock. That rock, the Rock of Kissteria, became the key. By removing it, the Destroyer would be trapped forever.”

Zipp, Izzy and Velma spared each other a glance at this, even though Velma probably wouldn't believe it at first. “Naturally, the Crimson Witch has been desperate to retrieve it,” Chikara said. “Especially by Halloween night, when circumstances are ripe to release the Destroyer!”

“So where's the magic music rock now?” Izzy asked, and Chikara flipped through several more pages. “It's had many protectors over the ages. Each one a descendant of the musical warriors who fought so bravely. Today these guardians are known as the Gemstone Princesses and... KISS!!”

Velma turned to look at Spaceman and Rose with wide eyes. “You guys have it?!”

“Yes. The boys usually display it at the Hall of Kisstory in the park,” Rose explained. “But when it gets near Halloween,” Spaceman added, “we keep it with us on tour.”

“Wait a second...” Velma pulled out an older photo of KISS with the rock in question. “Is this the rock? The Detroit Rock that you received as a gift from the city of Detroit?”

“That's just a cover story,” Chikara scoffed. “...yeah,” Velma spoke with a deadpan look. “And isn't the Destroyer just the name of a ride?”

“BLASPHEMOUS!!” Chikara shrieked, slamming the book shut. “Have you learned nothing?! The Destroyer will strike fear into your heart!”

“Oh, that's funny,” Izzy said, pointing to a poster that read 'The Destroyer will strike fear into your heart' on it outside. “That's exactly what the poster says.”

“Argh... get these fools away from me!” Chikara ordered, shoving the group outside. “They and their friends will do more harm than good!”

As soon as they were outside, the door slammed right in their faces. “That woman is crazy,” Zipp frowned as they walked away. “I do like the lore, but... there's no way an alternate world like that could exist... right?”

“You never know, Zipp. And you have to admit, Chikara's powers are impressive,” Rose said with sincerity. “You actually believe all that?” Velma asked in disbelief. “Chikara's never wrong,” Spaceman told her. “Except that time she predicted the Love Gun album would go gold. Because it went platinum!”

“Oh yeah, baby!” Izzy chirped, and Velma sighed... this was gonna be a long day.

XXXXXXXXX

“Starchild!” Daphne called as she, the ponies and Fred wandered through the dark. “Starchild!!”

“Whoo... these catacombs sure are dark. Sparky would be t-totally scared if he was here,” Hitch stammered in fright. “Topaz?” Sunny called. “Are you sure you know where to go?”

“Well, I haven't been down here in a while, but Starchild has,” Topaz said as she struggled to see in the dark. “You know... bat ponies are able to see well in the dark, but me and my sisters have been in the spotlight so much, I think that ability has been lost.”

Daphne gasped in horror after realizing something. “But Starchild can't see in the dark like a bat pony! Ohh... I hope nothing's happened to him!”

Suddenly, a loud hooting sound followed by echoing laughter rang through the air, causing Fred to look around. “What was that?!”

“Of all the times to be without my sheriff light...” Hitch muttered to himself. All of a sudden, a light flashed on beside them, and they all gasped to see Chip McGhoo standing next to them. “You wanna buy a KISS flashlight? Comes with a handy key ring.”

“Chip? Forgive me for being blunt, but what in bat's name are you doing down here?” Topaz asked with crossed hooves. “Hey,” Chip said, “I was just checking on the props for the concert, and I got lost in this maze.”

Suddenly, the loud hooting and laughter echoed through the halls of the catacombs and making Daphne shudder. “There it is again!”

And then, unfortunately, Chip's flashlight quickly ran out of juice, causing him to groan and hit it repeatedly. “If I only stocked up on KISS batteries!”

“Hey, Pipp, Hitch! We can use our cell phones!” Sunny realized. “Oh, right!” Hitch laughed awkwardly. “I completely forgot about those!”

Their phone flashlights then turned on, and they looked around to find the source of the sound when they saw some plastic monsters in the totes beside them, causing the group to shriek. “Oh. Those are the props I've been looking for,” Chip said, moving over to them. “KISS monster props, part of the Halloween show. House seats still available.”

Suddenly, the loud hooting and laughter echoed out again, making Fred hum in thought. “That doesn't sound like a prop.”

“This waaaaay...” Pipp sang as she and Topaz flew up and led the group away. “You're leaving?!” Chip asked. “Hello! Manager in the dark! Hello?”

XXXXXXXXX

The sounds kept getting louder as they approached a door on the left side of the hall, and when they opened it, there was a ghost flying around, causing Daphne to shriek. Fred smirked and prepared to dive for it. “I got it!”

But like the ponies expected, Fred went right through and crashed through the floor. “Freddy!” Daphne cried as the lights came on. “What is this place?”

As the lights dimmed enough so they could see, they could see Shandi, two other female scientists and Starchild in the room. “It's my special effects lab,” Shandi explained as Starchild came forward. “I thought I told you guys to stay back.”

Topaz glared down at the soaked Fred sitting beside them on the floor. “Some of us had other ideas.”

“Don't worry, Fred. We can dry you off,” Shandi said before turning to tbe other women in the room. “Beth? Christine?”

The girls turned on the giant fan in the room, which not only dried Fred completely, it also blew him into the wall. After the fan turned off, Daphne looked to Starchild. “I take it you didn't find the witch.”

“I searched this whole sector except for the chem lab. That's why I came to Shandi,” Starchild said, and Shandi held up a key card. “I'm the only one who has the key.”

Shandi then led the group down the hall while giving a brief explanation. “For the last few months, chemicals have gone missing, so I keep the lab under lock and key. No one gets in without coming to me first.”

She slid the card through a slot on the door, and once it flashed green, she opened the door to reveal an empty room. “See? Empty.”

“Hey... is that a chemical analyzer?” Fred asked, pointing to a device nearby, making Shandi smirk. “Pretty smart of you, FrFred.

“I've got a couple at home. Hey, do you think you can analyze this? It's the residue from the witch's mist,” Fred handed the bag to her, which Shandi happily took. “Sure. Anything for a fellow chemmie.”

Daphne huffed from not too far off. Now it seemed like Fred was falling for someone else.

XXXXXXXXX

Back near the main stage, Misty struggled to use her new unicorn powers to lift a speaker into place, and Shaggy and Scooby helped her shove it in the rest of the way. Shaggy sighed as they finally got to sit down. “I don't think I've worked this hard in, like, ho-ho, forever.”

“Ugh... me neither,” Scooby said with a groan as Misty's stomach began to growl. “And I don't know about you boys, but I'm actually getting kinda hungry.”

Scooby nodded enthusiastically. “Me too!”

“Hey? Princess Sapphire? Mr. Catman?” Shaggy called up. “When do we get to eat?”

“After you've brought the KISS Monsters onstage,” Sapphire told them, but Scooby yelped and jumped into Shaggy's arms. “M-M-M-Monsters?!”

“Yeah, Chip brought them over,” Catman said as he leapt down from the stage. “They're below us.”

“Like, where are the stairs, man?” Shaggy asked, but Catman simply pointed his drumsticks at the stage. “Don't need em.”

He pressed a button on the drumsticks, and an elevator soon came into view. Misty and the boys hopped on and traveled below the stage, where the KISS Monsters were set up as Catman and Sapphire had said. “That must be them, Scoob. Now, these are the kind of monsters I like,” Shaggy banged one. “Fake ones!”

“But we need to keep our guard up,” Misty said, looking at the monsters then down at her cutie mark. “We don't know when the witch or Opaline is gonna strike next.”

“Don't worry so much, Misty. If Opaline was here, she would have come by now... don't you think?” Shaggy asked, making Misty sigh. “Yeah... I guess you're right.”

Scooby then looked around before he sighed something nearby which made him gasp and pulled Shaggy to see it. “Shaggy, look!”

Shaggy luckily recognized the room immediately. “It's KISS's green room where they hang out before the show!” he said before looming at his best friend. “Scoob, you hit the jackpot!”

“But, guys? I have a feeling that somepony is watching us,” Misty frowned. “Maybe we should bring the props back upstairs.”

“But Misty...” Scooby gave her some puppy dog eyes, making Misty sigh reluctantly. “All right... but we can't stay long. We have to look for clues and get those KISS Monsters back onstage.”

So, they entered the room, and began to walk down the long table of different food types. “Think of all impressive people who have been invited down here,” Shaggy said. “The pizza-delivery guy, the sandwich-delivery guy, the creepy witch, the sushi-delivery guy...?”

Suddenly, one of those phrases made the group stop in their tracks and turn... in order to see the Crimson Witch standing behind them! “Give me rock!!”

“Zoinks!” Shaggy cried. “Creepy witch!”

Misty and her friends screamed and dove into hiding as the witch gave chase. And at first, she didn't notice them behind the KISS Monsters, and in his quietest voice, Shaggy tried to think more positive thoughts. “Like, maybe she'll think this is the real KISS and go away.”

“But then again, she may NOT!!” Misty whispered loudly. That caused the witch to turn and raise her hand to the KISS monster props. “Alive!!”

Red magic began to dance around the props and made them roar and come to life before chasing Misty and the boys throughout the area, making the Crimson Witch cackle. That's when Misty spotted a nearby closet to hide in. “Quick, in here!”

Shaggy and Scooby immediately followed her in and locked the door, standing in front of it as the monsters banged on it repeatedly, and Shaggy hoped and prayed that they would just leave. “Please go away. Please go away. Please go away.”

But then, all of a sudden, the banging stopped, catching them off-guard. But since she lived with Opaline all that time, Misty knew you could never be careful. “Are they gone?”

Shaggy listened carefully, and since he heard nothing for now, he decided to whisper. “Maybe they're waiting for us to let our guard down.”

“Well,” Scooby whispered, “they're gonna have to wait a LONG time.”

“Misty? Shaggy? Scooby?” called a familiar voice, making them gasp. “Are you in there?”

“Like, how do they know our names?!” Shaggy asked, and after the voice called his name again, Shaggy decided to open it and peered at who was outside. “Why are you not being eaten by KISS monsters?”

“KISS monsters?” Zipp questioned. “What are you talking about?” Daphne asked, and that's when the Great Dane, his best friend and the blue unicorn decided to peer outside. “They're gone!” Scooby said. “But how?” Misty couldn't help but wonder. “And why would they leave when they had us cornered?”

“Hmmm... anyway, the sisters wanted us to come find you guys before we got all the evidence together,” Zipp said. “They want us to watch their solo performance.”

Misty looked to her friends with a small smile. “Sure thing, you guys. With all the scary things we've seen tonight, I think we need a break to do something fun.”