Scooby Doo! Meet Ellie Machine

Night Fright (Part 2)

The camera moved, which probably meant they got our message. Nightfright continued to bang against the bars. I sighed. "There's nothing left to do but sit and wait now," I said with a shrug. I took this moment to look around the library and have a look at the books.

As I kept looking, I saw a large leather-bound book in one small section in the corner of the library. Curious, I picked it up and read the title. "'The Black Book of Spells,'" I read aloud. "I do remember, actually," I heard Vincent say from behind me. I turned around to face him.

"I remember it all. I wasn't sure if the contest winners were actually you, but I should have known we'd meet again," he told me, looking to the floor. "When we set free the thirteenth ghost, my ancestor, Asmodeus, my magic returned, but it was very weak. I cast one last spell to replace a famous actor with myself and took on the identity of Vincent van Ghoul, the horror movie star, rather than the sorcerer. That last spell used the rest of my magic."

"That's incredible," I told him, putting back the Black Book of Spells. "Why did you try to deny knowing us, though?" I asked him. "I didn't want to remember a time when I wasn't an actor. I love life like this and admitting to all the magic and demons would have ripped me from my new reality," he explained. I smiled. "I understand. I won't bring it up again," I promised.

"Well, while we're on the subject, how are Scrappy and Flim Flam? And I assume you are still friends with Daphne?" he asked. "Daphne would be on her way right now. All of Flim Flam's, well, flim-flams caught up to him and he's in juvenile detention. He and I write back and forth sometimes, and he's thinking of going legit as a salesman when he gets out. And, well, Scrappy passed away. He went back home after our adventures with the demons, and when we released Asmodeus, he came back and stayed with us for a while. But all the mystery-solving was a lot of excitement for him, and one day he just didn't wake up," I explained, tears welling in my eyes.

I took a deep breath, not wanting to break down in the middle of our situation. "I am so sorry to hear that," Vincent said quietly. "I always liked his fighting spirit."

I nodded. "I did too."

Scooby walked by, and I paused until he went back over to Shaggy. "We all promised not to talk about him anymore, though. Any mention of it and Scooby goes into a deep depression, and there was a time we didn't think we could pull him out of it," I continued.

Vincent nodded in understanding. "Then I will remain quiet on it. But I do offer my condolences," he said sadly. I nodded to him. "Thank you."

By now, Nightfright had been gone for a little while. I walked over to Shaggy and Scooby now. "It's been a little while. I'm guessing Fred, Daphne, and Velma will be here pretty soon," I said to them. Of course, as I said this, Nightfright returned looking more determined than ever. We all huddled together and watched as he used his horns to pry the bars apart.

He managed to open them enough that he could step through and lunge at us. We screamed and ran up the stairs with him close behind us. He then jumped in front of Scooby and me, closing in on Shaggy and Vincent. "I am Nightfright. Scream. Scream! Time for you to die!" he exclaimed. Out of panic, I grabbed the cloak in front of me and tugged it away from them.

"Uh oh," I heard Scooby say behind me. Nightfright lunged at us, and we backed up enough that instead it went through the wooden railing and fell to the first floor of the library. "Shaggy! Scooby! Ellie! We're coming!" I heard Fred yell.

Relief filled me, and I watched as Nightfright took off, disappearing into the house. Just as it left, Fred, Daphne, and Velma came into the library. We peeked around the stairs to see them and stepped out. "You guys all right?" Velma asked.