Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie

Chapter 1: To Shaggy

Rain poured down from the skies above, landing on everything that it could sense. Very few people remained out and about, and those that were unfortunate to have to remain in it would hurry along, eager for some dry refuge. It had been pouring for most of the day, and showed no signs of letting up. That is, if the local weatherman was correct in his assumptions. Regardless of the fact, most of the local citizens of the city remained inside.

Shaggy Rogers was no different. The tall, lanky man decided to remain in his apartment, enjoying another day off. It had been quite awhile since he and his dog, Scooby-Doo, had went along with his friends to go and solve yet another local mystery. It's not that he had planned on it, though, as he certainly didn't ask for it. The rest of the gang were doing their own thing for the time being, since they hadn't been able to find any work as of late. Well, "work" would be putting it a bit too broadly. It's not like they were ever hired or payed to do these kinds of jobs. It was always their type of interest, however, and so they would always go and check out whatever mystery needed to be solved. For the past three days, however, neither Fred nor Velma hadn't been able to find any sort of new stories or local legends to explore. No mysteries meant some time off. Not that Shaggy minded, of course. Time away from being scared out of his wits was something he felt like he could have used.

Despite having time to himself, his apartment remained, for the most part, unkempt. Dirty laundry laid out on the floor and the furniture, as well as discarded fast food bags, pizza boxes, soda cans, and other various food related garbage. Shaggy, naturally, was in the kitchen, his Great Dane right beside of him. Numerous jars, packages, and used knives were spread out all over the kitchen counter, most of which were open. The man was making quite the sizable sandwich, at least one foot tall. Scooby watched with his head perched on the counter, eyeing the sandwich with hungry eyes. The lanky man peered down at his dog for a second, seeing him lick at his slobbery chops.

"Like, almost done, Scoob," He told the dog, reaching down to pat at his head before going back to the task at hand. Shaggy pushed down the top piece of bread, smushing the sandwich downwards a bit before letting it go. He then reached for a fresh knife, using it to cut the massive meal in two. "There we go! Like, one club sandwich with extra everything," He replied, moving one half of the sandwich to the ground, where Scooby waited, licking his chops.

"Mmh-mm! Dericious," The dog seemed to reply to his owner. In an instant, Scooby seemed to lunge at the sandwich, gripping it with both front paws and taking large hungry bites out of it.

Shaggy laughed and nodded. "You said it, Scoob," He answered, moving his hands around his own oversized share, opening his mouth widely and taking a large hunk of the sandwich into his mouth, chewing rather loudly. Shaggy managed to swallow the entire portion and went to bite into it again. As he did, however, a familiar tone played faintly into the kitchen, which perked his attention. He recognized it as his ringtone, although he realized his phone was not in his pocket. It was in the living room. Buried underneath loads of trash. "Aw man..! Like, remind me to clean this place up after lunch, Scoob," Shaggy said, quickly walking to the living room, quickly shifting his large sandwich into one hand. Scooby paid no mind, loudly and quickly eating away at his own food.

While the phone played away the ringtone, Shaggy quickly brushed off piles of bags and boxes, which ruffled and clattered against the ground as they fell. After a few short seconds, Shaggy's phone was visible, the screen lit up with a familiar blonde haired man. After quickly wiping the screen off of any leftover crumbs, Shaggy pushed the button and held the phone up to his ear. "Hey Freddie, like, what's up?" He asked, moving himself on the couch, leaning back on it as his feet rested on the table in a reclined position.

"Shaggy, hey!" The enthusiastic man began. "Listen, I know it's been a few days of us doing nothing, but I just talked with Velma, and I think we have a mystery on our hands!" Freddie continued, who sounded quite glad to finally be doing something. His enthusiasm didn't surprise Shaggy, since Freddie definitely wasn't the type to sit around doing nothing.