Rory and KISS were able to come up with a fool-proof plan on how to lead the Scooby-Doo gang off their trail when it came to the existence of Kissteria.
Mostly fool-proof.
It was a tad difficult with Fred already being awake, and Daphne and Velma following soon after. But pulling every excuse they could think of out of thin air to leave the infirmary room in intervals finally proved successful.
Well, for the most part. The excuses ranged from going to the bathroom and to going to check if lunch was ready (it was currently four in the morning.) Rory had never claimed that she was good at telling little white lies.
In essence, KISS had convinced Delilah Domino and two other KISSWorld workers into helping. Delilah was serious about her job, and if her employers asked her to do anything, she would do it with no questions asked.
The two workers were just happy that KISS chose them out of all the others workers in the park.
They also placed several "clues" around the facility as finishing touches. These fake clues would seem viable enough to the Scooby gang.
Now, all Rory and KISS had to worry about was Scooby and Shaggy waking up so that they could start with their little plan.
The Scooby gang were currently all standing around in the infirmary. It had been a long night, but they were all determined to be there when the two finally woke up.
KISS, on the other hand, we're elsewhere at the moment, claiming that they were looking for a couple more clues that would point them to the culprit once and for all.
Finally, movement came from the two cots as the boy and dog started to flutter their eyes open.
Velma, ever attentive, was the first to check on them. "Shaggy, Scooby, are you awake?"
Rory perked her head up from where she sat beside Daphne. Daphne had been brushing though Rory's hair in an attempt to ease her worries until the boys woke up. Rory thought it was a miracle she had any hair left from the amount of brushing.
"I think they're coming around," Fred voiced as he stepped forward with everyone else to check on the two.
Scooby and Shaggy were extremely groggy. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up farther, Shaggy questioned, "Like, what happened?"
"Yeah, what happened?" Scooby also asked. They were completely confused as to how they had ended up back in the infirmary of KISSWorld. The last thing they remembered was the craft being blown up.
"You passed out," Fred told them.
"I guess at some point, we all passed out and woke up here," Daphne tacked on.
Before Shaggy and Scooby had woken up, Rory and KISS had told Fred, Velma, and Daphne the same exact thing. According to them, Rory had been knocked out as well, and was the first one to wake back up after KISS had gotten them to the infirmary.
Getting things back on track with the mystery, Fred pulled a piece of paper from his pocket that had supposedly came from Shandi's lab. Unbeknownst to him, the Spaceman himself had crafted the report. Who could have guessed that he knew enough about chemical science to bluff about it.
"We just got a report on the residue. It seems our Crimson Witch is more of a chemical witch."
"Her witch haze is really a gas that messes with your senses and creates illusions." Daphne had read over the reports as well. She hated to tell the boys the results, though. They were all so sure that what the had experienced had been real.
"You mean to tell me...." Shaggy began to say as he started to catch on.
"It was all a figment of our imagination," Velma revealed. What she had believed from the start now seemed to be the real and logical explanation.
Shaggy sat back into the headboard as it all started to sink in. "Whoa, that's deep," he breathed out.
"Yeah, deep," Scooby agreed.
Shaggy was still so befuddled. Everything had seemed so real. "But what about the Destoryer and the cosmic realm?"
"Yeah, cosmic realm?" Scooby parroted.
Most of the gang didn't notice, but Rory's mood had shifted just the tiniest bit. She still felt extremely guilty about the little fib. She thought her emotions were completely hidden away, but Shaggy noticed. He didn't know what exactly she was thinking about, so he wouldn't bring any attention to her by asking.
His attention was quickly diverted though by Velma. "It never happened," she simply said as a responsive to Shaggy and Scooby's question.
"We all had what you call a mass hallucination," Fred also supplied.
There was still something tickling the back of Shaggy's mind. "Then who has the rock of Kissteria? Weren't you supposed to have it still?"
At the last part of the question, Shaggy had turned his focus onto Rory.
"Yeah, the rock of Kissteria," Scooby also asked turning to Rory.
"And what happened to your power?" Shaggy questioned further.
Rory was not ready for these questions. She was not good at being put on the spot, at all. "I, uh, ummm, you see..." She had turned into a stuttering mess as she thought of how to respond. Luckily, she was saved as Shaggy had become concerned about something else.
"Dude, seriously? After everything I say?" Turns out there was not an echo in the room, but instead it was his canine companion.
"Sorry, Shaggy," he sheepishly replied.
Trying to keep the mystery on track, yet again, Velma intervened. "The Crimson Witch had it, but not for long."
The gang wasted no time in getting the two finally out of the cots. Rory led the way to the control room, where her and KISS had unknowingly stashed an exact replica of the Rock of Kissteria. They did not want to run into any risk of anyone other than the Wielder touching the actual Rock and getting hurt. Or worse.
Rory walked up to the set of lockers in the room. She had KISS secretly stash it there for her to "discover" later.
"We figured out where she stashed it.If there's room for you two in here, there's certainly room for a black diamond," Rory told Shaggy and Scooby. She had previously told the rest of the gang where she had thought it would be in the first place.
Rory pulled out something wrapped in cloth from one of the lockers. Uncovering it, the Scooby gang saw a humongous black diamond.
All of a sudden, a very familiar voice rang out through the room.
"Give. Me. Rock!"
The Scooby gang's eyes widened in surprise. They quickly located the source of the voice as she flew into the room they were in.
"Give. Me..."
"...Rock."
Rory couldn't help but jump at the deep voice that sounded out right behind her. Craning her neck upwards and bending back, she was met with the dark eyes of the Demon.
She will get him back for always spooking her. One day.
The previous grin on his face from scaring Rory quickly fell as he turned his attention back onto the "witch."
"We get it," he monotonously said.
Now, it was a serious atmosphere in the room. But who said that Rory couldn't have any fun?
With a wicked grin, she tossed the "Rock of Kissteria" to Shaggy and Scooby. Shaggy caught it with a quizzical look that soon morphed into fear as the witch started to fly in his and Scooby's direction.
Scooby and Shaggy turned tail and started to scramble around the room to get away from the witch. The Demon and Rory had to stifle their laughter at the scene.
All of a sudden, Catman jumped into the room as the witch flew past his hiding place. Quickly reaching up, he grabbed something from underneath the witch that resembled cylindrical tubes that emitted a vapor.
Quick to deduce the random object, he told the inhabitants of the room, "Look, she has gas dispensers in her cape."
The witch continued to fly around the room, chasing the frightened duo.
The Spaceman had also made his appearance in the control room as he snatched the witch's belt off her waist. "And here's the magnetic repulsor-field belt she used for flying. Ooh. Quest Research Laboratories. Good stuff."
Without her belt, the witch flew out of control and went crashing into the ceiling. The result of the crash left her hanging from the roof by several electrical wires that had come loose.
Since the witch was no longer mobile, Starchild stepped out of the shadows to come to a stop in front of the witch.
"All stolen from her previous employer," Starchild confirmed.
The rest of KISS and Rory went to stand behind Starchild as their plan was coming close to being finished.
Daphne spoke up for them to explain to Shaggy and Scooby, "Thanks, Starchild. KISS has been on witch watch ever since we passed out."
Poor Shaggy and Scooby were still very confused. A lot has been going on ever since they woke up minutes ago.
"So, like, who's the witch?" he asked anyone willing to answer him.
That person happened to be Velma. "I thought you'd have guessed when we opened her locker, Shaggy."
Velma then stepped up to the dangling witch to take the mask off of the individual. The unmasking unveiled a very familiar, and very intimidating, blonde.
"She's Delilah Domino," Velma proclaimed. "The head of security."
Manny Goldman, Chip McGoo, Chikira, and Shandi all then walked into the already crowded room as Velma finished her say.
"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle," Goldman exclaimed scratching his head. "Delilah. I knew it."
Everyone looked at him skeptically, pretty sure he was not telling the truth.
"I didn't really know it, but, you know, I like to be smart. I'm the boss," he finished. Good enough.
Chikira on the other hand was surprised as well. "Curious. I didn't see that coming."
"How did you know?" Shandi asked the group. She considered herself very smart in certain aspects, but she never once suspected the security guard.
Velma was quick to offer an explanation for the discovery. "When Delilah mentioned that she worked for a government defense company...
we did some research. Turns out, they specialized in lasers."
Chikara could give Velma a run for her money with her skepticism, hence her immediately asking, "so?"
"Lasers that use black diamonds, guys," Fred said like it was obvious.
"She was hoping to steal it from here... and sell it to a competing defense company since she was fired from the last one," Daphne also supplied.
Fred then tacked on in the true team's fashion, "She was also the one stealing your chemicals, so she could make her witch gas. As head of security, she would've had another keycard to your lab." He told this last part to Shandi specifically.
"And while everyone was watching the concert, she hid the diamond here in her locker," Rory finished for the Scooby gang. Even though the gang was following the clues left behind as a disguise, Rory was proud as always at the prowess of her friends. They never ceased to amaze her.
The two KISSWorld workers disguised as cops that Rory and KISS had hired finally got the witch down from the ceiling.
Nailing the coffin on the head, Delilah declared to the Scooby gang, "My plan was perfect. And I would've gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for you meddling KISS. Er, kids. You meddling kids."
Luckily, none of the Scooby gang noticed Delilah's slip up. For this, KISS and Rory let out simultaneous breaths of relief.
Everyone started to disperse out of the control room as soon as the "cops" herded Delilah to who knows where.
Shandi, Chikira, Manny, and Chip went their own way, but not before the Scooby gang and KISS heard Chip muttering, "Note to self: KISS handcuffs."
Rory slid her hand into Catman's as the ragtag group headed back outside.
Catman looked down at the brunette with a soft smile. They had done it, and he was so proud of her for being so strong.
She was definitely full of surprises and he wouldn't take her any other way.
His eyes widened suddenly when he caught a glimpse of her mischievous grin and heard her yell "catch!" before she darted behind him, jumping onto his back.
The couple were giggling as Catman swung her around and jumped back and forth, causing the brunette to cackle uncontrollably.
The rest of KISS and the Scooby gang couldn't help the smiles that stretched across their faces as they watched the two.
There was truly something heartwarming about witnessing two incredible people like Catman and Rory finding the one whom their heart's belonged to. They were truly meant to find each other.
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I'm about to repeat myself here- we are almost done with this story!
I also have some mushy-gushy things planned soon, so get ready <3
Also, I have some other stories here in Wattpad that are just starting out. This story has seriously inspired me. Maybe too much.....just kidding!
Hope y'all are having an amazing day, my dudes!