The next day, Ruby, Daphne, and Velma were minding their own business walking down the sidewalk having a chat, discussing what happened last night. That's when Fred came up behind them.
"Hey, wait up!" Fred called out as he finally caught up to the three girls
Daphne out of nowhere hugged Fred, making Velma and Ruby both share a confused look.
"You're okay." Daphne said, relieved Fred was actually okay. "I was gonna call you last night but I didn't know your last name."
"Really?" Fred asked, seeming surprised. "You were gonna call me?"
"Yeah, I didn't- I thought if you got stuck in the school, then we'd all get in more trouble, I didn't want that so-" Daphne said, trying to explain the reasoning of what she said
"YEAH, that's why you were gonna call." Fred said, seeming suspicious. "My last name's Jones, by the way."
"Mine's Blake." Daphne explained
"Before a single one of you asks, my last name's Rose." Ruby stated
"Dinkley." Velma states
"Pardon?" Fred asked, not sure yet that was in fact Velma's last name
"My surname" Velma explained. "It's Dinkley"
""Right." Fred said, finally getting what she meant and as the four started walking. "So, Dinkley, Blake, Rose, any of you hear from Shaggy and Scooby?"
"I was hoping they got out with you." Daphne said
They all looked at each other, realizing they were still in the school.
"Oh no." Ruby said
"This isn't good." Daphne added
"Let's go!" Fred stated
They all then ran to get to the school, in hopes Shaggy and Scooby weren't found yet. Once they got there, the school was covered in burn marks and burnt letters saying, "BEWARE! STAY AWAY!"
"Wow." Daphne said, staring at all the damage
"That's what I call a ghost edition of an extreme makeover." Ruby added
"These paranormal poltergeists aren't pussy-footing around." Velma stated
"What are we gonna do?" Daphne asked
"The same thing they do in our mystery books." Fred said as he turned to the three girls. "We have to examine the clues."
"Way ahead of you, Freddie." Velma said as she pulled out a small journal and opened it. "I analyzed that residue from the gym floor. And guess what it is? Magnesium chlorate. Can you believe it?"
"What's Magnesium chlorate?" Ruby asked, confused
"Of course!" Daphne exclaimed. "Magnesium chlorate is a highly-combustible substance that can be used to create an explosion IDENTICAL to the third ghost's smoke screen."
"How did you..." Ruby started, seeming confused
"I can read upside down." Daphne explained
It was at that moment Velma realized her small journal was in fact upside down. But due to magnesium chlorate having already been explained, she put the journal up.
"That's great." Fred said. "But why would a ghost need a smoke screen?"
That's when Ruby got a realization.
"Maybe cause it isn't a ghost at all." Ruby stated as she turned to Velma and Daphne. "Remember, you two, we THOUGHT we saw the third ghost but it was really just a Greek Chorus costume from Julius Cesar."
"I guess that would explain why there were only two graves." Velma responded
"But what I don't get is how a person in a costume could fly." Daphne added
"Maybe I do." Fred said getting the attention of the three girls. "The safety rigging. Last night, while I was going head to head with the ghost I went up against, I had to use it to escape. I bet it sure looked like I was flying."
"Okay, so what we've deduced is that there's one sneaky human working with two real ghosts." Velma said
"Exactly." Fred responded
"Come on, this has to be enough to clear our names." Ruby added
They then ran over to Principal Deedle who had a ladder
"Principal Deedle, we have some information about the ghosts." Fred stated
"The ghosts?" Principal Deedle stated. "What more information do we need except for that they want us to leave? I was just about to call the superintendent to insist on the immediate closure of this school."
Ruby began to explain something until Vice Principal Grimes came through the door holding a blanketed Shaggy and Scooby by the back of their necks.
"Nonsense." Grimes said, making Deedle swing the ladder around and Fred having to duck to dodge. "I've got your ghosts right here. I found these two in the freezer. CLEARLY, they were here all night which would have given them ample time to do all this." Grimes added, gesturing at the damage and Scooby ran off
"RI'm outta here!" Scooby yelled as he ran off
"Are you sure? Cause this seems like a lot of damage for a couple of-" Deedle started
"Principal Deedle, I am MORE than familiar with the average troublemaker's capacity for damage." Grimes interrupted. "That is why you put me in charge of discipline, isn't it?"
"Now, Vice Principal Grimes, I really don't-" Deedle started
"I will handle it, Principal Deedle." Grimes interrupted
"Vice Principal Grimes, you have to believe me. We didn't do any of this, it really was the ghosts. They locked us in the freezer" Shaggy explained "Oh, ad they ate all the ice cream too."
"Right. More ghost stories." Grimes said as he walked towards Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Ruby. "So, do we have all you to thank for this or did Ben and Jerry act alone this time?"
"No. It was just us." Shaggy said before anyone else could say anything
"Fine, I wish I could say your cooperation would mitigate your punishment, but it won't." Grimes responded
"Hold on, it wasn't just them." Fred stated. "I was there, too."
"So was I." Ruby said
"Me too." Daphne added
"Yeah, mea culpa as well." Velma stated
"But that doesn't mean we did any of this." Daphne added. "Someone is disguised as a ghost and working with real ghosts and is trying to close the school and we have the evidence to prove it."
"Oh, really? Evidence? Do tell." Grimes said, really sarcastic. "Who is working with the ghosts? Is it Dracula? Frankenstein? The Wolf Man?"
"If you'd let us explain, we'd be able TO tell you. It's impressive you haven't been fired from your job yet." Ruby said, not happy they haven't been given a chance to explain
"And what's impressive i the amount of damage you've done to this school!" Grimes scolded. "Well, I am pleased to inform you your suspensions have been lifted."
Fred, Daphne, Ruby, and Velma all shared a glance, knowing something was up.
"Because now you're all expelled!!" Grimes added "And if I catch any of you on school ground ever again, i'll have you all arrested for trespassing."
They all sigh as he walked back into the building and took the blanket that was around Shaggy with him.
"Well, that went well." Velma said with sarcasm in her voice
"Hey, thanks for not letting me go down alone back there." Shaggy said. "No one's ever stood up for me like that before."
"Shag, we're all in this together." Fred said, lightly tapping Shaggy's back
"Yeah." Velma responded. "But unless we can figure out who would want the school closed and why, we'll all be flipping burgers together."
As everyone walked off, Shaggy started thinking of possible suspects. First was the janitor who said he didn't want the job and then there was the librarian who's budget got cut.
"Guys, we got suspects!" Shaggy called out as he ran to catch up with the others