Chaos Effect

I'm just saying, why aren't we allowed to pick our own Earth's names?

We just aren't!

Well it doesn't seem fair.

Shouldn't you do the introduction?

Oh screw that, save that for the glorious Earth-1 bastard…

~MC~MC~MC~

"Well, looks like the next hay ride will be in an hour, so that gives us plenty of time to walk the grounds," Fred stated, consulting the large board that listed when all the activities and events at Shadowview would be going on.

"Which is good because we want to make sure we hit the road by 3:30 so we can be back in Domino in time to make our reservation," Tristan stated. "Oh! You guys are welcome to join us, of course! Edwin is used to how much we eat so he tends to just buy up the restaurant for the day, just in case."

"Thanks, Tristan!" Fred said happily. "That will be a big help… especially with how much Shaggy and Scooby eat."

"Which does leave us with about an hour to kill," Renard said as they ambled back towards the front of the orchard. "I suppose we could browse the gift shop… or perhaps get some of that food?"

"Food," Fred stated. "All this talk about Shaggy and Scooby eating has gotten ME hungry!"

(LAUGHTER)

"That sounds like a good idea to me!" Tristan said even as Renard scanned the ground before them. "We can grab some cider, maybe some donuts, and just enjoy the day. Maybe you can tell us about some of the places you've been too, Fred!"

"Well, sure!" Fred said as they continued on, walking along the path. There were piles of leaves all around them and Tristan, out of a childish desire for some fun, would occasionally lash out with his foot and kick one of the piles. "But only if you share some of the things YOU'VE done Tristan. I imagine hanging out with the King of Games has led to a lot of adventures."

"oh, sure," Tristan said. "Though now if I want to hang out with the king of games I'll need to join you guys!" He kicked at another pile.

"Heh, that's true," Fred said. "Maybe we should swap. Yugi, Tea, and Joey could join me and Daphne solving mysteries and Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby could help you guys at tournaments."

"And dealing with mystical artifacts and madmen trying to take over the world."

Fred though merely raised an eyebrow at that. "Mystical artifacts, really?"

"Oh yeah. Your ghosts might not be real but the Millennium Items?" he puffed up his chest. "I once even defeated the Spirit of the Millennium Ring."

Fred leaned in towards Renard. "He says that like I'm supposed to know what he's talking about."

(LAUGHTER)

Renard merely nodded, hands in his pockets as he continued to look at the ground.

Tristan, a touch annoyed but trying to keep things light, said, "Well okay, tell me about some of the interesting cases you've solved." He zeroed in on another pile.

"Let's see… well, there was this old lighthouse in Maine that we went to," Fred said. "We-"

Renard suddenly grabbed Tristan and yanked him back hard.

"HEY!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What was that about?"

But Renard had already grabbed Fred and forced him to stop walking. He pressed his fingers to his lips before he reached down, plucking a smooth gray rock from the side of the trail, and suddenly flicking his hand out, causing the stone to fly right at the pile of leaves.

There was a CLANG! and the leaves all shot out in different directions, forming a cloud of foliage to form for just a moment before they all settled down…

…revealing a bear trap that had been set up under the leaves.

"Whoa," Fred said even as Tristan's eyes went wide before he reached down and began to pat his leg, making sure it was still there even though he hadn't actually kicked the pile.

"These leaves weren't gathered up like this when we came this way," Renard said. "I noticed that they also were all small… except for that one." He pointed to where the bear trap sat.

"But who could have done that?" Fred asked. "And why?"

"EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!"

The three whipped around in time to see a figure wearing a ratty brown jacket and with a large bulbous red head with leafy green 'hair' on top sprinting away, cackling as he did so.

"Applehead Jin!" Tristan declared.

"Get him!" Renard shouted and the three bolted after the figure.

The three of them raced after Applehead Jin, who let out another high pitch laugh as he raced towards one of the barns. What made matters worse was that thanks to the earlier incident with the bear trap the three of them were leery of moving through any pile of leaves, lest they also hide a surprise. As such while Applehead Jin was able to leap over the piles the three had to weave around them, eating up seconds of time. Add in that the figure was slippery fast and very soon it was clear to Tristan that it was a lost cause, a fact that Fred silently accepted moments later followed by an annoyed Renard.

"So… there really is an Applehead Jin," Tristan panted.

Renard though shook his head. "We know there is someone running around in a costume. That is all there is. And we will figure out exactly who this person is. Come, I want to look at that bear trap a bit more."

Tristan nodded and followed after Renard, Fred right on his heels. "So, is this like any of your other cases?" he asked.

Fred smiled thinly. "Yeah, it is. And here I thought we might have a relaxing vacation."

"We're not dealing with psychotic Egyptian people so right now its relaxing for me," Tristan joked. Though he then paused, eyes narrowed. "Unless Applehead Jin IS Marik…"

~MC~MC~MC~

"I found the ass end!"

"Hahahaha!" Marik laughed, the rest of the audience cackling along with him as they watched Kevin Bacon lift up the Grabboid end. "This truly is a wonderful movie. Thank you for suggesting it Moria!"

The old woman patted his hand. "Glad you are enjoying it, Mr. Ishtar."

"For this suggestion you and your bridge club will have places in honor at my court!"

"Aw, aren't you sweet."

~MC~MC~MC~

Renard leaned down and looked at the bear trap again, twisting his head in confusion. "I need a stick."

"Right, here," Fred said, grabbing one from the ground. "What's going on?"

"Watch," Renard said as he thrust the stick in the trap, causing it to trigger… only to fall apart before it even had a chance to snap on the stick. "Interesting…" he murmured, rubbing his chin.

"Wait, so the ghost used a broken bear trap?" Tristan asked.

Renard shook his head. "No… look at this." He picked up the pieces of the trap, revealing that under the pressure plate there was…

"A Duel Monsters card?" Fred asked.

"For Remove Trap," Renard said, showing that the card featured a broken bear trap on it.

"A hint then?" Fred said. "Maybe like a calling card?"

"Or taunting us?" Tristan suggested. "Hahaha, I could have gotten you any time, that sort of thing?"

"I don't think so," Renard murmured, slowly standing up. "I think we need to find the others."

~MC~MC~MC~

"I'm just saying that it's a lame ghost," Mai said as she looked over one of the apples that PaniK had picked.

"Its fine," the large man said as he reached up and snagged another one. "I know how to pick good apples. I used to do this all the time when I was a boy."

Edwin just shook his head. "I still can't believe YOU are getting a redemption arc. Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED you are, man. You actually seem like a really good egg when you aren't trying to burn me alive-" PaniK winced at that and Mai shot Edwin a dark look, "-and like I said there is a job waiting for you at CCN if you want it. Several, honestly… want to be a reporter?"

"He has a good voice for doing the nightly news," Tea suggested, carrying over a basket of apples. She let out a sigh of relief when she set them down in the small wagon the group would use to lug their haul back. "Give it a try, PaniK."

"hmmm… Good Evening. We start with breaking news out of Switzerland where they reveal their chocolates were actually bought in France and repackaged as Swiss chocolate."

"Oh, he would be good!" Daphne said. "Also don't ever tease about Swiss chocolates!" She brushed her hands off before crouching by the wagon. "Looks like we got a good amount. Plenty to make some caramel apples, candy apples, hot butter apples, and still be able to slice them up for Mr. PaniK's apple muffins."

As the others began to discuss what else could be done with the apples and PaniK's career choices (with Mai pushing for his own cooking show while Edwin was just happy that the man was turning over a new leaf) Daphne focused on the applies, studying them with a critical eye to make sure that the last few they'd gotten met her standards. The last thing she wanted was to pay for apples that looked good but turned out to be bruised.

"Heheheheheh." A hand fell on Daphne's shoulder.

"I know, I know," she said with a wave of her hand, not bothering to turn her head, "they are all fine I just am worried about them."

"Heheheheheheh."

"Yes, I am being silly. At least I can admit that."

"Uh, Daphne?" Edwin called out, voice sounding odd. "Mind… walking over here to join the rest of us?" She looked up to see Edwin, PaniK, Tea, and Mai all looking at her rather nervously. "Like… right now?"

"Sure, I don't mind-"

She froze as she realized their entire group was standing in front of her… and there was still a hand on her shoulder.

Slowly she turned around to find herself staring not at a face but rather a large apple with dents and cuts in it to resemble a mouth and eyes, green leaves forming its hair.

"Heheheheheh!" Applehead Jin laughed before scooping her up.

"HELP!" Daphne cried as the ghost carried her away.

"PANIK!" Edwin roared and at once the large duelist gave chase, Edwin bouncing up and down in the baby bjorn. "Owwowowowowow!" Edwin snarled and Daphne could see him being jostled about.

"Sorry!" PaniK said, reaching down to try and steady Edwin. Daphne didn't blame the blond man for his declarations of pain, as she was feeling it herself thanks to the way Applehead Jin was holding her.

"Focus on Daphne!" Edwin snapped. Daphne cried out again only to go silent when Edwin's eyes changed, becoming a glowing gold with burning white rings. "JIN!" he roared, his voice like a force of nature that made the ghost tremble. "I SWEAR TO THE HEAVENS YOU WILL PAY IF YOU DO NOT RELEASE HER NOW!"

But Applehead Jin continued to carry Daphne along, ducking and weaving through the trees.

"Okay, I don't have Conqueror's Haki, we know that now."

"He's quick," PaniK declared, trying to lengthen his strides.

Whatever Edwin said was lost to Daphne as Applehead Jin let out another screechy laugh, leaping over a small ditch that had her groaning in pain. PaniK made the leap as well but he had to worry about not breaking Edwin if he slipped and fell, something Applehead Jin didn't care about when it came to Daphne, and thus he gained more distance beyond them.

"Help!" Daphne called out.

But it wasn't Edwin or PaniK who answered. Rather it was Mai and Tea… who were riding in the large apple wagon, which was racing towards them thanks to Tea holding, of all things, a fire extinguisher that she fired behind them.

"GET SOME!" Mai roared, throwing apples at Applehead Jin. The Ghost continued to cackle but the apples were doing the trick of slowing him down, causing him to stumble. One slammed right into his head and he cried out, dropping Daphne onto the ground. The red head quickly scrambled away from him, PaniK swooping down to grab her and throw her over his shoulder even as Mai and Tea blasted past them, still flinging apples at the retreating ghost. Applehead Jin let out a final laugh and darted behind a tree… and disappeared.

"Daphne, are you okay?" Tea asked as Mai swung the wagon back around to them, realizing that the threat was gone.

"I'm fine… thank you." She rubbed her hip where she'd fallen. "oooh, but I will be feeling that tomorrow. Do you think this orchard as a masseuse on staff?"

(LAUGHTER)

"How did that even work?" Edwin asked, looking at Tea. "And where did you even get a fire extinguisher."

"No idea and it was just lying over there," Tea admitted. "I figured Filler Arc logic-"

"Yeah, no, that checks out. Good work using the insanity to our benefit." He wiggled in his carrier. "Can I PLEASE be released now?"

"We can't be sure you aren't Applehead Jin," Mai pointed out.

"…you saw us together."

"FAB."

"…damn it, I hate that you have a point there." Edwin clenched his jaw

"Guys, look at this!" Daphne said, pulling something off her clothes. "This came off Applehead Jin's outfit."

"A button?" Mai said.

"Not just any button!" Tea exclaimed, grabbing the item. "Come on!" With that she began to run back to the ticket house.

"Don't worry, we didn't use the apples you selected PaniK," Mai stated.

"Why is that a concern at the moment?" Edwin complained.

"Someone is itching not to get any apple muffins."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Find anything?" Yuri asked as she quietly made her way through the paperwork on Bill's desk.

"Is this legal?" Tristan asked.

"Oh, its fine," Velma said.

At the same time Yuri said, "God no!"

Velma frowned as she glanced at Yuri. "What do you mean? We're just looking for information."

"We broke into his office. Its private property. We are SO breaking the law."

"I do this kind of stuff all the time," Velma said. "I'm pretty sure its okay to do these kinds of investigations."

Yuri merely smirked at that. "Keep telling yourself that."

"If its illegal," duke asked, "why are you doing it?"

"Well, I'm not a cop anymore," Yuri commented.

"…and?" Duke said.

"Well, my boss is one of the richest men in Japan, controls 3 different companies, and wields an ancient Egyptian Artifact with magical powers while also being the holder of a Norse God Weapon. Oh, and he might now have been selected by Heaven to do their work." Yuri frowned. "Wait… that just happened…" She shook her head. "Nope, nevermind. Lost track there for a moment. Anyway, my one boss has all of that and my other boss is a Greek Titan who apparently has decided that I'm to be her new high priestess." Yuri shrugged. "So not that concerned with the law anyway."

Velma just stared at Yuri though. "A Greek Titan?"

"Selene, Titan Goddess of the Moon. At least when Mai has all her memories. They come and go."

That made Velma scoff. "Please, there are no such things as gods."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Hmmm?" Brom said, looking up from his poker game before shrugging his shoulders and going back to his cards.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Look at this," Velma said. "A book of Japanese folklore with a focus on agriculture." She began to flip through the pages. "Several entries have been highlighted."

"Really?" Duke asked.

"Yeah… here is one on the Ringo no kai, an Apple Tree Spirit."

Yuri and Duke's eyes both went wide. "Velma, don't!"

But she kept reading. "The Spirit took the form of a man and went to his owner's home and… asked to… eat his poop. And when the farmer gave him his poop the Ringo no kai ate it and then… asked the farmer to… eat his… poop. And the farmer thought it was so yummy they spent a week… eating each other's poop."

She slowly shut the book.

"I think I want to go home now."

"Aw, come on, its not THAT bad," Duke said. "Its not like any of us believe in that crap anymore." He made a face. "Er… no pun intended." Yuri merely raised an eyebrow at that and Duke grimaced. "Seriously, no pun intended. And no one believes that stuff anymore."

"Maybe Weevil," Yuri said.

"Maybe Weevil."

Velma let out a sigh and looked back at the book. "That's odd… this book was checked out of the Domino Public Library."

"So maybe it was from someone that worked at the farm… but also could be a guest?" Duke suggested.

"Or maybe the land developer," Yuri added.

"I don't know… we'll need to look over things a bit more to determine just who had this book. It could be innocent but I think it's a clue!"

But before they could say anything else they heard hollering from outside. Not wanting to get caught where they weren't supposed to be, the threesome hurried back outside to find PaniK, Edwin, Tea, Mai, Yugi (who was a touch annoyed everyone had left him behind), and Daphne sprinting towards them while Fred, Tristan, and Renard were hurrying up the path.

"What's going on?" Duke asked.

"Applehead Jin attacked us!" Daphne exclaimed. "He tried to kidnap me!"

"And he planted traps for us," Renard stated.

Fred frowned. "So that's two appearances already. What about you guys?" He looked to Yuri and her group.

"Nothing," Velma said. "Just this book that was left behind about legends of different Japanese ghosts."

"We found this card in a bear trap," Renard said, holding up the card only for Yugi to instantly snatch it away from him. "Why yes, Yugi, you may see it," Renard said sarcastically.

"Aw, Renard is sounding like me!" Edwin declared. "Maybe HE should be put in a straight jacket and have a giant carry him around!" He looked up at PaniK. "No offense."

"None taken. My Uncle Hagrid is half giant."

Edwin shot PaniK a confused look at that but Yugi drew everyone's attention by looking over the card, even sniffing it. "This comes from the first run of the original Duel Monsters series. Very first set." He carefully lifted up the card. "While it was a common it is still rare, though it isn't a First Edition. It is labeled a Magic Card instead of a Spell Card, so that puts it early in the run and not a reprint. Also you can tell that it was early on because these cards were fully painted by Pegasus before they moved to a team of artists and you can see where the printing caught his brush strokes. Later editions don't have that as they digitally corrected all of that, even on the limited 'Lost Treasures' run that got legal right to put 'Magic' as the designation rather than 'Spell'" He handed the card back to Renard. "Only someone who has been playing the game since the early days would have this… most people prefer to use the newer cards anyway as they are treated to resist fluids."

"So someone who came here, researched ghosts, and plays duel monsters," Velma said, rubbing her chin.

"To be fair," Edwin chimed in, "most people in Domino play Duel Monsters."

Velma considered that before looking to the rest of the group. "Anyone else have anything?"

"We have a button that came off of his outfit," Mai said, handing the button over.

"Wait, I know that button," Duke said, looking at the button in Velma's hand. "Its off of-"

"Hold up!" Daphne said, eyes wide with worry. "Where are Scooby and Shaggy?"

"And where is Joey?" Yugi asked.

They all looked at each other with concern.

"Well," Edwin said, "I suppose if we follow the screams…"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Man, are ya sure this is a good idea?" Joey asked as he watched Shaggy and Scooby load up a large picnic basket with all manner of treats. "Everyone told us ta wait till they got their food!"

"Like, its cool man!" Shaggy assured Joey. "We're just gonna do a taste test to make sure this is good for everyone!"

"Ra, rick rout ra rastiest ries and rookies!" Scooby said with a grin as he helped Shaggy load up the basket.

(LAUGHTER)

They had been watching the axe throwing and had been rather impressed with it. But Mrs. Shadowview had put out some fresh pies and the smell had caused the three of them to instantly levitate in the air, floating towards the delicious aroma and finally giving in to their urges. Now they were in the bake shop, which was done up as a turn-of-the-century Americana-style store with old growth oak tables covered in jars with different hard candy canes in all sorts of fruity flavors, barrels full of apples, shelves stocked with preserves, and of course the delicious pies, cookies, cakes, and other treats waiting to be snatched up.

"If its bugging you so much, man, ya can tell everyone that we were at fault!" Shaggy said before popping several apple cider donut holes into his mouth.

"I'll do just that," Joey said with a smirk even as he grabbed a pumpkin-spice muffin and bit into it.

"Ror ron't rave rany."

Joey held up his hand at that suggestion. "Let's not get crazy here!" He licked his fingers clean. "Mmmm. Apples and pumpkins. Two of the reasons I love dis time of year!"

"Like, tell me about it man!" Shaggy said as he went through the candy canes, selecting some sour apple and tart raspberry ones. As he did so Scooby went to work grabbing some blueberry coffee cake, motioning for Mrs. Shadowview to cut off bigger and bigger pieces. "Of course November is tomorrow, so that means we can get turkey, and potatoes, and all the gravy you can drink."

Joey beamed at that. "Aw man, it feels like forever since I've had a thanksgivin'! Like we just skip from… Halloween… to… Christmas…" He frowned. "Huh… that doesn't-"

"Rook!" Scooby said, cutting off Joey's train of thought. "Rapple Rolls!"

"Apple Rolls!?" Joey exclaimed, zipping over to the case and the large amber colored roll that sat within, stuff full of delicious white cream. "Aw man, that is my favorite!"

"Rine roo!" Scooby said, licking his lips.

"We have got ta get some of dat!" Joey said, pressing his face up to the glass, making it fog up. "Hey, bakin' lady, can ya cut me and my new pal Scoob here two slices off that loaf?"

"Ror rut roo rices rand rive rus ra rest?" Scooby suggested.

"I like how ya think, pal!" Joey said.

"Hehehehehehe," was the response they got as an arm with worn leather gloves reached in and, using a VERY sharp knife, cut off the two slices before passing them the roll.

"Thanks!" Joey said, nodding to Applehead Jin before turning with Scooby to look over their treat. "Aw man, I can't wait to-"

Joey skidded to a stop, as did Scooby.

"Uh… did ya see what I saw?" he asked.

"Reah," Scooby said weakly.

"If ya think we don't turn around he'll go away?"

"Raybe?" Scooby ventured.

"EHEHEHEHEHE!"

"LIKE ZOINKS!" Shaggy screamed as he finally noticed what was going on. "APPLEHEAD JIN! RUN GUYS!"

Scooby, Joey, and Shaggy all dropped their food (which landed perfectly and undamaged on the ground) before lifting up in the air, legs flailing out for several moments before they finally made contact with the ground and were able to launch forward, running as fast as they could out of the bake shop and towards the treeline, Applehead Jin following just behind.

~MC~MC~MC~

Troy frowned.

"Uh… so this is when we do the musical number to the chase scene but… er… I don't know any 70s songs that involve apples so… I… uh… okay, this is the best I have. Enjoy!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Shawty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans)

Boots with the fur (with the fur)

The whole club was lookin' at her

She hit the floor (she hit the floor)

Next thing you know

Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

Scooby, Shaggy, and Joey quickly entered into the forest and began to race along the path, trying to get some distance on Applehead Jin. But every time they thought they'd lost him it would only turn out that he had somehow gotten ahead of him, springing out behind a tree and laughing at them, causing the three to yelp before scurrying in a new direction.

Them baggy sweat pants and the Reeboks with the straps (with the straps)

She turned around and gave that big booty a slap (hey)

She hit the floor (she hit the floor)

Next thing you know

Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

At one point Scooby hit on the brilliant idea of trying to climb up a tree to hide from Applehead Jin. Separating from the others he scrambled up the tree, climbing nearly as quickly as one would walk along a street. Settling in the branches at the very top he let out a sigh of relief… only to see Applehead Jin sitting on a branch next to him, leering and cackling. Scooby let out a cry of fear and at once reversed course, heading right back down the tree to the ground below.

Hey, I ain't never seen nothin' that'll make me go

This crazy all night, spending my dough

Had the million dollar vibe and a body to go

Them birthday cakes, they stole the show

So sexual

She was flexible, professional

Drinkin' X and O

Hold up wait a minute, do I see what I think I-, whoa

Applehead Jin looked about, trying to figure out where the three had gone. They had suddenly disappeared, leaving him standing alone in the wooded area-

"What are you doing out here?" Shaggy proclaimed, wearing medical scrubs. "You're appointment was ten minutes ago!" He pushed Applehead Jin off the trail and into a clearing that had been made up to look like a waiting room. "The chiropractor is desperate to see you!"

"Eh?" the ghost said.

"Oh, he ain't gonna be happy," Joey said, also in scrubs and looking over a medical chart. "Have ya been doin' the exercises he told ya ta do in order ta stretch out your back?"

"Eeeeh?" the ghost said, still befuddled.

"Well, dat'll be something ta take up with Dr. Scoob," With that Joey stepped back so Scooby stepped forward, shaking his head.

"Ro ro ro… rour rostures rall rong!" he complained before using his paw to tap Applehead Jin's head up. He then began to make mild adjustments to get the ghost to stand up a bit straighter, holding his shoulders a certain way… "Ron ra rable," Scooby Doo demanded, Shaggy and Joey wheeling out a low flat padded table. Applehead Jin laid down, head hanging off the side, as Scooby grabbed his leg. "Row, rou right rear ra rack!" he warned him before twisting his leg hard up towards his head.

"AAAaaaaaa!" the ghost screamed in pain.

"Ruiet! Ri'm ra rofessional!" Scooby complained. He took hold of Applehead Jin's arms and pulled them back as far as he could, then twisted his shoulders one way or another. This continued on, Scooby pulling and twisting body parts, until Applehead Jin was little more than a pretzel. "Rall rone!"

"Here's your bill, pal!" Joey said, holding out a form filled with zeros in front of Applehead Jin's face.

The ghost stared at the bill before letting out a screech, causing the three to leap into the air.

"Like I think he wants a second opinion, guys!" Shaggy said. "So let's go find him one!"

And with that the three darted off, leaving Applehead Jin behind.

~MC~MC~MC~

"-and when we looked behind us he was gone!" Shaggy said, finishing the story about how they'd managed to get away from Applehead Jin.

"Where did you get the scrubs?" I asked, only to be ignored by the rest of the gang.

"And why did you leave me behind?" Koyo complained, Yugi patting him on the shoulder.

"This isn't good at all," Yugi said. "Someone is clearly working to try and drive away all the business that Shadowview is getting… we can't let that happen!"

"You're right, Yugi," Fred said. "And I have an idea on how we can catch this ghost and put a stop to all of this right now. First thing we need though is some bait. Someone to lure him out."

The entire group slowly turned to look at me.

"Aw fuck."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Oh I sure do love being an annoying tourist!" I called out at the top of my lungs. I was leaning against a few apple barrels, still tied up and PaniK no where in sight. "The only thing better than that is annoying apples. Mocking them, teasing them, making fun of their trauma. Why, I hear your buddy in the next orchard over got infected with worms!"

And with that Applehead Jin appeared from the forest.

"What is that?" I cried out in mock terror. "Oh, this is terrible and oh so frightening! A ghost with an apple for a head is lurching right towards me and I won't be able to get away! If only something stupid would happen to save me!"

"Hey!" Fred said, popping out of one of the apple barrels he was hiding it. "This plan isn't stupid-"

"ATTACK HIM YOU IDIOT!" I roared and Fred, realizing what he'd done, grabbed some apples and began to chuck them right at Applehead Jin.

The ghost tried to shield himself but Duke popped out of the other barrel, hurling his apples at him, forcing him to stumble back.

"A little more…" Velma said, holding onto the rope that, when pulled with the one Joey was holding, would rise up a net to catch Applehead Jin. "A little more…"

I called out, "Velma, just make sure not to-"

And that's when a stray apple hit Velma, causing her to spin and lose her glasses.

"My glasses!" she cried out, stumbling about, airs flailing, running right into Joey, causing him to lose his rope.

"Oh come on!" I shouted even as everyone began to run around, trying to figure out a way to either capture Applehead Jin or avoid being grabbed by him. Shaggy and Scooby tried to grab the net and just run at the ghost but only ended up wrapping up Yugi, Daphne fell into a wagon and was sent spinning about, Tristan somehow ended up in a tree-

BANG!

Everyone froze, staring at Yuri who had drawn a gun and shot it in the air.

"Tie yourself up," she said, pointing her weapon at Applehead Jin. The ghost, raising his hands, quickly did as commanded.

"That doesn't seem very sporting," Velma commented, having finally gotten back her glasses.

"Don't care," Yuri said, "we have a party to get to and I'm tired of all this.

"You caught him!" Bill Shadowview proclaimed as he came out from… somewhere. PaniK lifted me up and put me back in the baby bjron, much to my annoyance, and we all turned to look at the tied up ghost. "Oh, I can't believe you caught him!"

"That's right, Mr. Shadowview," Fred said. "But I think you'll find this is no ghost."

"What do you mean?" the old farmer said.

"We began to realize something was up when we found the Duel Monster card with that broken bear trap. And then there was the book, which we learned was checked out from the Domino Public Library. Finally, a button… but not just any button, but one from a Domino High School uniform. Meaning that Applehead Jin is actually-"

Fred ripped off the ghost's mask.

"YAMI BAKURA!" everyone shouted.

"How do they know who Bakura is?" Tea asked, looking at Mystery Inc.

"Actually I'm not Yami Bakura," the british teen said. "Its me, Ryou Bakura."

"Wait," Joey said, scratching at his head, "ya mean ya ain't that freaky deaky Spirit dat lives in your Millennium Ring? Its just you, Bakura?"

"That's right," Bakura stated.

"But why do all this?" Yugi asked. "Why try and shut down Shadowview Mill and Orchard?"

"I wans't trying to shut it down," Bakura said. "I was trying to keep you from having fun this Halloween."

"But… why?" Tristan asked.

"Because it isn't fair I can't be a part of the Halloween Filler arcs."

That made me blink. "Hold on… YOU know about the filler arcs?"

"Well… yes. It is rather obvious that holidays keep happening right in the middle of tournaments. I mean, you'd have to be pretty dense not to notice."

"Man, what are ya talkin' about?!" Joey exclaimed.

Bakura shot a look at all of us. "You allow the likes of PaniK and Mystery Inc to be a part of them but not me? I didn't like that so I decided to create the legend of Applehead Jin to ruin your fun."

Tea stepped forward. "Bakura, we are very sorry you haven't been part of the Filler Arcs. We-"

"Nope, stop!" I snapped, turning towards Bakura. "A few things. Why did you haunt this orchard then? Because from all accounts you've been doing it for… a week?"

"Two, actually," Bakura said before saying in a softer voice, "I didn't actually know when you were coming to visit…"

"Did he really do it for two weeks?" Mai muttered and I shrugged; Filler Arc Bullshit sometimes made my head hurt.

"Second, why didn't you come and talk to anyone about this?"

"This seemed more fitting for the season," Bakura stated.

"Third… and this is important… do you think it is at all a smart idea to allow the SPIRIT OF THE MILLENNIUM RING NEAR ANY OF THIS BULLSHIT!?"

"…well when you put it like that it makes the entire thing sound rather pointless and unnecessary."

"…oh god damn it."

~MC~MC~MC~

"And that wraps up the case of Applehead Jin," Velma said as she adjusted her witch's costume. She had thought of going as Kelly from the Office but for some reason connecting her to Velma made all of us begin screaming in terror.

"We did a good job, gang, that's for sure!" Fred said, wearing an Optimus Prime costume while Daphne was dressed as Arcee. "And now we can enjoy the party!"

"Bloody right we can," Mai said, wiggling her sonic screwdriver; she was going as a gender-bent 10th Doctor. "You doing okay in there, Edwin?"

"I-hate-all-of-you," Edwin's digitalized voice said from inside the dalek costume he was wearing.

"He's really getting into the spirit of things!" Daphne said.

"No, I think its because he's still tied up." PaniK, wearing a Cyberman costume, gently pushed Edwin along.

"You-better-hope-I-don't-become-my-costume-again!" he snarled… or tried too, a lot was lost with the vocalize.

"Like come on, Edwin!" Shaggy said with a laugh, dressed up as Indiana Jones. "We got through all that freaky stuff and now we can have a blast!"

"You-at-least-can-move-on-your-own!" Edwin snapped. "Exterminate! Exterminate!" He began to roll towards Shaggy, who wisely began to back away.

"That is enough," Mai assured him. "The filler is almost done and we can get back to dealing with the crazy Egyptians. Let's just enjoy the party."

"…fine. But-you-owe-me. And-by-that-I-mean-mouth-hugs."

"Wait, you know my Aunt Gertie's grandson?" Daphne said, pointing to a photo of Seto Kaiba.

"Well, no matter what, this was a great Halloween!" Tea, dressed as a ghostbuster along with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan, declared.

"Ra!" Scooby Doo declared, everyone laughing when they saw him dressed up as Yugi, complete with a wig that looked like Yugi's hair. "Rits rime ro ruel!" He chuckled before calling "Rooby Dooby DOOOOOO!"