The Mystery of the Aztec Tomb
Page 4
The crowd kneels. Daphne turns to Xolotl and snatches the mask off his face.
“Imposter!” she accuses.
The crowd gasps. So does Daphne. She recognizes the man!
“I know you!” Daphne whispers to Xolotl. “You’re Sammy the Shrimp! You robbed an armored car and tried to disguise it as an ice cream truck. Untie my friends or I’ll sic the ‘chupacabras’ on you!”
As Sammy hurries to untie the gang, Daphne faces the crowd.
“I will punish the imposter! You may leave!” Daphne instructs the crowd.
The people walk away obediently. When Daphne turns around, she sees that Sammy hasn’t untied anyone.
“You meddling kids ruined my scheme!” Sammy grumbles. “I robbed that armored car to get rich. Then I found this underground village and its gullible inhabitants. I made them think I was a god! I was treated better than a king!”
“Well, you’re about to be dethroned,” Daphne declares.
Press here.
The zombies knock over the pots and try to break them. They can’t, so they kick the pots, which starts them rolling. The pots roll out the door and down the street then quickly disappear around a corner. The zombies can’t catch them!
One zombie smacks another zombie in the back of the head. “Rrr garr murrr!” (Translation: “Nice move, genius!”)
The other zombie smacks the first zombie. “Gurr arrgh!” (Translation: “It was your idea!”)
The two zombies start fighting each other. As the other zombies watch the fight, Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby sneak out of the building and escape.
“We’ve got to find Daphne and get out of here,” Fred says.
“Find Daphne!” a voice repeats. They look up and see a large green parrot. “Get out of here!” it squawks then flies off.
“I have a theory. Follow that parrot!” Velma says.
They follow the bird to a tall pyramid. The top rises up to a hole in the roof of the cave. A makeshift cargo lift is carrying bundles of treasure out of the cave through the hole. Workers climb up the side of the pyramid carrying sacks of Aztec treasure on their backs. Zombie warriors guard the workers.
“Well, there’s our way out. We just have to get past the zombie guards,” Velma says.
“I have a plan,” Fred declares.
Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby sneak up behind the guards and overpower them. They take the warriors’ uniforms and disguise themselves as guards. The gang walks up the side of the pyramid alongside the workers.
When they reach the top, they see Daphne and Professor Dinkley tied to a stone pillar. Supervising the transfer of treasure is Xolotl! The green parrot sits on his shoulder.
“That treasure belongs in a museum,” Dinkley protests.
“Then a museum can pay me for it,” Xolotl replies.
“Pay for it! Pay for it!” the parrot squawks.
“Jinkies! I know that voice!” Velma gasps. She races forward in her warrior disguise and pulls the Aztec dog mask off of Xolotl!
Press here.
“Xolotl!” Velma yelps.
“Yaaa! The death god!” everybody screams. But Daphne puts her hands on her hips and frowns.
“You know, I’ve been scared by a stone carving too many times in this crazy pyramid,” Daphne says, annoyed.
She walks up to the face and raps it with her knuckles. Suddenly a hand grabs her wrist. Now that spooks her!
“Yaaa!” Daphne screams.
“Yaaa!” Fred and Velma scream.
“Yaaa!” Shaggy and Scooby scream. They dive back into the treasure pile to hide.
The mound shudders then collapses like a landslide. A wave of treasure rushes over Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Xolotl and carries them out the door.
Press here.
“Mummies!” Fred gulps. He stares through a doorway into one of the structures.
“Mummies!” Velma says excitedly and rushes into the building to take a closer look.
The room is filled with Aztec treasure that only an archaeologist could love. There are painted pottery cups and dishes, small statues carved from stone, and walls painted with scenes of the daily life of the person entombed. Everything surrounds a wrapped corpse lying on a stone slab.
“What a fantastic discovery!” Velma gushes. “I wonder if Uncle Cosmo knows about this?”
“Maybe that’s why he’s missing,” Fred speculates.
“You’re right, Fred. And if he’s in danger, then so are we,” Velma concludes.
If Fred and Velma discover that the dead are dangerous, press here.
If they see a spooky shape, press here.
Daphne tumbles down another dark chute and lands in a small chamber.
“Velma! Fred! Am I glad to see you!” Daphne says. “Where are Shaggy and Scooby?”
“Right rear!” Scooby says and pokes his head out of a pile of Aztec treasure!
“Oh, no! Treasure!” Daphne moans.
“Like what’s wrong with treasure, Daph?” Shaggy chuckles.
“Treasure means tomb robbers and booby-traps,” Daphne replies. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Great idea, but we’re locked in a vault,” Fred says.
Daphne looks around the chamber. If there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that this pyramid is full of trapdoors. She runs her hand along every bump and irregularity on the walls. Sure enough, a section of the wall slides open.
A hideous face stares out of the darkness!
Press here.
Shaggy sees a crowbar resting on a nearby crate. He reaches for it, but it’s just beyond his grasp.
“If I could just get that crowbar I could pry open the cage door,” he says.
A forklift rumbles toward them. It picks up the cage holding Fred, Daphne, and Velma and puts them in the back of a truck. They’re being smuggled!
“Zoinks! We’ll never see them again!” Shaggy moans.
Scooby gets a determined look on his face and presses his back end against the cage door. His tail wriggles out like a monkey’s and wraps around the crowbar.
“Way to go, Scoob!” Shaggy praises as he takes the crowbar and springs the cage door.
But are they too late? The truck is driving away!
Press here.
“Like, are we glad to see you!” the tall figure says as he takes off his hideous mask. It’s Shaggy. Scooby takes of his mask, too. “Xolotl captured us and Daph and the professor. But Scoobs and I used these disguises to escape and find help to rescue them!”
“Take us to them!” Fred says.
“You mean you want us to go back there?” Shaggy shivers.
“You’re the only ones who know the way,” Velma says. “Besides, Daphne has Scooby Snacks in her purse.”
“Rhut are re raiting for?” Scooby says and leads the way.
Shaggy and Scooby lead their friends to a pyramid in the center of the underground city.
“Daphne and the Professor are inside,” Shaggy says.
“How do we get in?” Fred asks.
“There’s a door right here,” Shaggy says. He presses a carving. A secret door opens. Inside is a room with suits and masks like Shaggy’s.
“Those look like the suits people wear when they work in sterile rooms,” Velma observes.
They put on the suits and masks. The masks self-seal and oxygen flows.
“Uncle Cosmo’s workers probably saw people wearing these outfits and thought they were monsters. No wonder they ran off,” Velma says.
As soon as the suits seal, a laser passes over them and an inner door opens. They gasp at what they see. They are in a room filled with wall-to-wall electronics.
“This is a single, giant computer hard drive!” Velma realizes.
“Voice recognition confirmed. Velma Dinkley,” a
voice states.
“The computer knows you!” Fred says.
“Like, that’s spooky!” Shaggy says.
Scooby whimpers.
“Voice recognition confirmed. Fred Jones, Norville Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby-Doo,” the computer declares.
“Zoinks! The computer knows us!” Shaggy exclaims.
“And so do I, you meddling kids!” a human voice says.
They turn to see a man in a clear plastic sterile suit.
“Dr. Laslow Ostwald!” Velma gasps.
The others look blank. “Who?”
“He built that high-tech house of horrors,” Velma explains. “What did you name it? Dari? Carrie?”
“SHARI!” Ostwald retorts. “But she’s reprogrammed now. I call her MARI.”
“Reprogrammed to do what?” Velma asks.
“MARI stands for Modified Artificial Robotic Intelligence, and she can hack into any secure computer network in the world,” Ostwald replies.
“You’re data mining,” Fred says.
“I’m data stealing and selling,” Ostwald boasts.
“You won’t get away with it, Ostwald,” Fred declares.
“You can’t stop me. MARI, destroy them!” Ostwald commands. Nothing happens.
“I’m unable to comply,” the computer says in a faint voice. Then all the lights on the hard drive go out.
“Your hacking days are over, Ostwald,” Velma says. Her sealed mask is off. “I realized that this is a sterile room because any contamination would harm the hard drive. So I broke containment and ‘infected’ the computer. I’m sorry, MARI.”
“Nooo! You don’t know what you’ve done!” Ostwald moans. “All my buyers will come after me to deliver what I can’t deliver!”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe in a nice jail cell,” Fred assures him. “But first, show us where you’ve got Daphne and Professor Dinkley!”
Defeated, Ostwald agrees. He says they’re in another room in the pyramid.
“Another mystery solved! Another bad guy unmasked!” Fred says.
They leave the room, but Velma stays behind. She looks at the giant hard drive then starts working the various keyboard controls. The computer’s main hard drive module pops out of the console. Velma takes it out of the console and looks at it.
“I’ll save you, MARI. Just be a good girl this time!” Velma says.
THE END
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The treasure wave sweeps them down another tunnel. It’s a short trip. They all fly out of the pyramid like a gushing fountain.
Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy land wearing Aztec treasure from head to toe. They look around for Scooby.
“Scooby-Doo, where are you?” Shaggy calls.
Scooby pops up wearing the Xolotl mask. A dazed man crawls out of the pile next to Scooby.
“You meddling kids. Not again!” the man mutters in a daze.
Suddenly Professor Dinkley runs up to the gang.
“Kids! I was working on an isolated section of the pyramid and heard the commotion! Is everyone okay?” Dinkley says. He recognizes the dazed man as his partner on the dig. “Professor Stonehack!”
“Professor Stonehack! I recognize that name!” Fred realizes.
“You were stealing Aztec relics the last time we saw you,” Daphne says.
“Still up to your old tricks,” Velma observes.
“Yes! I dressed up as Xolotl to scare off Cosmo’s workers,” Stonehack confesses. “I didn’t want anyone to know I was looting treasure from the pyramid. I made sure Cosmo was busy digging all by himself in an isolated portion of the site. And I almost got away with it, too.”
Professor Dinkley thanks the gang for solving the mystery.
“What can I do to repay you?” Dinkley asks.
“Tell us where can we get some good enchiladas! All this mystery-solving has made me work up an appetite!” Shaggy says.
THE END
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Shaggy and Scooby have no idea where they’re going, and they don’t dare look! They fall down a mineshaft like pebbles down a drainpipe. BING! BANG! BONG! When they finally come to a halt, they are in a dusty ore cart full of rocks.
“Ow! That was a harsh landing!” Shaggy groans.
Scooby and Shaggy finally open their eyes, but it’s dark and they can’t see much more than vague shadows.
“Well, at least there’s no fire and brimstone,” Shaggy says.
They climb out of the cart and start to walk along the tracks.
“Like, I don’t know where we’re going, but I hope it’s somewhere safe!” Shaggy declares.
Suddenly a bright light shines in their eyes. It’s moving toward them.
It’s a train!
Shaggy and Scooby jump in alarm and their hair stands on end.
“R-r-run!” Scooby shouts.
They peel out, back the way they came, with legs spinning like racecar wheels. A couple of seconds later, a steam locomotive thunders over the spot where they were just standing. Shaggy and Scooby run as fast as they can, but the ore train gains on them.
“This is the end, pal!” Shaggy wails.
Suddenly they spot a pair of stalactites hanging over the tracks. They grab onto them and swing out of the train’s path. The ore train passes under them. But the pals can’t hang onto the slippery stones.
“Ruh-roh!” Scooby gulps and drops into one of the ore carts being pulled by the train.
“I’m coming, buddy!” Shaggy shouts and lets go. He lands in another ore cart and runs to reach Scooby.
The train comes out of the dark tunnel and into a large, bright cave. There are several vats pouring out streams of molten metal.
“It’s a smelting factory!” Shaggy realizes.
The ore train stops and begins to dump its load into empty vats. Suddenly the pals are tipped into one of the vats along with the raw ore.
The vat rumbles on a conveyor belt headed toward a huge furnace!
Press here.
Scooby and Shaggy try to climb out of the vat but it’s too deep. That’s when they see Fred, Velma, and Daphne below them!
“Help! Help! Up here!” Shaggy yells to his friends.
But the gang is being chased by Xolotl! They’re yelling for help, too!
“Re’ll save rou!” Scooby says. He and Shaggy throw chunks of ore at Xolotl.
One chunk bounces off Xolotl’s dog head and knocks him down. Daphne looks up and sees Shaggy and Scooby. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a spool of dental floss. She ties one end to the chunk of ore and swings it like a bolo. The weighted dental floss wraps around a knob on the vat.
“Pull!” Daphne tells Fred and Velma.
The vat tips and Shaggy and Scooby fall out before it enters the blast furnace.
“That was close!” Shaggy says.
They run over to their friends and the fallen Xolotl, whose dog head looks a little crooked! Velma leans over and removes his mask. Everyone gasps.
“Dr. LaRue!” Velma says. “The last time we met, you tried to steal Montezuma’s Mexican treasure!”
“I can’t believe it! Mystery Inc. foiled me again,” LaRue laments. “I found an old Aztec gold mine under Professor Dinkley’s dig site and invented the Xolotl disguise to scare people away from my discovery.”
“Where’s Uncle Cosmo?” Velma wants to know.
“I sent him to a resort in Cancun. He’s probably at the all-you-can-eat buffet right now,” LaRue says.
“All you can eat?” Shaggy and Scooby say and hightail it out of the factory!
THE END
To follow another path, press here.
AUTHOR
Laurie S. Sutton has read comics since she was a kid. She grew up to become an edi
tor for Marvel, DC Comics, Starblaze, and Tekno Comics. She has written Adam Strange for DC, Star Trek: Voyager for Marvel, plus Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Witch Hunter for Malibu Comics. There are long boxes of comics in her closet where there should be clothing and shoes. Laurie has lived all over the world. She currently resides in Florida.
ILLUSTRATOR
Scott Neely has been a professional illustrator and designer for many years. For the last eight years, he’s been an official Scooby-Doo and Cartoon Network artist, working on such licensed properties as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Powerpuff Girls, and more. He has also worked on Pokémon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Handy Manny, Strawberry Shortcake, Bratz, and many other popular characters. He lives in a suburb of Philadelphia and has a scrappy Yorkshire Terrier, Alfie.
GLOSSARY
albino (al-BYE-noh)—a person or animal born without any natural coloring in the skin, hair, or eyes
archeologist (ar-kee-OL-uh-jist)—a scientist who studies the past by digging up old buildings and objects and examining them carefully
chupacabra (CHOO-puh-kah-brah)—a mythical doglike creature said to live in parts of Mexico and Puerto Rico
contamination (kuhn-TAM-uh-nay-shun)—the act of making something dirty or unfit for use
conveyor belt (kuhn-VEY-ur BELT)—a moving belt that carries objects from one place to another in a factory
sarcophagus (sahr-KOF-uh-guhs)—a stone coffin
smelting (SMEL-ting)—melting ore so that the metal can be removed
stalagmite (stuh-LAG-mite)—a thin piece of rock shaped like an icicle that sticks up from the floor of a cave
subterranean (suhb-tuh-REY-nee-uhn)—underground
tsunami (tsoo-NAH-mee)—a very large, destructive wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcano
Xolotl (szh-LOW-till)—Aztec god of fire and death