School was out. And we were glad. Days at the beach and nights at the pizza parlor and hopefully, an occasional mystery. That's what we were looking forward to! And of course there would be more chance to do what we did best...meddling!

So of course when my dad suggested that we take a trip to visit my Aunt Sheila and Uncle Ira and my cousin Willow in Sunnydale, CA, we were not exactly thrilled. When I said "we" I was referring to Fred, Daphne, and myself. Shaggy on the other hand was ecstatic. Especially after I told the gang how exciting Uncle Ira and Aunt Sheila had explained to my parents it *wasn't.*

"Oh come on Velma. I'm tired of getting involved with all the kookie people we usually run in to all the time. I think going to Sunnydale is a great idea."

Fred and Daphne didn't really have an opinion. As long as we went some where and they had a chance to sneak off together now and then, they'd be happy. Though what they were doing, I could never be too sure. I doubted that I wanted to know.

Anyway, my dad called Aunt Sheila to see if it would be all right for my friends and me to visit. She said it would be fine and probably good for Willow. One of her friends from school had run away a few weeks ago, and she had been taking it kind of hard. I told my dad that I knew Willow was upset about her friend since we traded e-mails regularly.

Willow and I had actually met a few summers ago when we both attended the same computer camp. It might seem strange that we never met 'til a few years ago at camp, but with her parents always on travel, hadn't been any family visits between my dad and his brother.

A few days before we were going to leave, I decided to call Willow. You can only get so much through an e-mail and I wanted to see how she was doing. I had only gotten a brief e-mail from her replying to an article about celeron (sp?) processors. She thanked me for the article and explained that she had been attacked at the school but not to worry she was recovering and would e-mail me later with more details.

"Hi, Willow?"

"Velma, is that you?"

"None other! How are you feeling?"

"Much better thanks. I've been out of the wheelchair for over a week now."

"That's great to hear. Anyway, I was calling to let you know we are still coming, and I wanted to know if there was anything special we should bring."

Now I know I don't have the best eyesight on the planet, but nobody ever said my hearing was bad; so, when I heard Willow's answer, I was a bit confused.

"Stakes and holy water would be nice."

"Willow?"

"Oh...I...um mean we could have a cook out on the beach...you know steaks by the water...won't that be nice?"

"Ok." I replied. I was sure that I had heard her say 'stakes and holy water', and she seemed a bit on edge with her explanation, almost as if she had accidentally spilled a secret. But I didn't want to push. "Since we are driving, the gang and I will be out there in about a week. With bathing suits and marshmallows."

"Great. I've told my friends you guys are coming and everyone is looking forward to um...meeting you."

"See you soon Wil."

" 'K Vel. Bye!"

As soon as I had hung up, I decided to do a little research about Sunnydale to see why on earth Willow would think we needed to bring stakes and holy water..."

End Part 1

I guess I am still amazed that our parents let us out of our houses much less out of the state! Every time we go somewhere, it seems we find trouble. So when Velma told us about her cousin Willow and that we had been invited out for a visit, it seemed like a good idea. After all, how much mystery could we possibly find in a town called Sunnydale??? Plus it was only a half hour away from the beach!!

We all decided to get together at Velma's so we could discuss the details of the trip. When I got there, I found her in the living room with her head buried in her laptop. She is SO the net girl.

"Velma, what are you looking at? Is it more Xena fan fiction? You know that Fred and Shaggy will be here any minute."

She turned her laptop so I could see it. There in a spread sheet was data about strange sightings, disappearances, murders and mutilations.

"All of this data is for one town," she explained.

"Town? Are you sure it's not for an entire state?"

"I'm sure. I pulled the information from the town's police data base."

"VELMA! Your hobby of running police statistics is going to get you into trouble some day."

She looked at me and raised an sheepishly raised an eyebrow. "The security was such a joke that I'd bet money even Shaggy could have gotten in. But that's not the point. I think we better wait for Fred and Shaggy before I explain."

We didn't have long to wait. Shaggy came bounding in through the front door a few minutes later happily munching on a bag of Cheezy Chips. Fred was trailing behind adjusting his neckerchief.

It was a good thing that we all sat down before Velma shared with us what she had been researching, because one thing was certain. Our planned relaxing trip to Sunnydale was going to be anything but!

End Part 2

Endnote: I know this part was kinda short, but there was one line in here that had me cracking up after I wrote it and I just had to get it out! Bonus points to anyone who can guess which line!

Next POV: Xander

When Willow told us Velma and crew were coming for a visit, we were all kinda wondering if it was a good idea. It was only gonna be for like a week, but trying to keep them in the dark about all things "Hellmouthy"�.lets just say I figured it would be easier trying to keep Cordy from a shoe sale at Neimens.

Cordy. God, I missed her. She and her mom had taken off for the summer barely two days after school let out. I couldn't believe how depressed I was. At least with visitors I would be distracted. Speaking of being distracted�..

Velma, Fred, Daphne and *Shaggy* got to Wil's in the late afternoon, and since her parents had yet again gone out of town, she invited Oz and me over for a cookout so we could meet them. When I got there, I thought Oz had painted his van again. But I couldn't figure out why he would paint it psychedelic colors with the words "Mystery Machine" emblazoned on the side.

That's when Oz really pulled up, Zebra stripes in place. When he got out of his van he walked over to me. He looked at the "Mystery Machine" and in typical Oz fashion gave a brief "huh."

"Oz, man�I'll never think twice about the�.er�..um interesting paint job on your van again Ever!"

"Cool."

We could hear voices coming from the back yard so we walked around to the back. It was pretty easy to tell who was who. I mean Fred was the only guy. Was that a neckerchief he was wearing??! He was dancing with a girl with longish red hair to an old Beach Boy's tune. I knew it had to be Daphne since Willow once showed me a picture of Velma on her computer when she got back from computer camp a few years back.

"Oz!" Willow exclaimed and she got up from a lounger where she was talking with Velma and ran to her boydog�.I mean boyfriend. It still seems odd that Willow has a boyfriend, especially one who is a werewolf. I just can't shake the fact that it doesn't feel right. But as Buffy said, it wasn't up to me. I just had to try to accept it, for Willow's sake.

After a brief kiss, Willow pulled away from Oz and made introductions.

"Everyone, this is Oz my boyfriend."

Fred and Daphne stopped dancing and walked over to us.

"He's in a band."

I noticed her eyes lit up when she said that. Why hadn't I seen how pretty her smile was before?

"And this is Xander. Velma, Fred, Daphne and over there eating what I hope for your sake is not the last of the Cheezy Chips is Shaggy and Scooby."

Velma, Fred, and Daphne nodded when Willow had said their names. I looked over to where Wil had indicated and saw a tall skinny guy and a dog by a table with food on it. At the moment I had been hard pressed to decide who was who. But what had really interested me was the fact that Willow had mentioned 'the last of the Cheezy Chips and I was off and�. well not running, but moving quickly toward the table. I could hear whispering from Willow and then everybody sort of giggling, but it didn't matter. Cheezy Chips were worth a bit of my pride.

As I made my way to the table, tall and skinny was taking the chips and dipping them into something brown before shoving it into his mouth. A dog sitting next to him was making whimpering noises.

"OK Scoob, here you go." He took one of the brown coated chips and fed it to the dog. At least I knew who was who. Scooby inhaled the offering and licked his chops enthusiastically.

"Hold on Scoob. It's my turn." Shaggy turned his attention to the bowl of brown in front of him and a look a horror came over his face.

"Hey Willow?!" he shouted. "Is there any more chocolate syrup? This is almost gone."

At that point my stomach did a little flip flop. Chocolate sauce on Cheezy Chips??? That sounded�..well�. OK. Maybe it didn't sound sooooo bad.

"Let me check Shaggy." Willow disappeared into the house.

"Chocolate syrup?" I questioned.

"Yeah, you should try it! Right Scoob?"

The dog looked at me and sort of shook his head as if he was agreeing with Shaggy. Talk about strange. So I looked in bowl the chips were in. I should have said "had" been in since all that was left were crumbs.

"Sorry man. I guess I got a little carried away there."

"Don�t worry Xander. I was prepared," Willow explained coming toward us from the house. In her arms were two unopened bags of Cheezy Chips and a bottle of Hershey Syrup.

I grabbed one of the bags from Willow and said, "I knew there was a reason you are my best friend."

That got a giggle from Willow and Velma as well.

Shaggy poured some more syrup into the bowl. I figured I would give it a try. It wasn't half bad, but not as good as�.

"So Shaggy, you every try ketchup on Twinkies?"

He looked at me. Eyes wide, and for a moment I was thinking that chips and chocolate sauce was his only odd eating habit.

"Actually mustard is much better," he informed me. Well I wasn't so sure about that, but I said that I might have to give that a try sometime.

Willow appointed Fred as grill master. Which was fine by me cause Shaggy and I got into a great conversation about food. I will probably never be teased by Willow about what I put into my stomach again. Ever.

As Fred grilled, we all sort of lounged around waiting. Fred kept sneaking looks at Daphne who was 'helping' him at the grill. They reminded me of the looks I would sneak at Cordy before Willow found us out. Mmmnn. Shaggy was doing something unmentionable with pickles and something that was orange. Oz and Willow took turns throwing a Frisbee to Scooby, while Velma and I chatted. Mostly I wanted to know why their van was painted so strangely. Right after I asked Velma about that.�

"Hey gang!" Fred exclaimed. "The burgers are done."

Once we were settled with our food, Velma repeated my question for everyone's benefit. Fred and Daphne laughed out loud while Shaggy and I swear Scooby began to whimper. And once explanations were offered, I realized that I did not have as strange of life as I thought I did.

After we helped Willow clean up, we stood around in the kitchen trying to decide what to do. Since it was still early, we decided to go to the Bronze. Vamp activity was all but not, so we figured it would be safe. Note to self�When you least expect it. . . Expect it!

"Hey gang, there's plenty of room in the Mystery Machine for all of us," Fred enthusiastically offered.

It was a good thing that Cordy wasn't around. I could just hear her complaining about her reputation if any of her "friends" saw her getting out of THAT van. But since walking didn't appeal to any of us, and Oz had no objections, the Mystery Machine it was.

Just as we were about to pile into the van, Shaggy started complaining about having a stomachache. Nobody was surprised. Not after he ate an entire watermelon by himself. Well it probably wasn't so much the watermelon that got him, as much as it was the entire jar of Cheese Whiz he ate with it. *Shudder* It did surprise me though when Shaggy suggested that Scooby stay home with him. Willow, Oz and I exchanged looks when Velma, Daphne and Fred agreed that that was a good idea. They hadn't planned on bringing Scooby with us to the Bronze. . . .did they?

Strangely though Scooby looked almost disappointed, well as disappointed as a dog can look, until Shaggy mentioned something about a "Scooby-Snack." So we said our good-byes leaving Shaggy and Scooby settled in front of the TV with the last of the Cheesy Chips.

Since it was still early when we got to the Bronze, it wasn't very crowded. But it would be later. It was the semi-annual Post Fumigation Party. Fred didn't seem to notice the odd looks he got as we made our way into the club. I decided I'd have to ask Willow later about the. . . um. . . daring(?) fashion statement Fred was trying to make with his neckerchief. Neckerchief??? Cordy would've had a field day with that.

"This is really a. . . um. . . interesting place," Velma stated almost cautiously.

"It's not much, but the cockroaches like to call it home," I explained.

"Cockroaches?" Daphne questioned as she looked down at the floor.

"Oh don't worry Daphne, tonight is the Post Fumigation Party. There shouldn't be too many of them to bother us," Oz explained.

Daphne's smile did not do much to mask her trepidation. (What? Can't I know big words? Ok, Wil used it two days ago. Sue me.)

"Why don't we go dance?" Willow suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Come on Daphne." Fred grabbed her hand and led her to the floor.

"Oz?" Willow asked hopefully. It was a fast number, so I knew he would be reluctant.

"Baby, you know I don't like these faster ones. Why don�t you dance with Xander and Velma?"

Willow looked a bit disappointed, but I was sort of glad for some reason. She looked over to me, so I said, "Come on I'll dance with you guys."

"OK," she replied, beaming a wistful glance at Oz. Velma then whispered something into her ear that I couldn't make out, and the two of them began giggling.

"Velma, if you've got secrets, you should share." I explained.

"Oh, I was just looking forward to seeing the "Xander Dance" that Willow's to me so much about."

I looked at Willow who suddenly seemed to find the floor very interesting. I decided to let her off the hook.

"Well then prepare to be dazzled," replied as I grabbed the two girls by the hand and dragged them onto the dance floor.

We danced for a while, until a slow dance came on. Oz maneuvered himself onto the dance floor and took Willow in his arms. Velma and I moved off the floor and went to get drinks. As we stood on the sidelines sipping our drinks, I noticed Velma staring almost sadly at Fred and Daphne who were slowly swaying to the music.

"You OK, Velma?"

"I guess. It's just that. . . . Uh, nothing."

"You wish Shaggy was here, don't you?"

"Uh yeah, that's it."

"I know how you feel. My girlfriend is away this summer, and I kinda miss her already."

The slow song finally ended and Oz, Fred and Daphne walked over to us.

"Where's Wil?" I asked.

"She went to the ladies' room," Oz answered.

Velma was nodding in understanding when a strange look came over her face. She seemed to be staring at a group of people who had just come in the main door. Before I turned to look where she was looking I already had a bad feeling. I hate it when that happens.

End Part 3

Next POV: Giles