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tessalovesozzy · 4 years

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Scooby Doo meets Lupin the Third - Chapter 1

Notes: Its finally here! Again this has been written by @coldtoastieboi and myself (@tessalovesozzy)! There has been a lot going on right now for both of us in our lives right now and the holidays are upon us (hence why this took so long). We hope that this chapter was worth the wait!

(Chapter continues under the cut)

Chapter 1

The Fall color was on full display in the passing trees as the Mystery Machine rolled down the highway, well on their way to the city of Southsummer, Georgia. It was their Fall break and all the members of Mystery Inc. were in need of some much-deserved relaxation time. As much as they loved solving mysteries, it was good to get a break from them every once in a while. Daphne heaved a sigh of relief. “ It feels so good that we finally get a vacation for once!”

“Yeah, going to Southsummer just to take in the sights was a great idea, Velma!” Fred complimented his friend, keeping his eyes on the road. “I figured that we could use it! All the theatres, parks, museums… a trip that doesn’t involve mysteries is just what we need!” Velma replied.

“Like, famous last words…” Shaggy said, thinking the rest of the gang couldn’t hear him. Fred raised an eyebrow as he glanced in the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of the backseat where Shaggy and Scooby sat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shaggy began to rant. “Like, Scoob and I know how this goes. We try to go on vacation, things start out fine and dandy, but then a mystery falls into our lap and instead of relaxing, we spend the whole time getting chased by some freaky monster -”

“And running and retting rared rilly!” Scooby interjected, being as skeptic as Shaggy was about this ‘vacation’.

“Exactly!” Shaggy agreed.

“Don’t worry guys,” Velma reassured. “I did some research on this city for paranormal activity or anything else out of the ordinary and found nothing. I assure you that we’re just here to relax.”

Shaggy and Scooby gave each other a glance and then back to Velma and the others. “Well, uh...”

“Tell you what guys, we still haven’t eaten breakfast yet. So how about you two pick which restaurant we eat at first on this trip?” Fred asked trying to appeal to Shaggy and Scooby and quell their fears. At the very mention of food and Fred’s offer, Shaggy and Scooby grinned and tied napkins around their necks like bibs. “Like, what are we waiting for?”

“Ret’s ro!” Scooby howled happily, with his human friends laughing as they entered the city limits.

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After spending some time at a few local landmarks, unwinding at a public park, and of course, eating at various restaurants and food stands, Mystery Inc. was already in a better and calmer mood and it was barely one o'clock in the afternoon by this time. After getting lunch from a hot dog stand, the teens and their great dane casually headed down the block back to their vehicle.

“See? What’d we tell you guys? No monsters, no mysteries, just some well-deserved downtime.” Daphne said reassuringly.

“Yeah, this is really nice! Like, I don’t know what we were worried about, Scoob!” Shaggy said as he munched on his twelfth hot dog.

Velma smiled, seeing her normally anxious friends being so content as she brought a brochure for the Metropolitan Art and History Museum out from a side pocket on her backpack.“I hope we can get to the museum today! There’s supposed to an exhibit that’s showcasing a red emerald!”

“A red emerald? Wait a minute, aren’t emeralds supposed to be green?” Fred asked. Velma proceeded to explain. “They are green! In actuality, This gem is more of a beryl than a true em-”

“Velma- it’s a red emerald.” Daphne interrupted. She knew that if Velma continued, they’d be there for the rest of the afternoon in a geology lecture. “Like, what’s so special about it?” Shaggy asked. “Well Shaggy, this red emerald is said to be so hypnotic and so beautiful that few can resist being drawn to it!” Velma replied enthusiastically. “According to the map, the museum is just around the corner over there.” Velma pointed to the intersection at the end of the street that came to a right turn. “Well then, let’s go!” Fred said as he and the others piled into the Mystery Machine.

Suddenly, several police cars came rushing past the van, siren’s wailing with lights atop the cars flashing.

“Jeepers! What’s going on?” Daphne asked, looking out the windshield with concern as the police cars raced down the street.

“Whatever it is, they’re sure in a hurry!” Fred exclaimed.

“Freddie, look where they’re headed!” Daphne pointed towards the slew of police cars as they raced down to the end of the street and made a right turn.

“They’re headed towards the museum!” Fred revved up the Mystery Machine and followed in hot pursuit of the police, jolting everyone into their seats. Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other with concern as they knew what following the police meant: ANOTHER mystery. Shaggy sighed in defeat as he turned to a whimpering Scooby. “Here we go again, ol’ buddy.”

As the van finished turning the corner, the van came to a screeching halt as all of the police cars had stopped at the bottom of the front steps of the museum. “Jinkies!” Velma exclaimed as she and the gang saw that the police cars were parked in such a cluttered fashion, that the cars had entirely blocked one side of the road. A few police officers were out redirecting some of the traffic and trying to keep some news trucks at bay. Fred got the van as close to the museum as he could, parking near a local coffee shop across the street from the museum. After the gang got out of the van, they headed for the nearby crosswalk.

“Zoinks! Like, whatever’s happening at the museum, they sure got enough people to do it!” Shaggy said, looking back at the army of police officers and their vehicles as they walked through the crosswalk. “Ruh-huh!” Scooby agreed.

“Do you think something happened to the emerald?” Daphne asked.

“I can’t think of any other reason why they might be here! Come on! Maybe we can help!” Fred quickened the pace as he and the gang navigated their way to the shining marble steps of the Metropolitan Museum. There were police on the steps, at every entrance, and even on the roof as if they were searching for someone. The police noticed the teens but let them pass, assuming they were tourists like every other civilian heading towards the museum. The gang approached the Roman-eseque facade and eventually, the front entrance to the museum, passing through to the simplistic front lobby of the museum. The hostess at the front desk greeted the teens and their dog, albeit a bit flustered due to the appearance of the police. “G-good afternoon, welcome to the Metropolitan Art and History Museum.”

“Like, what’s with all the cops?” Shaggy asked. The hostess swallowed a lump in her throat, as if she was afraid to say too much. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say right now...I-I-I will h-however inform you that the red emerald exhibit is closed until further notice.”

“Closed? Has it been stolen?” Daphne inquired.

“Has someone just threatened to steal it?” Velma asked.

“We just want to help…” Fred tried to reassure the uneasy hostess.

“I- I’m sorry! I can’t say! P-p-please enjoy our other exhibits for the time being!” The hostess nervously replied. The gang looked at each other with concern.

“Rook! Rore rops!” Scooby raised one of his front paws, pointing to the last exhibit at the end of the hall, with 2 policemen guarding its entrance. There were no other policemen around any of the other exhibits, and the teens headed straight for the guarded entrance. As the gang got closer, they could see 2 men talking to each other, both with their backs turned to the exhibit’s entrance. One was raising his voice about the whole situation, wanting more security to placed, and the other was more reserved, wanting to be more logical about the situation. The closer they got, the more Fred realized who the man with a deafening tone was.

“No way…” Fred got more excited while the rest of the gang was confused as to why. The teens finally reached to entrance for the red emerald exhibit and were immediately stopped by the guards and one of them began to speak. “I’m sorry kids, but this exhibit is closed today. You can visit some of the other-”

“We know but we want to help!” Daphne said. “We’re Mystery Inc.! Like, world famous Mystery solvers? Maybe you’ve heard of us?” Shaggy added, trying to get the guards to let them in. The guards simply looked at each other and began to chuckle. “Yeah, you can help us…” The other guard replied in between laughs. “You can go hom-”

“WHAT’S GOING ON BACK THERE?!!” The loud man shouted as he turned to face the guards, and they stood at attention. He was a japanese man that looked to be in his mid 40’s to early 50s, dressed in a brown suit, and donning a trenchcoat and matching fedora. Fred got a huge smile the minute he saw him. “I knew it! You’re Inspector Zenigata! Wow! ” Fred exclaimed, still smiling and his friends, still a bit confused. Zenigata wasn’t used to being noticed much by anyone, much less a teenager and his friends, so it caught him off guard. “Uh... yeah, that’s me.”

Fred continued to gush with excitement. “Inspector, you’re my idol! The way you keep going, no matter the cost! All the adventures you’ve had! All those different traps you make! It’s an honor, sir!” Fred offered his hand to the flabbergasted Inspector, who wasn’t used to having fans around. Zenigata sheepishly grinned as he shook Fred’s hand. “Well, I’m flattered young man, I- HEY, WAIT A MINUTE! What are you kids doing, hanging around here?!?! Who are you??!!!?!” Zenigata cried, coming to his senses.

“Well Inspector, we’re Mystery Inc. and we want to help you solve this mystery! Whatever it is…” Velma replied.

“I assure you, it is no mystery who is behind all this… and it is none of your business.” A voice insisted. Everyone looked to see it was the man Inspector Zenigata was talking to earlier. He was tall and lean and much younger than Zenigata, around late 20’s to early 30’s. The man had blonde hair and thick glasses that shielded his jade green eyes and a navy blue pinstripe suit. He went over to join Zenigata in dealing with these meddling kids and introduced himself. “Inspector Victor Sullivan, ICPO. We appreciate the concern of civilians but we insist on continuing with your day.”

“Civilians? Inspector Sullivan, we have solved mysteries all around the world, taking down criminals of all shapes and sizes! We are more than capable of helping you!” Daphne rebutted. “Oh? Really?” Inspector Sullivan sarcastically replied, unamused.

“Gentleman, if we are done dealing with these kids, can we continue please?” A elderly man interrupted, anxious to get back to business. Mystery Inc. hadn’t noticed him before he had spoken. “Oh, of course, Mr. Motley.” Zenigata replied, taking his eyes off of Mystery Inc. for a moment, and Inspector Sullivan kept trying to dissuade the teens from meddling any further.

“Look, whatever sort of mysteries you kids have managed to have miraculously solved, this isn’t some local hoodlum running around in a Halloween costume. This is much bigger than any one of you can handle. So, do us all a favor ‘Mystery Inc.’; why don’t you go home and play with your toys and let the adults handle this?” “Excuse me?!!?!” Daphne replied angrily. This set off an argument between the teens, the guards, and Inspector Sullivan.

Meanwhile, Zenigata continued to talk to Mr. Motley, the museum’s curator. “Inspector Zenigata, are you quite certain that it’s him?” Mr. Motley asked. “Of course it’s him! This is his calling card and this sort of high profile artifact is just the sort of thing he would go for! Mr. Motley, I highly suggest you put every able bodied man you can find to guard the emerald!” Inspector Zenigata replied. “Of course, I’ll contact Mr. Everly and we can sort this whole thing out.” Being only the museum curator, Mr. Motley had to run everything by his superior. “Although I will tell you Inspector, we - WILL YOU STOP THAT INFERNAL RACKET?!” Mr. Motley cried out in frustration to the arguing group, now silent at his (very loud) demands. Mr. Motley continued. “Inspector Zenigata, I will tell you that our last night guard has suddenly quit.”

“Quit? What for?” Zenigata asked.“I don’t know!” Mr. Motley replied nervously, unsure of how to explain the situation.“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?!” Zenigata responded, now more irate.“I mean he just up and left! Without as much as a word! And to make matters worse, this has happened to 8 of our guards in the past month!” Mr. Motley’s words now made everyone intrigued, but Inspector Sullivan seemed to be less so.

“You mean that none of your past guards have mentioned anything as to why they left? Odd...” Velma inquired. “You kids are still here?!” Zenigata said irately, the teens now helping themselves into the room. “Sounds like they’re scared…” Daphne added. Fred spoke up, with a mischievous smirk. “Scared of a ghost? We know a lot about those...” “Yeah, like, too much!” Shaggy commented.

“Now that’s just silly! Why would he do a thing like that?” Zenigata replied.“Roo’s re ralking arout, Fred?” Scooby asked. “Like yeah! Who’s ‘he’?” Shaggy added. From reading all about his idol’s adventures, Fred knew exactly who Zenigata was talking about. “Gang, I think he’s talking about Lupin the Third!”

“Of I’ve been talking about Lupin! Who’d you think I was talking about, Sonny and Cher?!” Zenigata shouted, getting up in Fred’s face (which startled Fred a little). “Who?” Shaggy and Scooby said, cocking their heads to the side. “Shaggy, Lupin the Third is a world famous thief! He’s been all over the world stealing priceless artifacts in nearly impossible heists!” Velma replied. “Don’t you ever read the news, Shaggy?” Daphne was a bit miffed at how Shaggy didn’t know the reputation such a famous criminal. “Like, The only time I ever read the news is for the weather and comics!” Shaggy replied.

“You know, Inspector Sullivan, you didn’t seem too surprised at the possibility of a ghost being the cause of all this trouble…” Velma stated suspiciously. “Yeah, like you know something that we don’t…” Daphne agreed. Zenigata did admit the Sullivan seemed to not be all that surprised at the possibility of a ghost. “Sullivan, you know more about the red emerald than I do. If I’m going to catch Lupin, I’m going to have to learn all I can about it. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Sullivan heaved a sigh, pushing his glasses into place. “I didn’t think it would be relevant to this case but given how things are turning out, it looks like it is. This red emerald actually has a bit of history behind it, quite prevalent to your case, Inspector Zenigata. Long ago, there were two thieves that planned to steal the emerald: one was Vincente León and the other was-”

“Let me guess, Arsene Lupin the First.” Zenigata interrupted. Sullivan continued. “Yes, Lupin the Third’s grandfather. León and Lupin had teamed up for that heist and of course, were successful in stealing it and planned to split the money it was worth between the two of them. But León wanted to keep the emerald for himself and decided to betray Lupin the First. That betrayal ended up costing his life…among the living, some claim. Bent on making sure no one else would take the jewel from him ever again, Vincente León’s ghost now follows the emerald wherever it goes, terrorizing all who dare to even try and take it from him. Most who are unfortunate enough to run into him, simply call him ‘The Specter’. And I fear that The Specter has followed the emerald here as well...”

“Aww come on! A specter flyin’ around, scaring people away people from taking a gem he was too greedy to part with, even in death? Who’d believe all that hooey?” Zenigata said, quick to dismiss the Specter story. “Like, you’d be surprised man…” Shaggy uneasily replied, hugging Scooby as both of them shook with fright.

“Even so, most of the time it’s some guy in a mask trying to scare people away. We should know, it’s our field of knowledge.” Velma stated. “And I’d like to assume you didn’t do months of research on this particular case and learn of the unfathomable accounts that connect with it.” Sullivan snapped back. “This emerald has had a long and bloody history, especially before anyone in the Lupin family got their hands on it. And I’m most certainly not going to let this case be handled by a bunch of amateurs.” “‘Amateurs?!’” Fred echoed, annoyed.

Zenigata turned to the teens. “I know you kids want to help but Sullivan does have a point. I can’t let civilians into this case, especially if they could get hurt. Lupin the Third is not just some petty thief to be taken lightly. He can be very dangerous when he wants to be. You seem like good kids but I don’t want you to get hurt. Guards, escort Mystery Inc. from the premises.”

The guards motioned for the group to leave and directed them back to the entrance of the museum. They were miffed that the Inspector wouldn't let them help (most of them at least.).

“Like, you heard what they said. They’ve already got this covered, there’s no need to butt in.” Shaggy pressed. “No, Shaggy. We can’t just ignore this mystery.” Fred stressed to his friend as they all walked down the steps. “Like, why not?!” Shaggy complained. “Don’t you think there’s something off about this whole thing? Like why would a master thief need to resort to scaring people?” Velma stated. “And I don’t know about you, but that Inspector Sullivan rubs me the wrong way. I don’t care if he thinks he’s trying to do ‘what’s best for us’. He didn’t need to be so rude!” Daphne added.

The teens crossed the street back to the Mystery Machine and climbed into the van. “And I can tell you one thing: we’re going to catch Lupin in the act, tonight!” Fred exclaimed. The rest of the gang turned to each other in surprise. “Freddie, Inspector Zenigata has been trying to catch Lupin for years and hasn’t succeeded and Zenigata is an expert on the man! What makes you think we can do it?” Daphne said, trying to reason with Fred. “Lupin hasn’t run into us yet! And besides, if we don’t catch him, we can at least slow him down!” Fred replied, confident in himself and his friends abilities.

“Like, we don’t even know if Lupin is going to pull off the heist tonight anyway! We didn’t even get to look at that note he sent!” Shaggy rebutted, Scooby nodding in agreement. “I think we might….” Velma said pulling out her cellphone, Shaggy and Scooby a bit confused. Velma went to the internet browser on her and began to type in the search engine. “Lets see… search for Lupin The Third aaaand- aha! Here we go! ‘Famous Thief Lupin the Third aims for Red Emerald’!” Velma read the headline of the online news article aloud and she scrolled down to a picture of the note that Lupin sent and read it aloud. “Okay…’Wanted to stroll down my grandfather’s memory lane. So I have decided to steal the red emerald tonight. Don’t wait up for me! Signed Lupin The Third’. Hmph...this guy seems to have a sense of humor.” “Yeah, like, look at that!” Shaggy agreed, pointing to a cartoonish doodle of a wide eyed grinning face of a man with sideburns at the end of Lupin’s signature. “Is that supposed to be him?” “A cartoon-y self portrait, but yeah, that’s him.” Velma replied.

“Well gang, it looks like we've got a mystery on our hands and a thief to catch!” Fred exclaimed. “We’ll get some supplies, do some surveillance and research…” Fred continued to explain and discuss his plans to the gang, while Shaggy and Scooby looked to each other with perturbed states. “Well Scoob, looks like it's good-bye vacation…” “...And rello reepy ruseum at right.”

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Back at the Museum, Inspector’s Zenigata and Sullivan were in the office of Mr. Everly, the museum director, accompanied by museum curator Mr. Motley, and taking notes of the whole affair was Mr. Everly’s assistant, the auburn-haired and bespectacled Charlotte Smith. Zenigata and Sullivan were going over the security measures for that night with Everly and Motley. Zenigata was especially stressing the importance of the security measures because Lupin was in town, and wherever Lupin goes, trouble (and Zenigata) are sure to follow.

“I’m telling you Mr. Everly, Lupin can be dangerous! He’s smart, charming, and a master of disguise! He’s not to-”

“We know, Inspector Zenigata. You’ve stressed the importance of keeping Lupin at bay enough! Besides, we’re doing all that we can! Finding extra security on such short notice is trying enough as it is, with the word of a ghost on the loose!” Mr. Everly said with a Southern drawl. “If you ask me, this whole ghost business and Lupin showing up is no coincidence.” Mr. Motley added.

“Wait… you think Lupin is behind all this ghost business?” Zenigata shook his head in disbelief. “Why would Lupin bother sending a note he was going to steal the emerald tonight if he had been already scaring security guards? Why would he even want to scare them off in the first place?” Inspector Sullivan turned to Inspector Zenigata and put a hand on his shoulder. “You said it yourself, Inspector Zenigata. Lupin is a master of disguise. What’s to say he wouldn’t dress as a ghost and scare people off? And given his personality and if he is as smart as you claim him to be, Lupin may be bored out of his mind and has been getting a kick out of scaring security guards.”

“Maybe…” Zenigata couldn’t help but think that there was something more to all this and his thoughts began to race. Lupin wouldn’t go to all this trouble of ‘haunting’ people only to announce that he’ll simply steal it without much fanfare. Zenigata knew that Lupin was just as much a showman as he was a brilliant thief. Was Lupin working with another thief, like his grandfather before him? His train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of the office telephone, which the assistant, Charlotte Smith promptly answered.

“Mr. Everly’s office.” She said with a southern drawl. “You’ve managed to find guards to fill the position? Volunteers from the police station? Thank you sir, I’ll tell them right away.” Ms. Smith hung up the phone and turned to the men in the room, pushing her cat-eye glasses back into place. “Police officers from a nearby station have volunteered to fill the empty positions for tonight.”

“Yes, we guessed as much through your conversation, Charlotte.” Mr. Motley huffed. “Well, there’s no need to get huffy with me! Like they say, ‘don’t shoot the messenger’!” Charlotte rebuffed.

“Either way, it’s good to hear that the local law enforcement is willing to help out.” Inspector Sullivan acknowledged. “In that case, you gentlemen should start getting things ready for tonight.” Mr. Everly said. “Right. Mr. Everly.” Inspector Zenigata tipped his hat to the museum director and then to the curator and Ms. Smith and began to walk out of the room. Sullivan also bade them farewell and followed his partner. Zenigata still had that nagging in the back of his mind about this whole ghost business but there was one thing he did know: with Lupin in the mix, anything was possible. As both Inspectors faded from view, Mr. Everly looked at his watch and realized it was way past lunchtime and he turned to his secretary.

“Charlotte, why don’t you go and fetch us a late lunch? I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be here a while.” Mr. Everly said begrudgingly, knowing all the security planning was going to take time. “Right away sir.” Charlotte nodded and turned to the door, making her exit.

She made her way down a flight of stairs to the main gallery and walked towards the front entrance. As Charlotte made her way down the front steps, she spotted a little cafe directly across the street from the museum, and also someone she knew out of the corner of her eye. No, it couldn’t be… She thought to herself, trying to dissuade herself that it wasn’t who she thought it was. When Charlotte finished crossing the street and approached the cafe, she heard a call from a familiar voice. “Fujiko!” “Well look who it is, the man everyone’s talking about.” Fujiko Mine, said in a honeyed voice.

“Maybe I should also attempt to blow your cover too, It’s not like the cops are crawling all over the town...Lupin.” She said with a smug expression as she opened the cafe door. Lupin trailed behind her. “Hey, you know I can spot you from a mile away Fujicakes! Besides, this isn’t exactly your best disguise. I’m surprised Ol’ Pops didn’t recognize you.” “He’s a bit too focused on catching you right now to care about me.” Fujiko replied, then ordered her ‘bosses’ meals as well as her own. “Yeah, that sounds like him. I’ve got a pretty good guess as to why you’re here and its not just for my dashing good looks…” Lupin said with a knowing grin.

A more gruff voice came in from behind both of them. “Trying to get the jump on us again, huh Fujiko?” It was Jigen, Lupin’s right hand man and still as distrustful of Fujiko as ever. Fujiko huffed and looked away from both of them. “It's bad enough that you guys always butt in on my jobs…” “Or you butt into ours…usually the latter.” Jigen retorted. Fujiko scoffed and wasn’t too phased at Jigen’s words. “I’m assuming Goemon is lurking around here somewhere as well?” “Of course! It’s not a party without him!” Lupin replied enthusiastically. “Well, since you three decided to steal my thunder, I want in.” Fujiko insisted. Jigen began to protest this idea. “I don’t think s-” “-That will be a problem!” Lupin interrupted. Lupin never could resist Fujiko, even if he tried, and as always, this left Jigen frustrated. Jigen couldn’t even count all the times that Fujiko had stabbed them in the back and yet Lupin always came back to her. “Come by my place later for all the details?” Lupin eagerly asked. Fujiko grabbed her order and smiled coyly. “See you after my shift, sweetheart…” Fujiko gave a small laugh as she walked out the door with Lupin watching her every step, with a smitten look on his face.

“Once...just once I’d wish you’d refuse that woman…” Jigen growled. “Come on, Jigen! I haven’t seen her in ages! And besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra hand on this job.” Lupin tried to put his partner more at ease. “I know, but I’m just counting the seconds until she stabs us in the back for the umpteenth time.” Jigen replied. “You don’t know that she’s going to do that!” Lupin insisted. It wasn’t that he didn’t know of Fujiko’s wiles; Lupin just never met someone who had made double crossing so much fun. Jigen scoffed and began to smirk.“Yeah,... she might want half of what the emerald’s worth all to herself and leave the other half to split between us.” Lupin sighed and rolled his eyes. “Either way, if we all play our cards right, it should be a pretty easy job. Even with Fujiko around, what’s the worst that can happen?” Lupin grinned as he and exited Jigen exited the cafe and walked down the street a-ways and turned into an alley.

“I don’t know man, this whole thing with this ghost that’s supposed to be hanging around that emerald doesn’t sit right with me.” Jigen tried to caution Lupin of anything unexpected that might happen as they kept walking down the alley. The two then came to a stop, now deep into the alleyway and far out of sight from the police. Lupin then took a small glance behind him.

“Oh, there you are Goemon! I was beginning to think you got lost! Then again, you’d be pretty hard to miss in that samurai get-up.” Lupin teased. Goemon (a master japanese swordsman and Lupin’s second accomplice) came from out of the shadows, with a stern look and gave but a simple response in return. “I could say the same for you in that bright red jacket you’re wearing.” Lupin gave a small frown while Jigen chuckled a bit in amusement.

“Well Goemon, did you find out anything?” Jigen asked as he stopped laughing. “There has already been word of a ghost haunting the emerald’s exhibit. And that ghost is scaring all that come near it. Including a number of security guards.” Goemon replied.

“Already? The emerald’s only been in town for a month!” Lupin raised an eyebrow, the gears now turning in his head. Jigen had always been wary of the supernatural, whereas Lupin needed more convincing of that fact. Jigen had seen a lot of strange things in his adventures with Lupin and he wanted to make sure that his friend was aware of the possibility of there really being supernatural forces at work here. “Lupin, are you sure you want to go through with this? This ghost is startin’ to seem pretty real just by the sounds of it.” Goemon spoke up, as he was also starting to believe the tales this supposed ghost. “I agree with Jigen. From all this talk of ghosts, we should at least be cautious of anything out of the ordinary.” Lupin didn’t believe that there was actually a ghost running around, nor did he want to. Lupin wasn’t going to run away from this job just based on hear-say. “Okay guys, we’ll keep an eye out for anything unusual but I still don’t think its a ghost…” Jigen and Goemon just looked at each other, not saying anything, like they both had a feeling that this was the start of something that would end badly for all of them.

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