I will return

4

Five years. Five damn years have passed since that day in court when they sentenced me to rot in this prison. And every day since then has been a cruel reminder of my downfall. What I once was, what I once dreamed of, is now a joke to all the miserable people who inhabit this place.

My former henchmen, those cowards, joined various prison gangs. They found their place, their security, while I remain the same tiny pup I was when they ripped the Daemon Ritus from me. They laugh at me every time I pass, kicking me like a broken toy, and delight in reminding me of what I was and what I no longer am.

"Look, there goes the great Scrappy Rex! The fearsome monster!" they mock, their laughter echoing through the cold prison walls.

"Wow, I thought after five years you'd have grown a bit more! What happened, Scrappy? Stuck in time?"

Those words hurt more than they could imagine. I don't know why I haven't grown like a normal dog, but every day I spend in this small body is torture. And so, every time it's time to eat, I distance myself from everyone. I find a corner at the edge of the dining hall where I can be alone, where I don't have to face the mocking looks and cruel laughter. I don't talk to anyone, not even the guards. 

Especially not them.

There's one in particular, a guard who has a personal vendetta against me. He's one of the men whose soul was trapped in my body during my transformation. I'll never forget the first time I recognized him. His eyes burned with a hatred so deep I could feel it in my own skin. And every time he's on duty, he makes sure I know what it felt like to be trapped inside me.

"Do you know what it's like to be caged in the body of a monster? Unable to move, unable to scream, just feeling the hate and fear of everyone around you," he says as he kicks me in the stomach, leaving me breathless.

I try to avoid him, but it's impossible. Every time I see him, I remember what I did, and each of his blows is a reminder of my downfall. No matter how much I try to forget, he makes sure I remember.

And as if that weren't enough, every damn day Mystery Inc. appears on TV solving another case, catching another criminal. And when the inmates who have been captured by them see them, they turn to me with sneering smiles.

"How's it going, Scrappy? Enjoying the show? Look, those are your great friends, the ones who beat you and left you here to rot!"

The words pierce me like knives. Not only did my henchmen betray me, but those kids, those damn kids who ruined my plans, keep living their lives as if nothing happened. And here I am, condemned, humiliated, and mocked by everyone around me.

Even Zarkos and N' Goo Tuana, the ones who were in the highest ranks of my operation, only got ten years in prison. Ten damn years. They laugh in my face, reminding me of what I said when I was Scrappy Rex.

"I will be the greatest of all! No one will stop me!" they repeat mockingly, imitating my voice in a ridiculous caricature.

"And now what? Where's your power, Scrappy? You're just a small, pathetic mutt!" And then they repeat my words when I lost the transformation. "Damn you all! You'll pay!"Those words, which once left my mouth with such conviction, now return to me as a cruel echo of my failure. Every day I spend in this prison, my hatred grows more and more. I hate the guards, I hate my former henchmen, I hate Mystery Inc. But above all, I hate myself for having lost everything.

But this isn't the end. I know it. My body hasn't changed in these five years, but my mind... my mind has evolved. Someday, I will find a way to escape this place. And when I do, I'll make sure that everyone who mocked me, everyone who betrayed me, pays for what they've done. My revenge will be slow, it will be painful, and I'll leave no one alive to tell the tale.

The great Scrappy Rex may have fallen, but Scrappy-Doo is still here, waiting for his moment. And when it comes, there will be no one who can stop me.