I will return

38

**I smiled.** I couldn't help it when I saw **N' Goo Tuana**'s look when she heard the phrase "*puppy power*" from **Zarkos**'s lips. He knew it as well as I did: no one in this damn world uses those words, only **Scrappy-Doo**.

Zarkos looked increasingly scared and confused, with a frown and a kind of desperation in his eyes. He was about to say my name, but N' Goo Tuana quickly stopped him.

"Don't say that name," N' Goo growled with a seriousness that made Zarkos freeze completely.Zarkos, however, couldn't stop thinking about what he had heard.

—How is it possible? —he asked in a low voice, as if he were talking to himself—. Scrappy is in a maximum security prison. It's impossible to escape from there... I tried many times, you know.

N' Goo Tuana nodded slowly, reminding him of what a fortress this prison was. But Zarkos, still visibly confused, continued.

—It was Titan who said those words. Where did you hear them from? —he muttered, trying to find a rational explanation. His mind desperately searched for a solution that didn't involve the unthinkable.

After a long silence, Zarkos tried to convince himself:

—It must be a coincidence. Or maybe... someone who was on the island, someone who lived with Mystery Inc.

He mentioned the time on Spooky Island, and I could see his mind starting to connect the dots. 

He talked about how, when **N' Goo Tuana** went to play the piano at the bar, he saw **Vilma** sitting with a guy, drinking something. I remember that scene very well, because I was there too, watching, waiting to recover my body when the well of souls was poured out and the souls returned to their place.

N' Goo Tuana also remembered it.

"I saw them talking," said N' Goo, reflecting. Then I heard the boy laugh when Vilma mentioned something about "*puppy power*".

Zarkos heard him, but was still bound by his fear. **I wanted to believe** it was just a coincidence.

"Maybe he heard it from someone else..." Zarkos muttered.

He tried to return to the theme of "Damisela", but N' Goo didn't let him go far.

"Scrappy's in prison, Zarkos," N' Goo said, his tone firm. You and I were with him for a long time. We know he can't escape from there.

Zarkos, still clinging to his fear, tried to insist:

—But... what if somehow...?

N' Goo Tuana looked him straight in the eyes, cutting off any absurd hope.

—No one can escape from that prison, Zarkos. And even if he could... without the **Daemon Ritus**, that dwarf is nothing more than a petty ruse.

I laughed silently. How wrong they were! If they knew what he had on his hands...

Zarkos, however, tried once again:

-But...

N' Goo stopped him with brutal coldness.

—He doesn't have the Daemon Ritus. Without that device, he is nothing.

The words seemed to calm Zarkos, if only a little. But I, from where I was, whispered to myself with a malicious smile on my face:

—Soon you will pay me back too, traitor.