First of all, I don't own any of the Scooby-Doo franchise characters, with the exception of my own original characters. This story is written by me, for those who love Scooby-Doo, the Mystery Inc. and the rest of the supporting characters that appeared throughout the years, in one of the best cartoons ever created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, two of the greatest cartoon wizards of the 20th century. Let me just say to you that in the story I'm going to incorporate various elements from all of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series (with the exception of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo: Get a Clue!), the animated movies and of course, the two live-action movies, with a few changes, which of course will allow me to create the ultimate Scooby-Doo story! This is just to warn you, because you're going to find a lot of references to them in the text. Plus, Ulyferal is going to help me with this new work.
Anyway, on with the show, and I hope you all like it…
Scooby-Doo and the Black Magician's Ghost
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visit
The sun was setting beyond the horizon as the Scooby gang settled down for some well deserved rest and relaxation at their headquarters. They'd been out on a mystery call a couple of weeks ago in Miami and after solving the case they were glad to be home again, in Coolsville, after enduring multiple complications along the way. They were tired and needing a break. Home at last, they wasted no time in splitting up to pursue the things they liked to do on their off time.
Fred had escaped to the living room and was watching the latest episode of "Supernatural'. Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby had gone to their most favourite place in the whole world…the kitchen. And as usual, making one of their most outrages 'snacks' just before dinner time.
"Like, you think these 25 bacon, cheese, onion, tomato, vanilla ice-cream, triple fudge and strawberry jam sandwiches are enough, Scoob, old friend, old buddy, old pal?" Shaggy asked as he finished putting a slice of bread on top of the huge sandwich that he made, putting it next to the other ones.
"Raybe…" Scooby answered, eyeing the sandwiches dubiously.
"You're right, old pal. We'd better make a few more just in case these here aren't enough." Shaggy laughed, good-naturedly as he began to make some more sandwiches.
"Hey, guys!" Came a call from the living room. "Since you're in the kitchen, would you mind bringing me a bag of corn chips?" Fred asked. "This series is really making me hungry."
"Sure you don't want anything else?" Shaggy asked as he got the chips from a cupboard. "Maybe a milkshake or soda or some catsup for your chips, Freddie?" He sang out questioningly.
"No, just the corn chips, Shaggy, thanks." Fred demurred.
Elsewhere in their headquarters, Daphne was in her room trying on a new sweater she ordered from the Internet. This one was a fluffy purple one, with a dark stripe on the sleeve ends. She'd decided to order it so she could have something new to match the new purple trousers she'd bought the previous week. Most of Daphne's wardrobe was purple, with only a few exceptions. Still, she didn't mind wearing the same colour over and over again, because it was her favourite.
"Well, this sweater is perfect! My fashion sense never fails me." She said, as she passed her fingers through her hair, wondering if she should change her hair colour or not. "Maybe I should dye my hair black just to see how it would look on me… but if I do that I'll end up looking like my cousin Danica. I don't want people to mistake me for her." She sighed shaking her head. "Maybe blond… no… that's just not my colour, either. I guess you can't mess with perfection." She giggled at herself, as she studied her image in her mirror.
Now Velma's idea of fun was working in the laboratory, where she usually analysed some of the clues they found, while investigating a mystery. She loved puttering around with new experiments. Presently, she was dressed in her white lab coat, to keep her clothes from getting ruined by a runaway experiment and instead of her normal glasses; she was wearing a funny pair of goggles. It made her look rather like a mad scientist.
At this moment she was working with various liquids and watching their reactions when mixed. She gently grabbed a filled test tube and poured a few drops from it into another filled test tube sitting in a holder.
The instant the two liquids met there was a minor chain reaction, the liquid in the standing tube turned red and was burbling. Velma smiled at the reaction.
"Hmm… interesting…" Then giggled as a memory floated into her mind. "Reminds be of my chemistry classes. So, now let's see what will happen if I add something else to this… Jinkies!" She jerked, startled by the doorbell sounding.
The bell was odd because it sounded like a ghost giggling. They were all used to the rather amusing but a little creepy sound by now, but sometimes when they were deeply involved with something it could catch them by surprise.
Daphne was on her way to the living room but detoured when the bell rang. "I'll get it guys!" She sang out. "Shaggy and Scooby probably ordered a pizza and forgot to mention it." She said more to herself since no one was close enough to hear her.
She pulled open the door and stared at the young man standing there, definitely not a pizza delivery guy. He was about the same age as she and her friends. He was tall and slim, well muscled, had dark, spiky hair, pale skin and green eyes. He was wearing a red shirt under a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans with black tennis shoes which looked like Air Jordans. Hanging from his coat label was a pair of sunglasses.
"Hello. Can I help you?" Daphne asked, eyeing him curiously.
The stranger's eyes widened in surprise. "Daphne? Don't you recognize me?" He asked, a little miffed.
Now it was Daphne's turn to frown. She studied the young fellow closely but was forced to shake her head. Something about him was familiar but she still couldn't place him. "Sorry, you seem a bit familiar, but I just can't place you!" She said finally.
He sighed. "Oh, well it has been a while, a couple of years at least since I saw you and the gang and I have changed some as well. Let me give you a few clues… I used to have golden, brown hair, wore training suits…" He said trailing off at her blank look.
"Sorry, still nothing…" Daphne said, shaking her head.
He tried again. "Okay, here's two more clues, my brother and I we're pretty close to you and the rest of the gang and I was the one to give you your nickname; 'Danger-prone Daphne.' due to you always getting caught by the bad guys." He smirked a little at that memory.
Suddenly, Daphne face lit up as she did remember him. The guy standing before had been an original member of their group before they had become Mystery, Inc. She smiled brightly.
"Sebastian Milnor!"
"That's my name, Daph, don't wear it out, okay?!" He said mock seriously making her laugh.
"Sebastian, it's great to see you again!" Daphne said, as she hugged him, and kissed him on the left cheek.
"And it's a pleasure to see you too! So, you alone or are the others around?" He asked, grinning.
"Oh, silly me, come on in. Yeah, the guys are all here. They'll be thrilled to see you." Daphne said happily as she gestured him to come in then led him into the living room.
Shaggy and Scooby had, by now, joined Fred watching TV and looked up as Daphne and Sebastian came into the room.
"Hey guys! Guess who's dropped in to see us." She said brightly.
Shaggy just looked at the guy in confusion. "Like, who is this, Daphne?"
"It's Sebastian, Shaggy."
"Rebastian?!" Scooby exclaimed, recognizing him. The Great Dane gave a huge jump, landing right in front of Sebastian and starting to lick his face with his huge tongue.
"Hey, Scooby! You put on a few pounds, you know?" Sebastian said with a laugh as he petted Scooby on the head. "But you, Shaggy, look just like I remember you. Thin as a toothpick!"
"Wow! Like, and you're so different since the last time we saw you, Sebastian… I think me and Scoob would have never recognized you, if we saw you on the street." Shaggy said, finally realizing who this was and getting up to shake Sebastian's hand.
"While, I would have easily recognized you two." Sebastian smiling broadly.
"It's great to see you again, Sebastian." Fred said having come to stand close by and now took his turn to shake the guy's hand.
"Wonderful to see you again to, Fred. However, there's someone missing. Where's Velma? I really wanted to say 'hi' to her." Sebastian asked, looking around.
"Oh, she's probably in her laboratory and didn't hear the door bell. I'll go get her, while you guys make Sebastian comfortable." Daphne suggested warmly.
"Sure, no problem… We'll make him feel like he was home." Fred agreed, gesturing for Sebastian to have a seat.
"Actually, Fred, in theory, I'm home, remember? I was once part of this gang, too." Sebastian chuckled.
"He's right, Freddy. So have a seat, dude. I bet you've got tons of things to tell us about what you've been doing." Shaggy said as he retook his seat and began eating again. Scooby did the same on the other side of Shaggy.
Daphne went down the hall then took the stairs down to the laboratory, but was surprised to see no one there. When she started to look around, she found the computer was on, which meant Velma had just been there then suddenly she heard a small noise.
It came from beneath one of the desks. She slowly got closer, trying not to make any noise, and quietly knelt down. Bending her head to the left, she peeked under it to see who or what was there.
She was surprised to see find it was Velma. She had her glasses back on and was crouched with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was trembling as if she was cold. Daphne waved at her, but got no response at first, so she called her name.
"Velma.... Velma, are you alright?"
"Jinkies, jinkies, jinkies, jinkies…" Velma kept mumbling to herself.
"Velma!!!" Daphne resorted to yelling.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Daphne, I guess my mind was on the Moon." Velma said, blushing in embarrassment while still shaking.
"I would say you were further away than that, more like Pluto or Sedna. What's going on, why are you hiding under your desk? Our old friend Sebastian has come to pay us a visit and he's in the living room right now." Daphne told her.
"I heard you saying his name and that's the problem, Daph…" Velma said, tensely.
"What do you mean, Velma?" Her friend asked, puzzled.
"Do you remember he had a crush on me?" She asked hesitantly. Daphne nodded slowly. "Well, I had a crush on him, but I never had the courage to tell him. I can't see him… I might faint or even have a heart attack!" Velma said anxiously.
"No, you won't, Velma. It's been a couple of years since you've seen him and he's changed a lot. You need to come up and see him. He's asking for you. You'll be alright; I'll stay by your side the whole time… alright?" Daphne soothed her friend, trying to encourage her to overcome her anxiety. "Come one! Take off your lab coat, put on your happy face and come talk to him."
"But, what if he starts being all romantic and mushy with me again? You know that I'm not the best expert when it comes to these things. If he starts to call me mushy names, I think I'll really faint… or better yet run." Velma insisted but she did come out from under the desk and begin to take off her lab coat.
"If he does, it means he still has feelings for you, but as I always say… you need to take one step at a time. First, let's just find out why he's here in Coolsville, then, we'll see what happens after that. But if he does try to make a move on you, the guys and I will give you hand, okay girlfriend?" She asked Velma.
"Okay, I guess so. Still, it's going to be awkward to see him after all this time." Velma said, as she straightened her orange sweater and her red mini skirt.
A little more secure, Velma tried to act normal, as she went upstairs and on into the living room, where you could already hear everyone laughing. When the girls arrived, the boys had already settled in. Shaggy and Scooby were eating the sandwiches they had been making, while Fred and Sebastian laughed about the faces Scooby was making while eating one of the sandwiches. The Great Dane could only smile, as he tried to slide an entire sandwich down his throat.
"So, you still have thoughts of becoming a hitman, or what? That was your dream, wasn't it?" Fred asked.
"Well, not anymore… but, over the years, I ended up collecting all kinds of weapons, from shotguns to grenades. I've got almost everything and I take them everywhere I go." Sebastian answered. "I'm not carrying any at the moment but they are locked up safely where I'm staying. If you're interested, I can show them to you later. It's quite the collection." He said proudly.
"Gotta be tough getting special permits for all those weapons." Shaggy said thoughtfully.
"Some… but it's a small price to pay, when you collect these things." Their friend said with a shrug of his shoulders.
The guys finally noticed the girls had arrived. Sebastian gave Velma an appraising look and smiled.
"Wow, Velma. You've gotten even prettier then the last time I remember you! And believe me, you were extremely pretty then too." He got up from his seat and gave her a kiss on the cheek, making Velma blush hotly.
No one noticed that Velma's knees were shaking almost like when Shaggy was encountering something that frightened him. She also had butterflies in her stomach. She swallowed hard and smiled at him then backed away to sit on the couch before she fell down.
She was able to push those disturbing feelings aside and focus on more important matters. The main one being, why their old friend was visiting them after so long.
"T-Thanks, Sebastian… you look great yourself, too." She managed to say.
Sebastian took a seat next to her, kissing her again on her cheek. Her face flamed even hotter.
"Hey, where's your brother?" Fred asked suddenly, taking the intense attention off Velma without realizing it.
"Oh, he's with me, but he's back at the hotel." Sebastian said, turning to look at Fred.
"You mean you two are staying in a hotel instead of going to your own house?" Daphne asked, in surprise.
"Well that has a lot to do with why my brother and I are here in the first place." Sebastian said, becoming more serious.
"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with anything scary, like ghosts and other stuff, that's okay, right Scooby?" Shaggy said.
"Right, Raggy!" Scooby-Doo answered fervently.
"Actually, it does have to do with a ghost and a mystery." Sebastian said plainly.
Shaggy and Scooby went white as chalk and fainted dead away, sliding off the couch to the floor.
"They still do that, huh? Even after all this time?" Sebastian said, shaking his head.
"Yep! I have a feeling it will always happen for as long as they live." Fred said in mild amusement as Velma knelt down on the floor and tapped the faces of her friends to wake them up.