Chapter 1: Prologue and the Fateful Day
Author's note: I don't own Scooby-Doo. Scooby-Doo belongs to Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros.
This story is part of my alternate time frame stories, taking place during the Victorian-era (Late Nineteenth Century), in an alternate version of Dimension Six (See my Profile for more details on my use of dimensions). Partially based on the Batman graphic novel Gotham by Gaslight.
Year: 1879
It has been nine years since Coolsville was incorporated as a city in Ohio. In the years since its incorporation as a city, Coolsville has been experiencing a major population boom, as people begin to flock into the city in search for jobs and better opportunities, while the city itself grew, with major heavy industries setting up factories in the outskirts of the rapidly-growing city.
Railways were soon laid to connect the factories to the nearby Coolsville Harbor, a harbour that has been serving as a hub for importing and exporting goods, making it an important part of the city's economy, and in 1875, the city's first cable car and horse-drawn streetcars came into service.
While the city begins to expand and grow, so did social problems such as crime and poverty. What made matters worse is the fact that Coolsville has been a breeding ground for haunting urban legends involving monsters and other spooks, and before long, the city was spread with reports of the sighting of a ghost or phantom.
However, it turned out that much of these ghostly legends were a hoax. As it turned out, the city's citizens were so superstitious about those legends that they never realized that these ghostly legends serves nothing more than a safe cover for criminal activities, such as robberies and murders. The problem was that the city's sheriff's department had did nothing to deal with the problem, and as a result Coolsville had become a city that almost seemed like that it belonged in the era of the Old Wild West.
If one were to think that the rate of people getting away with murder was high in Coolsville, they ought to think again. In fact, in the years since Coolsville beginned to experience those problems, there has been a group of individuals that have been working hard solving those mysteries, catching the crooks and putting them behind bars for their crimes. The name of the group: Mystery Incorporated.
Frederick "Fred" Jones, a handsome blond-haired young man with a blond mustache and always seen wearing an orange ascot, served as the groups leader. Armed with a logical detective mind, he was always suspicious of the ghostly sightings and never hesitates to go and investigate.
Velma Dinkley, a young lady with short dark brown hair with glasses, served as the groups brain. Her keen eyes often spots useful clues that often led to the closing of a case, and if that's not enough, her smart and intelligent mind gives her the ability to identify certain chemicals and the type of murder weapon.
Daphne Blake, a young, attractive lady with long orange hair, is a close friend to Fred and is a member of one of Coolsvilles most important families.
The Blakes have a long history associated with Coolsville, with the first Blake merchant shop setted up in town in the late eighteenth century. Soon, the family had become incredibly wealthy with the opening of its transatlantic shipping company. Time proved to be right for her father George Blake. His establishment of the shipping company during a time where the city is growing allowed the family to become incredibly wealthy.
It was her father that had also financed Mystery Inc.'s operations, and much of the gang's successes in solving mysteries has to do with their finances. To George, the city's sheriff department has been worst than useless, and without his daughters group's help, the city would've been a haven for outlaws.
Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, the nickname due to the style of his dusty-brown hair, the groups most chicken-hearted member, serves as the groups runaway man: That is, the bait for traps set up by either Fred or Velma. Always seen smoking a pipe, Shaggy's incredible physical feats, such as his fast running and capable of doing dangerous stunts, made him the perfect candidate for serving as a bait for the traps used to capture the spooks. In spite of his goofy character, Shaggy does process a logical detective mind, although he often hides his smart and intelligent side during cases, as he had a total dislike towards any spooky and scary.
Like Daphne, Shaggy is also a member of one of Coolsvilles most important families.
The Rogers' history in Coolsvilles is just as long as the Blakes. The first Rogers settler, Shaggy's ancestor McBaggy Rogers, arrived on the Mayflower and first step foot on America in 1620. The wars during the 18th century soon brought the Rogers over to the settlement of Cools-town, renamed Coolsville in 1780, where they set up a farm, where the good sales of cash crops from the Rogers' plantation made the family quite wealthy. Soon, as the Industrial Revolution took place, the Rogers begins to earn their living through the ownership of several farms located at the outskirts of the city, with much of the city's growing population fed on the food grown in farms owned by the Rogers.
The Rogers' biggest contribution to Coolsville, however, was their long history in trying to maintain law and order in Coolsville. The Rogers provided watchmen service in the town for generations, with their latest feat being the establishment of a detective agency by Shaggy's father Samuel "Fearless Samsworth" Rogers, dedicated to help the sheriff's department solve cases. While the detective agency was successful in closing many cases, it didn't enjoy the fame and success Mystery Inc. had enjoyed, also explaining why Sam Rogers approved his son's membership in the group.
Scoobert "Scooby" Doo, a Great Dane with brown fur with black spots and always seen sporting a blue dog tag, is the groups sole canine member and mascot. His canine sniffing abilities allowed the group to track down suspects and pick up clues. Like his owner Shaggy, Scooby-Doo is also chicken-hearted and when asked to do a task involving being in close distance from the spook, he is usually encouraged with Scooby Snacks, a special dog treat that makes him braver when eaten.
Scooby's family have a long history of being adopted by members of Shaggy's family. In fact, his ancestor Yankee-Doodle Doo is McBaggy Rogers' dog and best friend. It was a family tradition in the Rogers family to adopt a member of the Doo family.
March 3, 1882
That day was one of the gang's typical crime-fighting days. Early in the afternoon, Fred had received a telegram in his office at Mystery Inc.'s headquarters. It was a request for their service from a young woman, who had reported the sightings of a red-furred monster in her neighbourhood. She claimed that the monster was responsible for the disappearances of several of her neighbours.
"Well gang, it looks like we've got another mystery in our hands." Fred announced after summoning the rest of the gang and explained the telegram he had received.
"Like, here we go again." Shaggy muttered under his breath as he produced a few puffs from his pipe.
"Come on, Shaggy. Don't be such a chicken." Velma scolded as she tugged Shaggy by the arm, preparing to leave for their horse-drawn cab.
"Yeah. You know that from our past adventures that there are no such things as monsters." Daphne added.
About half an hour later, the gang had arrived in the neighbourhood, and after being greeted by the young woman that sent the telegram, they were looking around at the scene, searching for clues. Once again, they had split up, with Fred and Daphne searching one area while Shaggy, Scooby and Velma searched the other area.
(Shaggy, Scooby and Velma)
The trio were looking around near an old warehouse. It was getting dark, and so Shaggy had to lighten up the lantern he had carried with him.
"Man, this place is sure giving me the creeps!" Shaggy shivered.
"Reah, respecially when rit rets rarker!" (Yeah, especially when it gets darker!) Scooby agreed.
"Okay you two." Velma said. "It might be getting darker, but calm down. There's nothing to be afraid of."
As Velma was speaking, she and the boys had entered a dark alley.
However, as soon as the walked down the dark alley, a surprise greeted them when they saw a dark-clothed man standing in front of them.
"Zoinks! A ghost!" Shaggy shivered, as the darkness in the alley had covered the man's face.
"Calm down, Shaggy. It's only a man." Velma replied.
"Then, like, why do I have an odd feeling about that guy?"
As to answer Shaggy's question, the man unexpectedly pulled out a pistol and aimed it towards Velma, saying, "Those pearls look like they're worth ten grand. Give it to me!"
"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed surprisingly as she saw the man aiming his weapon at her.
For a brief second, something snapped inside Scooby and he charged towards the man threatening the life of his friend!
Unexpectedly, the man opened fire, hitting both Scooby and Velma, both of whom then fell to the ground, as Shaggy froze with fear, watching his best friend and love interest fell to the ground.
The man then turned towards Shaggy, his eyes on the golden watch he was wearing. "Now, give me that watch of yours or I'll feed you lead the same way I did to these two chaps, mister!"
Before Shaggy could respond, he heard footsteps running towards him.
"Shaggy!" It was Fred and Daphne, who had heard the gunshots.
Caught off-guard by the sudden arrival of Fred and Daphne, the man accidentally opened fire, hitting Fred, who then fell to the ground, much to Daphne's horror.
"No!" Shaggy exclaimed.
The man then tried to fire his weapon at Shaggy and Daphne, but he realized that he had ran out of bullets. Before Shaggy and Daphne could take advantage of the situation, the man suddenly threw his weapon at Shaggy, knocking him out in the process. Then, as police whistles filled the area, he quickly fled down the alley, as Daphne tried to give chase, but with her high heels, it wasn't easy, and by the time she managed to reach the nearby intersection, the man was nowhere to be seen.
March 4, 1882
The next day, the city's newspaper was filled with the following headline:
"DEADLY SHOOTING AT THE DOCKLANDS
Two members of Mystery Inc. dead while another two wounded."
Shaggy got out of the ordeal with a minor concession, but as his mind travelled back to what he had witnessed the day before, guilt started to pour into him as he realized that he didn't move a muscle at all to help his friends during the shooting.
Scooby was lucky to survive the shooting, but with a bullet hit in the nose, his sense of smell suffered, resulting in his inability to sniff out the man that shot him, Fred and Velma. Shaggy felt that the man shot Scooby on purpose so he won't be able to identify him, although Scooby managed to survive.
As the city mourned the loss of two young lives, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne tried hard to move on with their lives after showing up at Fred and Velmas funerals.
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