Prologue

"Run for it, Scoob!"

With a roar of sheer anger, the red monster reached a hand out for the Chest. Scooby dropped it just as a blast of fire impacted where he'd been standing. The Chest didn't burn. Flim-Flam snatched it back at the last second.

"I got it Vince!" Flim-Flam shouted. The wind picked up, blowing the snow that layered the ground around the monastery up and into the air.

Vincent Van Ghoul took a deep breath. Focus, he reminded himself. You must focus. He swept his arm around and brought it to the ground. The snow returned to where it'd been.

Flim-Flam stopped and looked at the warlock. "Vince?"

Vincent was breathing hard. "Ready the chest," he managed to get out.

Flim-Flam set the box down and Scrappy appeared to help pull the lid open.

"It's really stuck on there," Scrappy grumbled as they pulled the box open.

This was what Vincent had been afraid of. Asmodeus' magic was working against all of them, including the Chest itself. Daphne ran over to help the two youngest members of the group. Together, they were able to force the lid to creak open.

And then Asmodeus struck again. Vincent saw it coming. He raced forward, trying to use his emerald pendant to deflect the worst of the blast.

The moment Asmodeus' red eyes met his, he felt his magic drain away, and with a final cry of rage, Asmodeus' blow landed. He struck the ground, and fire leaped out in a circle around them.

"Like, zoinks!" Shaggy was saying. But no one noticed. Asmodeus was speaking.

"You dare defy me? You'll never win. I'll make sure of that."

And then they were all falling. Through the snow, through the Earth, falling...

(-)

1. The Feeling of Something Forgotten

California, USA

Two Years Later

Fred Jones knocked on the window of the office, and when Daphne looked up from her writing, waved at her. She smiled and motioned him inside. "Fred, what brings you out here?"

"I had a movie deal to sign off on," Fred said, pleased with himself. "The 31st Spirit is being made into a movie! I delivered the script for the movie today, and we signed the last of the paperwork! I'm creative consultant while they film."

"That's so exciting!" Daphne said. "Congratulations!"

He grinned at her. "Are you busy? I thought maybe we could grab a bite."

"Let me finish this and we'll grab lunch, my treat!" Daphne told him,

"You don't have to to do that." Fred protested.

"I want to. It's a celebration. So don't argue."

Fred grinned again. "Alright." He sat quietly as Daphne made some more notes on the papers in front of her. Finally she shoved them away.

"There. The rest of it will keep. Let's go."

They walked out of the office of Challenger magazine and down the street to a deli. Over sandwiches, they caught up on what happened since their last get-together at Moonscar Mansion.

It wasn't until the end of the meal that Fred brought something up that he'd noticed when he first arrived. "Listen, I don't mean this in a bad way, but, what's with the jewelry? I always took you for someone who, I don't know, you'd like fancier stuff. The necklace is pretty plain."

"The earrings are pretty plain, too," Daphne noted wryly as she touched the emerald pendant on a chain around her neck. The simple emerald studs in her ears matched the stone in the pendant. "I just...I saw it after we got back from Moonscar Mansion and I liked it. Sort of."

"How can you sort of like it?"

"It...reminds me of something. It makes me feel like I've forgotten something important. Someone told me once that Emeralds were stones of compassion that connect to the heart. But I can't remember who that was," Daphne told him.

"Well, it's true that Emeralds are said to be connected to the Heart Chakra," Fred offered. "I looked that up for one of my books."

"I just wish I could remember. I've forgotten something important Fred. I know it. But I can't remember what it is."

"It'll come back to you," Fred offered. "Give it some time."

Daphne touched the pendant again. "I guess I was hoping these would help me remember too."

(-)

Tibet

Doing the right thing was not always a comfort.

Vincent Van Ghoul had told himself over and over again that this was the right thing to do. Letting the kids, as he thought of them, go, was the right thing to do.

Asmodeus was too dangerous for them to face, and he couldn't be responsible for them. He remembered quite well what had happened the first time he had faced Asmodeus, and what it had cost then.

Still, though. It wasn't quite the same without them around to interrupt and be underfoot and though he had at times hated it while they had been here, now that they were gone he found himself missing it. When you were immortal, you had to be used to being alone. He told himself it was good to practice this now.

"I don't even believe that," he said, and his voice sounded strangely different in the empty room. Apart from the crackle of logs in the fireplace, there was no other sound. He wrapped his hands around his cup of tea and looked at the fire.

How was it possible to miss people who drove you crazy half the time? How was it possible that he had become so used to keeping an eye on those kids, keeping them out of trouble, keeping them back from the worst magic the 13 ghosts could conjure? Listening in through his crystal ball, ready to teleport in if he was needed.

Sentiment, he decided, was a terrible thing. And it wasn't like he'd known them that long. How could their absence make this big of a void in him?

Even without the 13 ghosts as a factor, he would outlive them all, assuming Asmodeus didn't come back. It was better this way. He couldn't even find them now, with Asmodeus's open interference with his magic and the disappearance of the crystal ball he'd given the Gang to take with them.

"Feeling sorry for yourself, are we?" The voice of Asmodeus echoed through the room. Vincent frowned. This shouldn't happen. His protection spell around his castle should keep any intruders out completely.

His magic was misfiring again. This was the problem with finding out that your ancestor was a corrupted demon king.

"Give up," Asmodeus ordered. "Hand over the chest. Surrender. Give yourself to me, and together, we can rule the planet."

"I took on oath that I would never use my power for evil like you did," Vincent snarled.

Asmodeus made a sound like clicking his tongue. "And how do you plan to stop me? With your magic? I'd like to see that."

It seemed to him that he could almost see the eyes of Asmodeus, glaring from the dark in the corner of the room. It wasn't possible. He would know if the spell of protection around his castle was broken. With sudden fury he sent a blast of light magic as hard as he could in the direction of the eyes. The blast hit the wall in an explosion of light, and as it did, he could see that nothing was there.

Vincent leaned back in his chair, one hand over his eyes. A new light attracted his attention, and he pulled his hand away and looked at the table.

His crystal ball was glowing. With a sudden thrill, he picked it up. Here was a new clue.

(-)

Southwestern United States

"I tell you Scoob, next time Daphne invites us to come to a get-together for the Gang, remind me to say no," Shaggy said as he a Scooby sped down Witches Way back towards Miss Grimwood's Finishing School. "I thought Revolta was bad. But Zombies?"

"Rhyeah, no thank you," Scooby agreed.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to go back to work," Shaggy went on. They were coming into town now. "I wonder, hey, it's Scrappy." Shaggy hit the brakes and the red van came to a halt. He rolled down the passenger's side window. "Scrappy!"

"Hi Shaggy! Uncle Scooby!" The puppy said cheerfully. "You're back so soon! How was vacation?"

"Rit was rokay," Scooby said as he opened the door for his nephew.

"Did you solve any mysteries? Splat any spooks?" Scrappy asked as he hoisted up the box he had with him and hopped into the back of the vehicle.

"Like Scrappy my friend that is a very long story," Shaggy said as he started driving again. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I was talking to that mystic there to see if she could shed any light on this," Scrappy patted the box as Shaggy slowed for the drive through town. "I was hoping it could be fixed, but she told me she couldn't do that."

"Is that that half a crystal ball you've been carrying around?" Shaggy asked. "Why don't you throw it away? It's garbage."

"Ryeah, rit's trash, Scrappy," Scooby added. "You've been carrying rit raround for a rlong time."

"And been afraid to let it out of your sight the whole time, too." Shaggy added.

"I just feel like it's something important. I feel like I'm forgetting something and it was really serious," Scrappy said. "If you'll let me out up here, that'd be great. Miss Grimwood asked me to pick up a few things for the school."

"Rwe'll come rwith you," Scooby said.

"Really? That's great Uncle Scooby. I've got the list right here!"

(-)

When the doorbell screamed, Miss Grimwood was surprised. "Now, that can't be Scrappy," she mused as she set her teacup down and wandered out to answer it, Matches trailing along behind her. "He would have gone around to the back with the packages. And it's too early for any of the girls to be back yet. Calloway is on break too," she continued. "I suppose we're in for a surprise, Matches!"

She pulled the door open, and took in the tall man standing there in evening suit and cape. "Vincent Van Ghoul! As I die and decay! Come in! What brings you by on a perfectly wretched day like this?

"I'm here looking for some old acquaintances. May I come in?"

"Of course. The parlor is right this way. Follow me." When they were seated, she asked, "may I offer you some Toadstool Tea?"

"That would be nice." Vincent pulled out a crystal ball. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you," Vincent set the ball on the table. "I'd like to keep an eye on a few things while we talk."

After she had poured the tea, Miss Grimwood asking, "who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for a man called Shaggy and a dog named Scooby Doo."

"Oh, our gym teachers! Today is the end of school break. I expect them back any minute now. I hope this isn't serious, Vincent. You've got that look that says something's eating you, and not in a good way."

"There's a very serious matter that need attention. I'm afraid I'll have to relieve you of your gym teachers, at least temporarily," Vincent said.

"Oh," there was a look on Miss Grimwood's face that said that she was a bit concerned now too. "How did you know to look for them here? They've never mentioned you before."

"I was afraid of that, too. They were… let's say cursed. They...forgot that we had ever met before. Unfortunately, that's become a problem in these late days."

There was commotion off in the distance, and the door opened. "Miss Grimwood, we're back!" Scrappy announced. "They didn't have the right fungus, so I had to get the other kind you mentioned," he stopped dead in his tracks. Scooby and Shaggy, behind him, almost crashed into him before they came to a stop too.

"What is it, Scrappy?" Shaggy asked, and then they noticed that Miss Grimwood wasn't alone.

And then, like the break of dawn, the memory of the man sitting there came back to them.

"Oh no!" Shaggy looked ready to turn tail and run. Scooby looked like he felt the same way.

"Mr. Van Ghoul!"