The ghost landed, and the ground shook when he did. "Give me that chest!"
Shaggy, Scooby, and Fred were back up on their feet in an instant. The ghost started to glow with a menacing red aura that looked like fire.
"Don't let him take the Chest!" Vincent called, but Asmodeus was already lunging toward it. Fred saw what was about to happen and dived after the box. The dust that was raised blocked everyone's view.
Asmodeus flapped his wings, once, and the dust cleared. The Chest was not there. His claws were empty. "What?!" He roared and looked around. His eyes lighted on Fred. The former leader of Mystery, Inc. got to his feet, pulling the Chest of Demons behind him as he did.
"Shaggy! Catch!" Fred threw the chest as hard as he could. Shaggy caught it and started to run. Asmodeus took to the air and came to land in front of him. The ghost king formed a monstrous fireball and threw it at Shaggy.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy cringed back as the ghost flung the fireball at him. Before it could impact, Vincent was in front of him. The warlock blocked the attack with his cape.
"Like, now would be a great time for some magic, Mr. V!" Shaggy said, trying to make sure that the sorcerer was between himself and the ghost. Because he was behind the other man, Shaggy couldn't see the look on the warlock's face.
"Yes, Vincent," Asmodeus mocked. "Let's have some magic!" He took a step towards them. "Give me that box!"
Vincent took a step back, almost walking over Shaggy as he did. "Blizarra!" A blast of blue-white magic hit the ghost, and Vincent followed it up with a spell that made the monster vanish.
"Ryou did it!" Scooby cheered. Vincent looked like he didn't believe that it had happened. But he recovered himself.
"Asmodeus will be back. We have to go." Vincent told them.
"Yeah! Let's get a move on before that monster comes back!" Scrappy said. He was being held quite firmly by his uncle to keep him from trying to go after Asmodeus.
Daphne was looking at Fred. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I won't be able to finish the write up on the movie now."
Fred considered it, and shrugged. "You've got enough now to send in one article, right? I'll hold the rest until you get back. I kind of figured that you would have to go."
"You did? How?" Daphne asked.
Fred pointed at her necklace. "The emeralds. This Van Ghoul guy is the reason you were emeralds."
Daphne looked at the necklace she was wearing and then cast a glance at Vincent. He was in his evening suit, but he was also wearing his emerald pendant. "You know, I think you're right."
"The color of the Heart Chakra. Maybe the emeralds connected to your memories, and that's why you didn't forget everything. Call me when you get back?" Fred asked.
"I will!" Daphne promised, and went to join the others.
Then Asmodeus landed, shaking the ground again. "Pathetic, Vincent! I think you're losing your touch! And you, the world's greatest warlock," the ghost king's voice was a taunt. "Now give me that chest."
"Like, let's get out of here!" Shaggy said, his voice shaking. He was still clutching the chest.
This time, Vincent didn't bother to try and teleport Asmodeus somewhere else. In hindsight, he should have known that teleporting the ghost king somewhere else wasn't going to work. Asmodeus' power was too strong. Instead, this time he teleported himself and the kids away.
Asmodeus, though, lunged after them, and was able to insert himself into the teleport, and interfere with the location that Vincent was trying to take everyone. Out of the teleport, the gang and Vincent all found themselves falling towards the ground, a long way below them. Even worse, Asmodeus was still coming after them, flying down after them.
"We need to teleport again!" Scrappy said. Scooby, who was holding the little dog tightly, was hard pressed to hear him. Shaggy was still clutching the Chest of Demons. They were all in free fall. Asmodeus was gaining on them.
Shaggy was gesturing, pointing at his chest. Whatever he was trying to say was lost to the wind. He pointed at his chest again, then at Vincent, then at Daphne.
Fred seemed to guess some of what Shaggy was driving at, and turned toward Daphne. He managed to get himself adjusted so that he was close to her, and grabbed at the pendant around her throat. "The emerald! Your friend who does magic might need it!"
It wasn't clear, with the wind whipping away his words, how much Daphne heard, but when Fred reached for her necklace and started tugging on it, she helped him snap the silver chain.
The emerald slipped out from between Fred's fingers once it was freed, flying back up away from them. Scooby caught it out of the air. Scrappy took it from him, clutching it tightly in his paws. "Throw me, Uncle Scooby! I gotta get to Mr. Van Ghoul!"
This the Great Dane was able to hear more easily, as close as he was holding the puppy. Scooby didn't seem thrilled by the idea, but he hurled Scrappy as hard as he could at Vincent.
Vincent saw the small dog coming at him and caught Scrappy. Aided by his magic, he was able to hear what the puppy was saying. "Mr. V! You gotta do something about this!"
The warlock said nothing. Scrappy noticed that his face had the same tense look that had been there earlier at the storage facility. Still, he held out the emerald. "Will this help?"
Vincent took the emerald, and tucked Scrappy under his arm. He clutched the emerald pendant tightly in his hand, charging it with as much magical energy that he could. Vincent turned himself in the air and flung it at Asmodeus. The ghost king impacted the gemstone, and it exploded outward in green light. Vincent seized his chance as soon as he had it. He teleported again.
This time, the gang found themselves standing back at the storage facility.
"Never thought I'd be so glad to be back on solid ground!" Shaggy said, shivering as he continued to clutch the Chest of Demons.
"Rhi know!" Scooby agreed, shaking just as much as Shaggy was.
Daphne, meanwhile, had turned to Vincent. "Mr. Van Ghoul, what happened?"
"Yeah," Scrappy, who was still tucked under Vincent's arm, added. "what was that all about?"
Vincent gave an irritated sigh. "Asmodeus has been interfering with my magic," he admitted reluctantly. "He seems determined to continue the practice." The warlock looked at the others. "We need to get out of here, before he comes back."
"Like, works for me!" Shaggy replied, walking back towards the red van. "The sooner we can get out of here, the better."
"Yeah, and we gotta find Flim-Flam too!" Scrappy added. Vincent let him down. The puppy marched over and picked up his uncle, before setting out for the van.
Daphne looked at Fred. "Do you need a lift back to the studio?"
"I think you'd better get going. I'll get a cab back. Good luck," left unsaid was Fred's thought that they would all need it.
He watched as the red van pulled away before he pulled out his phone and placed a call to a cab.
[A/N:] Hey everyone, remember that scene in Curse when Vincent blocks a fireball that Asmodeus flings at the Gang with his cape? (Hey Velma, you got some 'splainin' to do!...)
Little bit shorter this time. The Blizzard spell in this chapter comes from a list of spells that Crystal Rose of Pollux provided. I do not think that Vincent has used this spell in the second season - yet - but I wanted him to use some magic that opposed Asmodeus, who seems to be affiliated fire based what we see in the movie.
I debated for a while what to do with Fred and Velma in this story. I finally decided to give Fred an appearance. I was not able to find any place to put Velma, though. And honestly, her behavior in Curse was so off-putting. Yes, she was always the reasonable one, as I remember from What's New, but she was not so arrogant and obnoxious. The Curse movie, and Happy Halloween Scooby Doo (which I do not recommend) both show her this way and it's annoying. And when I thought it over some more, Velma and Fred were not in the original 13 Ghosts, so I didn't feel that they really needed to be here for my conclusion to it.