Chapter 4: The Encounter

Soon, they arrived at the castle and as they approached the castle doors, they noticed all of the creepy statues that made them shiver all except Daphne. Daphne pressed the doorbell and….

*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* It screeched.

"I didn't know about this type of doorbell." Belle said.

"That's Vincent for you. He loves these types of doorbells." Daphne said.

Suddenly, the doors opened and they were all amazed.

"Like, no way are me and Scoob stepping through those doors." Shaggy said as Belle got out the Scooby Snacks Daphne gave her earlier from her book bag.

"Would you guys go in for a Scooby Snack?" Daphne asked them.

"Three?"

"Two."

"Deal."

Daphne gave Shaggy and Scooby two snacks. They soon went inside to the castle and looked around.

"Ok, gang. The best way to find Vincent is to split up and look for clues as to where he went."

"Scooby and I will search the kitchen, the cafeteria and the snackatorium."

"The snackatorium, dad?" Tracy asked him.

"There's gotta be one." He said as he and Scooby searched for the kitchen.

"I think you, Rod and Billy should keep an eye on Lewis and Bark over there."

"Sure thing, Ms. Blake."

"Call me Daphne, Tracy. Belle, you, me and Amber will search up here."

As Tracy, Rod and Billy left with Shaggy and Scooby, the crystal ball started to glow in Belle's backpack.

"Belle, what's up with your bag? It's glowing." Amber said as Belle took the crystal out of her book bag.

"What do you think it means, mom?"

"I'm not sure. But, I wonder what would happen if I ...?" She said as she walked toward the door and saw the crystal not glowing anymore. But, when she got back toward Belle and Amber, the crystal started to glow again.

"Well, to the best of my knowledge, this a homing beacon, Vincent called you guys on this crystal ball. So?"

"All we have to do is follow the glow and we'll find Mr. Van Ghoul."

"Finger crossed. Amber, see if you can also find Vincent's scent along the way."

"You got it." Amber said as she sniffed out Mr. Van Ghoul's scent and followed the glow which led them to the library.

"Why would the crystal lead us here? Shouldn't we be looking for Mr. Van Ghoul?"

"Guys, I'm getting Vincent's scent. It's coming from this bookshelf."

"How are we going to find a way in there?" Belle asked as she grabbed a candle from the wall which was the button to open the bookshelf.

"Nice work, Belle, You've found a way in." Daphne said as she descended down the mysterious staircase. "Come on, guys."

They reached the end of the staircase which led them to a crypt with coffins all in a circle.

"Amber, see if you can find Vincent's scent in here."

"Sure thing." Amber said as she sniffed around. Suddenly, they all heard screaming from above them and looked up. The screams got louder until Shaggy, Scooby and the others fell from above the ceiling.

"Thanks for letting us drop by."

"Ms. Blake, I've found him. He's in this coffin."

"Help me get the lid off."

They all moved the lid to reveal an unconscious Vincent Van Ghoul. Soon, he started moving and woke up from his unconsciousness and then jumped for joy.

"Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, thank ghoulness it's you. Who are these kids you brought?"

"Vincent, I would like to meet the new Mystery Inc. My son and daughter, Belle and Rod."

"And like, these are my kids, Tracy, Billy and our second talking dog, Amber."

"Nice to meet you kids."

"Um...Guys, I think we have some company." Tracy said pointing to two big red eyes staring at them. The two eyes darted toward them to reveal the 13th ghost named Asmodeus. He roared at them and then threw a great big fireball at them.

"Quick, kids! Open the chest and let us be done with this one and for all."

"Yes, the chest. Give me the chest."

"Like, you don't have to tell me twice! Like, where is it?"

"Don't you have it with you? Oh, no!"

"What is it, Mr. Van Ghoul?" Tracy asked

"I must've accidentally sent it back to the Himalayas."

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Asmodeus roared.

"We don't have it. If you want it, you're going to have to go find it yourself." Daphne said as Asmodeus charged toward them. They started to run in different directions of the castle crypt. Belle, Billy and Amber ran into a small room with a weird machine inside.

"What is this thing?"

"I don't know, turn it on and let's find out." Belle as Billy pulled the lever to reveal that it was a portal to the Himalayas. Suddenly, Asmodeus burst into the room and started to charge towards them. Belle, Billy and Amber ran into the portal before the ghost could get to them. As they went through the portal, the portal disappeared and the machine exploded into smithereens. Asmodeus roared with anger and flew right into a window toward the Himalayas. Vincent, Daphne and the rest of the gang darted toward the room and saw the machine was destroyed.

"Oh, dear, this isn't good."

"Why?"

"This machine was the quickest way to get to the temple. Your kids must've gone through to escape. We'll have to take the plane and go there."

"What plane, Mr. Van Ghoul?"

They soon found out. Below the castle, was a plane big enough to carry the weight of The Mystery Machine.

"We better get going and find the chest before Asmodeus." Vincent said as they went into the plane. Soon, the cave walls started to move and they started their journey to the Himalayas.