(A/N: So, I know I said that I wouldn't be updating any of my stories due to moving, but the moving process is delayed since my mom is taking the whole issue to court, due to the owner of the house we've been renting for the past two years screwing us over. I don't exactly know the whole process, but until we know more, I'm gonna continue writing till then. So, anyways, time to begin the review. Note: Hope some of you aren't mad about how I portrayed Anne in the previous review. I was trying to keep her in line with how she was in Season 1.)

A trio of glowing dots looked at the readers.

Critical Mew, looking for you

The glowing dots split into the Legendary Titans(excluding Regigigas).

Critical Mew, where are you?

The Critical Mew flies in, wearing a trench coat and a hat, giving the readers a wink.

Come on, Mew, where you been?

The Critical Mew took off the trench coat and used Transform, becoming a king, a dame with blonde hair, a waiter and an Elvis impersonator.

Trouble's on the loose again

A mysterious figure showed up, trying to crush Mew with a sandbag, only to narrowly miss. He looked behind him to the embodiment of stress, who proceeded to chase him to a door of things to review, which began to do the Thriller hip movements.

(Mew)

They're not gonna get you

(Critical Mew)

The Legendary Titans went in a protective circle in front of Mew, protecting him.

Uh uh, the Regi Trio's gonna help you

(Mew)

Mew was in a barrel full of toys, deciding to peek out only for the floor to break under him, causing him to grab a loose floorboard with his tail.

Ooh, the comment's gonna be there

Registeel jumped on the floorboard, launching Mew into the air. Regice and Regirock caught Mew in their arms. Regieleki and Regidrago let out a sigh of relief.

And the readers too

The Critical Mew floated past Lavender Town, only for the ghost of Marowak to appear, scaring him away.

Critical Mew, looking for you

Mew was surrounded by loads of Ghost and Dark-Type Pokemon, all about to ambush him.

Critical Mew, where are you?

Only for the Legendary Titans to attack them all, saving Mew as they head back to the Tree of Beginning.

Mew, Critical Mew

Mew

The stuff to be reviewed danced once again, doing the Thriller hip moves.

Critical Mew

Mew

A pair of eyes zoom out, showing Mew and the Legendary Titans with the Tree of Beginning in the background.

Critical Mew!

The Critical Mew-Season One

Episode 9: The Pleasant Valley Poltergeist by Crystal Rose of Pollux

Tree of Beginning, Kanto Region

"Good news, everyone! Registeel, Regice and Regirock are restored back to proper health!" Mew exclaimed as everyone cheered due to the reappearance of three out of the six Legendary Titans.

"Great to be back, dudes," Regice said, waving his icy block hand.

"Not to mention getting back into our duty to Mew," Regirock said.

"I just want to cause all kinds of craziness to make up for the lack of it!" Registeel exclaimed.

"Registeel, things were crazy even without you being there," said Regieleki as he and Regidrago walked up to them.

"Welcome back to the Tree of Beginning, thy brothers," Regidrago said.

"...Wait, when did you two come here?" Regice asked the question he, Regirock and Registeel were thinking.

"A couple of reviews ago. Dad let us join in the fun with you three, given how these reviews are," Regieleki said.

"Plus, I swore to give thy life to Lord Mew," Regidrago said.

"...Regidrago, the Dark Ages was centuries ago," Regirock said.

"I know. But thy duty of protecting any and all lords, including Lord Mew, isn't over until time ends or I die," Regidrago said with pride.

"Anyways, who's ready to return to the second season of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo?" Mew asked, as everyone started cheering.

"As you all know, Crystal Rose of Pollux had done a second season on the 13 Ghosts, and I already reviewed two episodes: Mask of the Gorgons and What's Past is Prologue. And now it's time to review the third episode, The Pleasant Valley Poltergeist." Mew said.

"Anyways, The Pleasant Valley Poltergeist beg-"

"I'm drinking melted metal!" Registeel interrupted, drinking said metal from a massive goblet.

"...Was he dropped on his head?" Mew asked the other four Legendary Titans.

"Yes," Reigeleki and Regidrago said instantly at the same time Regirock and Regice shrugged.

Many Centuries Ago-?

"Finally, I'm done molding the first out of the three children made out of basic elements," Regigigas said, holding up an steel ore, which he had formed from magma underneath the Earth's core, that would be Registeel.

"Now time to-NO!" Regigigas shouted as his hands slipped, causing the steel ore to fall onto the ground near his feet. Said steel ore had a dent in it.

After a moment, Regigigas' dots turned dark red. "EXTERMINATE ALL THREATS TO MY KIDS!" he shouted in a deep, robotic voice.

Present Time-Tree of Beginning, Kanto Region-August 2021

"He only stopped because he realized that he's the one who helped mold the world, therefore he counted as a threat, knocking himself out in the middle of the sea for a week. Some of the seawater got in his mouth," Regieleki states.

"Groudon and Kyogre didn't help make the situation any better." Regidrago added.

Many Centuries Ago-?

Regigigas punched himself hard in the face, knocking himself out for a week. While that happened, Groudon and Kyogre were having one of their many infamous battles, until Rayquaza appeared out of the clouds.

"Will you two keep it down?! I'm trying to sleep!" Rayquaza roared.

"Yes Mom-I mean, Dad," Groudon and Kyogre whimpered as Rayquaza went back into the ozone layer.

"...So, how's Manaphy and Lugia?" Groudon asked.

"Oh, they're doing fine. In fact, they're at Pokélantis right now," Kyogre said with a sinister grin.

Meanwhile, at Pokélantis

"No, this can't be! I always planned that I would take control of-" the remainder of the tyrannical king of Pokélantis's words were never known, as he was swept away into the sea by a powerful jet of water.

"Wait, you told me this place was empty," Manaphy said to Lugia, as the screams of the people who supported the king were drowned out by gurglings as the city went under the sea.

"Now it is," Lugia said with no hesitation.

"Touché." Manaphy said. "So, wanna ride dolphins?" he asked.

"Fuck yeah!" Lugia exclaimed.

Present Time-Tree of Beginning, Kanto Region-August 2021

"Wait, Lugia and Manaphy got to ride dolphins, and they didn't invite me, Celebi, Jirachi, Shaymin, or Victini?" Mew asked.

"Um, no," Regidrago said, afraid of disappointing his new 'lord'.

"Well then, I'm gonna ride some dolphins." Mew said, teleporting to the nearest ocean.

Twenty minutes later

Mew came back with a disgusted and horrified expression on his face. "Never try riding a dolphin while they're having sexual intercourse," he told the others.

"Um, time to get started on the review then?" Regirock said nervously, changing the subject.

"Y-Yeah, let's get right on that," Mew said, glad for the change of subject.

"So we begin with Vincent and the gang watching a dog show while Daphne is worrying about whether or not she would be a freelance reporter."

That particular evening had found Vincent reading in his chair as Shaggy, Scooby, Flim-Flam, and Scrappy were watching a dog show on the tv that they had somehow persuaded Vincent to conjure in the study. Daphne had soon joined them, looking distracted and worried about something.

"Rhat's up?" Scooby asked.

"Nothing," she sighed.

"Daphne…?" Vincent asked, sensing her worry.

"Really—it's nothing," she insisted. "I just got word from the Chronicle that they're evaluating my progress—to consider whether or not I'll be a permanent investigative reporter on their staff. If they take me on board, I'll no longer be just freelance—and the Chronicle has a wide distribution—I'd be able to reach so many people that way, even internationally!"

"You're a great reporter, Daphne," Shaggy encouraged. "If those guys at the Chronicle have any sense at all, they'll see that, too!"

"Yeah!" Scrappy exclaimed. "And if they turn you down, Uncle Scooby and I will lobby for you! Won't we, Uncle Scooby?"

"Rheah, rhe would!"

"Well, that'd make an interesting story for Daphne to write for them," Flim-Flam mused. "You two influencing Human Resources despite not being human?"

"That would have a poetic spin to it," Vincent agreed. He glanced over at Daphne. "From what you've shown us so far, your work has been exemplary. Have some faith in yourself—as we all have in you."

Daphne managed a smile.

"Actually I want to see that in a Scooby-Doo comic. But it seems like Scooby found something he loves on Valentine's Day." Mew said, as the camera zoomed in on him.

"A meat lover sandwich," he said, showing an image of Scooby eating said sandwich.

"Yup!" Shaggy said. "Scoob's got his eye on that Malamute."

"Rhi just said she looked nice!" Scooby exclaimed, going slightly red.

"Sure, Buddy, sure…"

"...Anyways, it seems like Scrappy found someone to cheer for during the dog show," Mew said, drinking Berry Juice.

"Eh, mush…" Scrappy said, uninterested. "I'm rooting for my dad—oh, look, there he is!"

Mew almost choked on his Berry Juice in shock, only to cough it out as Regirock and Regidrago pat him on the back. "What the-His dad is part of the dog show circuit?!" Mew sputtered.

Flim-Flam and Vincent both looked in curiosity to see a large Great Dane on the screen; he was fawn-colored like Scooby and Scrappy, but had a black muzzle apropos of a show Dane. A nameplate onscreen revealed his name as Argos.

"So that's your pops, huh?" Flim-Flam asked.

"Uh-huh! Mom says I get my spunk from him. Everything else, I got from her." He sighed, watching as Argos paraded around the show area. "I wish I could see Dad more often—he doesn't really have much time for me, being so busy with shows and stuff. …Plus, I think he's kinda disappointed that I won't be a show dog like him."

"Congratulations, Argos. You're the reason Scrappy turned evil during the live-action film. In fact, what was it that Warner Bros. said when they saw the concept art of his painful transformation?" Mew asked, holding up said concept art, much to everyone's horrors.

"Thanks, I hate it," Lindsay(WB Logo over her head) commented about the live-action Beauty and the Beast film(concept art of Scrappy's transformation for the live-action film over the poster).

"Exactly. However, there's one thing Argos doesn't have: the ability to talk!" Mew said with a sinister grin.

Scooby's tail twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything; there was a point of contention between Argos and the Doo family on account of Argos's lack of involvement in raising Scrappy, and his mother, Ruby, had suspected that it was, indeed, because Scrappy had taken after her family—no black muzzle on a fawn-colored Dane meant that Scrappy, like the rest of the Doos, could never be a show dog. It was a trade-off, however—Argos couldn't speak any human language, and that was something the Doo family prided themselves in.

"Actually, there's also the Muttlely family line, not to mention Mumbly. Surprise you forgot about them, Scoobert, given you've interacted with them before. Unless both Muttley and Mumbly are secretly part of the Doo family," Mew said, looking thoughtful. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be true.

"Luckily, Vincent reminds Scrappy that even if Argos doesn't care, which is his own fault, he has friends and family who do." Mew said.

"If Argos refuses to see the virtues of the son he has, that's his short-sightedness," Vincent said, flatly. "Hopefully, he'll realize that one day. But, in the meantime, you have family here, Scrappy."

"Yeah, and boy, am I grateful for it!" the puppy exclaimed, cheering up again. "And I've got Mom back in New York, and Uncle Yabba in Tumbleweed, and my grandparents in Dooville…"

"Argos—how ironic," a new voice said. "He must have been named after Argos, the dog of Odysseus—I met him once, when I help Odysseus return home. How fitting, then, that the son of another dog named Argos is giving me aid."

"Athena!" Daphne exclaimed, standing up to greet the ancient goddess who had suddenly appeared in Vincent's study.

"Oh, hi Athena," Mew said, waving his paw in a cute fashion, before realizing it. "Why is it that my body keeps doing cute things when I'm trying to be anything but cute?!" he asked, lowering his paw.

"Oh well. Athena tells everyone their task: to capture a rogue poltergeist, which has been sighted in Tucson, Arizona, a town that Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne are quite familiar with." Mew said.

"Very well, then," she said. "This poltergeist was last seen outside a city that is both foreign to Vincent and myself, but a city that, perhaps, some of you are acquainted with—Tucson."

"Arizona?" Shaggy asked. "Sure, we've been there before—well, most of us."

"And I've always wanted to go there," Flim-Flam said. "Oooh, I can just see it now, sneaking around in those old-time saloons and grifting card players…"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but they don't really have those anymore, except for vintage recreations," Daphne informed him.

"…Oh. Eh, I'm sure I'll find something over there…"

"I imagine we'll be busy chasing down that ghost to bother about saloons, anyway," Vincent said. "We shall go at once, My Lady."

"Good luck to you all," she replied, before teleporting away.

Vincent sighed quietly before taking his crystal ball from its stand.

"I'm sorry, Scrappy, but I'm afraid you'll have to miss your father's contest."

"It's no biggie—I can record it and watch it later!" the puppy replied, cheerfully. "Splatting ghosties with you will be more fun, anyway!"

"I don't know about that, but I give you points for the consistency of your eagerness," Vincent mused.

And, with that, he activated the crystal.

"Soon, they drive over to Tucson. Along the way, the Specter Detector picks up more than one ghost," Mew said.

"The Specter Detector says the same thing," Daphne said, taking a glance at it. She did a double-take. "Um… I'm seeing two sources of spectral activity being tracked on it."

"You mean there're two ghosts!?" Shaggy gulped, as Scooby leaped into his arms.

"Ah, I see…" Vincent said. "Yes, there are two instances of paranormal activity in the area—however, we are only concerned about one. This first reading can be ignored—just drive on past it to get to the second one."

"Right," Daphne said.

"But if there're ghosties there, too, shouldn't we splat them, too?" Scrappy asked.

"Not all ghosts are evil, Scrappy," Vincent explained. "And to disturb their afterlives would be a cruel thing to do."

"But ghosts aren't supposed to be here in this world," Flim-Flam said. "They're supposed to cross over, aren't they?"

"Ideally, spirits are supposed to cross over and find peace in the afterlife, yes," Vincent agreed. "It's one of the many reasons why necromancy is a forbidden magic art—the dead are supposed to remain that way. But there are many reasons why ghosts can't or don't cross over—perhaps they have unfinished business, perhaps they have too much emotional baggage, perhaps it's because of a curse, but, sometimes, they stay because of things in this world that they are still attached to. Look…"

As they drove past the first blip on the Specter Detector's radar, the gang paused to look at an old-time Western town appearing in the moonlight.

"Rhwow…" Scooby said, amazed in spite of his fear. Even Shaggy looked just as awed.

"It's beautiful…" Daphne breathed, pulling the van over to focus on it.

"Yes, it is," Vincent agreed. "You see how the town itself shimmers in the moonlight, like it's an apparition, as well?"

The others nodded.

"It is an apparition," he continued. "The people who lived in this town all those years ago clearly loved it very much; that flickering is on account of the fact that, though the spirits did, eventually, cross over, their memories and love of this place are so strong, that, on some nights, when the moon is bright enough, it can bring them back—and their beloved town along with them. The celestial power of the reflected sunlight off of the moon helps to grant them this ability."

As if to illustrate his point, a passing cloud obscured the moon for a moment, and in that moment, the entire shimmering town faded away, before returning as the moonlight resumed shining upon it.

"Gee…" Scrappy said, as he stared. "That's… kinda neat, actually."

"Yes, it is quite fascinating," Vincent agreed. "Perhaps, after our work is done, we can spend a night here."

Shaggy and Scooby didn't look too thrilled at this idea, but Flim-Flam certainly did—

"And can we go to the saloon!?" the boy asked, excitedly.

"…We'll discuss that later," Vincent replied, after a moment. "We've got work to do, after all."

"Yeah, guess so…"

"However, their sight-seeing is cut short when the poltergeist shows up and attacks them. However, before they could use the Chest of Demons on it, the poltergeist escapes while Vincent and the gang are forced to pull over since they're near a gated community, known as Pleasant Valley, and nobody has the password to get in. Vincent's solution?" Mew asked.

"Hmph. Nothing a teleportation spell can't solve…"

"No, you can't do that!" Daphne exclaimed, grabbing his wrist as he raised his hand to cast the spell. "You don't know what these people are like, Mr. Van Ghoul—the people who run these kinds of places are selfish snobs that put the image of themselves and the community above any outsiders. If they catch us trespassing in there—and they will, with all the surveillance tech they've got—we'll be in the biggest mess of trouble with plenty of legal red tape to tie us down for the rest of our lives!"

"And when did you suddenly become an expert on these kinds of people?" Vincent inquired. Once again, he was simultaneously vexed and impressed at her lack of hesitation in stopping the world's most powerful warlock in his tracks

"I grew up around them," Daphne sighed, letting go of his wrist. "These were the people who always invited my parents and me to their parties in places just like this—the ones that owned and ran the whole neighborhood. Believe me, they were all about keeping 'the riffraff' out—I remember one time I asked if I could bring the rest of the gang with me because these parties always got so stuffy and I didn't want to get bored. My parents were nice about it; they didn't mind, but when we all showed up…" She shook her head.

"Man, you should've seen the looks they were giving to Fred and Velma and me," Shaggy recalled. "They eventually tolerated me once they found out that my family had land up in Massachusetts, but they hated Fred and Velma."

"Rheah!" Scooby frowned, recalling it, as well. "Rotten snobs…"

"I haven't even met these people, and I hate 'em already," Flim-Flam scowled.

"Yeah, me, too," Scrappy agreed.

"I'm sure most of the residents themselves are decent people," Daphne finished. "But the owners and administrators are sure to be all the same."

"…And what do you suggest we do in regards to the poltergeist who happens to be hiding in and amongst these varying personalities?" Vincent asked.

"Honestly? I'd say we cut our losses and explain to Athena that we couldn't do it," she said. "But I'm sure you wouldn't go for that…"

"You would be correct."

"…So, there's only one way to get in there and get that ghost," Daphne continued. "…We need to wait until morning, meet with the administration, and apply to move in as residents so we can chase that ghost in there."

"While waiting for the next day, they plan out how they're going to apply. Their best option is for either Daphne or Shaggy applying, mainly Daphne since she has a slightly better chance than Shaggy, due to them having a slim chance of getting approved.

"Their only issue is that they have to get their parents to co-sign, which would involve revealing where they are and what they've been up to, which they want to avoid, given how they never even told them about the false monsters before, so why start now with the real ones. So of course, that plan is thrown right out of the window.

"And if you're wondering, the only reason why Scooby's parents never mentioned anything about the 13 Ghosts to Shaggy's parents, despite how close the Roger family and the Doo family are in terms of friendship is, is because Shaggy pleaded with them not to." Mew said.

"So… If the two of you can't apply for the house, that doesn't leave us with many options," Scrappy asked. "Uncle Scooby and I can't apply—we're dogs! And Flim here is too young. What now?"

"Well, that all depends," Daphne said. She glanced at Vincent. "I know I try not to ask you for much—"

"It has not gone unnoticed," Vincent agreed.

"But this is for Athena and her mission, so, I've got to ask now—what exactly are the limitations of your powers?"

Vincent glanced at her, with an arched eyebrow.

"In theory, my powers are almost limitless," he said, a hint of pride evident in his voice. "There is very little I can't do. …However, a warlock must have a personal code of ethics, and I am no exception. There are lines I won't cross, and, therefore, some things I won't do. The Forbidden Arts, for example—they are forbidden for good reasons."

"Is it because they're magically diabolical, the fact it's a floating orb of dark energy or is it because they have the power to create, change and destroy?" Mew asked, holding up the DVD cover of The Swan Princess films. Particularly, movie 1-3 and movie 5.

"Well, this isn't a Forbidden Art, but it is of dubious legality," Daphne said. "I need you to conjure up some faked records that, if accessed via a computer, will look flawlessly genuine to any mortal who sees them."

"Records of what?" Vincent asked.

Daphne bit her lip.

"Of… you," she said, after a moment's hesitation. "You're going to have to apply for the house."

There was an awkward silence as Vincent glanced at her with an unreadable expression—until the silence was broken by Flim-Flam bursting out in laughter.

"Rhou gotta be kidding!" Scooby exclaimed over the boy's laughter.

"I'm being absolutely serious," Daphne said, causing Flim-Flam to stop laughing.

"…You… you really think Vince can pull this off?" Flim-Flam asked, in disbelief.

"If we can get the faked records perfect, he can," she replied. "The administration would definitely prefer to lease out to a wealthy single father rather than a young adult."

"Well, you've got a point there…" Shaggy began, but he trailed off as Daphne's words sunk in. "…Wealthy single father?" He glanced at Vincent, who looked absolutely deadpan. "…You know, I think it just might be crazy enough to work."

"Then again, you all tried to trick Nekara into thinking Vincent had kids to stall the wedding." Mew points out. "Then again, you guys weren't pretending he was rich, not to mention you were tricking Nekara, not a bunch of normal people, so I kinda see where you're getting at.

"It's definitely the best chance we've got," Daphne agreed. She looked back at Vincent. "Well…?"

Vincent let out a quiet sigh.

"Very well," he said. "It can't be as bad as the time Voudini, Boris, and I had to infiltrate a music hall, anyway…"

"Exactly, this will be easy—we're practically like a family already…" Daphne trailed off, registering what Vincent had said. "Wait, what? Why on Earth did you have to infiltrate a music hall?"

"Nevermind that—did you sing!?" Flim-Flam asked, eager to hear this story.

Vincent cleared his throat, eager to change the subject.

"Now, about this paperwork I need to conjure…?" he asked, as Flim-Flam continued to ask about this alluded misadventure.

"Noooo! I want to know the reason why you, Voudini and Boris infiltrated a music hall!" Mew said.

"Dude, it's for the reason anyone wants to infiltrate a music hall: to steal the spotlight," Regieleki said.

"Yeah, but this is Vincent we're talking about. I want to know if he felt any pride doing it," Mew said, rubbing his paws together mischievously. "I want to know if he punched the Phantom of the Opera in the face," he adds.

"Mew, have you been listening to 'Phantom of the Opera' again?" Regirock asked.

"Jonathan Young's cover of it. And you can't stop me!" exclaimed Mew as he flew over his chair, heading towards the back of the Tree of Beginning.

"Dang it, this chair is in my way. Now Mew will be able to get away once more," Regirock said.

"Really? Thou can't just move around the chair or simply move?" asked Regidrago.

"No. If we move it, something might pop out of it and attack Mew. And if I move around it, something will still pop out," Regirock said.

"...Thou just brought embarrassment and shame to the House of the Legendary Titans and the Regi Siblings. Nothing is underneath the chair," Regidrago said, jumping over the chair and headed towards where Mew is.

"Dang it! A Regi Sibling who has common sense!" Mew shouted in the background.

Shortly afterwards, Regidrago brought Mew back to the reviewing spot and placed him on his chair.

"Got it out of thy system?" Regidrago asked.

"...Yes," Mew said after a moment.

"Good. Then carry on with the review, while I have a talk with Regirock," Regidrago said as he dragged Regirock to the back area.

"Anyways, after teaching Vincent about credit scores, plus him creating a credit card, and getting some sleep, everyone heads to the housing administration to apply for the house." Mew said.

Mrs. Reece, the platinum-blonde member of the administration they were meeting with, seemed satisfied with the records, but there was, clearly, something bothering her—and it soon became clear as to what it was.

"So…" she said. "Everything seems to be in order—your credit, your income, and you have a very intriguing profession. Antiquity appraisals—you don't see that everyday. And with three children, you'll fit right into our family-oriented community…" She trailed off, arching an eyebrow at Shaggy's brown hair, Daphne's red hair, and then Flim-Flam's darker complexion, but opted against making any comment about how different the three of them looked. "But it says on your application that you have two dogs?"

"That's right, Ma'am," Daphne said, sighing internally—she knew this would be the hurdle; Scooby and Scrappy were waiting back at the van, knowing that their presence would be scoffed at for a meeting with the administration. "Two Great Danes—one's just a puppy. They're really very sweet; I promise you won't even notice they're here."

"Well… we prefer our residents to have small dogs," Mrs. Reece replied, looking on in obvious disapproval. "The puppy should be fine for now, but the large one—"

"—Is very much a part of the family," Vincent finished, scowling. "If you truly had a family-oriented community as you claim, you wouldn't be suggesting that you would wish for my kids to be parted from a beloved companion."

Shaggy had to struggle to keep his expression neutral; seeing Vincent give one of those snooty types a piece of his mind was satisfying enough as it was, but it was extra-heartwarming to see Vincent be so defensive of Scooby, particularly when considering the initially rocky start to their acquaintance.

"Well…" Mrs. Reece backtracked. "As I said, it is a preference. Just keep in mind where dogs are allowed in the community—and do remember that we have very specific leash laws, regardless of size."

"We'll keep that in mind," Vincent replied, curtly. "Now, then, if everything else has met with your approval, we would like to see the house."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Mrs. Reece replied, perking back up again. "My car is right outside; just follow me!" But she was surprised and a little put out to see them head for the large red van. "Oh dear, I suppose I should mention, with a vehicle that size, you won't be allowed to park that on the street or in the driveway—you'll have to keep it in the garage."

Vincent, who was facing away from her, rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I tried to warn you," Daphne said, in an undertone, before turning back to Mrs. Reece with a forced smile. "We'll keep that in mind, too!"

"You know, I'm getting vibes from the censor who tried to cut out the dragon in the first season of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. What was her name?" Mew asked himself, tapping his chin.

"Loretta Cutitout," Regice said.

"That's the person I was thinking about! Thanks, Regice," Mew said. "Anyways, they soon arrive at the housing complex, which looks the same as every other house in Pleasant Valley." Mew said.

They briefly discussed how well everything else went, however, as Daphne followed Mrs. Reece to the house at the end of the street—it was a large, spacious house, identical to all the others.

"They certainly do believe in complete and utter conformity, don't they?" Vincent quipped.

"They sure do," Daphne sighed.

"Hmm. Identical structures, identical yards, identical fencing…" the warlock scoffed, as they got out of the van (except for Scooby and Scrappy again). "I shudder to think what the interiors must look like…"

"Well, we're about to find out," Shaggy said, as Mrs. Reece unlocked the front door for them. "Keep your expectations low; this place is bound to be pretty drab."

If Vincent had been keeping his expectations low, what he saw was clearly still worse than what he had been expecting—plain, white paint covered the walls, the carpet was also white, and even the furnishings were slightly off-white.

"Drab…?" the warlock asked in an undertone. "It's hideous."

"…It does remind me of something vaguely unpleasant," Daphne whispered. "But I can't put my finger on what."

"…A padded cell?" Flim-Flam snarked under his breath. "Those things are all white, too, right?"

"…Oh, gosh, he's right…" Daphne said, fighting the urge to facepalm.

"You know, he's joking, but I see it, too," Shaggy whispered back.

"Well, what do you think?" Mrs. Reece asked, oblivious to their quiet conversation. "As you can see, it's fully furnished, as we advertised."

"And… each of the available models are just like this?" Vincent asked.

"Each and every one—you won't find one piece of furniture out of place from any of the others," she said, proudly. "And each one comes with luxurious amenities—access to any of the on-site facilities: shopping centers, a food court, a park, a gym, a golf course, tennis courts, squash courts… Well, you read the brochures."

Vincent was clearly fighting back his critique on the décor; instead, he glanced back at the others.

"Well…?"

"After having a quiet discussion, they buy the house, officially moving into Pleasant Valley. Or unofficially since they didn't sign the paperwork," Mew said.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Bubsy asked.

"Bubsy, I swear to the holy mother of Ar-" Mew was cut off by the next scene.

Unbeknownst to the group in the house and the two dogs in the van, however, this entire exchange had been closely watched by two all-too-familiar ghosts, intently observing the conversations and listening in, all the while remaining invisible in front of one of the outside windows.

"Weerd, I don't like being out here in the daylight—our powers aren't as strong!" one of them complained.

"I know, Bogel, but something very interesting is going on," Weerd replied. "Van Ghoul and those kids wouldn't just pack up and move to the Arizona suburbs for no reason! Something's gotta be up here!"

Bogel gasped.

"You don't think Asmodeus—?"

"Nah, if it was him, he'd be making his presence known, and he's been laying low since he got loose," Weerd said. "I dunno what he's waiting for, but this ain't him. I may not know what this is, but if it's got Van Ghoul interested, then it's something we should be interested in, too!"

"We should?"

"Yeah! Maybe we can interfere and tip things our way…"

"…And grab the Chest!" Bogel finished. "Ooh, I like it!"

"Of course you do—that's why I'm the brains of this outfit," Weerd boasted. "Now, come on—we've got some poking around to do and see if we can find just what it is that they came here to check out!"

Still invisible, the two mischievous ghosts then flew off, aiming to stir up some trouble once again.

Mew look at the camera for a moment, no emotions on his face. "ARGH!" he shouted in rage, grabbing the Bubsy games and throwing them straight into space.

"There, now he can't ruin anything anymore," Mew said, breathing heavily as the Regi Siblings, excluding Registeel, were stunned by Mew's rage.

"I'm drinking metal!" Registeel shouted, breaking the silence as he drank the metal again.

"Anyways, the next chapter begins with Daphne noticing that Vincent changed the interior of the house," Mew said, hoping to get his mind off of the mess Bubsy just made.

The interior was now completely unrecognizable, redone in a completely different style, with darker decorations and furnishings now contrasting the white walls.

"…Mr. Van Ghoul, what did you do!?" she exclaimed.

"If you thought that I was going to stay in a place that unsightly…" he began, but let the thought trail off. He looked around at his handiwork. "It's still a work in progress, of course, but it's coming together. I'll probably do the other rooms later—and the front yard."

"I think there are better uses for your mana than making this place some sort of Gothic-style house!" Daphne said, placing a hand on her head as she took in the new décor.

"Oh, this barely used any mana at all," Vincent assured her. "And this particular style is Baroque, not Gothic—though I might use that style for one of the other rooms…"

"Baroque, huh?" Shaggy asked. "Baroque-ing it was the best thing to do to a fixer-upper like this!"

"Shaggy, never mention the word 'fixer-upper' again," Mew said, remembering the song from Frozen with the same name.

"Rhoh brother…" Scooby groaned, wincing at the pun; Flim-Flam and Scrappy could only stare.

"…Really…?" Daphne asked, looking at Shaggy.

"…Shaggy, that was truly terrible," Vincent declared.

"I know…" Shaggy sighed.

"Are you sorry?"

"No, Sir."

"…Good," Vincent finished, once again trying to hide that he was amused.

"Okay, well, I'm getting out of here before Shaggy comes up with any more bad puns," Daphne declared.

"Trust me Daphne, no place is far enough from Shaggy's bad puns." Mew commented.

"Of course, the gang decides to check a couple of places out: Daphne goes to the squash court and shopping areas, Flim-Flam and Scrappy go off to where the local kids hang out, and Scooby and Shaggy go to check out the food court. However, as they head out, Vincent gives them some words," Mew said.

They all darted for the door, pausing only when Vincent cleared his throat loudly.

"Did we forget something?" Daphne asked.

"Yes—you can all follow your own agendas however you wish, but dinner is here at 7:00," Vincent insisted. "Don't be late."

"You're really getting into your part, aren't ya, Vince?" Flim-Flam commented.

"I'm being absolutely serious," Vincent returned. "Aside from the fact that the poltergeist's power will be stronger after sunset, it will give us a chance to plan our next move based on what you all find out."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Mr. V—you know Scoob and I will be there if there's food!" Shaggy promised.

"Rhespecially to get away from the ghost!" Scooby added.

"Yeah, that, too," Shaggy gulped.

"Nevertheless…" Vincent said, walking with them down the front walkway to see them off. "Stay vigilant—and be careful!"

"We will!" Daphne promised, as they got back into the van.

"And contact me if you need help with anything!" Vincent called after them as the van pulled away.

"And while Shaggy muses that Flim-Flam might be right about Vincent getting into his role, Daphne shoots that down," Mew said.

"Oh boy; would you listen to him going on like that?" Shaggy mused, as he sat back in his seat. "Like, I think Flim-Flam was right—Mr. V is really getting into his role."

"I don't think he's acting, Guys; you know how he is," Daphne said. "He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, so he says and does stuff like this to show he cares. And after that time when he tried to pretend that he didn't care, if him being a mother hen is the alternative, then I'll gladly take it."

"…Yeah, I guess you've got a point there," Shaggy agreed.

When Athena had first recruited Vincent for her missions, Vincent had responded by trying to push the gang away for their own safety—and that had involved him pretending that they were nothing but nuisances to him. It had hurt—and it would have hurt a lot more if they had actually believed him, but they knew he'd only been blowing smoke in a desperate attempt to keep them away—anything to keep them somewhere safe. But they were stubborn and persistent, still finding their way back to him, and Vincent, who couldn't bring himself to continue with that charade any longer, accepted his fate.

And if the gang had any leftover doubts as to what Vincent thought of them, they'd been extinguished not too long ago on an adventure that had required the use of blood magic to open a sealed portal; as Vincent had later explained, blood magic was supposed to have only worked between those related by blood, but he had considered them so much like family, they had been able to break the seal together, regardless of not being his blood relations—"family by choice," he'd called it. It was one thing to know deep down that Vincent thought of them as his family—it was another thing altogether to see that rare moment where he had flat-out admitted it.

"Hey, we get references to the previous episodes. Nice," Mew said, grinning.

"So, realizing how much of a family they are, the gang decides to get a present for Vincent while they're out. Now, what could be the perfect present for a warlock who had been around for millennia?" Mew asked thoughtfully.

"Rheah, he does so much for us!" Scooby agreed. "Rhe can get him a present!"

"Well, I'm all for that," Shaggy agreed. "But, like, what present do you get a sorcerer who can conjure up anything he wants?"

"Something he doesn't know he needs," Daphne replied. "…Whatever that is."

"How about a mana potion?" Flim-Flam asked. "I bet Voudini knows a good potion-seller; and I can haggle for a good rate!"

"Well, that would be practical," Daphne said. "But we have to give him something that's uniquely us."

Shaggy mused for a bit as Daphne drove on, but then did a double-take as they passed a coffee shop.

"I got it!" he exclaimed. "Those coffee shops almost always sell coffee mugs with different kinds of designs and things—we'll get him one of those mugs that says '#1 Dad' on it! It's us, because he knows that we know that he thinks of us as family—and he knows that we think of him the same way!"

"Shaggy, that's perfect!" Daphne exclaimed, as the others also voiced their approval. "This is great; I was going to stop by on the way back for some drinks to keep us awake on our ghost hunt tonight anyway—"

"You had to remind me of that, huh?" Shaggy winced.

"—I think I know everyone's order, so if you guys can chip in, I can pick up the mug when I get the drinks. …Wait, I don't know what Mr. Van Ghoul would order…"

"Easy," Flim-Flam said, handing over his share of the mug money. "He's a warlock, right? Get him a cold brew."

Daphne just sighed. There would be no getting away from puns today, clearly…

"No, Daphne, there isn't," Mew said in sympathy.

"Anyways, once they pulled over near an arcade, they remembered the rules about Scooby and Scrappy being on leashes," Mew said.

"Guys, wait!" Daphne called, as the others started to scramble out. "You forgot the leashes!"

"Rhat!?" Scooby asked, looking back at Daphne, stunned.

"Aw, man, I forgot," Shaggy sighed. "Scoob, I'm sorry, but they have leash laws around here."

"And that goes for you, too, Scrappy," Flim-Flam added.

Scrappy looked scandalized.

"I've never been on a leash before in my life!" he protested. He eyed the hood of Flim-Flam's sweatshirt. "Couldn't I just…?"

"Yeah, actually, I think you could pull it off!" the boy replied, and he allowed Scrappy to clamber into the sweatshirt's hood. "You okay back there?"

"Well, it's not the best, but it sure beats a leash," Scrappy said. "I'll deal with it."

Scooby now looked at Shaggy, and at his red shirt.

"…Like, sorry, Buddy, but I don't think you're the right size to pull that off."

"…Rats…" Scooby grumbled as Shaggy apologetically clipped the leash to his collar.

"I know it's humiliating, Scooby, but it's only for a few days," Daphne said. "Hang in there, okay?"

"Rhokay…" Scooby sighed, though he clearly was still embarrassed.

"C'mon, Pal; some lunch will cheer you up," Shaggy encouraged, and he led Scooby off.

Flim-Flam sighed and headed off with Scrappy still in his sweatshirt hood.

"Soon, Daphne heads off to the squash court, where she encounters a blonde female," Mew said.

Daphne headed towards the building now, giving a casual hello to a young blonde woman about her age who was waiting outside with her squash equipment, looking nervously at her watch. The woman looked up as Daphne greeted her, seemed to wrestle with something internally for a moment, and then spoke up.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, causing Daphne to pause and look back. "Um… I'm really sorry to bug you, but… I think I saw you and your family this morning, looking at the house at the end of South Street."

"That's right—we just moved in," Daphne said, with a nod. "My, uh… my father is taking care of unpacking and basically told the rest of us to do whatever we wanted for the afternoon."

"That's nice; I live next door to you with my mom and grandmother," the blonde replied. "I'm Marin—Marin Valentine."

"I'm Daphne…" she trailed off, realizing that something about the blonde had seemed vaguely familiar. "Um… Excuse me for asking, but are you related to—?"

"Melody Valentine?" Marin finished, managing a smile for the first time since speaking to her. "I get that a lot—and yes, I am. She's my cousin. You a fan?"

"A fan? We hung out once when we crossed paths a few years ago—her and her entire band!" Daphne exclaimed. It had been quite an adventure, solving the mystery of the Dixie Queen with not only the rest of the gang, but Melody and her bandmates and crew, too. "Are they still together? The band, I mean."

"They sure are," Marin said. "They're on tour right now!"

"...Do they know what happens to Josie and the Pussycats in Afterlife With Archie?" Mew asked.

"No," Regice said.

"Good, because I don't know either. I only read the first volume, and they appear in a few panels." Mew commented.

"Um, what does that have to do with the review?" Regirock asked.

"Oh yeah. Anyways, Marin asked Daphne a favor: please be her partner for the day since her regular partner bailed on her that day and Mrs. Reece's son, Josh, is trying to make Marin his partner. Daphne agrees to help out, while wanting to know more about the hauntings around Pleasant Valley."

"No problem at all," Daphne insisted. "But if you want to help me out, you could clear up some rumors I heard about some strange ghostly happenings last night."

"Only last night?" Marin asked, shaking her head.

Daphne blinked in surprise.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Well, I guess it would've looked bad for the HOA if they'd let it slip that these ghostly sightings have been going on for months now," Marin said.

"…Months…?" Daphne repeated.

"Yup," Marin said. "My mom and I moved here three months ago; she moved back in with her mother after my parents split up—the sounds and sightings were going on since we moved in. And my grandmother has been here longer—she says it's been going on for at least five months."

"…Huh…" Daphne mused.

"Yeah, it's more of an annoyance than anything else—a hoard of glowing sheets floating around and moaning, scaring off anyone wandering the streets at night," Marin sighed. "No one goes out after dark anymore, and the HOA has been trying to keep a lid on the hauntings—I'm amazed you heard something about last night, honestly. But I guess you can keep a pack of ghosts secret for only so long."

"A pack…" Daphne repeated.

Well, that didn't make any sense—aside from the ghost town, which had been far from Pleasant Valley, the only ghostly activity that the Specter Detector had picked up in the community had been the solitary poltergeist.

Daphne's eyes widened in realization as a nostalgic thrill shot through her—if there were multiple ghosts around, and only their poltergeist was real, then that meant that the other ones had to be fake!

"Tell me all about it," she said, trying to reign in her eagerness.

"Sure—I'll tell you over the game," Marin offered. "C'mon—no sense waiting for Josh to find us out here."

She headed inside, and Daphne paused for just a moment before following her, suppressing a determined smirk.

Look out, Pleasant Valley, she mentally transmitted. Daphne Blake is back in her element!

"Now all we need is Scooby, Scrappy and Shaggy to start helping you report these things again, and guest appearances from Fred and Velma and we're set," Mew said.

"Meanwhile, the next chapter is mostly the others finding out more about the hauntings. Though this bit from Shaggy does actually explain why he, Scooby, Scrappy and Daphne had been travelling a lot," Mew said.

"It's been rhorever since we've been home," Scooby pointed out.

"…I know," Shaggy said, his grin fading. "But is it even really home anymore?"

"Rhuh?"

"Once Velma left for her internship, it never felt the same. I think that's why we all left—one after the other. After Velma, then it was Fred, and then Daphne—and then she got us out of there, too. Even before the whole thing with the Chest happened, we didn't really stay in one place—we were always following the next story." He sighed. Once they'd graduated, Shaggy's parents had moved back to Massachusetts; the Joneses and the Dinkleys had left soon after Fred and Velma had. The Blakes had also returned to their estate, but still owned the old house in town, which was where Shaggy and the dogs had stayed during that brief period of time when they were the only ones left in town; on the rare times in the last few years where they and Daphne had downtime from their journalism work, they'd stayed there again, and even Flim-Flam and Vincent had been guests there a few times in the last year and a half, as well. "It's kinda funny, but Mr. V's place in Tibet is the first place that's felt like home since we actually left home."

"Anyways, shortly after that bit, Scooby and Shaggy head to a sandwich stall due to a restaurant not letting them in, mainly due to the HOA not allowing dogs inside buildings. At the stall, they get some information they need." Mew states.

"They're never gonna believe this…" the attendant said, shaking his head as he handed over the now-giant sandwich to Scooby and then took Shaggy's order. "Well, maybe they can, what with all the hauntings going on…"

"H-H-Hauntings?" Shaggy asked, having just accepted his sandwich. "Like, plural? Multiple ones?"

"Yeah—where've you been?"

"Rhe just moved in!" Scooby said, nervous as well.

"Ooh…" the attendant winced. "Well, uh… good luck. We've been dealing with ghosts for months now—usually around the on-site HOA office and the surrounding facilities."

"Where's the on-site HOA office?" Shaggy asked.

"That way, down the walking path," the attendant said.

"Thanks—we're, like, going the opposite way!" Shaggy replied, paying for the sandwich and immediately making an about-face.

Scooby followed right behind, wolfing down his sandwich and going back down on all fours.

"Like, dealing with one ghost is bad enough, but now there's a whole squad of 'em?" Shaggy asked. "No thanks!"

"Rheah, rhno thanks!" Scooby echoed.

"But we gotta let Mr. V know about this when we get back—even if Athena didn't mention these other ghosts, he'll probably want to deal with them." Shaggy paused, wincing. "…And we can't let him do that alone."

"…Rhno," Scooby agreed, with a gulp.

Shaggy gulped as well.

"Get ready, Buddy—tonight's going to be a tough one."

"Meanwhile, Flim-Flam and Scrappy also get told about the hauntings taking place at the HOA building, but can't head over there due to getting tailed by Bogel and Weerd. Scooby and Shaggy meet up with them, and they all decide to wait for Daphne at the arcade.

"At the same time, Josh arrives, only for Daphne to lead Marin out while ruining Josh's attempts of seducing them. As they head over to the others, Marin wonders if her grandmother or mother has met Vincent yet, which Daphne wonders as well.

"Meanwhile, Vincent meets Marin's grandmother, Millie, who thinks Vincent is young. Or at least, 52. However, she does give him some important information." Mew explained.

"Well, welcome to Pleasant Valley, Vincent," Millie replied. "Hope you and your kids are happy here—those dogs, too. Listen, I hope you can get ahold of those youngsters and tell them to be back before dark—before the hauntings start. I'd hate to see them get terrified by all of those ghosts flying around…"

"Well, we already discussed…" He trailed off again. "'All,' did you say?"

"Uh-huh."

"Exactly how many ghosts are there!?" Vincent asked, distracted by this new information.

"Well, you got me; after hearing all that moaning and groaning, I wasn't really in the mood to go out and count 'em."

Vincent briefly massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to make something of all of this. Was something wrong with the Specter Detector? Why hadn't it registered the other ghosts?

"If you'll excuse me, Madam, there's something that needs my immediate attention inside," he said, giving her a polite nod before heading back into the house to do some scrying with the crystal.

"Yeah, that was my reaction when the hauntings started, too!" Millie called after him. She smiled as the door closed behind him. "Oh, bless his heart—he really is such a sweet young man… Those kids of his are lucky to have him."

She went back inside, and time ticked further on for the residents of Pleasant Valley.

"Meanwhile, the gang drop Marin off at her place before heading to their temporary home, telling Vincent everything they learned about the 'hauntings' around Pleasant Valley, confirming that besides the poltergeist, Bogel and Weerd, there are no new ghosts in the community.

"While Scooby and Shaggy think they already have enough to worry about, Daphne and Scrappy want to solve the mystery, due to wanting to find out why the fake ghosts are keeping the residents inside and since they haven't unmasked anyone respectively." Mew explained.

Vincent sighed quietly again.

"While I am pleased to see you so enthusiastic over solving this mystery that seems to be afoot, do try to remember why we're here," he said. "I'm not trying to discourage you from trying to solve it, but we do have to prioritize going after the poltergeist."

"Yes, of course," Daphne agreed. "But there are sure to be clues when we go out there tonight, and we can spend tomorrow trying to put them together."

"And I have no doubt that you'll be just as good at doing that as you are in helping to catch the poltergeist," Vincent said. "If all goes well and we capture it tonight, you can solve that mystery to your heart's content."

Daphne grinned.

"That sounds great," she said.

"Anyways, Scooby reminds Daphne about the mug, which she gives to Vincent as a gift from the gang." Mew said, beaming with joy at the moment.

Vincent took note of Daphne and the others all watching intently for his reaction as he accepted the gift bag. With some amount of curiosity, he reached in and pulled out the #1 Dad mug, mildly amused by it. He was about to thank them for it, but then paused as it registered as to what was written on it, doing a double-take.

"It's partly to help with our cover as a family and helping us blend in here—you can carry it around when you're in the yard," Daphne said, with a smile. "But it's also partly from us to you."

"Yeah, like, after that whole thing we did where we were able to open that blood magic gate together, despite not being related by blood, it just seemed like the perfect gift," Shaggy added.

"And its was Shaggy's idea, too," Flim-Flam added, grinning. "We all thought it was perfect."

"Rheah! It's practical…," Scooby pointed out.

"…And sentimental," Scrappy finished. "What d'you think?"

Vincent succeeded in keeping his expression neutral, but it didn't escape the others as to how he was now gripping the mug as though it was a valuable treasure.

"Trust me, anything from any family member should be treated as a treasure. Plus, this mug is proof that the gang sees Vincent as a father figure." Mew said.

"It's an incredibly thoughtful gift," he said, at last. "Thank you." He was very clearly trying to suppress a smile as he continued. "You know, these sorts of speeches aren't exactly my forte; so, do understand that I'm not saying this lightly, but you five—"

"Tell them, Vincent! Tell them how much you care!" Mew encouraged.

Whatever Vincent had wanted to say had been cut off as the doorbell rang; Vincent now scowled, his train of thought departed as he now consulted the crystal to see who it was as the others looked disappointed that whatever he had wanted to say to them would remain unspoken after all.

The crystal now showed Josh at the door, and Vincent frowned.

"No! Couldn't you have waited a few more moments, Josh?! Now we'll never get to know what Vincent was going to say to the gang!" Mew shouted in anger.

"Who is this supposed to be!?" he demanded.

"Oh, no…" Daphne groaned. "He's the son of that HOA lady who showed us the house—he probably came here to talk to me and now he's going to use the fence and the hedges as leverage. I'll deal with him."

She got up from the table, frustrated and angry. It wasn't enough that Josh had poked around the HOA records or asked his mother to in order to find out where she was staying—no, he just had to interrupt them right when Vincent was about to say something from the heart. Oh, they knew how he felt about them, but it was another thing altogether to be able to hear him say it. Those moments were rare, which made them all the more precious, and they'd just been robbed.

"Congratulations, Josh. You got on Daphne's bad side. And no one wants to be on her bad side. Ask the guy she beat up in the live-action film," Mew said, pointing behind him.

Daphne: Now who's the damsel in distress?

Zarkos: (Whimpering) M-Me?

Daphne: Straight up.

"No one messes with Daphne O'Neil," Mew said.

"Don't you mean-?" Regieleki began, only for Regice to tap his-shoulder?-while shaking his head.

"He'll just argue it," Regice whispered.

"Anyways, Daphne handles Josh in a calm manner," Mew said with a mischievous smirk.

She slipped out the front door, careful not to let Josh see Vincent's modifications to the interior of the house on top of all the changes to the yard, closed the door behind her, and gave Josh a glare that would've sent most other people retreating.

"What do you think you're doing!?" she fumed.

Josh, who had appeared smug at first (on account of the fence and the hedges), was now unnerved, wondering how she'd known it was him, and why she was so upset.

"I never said I wanted to talk to you—and now you show up here, interrupting us in the middle of our dinner!?" she continued. "You're not endearing yourself to me by doing this—just the opposite. Now, I want even less to do with you—so get off of my porch!"

Josh stood there, baffled as his brain tried to keep up with what was happening; this was far from the grandiose charm offensive that he'd been planning to give once he'd gotten the chance to speak to her.

"Look, uh… I think we got off on the wrong foot here…"

"No foot will ever be the right one," Daphne informed him. "Goodbye."

"Wait! Red—!"

"And I told you not to call me that!"

"But I don't know your name!" Josh protested.

"Rumpelstiltskin," she deadpanned. "Now, for the last time—go away!"

"And since Josh didn't guess her name, he now has to give Daphne his first-born child!" Mew cheered as Victini came in, firing off the party poppers. "Oh, and ignore the wavy knife in her shoes with her name on it. It's not important," he added.

"Unfortunately, Josh decides to ignore your advice," Victini said, his voice having a childish New York accent in it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Daphne could see Marin looking out of the window next door, no doubt wondering what the shouting was about. Her eyes widened in concern as she saw Josh confronting Daphne on the porch.

Not noticing Marin, Josh took a step back before remembering that he had ammo. He stared back at Daphne and smirked.

"What did I say? Next thing I know, you're gonna stab her and become the new Dark One!" Mew said.

"Who knows? Maybe that's his plan," Victini said.

"...%&$ ." Mew swore, only to spontaneously combust.

While the Regi Siblings were horrified, Victini twiddle his fingers around as the ashes shifted around, reforming into Mew.

"Oh yeah, now I remember why you, me, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Shaymin, Meloetta, and Keldeo can't swear," Mew said, dusting himself off.

"Not to mention the last time Jirachi swore and survived." Victini pointed out, as he and Mew looked up at the moon, where the virus Groudon was residing at.

Meanwhile-The Moon

"*Insert Groudon's cries from the games* (Ha ha, suckers!)" Virus Groudon sneered, finishing his revenge plot: a phallic symbol carved on the surface on the moon. However, he didn't realize that he carved it on the dark side of the moon, where nobody on Earth can see it.

However, Deoxys flew by when he noticed the carving. "That's it! I had it!" Deoxys said, his rage towards the wish-created being boiling over the edge.

"I can handle you destroying the meteors! I can handle you messing with the shooting stars! But this is too extreme, even for you! Screw what Jirachi wanted, I can't take it anymore!"

"*Insert Groudon's cries from the games* (Does this mean?)" Virus Groudon asked, a sinister sneer appearing on his face.

"You're going back to Earth! They can deal with you!" Deoxys raged, firing an energy blast at Virus Groudon, which sent the latter hurtling towards the planet's stratosphere.

Meanwhile-Tree of Beginning, Kanto Region

"Anyways, Josh's attempt at leverage fails," Mew said.

"Sure you don't want to reconsider, Red?"

"I'm sure."

"My mother is on the HOA board," he boasted. "She could get your father into a lot of trouble for these yard renovations he did. He's not allowed to do that."

"I'll be sure to let him know," she said, sounding unconcerned. After all, Vincent could make all of these alterations disappear as easily as he'd made them appear—which had the added bonus of making Josh look like a fool if he did try to report them.

"But, I'm a nice guy. And as a favor to you, I'll forget I saw any of this… if you'll go out with me tonight," Josh added. "Plus a few rounds of squash tomorrow. I think that's a fair deal, don't you?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not desperate, and even if I was, it wouldn't be you I'd settle for."

"However, when Josh was about to do something to Daphne, which she could've handled due to taking self-defense classes, Vincent teleported onto the porch and scared Josh away with a glare, proving to be the best father figure to the gang.

"Soon, Vincent and the gang go off to the park in the middle of Pleasant Valley to find the poltergeist, along with catching Bogel and Weerd for their part in Vincent's near petrification at the hands of Rankor. However, Vincent, noticing their emotions towards Bogel and Weerd, carefully advises them against going down a dark path," Mew said.

"We're getting closer," Vincent said, interrupting the discussion. "If we want to sneak up on the poltergeist, our best bet is park here and continue on foot. Once we get close enough, I can teleport and startle the ghosts into flight mode—I'll try to lead them towards you."

"…Terrific," Shaggy gulped, as Daphne parked the van.

"Also, I realize that you all have your reasons for wanting to go after those two lackey ghosts," Vincent continued. "…And I am grateful that I seem to be a large part of the reason for your motivations. By all means, capture them if the chance presents itself. But, once again, our priority is the poltergeist." He then paused, trying to choose his next words carefully. "More than that, I would be… very disheartened if your concern for me led you to blind revenge. Don't let something so noble and pure become tainted into something dark. You're all better than that."

"You sure about that, Vince?" Flim-Flam snarked.

"Yes, I am."

They all paused to look back at him in surprise as they were exiting the van. Flim-Flam had obviously been joking—but Vincent was unmistakably serious in his reply. Daphne managed a smile now; though interrupted in his attempt at making a more emotional speech earlier, Vincent still found his own ways to make his thoughts known.

"We'll be sure to live up to your expectations," she promised.

"Rheah, we will!" Scooby agreed.

Shaggy nodded along with Scrappy and Flim-Flam, but his thoughts had drifted a bit as they continued to the park on foot, thinking about how Vincent hadn't even wanted to joke about something like that. The warlock ordinarily had a very wry sense of humor, so that definitely spoke volumes.

…Man, I can't believe I was ever afraid of him, Shaggy mused.

"However, they soon hear the moaning from the 'ghosts', causing them to stay close as they head further into the park, where they overhear Bogel and Weerd trying to convince the poltergeist to let them help him, only for him to deny them due to being sent by Asmodeus, Vincent's ancestor." Mew said.

"Look, I'm tellin' ya, we want to help," Weerd was saying. "We're on the same side here—against that warlock and those kids and dogs!"

"And, right now, you're their public enemy number one," Bogel added.

"They do not concern me," a third voice—the voice of the poltergeist—hissed. "The warlock startled me last night, it's true, but if he's cavorting with mortals, he is clearly not a threat."

"You're not the first ghost to make that mistake," Weerd warned. "You can't underestimate Van Ghoul."

"I'm not," the poltergeist returned. "I know of his power. I was sent by Asmodeus to complete a task, and he has already told me everything about that traitor to his bloodline."

There was dead silence all around, from all sides—Bogel and Weerd had been stunned into silence, and Vincent had frozen in his tracks, which had prompted the others to look at him in concern.

"Waiiiit a second…" Bogel said. "So Asmodeus is gonna make his move soon!?"

"More than that—you mean to tell me Asmodeus and Van Ghoul are related!?" Weerd asked.

"The warlock is a direct descendant," the poltergeist confirmed. "Asmodeus has much to discuss with him."

Vincent's expression of shock now turned to an angered scowl.

"Get the Chest ready," he instructed, and without waiting for a response, teleported to right behind the three ghosts. "I have nothing to discuss with him—or you! Diaga!"

Bogel and Weerd screamed in terror as Vincent sent a blast of light magic at them; the poltergeist screeched, the three of them frantically dodging it.

"Wow, this makes Arceus' anger from a decade ago seem like child play...and Arceus almost ended humanity just because he couldn't tell the difference between Deimos willingly doing something and being mind controlled," Mew snarked.

"However, while Vincent is trying to keep the poltergeist distracted long enough for the gang to use the Chest of Demons on it, the poltergeist outright tries to kill the gang, forcing Vincent to use Reflect to save them from a falling tree, but at the cost of the poltergeist escaping.

"The gang pull Vincent from under the barrier, letting the tree fall on it, and Vincent decides to tell everyone who Asmodeus used to be. Right after they get back at the house, change into dry clothing, and Vincent uses magic to erase video evidence of them being at the park, of course," Mew said.

"Very well, then," he said. "You actually know how the story begins—before he became the demon known as Asmodeus, my ancestor was a human warlock, known as Asamad Van Ghoul. During his time, he was the most powerful sorcerer in the world—blessed by Lady Pallas herself."

"And he was supposed to do missions for her and help her out in return," Shaggy recalled. "Only… he didn't."

"Correct; he focused fully on growing his power exponentially—it was Hades who encouraged him to turn against Lady Pallas and choose this path instead," Vincent replied, the bitterness returning to his voice. "Following Hades's misguidance, Asamad used his mastery of the magic arts to great effect during the war between the mages and the fae. It was said that all on the battlefields quaked in fear when Asamad appeared—even those on his side. …He reveled in that fear, and once the war had ended, again, under the advice of Hades, Asamad sought dominion over the world, demanding fealty from his fellow mages—even his own wife and son. And he demanded nothing short of worship from mortals. And still, he sought more and more power, which he used to intimidate everyone into giving in to his demands, forcing them to devote their lives to him, to his new patron god, Hades, and to his inner circle of his twelve most loyal followers."

He glanced pointedly at the Chest of Demons, which was now resting on the coffee table where Shaggy had put it.

"Lady Pallas tried to stop him, multiple times—she had given him so many chances to turn away from Hades, and fulfill the promise he had made to her," Vincent continued. "However, shortly after establishing his inner circle, when she next arrived to reason with him, something happened. I don't know the exact chain of events, but, at the end of it, Asamad had attained the form of that winged demon, and Lady Pallas realized that there was no hope for Asamad's redemption; she declared that he would, from then on, be known as Asmodeus, the Demon King."

The others listened intently.

"So, you still don't know how Asamad became Asmodeus?" Daphne asked. She recalled that had been something weighing on Vincent's mind for a while.

"No, I don't," Vincent sighed. "It could have been a voluntary transformation, it could have been forced by Lady Pallas, or it could have been forced because Asamad's power was too great to sustain a human form."

"Is this part of the test?" Mew asked, a piece of paper in front of him.

"Asmodeus and his followers allied themselves with Hades permanently after that and sought to maintain their control over the world," Vincent went on, after a moment. "But Lady Pallas and the other Olympians fought back—they had Hephaestus craft the Chest of Demons in his forge, and they all used their mana to make it a dimensionally transcendent prison. But the time of the Old Gods had already reached its end, and the Olympians knew that they would not be able to freely walk the Earth as they used to. And so, they entrusted the Chest of Demons to the bravest mortal they could find—at the time, it was King Solomon. He sealed Asmodeus and the other twelve in the Chest. And that ended it for a while. Asamad's son continued the family line, but in order to avoid stumbling into the same dark path, though the gift of sorcery was passed down to each successive generation, they rejected the life of a mage, one after another, and lived mortal lives. Most of the branches of my family tree didn't inherit any mana at all, but mine, being a direct lineage, did. And, apparently, my talents began to show themselves when I was very young—and it was clear that they rivaled those of Asmodeus himself. I was advised to reject this life, as well."

"Clearly, that didn't happen," Flim-Flam pointed out.

"Obviously not," Vincent agreed. "I knew that the world was too vast to see in one mortal lifetime, and so I chose a way for me to see it all. I didn't really think too much about the implications of being a warlock, to say nothing of one descended from one so feared, until I attended my academy training. I was one of twelve students in the Advanced Class of 36, and everyone took an interest in me and my lineage. It was the first time I'd noticed it, but, even then, I didn't think too much of it; I was sixteen when I started my academy training, and I had other things on my mind. My instructor at the academy had fought in the war between the mages and the fae, and she remembered seeing Asamad firsthand; after my first year, she brought her concerns to me—that my powers appeared to exceed those of Asamad's, and that would be cause for concern if I chose the same dark path he had. She knew I had chosen Lady Pallas as my patron goddess—as most Athenians did. But she actively encouraged me to seek Lady Pallas out."

"And that did happen," Scrappy added.

"Yes. I don't know what Lady Pallas saw in me that made her think I would be different from my ancestor, but she gave me a chance."

"Yep, this is definitely on the te-Wait, why does it have an evil face on it?" asked Mew.

The 'test' started laughing evilly, only for Mew to pour holy water on it, causing it to scream in agony. Mew then crumpled it up and threw it into the Chest of Demons, which Regidrago opened.

"I should've known it was evil, given Nekara's name was on it. Wait, what's this?" Mew said, picking up another piece of paper.

The contents of it was obscured by Mew's paws, but whatever was on it, caused Mew's expression to turn to disgust, then horror, as his face paled, before he lit it on fire. "May this return to the pits of Tartarus from whence it came," Mew said, his voice shaking in horror.

"Anyways, Vincent reveals to Flim-Flam and Scrappy that he opened the Chest of Demons that last time, due to wanting to know more about Asmodeus, only to almost doom the world." Victini said, changing the subject.

"And you got all of 'em back in all by your lonesome, too," Flim-Flam commented. "That must've been hard."

"Not alone, no," Vincent said. "I'd had help from a mortal companion of mine. …If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here now. But it pains me to admit that I was not able to return the favor; as is the case this time, Asmodeus was the last of the 13 we had to recapture… and I lost my companion in the struggle. I was unable to defend him because I was busy trying to fight off Asmodeus's intrusions into my mind, trying to control me; he kept insisting we were bound by blood—and blood magic—and that, as his heir, it was my destiny to join him. And I was so drained with the effort of trying to keep him out of my mind, that I was unable to react quickly enough…"

He trailed off, too upset to continue. He glanced once more at the mug he was holding, and then placed it on the coffee table beside the crystal and the Chest, as though he no longer felt he was deserving of it.

But before he could do or say anything else, the others had swooped in for a group hug. He sighed, and almost protested before opting to return the gesture instead.

"…The grief and anger were enough for me to break free long enough to seal Asmodeus in the Chest—and his last words to me were to brand me as a traitor to our bloodline," Vincent finished. "Based on what the poltergeist said, he still thinks so."

"Luckily for Vincent, he has a family who thinks otherwise," Mew said.

"Rhe's the traitor, not rhou," Scooby insisted.

"Scoob's right—Asmodeus was the one who broke his promise to Athena," Shaggy agreed.

"Yeah, and you kept your promise to repay a debt that wasn't even yours!" Scrappy added.

"That's why we're here now, dealing with all of these dumb HOA restrictions—because of your loyalty to Athena," Flim-Flam finished.

"They're right," Daphne said. "And… I guess now I understand why you're thinking the way you are—why you were so willing to send us home once Asmodeus was the last ghost to recapture. You're afraid of history repeating itself, aren't you—that Asmodeus will try to come for you again… and take us out in the process, like he did to your other companion?"

"…More than you can ever understand," Vincent admitted. "Asmodeus came so close to controlling me last time—I expect that if my companion hadn't tried to intervene, Asmodeus would've taken great amusement in forcing me to finish him off by my own hand. I expect he knows about you already, and is planning something along those lines—or, at the very least, plans to get you out of the way himself."

"You've kept us safe so far," Scrappy pointed out. "And we believe in you that you can keep doing it—right, Guys?"

The others voiced their agreement.

"Shortly afterwards, Vincent talks to Shaggy and Daphne, trying to get them to agree that whatever happens, they'll leave him behind to save the others. However, they won't agree to it, due to what happened in Hyrule, and ask Vincent if the roles were switched, if one of their enemies shows up and they tell Vincent to leave them behind, would he? Which causes him to realize where they're coming from. However, they cut him some slack, since he's still new to wanting them near him while also wanting them to be safe and appreciate it." Mew explained, taking a deep breath.

"Anyways, we'll be right back after this ad break," Mew said.

"Commercials!" Registeel exclaimed, turning on the commercials.

(Cue instrumental version of theme song)

This review is brought to you by the Pokémon Center.

Are your Pokémon feeling sick or exhausted?

Do you want to sleep on a comfortable bed, but don't want to sleep at an expensive hotel?

Want to get an opinion on your Pokémon's wellbeing?

Then come on down to the Pokémon Center, where we heal your Pokémon for free! Along with free rooms and food.

Every Nurse Joy and her Chansey/Blissey/Audino are always nice and helpful.

This is a paradise for every Pokémon.

Trainers, however, never leave at times.

*Sounds of static plays in the background*

Trainers-becomes new Nurse Joys-*sounds of Nurse Joy cutting into flesh*

*Sounds of static intensifie*

HaVe A nIcE dAy...HoPe To SeE yOu SoOn!

*The screen fades to an ominous black as the sound of static fades away*

(Cue instrumental version of theme song)

"...That was disturbing," Victini said.

"Yeah. And we all know what we do with disturbing commercials," Mew said.

"Turn them into molten metal?" Registeel shouted.

"What? No, that's a bit too extreme." Mew said, as Registeel pouted while the other Regi Siblings, and Victini, breathed a sigh of relief. "We let Groudon incinerate them," Mew added, as Registeel brightened up while the others' expression turned to horror.

Soon, everyone can hear the distant screams of horror as Groudon starts his rampage against the Nurse Joy creepypasta.

Registeel, who was seeing the chaos through a pair of binoculars custom-made for the Regi Siblings, glanced sideways at Mew. "Since we went with this method, it's time to finish the review," he said.

"Oh yeah. Away!" Mew said, heading towards the main area.

"What have we done?" Regice asked.

"We saved lives...I think," Victini said.

"Anyways, back to the review!" Mew said, as everyone else headed back to the main area.

"The next morning, Daphne and Shaggy find out that Vincent had put an Athena statue on the front lawn," Mew said.

Daphne had been the first to awaken once the sun rose, yawning as she crossed to the window to take a look outside—and stopping in her tracks to see a life-size marble statue of Athena on the front lawn, holding her shield in one hand and her staff in the other.

"Mr. Van Ghoul, that statue…!"

"A fine likeness of Lady Pallas, isn't it?"

"You can't keep her out there like that!" she exclaimed

"It's alright; I cast a protection spell."

"Zzz… Wha?" Shaggy asked, coming awake now at all the talking. "What's goin' on? What'd I miss?"

"He's put a statue of Athena on the lawn!" Daphne said, pointing out the window.

"Zoinks! Uh, Mr. V? The HOA isn't gonna like that…"

"That's their problem," Vincent scoffed. "I'm trying to make a statement, especially now that I know that Asmodeus is ready to make his presence known."

Daphne's expression softened now.

"I get it," she realized. "You want Asmodeus to be completely sure that you're still sided with Athena. But Josh will have reported all of your modifications to his mother by now since I refused to go out with him."

"Daphne's right—couldn't you put the statue in the hall?" Shaggy suggested.

Vincent arched an eyebrow at them, but snapped his fingers; the statue instantly teleported into the middle of the entrance hall.

"I suppose you want me to put the lawn and the fencing back to normal?" he queried.

"If you could," Daphne said. "It'd do a great job of making Josh look like an idiot when the HOA comes by and can't find anything he was talking about."

Vincent snapped his fingers again, and the hedges and iron fencing disappeared, replaced by the plain lawn and white picket fence. He cast a derisive glance at it.

"I'm not changing the interior," he insisted.

"I doubt the HOA is going to care about the interior decorating. All they care about is the exterior decor. The HOA are the worst kinds of rich snobs. They're even worse than James' parents and Jessebelle, and those three are sadists. Wait, what was I talking about again?" Mew asked.

"A Great Danish prince known as Scoobert?" Regidrago said.

"Oh yeah! Duh!" Mew slapped himself on the forehead. "Anyways, Shaggy comments about how nosy the HOA is, to which Daphne says Shaggy is onto something. She then decides that they should check out the HOA office to look for clues while Vincent tries to figure out Asmodeus' location. While Shaggy and Daphne went to wake up the others for breakfast, Vincent started thinking to himself," Mew said.

Vincent sighed in mild amusement as they headed upstairs to get the others, picking up his mug from the coffee table.

He had wanted to say that they had no idea just how much he'd do for them; at this point, they could have asked him just about anything, and if it didn't involve any of the forbidden arts, he'd have given it to them. They never seemed to ask for much, however; even from the start, once they'd learned of his powers, Vincent had been expecting to be inundated with requests for various things, but they'd asked for very little—Shaggy and Scooby sometimes had meal requests, Daphne had asked for wi-fi and a cell tower in close proximity to the castle, and the most that Flim-Flam and Scrappy had asked for was for a game room in the castle, and they were all content with that, even though, by this time, Vincent was more than willing to give them far more.

More than that, he'd already resolved to do for them the same he'd done for Mortifer all those centuries ago—transfer some of his mana to them to extend their mortal lifespans. He had plenty to spare, and, anyway, a few more gray hairs were well worth keeping his family intact…

His thoughts trailed off as he glanced at the Chest of Demons on the coffee table—and Asmodeus's visage crafted upon the lid. All of the mana transfers he could give them would mean nothing if his wayward ancestor ever got to them.

He could not allow that to happen—could not allow them to suffer the same fate that Mortifer had.

No matter what it cost him.

"I don't think you'll be saying the same thing if you know what it could cost you. Or rather, who it would cost you," Mew said. "Anyways, after breakfast, the gang are about to leave when they see Mrs. Reece outside, talking to Josh on the phone about the lack of lawn decorations," Mew said with a smirk.

After they'd had their fill, they'd headed outside to the van, with Vincent accompanying them to see them off, but, up ahead at the end of the walkway, they noticed Mrs. Reece; she was on her phone, not having noticed them at all, as she was standing with her back to them and sounding very flustered.

"I don't know what to tell you; there's nothing here—nothing!" she was saying.

"I'm telling you, there were hedges and an iron fence!" Josh's voice said over the speakerphone. "I drove by a couple hours ago, and there was even a statue on the lawn!"

"Hmm, they seem confused about something," Flim-Flam smirked. "I wonder what that could possibly be…"

Vincent wasn't about to let an opportunity like this slip past him; he immediately teleported across the front walk, reappearing directly behind Mrs. Reece.

"May I help you, Madam?"

She jumped a foot in the air as she turned around, blushing bright red as Vincent continued to observe her with an annoyed expression.

"I was just… thinking about checking in and seeing how you were doing with the move-in," she bluffed.

"I'm doing quite well," he replied, his voice slightly icy.

"I'm… glad to hear that," she said, nervously. "Well, I'd better run; there was some sort of malfunction with the fountain in the park last night, and a tree fell down, so the park is closed today."

"Noted," Vincent said.

"Like, wow; if his voice was any sharper, he could cut glass with it," Shaggy mused to the others in an undertone.

Mrs. Reece sensed it, too, and she quickly made her excuses, got in her car, and sped off.

"Screw this, I'm going somewhere else to stick my nose in!" Mew said, imitating Mrs. Reece's voice while mimicking her driving.

"Anyways, Vincent brings the lawn decoration back until the HOA comes back while the gang leaves to check out the HOA office. Millie soon talked with Vincent, first impressed with how he managed to decorate the lawn quickly, and then the whole Josh problem," Mew said.

"If you're referring to that utter oaf of a young man—"

"Reece's boy," she agreed, with a nod. "We saw the spectacle last evening through the window. My little Marin has been dealing with him ever since she moved here, but now it looks like he's turned his attentions on your daughter. How's she doing?"

"Fine—she's resilient and knows how to assert herself," Vincent replied. "With any luck, the rebuff will dissuade that boy."

"Don't bet on it," Millie said, darkly. "Marin was quick to turn him down, but that didn't make any difference to him; I think he's seen one too many of those movies where the obnoxious man is finally rewarded for pestering the object of his affection into going with him. He kept going on and on, trying to wear Marin down into finally accepting. It got so bad, she was afraid to go anywhere in case she ran into him, and he seemed to turn up everywhere—she even took a drive out to the site of the old, vanishing ghost town a few miles out, and wouldn't you know he was there, too!?"

"He followed her?" Vincent asked, arching his eyebrows.

"No, she would've noticed that; he was just there—like he'd been waiting for something else, but once he saw she was there, he had a new agenda. It seems that your daughter is the only one able to get his mind off of Marin, and I hate to say it, but I think her strong refusal just makes her more of a challenge to him."

"Is that so?" Vincent scowled.

"The boy thinks he's God's gift to women, and he insists on being treated that way," Millie grumbled. "And his mother turns a blind eye to his antics, so he gets away with going after whomever he wants."

"Well, if he keeps going after Daphne, I will give him one of a vast number of ways to end up regretting it," Vincent promised.

"Just be careful you don't invoke the wrath of that Reece lady," Millie warned. "Between you and me, the next time that boy goes out into the desert, I hope he gets lost out there in that ghost town and disappears along with it!"

"…What was he doing near that ghost town, anyway?"

"You got me," Millie shrugged. "That's not exactly on my list of concerns."

"…Something about this doesn't sit right," Vincent went on.

"You think he's doing something illegal?" Millie asked, eager for some schadenfreude. "Think we can nail him on something?"

"…I'll have to take a look up there myself and see what exactly could be going on," Vincent said. "I must check something, Madam—good day."

Once again, he turned and headed back into the house, Millie waving after him.

"Hmm, I wonder. Nah, they could never be culprits due to those reasons," Mew muttered to himself, crossing something off a piece of paper he had in front of him.

"What reasons?" Regidrago asked, looking down at the papers. For a few moments, he didn't say anything. Then he glanced at Mew and said, without any change in emotion, "Thou art right. Those reasons are dumb."

"If you agree these are dumb reasons to suspect someone, then they can't possibly be culprits," Mew said crumpling the paper and tossing it in the trash bin.

"Don't worry, Lord Mew. One day, thou might spot the true culprits," Regidrago assured.

"Yeah, maybe. Anyways, the gang tries to figure out how to get ahold of the information in the office when Vincent calls them to let them know that he's at the ghost town, where not only the poltergeist might be, but where they could also get some clues for the false ghosts thing.

"Soon, they head over there and Vincent points at some tire tracks and footprints, one of which belongs to Josh, which the gang wonders why would Josh be at the ghost town. However, they start to realize it when they notice the size of the tire track," Mew said.

"Whatever he's doing, he's disrespecting the spirits who called this site their home," Vincent said. "That line goes on and on, too—from one end of the town's former limits to the other, and up and around the perimeter."

Shaggy suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I think I know what that is!" he exclaimed. "It's probably from one of those distance measuring wheels! You know—it's a stick with a wheel on the end, and as you push it, a counter on it tracks the distance? They use 'em for things like construction sites and especially land surveys!" He shrugged as the others all gave him a look. "…Like, who knew that doing odd jobs for a year would end up being relevant…?"

"Well… at least we know what he was doing now," Scrappy said. "He was measuring the site of where the ghost town once stood."

"Rheah, he was probably rhon the job, too," Scooby added.

"Maybe…" Shaggy said. "…But, like, I have a hard time picturing that Josh creep working for a living. Not sure why."

"I'll tell you why," Daphne said. "Because someone who acts that entitled to a woman's attention would also consider himself entitled to just about everything—including money! Josh isn't like you and me, Shaggy—we may have come from rich families, but we never used that as a free pass to get whatever we wanted. We didn't need to work, but we did—and we're both better people for it. Just think—if we hadn't gotten that freelance job with the Chronicle, we might not have tried to take that Hawaiian vacation at that exact moment that we did." She glanced at Vincent and Flim-Flam. "…And if we hadn't done that, we never would've met them. We'd have missed out on so much."

"I think it's safe to say that we all would have missed out on something very precious," Vincent agreed.

"Rheah!" Scooby exclaimed. "Rhi may not like the ghosts and monsters, but Rhi'm glad we met Flim-Flam and Mr. Van Ghoul!"

"I mean… yeah," Flim-Flam said. "You guys are all awesome, and I got the best sidekick in the business now, thanks to Scrappy!"

"You're pretty awesome, too, Flim," Scrappy grinned, his tail wagging. "And yeah—you all are."

"Your choices and your experiences have shaped you into who you are—and, as you so aptly mentioned, led you to us," Vincent added. "And I agree—our visitor from last night is not likely to have made those same responsible choices."

"We'll need to find some more clues in order to piece together what's going on around here, but this is a great start—and we actually have Mr. Van Ghoul to thank for this!" Daphne declared.

"However, this isn't the first time Vincent had found clues, given he'd done it when he was about as old as Shaggy and Daphne are, which the gang are trying to imagine while not laughing about the idea of Vincent being young," Mew said.

"Hmm, I see; you find it difficult to believe that I was actually young once?" Vincent asked, taking out his crystal. "Very well, then—perhaps this will sate your curiosity…" He paused as they immediately crowded around the crystal, rolled his eyes, but brought up a memory of his academy days, in the student lounge with his old gang, inspecting what looked like a white goblet.

"Like, wow—there you are!" Shaggy exclaimed. "And there's Mr. Voudini, Mr. Kreepoff, and Mr. Befuddle…"

"And that witch with the raven we spoke to back in January, just before we came back to Tibet," Flim-Flam added.

"Alisa Lancaster," Vincent said. "And her raven familiar is Pythia—named after the Oracle of Delphi."

"And… who's the other witch—the one sitting next to you?" Daphne asked, tilting her head to get a better look. "She's the only one from your old gang we haven't spoken to at all in the last year and a half."

"Her name is Miranda Muir—you probably heard one of the others mention her at least once," Vincent said. "…We haven't spoken in a very, very long time, however."

"Gee, that's too bad," Scrappy said.

"Do rhou think rhou ever will again?" Scooby asked.

"…I don't really know," Vincent admitted, after a moment.

There was a bit of silence as the others continued to watch the memory in the crystal; the young Vincent in the memory suddenly snapped his fingers, grabbed one of the small candles in the candleholder on the table, and placed it in the white goblet. Suddenly, a pattern of lines appeared on the goblet as the candle flame heated it, forming into a map; the other five excitedly reacted to the map appearing, as the young Vincent sat back, folding his arms in obvious pride at having figured out the goblet's secret.

"That's enough for now," the present-day Vincent declared, putting the crystal away. "I still have that goblet map somewhere in my castle. Well, anyway, you see it's true—I do have an idea of how it is to feel the thrill of the chase, as it were. I know you're eager to continue following this lead and see what ties it has to your hunt for the ersatz ghosts, but, do remember why we're here."

"Daphne says that if they catch the poltergeist, they might figure out where Asmodeus is, only for Vincent to tell her, and the gang, that only he will be dealing with Asmodeus directly and they should stay back if that ever happens, which they agree to, unless he's backed into a corner. Then they'll get involved, which amazes Vincent," Mew said.

Vincent sighed as the others all nodded in agreement.

"I'm still amazed every time," he admitted. "My classmates and I were as close as we could possibly be during our schooldays, but when I tried to push them all away after my mountaintop duel ended in disaster, keeping five other mages away was rather simple compared to trying to keep you five mortals away. Voudini may have been the most persistent one, but even he had resigned himself to giving me distance when I demanded it. They had the mana and skills to keep up with me, but they lacked the determination that you had. You had nothing but your determination, and, somehow, that was enough. I'm still trying to figure out how mortals succeeded where mages failed."

"Maybe it's because we're mortals," Daphne offered. "Life is short, so we feel the need to spend every moment we possibly can with those we care about. Especially when we know that we can be of some help." She smiled. "Besides, like Flim-Flam and Scrappy said, we know you want us here, even if you'll never admit it."

"Rheah!" Scooby agreed.

"With that, they all go into the ghost town to search for more clues regarding Josh's motives for it, only to find nothing else, and return back to Pleasant Valley, where they notice muddy footprints on their lawn," Mew said.

"These look fresh—they must have happened in the last fifteen minutes!" Daphne exclaimed.

Scooby sniffed at the tracks, finding them to be too wet to have a scent; however, the grass nearby still had a scent from before the visitor had fallen into the pond—and Scooby's subsequent growl quickly told them who it was.

"Uh-oh…" Shaggy sighed. "Looks like Josh was poking around here."

Scrappy also sniffed at the lawn and frowned.

"Yup, that's him, alright…" he growled. "Too bad he didn't stick around—I woulda shown him a thing or two!"

"He must have intended to bother Daphne again, but got distracted by the statue of Lady Pallas," Vincent said, sounding rather satisfied with his handiwork. "…And he wasn't expecting a protection spell."

"Would any mortal?" Flim-Flam mused.

"I'll bet you anything he was trying to take pictures of it to prove to the HOA this time," Daphne said. She also seemed satisfied. "…I don't think his phone would have done too well after getting dunked in the pond, so he won't have any evidence."

"…You want me to move the statue again, don't you?" Vincent asked.

"Like I said, he'd look like a fool after this morning," Daphne said. "And after another false report to the HOA, well…"

Vincent snapped his fingers, and, once more, the statue of Athena teleported inside, and the pond and weeping cherry trees vanished.

"Who knew that Vincent and the gang were secretly pranksters? Fred and George Weasley could take lessons from them," Mew said, only for a list of the dead people in the Harry Potter franchise appearing on his desk. "Okay, fine. Just George Weasley. Happy now, you fricking sadist?!" Mew shouted as the list suddenly had a sinister grin on it as it flew away.

"I'm still wondering how Hogwarts is still open despite the amount of deaths and injuries that occured on their property," Mew muttered.

"Anyways, the gang and Vincent decide to sneak up on the poltergeist and capture it, since Vincent assumes that the poltergeist was sent by Asmodeus to see if Vincent's power grew since their last encounter. However, as they began sneaking towards the poltergeist, they overheard its conversation with Bogel and Weerd," Mew said.

"Because it is not just Asmodeus involved now," the poltergeist replied. "If the traitorous one's powers are truly greater than those of Asmodeus, Lord Hades will want him working for him, as well."

"…Hades? God of the Dead Hades? That Hades?" Bogel gulped. "I caught a glimpse of the guy when I died—and I jumped Charon's ship and came right back to this world. Guy is scary."

"Yeah, I'll second that," Weerd said, with a shudder.

"You pledged to work for the 13 Ghosts, did you not?" the poltergeist asked, frowning.

"Well…"

"Yeah…"

"Then, you work for Asmodeus now. And, so, by extension, you work for Lord Hades, for Asmodeus holds him as his patron god."

"But I don't get why Hades needs Van Ghoul," Weerd said. "He's got Asmodeus."

"Maybe he just wants the whole set?" Bogel mused.

"Lord Hades has spent millennia gathering the most powerful souls to work for him," the poltergeist boasted. "Asmodeus. Achilles. Theseus. The Minotaur. Even the spirit of Medusa herself. And, of course, the Furies, Thanatos, and Hypnos also work for him… The only one to have eluded him, for all two thousand years of his life, is the warlock, Vincent Van Ghoul."

"…So Hades is a collector," Bogel realized.

"Vincent Van Ghoul is the most powerful warlock in existence—that makes him the most powerful living being," the poltergeist said. "But he is one of a handful who still gives his allegiance to an Olympian. Lord Hades is the undisputed ruler of the world of the dead, but for him to have Vincent Van Ghoul will grant him a way to control the world of the living. He had it with Asmodeus, but if the traitorous one can truly surpass Asmodeus, then Lord Hades has nothing in this world. True, his powers as a god would surpass those of a warlock, but Lord Hades is bound to the Underworld and cannot last long outside of it—he could challenge Vincent Van Ghoul, and all the warlock would need to do is stall until the Styx claimed Lord Hades back to the Underworld."

"…That's rough," Bogel commented.

"But Van Ghoul doesn't seem like the type to ditch Athena for Hades," Weerd pointed out.

"There are ways—and desperation is one of them," the poltergeist said. "Nekara and Rankor came the closest to delivering the traitor to Lord Hades—whether drained of his mana or petrified, he would have been prepared to sell his soul to the Master to save himself."

Vincent let out a quiet scoff. Clearly, that had never crossed his mind; he'd put his faith in his little patchwork family for his salvation on both occasions (well, the latter occasion, at least—he hadn't had many coherent thoughts while under Nekara's love spell, and all of those had been focused on resisting Nekara's attempts at trying to get him to use his powers on the kids), and they had come through, both times.

"Barring desperation, surely the promise of more power can sway the warlock," the poltergeist continued.

"…They don't know Vince very well, huh?" Flim-Flam whispered.

"Clearly not…" Daphne said, but she looked to Vincent in concern, wondering what on Earth he must be feeling upon hearing all of these revelations—that he alone was the reason why Hades was unable to gain a foothold in the world of the living. That had to be an incredible amount of pressure.

"Great, now Vincent has to go off to Greece to find Three Sacred Treasures and Great Sacred Treasure," Mew said.

"What about the Triforce?" Regidrago asked.

"Nope. He's not a reincarnation of Link, Zelda or Demise," Mew states.

"What about a lightsaber?!" Registeel said, somehow holding one up.

"No way. Vincent wouldn't bring out its full potential since he doesn't have the force," Mew points out.

"What about hiring Kratos?" Regice asked.

"Sure, and then watch as Kratos tries to kill Vincent for 'using' him," Mew said with a flat expression.

"What about crystal meth so that he looks like a punk?" Regieleki said, holding up the meth.

"Ugh, no. We're trying to come up with ideas for Vincent to defeat Hades, not drug him," Mew said.

"What about punching Hades down the Toilet Bowl of Styx?" Regirock asked.

"...Suggest that again, and I'll flush you down the Toilet Bowl of Styx. Vincent is not like Wonder Boy, who went back on his promise of staying in the Underworld in exchange for Meg's life," Mew said in an angered tone.

"Why don't we force Hades to be a used car salesman," Regice suggests.

"That's even worse. The next you know, he's going to have a terrible relationship with the Wicked Witch of the West!"

"What about putting him on an island along with every defeated and dead villain and their minions?"

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. That's something that a bunch of 'heroes' would do, along with putting up a barrier so that no one could escape, just to claim they have the moral high ground," Mew said.

"The Chest of Demons is the exact same thing," Regieleki stated.

"No, it is not. The Chest of Demons can be opened by morons, excluding Vincent, Scooby and Shaggy, of course. Or, one of the 13 ghosts can open it thanks to the position of the moon. In fact, I think Hades would actually prefer the Chest of Demons over the Isle of the Lost and the Toilet Bowl of Styx," Mew said.

"Guys, who cares how Vincent is going to beat Hades. That's something Crystal Rose of Pollux should come up with, not us. Plus, this review is already long enough as it is!" Victini points out.

"Yeah, you're right. Anyways, the gang tries to capture the poltergeist, only for him to open a rift from the Underworld, summoning monsters, allowing him to escape.

"While the gang puts the monsters in the Chest of Demons, Vincent closes the rift so that no more monsters would get through. However, the gang checks the Specter Detector to realize that the poltergeist is hiding in the HOA office, where the false ghosts are currently located.

"So of course, while they wait for the poltergeist to make it reappearance, they decide to go after the false ghosts by going through the information inside the HOA office. However, as they check the emails between Mrs. Reece and her secretary, Kevin, regarding the ghost town, along with some files that involve giving people fines just for putting things on their lawns, they get interrupted due to someone trying to kidnap Daphne," Mew said.

"Then we don't really have any suspects," Scrappy sighed.

"Not unless we pull a Fred and try to trap the ghosts wandering around in this building," Shaggy said, wincing. "But we don't know our way around this place—"

He was cut off as the sounds of a struggle suddenly erupted from Kevin's office; something was knocked over, and there was a muffled shout—

"Rhaphne!" Scooby cried.

They ran for the office, but Vincent had teleported there in time to see one of the fake ghosts—its sheet glowing with phosphorus paint—gagging Daphne with one hand and wrapping its arm around her waist with the other. Daphne was furious at having lowered her guard enough for this to have happened yet again, and she was fighting back, elbowing her assailant in the ribs—

"Teleport!"

The ghost was suddenly baffled as Daphne vanished from its grasp, reappearing beside Vincent, equally baffled as the others now made it to the office; Vincent now aimed his left at the ghost—

"Diaga!" he snarled.

He'd aimed high over the ghost's head, knowing that the assailant was mortal, but the shockwave of the attack had knocked the ghost over. Not even getting up, the ghost scramble-crawled into the wall—and a panel closed behind it.

"Are you alright!?" Vincent asked, turning to Daphne.

"I'm fine—thanks for that," she said, brushing it off. "C'mon; I bet we'll find more clues in that passageway, wherever it leads!"

Vincent stared in bewilderment as she eagerly led the others to the wall, trying to open the passageway.

"Daphne…!" he exclaimed.

"Yes?" she asked, looking back.

"…That scoundrel just tried to kidnap you!"

"I've dealt with worse," Daphne replied, with a wave of dismissal as she turned her attention back to finding the passageway's opening again. "Thanks to you, he didn't actually take me like the others did."

"…The others…?" Vincent repeated, his stunned expression getting more intense.

"Sure," Daphne said, with such a casual air that Vincent was utterly dumbfounded by her tone. "They never actually hurt me—just tried to lock me away because I knew too much. …Well, mostly; there was that one time I got kidnapped and dragged around a movie studio lot because someone thought I was Sandy Duncan…"

"…What."

"That'll be my reaction too if I found out what my kids did before becoming part of a family of choice," Mew said.

"We've all been through this again and again, Mr. V," Shaggy explained, noting the flat disbelief in his voice. "Daphne's had more bad luck than the rest of us, but all of us went through it back in our high school days—heck, even Scooby a few times."

"Rheah," Scooby said. "Rhe Mummy of Ankha got me once…"

"Yeah, that was when I thought you'd been petrified," Shaggy recalled. "Oh, and that Ghost Clown got all three of us, one after another, remember? Hypnotized us into doing those crazy circus stunts."

"Yup; getting hypnotized by Phantazmo was basically just déjà vu," Daphne sighed. "Oh, and Zen Tuo got all of us, too."

"That was all before I was traveling with you guys," Scrappy said. "But I remember when Uncle Scooby and I saved you and Shaggy from the Spectre of the Sports Cars!"

"Rheah, we did!" Scooby recalled.

"Norville Rogers, Daphne Blake, Scoobert Doo and Scrappy Cornelius Doo, stop digging yourselves deeper into this hole!" Mew reprimanded. "Not to mention corrupting Flim-Flam...well corrupting him more than he already is with his habit of being a con artist. A honest con artist, but still a con artist."

Flim-Flam was looking at the others with an expression of admiration.

"Wow, no wonder you guys took hunting real monsters in stride!" he commented. "Isn't that something, Vince? …Vince…?"

Vincent was still staring at them as though they were from another world.

"…Mr. V?" Shaggy asked.

"You were just teenagers!" he pointed out. "And those criminals had their hands on you!?"

"We're fine, Mr. Van Ghoul—really," Daphne promised. "Nothing happened."

"That isn't the point!" Vincent replied. "You shouldn't have had to go through that at all!"

"Well, sure, that would've been nice," Shaggy mused.

At this point, Vincent could only facepalm; through the gaps between his fingers, he could see the youngsters looking at him in confusion. They really and truly didn't get it…

"Truly, they never got the fact they could've...died. Oh holy me, that's even worse to think about! In the 60s-80s, fully grown adults were prepared, and willing, to kill teenagers, their talking dog and his talking nephew who is a puppy just to make sure their plans aren't revealed. Why isn't this in the Nightmare Fuel page for the Scooby-Doo page on TV Tropes?" Mew demanded, glaring at the website, which started sweating profusely.

"Anyways, they soon find the ledgers, revealing the HOA's motives with the ghost town," Mew said.

"The missing ledgers!" Daphne exclaimed. "Let's see, what's in these?"

"Looks like some money's been going to land surveys; that seems to have stopped, though, based on when the entries stopped," Shaggy said.

"…Because now they're just getting Josh to do it for nothing!" Scrappy theorized.

"But why don't they want people knowing that they're having land surveys out at the old ghost town site?" Flim-Flam asked.

"…Here's our answer," Daphne said, pulling out a folder. "These are correspondences with the Arizona State Government. There're some… discrepancies as to what part of that site is considered a historic site. The HOA is trying to lobby that only the plaque that marked the center of town is historic, and that they have a right to build around it."

"So that's why they stopped using the survey companies," Shaggy realized. "They don't want attention drawn to what they're trying to do out there."

"Rhat about the rhosts?" Scooby asked. "If rhey build there…"

"Uncle Scooby's right!" Scrappy exclaimed. "Mr. Van Ghoul said that all of those ghosties in that town bring it back under the moonlight because that place meant so much to them!"

"If a gated community was built there, it would devastate the ghosts that care about that old town!" Daphne realized.

"Yes, I do believe they would find the number of real hauntings being a much larger problem than they anticipated," Vincent scowled. "More than that, as you say, the ghosts who dwell there would, indeed, feel extreme distress."

"Well, we have to stop this from happening!" Daphne exclaimed.

"How?" Shaggy asked, incredulously. "You wanna come here tomorrow and, like, say that we found out about what they're doing out there and they gotta stop because the ghosts won't like it?"

"Well, no," Daphne said. "But we could threaten to alert the Governor's Office about what they're doing to what could be a historical site."

"And get us kicked out of Pleasant Valley lickety-split," Flim-Flam pointed out.

"Well, after we catch the poltergeist, then," Daphne shrugged. "I wonder where it's got to…"

She jumped as she heard a collective bunch of screams coming from the main branch of the passageway, causing Scooby to leap into Shaggy's arms.

"…Offhand, I'd say right over there," Flim-Flam intoned.

"However, when they went through, they arrived just as the poltergeist headed towards the main office while the false ghosts ran down the other end of the passageway. When they chase after the poltergeist to the main office, it makes a mess of things before opening another rift into the Underworld and going through, escaping.

"Later, as Vincent and the gang leave the office, dawn approaches. As they make plans to solve the mystery, Vincent tries to get Scooby, Scrappy, Shaggy and Daphne to realize how dangerous solving mysteries are," Mew said.

Vincent sighed, knowing he would have to say his piece, whether or not it was accepted in the end.

"And you don't think that there's any risk involved in going back—back to where someone attempted to inflict some sort of harm upon you just a few hours ago?" he asked. "That thought hasn't crossed your mind at all?"

"They wouldn't try anything in broad daylight—they never do," Daphne said.

"But can you be sure of that?" Vincent asked. "I'm beginning to understand why you so readily agreed to help me with Lady Pallas's tasks—all this time, I would have thought you would have been eager to return to your 'normal' lives. Now I see that your 'normal' lives aren't that different than your lives are now. The danger is different, but it was always present. Your experiences have shaped you into well-rounded and impressively selfless youngsters, it's true—but your views of the world are nevertheless skewed."

"…Skewed?" Daphne repeated, incredulously.

"Me, too?" Flim-Flam asked.

"Yes, all of you. You were shaped for the better, for the most part," Vincent admitted. "You pointed out earlier how you and Shaggy were everything that Josh is not, despite coming from wealthy backgrounds as he did. But your selflessness needs to have limits—you put yourselves at risk to better society, but the danger is real, and you seem to think that it is more of an annoyance than anything else. From what little I heard, it seems that you think nothing of being manhandled by criminals that could have done far worse to you than what they did."

"But they didn't," Daphne reminded him.

"But they could have," the warlock insisted. "What was that you were telling me about your first encounter with the Mask of Medusa?"

"Rhat was my fault," Scooby sighed.

"No," Vincent said. "You would never have sought the mask, had it not been for that career criminal you were trying to stop. Zeppelin, or whatever his name was…"

"Blimp," Scrappy corrected.

"Thank you—this Blimp… You felt the need to get the Mask before he did, regardless of the risks."

"He was going to use it on us anyway if he'd gotten it," Daphne said. "We'd crossed him a few times before…" She trailed off at the knowing look on Vincent's face. "…Okay, I think I see your point. We've taken more risks than what's probably normal, and we've gotten used to the danger that entails."

"I dunno about Daphne, but, like, I'm very good at risk avoidance," Shaggy chimed in, as Daphne gave him a look.

"…Says the one who climbed onto the roof of the van," Vincent pointed out.

"…Well, that was different," Shaggy mumbled.

"Oh, and what was different about it?" the warlock asked.

Shaggy looked away for a moment, hesitant to reply—Vincent wouldn't have appreciated it to know that Shaggy had only pulled that stunt in a desperate attempt to catch the poltergeist before it had a chance to gauge Vincent's power.

"Um… Can I get back to you on that?"

Vincent rolled his eyes.

"Nevertheless, I would prefer it if you stayed here today; however, you are correct that the risks would be lower in daylight," he admitted.

"We'll be back by lunchtime," Daphne compromised. "How does that sound?"

Vincent glanced at her and nodded.

"Vincent then says he's going to try and find Asmodeus, which he's surprised it's hard to find the latter's mana due to them being linked in blood magic. However, the gang views that as a sign that Vincent won't go down the same path as Asmodeus.

"Later, after breakfast, the gang leaves while Vincent and Millie talk about the rumor Josh spread regarding the lawn decor disappearing and how Daphne is a witch. However, Millie surprises Vincent," Mew said with a smile.

"…Rumors…?" Vincent's voice took on a noticeable edge; had Josh decided to brag that Daphne was a conquest anyway, even after failing to charm her?

"Yes—oh, not like that," Millie assured him, reading his expression perfectly. "It's because of all the renovations to your lawn appearing and disappearing… The word on the street is that your daughter is a witch."

"Oh," Vincent sighed, relieved. "…If she was a witch, she would be a highly talented one, no doubt. But, I can assure you, she is not."

"I didn't think so," Millie agreed. She paused. "…It's you, isn't it?"

Vincent froze.

"It wasn't that hard to guess," Millie went on, correctly reading his reaction again. "The hedges, the pond, the trees, the statue… and these." She indicated the golden orchids. "…Are they real gold?"

"Yes. Yes, they are."

Millie glanced at them again, looking impressed.

"That's handy, you know? Never having to worry about money or anything like that. But if you can just magic up a house for yourself with no HOA to deal with, why'd you move here, of all places?"

"It's a long story, but I can assure you, I don't intend to make this a permanent residence," Vincent promised.

"…Yeah, I don't blame you. Pity—you've made the place bearable by driving the HOA bonkers and baffling that Reece boy, too." She paused. "…Land sakes, can't you just turn them all into toads and have done with?"

"Don't think I haven't been tempted, but my personal ethics forbid it," Vincent explained. "We didn't come here initially to deal with them, but my kids seem to take great enjoyment in trying to beat them at their own games."

"…The ghosts," Millie realized. "You came for the ghosts."

"Not the ghosts you're thinking of—but it was ghostly activity that brought us here. It is my hope that we finish our business tonight—and put an end to the other ghostly business that you've been dealing with, as well."

"You already have my gratitude; if you pulled that off, you'd have the gratitude of the entire neighborhood," Millie promised.

"…That, I doubt. My presence does little to comfort mortals."

"I don't know why. You seem like a nice, young man."

"Again with the 'young man,' I see? Madam, I am two thousand years old."

"…You don't look it," she commented, after a moment. "But, at any rate, it's clear to anyone who'd meet you that you care about your kids—that's something rare. And with my former son-in-law, I know that from experience; he hasn't bothered to check on Marin since the divorce. Just sends the alimony and nary a word."

"I'm sorry," Vincent replied, sincerely. He paused. "I have to turn my attention back to the problem of the ghosts; however, before I go…" He conjured a bouquet of golden orchids and handed them to Millie. "Take these—sell them, if you wish, and use the money to find somewhere better to live."

"Oh…!" She stared, open-mouthed, as she took the golden flowers. "…Oh, bless your heart…! But I don't know if I can accept these!"

"Hold onto them while you think about it, then—perhaps discuss it with your daughter and granddaughter," Vincent insisted. "Good day, Madam."

"A true gentleman, that Vincent," Mew chuckled. "Anyways, the gang returns a couple of hours later, disappointed about not solving the mystery yet, due to the HOA closing down most of the shops. However, they started putting together the clues and planning a trap to capture all the false ghosts, along with catching the poltergeist since Hades still wants to know how powerful Vincent is.

"However, the gang all fall asleep since they didn't get any sleep the previous night, prompting Vincent to take the Chest of Demons and go out to find the poltergeist so that the gang wouldn't get harmed by the poltergeist.

"Hours later, Daphne gets woken up by a phone call from the Chronicle, giving her some good news that causes her to not realize Vincent isn't there," Mew said.

It was another couple of hours before the others awakened, and, even then, it probably would've been much longer had Daphne's phone not blared its "Dancing Queen" ringtone again. Daphne sleepily picked it up—and froze.

"It's the Chronicle!" she exclaimed.

She waved for the others to be quiet as they murmured in excitement.

"Hello?" she asked. "No, it's not too late, Mr. Appleton; I appreciate you calling. …This was something you thought I'd want to know right away? Well, sure—what is it?" She crossed her fingers as she listened. "…Really!? Him, too!? Oh, gosh…! Thank you so much! Yes, I'm sure we'll have a great story out to you right away! Thanks again, Mr. Appleton!"

She ended the call and threw her arms around Shaggy.

"We made it, Shaggy! We're both official members of the Chronicle's investigative reporting team—directly employed and no longer freelance!" she exclaimed.

"Both of us!?" Shaggy asked, hugging her back.

"Yes! …Apparently, they found some of the articles about our high school adventures from the Floridian papers and realized how good a team we are—we'll both be reporting to Mr. Appleton."

"We knew you'd make it, Daphne!" Scrappy grinned.

"Rheah, and we can relp, too!" Scooby added.

"You bet we will!" Flim-Flam said. He turned towards the dining room. "Hey, Vince! Break out the sparkling cider—we're celebrating!"

There was no response, and Flim-Flam's grin faded.

"The gang shortly realize how long they've been asleep, and that Vincent went after the poltergeist. They used the crystal ball and the Specter Detector to realize that Vincent, the poltergeist, and Bogel and Weerd are at the Pleasant Valley Gym, so they head over there.

"However, they noticed there's a fourth ghost. At first, they thought it's Asmodeus, until…" Mew trailed off, horrified by what he saw.

"Where's the fourth…?" Flim-Flam began, but then gasped as he stared upward at the ceiling.

Following his gaze, they saw a gigantic spirit in the form of a glowing, green skull with a shadowy aura—the jawbones were opened, revealing several smaller, writhing skulls. It wasn't Asmodeus, but it was clearly more powerful than the poltergeist—and Vincent didn't seem to be aware of its presence as it silently moved towards him, thanks in part to the other three spirits making sure his attention was focused on them.

"Mr. V—look out!" Shaggy yelled, being the first to find his voice. "Behind you—and up!"

If Vincent had been surprised to hear Shaggy's voice, he didn't show it—though that was largely in part due to him turning around and looking up as Shaggy had instructed to focus on the gigantic skull spirit heading towards him.

"Temporal Chains!"

The gigantic spirit was held in midair.

"Thank goodness for Shaggy warning Vincent. Otherwise, who knows what would happen to him? I mean, we all know what happens when an angel gets hit by that thing!" Mew said.

8-Bit music plays as the Orne approaches Pit, before causing a game over due to One-Hit Kill.

Mew shuddered in horror. "However, Bogel, Weerd and the poltergeist are pissed off at the fact that Vincent didn't get killed by the Orne, so the poltergeist knocks out Shaggy with a kettlebell, and plans on killing the gang.

"However, the poltergeist pissed off Vincent so badly, Vincent decided to try and kill the poltergeist, only for Daphne to stop him," Mew said.

"May your foul darkness suffer in the light," Vincent hissed, raising his left arm again to cast a rage-empowered Diaga spell.

And something about this just didn't sit right with Daphne.

"Vincent, wait!" she called. "Vincent, I think that's enough…! You can get it with the Chest now!" She drew closer, placing her right hand on Vincent's left arm—and getting a clearer feel of the power coursing through him. "I know you're upset because that thing hurt Shaggy—we all are. But what was that you told us the other night? 'Don't let something so noble and pure become tainted into something dark.' You said we were better than that. Well… so are you." She felt a spark of hope as Vincent froze, and then turned to stare at her. "Please, Vincent… We don't want to lose you—in any way, but especially not like this. …That was the one request I had that I mentioned last night—with everything going on now with Asmodeus and Hades, I know the pressure's on, but… please, don't do anything that'll end up with us losing you."

Vincent now glanced over at Flim-Flam and the dogs, who were by the still-out cold Shaggy's side, but they were also glancing back at him, silently waiting to see what he would do.

The warlock sighed as he regained his grip on his emotions, and the fiery aura around him faded. Daphne hugged him in relief; he briefly returned it with his right arm before drawing the Chest of Demons out, pulling both the poltergeist and the gigantic skull spirit into it.

He handed the Chest off to Daphne as they ran over to Shaggy and the others, who made way for him. Once again, Vincent gently passed his hand over Shaggy—

"Esuna."

It was, once again, instantaneous; much to the relief of the others, Shaggy stirred and awakened almost immediately.

"After telling Shaggy that Vincent put the poltergeist and the Orno in the Chest of Demons, everyone notices that the false ghosts arrived at the gym via cars. Soon, they trapped the false ghosts and unmasked them, revealing them to be…"

She pulled the glowing hood off of the nearest ghost, revealing a furious Josh, his ears burning red with embarrassment. "I knew it. And that means that the rest of these 'ghosts' are…" She pulled a second hood, revealing Mrs. Reece. "The rest of the HOA!"

Scooby now pulled a third hood, revealing Kevin, who scowled back at Scooby.

"I never could stand dogs…" he muttered.

"We can't stand you, either," Scrappy countered.

"So they were behind the hauntings all along?" Flim-Flam asked.

"That's right," Daphne said. "They wanted justification for moving onto the land outside town—near the site of the old ghost town. What better way than to by pretending look after the residents and helping them get away from a 'ghost problem' that they set up themselves?"

"I get it," Shaggy said. "They'd eventually pretend to get rid of the ghosts here and re-sell these properties for more money. But then the real poltergeist showed up, and then we showed up trying to catch the poltergeist."

"Rheah—everyone was meddling this time," Scooby chuckled.

"Just what do you intend to do about it?" Mrs. Reece demanded.

"I'm sure the state authorities will be interested in knowing what was going on over at that historical site—even after they told you to cease and desist," Daphne said. "As for what was going on here… We got the poltergeist we came for—no thanks to you. And Shaggy and I have our first story as the newest members of the Chronicle's investigative reporting team—I'm sure these antics will be one heck of a story!"

"I knew it! I knew Josh and Mrs. Reece was the culprits! But no, I was wrong," Mew said, giving Regidrago a flat look.

"Seems like I made an error in judgement," Regidrago said.

"Wait, why didn't you believe him?" Regieleki asked.

"Because of these character traits," Regidrago said, handing Regieleki the crumpled up list.

"...Bro, being a stalker is a reason to suspect someone. Along with the way Mrs. Reece and the rest of the HOA acts," Regieleki said.

"Wait, they changed those laws?" Regidrago said.

"Yes, bro. They did. Though narcissism isn't a major reason to accuse someone," Regieleki states.

"What about Gaston from Beauty and the Beast?" Regice asked.

"Which one?" Regieleki asked.

"The animated one." Regice said.

"Oh. Oh! You're right, narcissism is a reason to suspect someone," Regieleki said.

"Anyways, the state police arrest the HOA, the residents decide to be in charge of Pleasant Valley while not batting an eye at the fact about Vincent being a warlock, and Vincent and the gang return to Tibet, where Athena praised them for their mission.

"However, Daphne asks Athena about how Asamad became Asmodeus, which Athena knows the reason why she's asking, and tells everyone what they want to know, along with the very thing they've been trying to convince Vincent," Mew said.

"Begging your pardon," she said. "But I really was wondering… Do you know how Asamad became Asmodeus?"

Vincent's head snapped up; he looked as though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer, given what it might mean for him. But, at this point, he couldn't not know.

Athena looked into Daphne's eyes, and Daphne maintained eye contact while bowing respectfully.

"I know why you're asking me this," the goddess realized. She smiled. "Asamad willingly took on the form of Asmodeus to reach a form that could sustain his growing power. When I saw that he was beyond redemption, I locked him into that form, so that his exterior would match his darkened heart." Athena looked away. "I know I have a reputation among mortals for turning people into monsters as punishment, but, in all cases, I did so to reflect their dark hearts. Medusa and her sisters were the same way—what happened to Medusa at the hands of my Lord Uncle Poseidon was… utterly horrific. But, unlike what the legends insist, I never blamed her for that. I didn't even blame her and her sisters for blaspheming—blaming me for not stopping it from happening. I turned them into Gorgons after they started attacking my followers. When they continued to attack innocent people after that, that was when I had to intervene and see to it that Medusa was stopped for good and her sisters were driven away. As with Asamad, I had given them so many chances to stop and redeem themselves, but they cast those chances aside each time. Should they ever reconsider and seek redemption, I would consider it." She glanced back at Vincent now. "And I know what else you wish to know—you wish to know if the demonic form that Asmodeus is now is hereditary."

There was a sustained silence in the study.

"…Is it…?" Shaggy asked. "You said that Mr. V's power is greater than Asmodeus's—what if his power gets to that point where… something's gotta give? What'll happen then?"

"I cannot say for certain," Athena admitted. "But I will say this—Vincent is a very unique individual in a very unique situation. He is certainly capable of falling to vice and following the same path that Asamad took—and that is what Asmodeus and Hades are hoping for. But Vincent is equally capable of choosing another path—a path that he is already well on his way down, thanks to all of you—because, you see, he has chosen to value something else rather than power."

Vincent exhaled, his shoulders slumping in relief—and prompting the others to crowd around him, drawing him into yet another group hug

"…And there it is," Athena said, with a smile. "Your power is growing, Vincent—but you should be fine, as long as you remember that you are so very loved, and that you chose to focus on returning it above all else."

"I am reminded of that frequently, My Lady," Vincent assured her, returning the group hug surrounding him. He had, after all, responded to Daphne's plea to calm down when he'd been on the verge of unleashing his temper on the poltergeist.

"Good," Athena replied. "I shall leave you to your reminder now. Until next time."

She exited through the doorway of light, which closed behind her, leaving the others in this serene state.

"…Can I just say one thing?" Daphne asked, after a moment.

"What?" Vincent queried.

"…I told you so."

"She's got you there, Vincent." Mew joked. "Anyways, as everyone else watches the rest of the dog show, Shaggy and Vincent talk about what happened in the gym, before Shaggy asks Vincent to get rid of his scared personality, only for Vincent to give him some advice."

"I was making an effort to be intimidating," Vincent reminded him. "But that's beside the point—you wish to change that facet of your personality, correct?"

"Yeah, exactly that!" Shaggy agreed. "Can you help me with that?"

"Can I? Yes. But there is something you must consider first."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Vincent pulled an emerald from his cape pocket and handed it to Shaggy.

"Hold that up," he instructed.

"Okay…" Shaggy said, doing as instructed. "…What am I looking at here?"

"A representation of yourself," Vincent said.

"…Huh?"

"That emerald is like you—multifaceted, but those facets, put together, make up the whole gem."

"…Okay, yeah, I see that."

"But what would happen if we changed just one of those facets?" Vincent asked.

"It'd be weird in that one place, unless you changed all the other facets and made it smaller…" Shaggy trailed off.

"Changing one facet of your personality will change who you are as a whole," Vincent finished. "Is that what you really want to do—especially when you've shown that you can still do what must be done in spite of your fears?"

"…No, not really," Shaggy admitted, handing him back the emerald. "Thanks, Mr. V."

"Anytime," Vincent assured him. "Now let's go back and join the others."

"And the story ends with Vincent and Shaggy returning back to the study with everyone else, due to Vincent wanting to spend time with his family of choice. And that was The Pleasant Valley Poltergeist and my gods, it's so awesome.

"Sure, Crystal Rose of Pollux didn't bring up the fact that the Doos are rich, but then again, given the way the HOA are, I doubt they would care if any dog is rich or not, so I'll let that slide.

"Other than that, this story had set up a couple of things we could expect to see later on, and I'm excited to see how they get handled. Especially the eventual battle between Vincent and Asmodeus.

"Anyways, I'm the Critical Mew, and I review these things so you don't have to. And if you excuse me, all of this talk about the second season got me to realize something...I didn't review the original show," Mew said.

"Um, Mew? There's something you should see," Victini said.

"What is...it?" Mew said, looking up and seeing something that hasn't been seen on Earth for 18 years: Virus Groudon, heading down towards the Hoenn Region.

"...I'll call Necrozma," Mew said, flying off to the nearest phone.

At the same time, Hoopa was floating above the Tree of Beginning. "Now where did the hoop go? The one that was left behind back in January?" Hoopa asked, looking around, until he saw it.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, rushing towards the hoop.

However, a pair of hands suddenly forced themselves out of the hoop, stopping Hoopa in his tracks. The hands belonged to a pair of glowing eyes, reflecting the flames that were in the background of whatever dimension the hoop had opened. Hoopa screamed like a girl as he opened another hoop and went through it, escaping whatever abomination was coming out of his hoop.

Next time: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo

Credits:

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries

Crystal Rose of Pollux's The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo Season 2

Live-Action Scooby-Doo Film

Lindsay Ellis's Live Action Beauty and the Beast review

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo

The Swan Princess franchise

Kid Icarus: Uprising

The Legend of Zelda franchise

Disney's Descendants

Disney's Hercules

Once Upon A Time

God of War

Star Wars

Bulbapedia

Nurse Joy Creepypasta

Laff-A-Lympics

Bubsy

Archie Comics

(I had finished writing this on my 22nd birthday, August 9th, 2021. Just thought to let everyone know. Have a good day, and hope you enjoyed this episode.)