Author's Note: In the two years of writing A Study in a Missing Will on FictionPress as part of Garfield Stephenson Wu's origin story for Dimension Seven and the three years since I've started this story, I have came to appreciate the world-building process I have proposed for the series.

The series started out as a replacement of the previous Dimension 52 City of Mysteries series (Now completely discontinued) with a completely different story line and a reimagining of my Dimension Four series with the darker, grittier and realistic setting of Coolsville Central, on top of being a special series published to mark the occasion for the 50th Anniversary of the Scooby-Doo franchise.

Suffice to say, the story worked out better than I've imagined, especially as it is my intent to have actual supernatural and magical events in Dimension Four, and while it is possible to maintain a dark and more serious depiction of the magical setting, it just doesn't feel the same as making it more realistic and gritty.

Couple that with everything that has happened over the course of the 2020s so far, I have since decided to do a remastering of this story to bring it in line with A Study in a Missing Will and reignite my inspiration to continue on with the series as I keep having writer's block with The Blue Falcon Begins.

The bulk of the story will remain essentially the same as previously, major differences would be the addition of a prologue, which I have since came to enjoy utilizing for the first entry of my stories.

As a matter a fact, it was the prologue for A Study in a Missing Will that motivated me to decide that the purpose of the remastering of this story would be better served with one.

Also, I have since concluded that the story behind Blake Enterprises should be revised to further enhance the realistic setting and provide for a recurring feature throughout the duration of the series.

As noted previously, this series replaces the original Scooby-Doo! Earth One series I have previously published, with this story replacing The Secret of Weinrib Trail, on account of how dissatisfied I was with how the story had turned out. In particular, I was not happy with the way I've depicted Shaggy's relationship with Daphne.

As such, this story functions as my retooling of The Secret of Weinrib Trail, namely revamping the storyline and moving it to the 1960s setting, while I undertake an ongoing remastering of Coolsville Central and the Earth One series by making the latter a limited series with three entries.

Speaking of Shaggy's relationship with Daphne, which was one of the things I was satisfied with for this story, a lot of the inspiration behind the evolution of their relationship throughout what I have planned out for the course of the series came from Crystal Rose of Pollux, specifically with the Season 2 of the 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo stories.

In particular, their behaving like an old married couple was an unexpected and amusing source of humour that I liked so much that I intend to incorporate that into the series as part of the evolution of their relationship.

Another author whose stories have been a great inspiration was Glide10001's Adult Scooby series. The attention-to-detail in the series was definitely what further inspired me to remaster this series and further supplement the darker and grittier setting of this series.

Anyways, hope you all enjoy this remastering and feel free to read and review at any time!

I don't own Scooby-Doo. Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does.

Chapter 1: Prolugue and another lousy Monday

March 9, 1961

If there was one word to describe the atmosphere outside the lime green 1960 Ford Falcon driving down Lafayette Avenue in Coolsville, California, gloomy was the first word to come to mind, on account of the heavy rainfall and the dark clouds in the sky.

Seven-year old Norville Rogers was looking rather glum as he was seated in the backseat of the Falcon while his mother Wendy Rogers, nee Amon, was driving behind the wheel that Thursday afternoon.

The glum look on his face didn't went unnoticed by his mother as the Falcon approached the intersection with Wayne Avenue, where the traffic lights were green for Lafayette.

In spite of the afternoon rush hour, the road ahead of the Falcon was mostly clear, mainly on account of the fact that they were travelling towards downtown Coolsville while the bulk of the traffic was travelling in the opposite direction towards the suburbs.

As a matter a fact, Wendy was presently taking Norville to the Coolsville General Hospital, where he was due to take his polio shots.

Glancing towards the rear view mirror briefly, Wendy noted the glum look on her son's face before she asked, "Is something bothering you, Norville?"

Norville sighed. "I don't like needles."

"I understand, sweetie." Wendy nodded. "Though it is important that you have your vaccinations up-to-date and get your polio shots, Norville. The shots helps train your immune system to fight against the polio virus, which would most certainly make you very sick if you caught it and didn't have the vaccine."

Norville exhaled as his mother continued, "I'm sure you remembered Kelsey from next door not being able to use his legs, do you?"

"I do, Mom." Norville nodded. "And I get that you're worried that I would need to use a wheelchair or end up in those iron lungs. Like, even I'm afraid of catching the virus and ending up in a wheelchair or iron lung, it's just that the needles-"

"Like I said, sweetie, I understand." Wendy briefly reached over to gently touch his arm. "All it takes is just that one needle for you to get your shot, and it'll be over before you know it."

"I'm sure it will." Norville said. "Though I don't understand why doesn't Maggie have to get her polio shot?"

"When she reaches your age, Norville, she will get hers." Wendy explained. "The reason why you're getting your polio shot now is that you're at an age where the shot would be the most effective in helping your immune system in fighting the polio virus."

Norville nodded thoughtfully, during which Wendy noted that the traffic lights at the intersection with Wayne Avenue has turned yellow, which prompted her to gently pressing the brake.

However, the Falcon didn't slow down even as she pressed down further on the brake, which prompted Wendy to frown.

"That's odd..." Wendy remarked quietly, during which Norville noticed that the lights have turned red.

Seeing that they were not slowing down, Norville said, "Mom, the light's red, shouldn't we be slowing down...?"

"Mommy can see that." Wendy said as she continued to try to press down on the brake pedal.

Although the Falcon was finally starting to slow down, mainly on account of the uphill grading of the approach to the intersection with Wayne Avenue, it wasn't enough for it to come to a complete stop before the stop line.

Right as the Falcon crossed the stop line, Wendy turned to her left and her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my G*d!" Wendy exclaimed as she saw a tractor-trailer on Wayne Avenue fast-approaching them from the left.

"Mom!" Norville screamed just as the truck horn blared.

It was the last thing Norville remembered seeing just before the impact and the roll over, then everything went black.

October 7, 1968

(Shaggy's Point of View)

MOM! That was the last thought that blared right through my mind before the alarm went off, and then a large pain shot right through my left arm just as I opened my eyes and turned towards the alarm clock.

Of course it's 6:00. Right on schedule.

I sure wish I had a mallet with me right now, just so that I could smash the blasted alarm clock and catch a few more winks.

However, given that it is Monday today, I suppose I'd have to push myself to get out of bed and not sleep in.

In fact, the last time I tried to sleep in, I ended up missing the school bus and arrived at school 30 minutes late.

Suffice to say, Dad sure had a huge fit that day when he got the late note from school, and...well, let's just say that he doesn't need me to contribute more pressure to his already-stressful day.

Anyways, I groaned before I stretched and got out of bed and proceeded with my usual morning routine.

Man, am I long overdue to have my room tidied up. I swear that it's getting more difficult for me to find my stuff in the pile of clothes I frequently tossed around for convenience sake.

At this point, there's nothing much I could do about it, except for trying to remember to clean up my room on Sundays.

With the painkillers I have to take everyday, it's really difficult for me to remember the exact details of what I've planned for myself the previous day or week.

Once I've finished using the washroom and changed into my usual favourite set of clothes, mainly a plain green shirt and a pair of brown pants, I grabbed my school bag and made my way up the stairs to the living room.

Oh, I almost forgot about introducing myself. The name's Rogers. Norville Rogers, though most people at school call me Shaggy, on account of the shaggy-hair style I was frequently recognized for, not that I minded.

In fact, I still don't get what possessed Dad to name me "Norville" when I was born fifteen years ago in 1953.

Either way, on my way up the stairs, I wake up my old pal Scooby Doo as I always do every morning.

One thing to note is that Scoob's been around with my family for a while. Heard that Dad got him as a gift from a Marine friend of his after they apparently broke up a dog-fighting ring in some distant country called Vietnam a few years ago.

When I arrived at the dining room, I spotted my younger sister Margaret, who most people calls her "Maggie", at the table eating her cereal as she always does, along with a plate filled with stacks of pancakes.

"Was wondering when you were gonna get up, Norville." Maggie said to me as I took my seat and poured myself a glass of milk.

"Well, I'm up now, Mags." I replied. "Wouldn't want Dad to have another fit when he receives a late note from Central."

"I'm sure you don't, Norville." Maggie said as I began to dig in. "Anyways, Dad's off to work again, sounds like the case has been occupying him a lot lately."

"The Werewolf Case?" I asked, and Maggie nodded. "Man, this sure is getting crazy, isn't it?"

"Won't I know it, Norville." Maggie agreed. "Especially when there's this werewolf out there snatching girls from the streets."

"Just another reason why I never go out alone at night, Mags." I nodded. "After all, you need to be under a moon in order to transform into a werewolf."

"Anyways." Maggie said as she took a sip of her glass of water. "Moving on, how's your arm?"

I glanced at my left arm as Mags made the remark, and then I nodded at her. "Swell, Mags. Nothing the painkillers couldn't handle."

"You do know that you're supposed to only take two pills each day, right?" Maggie narrowed her eyes, and I was getting rather uncomfortable with the tone in her voice.

"Uh...of course I do, Mags." I quickly said. "What...makes you think I'm taking more than two a day?"

"Just a hunch." Maggie replied. "You've complained that the prescribed amount of two pills per day didn't do much to mitigate the pain, and I've noticed that you've been using your left arm more frequently than early on following your surgery."

I winced. "Like, I've been feeling better lately, Mags. There's no reason why I would take more than two pills at a time everyday."

"Sure, if you say so." Maggie shrugged. "I'm just warning that if you keep taking more than two pills a day, I'm afraid that Dad's gonna have you check into rehab, because I know those pills. They can be addictive, and trust me, if you don't admit that you've got a problem, then you're gonna have an overdose, and when that happens..."

Maggie stopped herself as she looked at me in the eye, and noticing the emotions welling in her eyes, I immediately reached over to gently touch her hair.

"It won't happen, Mags." I quickly said. "Not under my watch it won't."

Let me get down to the background setting before I dive into the rest of my day.

My family and I live in Coolsville, which is the largest city and county seat of Crystal Cove County, though we are not natives of the city.

To dive into me and Mags' background, it is necessary for me to introduce my parents.

My father is Samuel Chastain Rogers, and he's a cop. However, like most of his peers at work, Dad had served in the military prior to becoming a police officer.

Born in New York in 1921, Dad grew up at a time when the so-called Great War was a recent memory, his own father and my grandfather Clancy having had returned home from the Western Front after being demobilized in 1919.

Like many of his peers, Dad was facing the draft after he graduated from high school in '39, though he decided to voluntarily enlist in the Marine Corps and was shipped off to boot camp on Parris Island for the seven-week training.

After the US entered the war in '41, Dad saw plenty of action overseas, particularly as a Marine Raider in the Pacific Theatre.

He eventually moved to inactive reserves as a sergeant following demobilization in '45, which is when he enrolled in college.

His four years of college eventually saw him returning to the Marines as a commissioned officer, where he went on to take on several more posts here and overseas before he decided to call it quits as a lieutenant colonel in '61.

To date, Dad didn't discuss much about his exploits as a Marine, though let's just say that many of the missions he was involved in were classified in nature, requiring special operations-type expertise and secrecy.

What I do know was that during his four years in inactive reserves, Dad joined the NYPD and got his badge in '47 after two years of training at the police academy, on top of his college studies in criminology.

In addition, it was during his posting in Korea that led Dad to Mom.

My mother was Wendy Amon, and she used to be a doctor.

At the time she first met Dad, Mom was working as a medical air evacuation nurse in the then-newly-created Air Force, and like Dad, Mom saw plenty of action, as an Air Force medic, during WWII in the Women's Army Corps.

Long story short, Mom and Dad got married while on leave from Korea in '52, and I was born in New York the following year on April 27th.

It was also in that year that Mom was discharged from the Air Force as a captain, which was when she began working as a nurse in the Brooklyn Hospital.

Maggie followed two years later in '55, and then six years later, shortly after Dad's discharge from the Marines, we moved from New York to Coolsville after he received a transfer to the Coolsville Police Department as a detective.

Now, I'm sure you all have noticed that I've referred to Mom in past tense. There's a reason for that, and it had to do with the accident that fateful Thursday at Lafayette and Wayne seven years ago, not long after we settled in Coolsville.

My memory was still foggy from that fateful day, but boy do I remember the surreal feeling of me putting the pieces together and eventually confirming that Mom was killed on impact.

Now that I think about it, it would seem that Dad was hesitant to tell me while I was still recovering in the hospital that Mom was dead, but the depressed look on Maggie's face, and Mom's absense tipped me off.

My worst suspicions were soon confirmed not long after I was discharged, when Dad took Maggie and I to Mom's funeral.

At the time of me attending the funeral, I wasn't just fighting to keep my emotions in check.

My left arm was giving me plenty of hard time in the days while I was recovering from the accident, and I remembered Dad being furious at the doctors when he visited after the surgery.

Suffice to say, there were complications from my surgery, complications that has left me with the non-stop lingering pain in my left arm, hence the reason for me being prescribed painkillers.

After breakfast, it was my turn to take Scooby out for a walk while Maggie does the dishes.

If you're worrying about the time, then don't worry. We never take Scoob out for a long walk, and besides, I need the walk to make my stomach feel better after breakfast, not to mention that we still got 30 minutes before the bus shows up.

It was the usual morning breeze that Scoob and I encountered during the walk, though it was sure cloudy up there in the sky.

From what I heard on the radio last night, they're calling for heavy rain today, and the rumbling clouds in the distance, coupled with the distance thunder, confirms just that.

Knowing that it's gonna start pouring any minute, I decided to take Scoob out on a shorter walk.

As we walked past a storm drain, Scoob decided to stop by it and sniff the cover.

Normally, I wouldn't mind him sniffing around, but with the wind picking up speed, I need Scoob to keep moving.

"Like, come on, Scoob." I said to Scoob as I tugged him gently on the leash. "We gotta keep moving if we wanna stay dry."

Scoob whined in response, and I tugged him a couple more times.

"Come on, man." I said. "We don't have all morning."

Scoob whined as he turned towards me, then I knelt down.

"What's the matter, buddy?" I asked. "Something in the storm drain?"

Scooby turned towards the cover, and then his eyes darted towards me.

I took a closer look at the storm drain, and then I turned towards Scooby.

"Like, there's nothing special in there, Scoob." I said. "It's not like there's gonna be a murderous clown hiding in there with a red balloon."

As Scooby whined, the thunder in the distance roared again, and I tugged Scooby by the collar once more.

"Now come on." I said as Scooby reluctantly joined me. "We need to get home before it starts pouring."

Turns out I was right about the rain. Not long after Scoob and I got home, it started pouring down hard, and by the time the school bus pulled into the stop, our umbrellas weren't enough to shield us from the pouring rain.

At least Mags and I weren't soaked wet from the sudden downpour, though the same can't be said about the guys that got on the bus later.

Either way, much of the bus ride was largely uneventful, except for the ten minutes we spent stuck in a traffic jam on Constitution Parkway, owing to a traffic accident up ahead at the intersection with Virginia Avenue.

We got a better look at the source of the traffic jam as the bus was directed to cross Virginia Avenue by a cop directing traffic. The scene sure looked quite nasty, especially with the tractor trailer reducing two cars it has collided with into mere scrap iron.

Anyways, it was 7:15 when the school bus pulled into the main entrance of Coolsville Central High School, and everyone promptly picked up their bags and made their way off the bus.

One thing to note is that while Mags and I don't attend Central High together, her school, Riverwood Middle School, is located just next door to Central High, hence the reason why she and I were on the same school bus.

Once I made my way through the school main entrance, I went through my usual routine before heading for my History class in first period.

Honestly, history class is one of the most boring classes I've ever took, and if the course wasn't compulsory for me to take, then I would've chosen another class.

At least my Music class in second period is much more interesting, particularly with my practicing the guitar and piano for class and getting to play a number of interesting pieces.

Either way, after lunch period comes my Civics class in third period, and then my school day is rounded out by Chemistry class in fourth period.

While I find Civics class to be particularly boring, I do find the topics on aspects of politics, particularly our rights as citizens, elections and the political spectrum to be intriguing.

Now, I'm not really a religious follower of politics, though with the ongoing nation-wide anti-war protests in opposition to our involvement in the ongoing war in Vietnam, it's really hard not to ignore everything that was taught in civics class, especially when the upcoming elections in November enters the picture.

And from what I've heard in the news, the upcoming elections itself have a number of backdrops that makes the year itself tumultuous.

In addition to the nation-wide anti-Vietnam War protests, you've also got the assassinations of a major leader in the civil rights movement this past April and the attorney general that was a leading party candidate who was the brother of a president that was himself assassinated in '63.

Further adding to this mess is a certain Governor of Alabama contesting the election as a third-party candidate, campaigning in favour of reinstating racial segregation under a doctrine known as "Separate but equal".

In all honesty, I fail to see the logic of racial segregation, especially the need to judge one simply by the colour of his/her skin.

I especially scratch my head at the doctrine of "separate but equal" that was cited as the reasons behind racial segregation. All in all, in theory, from what I understand, black people attend separate institutions from white people like me and use separate utilities and live in different housing communities and should be well-equipped for the necessities of everyday life.

However, from what I've heard from a few friends, a number of black schools are, if anything, well-equipped for teaching the skills and knowledge needed for eventually entering the workforce.

Public water fountains catered to coloured people, if anything, rarely work and often looks worn-out, whereas the water fountains white people use often look more shiny, well-maintained and modern by comparison.

Come to think of it, it's my belief that the end goal of racial segregation was purposefully denying coloured people, especially blacks, the same opportunities as white people in order to reinforce the negative stereotypes of black people and other coloured groups and further justify this obviously discriminatory policy.

It was times like this that make me thankful that I've never resided in the southern states while growing up, even though as a white guy, I wouldn't be subjected to these discriminatory policies, though I could certainly land myself in trouble if I stand up for those that couldn't stand up for themselves.

With all of this mess going on, it sure makes me wonder what this world is coming to nowadays.

Lunch period came at the usual time of 10:30 for me, and as per my usual routine, I went over to the usual table with the guys.

However, on my way over to the table, I heard a familiar angry voice calling out, "Hey!"

With an exhale, I decided to turn around towards the source of that angry voice. Big mistake.

Standing opposite to me stood Frederick "Fred" Jones and his pals from the school football team, one of whom being Randolph "Red" Herring, the school bully, and judging the look on Fred's face, he sure look pissed as he glared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't you play dumb with us, Rogers." Red said as Fred grabbed me by the collar. "We know what you did."

"Did what?" I arched my eyebrows.

"Maybe you should consider getting a better brain, Rogers." Fred said. "You wouldn't happen to know how Troy Drake gotten his hands onto those painkillers you seem to be taking on a daily basis last Friday, do you?"

Troy Drake is the quarterback on the school football team and is in a couple of my classes. He gives me an impression of not exactly being the brightest tool in the shed, though, not to mention being quite the trouble maker who has seems to be a regular resident of detention.

"Wouldn't know a thing, Jones." I shook my head. "First off, I need those painkillers to stop the lingering pain in my left arm, and second off, I've never brought my painkiller pill bottle to school for exactly this reason."

Wrong answer, because next thing you know, Fred slammed me right into the nearby wall.

"Bulls**t, Rogers." Fred growled at me. "You know d**n well that Troy and painkillers aren't a good mix, because he was seeing things and screwin' around the field during practice last Friday."

"Needless to say, Coach Clay made it clear that unless we take care of the pill problem, we can kiss this years championships goodbye." Red added.

"Like, you got any evidence that I brought my pill bottle to school last Friday?" I challenged them.

"The fact that you're always this hippie-type that doesn't seem to be able to distinguish between his left and right feet is enough evidence that you've always got painkillers on your person." Fred retorted.

"Yeah." Red agreed. "Perhaps you should get off those painkillers before you start seeing bigger things that makes you think that the school's being attacked by Communists."

I simply huffed in defiance, and Fred narrowed his eyes as he leaned closer to my face.

"Let me say this only once, Rogers." The blonde gritted his teeth. "Either you lock your pills up at home properly or I will go to Principal Deedle and see to it that you get suspended or even expelled for bringing controlled substances to school. Understood?"

I only stared at him blankly, though glancing at Red pounding his fist on his left hand, all I could do was to sigh and nod.

"Good." Fred glared before he grabbed me by the collar once again and shoved me aside. "Now beat it!"

As I hastily picked up my pace and moved out, Fred and his gang turned around and saw a group of other students staring.

Although I didn't look back, I'm pretty sure that Red had the usual annoyed look on his face as he barked, "What the h*ll are you guys lookin' at?"

It's barely even noontime and already, this is turning out to be just another lousy Monday at school for me.

Happy 50th Scooby-Doo Anniversary, folks!

Please read and review!