"Like what was all of that about?" Shaggy asked once Ophelia was out of view.
"I don't know," Daphne began. "But she really doesn't want to be around Asamad for some reason."
Asamad looked away and sighed. Even though it's been so long now, he truly had never forgotten about what happened between him and Ophelia.
"I know why she doesn't want to be around me," he told everyone.
"Well, what is the reason?" Vincent wondered.
"I am not comfortable with talking about the whole thing. However, our last fight before I was locked within the chest is a fight that I will regret forever. I was such a fool for what I said and did to her."
"I see. Things didn't end so well between the two of you last time," Flim Flam realized.
Asamad confirmed that with a nod.
"She should not stay here any longer. She needs to move onto the afterlife, or else she'll never be able to rest in peace, and will instead spend all of eternity in this place. I can't have that happen to her. Which is why I'm going to need all of your help. We've got to find a way to get her to move onto the afterlife, and perhaps, get her to talk to me again without wanting to fight," he said.
"Don't worry, we will do whatever it takes to fix this," Daphne told him.
The others nodded in agreement.
"I sincerely appreciate it," the red ghost smiled.
"If you want her to talk to you again, however, I would advise you to not yell at her. Of course, it isn't right if she yells first, but you shouldn't make her more upset by yelling back at her," Vincent offered.
"You're right. I will try my best to not be angry with her, although she's being incredibly frustrating! It may be difficult, but if it will help our relationship, I'm willing to do so."
"We have to find out where she went first though. I mean, obviously she's still here, but this castle is a very different version from the one we are used to," Shaggy pointed out. "So, it'll probably be difficult getting around to which part of the castle Ophelia's in since almost everything here is unfamiliar to most of us."
"That might be true, but I'm sure we will find our way around somehow," Velma responded.
"Yeah, and Asamad probably still remembers a lot about this place, so he'll be able to let us know where everything is," Flim Flam added.
Asamad started to walk away now.
"I am sure that I remember more than enough to help all of you find your way around," he announced. "Just follow me."
Everyone else nodded, and followed after him through the castle.
After making their way through the castle for quite some time, the gang went upstairs and stumbled upon a single portrait of a woman. She had dark eyes, and dark hair that was mostly tied up in a bun except for two streaks of her hair in the front.
Like everything else, the portrait was damaged, but not enough for everyone to not see the woman's face.
"Who's that?" Flim Flam wondered.
Daphne took a look at the name-plate underneath, realizing who it belonged to.
"This is Ophelia's portrait," she told him.
"So that's what she looked like when she was alive," Shaggy said. "I don't know why she would damage her own portrait though."
"Maybe she doesn't want to remember who she was in life," Jayden guessed.
"I don't think it's that," Vincent disagreed. "Perhaps it was like that when she arrived here."
He then trailed off as he took another glance at the portrait for a moment.
"Wait, I remember that I have seen this portrait before. When I was younger, of course."
"Rou seen rhis before?" Scooby questioned in surprise.
"Yes. Although, my parents did not tell me anything about her being married to Asamad, or really anything about her. I was taught about my other ancestors, but never Ophelia," he recalled.
"Well, Ophelia certainly was never the type to damage her own portrait. She very much liked her portrait back then. So, it was definitely like that when she arrived here," Asamad confirmed. He then turned to Vincent. "As for why you never learned about her when you were younger, that might be because she didn't want to be remembered as part of the Van Ghoul family after what happened between her and I. But at least she wants to talk to you."
He stared at the portrait once more and then looked down in sadness, while everyone else stared at him in silence.
"Are you feeling okay?" Cheryl asked out of concern.
"I don't think he's doing so well," Velma told her.
"She'll want to talk to you again soon, I promise," Vincent assured him.
"Reah, rit might rake some time, but re'll figure something rout," Scooby added.
"I hope so, because I do not know what I will do if we don't," Asamad replied.
"Well, we should probably continue looking for Ophelia," Jayden reminded everyone.
"I think we're getting closer to finding her, we should just keep going forward," Cheryl suggested.
The gang all walked away from the portrait, continuing their search for Ophelia as they wandered through the upstairs part of the castle.
Ophelia slammed the door shut as she stormed into her and Asamad's study room… well it was really her study room now since she'd been staying in the castle without him for a very long time.
"I cannot believe him! How could he just come back after all this time and expect me to suddenly let him 'help' me like I no longer have any memory of what he did!?" she fumed.
She then sat down in her chair, looking over at the empty chair next to her that once belonged to Asamad, getting lost in her thoughts as she imagined him sitting there right beside her like he used to all those years ago.
She immediately shook her head to make herself snap out of it, not wanting to think about it anymore.
"Ugh, I really need to stop doing that," she said to herself.
Ophelia stood up from the chair and glanced up at Asamad's portrait, still in the same spot it always was. It was the only thing that wasn't damaged at all in the castle.
"What happened to you, Asamad?" she asked, speaking to the portrait. "You're an inhumane being now, and your demonic form really shows it too. I miss the old you, the man I fell in love with and married. Ever since you became obsessed with your magic, I've felt like I don't know who you are anymore. And when you were locked away in the Chest Of Demons, everything became worse."
A few tears fell from her eyes now, with her trying to quickly wipe them away.
"I can't be near you anymore, since you'll cause damage to me again, and possibly to yourself. You ruined our marriage, our only son, and me. You've changed, and not in a good way. Because of that, nothing will ever be the same ever again."
She then walked up to the window, staring at the endless black night that surrounded the place.
"Now I'll be here forever, and you'll eventually give up on me and leave with your friends," she frowned. "Or you might already have, and I do not blame you. For I don't deserve your help, and even if I did, I'm not sure how you could help me at all. Goodbye Asamad, I will never forget you, and I hope you won't forget me either."
There was utter silence for a minute before she unexpectedly heard the sound of the others talking and coming near the door.
"Do you think that she went in here?" Vincent asked.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Daphne answered.
She opened the door, and everyone saw Ophelia standing there near the window, turning her head to look at them.