Author's Note: I hadn't planned on doing a Scoobynatural, but Theinzmann gave me a few good ideas and I had an semi-open evening, so I ran with it. Thanks!
I don't own Supernatural.
***Ember POV***
March 9, Night
"Sam? Dean?" Castiel yelled, walking down the stairs. "We're back from Syria with fruit from the Tree of Life. The tree was guarded by a pack of djinn."
Sam and Dean were nowhere to be found, however. There was a glowing light coming from a room that had previously been a spare bedroom, and they headed that direction. "I killed most of them, bargained with the rest," Castiel continued. "Think I'm... technically married to their queen now. Hello? Sam?"
They walked into the spare room, where Ember found a pool table, a bar, and a large TV which was playing "Scooby-Doo." She rolled her eyes. "He always said he wanted to make a 'Dean Cave', but I didn't think he'd ever actually-…"
"Ember, look!" Castiel exclaimed, staring at the TV.
"It's 'Scooby-Doo,' Cas," Ember said, looking finally at the television. "You've seen it loads of-…"
But there, on the screen, was the Impala, and Dean's voice: "I don't know, Freddie. I'm not sure Baby can go that slow."
"Dean?" asked Castiel and Ember at the same time.
"Well, the Mystery Machine is a lot faster than it looks," said Fred on the television.
"Oh, yeah?" said Dean. "Well, let's see who can get there first. Or are you...chicken?"
"What in the hell?" said Ember. Dean and Sam were both cartoons inside the "Scooby-Doo" episode.
"Well, I'm game if you are," said Fred.
The television began to flicker with purple light. Suddenly there was a jerk behind Ember's navel.
She fell hard onto the ground. When she looked up, she saw the Impala (animated) drive off down an abandoned street, right behind the Mystery Machine.
Then a pair of concerned (animated) blue eyes leaned over her.
"Your vessel has changed," said Castiel's voice. "I must say, I prefer the other one."
Ember looked at her hands, which were animated. "You have got to be kidding me," she said. "We finally got the stupid fruit. And then we're turned into cartoon characters?!" She grabbed the angel's hand awkwardly, surprised that it felt the same as always. Together, they began walking down the street in the general direction that the Impala had taken.
"I, however, like this vessel, for me," Castiel said conversationally as he fell into step beside her. "It seems simpler somehow."
"Yeah?" Ember said, raising her eyebrows at him. "Well, just so you know, we can't have sex as cartoon characters, Cas," she snapped, bad-tempered.
"Oh," he said. Then he tilted his head and gave her a side-long glance. "Why not?"
"Because it's 'Scooby-Doo!' They don't have sex on 'Scooby-Doo!'"
"Oh," Cas said again.
They fell into silence for awhile. Then Ember stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to her. "Oh my God," she said, grinning suddenly. "Dean has always loved 'Scooby-Do.' We used to watch it together. And he wouldn't admit it, but he always had this major crush on Daphne, and he hated Fred…"
"Who?" Castiel asked.
"There's, uh, the Scooby gang," Ember explained. "Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and the dog, Scooby. They solve mysteries, and fight the supernatural. Like us, except with them it never actually turns out to be supernatural, just some evil person trying to pretend to be a ghost to make money somehow."
Ember laughed, her bad mood beginning to lift. She was in "Scooby-Doo!" It had always been her favorite animated TV show. She vaguely remembered watching it with Aidan, Josephine, and Castiel early one Saturday morning four years ago, when they'd first been together. She and Dean had watched it together occasionally before that. It was the only thing they had ever been able to agree to watch on television, because Dean had always preferred movies with lots of men and guns or westerns, and Ember had preferred dramas or comedies.
Finally, they approached a large house. The Impala was parked out front. "Wait a sec," said Ember. "This is the haunted house from, uh…'A Night of Fright is no Delight.'"
"What?" Castiel asked, trying the door. It was locked, so they began to knock.
"It's the episode we're in. Scooby and four of five other people receive equal shares of this haunted mansion in a will," Ember explained.
"No answer," said Castiel, knocking again.
"But in order to claim their share, they all have to make it through the night. The lawyer, Cosgood Creeps, is trying to make people think there's a ghost in the house so they'll forfeit their share and he can keep the money."
"So we should just confront the lawyer," Castiel said.
"If Dean hasn't already ripped him a new one," added Ember. "C'mon, nobody's coming to the door. Let's see if we can get in through the window."
There was a big picture window on the side of the house, which was already beginning to swing open because of the wind. Castiel pulled the latch, and they had just walked inside when Ember felt herself lifted off of her feet, covered in blackness.
"Not today, freak!" she heard Dean yell, and she began to scream and use her force powers to attempt to throw off the blackness. It was mildly effective – the blackness in front of her billowed out, and she heard someone scream, but the blackness behind her pushed her forward, and she went toppling over.
Suddenly she could see again. She realized that Sam had attempted to trap her in the curtains, a feat which had been made more effective by her own force powers. "Ember?" he asked, helping her up.
"Cas?" Dean asked from somewhere behind her.
"Like, you know this guy?" said Shaggy's voice.
"Uh, yeah, yeah," said Sam. "They're friends of ours."
"Neato!" said Daphne.
Dean gave her a wide smile. "Dean, no," said Ember, looking in Daphne's direction.
"Castiel, Ember, meet the Scooby Gang," said Dean, ignoring Ember.
"Castiel?" asked Shaggy. "It sounds like a great Italian pizza place."
"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Castiel awkwardly, sticking out his hand.
"Nice to meet you," agreed Ember, leaning down and petting Scooby on the head.
"Nice to meet you, too," said Scooby.
"Sam, Dean... this dog is talking."
Ember rolled her eyes. She would've asked how Castiel had missed this detail during the morning that he'd watched "Scooby Doo" with the kids, but now that she'd thought about it, he'd been eyeing her for most of the episode…
"Yep," Dean said with another sideways glance at Daphne.
"How did you guys get here?" asked Sam.
Ember and Castiel explained the story to the brothers. "You saw purple sparks?" Sam asked when they had finished. "Dean, that's like with the killer stuffed dinosaur. And they were both in that pawn shop. Maybe this is all connected."
"Um, 'killer stuffed dinosaur?'" asked Velma skeptically, coming up behind the four of them.
"Oh, I-I didn't mean a real..." started Sam.
"It's a book we're writing," said Dean. "Yeah, about...killer stuffed dinosaurs. It's called-…" He trailed off, looking at Castiel for help.
"The Killer Stuffed Dinosaur in Love," said Castiel, shrugging.
Castiel caught her eye and raised an eyebrow in her direction, which Ember understood was his way of asking her opinion on what Sam and Dean had said.
"They think it's a cursed item," she said, taking his hand. "I think. The TV, and the purple sparks…"
Castiel nodded that he had gotten the message.
"Well, if he isn't responsible for Cousin Simple's death, who is?" asked Fred from across the room.
"Wait, Cousin Simple's death?" asked Ember, alarmed.
"Yes!" exclaimed Velma. "We found him just a minute ago!"
Ember looked at Dean, who nodded and shot her a serious look.
"This is bad," Ember said to Castiel. "Cousin Simple didn't die in this episode… something's wrong. This started off as a regular episode of 'Scooby Doo', but it's changed somehow. Maybe because we're here."
Castiel nodded back again to show that he had heard.
Suddenly, the lights started to flicker on and off. "Huh?' said Scooby.
"Like, somebody turn up the heat in here, man. It's getting cold," said Shaggy.
A menacing roar was heard in the distance, and Ember drew closer to Castiel.
Velma lit an oil lamp, and Sam and Dean brought out their flashlights. Carefully, the group walked through the hallways of the mansion.
"Dean," Ember whispered, drawing closer to her ex. "What the hell is going on?"
"Not sure," whispered Dean. "But I'm not letting the Scooby Gang fall victim to whatever we brought with us when we came through the TV. We're gonna find it, and kill it, and then go back through, and they're still gonna think it was a shady realtor."
"Agreed," Ember hissed. "And Daphne?"
Dean turned to look at Ember with an innocent grin. "What about her?"
"Dean."
"C'mon, this is a chance of a lifetime!" Dean hissed, shrugging.
"To what? Impregnate a cartoon character? Do they even have condoms here?"
"It's not like that!" Dean insisted, throwing up his hands. "And shut up, she'll hear you!"
Ember rolled her eyes but obediently hung back next to Castiel.
Suddenly, the group spotted a handprint on the glass. A cold chill passed through the house, and the doors in the hallway slammed shut. Then a ghost materialized, a large, hooded figure with yellow eyes and a large, gaping mouth.
"Ph-ph-ph-phantom!" shouted Shaggy, and Scooby howled. Both of them jumped into Castiel's arms, who looked at them with surprise. Fred attempted to catch the ghost but caught air. The ghost swiped at Dean but missed, leaving long claw marks on the wall.
As quickly as it had come, the ghost was gone again. The lights flickered back on, and Castiel dropped Scooby and Shaggy to the floor.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now," said Fred. He pointed to an open door. "It looks like he was coming out of here."
Fred opened the door, and the gang backed up in shock. Inside was the body of the realtor, Cosgood Creeps. His head was on the floor, surrounded by (still animated) blood.
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
The group decided to split up, to look for clues. "I call team-up with Daphne!" shouted Dean.
"Great!" said Fred. "It'll be just the three of us."
"Sam and I will check the attic!" said Velma. "I mean… unless you're too scared," she added to Sam.
"What?" Sam asked, surprised. "N-no, I-I'm...Let's check the attic."
"Like, man, I guess that leaves me and old Scoob with you, Castiel, and Ember," said Shaggy.
"Wonderful," said the angel. "I once led armies, and now we're paired with a scruffy Philistine and a talking dog."
"Actually, I'm gonna go invisible and double back around to Dean and Daphne," Ember whispered apologetically to Castiel.
"Why?" asked the angel.
"Because," whispered Ember. "We're in a cartoon that somehow has gone horribly off the rails. I don't know much about how alternate universes work, but I know you can't just waltz into one and disrupt the status quo. We can't let whatever we brought with us hurt them. I mean, Cosgood Creeps, the realtor? He was supposed to be the villain. He wasn't supposed to die. Something is seriously wrong here."
Ember looked at Castiel intently. "Meanwhile, Dean's trying to make a play for Daphne. You can handle Shaggy and Scooby, just let me handle Dean."
Castiel let out a long-suffering sigh, but nodded. They kissed each other good-bye, and Ember waited until Shaggy and Scooby weren't looking to turn invisible and double back to find Dean, Fred, and Daphne.
"So, Daph, I usually don't have to do this, but what do you look for in a guy?" Dean was saying when Ember caught up to him.
"Oh, I don't know," Dapne replied. "Strong, sincere, and an ascot wouldn't hurt."
Ember chuckled softly.
"Whoa, hold on," said Dean, pointing to a book on the shelves in the library. "Check out that book."
"There are a lot of books in here, Dean," said Fred.
"No, that one," replied Dean, pointing at a tan one. "The one that isn't painted into the background of the car-Library. The...library." Dean pulled on the book, but nothing happened.
"Huh. Sorry," he said. "I thought it might be some kind of secret passage or-…"
Suddenly, the floor opened up, and Dean, Fred, and Daphne went hurtling down a slide. Ember dove in behind them.
The end of the slide was dark. Just as Ember stood up, she heard Dean say, "Daphne, you okay? Maybe I should just give you a once-over to make sure."
The light came on just then, and Ember instinctively closed her eyes until they adjusted. What she saw made her guffaw allowed. Dean had his hand on the ghosts' bony thigh, while Daphne and Fred were on the other side of the hallway.
"AHHH!" Dean yelled, wrenching his hand away. "Oh, hell no!"
As a group, the four of them ran.
Two hallways down, however, Ember collided with a giant, solid shape. "Ember?" asked Cas' voice.
Then, once again, the ghost materialized in front of the group of them. As one, the group ran into the nearest room, and Ember took her chance to become visible when no one else was looking.
"We have to stop this ghost," exclaimed Fred.
"We almost did," said Daphne. "Dean had him by the thigh."
Ember chuckled.
"He what?" asked Velma.
"I almost caught him," said Dean gruffly. "That's the point."
"Guys, come on," said Velma. "For the last time, there's no such thing as ghosts."
Just as she said this, however, Velma's glasses appeared to frost over. Ember could feel the chill in the air as well, and the lights flickered.
Suddenly, the ghost materialized again, huge and hooded with yellow eyes.
"That costume looks really...real," Velma admitted.
Several things happened in quick succession. Fred launched himself toward the ghost but was thrown across the room, hitting a sculpture. Daphne and Velma were levitated off the floor, then pinned against the wall. Shaggy attempted to run, but was instead thrown through the window.
Ember and Castiel scrambled to look for iron, but Sam and Dean found it first; they grabbed two candle holders and hit the ghost with them. Purple sparks shot out of the ghosts' back where the candles had hit, and the ghost shrieked in pain and disappeared.
The lights came back, and Daphne and Velma fell off of the wall and into Dean's and Sam's arms.
"Where's Shaggy?" asked Scooby.
"Over here!" came a yell from the window.
As one, the group of them looked toward the window. Shaggy was hanging from a metal beam from the balcony. The beam swayed precariously back and forth.
"Like, little help?" Shaggy yelled, panic in his eyes.
But then the beam gave way, and Shaggy fell toward the ground.
"Shaggy!" yelled Scooby, and he jumped out the window as well.
"Scooby!" yelled Castiel, and he followed the two of them down what must've been a 20-foot drop. Miraculously, Castiel was able to grab Scooby's tail. His coat billowed out to make a makeshift parachute, slowing their descent as they crashed through a tree to the ground. Ember also used her force powers to slow their descent, but it was difficult to get a clear shot with the tree in the way. Even with Castiel's help and Ember's powers, Shaggy landed awkwardly on his arm and gave a loud scream.
The gang ran outside. "It appears his arm is broken," said Castiel, straightening up after investigating Shaggy.
"What?" said Shaggy, surprised. "That's not - I have jumped out of a biplane in a museum and was fine! How did this happen?!"
Ember, Castiel, Sam, and Dean shot each other a significant look.
"I-I don't know," Fred said. "I...Something threw me across the room."
"Wires," Velma said unconvincingly. "Probably just wires."
"Like, hello!" shouted Shaggy. "Broken arm here!"
"Shaggy, brace yourself," said Velma, making a make-shift brace.
"Fred, give me your ascot," said Daphne, and she used it to make a sling.
"Dean, we have to tell them the truth," said Sam frankly.
"What truth?" asked Daphne as she finished tying the sling.
"The truth about the phantom," said Sam resolutely.
"Look," Dean began. "This phantom isn't like other ghosts you've faced. He's real. He is a real ghost."
They didn't take the news well. "I thought I was blind without my glasses," said Velma. "But I was just blind. Oh, how could I be so stupid?"
"You're not!" Ember protested, walking over to Velma. "You've worked with some of the worst bits of humanity, and that can be way more difficult than hunting vampires and-…"
"We've been stopping real estate developers when we could've been hunting Dracula?" Fred exclaimed, banging his head against a tree. "Are you kidding me?! My life is meaningless!"
"If there are ghosts... that means there's an afterlife," exclaimed Daphne. "Heaven! Hell! Am I going to Hell?!"
"We told you every freaking time!" exclaimed Shaggy. "But did you ever listen to Scoob and me? No!"
"We're doomed," said Scooby.
"All right, knock it off!" exclaimed Dean. "Come on! The Scooby Gang does not have nervous breakdowns. Now you may not have tangled with the supernatural, but you've fought monsters, real freakin' psychos. Well, you stopped Zeke and Zeb. Shaggy figured out that the sharks Old Iron Face were really just torpedoes disguised to look like sharks. And what about the Black Knight?"
"Mamba Wamba?" added Ember.
"The Space Kook," filled in Sam.
Dean laughed at his brother. "I knew it! You love this show, too," he whispered.
"Space Kook, Ghost Clown, Miner 49er," Dean continued, throwing a fist in the air. "You guys have all jumped into danger with no thought for yourselves. You're heroes, and together, we're gonna take down this phantom. Are you with me?"
The Scooby gang, once again motivated, raised their fists in the air.
And so they did.
Fred attempted to trap the ghost, but only managed to trap Castiel, Shaggy, and Scooby in a washing machine. Meanwhile the ghost chased the brothers into the library, giving Scooby and Shaggy a chance to escape. When the ghost was positioned correctly, Scooby opened the door to the secret passageway, and the ghost slid down into a salt circle that the brothers had made at the bottom. The Scooby gang hung back in an adjacent room at Dean's insistence so that the brothers could speak to it.
"Let...me...go!" it screamed.
"Happy to, Sparky, soon as you tell us who you really are," challeged Dean.
The ghost tried several more times to escape, but finally it collapsed to the floor, morphing into a small red-headed boy. The small boy explained that his soul had been tied to a pocket knife. The pocket knife was found by a man named Jay, who had used him to get revenge on people he wanted to hurt.
"I'm sorry," Castiel said. "It was wrong of him to do that."
Ember took Castiel's hand again. Being in the "Scooby Doo" world had been fun, but Ember wanted to go back and find their son. The small boy's naiveté was a sharp reminder of Jack.
"None of this was your fault," said Sam to the boy.
"Look, if you get us back to the real world, we can set you free," said Dean, and Ember smiled at him.
"Do you promise?" he asked.
"Cross my heart and hope to d- Well, you know what I mean," said Dean.
Together, Ember and Dean peeked into the room where the Scooby Gang waited.
"Should I - should I make another trap?" Fred asked.
"I could get the shotgun!" yelled Velma.
"I could get two shotguns!" added Daphne.
"Like, tell Scoob and me when it's over!" yelled Shaggy, and Scooby agreed.
"Okay, okay, hey, give me a minute," said Dean. He turned to the rest of the group. "We can't leave 'em like this," he whispered to Ember.
"I agree," she whispered. She smiled at him. "Sorry about Daphne," she added.
"A, No you're not," whispered Dean. "And B, we're not back home yet." He winked.
The two of them turned back to the ghost. "Kid, we need a favor."
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
"Did you send it back to the fiery pit from whence it came?!" yelled Fred when the four of them returned to where the Scooby gang was waiting.
"Look, everything's under control," said Sam. He allowed them to enter the room with the ghost, which was currently under a blanket and tied with a rope.
"Aah!" they shouted. "Kill it with fire!"
"Whoa!" said Dean. "Slow your roll, guys. We were wrong."
"What - what are you - what are you saying?" asked Daphne.
"Velma...w-was right," said Sam. He gave a sidelong look at Dean, and Ember could tell that it was costing his pride to say it.
"Like, she was?" asked Shaggy.
"The ghost wasn't real," said Ember, taking over for Sam. "Look. But you knew it all along, didn't you Velma?"
"I, uh...I don't know," said Velma uncertainly.
"Hey, guys, do your thing," Dean said, beckoning them toward the shaking ghost in the bag.
"This is my favorite part!" he whispered to Ember, and she smiled.
Velma and Fred walked over to the ghost, and Velma pulled off the large bag.
"Cosgood Creeps?!" they all shouted.
"But...the flying!" said Daphne.
"Wires," Sam explained hastily.
"What about the walking through the walls?" Shaggy asked. "And the bodies?"
"Well, that was just a projector," said Ember. "As for the bodies..." She looked at Dean helplessly.
"Were they...dummies filled with corn syrup?" asked Velma.
"Exactly," Sam said, smiling at her.
"Of course!" said Fred enthusiastically. "Cosgood was trying to drive everyone from the house so he could get the money for himself."
"Right," said Dean. "But the joke is on him because the money's worthless." Dean opened a suitcase filled with money, which he had found exactly where it had been placed in the actual episode. "It's all Confederate dollars," he explained.
"Aw!" said Scooby. "Oh, well. Easy come easy go."
"Only in cartoons," Ember whispered to Dean.
"Shhhh!" he said, staring at Daphne.
"What about my arm?" Shaggy asked.
Castiel put his hand on Shaggy's shoulder, and Ember knew he was healing him. "Try it again," said Castiel in his deep voice, taking Ember's other hand.
"Ok, but… hey, that's weird," said Shaggy. "It does feel better. Don't think it was really broken after all."
"This is great news!" said Fred. "Let's meet at the malt shop and celebrate."
"Do they ever sleep?" Ember whispered to Sam as Dean grabbed Daphne's hand.
"Cartoons," he whispered back, and walked over to say goodbye to Velma.
"So, uh...I guess this is it," Ember heard Dean saying to Daphne.
"This is what?" asked Daphne.
Dean placed his open hand on Daphne's mouth. "Shh.. No words. We'll never know what could've been," he said.
But Daphne only had eyes for Fred, who was walking out of the room. "Freddy, wait for me!" she yelled.
Dean looked at Ember and shrugged. "Had to try," he explained. "You know."
Ember chuckled, turning to where Castiel was hugging Shaggy and Scooby. "You've shown me the great strength of laughter in the face of danger," he was saying.
"Danger?! Where?! Let's get out of here, man," they both said, running away.
Ember laughed again. "I didn't even get to say good-bye," she said, frowning, and Dean shrugged.
"I'm still here," said Velma, stepping forward. "And it was wonderful to meet you. Thanks for your help."
"You too," Ember said.
"Great working with you, Velma," said Sam.
"You, too, Sam," she said. Then, to everyone's surprise, she kissed him.
Sam seemed to struggle for air for a second, but then she let him go and walked away triumphantly. "Those shoulders. Jinkies!"
Sam looked mournfully at Ember and Castiel. "What am I supposed to tell Eileen?" he hissed.
"That you got kissed by a cartoon character," said Ember, laughing. "And Dean didn't."
Dean chuckled. "Shoulda known Velma was good to go. Gah! It's always the quiet ones."
Together, the group walked back to the ghost, currently in the form of Cosgood Creeps. "We're ready," said Castiel.
Suddenly, the surroundings morphed and they were, once again, standing in the "Dean Cave". On the floor was a smattering of abandoned fruit from the Tree of Life, where Castiel had dropped it when they had been sucked in to the TV.
All of them stared at each other in shock.
"Okay," Sam said finally. "That was...something,"
"That was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. And that includes the Cartwright twins," exclaimed Dean.
"What did you do with the Cartwright twins?" asked Castiel as Dean excused himself to get utensils to burn the pocket knife.
"I don't think I wanna know," said Sam.
"I'll show you later," Ember whispered to Castiel.
"I heard that!" said Sam, and Ember blushed.
When Dean returned, he was carrying a blowtorch and a sledgehammer. Regretfully, he smashed the television, pulling a pocket knife from the remains. The ghost of the red-headed boy, no longer animated, appeared suddenly next to Ember.
"Time to go, kid," said Dean.
"What about the bad man?" the boy asked.
"Don't worry about him," said Sam. "We'll take care of him, all right?"
Sam placed the knife on a metal tray and began burning it with the blowtorch. The ghost boy smiled at Ember, then disappeared.
***Ember POV***
March 10, Early Morning
Eileen had been waiting for Sam in the kitchen, frantically attempting to video-call his phone. In his haste, Sam talked quickly and forgot, despite his usual sensitivity to it, that Eileen needed to be able to see him to lip-read.
"Slow down," Eileen said. "You were facing away for half of that. Are you trying to tell me you were watching 'Scooby Doo' this whole time?"
Sam took Eileen into another room to discuss the kiss, and a few minutes later Ember, Dean, and Castiel heard loud peals of laughter.
"I guess the wedding is still on then," said Dean, passing a beer to Ember and Castiel.
"You'll take care of the 'bad man' in the morning?" Ember asked Dean, holding up air quotes.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, it shouldn't take long."
Ember nodded back, and the three of them sat down, sipping celebratory beers.
"You know, it was kind of fun, being animated," said Dean as Sam entered with Eileen.
"Yeah," Ember agreed. "Shame about that ghost kid."
"We could've gone to any animated shows," Dean agreed.
Ember nodded, thinking along the same wavelength. "'Family Guy'… 'Little Mermaid'… 'Frozen!'"
"Animated porn," Dean said, smiling, and they all rolled their eyes.